Chapter 96

Before heading out to work, I placed the 150 Marques I intended to pay Bianca on the table. I also wrote a note, though I wasn’t entirely sure if she could read it. The literacy rate in Saxens is quite low. The simple note read, “Thank you for your hard work. The pay is on the table, please take it. Please eat the cookies during your break.”

We had already discussed the arrangement of leaving the money on the table, so that wasn’t an issue, but there was a chance the cookies I’d left to the side might be ignored if she couldn’t read the letter. Trying to draw pictures to explain it seemed impossible for me, and I didn’t have the time anyway. I had overslept a little today. With a feeling of frustration, I slipped into my uniform and left the apartment, praying that she would be able to grasp the contents of the note.

When I finished my day’s work and returned to my apartment, I instinctively jumped back out into the hallway. I thought I’d accidentally walked into the wrong person’s room. That was how brilliantly polished the interior was. The floor stones had been carefully mopped, and there wasn’t a single speck of dust on the windows or the table. My laundry was neatly folded and tucked away in its proper place. I felt relieved to see the money and cookies were gone from the table; it seemed she had understood my intentions perfectly.

However, upon closer inspection, I found a reply written in a graceful hand next to my note.

–Thank you for your kindness. I am sure there are things I have left lacking, but I look forward to working with you from now on. Please forgive me for using the pen on the table without permission to write this reply. It is a curious sort of pen. –Bianca

There was nothing lacking anywhere. 150 Marques might even be too cheap. So Bianca could read and write. It seemed like there might be other places where she could be more active, but perhaps that was difficult. She looked physically frail, and since she didn’t seem to have any kin in Dresden, it might be that she couldn’t find steady employment. She was 31, a year older than me. I should ask Yoshioka to check on her health. If I offered him five “shoulder massage tickets” in return, I’m sure he’d be happy to do it. After all, it wasn’t just a regular massage, but one using my “God Fingers.” My “God Fingers” can produce the same effects as recovery magic, but it’s a hassle because I have to touch the skin directly.

From that day on, a modest form of communication began between us: I would leave a note, and Bianca would write a reply. Returning to an empty apartment is a lonely thing, so those few lines of notes became a little highlight of my day. The contents weren’t anything grand.

–The cold has returned. Please take care of your health. If you pour hot water into the cup on the table, you can make a drink called honey ginger lemon. It will warm your body, so please drink it during your break. P.S. The powder won’t dissolve if you don’t stir it well. Please use a spoon to mix it thoroughly before drinking. –Hinoharu

–Thank you very much. I enjoyed the honey ginger lemon. My hometown, Veneria, is a place where lemons are grown, you see. It felt like I caught the scent of home for the first time in ages. It pains my heart that I cannot offer enough in return for such kindness. At the very least, I will pray to the guardian angel for the health of Sir Hinoharu and your companions. Please take good care of yourself, Sir Hinoharu. –Bianca

It was nothing more than an exchange like that, but it was much more heart-warming than just leaving money on the table. Before I knew it, I found myself thinking, “What should I get for Bianca’s snack tomorrow?”

My turn for the night patrol came around for the first time in a while. The “Condemnation Bandits” that had been causing a stir in the city lately hadn’t been seen recently. Were they scouting for a new target, or were they already in the preparation phase? Well, they only operate within the city walls, so basically, we rarely have to deal with them. That would be a different story if we received a request for cooperation from the Royal Guard like last time.

Tonight, as usual, we were patrolling the South District outside the city walls. Our duties included mediating drunken brawls, cracking down on streetwalkers, and preventing fires and thefts.

“I’m sorry, Sir Hinoharu. Pwease do your best to pwerform the duties of the squad leader in my stead.”

“It’s alright, Sergeant Major Emma. Please rest well and recover from your cold.”

“Yes, I will.”

Emma had caught the current cold going around. I wish Yoshioka were here, but he was still staying at the Hotel Berilin. A congested Emma trudged dejectedly back to her room. Tonight, I was taking over for the Third Squad, which Emma was supposed to lead. The squad members seemed relieved—probably because Emma was usually just too serious. I didn’t intend to slack off, but I also had no intention of going beyond my patrol route to check on things.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

With a less-than-enthusiastic call, we set off. There are all sorts of people in the city at night. Our job started with questioning people with suspicious appearances and continued with mediating drunken fights. In most cases, even if they were fighting, they would listen once the soldiers stepped in. That’s because if they didn’t listen, they’d be thrown in jail and fined. Spending a night in the guard jail costs as much as a luxury hotel. A 3,000-Marque fine is probably tough for an average laborer. Even so, there’s always a certain number of people who get so hot-headed that they start rampaging. Since the trouble ends up spilling over onto us, the soldiers don’t show any mercy to these types. They’ll just beat them into submission as a group and arrest them. What does the man in the cell think about when he sobers up? All that’s left for him is the acetaldehyde in his system, a 3,000-Marque fine, and countless bruises and wounds from when he was restrained.

The most troublesome people for the soldiers are those who get dead drunk and fall asleep by the side of the road. Even though it was the Month of the Windy Moon (March), it was still cold outside. If you were unlucky, you could easily freeze to death.

Since we couldn’t just leave them, we’d toss these types into the cells as well. The “room and board” fee, as usual, was 3,000 Marques. Waking up to find yourself in a cell with a 3,000-Marque fine is pathetic, but it’s still better than freezing to death. Besides, carrying drunks is a huge burden on the soldiers. When they’ve vomited or leaked their own waste, you really, truly don’t want to carry them. I’m certain if it were the middle of the Month of the Windy Moon (April), I’d just leave them where they lie.

The third squad split up to cover our assigned routes and began our patrol.

“Squad Leader, another drunk.”

One of the groups dragged a middle-aged man over. He had clearly been drinking heavily; his footing was unsteady, and he was being dragged along, letting the soldiers support him by his arms.

“We found him sleeping in an alley over there. Hey, wake up!”

A soldier slapped the man’s face roughly.

“Wake up… I’m waking up, I tell you…”

He was just mouthing the words; he had no intention of actually waking up. I knelt down and called out to him.

“If you stay like this, you’re going to be fined. Try your best to get home.”

“…Yeah.”

He wasn’t completely unconscious. I gave him some water to drink to help him wake up.

“Is your house nearby? If it is, answer me and we’ll take you there.”

If it was close, it would be much easier than dragging him all the way to the cell. Even if we took the 3,000-Marque fine, it wouldn’t make the soldiers a single Marque richer. It was far better to just take them home. Fortunately, it turned out the drunk’s home was just a few blocks away, so we all lifted him up and brought him there. We threw the drunk onto his bed and caught our breath. One of the soldiers spoke to me with a wry smile.

“I’m glad it was Corporal Hinoharu tonight. If it had been Sergeant Major Emma, we would have definitely ended up dragging him all the way to the guard post’s cell.”

“She’s just serious, that’s all. She’s not a bad person, but she doesn’t think much about the financial situation of commoners.”

Because of fines like these, there were times when day laborers or craftsmen would fall into destitution and become homeless. Looking around the cramped room, it wasn’t hard to see that he had almost no household assets to speak of. He was likely living hand-to-mouth.

When we returned to the main street, the squad that had gone to a different area was already back. It looked like they had caught three streetwalkers. Since our patrol for the night was essentially over, maybe they had purposely waited until the end to crack down on them. Prostitution on the streets of Dresden was prohibited. If you broke the law, you were fined 2,000 Marques. Even so, these things never went away. Their path to making a living was blocked, after all.

It wasn’t just professionals selling their bodies on street corners. Housewives whose debts had spiraled out of control, women trying to stave off hunger for the day, daughters trying to buy medicine for sick family members—the reasons and the ages of those involved varied wildly. These people already had no money, so there was no way they could afford a fine. The prostitutes would try to gain their release by serving the soldiers, and the soldiers often caught them not to enforce the law, but to satisfy their own desires.

“Please, just don’t take me to the cell. I’ll make you feel good,” a voice from a veteran prostitute pleaded.

It was an unwritten rule among the soldiers that the squad that caught them decided whether to take the women to the cells or ignore the offense in exchange for favors. If Emma or Lady Clara were here, that naturally wouldn’t happen. Emma would drag every single one of them to the guard post without exception, while Lady Clara would just give them a stern warning and send them home on the spot.

“Hinoharu, is it alright?”

A colleague—a corporal with a lecherous look in his eyes—asked for my permission. Tonight, I was in command of the third squad in place of Emma. This was a difficult situation. If you’re going to do what you’re going to do, I think you should at least pay the proper price.

“Look, if you’re going to bed them, pay them properly—”

As I spoke, I caught a glimpse of the woman’s profile; she had been keeping her face turned away from me the whole time. With my “Night Vision” skill, I couldn’t help but recognize her face clearly. A body that looked like it would snap, pale skin… it was someone I knew.

Bianca.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, as if a small thorn had been driven into it. Bianca kept her head bowed, refusing to look my way.