Volume 6 - CH 2.5

7-9 minutes 12.09.2022

Dimitar slipped out of the party venue, went down the big staircase and headed towards the entrance hall.

Shortly after arriving at Romarikku, a party where the important people of the town were gathered was held in a large hall of the town hall to thank Valeria for traveling from Roma and to welcome her. —That was the mere official stance; in reality, it was more correct to say that it was for the sake of the important people of the town rather than for the sake of Valeria. After all, for the people living in Romarikku, they couldn’t meet a real Dominas unless there was such an opportunity.

Dimitar, who had passed through the entrance hall in the direction opposite to the approach and come out to a wide courtyard, looked up at the balcony where boisterously noisy laughter could be heard; he then imagined the awkward smile the girl was probably showing and smiled wryly.

「Though this isn’t the original purpose, this is also the duty of a Dominas」

Naturally, the Romarikku supporters who had been sending enormous donations year in, year out were an important existence for Valeria, but if she had to say her true feelings, the ones whom she should truly thank probably weren’t the wealthy merchants who possessed all too much money but the ordinary people who scraped up donations from the course of their daily modest lives.

If one had to say, then this was a charade for the sake of flattering the rich people’s pride. I’ve met the Dominas directly and spoken to her—such an experience would loosen their purse strings, and this would improve the collection of donations from next year onwards.

“Do your best to the utmost.” Cheering for her in his mind, Dimitar surveyed the courtyard.

In the green courtyard where watch fires were burning here and there and popping sounds of pieces of firewood resounded refreshingly, soldiers carrying spears in their hands were lining up orderly and taking up guard duty. Naturally, there were figures of soldiers at not just this courtyard but also the approach to the water fountain and the balcony. Even though the party was being held nearby, there was no sign of them slacking off at all. As one would expect, the proficiency of Romarriku’s garrison seemed to be high.

Spotting a man standing stiffly at attention at the side of the pond, Dimitar walked up to him while bowing lightly.

「Pancev-kyou」

「…What is it?」

「I’ve heard rumours about you since long ago… from Garrido-kyou」

Dimitar began to talk in a low voice and observed the other party’s reaction.

If Gavrilo Alija Dzeco was at the top position of Romarikku’s civil administration, then the one at the top position of the military administration was this Yumir Pancev. According to what he had investigated beforehand, Pancev originally came from Romarikku; it was said that he spent the majority of his military career in Roma and came back here as the commanding officer of the garrison about five years ago.

Perhaps it was because he mentioned the name of Garrido-kyou, it felt as if Pancev’s expression, which had always been stern, softened somewhat.

「Garrido-kyou, huh… how nostalgic. Is His Excellency still in good health?」

「Yes. Even now, he often does sword training with His Majesty the King. I was told that even at the time of the Heidelauta’s civil war some time ago, he had personally led an army and gone to reinforce Isaac-denka」

「I see… that’s indeed typical of His Excellency」

Pancev-kyou’s features, which were covered by his moustache, became softer into a small smile, and he nodded many times.

Pancev-kyou was most likely on friendly terms with Garrido-kyou in his own way. That being the case, it didn’t seem that there’d be a big problem in his temperament. Whether he was a devout God believer or not apart, his loyalty to Romarikku should be deep.

「—Incidentally, are there many riots and crimes caused by barbarian believers in this Romarikku? Though I’m looking forward to the abilities of the people from the garrison such as Pancev-kyou, it’s also my duty to grasp things like that in advance to protect Her Eminence…」

「People who commit a crime are neither God believers nor barbarian believers. At least, in this town, that is」

Pancev sighed slightly and invited Dimitar to a small arbour.

「…There are certainly many barbarian believers coming into Romarikku. However, the majority of them, needless to say disturbing the order of this town, probably aren’t thinking of harming Her Eminence at all. They’re simply coming to seek wealth」

「I’ve heard that it was such a town since the olden days」

「That’s right. Romarikku is a town of God believers, and Ahmad is a country of God believers. As long as they accept that and don’t behave in a way that will disturb our tranquillity, this town won’t prohibit them from doing business. It’s because they’re also aware of it that they’ll not cause any disturbance intentionally」

When the two people sat down on the bench in the arbour, a thoughtful maid brought a decanter filled with wine and glasses to them.

「…That’s right, this wine was also brought from the other side of the mountain」

Pancev gulped down the wine lightly and spoke.

「Such things bring large wealth to both the God believers and the barbarian believers of Romarikku… there are no idiots who would intentionally try to cause a disturbance in this town, knowing that that wealth would be lost」

There were, of course, crimes. Thieves and bandits made frequent appearances on the outskirts of the town, and as a matter of fact, Valeria’s party also did encounter them. It was also a fact that one of the underlying causes of such a deterioration of public order was due to the influx of the southern people.

“However—,” Pancev declared.

「That has particularly nothing to do with religion. No matter what kind of god they believe in, a bad person is a bad person, and a good person is a good person. And the people living in this town are mostly good people」

「I see」

With this, Dimitar had roughly understood what kind of person Pancev was. He was, of course, loyal to Ahmad and was also attached to Romarikku, which was his hometown. However, he was feeling uncomfortable with the difference in policy between the country and the town; Ahmad wouldn’t recognise the barbarian believers at all, and Romarikku possessed the flexibility to recognise them because of utilitarianism. If he was pressed to choose either one, he’d without doubt be at a loss for an answer and stood stock-still. Given that he was serious by nature, it seemed that he’d continue to drag out that question for a long time.

Dimitar emptied his glass and stood up.

「—I shall return to the personal protection of Her Eminence soon. Thank you very much for the valuable talk」

「No, not at all」

「Bye then」

Dimitar bowed courteously and headed for the entrance hall.

Pancev’s way of thinking was most likely typical for the people of this town. They believed in Reduntra and prayed to Him, but at the same time, they made the national policy of not recognising the barbarian believers their official stance and obtained a great deal of profits.

That was normal for the people of this town.

Dimitar, who had gone up the big staircase and returned to the party venue, received the intense gaze of Valeria, who had observantly noticed him inside a crowd of people, and shrugged his shoulders secretly.

Perhaps after the party had ended, she’d without doubt make a complaint like 「Why did you leave me alone!?」.

End of Chapter 2