Chapter 81
My family and the merchant we'd picked up along the way finally reached the royal capital in the La○d Cruiser P○ado.
"Whoa~ We're already at the royal capital. I still can't believe it, even seeing it with my own eyes."
Nyamena had her head out the window, gazing at the streets of the royal capital.
Bell had her face out the window as well, but since we were entering the city, I had put an identification tag around her neck.
"W-we've really made it to the royal capital."
"Where should I drop you off? Are you going inside the walls?"
According to the merchant, he lived outside the fortified walls. Apparently, he dreamed of succeeding in business and opening a shop inside the walls someday.
"I'd like you to let me off a little farther ahead."
"Sure thing~"
The people passing through the streets were also staring wide-eyed at the strange iron vehicle moving without a horse.
After going about a kilometer, I let the man out of the car.
"See you around."
After saying goodbye to the man with the leather bag over his shoulder, I set off again. Even just getting through the lower city was taking quite a while.
There were too many people to drive very fast. Even inside the city, the roads weren't paved; they were still dirt.
According to Primula, the area inside the fortified walls was paved with stone.
The fortified walls gradually drew closer. They must have been seven or eight meters high――enormous. How many years and how much manpower had it taken to build all this?
"I wonder if that merchant will make it."
Nyamena seemed concerned about what would become of the merchant.
"Who knows? It's all a matter of luck, and luck is part of ability. In my experience, people who succeed in business tend to be very lucky and good at gambling."
"So does that mean Marrow and Primula are good at gambling, nya?"
"Probably."
"I don't gamble, but Father said he'd never lost."
Well, that sounded about right. Some people simply had a knack for things.
Still, I'd come to another world and been granted this cheat ability. I wanted to believe my luck had finally turned in my favor too.
As we approached the walls, I saw something enormous and brown moving that looked like a robot.
Surely there couldn't really be robots here... It seemed to be repairing the walls by lifting large stones.
"What's that? It's awfully big..."
"Boss, that's a golem."
Nyamena pointed at the enormous golem.
"Huh. So that's one."
Well, golems were a staple of fantasy. In other words, it was a doll moved by magic.
"We didn't see a single one out in the provinces."
"A mage must be extremely high-ranking to command a golem. That means there probably aren't many of them in the provinces."
Since Primula said so, it was probably true.
"And the country has to give permission before a golem can be activated, nya."
"The country?"
"Yes. Activating a magical creature without following the proper procedures is illegal."
Apparently, by this world's definition, even an inanimate doll that moved on its own counted as a living creature.
"So they're that dangerous?"
Well, if something like that were used for evil, it could certainly cause serious trouble. There was even a chance my heavy machinery could be called golems.
"If Miss Ane can do that, couldn't she control a golem too?"
"I want to try!"
"You mustn't. It would cause a huge problem if you were caught."
Apparently, eccentric mages living in the mountains or deep in the forest sometimes controlled golems.
They could use them for chores, guarding, or combat.
"Well, if you only animated a small doll, nobody would notice, right?"
"Yeah."
"It would be nice if we could find books or grimoires about golems too."
A city this large had to have at least one bookstore.
The car proceeded along the main street and passed through the gate in the walls. But the guards stopped us.
They wore chainmail with simple armor strapped to their arms and legs. Over the chainmail, they wore something like bibs decorated with patterns.
"Stop!"
"Yes, yes. What can I do for you?"
"W-what is this vehicle?"
"This is a summoned beast."
"What? This is?!"
When I revved the engine, it roared and belched black smoke from the rear.
The soldiers saw that and backed away in fright.
"Actually, His Majesty has summoned me."
I took a letter bearing the king's signature from my Item Box and showed it to the soldier.
"T-this is certainly genuine... Understood. You may pass!"
"Thank you~"
It was just like presenting Mito Komon's seal of authority.
After repeating that process about three times, we gradually drew closer to the castle.
"This is taking a while, nya."
"If the streets inside the fortified city ran in a straight line, the enemy could invade, couldn't they?"
"Ah, so that's why it's laid out like a maze."
The roads inside the walls were paved with stone, which was nicer than dirt, but the constant jolting from the uneven surface shook the entire vehicle.
There were many three- and four-story buildings, too, making it difficult to see very far.
"Kenichi, commoners can't enter through the main gate. We have to go around to the rear gate."
"All right~ If only we had a map."
"That is also a secret kept for the city's defense. If you were caught making a map, you might be suspected of being a spy and even tortured."
"What the heck? That's scary!"
A spy was what they called an intelligence agent. So maps were an important military secret.
If only I could use GPS navigation――as if that were possible. I could send up the drone and get a view of the city from above, but...
Still, it would be a disaster if I caused trouble by doing something unnecessary. We'd get there eventually if I just kept driving.
I drove in a wide circle around the castle, but...
"It's a dead end!"
――Or rather, we made a 180-degree turn and now seemed to be heading in the opposite direction.
Following the road, we somehow ended up at the castle's main gate. Even though we weren't supposed to use the main gate...
For now, I decided to follow the road and drive all the way around the castle.
But then we made another 180-degree turn and started moving away from the castle.
"What the heck is this?!"
With no other choice, I stopped the car and asked an old man at a street stall for directions. I paid two copper coins (2,000 yen) for a plate of rinker that didn't look particularly fresh.
According to him, we needed to follow the road, make another 180-degree turn, and then turn left to reach the road to the rear gate.
How complicated could this place get? I supposed people who lived in a city like this for many years learned the roads.
Just as the old street vendor had said, the road took us all the way around the castle, and at last we saw the castle's rear gate.
If we hadn't had a car, it probably would have taken an entire day just to walk through the city.
At last, we reached the castle's rear gate. A moat encircled the castle, with a sturdy stone bridge spanning it.
Beyond the bridge stood a stone gate, where we could see two guards.
We got out of the car, crossed the stone bridge, and spoke to the guards.
Both of them wore plate armor. I wondered whether it wasn't too heavy.
"Um... I have a summons from His Majesty the King..."
I showed the guards the letter written on parchment.
"Hm! This is genuine. Wait here!"
"Excuse me!"
I called out to the guard as he was about to leave and told him about an important matter.
"What is it?"
"The bridge on the highway to Iberis had collapsed."
"What did you say?! Is that true?"
"Yes. Merchants on both sides were stranded and thoroughly fed up."
"Understood! Thank you for reporting this!"
The guard disappeared inside, his heavy armor clanking loudly.
I slipped the remaining guard a little money and obtained some information.
The royal capital had a population of over one million and consumed vast quantities of supplies every day. As a result, supplies were imported from every direction.
If even one of the main arteries of that distribution network was blocked, the city would suffer a serious shortage of goods, apparently.
"I see. No wonder they're in such a hurry."
But I had been told to wait, so wait I had to.
I took a table, parasol, and chairs out of my Item Box, and we all sat down.
Bell sat beneath the table with her paws tucked beneath her.
"Want to eat the rinker we bought?"
But when I took out the rinker, I found that many of them were rotten.
"Boss, this stuff is awful."
"And it still cost two copper coins (2,000 yen)."
We'd never seen such awful produce for sale in Dalia or Astrantia, and it had been cheaper there too.
"Well, if we cut away the rotten parts, it should still be edible."
"The royal capital is all show, nya."
"The supply shortage must be so severe that even something like this can be sold."
Primula was probably right. She was staring intently at the rinker on the table.
With nothing else to do and time on my hands, I casually searched Shangri-La for something we could use to pass the time.
Something the people of this world could play――a game? Or maybe a puzzle?
Playing cards seemed promising, but they used Arabic numerals. UN○O could be played by everyone, but it used Arabic numerals too.
Chess and shogi had rules that were too complicated...
But I found something promising――backgammon. Backgammon was a Western-style sugoroku board game.
With this, Anemone and Primula should understand once I explained the rules.
It looked a little too difficult for the beastfolk, though.
"Here we go."
A backgammon set in a trunk-like case dropped out――4,000 yen.
"Kenichi, what is this?"
Primula gazed with interest at the board covered in rows of green and red patterns and the black and white pieces.
"It's a game with pieces. You start from this corner, go all the way around, and the first player to get all their pieces into this slot wins. I'll teach you how to play."
"I see~" "It looks kind of difficult, nya."
As we played, I taught Primula and Anemone the rules, and they picked them up immediately.
Well, the rules weren't all that difficult.
――Anyway, we tried playing.
She was strong! Far too strong! Primula was absurdly good. I'd said that big-time merchants were good at gambling, but apparently she had been born with the talent too.
She'd probably be good at gambling too, but she could quickly earn even more money without gambling.
"This is fun!"
Anemone seemed to like backgammon too.
"This is fun. Kenichi, may I sell this as well?"
"Sure. We could make something similar easily enough."
The rules weren't difficult, and it might catch on in this world. It was a game with a long history even in my original world, after all.
"That's a little beyond us." "Yeah, nya."
If backgammon was too much for the beastfolk, then board games, card games, and the like were all out of the question for them.
We took up position in front of the rear gate and enjoyed the game together, but then officials arrived and we had to stop.
But there was a group of men in black uniforms embroidered with gold thread who looked like officials, along with a girl in a white dress accompanied by young men who appeared to be guards.
She had beautiful, wavy golden hair that reached her back and large, bright blue eyes. Her white dress was high-quality and trimmed with frills, though not ostentatious.
And on her head was a silver tiara――could she be royalty? She looked about fifteen and stood around 150 centimeters tall...
She looked like trouble, so we all bent our knees and prostrated ourselves.
"Are you the one who brought my father's letter?"
"Yes, Your Highness! My name is Kenichi, and I am a merchant."
"This says you are a mage?"
"Well, I consider myself a merchant."
The girl who appeared to be a princess was grinning. She had the look of a child who had found a wonderful toy.
"Now then――is it true that the bridge on the highway has collapsed?"
"Yes. The bridge on the highway to Iberis, about sixty leagues (approximately 100 km) from here, had completely collapsed."
After hearing that, the officials behind her began making a commotion. "That bridge..."; "It was certainly getting old..." and so on.
"When did this happen?"
"Um, sometime after yesterday morning, it rained heavily for a long time, hard enough to make it impossible to see ahead――I think that's when it was washed away..."
"What? Yesterday morning? How did you come to know this?"
"Huh? We came here from there along the highway..."
"What?! But you said it yourself: that place is sixty leagues away! How did you arrive in one day?!"
"You there! If you say something careless in Her Highness's presence――"
One of the guards behind her moved as if about to grab me. So she really was a princess...
"We rode my summoned beast along the highway."
"What? A summoned beast?"
"Allow me to show you."
I had everyone move aside and make room for me to bring out the car.
"Summon, La○d Cruiser P○ado!"
A white iron body appeared before us and bounced on the bridge built over the moat.
"What in the world is that?!"
"As I said, it is my summoned beast."
I climbed into the car, twisted the key, and started the engine. Modern cars used push-button starters, but this one was a fairly old model.
I drove the roaring white car across the bridge, then backed up and returned.
"We got in this and came from the collapsed bridge to the royal capital in a matter of hours."
But the princess opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. She must have watched how I opened it.
"Your Highness!"
The princess paid no attention to the worried cries of the officials and guards.
"Drive it again!"
"As you wish."
I pressed the accelerator a little harder, and the acceleration pushed us back against our seats.
Then I drove across the bridge again, went as far as the road, made a 180-degree U-turn, and returned to our original position.
"What an incredible vehicle! Indeed, something like this could cover sixty leagues in no time."
"Your Highness, what if you recklessly climbed into this incomprehensible vehicle and were kidnapped?"
"Oh! That sounds amusing. Go ahead and try it."
Ah――this princess loved making waves in peaceful everyday life and causing trouble.
"I was only joking. Please forgive my rudeness."
"How boring."
When the princess got out of the car, her subordinates hurried over to her.
The young men dressed in black uniforms embroidered with gold thread appeared to be royal guards.
"Your Highness, what would we do if something happened to you after you climbed into such an incomprehensible thing?"
Well, of course they would all say that.
"Hah! You aren't worried about me; you're worried about your own heads――more importantly, go report the collapsed bridge to Father at once! This is a grave emergency for the royal capital!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The officials scattered, leaving the area and disappearing into the castle. Only the princess's guards remained.
Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I stored the car in my Item Box.
"You said your name was Kenichi."
"Yes."
"You use magic like this, so you must be a Unique mage, correct?"
"I suppose that's how it looks from the outside..."
"At the very least, you are no merchant."
The princess seemed to notice Bell sitting beneath the table.
I nervously wondered whether she would demand that I sell or give her Bell, but after staring each other down for a while, the princess seemed to give up.
"I am registered with the Commerce Guild and do conduct business, for what it's worth."
"Hmm――interesting. With this, I might even be able to make that daughter of Marquis Nasturtium admit defeat."
You don't hear anyone say "I give up!" these days... But the princess had the face of someone plotting mischief.
She certainly seemed like a very tomboyish princess.
"Kenichi, you did well to report this so quickly. You have my thanks."
"I am deeply honored by Your Highness's excessive praise."
I pressed my upper arm against my stomach and bowed.
"Stop imitating nobles. It makes my stomach turn."
"Your Highness! Such language..."
"Silence, Row!"
One of the guards tried to admonish the princess for her language, but she silenced him with a sharp rebuke, and he meekly fell silent.
He was a handsome blond man who looked striking in the black uniform and gold sword. As a royal guard, was he genuinely skilled?
Or was he a useless weakling hired through connections, like the knights in the viscount's territory?
There were three guards in total, and one of them was a woman. Her curly brown hair reached her shoulders.
Her eyebrows were a little thick, so she might look good dressed as a man...
As I was thinking that, the princess said she had a reward for me.
"Now then, Kenichi. I shall grant you a reward."
"A reward?"
"Yes. Ask for anything you like."
The princess was grinning. She seemed eager to hear what I would ask for.
Hmm... I thought for a moment, and then a good idea immediately came to me.
"In that case――we have nowhere to stay until we are granted an audience with His Majesty the King. Would you permit us to camp in a corner of the castle's rear garden?"
"What?"
"As you can see, my family includes beastfolk, and there are few facilities where we can all stay together."
"Boss, you don't have to go that far for our sake."
"Yeah, nya."
But when the princess heard my answer, she began laughing, clutching her stomach.
"Ha-ha-ha! You want to camp in the castle's rear garden? I have never heard such a request before."
"Would that be a problem?"
"Ha-ha... You don't want something more valuable?"
"For me, being with my family is the most valuable thing of all."
"...Very well. I grant you permission."
"Your Highness, allowing such lowborn people into the castle's rear garden..."
"Silence! I am tired of hearing your complaints. If you object to my decision, why don't you resign?"
"..."
If the princess told them to quit their jobs if they didn't like it, all they could do was keep quiet.
"Are you truly certain?"
The princess answered my second confirmation immediately as well.
"Of course. I do not go back on my word. Besides, once an audience with Father is arranged, it would be convenient to stay somewhere nearby so they can contact us immediately instead of having to search for us. It would be killing two birds with one stone."
However, there was no telling when the audience with the king would be. Apparently, it was not unusual for it to take several months after applying.
If we'd stayed at an inn with everyone, the lodging alone would have cost an outrageous amount.
Guided by the princess, we entered the castle's rear garden. Inside the high stone walls were flower beds and a park.
It was a lush, well-maintained park. It must have cost a fortune, though apparently the inner courtyard in the keep was even more magnificent and splendid.
But there was no way commoners like us could enter a place like that. This was good enough.
There also seemed to be quarters for guards, gatekeepers, and maids behind the castle.
There was an empty lot in one corner of the rear garden. It was right next to the wall, with weeds growing in the shade.
There was a small shed, probably used to store tools for maintaining the garden. A small well stood beside it.
This was perfect for a campsite. As I inspected the spot, the princess came over beside me.
"This place should do. Use it however you like."
"Thank you. In that case――Summon house!"
Our house appeared before the princess.
"What is this?!"
"I brought out our house."
"An Item Box?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The princess rushed over to the house and began patting the wooden wall. On the other side, Bell ran over and began patrolling around the house.
"You possess an Item Box large enough to hold something this big..."
"I had kept it hidden for a long time, but after everything I've been doing, people found out. Ha-ha."
"I had heard you were under Viscount Eupatorium's protection..."
She knew that much? Perhaps this princess was somehow involved in the summons this time.
"I was in Dalia at first."
"But Count Asclepius seems much more powerful."
"I know that too, but there were various circumstances."
"I see."
The princess suddenly opened the door to the house. Well, she was royalty, so she did whatever she wanted.
"There is nothing but a bed."
"All our other belongings are in the Item Box, so we take them out and put them away as needed."
"It sounds inconvenient and convenient at the same time."
"No, it's more than sufficient for us to live in. Besides, if the house got any bigger, it wouldn't fit in the Item Box."
"All right! I've decided! I shall stay here, too."
"What?! Please wait. My family includes beastfolk..."
"Boss, we'll sleep outside. We can't exactly sleep in the same house as royalty, can we?"
"Yeah, nya."
The princess's guards cut into our conversation.
"Your Highness! Please stop being so selfish."
"I will no longer listen to you, so there is no point in saying anything."
The princess and the guards accompanying her argued, but it was obvious the princess was stronger.
In the end, they were forced to give in.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course! How could I pass up something this interesting?"
"Then I suppose it can't be helped. I'll bring out Nyamena's shed, so could the two of you sleep there?"
"All right, all right. I'll let Blackie stay there."
"Don't act like you're doing me a favor, nya. It's Kenichi's shed in the first place."
"Come on, don't fight."
The two of them were always arguing, but they were only treating each other as rivals, so there was no real hostility between them.
"In that case, Your Highness, we cannot offer you any hospitality. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course. I understand that I am the one imposing, so do not concern yourself."
She was somewhat self-indulgent, but apparently she wasn't unreasonable.
Still, given who she was, it wasn't as though we could refuse...
Anemone looked displeased at our sudden, somewhat troublesome guest, while Primula wore an expression that said it couldn't be helped.
Primula knew how frightening royalty could be, after all.