Chapter 77

Roran was called a province, but that was only a matter of the order in which it had been incorporated into the empire, and it seemed to have originally been an old, large city that had developed in this region.

There were many stone buildings, all of them old-fashioned, somehow reminiscent of an old Middle Eastern city.

Stray cats lounged on stone steps, and buildings that had been expanded again and again stood as if looming over the narrow alleys.

Of the people coming and going, it felt like eighty percent were humans and twenty percent were beastfolk, and almost all the beastfolk wore handcuffs.

However, it did not feel as gruesome as the harbor, and the handcuffs seemed more like something meant to show their slave status.

Human children clung to a beastfolk sitting by the road and plucking chicken feathers, while babies were carried on the backs of beastfolk hanging laundry in the alleys. There were actually quite a few sights that could not be seen in Jirenu Territory.

My previous world had probably been like that a generation ago too, but here, various things were rough and extreme.

Peaceful scenes and grim scenes coexisted in a mosaic pattern.

After leaving the Iron and Tide Inn, Kururu had been tense for a while, walking exactly like a cat sneaking along, but she had relaxed her guard somewhat.

“What a strange town.”

In an alley behind a dining hall, beside a beastfolk carrying several bundles of vegetables, human boys were peeling garlic and washing vegetables.

Looking only at this, the beastfolk were actually more integrated into town life than they were in Jirenu Territory.

“Kururu-san, have you and the others not seen many towns outside Jirenu Territory?”

When I asked, Kururu turned her gaze toward me and shrugged.

“Even in Jirenu Territory as it is now, it was only recently that we became able to go into town casually.”

“…”

For them, the past was not a very pleasant subject.

When I was at a loss for words, Kururu smiled awkwardly.

“It’s thanks to you and Kengo. I’m grateful.”

Instead, she ended up patting my arm as if encouraging me.

“Well, besides, I really wasn’t in town much. What I remember is mostly things like being in the forest, or a mansion standing alone in the middle of a grassland.”

Kururu’s eyes grew somewhat distant as she tried to recall the scenes she had seen within her dark memories.

“When I was moved around by carriage, my memories are vague. All I remember is holding Lady Iiria’s hand inside a cramped carriage. Also…”

“?”

When I looked at Kururu, who had trailed off, she gave a laugh to herself, looking embarrassed and exasperated.

“I was afraid of a long stick. A long stick that struck the floor with a thumping sound.”

“That was…”

Was it a stick used to beat the two troublesome children?

As I held my breath, Kururu finally shook her shoulders and laughed.

“It was nothing like that. It was the cane used by an old manservant. When I spoke about old memories with Lady Iiria, apparently he was actually rather kind. I apparently adored him too, but… I don’t remember it at all.”

It was not exactly like seeing a ghost’s true form as withered silver grass, but certainly, such things might happen.

“For me, I was terribly afraid of the black leather gloves my grandfather often wore.”

“Oh?”

“Even when I think back on it now, I have absolutely no idea why.”

Kururu raised her chin slightly and loosened her mouth in amusement.

“Likes and dislikes may be something like that.”

Then her slightly narrowed eyes looked at me.

Just as my heart gave a slight jump, Kururu brought her face closer to mine.

“I think Lady Iiria may actually like that Gerario fellow more than expected. What do you think?”

“Mm… huh?”

“She and Kengo are similar and get along well, but Gerario is different. I think Lady Iiria is weak to men who seem bad but are surprisingly good people.”

Despite seeming utterly uninterested in such things, the way she spoke so happily was completely that of a girl her age.

Love talk, huh… Somehow, its radiance made me feel as though I might turn to ash.

“But Gerario is a man of the battlefield. Amid harsh battles, he has repeated countless partings, and now he has become unable to love anyone anymore. That draws Lady Iiria in even more.”

However, as I listened to Kururu’s cheerful words and behavior, I finally understood.

“…Did you read the manuscripts in the mansion?”

To check tax collection and contracts related to the territory, we had turned the lord’s mansion’s storeroom upside down.

In the process, several story manuscripts had turned up, and there had been quite a few so-called romances among them.

Iiria had shown no interest at all, but Kururu seemed to be the one who had gotten hooked.

“W-What? It’s not like there’s anything wrong with that.”

Perhaps she came back to herself because of my reaction, and Kururu turned her face away with her lips pouting.

Seeing Kururu like that, I simply could not stop myself from saying this.

“Actually, before coming to this world, I wrote stories like that too.”

To be precise, they were game scenarios, but they were grand spectacles with love and tears among the characters.

Of course, I could not compare with professionals, but if I were dealing with entertainment in a civilization at about this level, I felt like I could win just by using standardized patterns.

Thinking that, I said it a little confidently, but… after seeing Kururu’s reaction, I regretted it a little.

“Y-You were a minstrel!?”

The phrase “her eyes sparkled” was no metaphor.

Kururu’s eyes glittered as she leaned in eagerly.

She nearly fell over, and I caught her slender body.

“What kind of stories did you write? Can you still write them? If I ask you, will you write one?”

I remembered videos of kittens meowing as they climbed up their owner’s legs while their owner prepared food.

This might be the first time I had seen Kururu so honest and childlike.

“I do remember the general plots, but…”

When she expected that much, it was a little painful.

“I’ll say this just in case, but I wasn’t a minstrel in my previous world. How should I put it… It would be closer to say I was practicing so I could join the ranks of minstrels.”

Even so, Kururu widened her eyes, looked terribly impressed, and then nodded with a knowing look.

“I see… Even though you were a citizen, you couldn’t ride a horse and didn’t look like you could swing a sword either. So that was why.”

She was probably misunderstanding something in a major way, but correcting her seemed likely to make things even more complicated, so I decided to leave it alone.

However, thinking about it, I realized that a civilized society where quite a few people could make games individually, sell them, and live off that alone was an amazing thing.

Or rather, even the luxury of quitting one’s job and focusing on making games for several years would probably be something allowed only to nobles in this world.

“Leaving aside me, let’s get to work for now.”

The eyes Kururu turned toward me held a different kind of respect from when I had driven out Nodon, and they were too dazzling, so I said that as if to dodge the matter. It felt like I was deceiving an innocent girl, and it made me extremely uncomfortable.

And Kururu, too, finally regained her usual tone thanks to those practical words.

“You’re right. However…”

Kururu looked at me.

“You’re far too unimpressive for a minstrel.”

The minstrels one saw in taverns were all handsome men with a shadowy air about them.

In this harsh world, surviving with musical instruments and song as one’s weapons was an extremely hard mode, and in my previous world, they would be the sort of people who were entertainers or popular hosts. Thanks to that, their looks were at an unusually high level.

“I understand that perfectly.”

When I answered that way, Kururu smiled with her teeth showing, looking somehow relieved.