Episode 133

Was there a checkpoint like that…? From what I remembered from when I visited long ago, there was nothing like that at Grace Bay. It was a very quiet, remote place with no people around.

I had the hellsteed walk slowly as I approached the checkpoint. As we got closer, a few people came out from inside and blocked the road.

They were all dressed lightly in thin linen short-sleeve shirts, but each had a long sword strapped to their waist.

Grace Bay, strictly speaking, is part of the direct territory. Although the Keikos Marquisate is nearby, it narrowly avoids the beach.

I wondered if they were Guards, but they had no insignia, so I couldn’t tell their affiliation. However, if they were Guards, they wouldn’t be dressed so poorly during duty, even if it was hot.

If they’re armed but not Guards, who are they then?

“Stop. Stop.”

They spoke in a slow, annoyed tone, raising their hands to stop us. Seleiza, who was riding behind me, grabbed my side tightly and whispered nervously.

“What’s going on…? With their clothes, they look like bandits…”

“I’ve never seen bandits set up a checkpoint and charge people. Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

When they saw the hellsteed, they seemed somewhat intimidated. After exchanging glances, one of them, looking like the leader, gathered the courage to approach us.

“Are you taking this road to Grace Bay?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then why aren’t you using the main road and instead entered through this route?”

“Main road? I just came the same way I did last time. I’ve never heard of a main road.”

The man paused, thinking for a moment, then shrugged.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you came this way. Hmm. Let me see.”

The man looked over the other jellsteeds lined up behind us, counting the number of people. Then, he folded his fingers, did some calculations, and extended his hand.

“Thirty silver coins.”

I stared at the palm he held out to me, wondering what kind of nonsense this was, and asked again.

“What do you mean?”

“Beach entrance fee. Three silver coins per person, and three silver coins per horse. A total of thirty silver coins.”

“What?!”

I had never heard of a beach entrance fee before. I was sure we could just enter before, but did this rule come up in the meantime? Are they really charging citizens an entrance fee in a direct territory…?

It’s not that it’s wrong or unreasonable. If the direct territory designated the beach as a tourist spot and decided to manage it, charging an entrance fee would be natural.

But seeing these sloppy soldiers, I strongly felt like this wasn’t the normal situation I had in mind.

“Excuse me, are you Guards? I remember there was no entrance fee when I came here before.”

“Guards? No, we’re soldiers from the Keikos Marquisate.”

“Soldiers? Isn’t Grace Bay part of the direct territory? Why are soldiers from a fief collecting entrance fees here?”

The man frowned, irritated.

“I don’t know about that. We’re just doing what we’re told. We’ve been doing the same thing here for a year, and no one’s had a problem with it. So if you have an issue, go back.”

“Go back? Are you saying it’s normal for a lord’s soldiers to steal money illegally in a direct territory?”

“Illegal or not, we don’t know about it!”

As the senior soldier raised his voice, Seleiza couldn’t hold back and leaned forward, shouting loudly.

“Then what do you know?!”

“If you don’t pay, you can’t enter. And if you try to force your way in, we’ll teach you a lesson!”

As the man grew angry, the others behind him placed their hands on their sword hilts, creating a threatening atmosphere. It seemed like they were trying to intimidate us into handing over money. No way, I wasn’t going to give in to these bastards…

“Here. Thirty silver coins.”

As I was about to jump off the hellsteed to teach those shameless highwaymen a lesson, François, who had moved ahead, suddenly handed them a purse of coins.

The soldiers were surprised by the sudden appearance of the graceful, slender beauty, and the senior soldier, taken aback, accepted the purse of coins François handed him.

“Count it. It’s thirty silver coins.”

Even though he was spoken to in a rude manner, the senior soldier was too busy staring at François with a stupid grin on his face, as if expecting to be treated with disrespect.

“Count it.”

“Ah… Yes.”

When François spoke again, the senior soldier finally came to his senses and opened the purse to count the silver coins inside. After confirming the amount, he tightened the purse and stepped aside.

“Move along.”

The soldier tried to say something to François, but she shook her head, preventing him from speaking. Then, she smiled at the soldiers before turning and walking back.

I glared at the soldiers as I moved the hellsteed forward. The soldiers, either ignoring my glare or paying no attention, just snickered while opening the purse.

Those bastards… The entrance fee isn’t really thirty silver coins. I’m sure some of it is going into their own pockets. If it weren’t for François, I’d just toss those bastards to the ground.

“Bertrand, what’s going on? Why are a noble’s soldiers doing such things in a direct territory?”

“I’m not sure…”

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind. Could it be that the Marquis of Keikos has gone mad and taken over land that belongs to the direct territory…?

Shaking off the discomfort, we passed through the narrow path and the exotic palm tree forest, entering Grace Bay.

“Wow…!”

Seleiza exclaimed in awe as the white sandy beach and the horizon suddenly appeared. Similar cheers came from behind us.

The soft, flour-like white sand stretched out under the sunlight. Transparent seawater rushed up, creating sparkling foam, then retreated, making a refreshing sound of waves.

Small crabs, perched on scattered black rocks on the beach, scuttled sideways in panic at the sudden disturbance, burrowing into the sand and disappearing.

The sea near the beach was crystal clear, and the further we went toward the ocean, the water turned a beautiful jade green. Beneath the surface, colorful fish swam freely among the coral reefs, visible to the eye.

A large school of fish, resembling a massive blotch, shifted direction in unison, moving here and there. To catch them, seagulls flaunted their glistening feathers as they circled in the sky.

On the perfectly straight horizon, large ships with white sails slowly drifted from the west toward the east. Above them, giant cumulonimbus clouds rose like cotton, towering into the sky.

It was still as breathtakingly beautiful as it had been then, a sight that could make your eyes ache from its beauty.

“Bertrand, I never knew the sea could be so beautiful until today…”

Seleiza wrapped her arms around my waist, murmuring in a dazed voice. It seemed like this was her first time seeing the sea as well.

Even nobles rarely leave the area they live in. Commoners, on the other hand, rarely venture out at all. There are many people who live and die without ever knowing what the world outside their village looks like.

In such times, I was truly fortunate. Chosen by the Goddess, I rose to become a hero and traveled across the world, seeing everything.

On the beach, there were people other than us. However, they were far away from where we had entered, so we didn’t feel like we would be disturbed.

Especially where we were, the area was surrounded by dense palm trees and jagged black rocks, blocking the view on both sides and offering just the right amount of seclusion.

We slowly made our way onto the beach. The hellsteed left no footprints as it stepped lightly on the sand and moved forward.

The sandy beach curved gently like a bow toward the land, with dense palm trees lining its edge, offering shade no matter where you went.

I found a suitable spot between the palm trees, where the area was just the right size to set up the tents. It was close to the sea as well.

The southern kingdom’s beaches have only a small difference between high and low tides, so it wouldn’t be a big problem to set up tents near the water.

Especially when facing the sea, large black rocks lined up like a wall on the left side of the beach, blocking the view and creating a cozy feeling.

“Everyone, get off. Let’s set up camp here.”

But, only François, Pelée, and Seleiza listened to me and began unloading their belongings from the hellsteeds. The others and a hunting dog were already running toward the sea, shouting excitedly.

“Hehe… Let’s go together…”

Della and Marim had already jumped into the sea, and Idi, her chest bouncing, chased after them.

“Hey! Unload the stuff first, then you can play!”

I shouted at them, but it seemed like they didn’t hear me at all. It made sense though, as the three of them were already waist-deep in the water, splashing around in the waves.

Kali, getting drenched in the water with the staff, was barking wildly, excited and running around in all directions. I had never seen the dog react so fiercely. It seemed like Kali was just as excited.

“Leave them, Bertrand. We’re enough on our own.”

François, holding a bag with food supplies, smiled kindly. Pelée unpacked small items without showing much expression, while Seleiza was still struggling to get off the hellsteed with the Asenarisi’s box in her arms.

I helped Seleiza down by holding her waist, and the saintess blushed, pressing close to me. I gently pushed her away and asked François.

“By the way, why did you suddenly pay them earlier? Those guys are clearly operating illegally…”

“It’s fine. We came all this way to enjoy ourselves, so we can’t let something so trivial ruin the mood. Right, Saintess?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

With the children who had already gone into the sea aside, the rest of us set up the campsite.

I started by setting up four two-person tents around the open space. It was a simple design: two support poles at the front and back, a triangular roof, and the corners pegged to the ground. I finished it quickly on my own.

Seleiza followed behind me, laying out mats and sleeping bags inside the tents.

Pelée arranged firewood and cooking tools in the center of the campsite and placed the Asenarisi’s box between the watermelons.

François set up a hammock between the palm trees, and, being tall with long arms, she handled it easily on her own.

“This would be better placed on the sand.”

I stepped out of the shade of the palm trees, holding two large umbrellas like sails, and saw the staff members and Kali, soaked to the bone, dripping water as they came out of the sea.

“Hehe… that felt so good…” “Huh? Idi, your nipples are showing.”
“Oh no! Cover up quickly, Idi!”

As I was setting up the umbrellas, someone tapped me on the back. I turned, thinking it might be one of the staff, but I was met with the gaze of a man I didn’t recognize, staring blankly at me.

“Who are you?”

“And who are you?”