Chapter 40: The Potato Duke

As I was relaxing in the living room one evening, Jung came to me.

"A letter has arrived from Father," she said.

"A letter from Lord Hochberg? How unusual. Let me see it."

"Here you are."

I opened the letter.

"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise after reading its contents.

"What's wrong? Has something bad happened?" Jung asked worriedly.

"Quite the opposite. Lord Hochberg has been promoted to Duke. Congratulations, Jung."

"Really? May I see the letter?"

"Please do." I handed her the letter.

"I haven't heard of him doing anything particularly noteworthy," Jung muttered while reading.

"Oh, it seems the sweet potatoes you sent were the reason," she said.

I recalled sending sweet potatoes from the Land Kingdom to Jung's family home, as Daisy had suggested. Lord Hochberg had immediately started cultivating them, and they grew remarkably well everywhere. He distributed the potatoes to the poor and encouraged potato cultivation. Soon, an enormous quantity of sweet potatoes was produced, and no one in the Hochberg territory went hungry.

Moreover, the poor who now had food saw improvements in their physical condition, becoming capable of manual labor and gaining economic stability. Amazed by this, Lord Hochberg presented sweet potatoes to neighboring nobles and the royal court.

The food situation in the regions where potatoes were sent improved dramatically, and as a result, he was promoted to Duke.

"Everyone is calling him the 'Potato Duke'," Jung said, laughing heartily.

"That's pretty good. I'll use that nickname next time I see him," I replied.

"He seems to be half-enjoying it," Jung said, and we both burst into laughter.

"Wait, come to think of it, I was the one who found the sweet potatoes. I should have sent them to the royal court myself. By now, I could have been a count!" I held my head in mock despair.

"It's too late now. You've already sent potatoes and hardy wheat to northern lords and Kitai, so be satisfied," Jung retorted.

"I suppose there's nothing to be done about it now," I said, regaining my composure.

"Oh, right. As I mentioned before, I need to go to the Felciano Republic next. I want to create a new type of wagon and use the Hochberg estate as our base. Is that alright?"

"It's not too far from home to the Felciano Republic. After this incident, Johann seems quite grateful, so it should be fine."

"Great, I'll send a letter right away."