Chapter 30
After the brief three-day rest, the pilgrimage resumed.
A white flag bearing Contium’s emblem flew from Blanc’s carriage. It was a sign that the lord of Contium recognized Blanc as the next crown prince. Seeing the flag wave proudly, Vieta felt a swell of pride.
Their next destination was Ahan, the most powerful domain in the southern Empire. The marquess of Ahan was known as the ruler of the south.
Thanks to the warm climate of the southern lands, Ahan was rich in resources, and because the sea bordered more than half its territory, it had also amassed tremendous wealth through maritime trade.
On the third day after leaving Contium, Blanc let out a groan.
“What’s wrong?”
Vieta, who was riding in the carriage with him, asked.
When Blanc’s elderly attendant resigned for health reasons, Vieta had taken over as his attendant and begun riding in Blanc’s carriage.
Not only the prince’s attendant but many others had also raised the white flag and quit because the pilgrimage schedule was more grueling than expected.
The resulting increase in the procession’s speed was an unexpected benefit.
“No, I’m just a little tired.”
Blanc set aside the papers he had been reading and blinked his dry eyes several times.
His eyes always grew bloodshot when he read dense text in the swaying carriage.
From the day after asking Fulcare for help, Blanc was summoned to Fulcare’s subspace every single day.
No matter how thoroughly he explained that his mana was running wild, no one could determine what was causing the phenomenon without seeing it firsthand.
To observe the phenomenon in question directly, Blanc had to use magic, but his mana had been sealed away for a long time.
Fulcare recommended that Blanc gradually remove the magic circles, warning that suddenly releasing all his mana could put a strain on his body. From that day on, Blanc had been slowly turning on the faucet that had sealed away his mana.
Even though Fulcare had barely touched the magic circles, Blanc’s body could not readily adapt to the mana, and as a result, he was suffering from severe aftereffects.
On top of that, he was getting an earful from Fulcare for not coming to him in the first place.
“If you’re really tired, why not close your eyes for a while? You’ve been looking at those papers nonstop.”
As Vieta suggested, Blanc wanted to throw everything aside and sleep soundly. However, he still had a great deal of work left to handle.
He might not be able to deal with everything as promptly as Fulcare did, but he at least had to finish it before too much time passed.
“Thank you for worrying about me, Vieta. I only need to look over a little more, so I’ll rest then.”
Blanc forced a smile so Vieta would not worry, then picked up the papers.
*
“Good, it’s not here tonight either.”
Vieta muttered as she looked at the silent Three Gems.
With a satisfied smile, Vieta strapped the dagger to her waist, then hid it with her apron strings so no one would notice.
Since Noe’s magical-beast incident, Vieta had patrolled the procession every night, checking for anything unusual.
Even though the attack had ended without any serious incident, she had no desire to see something like it happen again.
A gust of wind tousled Vieta’s hair. Perhaps because they had come so far south by now, the breeze felt slightly warm.
Thinking that she would soon have to take out her short-sleeved clothes, Vieta headed back to the lodgings. Then, in front of her tent, she ran into someone she was delighted to see.
“Vieta, where have you been?”
The black-haired woman beamed at Vieta. She was Laura, a maid from the Ministry of Magic.
Naturally warm and friendly, she had been even more openly friendly toward Vieta ever since Vieta bought her desserts from Nineberries.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was walking around. What about you, Laura?”
Laura hefted the basket full of dishes. Judging by the piles of dishes, she seemed to have brought them to serve a late-night snack.
“I just have to put these down, so if you’re free, would you like to take a walk with me?? The night sky is too beautiful to just go to bed, don’t you think?”
As Laura had said, the night sky packed with stars was utterly enchanting. Since Vieta would obviously do nothing but lie there staring blankly if she returned to her tent anyway, she accepted Laura’s suggestion.
The two took a huge water canister out of the supply wagon, rinsed the dishes thoroughly, and firmly latched the wagon door so no wild animals could get inside.
After obtaining permission from the knight keeping watch, they headed into the fields.
Laura seemed to have excellent night vision and walked fairly well along the uneven path. Walking in silence felt a little lonely, so Vieta remembered that Laura was from the south and spoke up.
“What is the south like?”
“Hmm… How should I put it? People are a little more open, both in body and mind?”
Laura pointed at her own chest with both hands.
“And the men are a little more passionate, too.”
I didn’t need that information.
Vieta scratched her cheek at Laura’s bold gestures and remarks. It was fortunate that, being nighttime, Laura could not tell that her face had grown hot.
Perhaps Vieta’s question had served as a trigger, because Laura told her all sorts of things about the south throughout their walk.
With her curiosity about a new place combined with Laura’s remarkable gift for conversation, Vieta found herself unable to tear herself away from Laura’s stories.
“Come to think of it, there’s a joke that goes around among southerners.”
The two turned in front of a large tree. It was the tree the guard had specifically pointed out as safe.
“Ghosts! More precisely, you need to watch out for sea ghosts! It’s a sad story, but accidents happen often in the southern seas. So I suppose the people who live by the sea have something like a taboo.”
“What kind of taboo?”
“They say you mustn’t walk along the shore alone on days when an unusually thick sea fog rolls in. Apparently, the sea sets lights afloat to bewitch people. And once you’re bewitched like that, you can never come back.”
Laura told the story passionately, waving her arms wildly.
“Well, it’s just a rumor, so don’t take it too seriously. Surely there aren’t really any ghosts, right? I’ve been to the Ahan Sea several times, and I’ve never seen a single one.”
“Still, it was an interesting story.”
Vieta found it fascinating that strange ghost stories circulated in this world as well.
In the world she came from, there was no goddess like Aurea, so people debated the existence of gods at length; here, however, a goddess unequivocally existed.
And yet there were ghosts and spirits here too. People must be the same wherever they lived.
After that, stories about Laura’s wedding and Freckled Adrienne also came up.
Adrienne still seemed to hover around Fulcare even after enduring that humiliation. Fortunately, unlike before, she was behaving very meekly, and the atmosphere inside the carriage had improved considerably.
After reporting their return to the knight who had allowed them to go into the fields, Vieta and Laura headed to their respective tents.
Aside from her comrades who knew her identity, it had been a long time since Vieta had enjoyed an amusing conversation with an ordinary person, so she felt a little sorry that her walk with Laura had ended.
***
“Just rest for a moment. I’ve dispelled the magic up to today’s goal.”
Fulcare, who had been looking after Blanc in his subspace, rose from his seat.
The jewel on the staff he always carried was glittering. It was a signal that someone was calling for him from the goddess’s subspace.
“…Where are you going?”
Blanc, lying sprawled on the floor and covered in cold sweat, asked. The area around him was littered with traces of vomit that had been wiped away.
“Oh, I just have something to take care of….”
Fulcare, who had been speaking without thinking, suddenly stopped.
One way or another, Blanc was going to become crown prince and then emperor. Besides, considering that he had even revealed his embarrassing secrets to a complete stranger like Fulcare, he had clearly resolved in his own way to change as well.
Until now, Fulcare had left Blanc alone because Blanc had shown no sign of personal resolve, but now that the prince had changed, Fulcare felt he ought to change his own attitude toward him as well.
Moreover, he thought he should raise Blanc into a proper prince so he could enjoy a comfortable retirement.
“I’m going to see those guys now. Are you coming too?”
“…Those guys?”
Blanc asked in return as he fastened the buttons on his undone shirt.
“You know, the ones we caught three or four days ago. Their names were Noe and Giselle, right? Laurent just contacted me to say the interrogation had finished. If it’s hard for you to move, I can go alone, so don’t feel pressured.”
“Of course I’m going. It concerns me, so I can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
After speaking, Blanc rose on his trembling legs.
Pleased with the answer, Fulcare nodded and summoned a black portal leading to the goddess’s subspace.
“Then let’s go see how well Laurent conducted his investigation, Your Highness.”