CH 5

The coach moved as the coachman took the reins of the two horses, and Sera and I surrendered ourselves to the separated chairs.

After a few minutes of driving, the towering buildings disappeared from sight, and we passed through a large wall, revealing an uninhabited forested area. Incidentally, this area is managed by the Kingdom of Ilas, so the probability of dangerous animals and bandits is low.

As I was getting comfortable, Sera opened her mouth.

“Um, Eric-sama…”

“Yes?”

“By princess of the Kingdom of Halkeginia, you mean Sophia-sama, right?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of person is Lady Sophia?”

“Sophia chan is……”

I searched again for a glimpse of Eric’s past memories. Then I found more than enough information.

“Sophia chan, the top Knight Commander of the Order of the Knights that protects the Kingdom of Halkeginia.”

“The Kingdom of Halkeginia is a kingdom that values swords and swordsmanship, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s why royalty who cannot master the sword are not even qualified to become kings. In other words, for that kingdom, swords and swordsmanship are like the foundation of the nation.”

“I see. ……”

Yes. So for Sophia, the sword is a part of her body and swordsmanship is the meaning of her existence.

But the old Eric said terrible things to Sophia. A few years ago, Eric rode into Halkeginia with a splendidly decorated army without any kind of notice and said to Sophia

“I am the next king. So be my concubine, please me, and use your sword to protect me. Then you may share in the wealth of the Kingdom of Ilas.

“If ……my people hear you say that, they will all be prepared to die and attack the Kingdom of Ilas.”

“Hahaha! If they do, I’ll just kill them all. You should know your place. Without the Shine Stone, your kingdom will perish.”

“! You …… I will surely bring you to your knees …… one day!”

No,…… you really are scum,…… just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. To me, the Eric of old and the Eric of today are completely different people. But for Sophia, the old Eric and the current Eric are the same person, which makes it even more complicated.

However, I cannot give up. When I was in Japan, I was a professional who dealt with monster complainers professionally!

“Eric sama? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no. Nothing!”

“Yes, …….”

Sera, who wondered at my unintentionally smug expression, twisted her head around and looked at me with a cute face.

After two days of staying in carriages and stopping at inns like this, we came in sight of the city gate leading to the royal capital of Halkeginia.

There, we showed our fake IDs and were let in. I guess people would be surprised if we showed them our quirky royal badges. ……

The coachman stopped the carriage at a corner of the main street of the royal capital of Halkeginia and dropped us off.

“We are here.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you!”

“You’d better be careful. The kingdoms of Ilas and Halkeginia are on edge these days, so please avoid any conspicuous behavior. Good bye.”

After landing in a foreign land, we looked around the royal city to find a place to stay.

Although smaller in scale than our own country, the city is bustling with activity. The main thing that stands out is the blacksmiths.

There are many craftsmen who can make great swords here, so nobles and knights from faraway countries come here and pay a lot of money to buy good quality swords. And when gold coins increase in this way, the Kingdom of Halkeginia imports shinestones from our country.

Yes, on the surface they are not on good terms, but considering their internal situation, it is impossible for them to go to war with us.

“For now, let’s start looking for a place to stay!”

“Yesr! Understand!”

“I brought a lot of gold coins, so you don’t have to worry about the cost of lodging. We just need to find a place to stay for a while.”

“Ye-yes!”

Sera answered cheerfully and immediately started to look for a place to stay with her eyes glued to the floor. I patted her head, because she was so cute that she complied with my wish without any resistance.

“Eric-sama?”

“You don’t have to strain yourself.”

“Y-Yes. …… (Pounding).”

And so, we continued to look for a place to stay. But we couldn’t find anything. Rumor had it that there was a lot of good iron sand on the market, and all the hotels were full of merchants, nobles, and knights from abroad.

“It’s not easy to find,…….”

“I guess so,…… I’ll try to look for more!”

“That’s fine,…… we’ve walked a long way. Let’s go to the diner and eat a lot of good food, shall we?”

“……I want to be a more useful maid for Eric-sama! So, I’ll get an inn as soon as possible …… even if I’m alone.”

Guuuuuhhhh (sound of sera’s stomach growling)

“Ah!”

“Don’t worry about it. Sera chan has been very helpful.”

“Y-yes. …… sorry. ……”

“Fufu (patpat).”

“Well, why don’t we go in there? It smells really good.”

“Yes!”

We headed for what looked like a medieval diner.

But

“Hey, hey, you two!”

“Hmm?”

“Hmm?”

We stopped moving and turned around when we heard a voice from behind.

Then, a man who appeared to be a nobleman from the Kingdom of Halkeginia, on horseback, turned a cold expression toward us.

“From the way you are dressed, I would guess that you are a low-ranking nobleman of the Kingdom of Ilas and his servants.”

“Yes, …… I am though…”

“Because of your kings, the continent of the Orient is in a state of chaos right now. And yet, you have the nerve to walk around this royal city.”

Hearing the voice of this nobleman, who had brought several soldiers with him, the Halkeginians on the street suddenly stopped and turned hostile glances toward us.

“Eric sama……”

“Sera, stay close to me.”

“Yes, ……”

What’s going to happen? This ……