Chapter 100
"Another miss."
"I see..."
"I'm sorry."
As dawn was about to break, Sieg and Sebas returned and gave their report.
It wasn't their fault. This time, I'd searched the locations I'd specified. I'd worked out the blank spots from the eyewitness reports and ordered them to search there, but our opponents had outplayed us.
"They have the advantage in a battle of wits."
"As long as they have the choice of when and where to act, there's no avoiding being forced to react."
Sebas tried to comfort me with that, but missing the mark this many times in a row was getting me down.
The fact that we hadn't found Rebecca also meant the enemy hadn't found her. That was the only good news, but it was two sides of the same coin as the bad news.
The Imperial Capital was vast, but it was still finite. No matter how skillfully Rebecca evaded them, she'd eventually be cornered. It would be a relief if she could make contact with Leo before then, but the fact that she hadn't meant she couldn't get close to him.
"Should we eliminate the surveillance around Leo?"
"Not realistic. We don't know where they're hiding, and if trouble breaks out, it'll restrict your younger brother's movements."
"Exactly. Since eliminating all the watchers would be difficult, making a move would not be advisable."
I nodded at their opinions.
If we got caught up in a disturbance in the city, Father might even order me to call it off.
The Empire had been caught up in all sorts of trouble lately. In the midst of it all, Leo was the Hero Prince, and the people's expectations were riding on him. If anything happened to him, the Empire itself could be thrown into turmoil.
"It's unavoidable. Shall we proceed as before?"
"That's all we can do."
"...Sebas. I'm heading into the city today. Keep that in mind."
"What about an escort?"
"I don't need one. I want to clear my head."
"Going for a stroll is how you unwind? You're a strange prince."
Sebas gave a wry chuckle at Sieg's words.
This was practically a habit of mine. I would wander through the city dressed like ordinary citizens. It helped me learn about their lives, and the relaxed atmosphere refreshed me.
"It is troublesome when you go out without an escort, though."
"Is that wise? You're the brother of one of the candidates for the imperial throne now, aren't you?"
"No one would target the Dull Prince. Even if someone did, nobody would be foolish enough to target me now. Leo is still investigating the southern nobles. If someone targeted me, it would be seen as an attempt to obstruct that investigation. Father would then investigate the South even more thoroughly. The ones who'd have trouble would be the people who targeted me."
"If you say so. Be careful, okay?"
Sieg didn't know that I was Silver.
He probably respected my intelligence to some extent, but thought me powerless. That was why his concern was genuine.
Sieg really was a good man.
"I'll take that concern to heart."
With that, we went our separate ways.
■■■
"Ma'am, how much is this?"
"That? Two Imperial red copper coins."
"Two red copper coins? Isn't that expensive?"
I pointed to a red fruit and asked. It should have been one coin before.
Imperial currency was used throughout the Empire, and it was also the most widely circulated currency on the continent.
Starting with the lowest denomination, the Imperial copper coin, each denomination increased tenfold: Imperial red copper coins, Imperial silver coins, and so on.
In order, they were copper coins, red copper coins, silver coins, white silver coins, gold coins, white gold coins, and rainbow coins.
White gold coins and rainbow coins were not widely circulated. They were used only for large transactions between merchants and transactions between nations.
The average citizen's monthly income in the Imperial Capital was seven or eight white silver coins. Among the common people, gold coins were the highest denomination in circulation.
"Sorry, dear. There have been problems all over the place, haven't there? The supply's been disrupted because of that."
"I see. Got it. Then I'll take two."
"Here you are. Four coins."
I took four red copper coins from the wallet tied around my waist and handed them to the woman.
Then I took the two fruits and walked through the city, eating them.
The city was lively, but prices had risen. It was the result of a series of major events, from the mass outbreak of monsters to the turmoil in the South.
"I suppose it's because people are fighting over the imperial throne."
I muttered with a sigh.
That was no way for someone actively taking part in the struggle to talk. Besides, I was privileged enough to live without doing anything. It was ridiculous.
The common people's monthly income was seven or eight white silver coins, but each prince received at least three gold coins as a subsidy. More than three months' income for an average citizen came to a prince without him doing anything. That amount increased if he achieved accomplishments, and he also received a salary if he held an office.
The gold coins I gave Linfia represented ten years of that subsidy—roughly three rainbow coins. That much money vanished on a raid quest. Requesting an SS-rank adventurer by name cost about as much. That's why Linfia was so grateful: it was an enormous sum.
Among SS-rank adventurers, Silver was fairly cooperative with the guild. I deliberately took quests directly from the guild. That way, I didn't have to charge a nomination fee.
The reason I did that was because I felt guilty charging such a high nomination fee despite being a prince.
"I'm still a hypocrite for not doing it for free, though..."
As I muttered that, I noticed a troubled-looking girl at a street stall a short distance away. Her pale purple hair caught my eye, but she had another feature that stood out even more.
The girl's ears were slightly pointed. That was a characteristic of a half-elf. Judging by the hooded outfit she wore, she had probably been hiding them.
Apparently, the hood had come off, and she was arguing with the vendor.
"You said two silver coins would be enough!"
"Shut up! It's different if you're a half-elf! If you want it, it's two white silver coins!"
She must have been buying ingredients for today's meals. Her bag was full of food.
The hood must have come off while she was paying.
The Empire accepted many demi-humans. That didn't mean there was no discrimination, though. I'd even heard that just being willing to sell them anything counted as lenient. Apparently, half-elves couldn't even shop elsewhere. That's how despised they were.
They were neither human nor elf. Elves were isolationist and hated humans in the first place, so they likewise hated half-elves who shared their blood.
Humans also looked down on half-elves, whose parentage was hardly respectable, and shunned them because they were fundamentally closer to elves.
To make matters worse, it seemed the vendor wasn't an Imperial merchant. Apparently, he was from elsewhere.
The people around us were whispering about it.
"I came out to refresh myself, and this is what I find..."
Looking around, I saw that many people looked sympathetic, but no one intervened.
As usual, people pretended not to see trouble.
After hesitating for a moment, the girl sighed, then handed the bag of food to the vendor.
"Wait."
It was an impulse.
I didn't want to look at something unpleasant, but leaving it alone also made me feel bad.
A rash action born of sleep deprivation.
I called out to the vendor and the girl.
Then I snatched the bag from the vendor and placed two white silver coins in his hand.
"Satisfied now?"
"Huh? Ah, well..."
"How much would satisfy you? Would you be friendlier if I gave you a gold coin?"
"W-what the hell! Who are you!? This is our problem!"
"This is the Empire. It accepts demi-humans."
"Who cares!? Half-elves aren't demi-humans! They're not human, either!"
"That's enough. I've paid. I'm taking the bag and leaving."
"No! If you want to take it, leave a gold coin behind!"
The vendor gave me a nasty smile.
He must have thought he could squeeze more money out of a soft touch.
Ridiculous.
He preyed on the weak and tried to take advantage of anyone showing a sense of justice.
People around us finally began protesting that he was going too far. The vendor, however, dug in his heels.
"All of you, shut up! Your Empire's food distribution is stalled right now! I'm the one bringing food in from elsewhere, you hear!? Unless I get to choose who I sell to, it's not worth it!"
Saying that, the vendor reached for the girl's bag.
I grabbed his hand and glared at him.
I was already irritable from lack of sleep, and he was making me even more irritated.
"This should be enough to silence your complaints."
With that, I took a gold coin from my free hand.
The vendor smiled and reached for it.
At that moment, someone shouted from outside.
"What's going on!? What's this commotion!?"
The person who emerged through the crowd was an officer of the patrol responsible for maintaining public order.
It was probably just a routine patrol.
"No, no, officer. The deal's already done. Everything's fine."
"Reached a deal...?"
The officer looked at me.
Then his eyes widened, and he hurriedly saluted.
"P-Prince Arnolt!?"
"You know me?"
"Y-yes, sir! I-I support Prince Leonart, you see."
With that, the officer straightened up.
From the way he put it, he either belonged to Leo's faction or was affiliated with it. In that case, pretending to be Leo was impossible.
Besides, Leo was out in the city right now, so that wouldn't work anyway.
"Good timing. Is it permissible to raise the price just because she's a half-elf?"
"N-no, sir! Such conduct is forbidden! Our Empire welcomes all races, and merchants promise not to bring prejudice with them when they receive permits to do business in the Imperial Capital!"
"Then confiscate his permit. He raised the price twice. If you don't arrest him, Leo will come storming in here in a rage, won't he?"
"Y-yes! Understood!"
"W-wait! I didn't know you were a prince! P-Prince, please forgive me!"
"That's not the issue. You're being arrested not because you disrespected me, but because you broke the rules. This is the Empire. You can keep that gold coin. Consider it a lesson."
With that, I took the girl's hand and left.
I couldn't afford to attract any more attention.
After walking for a while, someone called out to me from behind.
"Um... your hand..."
"Hmm? Oh, sorry."
With that, I let go of the girl's hand.
I suppose it had been rude to hold the hand of a girl whose name I didn't even know.
When I apologized, she shook her head and gave me a cheerful smile.
"No, thank you for helping me. Oh, no—that's not right. Thank you, Your Highness."
"I'm incognito right now. I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat me so formally. What's your name?"
Perhaps my casual tone surprised her, because the girl opened her eyes wide.
Then she gave a little laugh and extended her right hand toward me.
"Okay. My name's Sonia. Sonia Laspede. As you can see, I'm a half-elf."
"That doesn't matter to me. I'm Arnolt. You can call me Al."
"Okay! Then I'll call you Al-kun!"
That was how Sonia and I met.