Chapter 158
Zodia is the songstress of the traveling troupe Le Pu Zea.
Traveling troupes are made up of wandering people who love freedom. They put down roots in no particular country, roaming the continent as they please while performing whatever arts they specialize in, be it song, dance, or theater.
Their performances are one of the few entertainments available to the common people. For local lords, they’re also a valuable opportunity to gather information about other countries.
In fact, gathering information this way is common practice on our continent. Even Sakuri, the military strategist of Golber, first ingratiated himself with the King of Golber as a wandering informant.
Traveling troupes vary widely in popularity depending on the skill of their performers, but Le Pu Zea is undoubtedly a popular one. Zodia’s singing is mysterious and beautiful, captivating everyone who hears it.
As a result, Le Pu Zea has several towns that sponsor them, and they make their living by touring those places. One such town that looks forward to their regular performances is right here: Ruelue.
“Zodia! It’s been so long!”
Lufa ran over to Zodia as she called out. Ever since hearing Zodia sing, Lufa had been a fan of hers.
“Lufa-san, you’ve gotten even more beautiful since I last saw you. And your demeanor has changed quite a bit, too.”
Zodia looked fondly at Lufa. We’d first met her when we were heading to Geadland on our first mission.
In other words, it was back during the whole Lurlia shipwreck incident. It felt like ages ago, though at the same time, perhaps it hadn’t been all that long.
After spending some time chatting with Lufa, Zodia slowly turned her gaze to me and bowed.
“The ties woven by Rolef-sama, the God of Wind, have brought us together once more.”
It was a greeting used when meeting again among members of a traveling troupe.
I dismounted, opened my palm, and pressed it to my chest. “I give thanks for the threads of wind from Rolef-sama.” Zodia smiled warmly in response.
“As expected of you, Roa-sama.”
“As I said before, I just happen to know the greeting. Still, I’m glad to see you again. Even if meeting here in Ruelue was a coincidence, perhaps it really was a tie woven by Rolef-sama, the God of Wind.”
At my words, Zodia slowly shook her head.
“No. That wasn’t the case this time. I was waiting for you here. I’d ‘read’ that we would probably meet here.”
The songstress Zodia had another side to her: she was a fortune-teller who read the stars.
“...Somehow, I’m afraid to ask why you were waiting for me.”
“Actually, I came all this way because there’s something I want to ask you, rather than something I want to tell you... Would you spare me some time tonight?”
“...All right.”
Having secured my promise, Zodia said,
“Then I have preparations to make as part of the troupe. I’ll see you tonight,” and left us there.
What could she want to ask me? I tilted my head, then felt a lot of eyes on me from behind.
When I turned around, the five new recruits were staring at me in stunned silence.
Rosvel spoke for them, peppering me with questions. “...Who is that beautiful woman? Why is she meeting with you, Roa-san? What’s your relationship with her?”
“We’re just acquaintances. As you can see, Lufa knows her, and so does Wickhart.”
“Introduce me to her, too!” “Me, too!” “Me, too!” they chimed in, so I turned them down for now. I decided that only Lufa, Ryuzel, Dick, Nelfia, and I would meet with Zodia that night.
“Why am I being left out?!”
Sazaby shouted, but I had a feeling it would be a hassle to have him there. He’d been just as captivated by Zodia as the new recruits, and might start hitting on her in the middle of our conversation.
Instead, I told him I’d pay, so he could take the five new recruits out that night and eat and drink wherever they liked.
“You’re going to regret this, I swear! Hey, get excited—we’re drinking at a place with beautiful women tonight!”
Sazaby raised his fist, half in desperation, while Rosvel and the others cheered at the prospect of free drinks.
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That night, after we’d thoroughly enjoyed Zodia’s singing,
the lord of Ruelue arranged for us to meet with her again over drinks in a room at the lord’s manor.
We chatted for a while about this and that, listening to stories from Zodia’s travels and telling her that Lufa had become Zackhart-sama’s adopted daughter.
Ryuzel was usually quiet at gatherings like this, and Nelfia was also keeping quiet, seemingly trying to figure out what Zodia wanted.
As for Dick, he’d been much more interested in joining Sazaby’s all-you-can-eat, no-holds-barred tour on my—Roa’s—dime, so I’d let him go along.
I figured it’d be a little rough on Sazaby to chaperone them all by himself, so it worked out nicely.
Once our casual conversation had wound down, Zodia’s expression grew serious.
It was clear she was about to get to the point.
We straightened up a little, too, and waited for Zodia to speak.
“...Now that we’ve met again like this... I’m not sure where to begin. May I start by explaining why I hurried back to Ruelue?”
After making sure no one objected, Zodia slowly began telling us what had happened up to that point.