Free Port City, Part Two
The ship would arrive in six days.
Since my goal was to travel without any fixed destination, I was in no particular hurry. I could wait at my leisure. Besides, there might still be things I needed to take care of here in Free Port City. For the time being, I planned to finish the remaining loose ends.
The first thing any traveler of this world had to settle was their identity. Methods of proving who you were were limited here. What would you need to establish your identity in another country? Back on Earth, a passport issued by your own nation would have been enough. In this world, though, something like a passport was an item only nobles and royalty carried around.
I had abandoned my knighthood and every noble title that came with it. There was no way I still had a passport. So before heading to the Western Continent, the first order of business was to visit the Adventurers’ Guild and renew my adventurer status. I had registered with the guild long ago, but four years on the battlefield without a single visit had let the registration expire.
“And I need to restock food… pick up a decent weapon too…”
“A weapon…?”
“When I left the knight order, I left my sword behind as well.”
I gently ruffled the hair of Helena, who was tilting her head in confusion. The blade I had used was standard issue from the order, so I had been required to leave it. Right now I had nothing serviceable. Truth be told, the sword wasn’t my main weapon, but having a cheap one on hand still felt better than going empty-handed.
“There’s plenty in the warehouse.”
“Warehouse?”
Helena, enjoying my hand like a contented cat, pointed at the large building directly across from the bench where we sat. I had wondered what something like that was doing in the city hall gardens—turns out it was a warehouse.
“Ah, no, I couldn’t possibly…”
“It’s fine. I’ll go ask Father for permission.”
“Huh? No, really, it’s okay…”
Helena announced she would be right back and trotted off into city hall. She moved so quickly that my attempt to catch her hand failed completely. They were already treating me like a state guest and letting me live in complete comfort; accepting a sword from the warehouse on top of that felt like too much for my conscience…
Then again, a single sword wasn’t that expensive when you thought about it. I was the one who had saved her life. Handing over one blade from a warehouse full of them was probably nothing.
Helena reappeared far sooner than expected. After only about five minutes she came scampering back toward me. One thing had changed: she now carried a heavy ring of keys she hadn’t had before.
“Lady Esilly! Father gave his permission!”
“What did he say?”
“He lamented that the kingdom had fallen so low they would even take a hero’s sword… and then said I could take any blade I wanted.”
The kingdom hadn’t actually confiscated my sword, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either. No need to correct the misunderstanding. If anyone wanted to clear it up, that was their problem.
“Then I won’t refuse. I’ll take just one.”
“Let’s go right away.”
Helena grabbed my hand and tugged, urging me forward. A soft laugh escaped me. She looked happier and more excited about this than I did. What on earth was so delightful about it?
“All right, all right—let’s take it slow. We’ve got plenty of time, don’t we?”
Six whole days remained. If we ran short, we could always catch the ship after next.
The swords stored in the warehouse were in surprisingly good condition. Every one of them was well-maintained enough to use immediately, and their plain, practical designs made them easy to carry. Still, they were old. The wrapping cords on the hilts had begun to fray and rot in places.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll fetch the city hall’s exclusive blacksmith…”
This time I managed to catch Helena’s hand properly before she could dash off again. She would have run straight to her father the mayor and demanded he summon the blacksmith. That was going too far. The sword itself was fine; only the anti-slip cord on the hilt had worn out. There was no need to bother a blacksmith for something so minor.
“I told you it’s fine. I’ll handle this myself.”
“But…”
Helena clearly wanted to do something for me, and my refusal only made her look apologetic. I understood the impulse, but simply accepting everything without a second thought wasn’t in my nature either.
“It’s really all right. We can’t go dragging busy people around for something this small. Besides, I was planning to stop by the market anyway.”
In this world, ships generally did not provide meals. Their main business was cargo; passengers were more of an afterthought. Private cabins existed if you paid a fortune, but with the money I had on hand I would be stuck in a shared hold. Stocking up on food before boarding was essential. The voyage to the Western Continent took about a week, so I needed provisions and water… and the sword still needed that minor repair…
Ah, right. I had almost forgotten something important.
“Helena, do I need to reserve a spot on the ship in advance?”
“Reservations are mandatory. If you show up on the day, you usually can’t get a ticket.”
Good grief. I had nearly missed the boat entirely.
“Then I need to book the ship too. Why does it feel like there’s so much to do?”
“I’ll take care of the reservation for you.”
“Would you? But don’t you have to go to the harbor in person? Is a young lady like you allowed to just wander off?”
After the recent incident, I half-expected her to be under house arrest. If I had a daughter like Helena, I would have grounded her on the spot.
“Our family can reserve by quick letter.”
“Wow. The mayor’s household really is on another level.”
That settled the ticket problem. Next I needed to head to the market, get the sword fixed, and stock up on food. I started to rise from the bench, and Helena immediately offered her hand.
“Up we go—thanks.”
Holding her hand like this brought back the moment I had pulled her from the carriage. And with it, the fleeting, accidental kiss that had followed.
“It’s nothing. More importantly, if you’re going out, take me with you.”
“Is that all right?”
“There are guards inside the city… and more than anything, being next to you is the safest place in the world, isn’t it?”
“Ahem… well, that’s true enough.”
Where in this world could be safer than right beside me?
Helena and I stepped outside and wandered here and there. The knowledge that her bodyguards were watching from the shadows was a little bothersome, but that was their job; I had no business interfering. I decided to ignore them as best I could and focused on the first task: food.
This place doubled as a trade hub, so I had heard that the finest delicacies from across the world gathered here. The finest delicacies… After four years of nothing but combat rations, those words alone made my mouth water. And now that we were walking through the market, the aromas of cooking food drifted from every direction. Anyone who could resist that deserved to be called a Buddha.
Growl…
Even after becoming a woman, my body still reacted on its own when hunger met delicious smells.
“Shall we eat first? You look starving, Lady Esilly.”
“I’ve been living on combat rations until today.”
After nothing but hard, dry field rations, the scents of a market like this became almost unbearable. How was I supposed to stay sane standing in the middle of it?
“Since when?”
“Well… I started eating them even before I entered the battlefield, so about five years?”
“Ugh… five whole years…”
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Two days is fine. But five years…”
Helena’s eyes scrunched up as if they had turned into X’s. On the way here, both Hella and Helena had eaten the same combat rations I had. Maybe I was the only one who hadn’t minded. They were a little dry, sure, but they had a nice savory flavor.
That thought didn’t last long. The moment we found a restaurant and I took my first bite, I saw a whole new world.
Beef so rich the fat burst like oil wells. Grilled fish that conjured the illusion of a midsummer beach barbecue. And king crab steamed in fierce heat until it was both sweet and salty. Every combat ration I had ever forced down suddenly looked like garbage.
“Lady Esilly, are you all right?”
“Uh… yeah… Do people in Free Port City normally eat like this?”
“This place is a bit high-end, but it’s not unreasonably expensive. You won’t get this exact quality every day, but something close.”
What had my entire life in this world even been? The times I had considered frying combat rations in oil or soaking them in water with a pinch of salt and sugar as a special treat… I had been living worse than a beggar.
Come to think of it, even before joining the knight order and heading to war I had rarely eaten anything decent. Meat boiled in plain water, fried eggs, hard bread… Where exactly had everything gone wrong?
After that I ate so voraciously I couldn’t tell whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose. Whenever a plate emptied, it was refilled so quickly I wondered if I was dreaming—until I realized the staff kept bringing more.
“For a second I thought I’d died on the battlefield and gone to heaven…”
“Until you leave for the Western Continent, I’ll take you somewhere delicious every day. Check, please.”
“It’s fine… I’ll pay.”
“I’m not the sort of shameless woman who makes her life’s savior foot the bill.”
Helena beamed. Something warm and tight squeezed in my chest; I almost teared up.
The employee who had been ferrying plates over approached our table. Helena already had her purse out, but when she saw what the man was holding she tilted her head.
“Hm? Where’s the receipt?”
“Young miss… is the lady beside you by any chance the kingdom’s hero, Lady Esilly?”
“Yes. The owner knows as well, I take it?”
Wait… this wasn’t an employee. This was the owner of the restaurant. Did that mean the owner himself had been serving us this whole time?
While I was still processing that, the man slowly approached me. I cocked my head in silent question—and he suddenly bowed deeply toward me.
“W-why are you suddenly doing that?!”
“My mother told me. When the Auschid region became a battlefield, you saved both my father and mother.”
“Ah… I think I remember something like that…”
Auschid had been a sparsely populated rural area. This world was aging too; most young people had already left for the cities, leaving only the elderly behind. Because it sat right on the border, clashes with the empire were frequent. The latest war had started when the soldiers stationed there finally collided. Naturally the whole region turned into a war zone—soldiers fighting soldiers, lawless as anything. Even so, civilians still needed to be evacuated.
I remembered two elderly people who had been left off the list the soldiers distributed. They never made it out. So I had pushed through the battlefield myself and brought the pair back. It had been one of the more memorable incidents of that time.
“Thank you so much. Because of you, my mother and father evacuated safely and are living comfortably at home now.”
“Ahaha… It’s been a long time since anyone thanked me like this… It’s a little embarrassing.”
Embarrassing, yet happy. Not knowing what else to do, I just scratched my head for a long while.
“I’ll cover the entire cost of today’s meal.”
“I-it’s really fine…”
“No. This is my wish. Please allow me. I won’t accept payment today.”
Well… if that was how it was, I had no choice. Insisting on paying now would only insult the owner…