"My friend is out of danger now, but I need Your Majesty's help, which is the main reason I've come here."
Vic said something to Dalton, then looked at the King and said that gratitude meant nothing to him; if it weren't for needing to confirm his own thoughts, he would have left the country immediately.
"Oh! I don't know what kind of help you need, but I'll definitely help if it's within my ability!"
The old king didn't speak definitively. He knew the current state of the Drum Kingdom; even a powerful figure like them needed help. He truly didn't know if he could offer any assistance.
"I'd like to borrow the medical equipment on this list. I wonder if the royal family has it?"
Vic got straight to the point, handing the old king the list that Dr. Tsukimi had given him.
"Hmm! It's about borrowing medical equipment! Your companion needs these, right? Let me take a look."
Hearing that Vic said he wanted to borrow medical equipment, the old king breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Vic would say something he couldn't do. He was the king of a country, representing the entire nation. If he couldn't do it, he would really lose face.
Fortunately, while the Drum Kingdom might lack other things, its medical equipment was definitely top-notch. However, the old king couldn't understand what the items on the list were for, even though there seemed to be quite a lot of them.
"Someone come here!" The old king, not understanding, didn't look at it much and prepared to have a professional come and take a look.
"Your Majesty!" A soldier entered through the door, saluted, and awaited the king's orders.
"Go and invite the head of the medical team here; I need to speak with him about something."
After the old king finished speaking, the soldiers took their orders and left.
" Vic! Wait a moment. The medical team is responsible for developing and managing the medical equipment. We'll let him check when he gets here to see if we have any."
The list was quite long, and the old king wasn't sure if he could gather everything.
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!" Vic was genuinely grateful; he had no intention of seeking any reward.
While waiting for the head of the medical team, the old king and Vic talked about the Drum Kingdom. Vic learned that the Drum Kingdom basically had to rely on purchasing food from outside to ensure that its people would not go hungry.
The only food available on the island is wild animals and nuts, or you can catch fish in the sea. Other high-yield crops simply cannot be grown on the island.
However, buying food from outside costs a lot of money. Although the entire Drum Kingdom only has a little over five people, it still requires a considerable amount of money to buy food for everyone.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. Some medicinal herbs with high medicinal value can be grown on Drum Island, which is a legacy left by our predecessors.
The island's doctors would process the acquired herbs into finished medicines, which would then be taken by the island's caravans to other commercially developed islands for sale. Afterward, they would purchase food to supply the island's inhabitants, forming a complete closed loop.
In the past, each household could save some money by growing and selling medicinal herbs. However, with the arrival of the Great Pirate Era, the seas became more chaotic. Drum Island is located in the Grand Line, and caravans are not always so lucky as to return intact.
So there's a period of time every year when the people on the island go hungry. Food can't be bought with money, so they have to find other ways to fill their stomachs.
Vic couldn't help but sigh, it's really a case of some people dying of drought while others are flooded. In the past, Flower Island could grow food all year round, without any time restrictions. Just throw in some seeds and they would grow. There was hardly any need to take care of them, and there was so much food that it was impossible to eat it all.
Also due to the Grand Line and the era, their food was difficult to sell, and the people on the island had nothing but enough to eat.
There are many such islands in the sea. If these islands were combined, their lives would be much better. However, the chaotic sea has prevented all of this from happening.
The old king valued Vic's formidable fighting prowess precisely for this reason; if the caravan had such a strong individual, there wouldn't be any problems selling medicine and buying food.
Drum Island will gradually become prosperous, and its population will explode. After all, with nothing to do in the freezing cold, people can only stay at home and have babies. However, there isn't enough food to feed so many people right now, so who has the mind to think about those things?
The old king was a very good king, and he always wanted to make the Drum Kingdom stronger, much stronger than Wapol. But in the end, he was just an ordinary person, and it was difficult for him to change the status quo of the country.
Wapol, who was knocked away by King Luffy, unintentionally synthesized Wapol Metal using the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit. In just two years, he easily became a rich man and a new king, which is truly a great irony.
"Your Majesty, you summoned me!"
As the group discussed this heavy topic, an elderly man wearing glasses and a white coat entered the study. This was the head of the royal medical team, whose scholarly air was impossible to conceal.
"Take a look at this list. Do we have all this equipment?"
The old king handed the list he had been holding to the old doctor. He valued the items on the list highly. Although he couldn't recruit Vic right now, it was still necessary to help Vic build a good relationship with him.
With Vic's strength, he'll eventually rise to a high position in the Navy, and then his connections will be incredibly valuable.
Putting everything else aside, just take the Reverie held every four years. Drum Island has seats to attend, and they can apply for Vic's protection then, so there won't be any security issues.
This is just the most basic benefit. If Vic were in a higher position with more influence, it would be possible to arrange a Marine Base for the Drum Kingdom. Of course, that would require frequent interactions and building good relationships.
"This is for detecting Lineage Factor, right? We have all these devices; they're not rare. In fact, we've already developed several simpler and easier-to-operate versions. Your Majesty, are you asking whose Lineage Factor this is for?"
As expected of the chief physician of the royal family of a medical superpower, he saw through Vic's purpose with just a list. Moreover, these doctors also have the ability to develop equipment, which is incomparable to those who rely solely on equipment to diagnose illnesses.
"Oh! That's good. Could you prepare a set? I want to give it to this little hero!"
Vic said he was borrowing it, but the old king wanted to deepen the friendship and wanted to give him a complete set, which would most likely end up in the hands of a highly skilled doctor in the country.
The unassuming doctor who could cure the Black Death, a disease that even the chief physician couldn't cure, was indirectly thanked for helping Vic and facilitating their acquaintance.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The old doctor glanced at Vic a couple more times, bowed to him, and left the study.
He knew about the doctor's kidnapping a few days ago, and that someone had appeared and saved everyone. Now, after hearing the king's words, he knew in his heart that the imposing young man before him was that person.
Vic did not refuse the old doctor's bow and returned the bow.
He understood the old doctor's meaning: to express the doctors' gratitude to Vic for saving his life, something Vic could accept.
Moreover, he also had some respect for the old doctor. Perhaps this was a sense of mission towards his profession. Vic saved not only the doctor, but also a path in the medical profession that might not even exist!