Side Story 12: Rivote's Diary (1)

―― It seems the date for Roa Stein and Lapiria Zodiac's wedding has finally been set. His Imperial Majesty will attend as well. With the interests of various nations intertwined, it will be a ceremony where failure is not an option. Even Queen Sapia Voliviano of Tsanadefor has inquired about attending. This has become a major topic in Rudek's royal capital, Rudectrad, accompanied by considerable surprise. It will be interesting to see what sort of ceremony it becomes. ――

"Me, going to Kamnar? No, no! I'm busy!"

It happened while I was cleaning the Tenth Knight Order's food stores with Lufa, as usual. Lufa invited me, saying, "I'm going to Kamnar! Come with me, Rivote!"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fine. Roa's going too!"

I stopped what I was doing. Roa was going too? Did that mean he was plotting something again?

I still consider Roa Stein dangerous. I don't dislike him as a person, but there's no telling what that man might do. If there is any chance he could harm the Empire, I cannot afford to overlook it.

"...What is Roa going to Kamnar to do? For that matter, where is Kamnar?"

"Kamnar is the town where the royal family's shrine is! I hear Roa-nii-chan and Lapiria-onee-chan might have their wedding there!"

"Oh?"

So this was a preliminary inspection of the venue. I see. That meant His Majesty would be coming to that same place. In that case, it was a different matter. I needed to make sure the town where His Majesty would be staying was safe.

"Then I will go after all. I'm busy, but I can make time somehow."

"Yay! Come to think of it, I hear Kamnar is where Harodel cattle are raised! I wonder if they'll serve anything tasty!!"

"What!? You mean it's the home of Harodel cattle—that exquisite beef with a texture that melts the moment you bite into it, and high-quality fat that is richly fragrant without being cloying!?"

"That's right! It'll be fun!"

"N-no! I'm not looking forward to anything like that! I'm only going to check whether the place where His Majesty will be staying is safe!"

"Right! But we'll eat delicious Harodel beef, okay!"

"W-well, if you insist that much, I suppose I can eat some."

And that was how I decided to inspect Kamnar.

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"Rivote-taro is..."

"Slacking off..."

"Hey, twins! I'm not slacking off; I'm conducting an inspection! Don't get the wrong idea!"

The travelers heading to Kamnar were Roa, Lapiria, and Lufa, along with me, the twins, Wickhart, and Sazaby.

After saving Rudek from its crisis and annexing Lifrea, Roa Stein was an unquestioned pillar of the nation. Even so, he still preferred traveling in a small group like this.

As a national dignitary, I had once voiced my concern over whether that was appropriate. Roa had responded with a slightly troubled look.

"At least with the twins, Azure Bow, and the War Princess around me, there aren't many opponents we couldn't overcome."

Well, he had a point. To put it mildly, they were a group of monsters. I wouldn't want to take them on one-on-one either.

Apparently, Roa had received similar advice from others, too, and he seemed used to giving that answer. It was hard to find fault with it, and I found myself oddly convinced.

And so, we were traveling to Kamnar with this group.

For this journey, Roa said he wanted to stop at a certain city along the way.

"Normally, it would be faster to pass through, but I want to let them know about this matter, just in case."

The city Roa was headed for was called Tarkdom.

Its lord was Dasha Civilian, an influential nobleman despite his advanced age. I recall that he had recently been appointed head of the House of Nobles.

Rudek's House of Nobles seemed somewhat warped even to me, and I felt they were insolent toward the king. As expected, they had apparently been plotting one petty scheme after another, and a major reorganization had been carried out right after the affair with Lifrea was resolved.

According to Elder Endaland, "This is quite a thorough, well-investigated purge." I found the notion of a "good purge" a little odd, but that was what the old man had said. I would only lose out by thinking too deeply about it.

In any case, we soon arrived in Tarkdom. It was a reasonably large city. There might be some tasty local specialty.

"Roa-dono!!"

Apparently, the person who came out to greet us was Dasha Civilian's son, Shaha Civilian. Though he was Dasha's son, he already looked to be quite old. There had to be some reason he had only recently become head of the family.

Then again, Dasha Civilian was a man worthy of being appointed head of the House of Nobles. Perhaps his father was simply too great.

"Shaha-sama, it has been a long time. Actually, the date of the wedding has been set..."

"That's wonderful news! My father has been eagerly awaiting it! Now, please, come in!"

Shaha Civilian was strangely deferential toward Roa. There was something odd about it. The Civilian family was supposed to be a fairly prominent house. I couldn't understand why he would place himself so completely beneath Roa.

Had something happened? Or did Roa have some kind of hold over him?

As I wondered what we would have for dinner that night, I reaffirmed my wariness toward Roa.