Chapter 67
"Oh my, what have we here? La-la-la... A glittering mass of beauty... Could this be a fragment of a star that fell from the sky last night? So sparkly..."
As I picked up the sparkling stone lying on the ground, an arm suddenly reached out from beside me.
"Mm, it’s just an ordinary stone you could find anywhere, Fia."
Fabian finished examining it in an instant and returned the stone to my hand.
"Hehe, are you practicing poetry even at a time like this? But the more you practice, the further you seem to get from proper poetry, so you might want to stop."
Hearing Fabian’s words, I gave the stone one last wistful glance before setting it back on the ground.
If I brought home everything that caught my eye along the way, my luggage would be stuffed full. It can’t be helped.
―――At present, our visiting delegation is heading south toward Sutherland.
The Kingdom of Nav lies on a continent surrounded by sea, and is a great power that rules over the entire western edge of the continent.
It stretches a long way from north to south, with both its northern and southern borders reaching the edge of the continent.
In other words, the kingdom borders the sea to the north, west, and south.
And since Sutherland lies at the kingdom’s southernmost tip, it takes about ten days by carriage to get there from the capital in the center of the country.
This time, the delegation consisted of eighty knights from the First Knight Order.
Commander Cyril wanted younger knights to learn about history, so many of them, including Fabian, were taking part.
Around twenty civil officials had joined us as well, but most of them couldn’t ride horses, so they were traveling by carriage.
That meant the knights were riding on horseback, but had to keep pace with the carriages.
"We’ll be setting off soon! Break time is over!"
I turned at the voice urging us to depart and saw a man who looked like a noble standing among the knights.
It was Commander Cyril.
This time, since he was acting as the representative of His Highness, the King’s younger brother, Commander Cyril was wearing noble’s clothes rather than his knight’s uniform.
Over his gleaming noble’s attire, embroidered with gold and silver thread, he wore a dark-colored cloak fastened at the neck with a large jewel. His chest was adorned with numerous medals, and the gold aiguillettes trailing from his cloak glittered in the sunlight.
The outfit was so ostentatious that it might have looked gaudy and over-the-top on someone else, but Commander Cyril wore it perfectly.
He looked every inch a high-ranking royal noble. All I could do was think, “As expected.”
...The Commander-in-Chief really made the right call in choosing Commander Cyril as his representative.
Watching the commander from afar, I admired the Commander-in-Chief’s excellent judgment.
When visiting a hostile place, I think it’s important to make a good impression.
And Commander Cyril certainly cuts an impressive figure.
He was sure to make a good impression on the people of Sutherland.
Thinking this, I mounted my horse and rode alongside Fabian.
From horseback, everything in the scenery seemed to sparkle.
Going somewhere new felt wonderful.
Unfamiliar sights and dishes I’d never tasted before gave me a fresh sense of wonder.
Perhaps the knight order was a rare sight, because children along the road waved at us.
I waved back with a smile, and the children tossed flower wreaths toward me.
I caught one in midair and placed it on my head.
The children cheered, and I laughed aloud, caught up in their excitement.
As I continued giggling, Fabian spoke to me.
"You’re amazing, Fia. You can always find something to enjoy, no matter who you’re with."
"Huh? What brought that on all of a sudden?"
"Well, it’s something I’ve thought for quite a while. You probably have all sorts of talents, Fia, but I think your greatest one is that you can have fun anytime, with anyone."
Fabian gazed at me intently, so I tilted my head, wondering if he was right.
"Really? But anyone can do that."
"That’s what you think, Fia? Unfortunately, I don’t think ‘anyone’ includes me, Commander Cyril... or, for that matter, any of the knight commanders or the Commander-in-Chief."
"I see?"
I wondered what that was supposed to mean as I looked at Fabian, but he only smiled back at me with a soft chuckle.
...Right. Fabian does this sort of thing sometimes.
He has the bad habit of knowing the answer and not telling me.
I opened my eyes wide at Fabian, trying to convey that I thought it was a bad habit, but he only laughed out loud, so I wasn’t sure if I’d gotten the point across.
◇◇◇
Our journey had been progressing in a pleasant atmosphere, but as we drew closer to our destination, everyone grew quieter.
Come to think of it, the visit to Sutherland was an annual event, so most of the knights taking part this time must have visited the region last year as well.
If so many experienced knights were falling silent, did that mean the knights really were as unwelcome in Sutherland as the Commander-in-Chief had said?
I looked around again and noticed that people we passed along the roadside had stopped waving at us.
When the residents noticed the knight order marching by, they stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads, but the warm smiles that had greeted us at the start were gone.
And this lack of welcome became even more obvious as soon as we entered Sutherland.
First of all, there were hardly any people around.
They should have been informed of our visit in advance, so they must have known a royal representative was coming, yet the residents were nowhere to be seen.
Normally, the residents would line both sides of the road to welcome us, but there wasn’t a person in sight.
It was so deserted that I couldn’t help thinking the residents had deliberately shut themselves inside to avoid seeing us.
The few residents we did catch sight of only bowed from a distance. There was no sign they wanted to be friendly at all.
Huh? What is this...?
I tilted my head.
I’d thought the people of Sutherland had gentle, warmhearted natures that reflected the mild climate of their land.
Originally, most of Sutherland’s residents had lived on a remote island to the south of the continent.
They’d lost their homes when the island’s volcano erupted and moved to Sutherland. That was how it all began.
They were a good-natured people with brown skin and deep-blue hair. That was what the people of Sutherland were like.
I’d thought they were a cheerful, fun-loving people who couldn’t stay quiet for a moment and couldn’t help laughing at even the smallest things.
But I’d only visited this land once in my previous life, and Canopus, who was the lord at the time, had been with me. Perhaps everyone had simply been kind and smiled because they were being considerate of me.
I rode among my fellow knights, idly thinking back on my previous life.
Everyone had grown quiet, perhaps because they all felt the awkward atmosphere.
Fabian was tilting his head in confusion, too.
"I never dreamed that the land of Sutherland, governed by Commander Cyril, would have an atmosphere like this... No one even came out to welcome their lord home..."
Our party continued on and arrived at Commander Cyril’s residence―――the lord’s mansion.
...Ah, this building.
When I saw the beautiful blue-and-white mansion that suited the seaside so well, I realized my cheeks had relaxed into a smile.
That’s right. This mansion, gleaming blue and white in the sunlight, was the lord’s residence in Sutherland.
Hehe, it’s still the same building from three hundred years ago. How nostalgic.
As I dismounted and began unloading our luggage, I heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats in the distance.
Curious, I turned to look toward the gate and saw a group of knights I’d never seen before.
Apparently, they were the Thirteenth Knight Order, stationed in this region.
When I saw a man who looked like their commander nimbly dismount from the finest horse, I tilted my head and wondered, Huh?
He was a tall man with sun-darkened hair and skin.
He looked well-trained, with an impressive, muscular build, but... wasn’t this knight weak?
...Yes, among all the knight commanders I know, I’d say he’s by far the weakest.