Chapter 23

Fiene woke up, startled for a moment by the unfamiliar ceiling.

The thin green fabric belonged to the ceiling of Kota Hinoharu’s tent.

She remembered sleeping in this simple shelter last night alongside her employer, Clara, and the attendants, Kota and Akito. Initially, she had been nervous about sharing a tent with a noble, but the four of them had gradually opened up to one another over the cocoa Akito made and the games and snacks Kota provided.

Uno and Jenga… that was so much fun.

Fiene reminisced about the previous night. It was the first time she had ever tasted things like biscuits or marshmallows. Eating sweet treats she likely wouldn’t have encountered in a lifetime back in Kattenstrokt—and getting so swept up in games that she stayed awake until midnight—were all “firsts” for her.

Fiene had never once considered a hunter’s life to be a hardship. On the contrary, she took pride in her work, and the psychological tug-of-war with wild animals often made her heart race with excitement. Her younger brother would soon reach adulthood. She had vaguely assumed that once that happened, she would marry one of her fellow hunters and spend her life earning a living through farming and hunting.

She didn’t have a specific lover yet, but most people married by the age of eighteen. So, she figured someone would eventually propose to her. If not, her parents would surely find a match for her. After all, isn’t that just how life goes?

That was Fiene’s outlook—or rather, the outlook of most young women living in Kattenstrokt.

However, the group she had met just yesterday—Clara and the others—had shown Fiene a whole new world. Monster battles using magic, delicious food, entertainment, the nobility, the town’s garrisoned soldiers, and so on. These were all things an ordinary resident of Kattenstrokt would usually have no connection to.

Most villagers lived and died without ever really leaving their village. Even if they did travel, it was at most to the neighboring village or the one beyond that. Anyone who had been to the Royal Capital, Dresden, became an object of respect for that reason alone. Fiene’s father occasionally traveled to the city of Bremen for business, which earned him a degree of prestige in the village. Fiene had always been proud of her father for going to Bremen to wholesale animal pelts.

But last night, Fiene had been invited by Clara’s attendants. They wanted her to come with them to the Royal Capital.

The Royal Capital! To think that I, of all people, would go to Dresden!

She thought she had understood what a person’s life was supposed to be, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Life is full of things you never see coming!

It had been explained to her that joining military service meant facing danger. There might even be bandit attacks on the way to the capital. Even so, Fiene wanted to see the world she didn’t know. The glimpse she’d caught of that unknown world yesterday was just that alluring.

I’ll definitely persuade my parents once I’m back in Kattenstrokt.

Fiene hadn’t given Clara her answer yet, but her mind was already made up.

The following morning, Clara and the others bid farewell to Mercedes and her unit—who would remain stationed there until reinforcements arrived—and set off once more toward the Royal Capital. Mercedes’s entire group turned out to see Clara’s party off. Without them, this mission wouldn’t have gone nearly as smoothly. Each of them watched Clara’s departure with a sense of gratitude.

“What a shame. If only I’d managed to hook up with Akito or Kota, my life would’ve been set.”

“Tell me about it. I guess it was just a fleeting dream.”

Mercedes and Petra stood a short distance away, listening to the young soldiers’ conversation.

“Was that really for the best?”

Petra feigned ignorance at Mercedes’s question.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“About Akito, of course. You were the one who turned him down, weren’t you?”

“I don’t have any interest in little boys.”

“You idiot. Akito seems like the sincere type. If you’d been the one to push, a marriage proposal might’ve actually happened quite easily, don’t you think? You could’ve officially become a noble’s lady.”

“Give me a break. That’s just not my style.”

Watching Petra laugh boisterously, Mercedes gave a lonely smile.

“You really are a clumsy woman. Did you actually fall for Akito?”

“It wasn’t anything like that. That boy is just…”

“So you did fall for him.”

“This conversation is over! I have my own dreams, you know. Marriage is the last thing on my mind!”

“Dreams?”

“Yes. I’m going to climb the ranks from a commoner and make it to Company Commander.”

“A dream, huh… well, if it’s you, I think that’s actually possible.”

“You think so? Then you’d better get promoted quickly, Captain, so you can pull me up with you.”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure of it. I don’t plan on ever getting married again, either. I might as well make career advancement my life’s goal.”

Mercedes found herself thinking of her late husband, who had fallen on the battlefield. His martial skills as a knight had been inferior to her own, but he was a man who was fair to everyone and cherished his family. Once, she had considered it only natural that she would have children with him, raise them, and see their house prosper.

But her husband had passed away before she could even conceive. Her goals in life had vanished into thin air. Because she didn’t know what else to do, Mercedes threw herself into her duties as a knight.

Watching Clara’s receding figure, Mercedes thought to herself.

Don’t end up like me, little cousin.

The four figures, now the size of grains of rice, grew more distant until they finally vanished into the forest.

We returned to Kattenstrokt after two days away. I wondered if Blitz and my bike were safe.

“They didn’t, like, take my bike apart, did they? I’m seriously worried.”

“What’s a ‘bike’?”

Fiene hadn’t seen it yet.

“It’s a two-wheeled vehicle.”

“Oh! People in the village have been gossiping about it. Everyone was calling it a magic tool or a horse-shaped golem.”

I guess it’s more like… a magic tool?

“The power source isn’t mana, though; it’s gasoline.”

“Gasoline?”

“It’s like burning water, but…”

When I said that, Clara-sama looked like she understood.

“I have heard of such a thing. They say it can be found in the southern province of Balden. I heard it is called ‘stinking water’¹ and is used for lamps.”

Wasn’t stinking water(kusozu) an old name for crude oil? Apparently, in Japan, crude oil had been harvested in the Echigo region since ancient times. According to Yoshioka, there are records of it being presented to Emperor Tenji, and even of lanterns being made and sold during the Edo period.

If I could get mining rights in this world, I could probably make a fortune. However, the road to success—refining technology, sales channels, oil field maintenance, securing personnel—was just too long. I don’t necessarily want to be the richest person in the world. I just want to make a bit of money the easy way.

Looking at Yoshioka, he didn’t seem particularly interested either.

When we went to the stables to pick them up, Blitz let out a small whinny to show his joy. Then, acting a bit sulky, he snorted and rubbed his face against us. This horse is proud and won’t let anyone but Clara-sama ride him, but he’s actually quite a pampered sweetheart, which is cute.

My bike started up with a single press of the ignition button. It seemed the priest had looked after it well. Or so I thought, but it turned out everyone was actually too scared to even lay a finger on it. As long as no one messed with it, I didn’t care.

Last night, Clara-sama had invited Fiene to be an attendant. Yoshioka and I were all for it. Fiene is observant, smart, and has a great personality. She looks younger than her age, but she’s a very reliable adult on the inside. Her body, tempered by hunting, would surely serve her well as an attendant.

All that was left was to persuade her parents, but they were actually overjoyed that Fiene was becoming an attendant. Apparently, becoming the attendant of a landed noble is considered a great success. While there was a labor shortage in Ebba-berg, this area—being under the direct control of the Royal Family—seemed surprisingly populated.

With this, we finally had the required number of attendants, which had been a lingering concern. We were to be incorporated into the Royal Capital City Guard as Lady Clara’s direct subordinates. Essentially, it sounds like we’ll be acting as police officers.

I wonder if Yoshioka and I can really handle cracking down on crime? Despite a few lingering doubts, I found myself happily daydreaming about life in the Royal Capital.