Preparations for Enrollment (1)
Dear Director of the Orphanage,
Hello, Director. This is Emily.
The words you spoke when you gave me your letter of recommendation are still vivid in my mind.
“For a priestess of Ilias, the one who records the world, it is important to experience the wide world.”
Just as you said, the world is truly wondrous. Things I have never read about in books happen every single day.
.
.
.
And so, thanks to Miss Yoanna’s help, I was able to keep my life.
She even let me ride in her carriage and never once discriminated against me because of my status. I am truly grateful.
However—
Rattle!
The carriage lurched as if it had struck a large stone. At the sudden jolt, Emily’s quill dragged a thick, ugly line straight across the letter paper. Fortunately it was still readable, but she couldn’t help making a face.
Just then the window toward the front of the carriage opened and Thomas poked his head in.
“Sorry the ride’s so rough. I’m trying to keep it steady, but it’s not easy.”
“I-It’s fine! I’m only hitching a ride anyway! And Miss Yoanna is sleeping, so please don’t worry too much!”
Emily hastily hid the letter and waved her hands with exaggerated cheer. The only reason she even had the leisure to write was because she was riding for free; she could hardly complain over a little bouncing.
“Heh heh, kind of you to understand. The cargo’s so heavy it’s hard work driving.”
“Hahaha… Y-Yes, of course.”
Knowing there were circumstances, she couldn’t feel any real resentment. When Thomas closed the window again, Emily let out a small sigh and turned to stare at the cargo hold behind them.
“Dwoo… dwootaah…”
“Eye… eye… pee… poop…”
“Ehehe…”
The cargo hold was filled with people she had never seen before, rolling about like so much baggage. Every one of them was out of their minds, muttering nonsense and wriggling across the floor as if they had forgotten how to move their own bodies.
How much trouble it had been to tie them all up and load them…
Miss Yoanna’s suggestion that we just cut off their heads and take those was seriously terrifying.
The way she had casually leveled her sword had been far too frightening. Still, these people were worth keeping alive. Cities paid bounties for capturing worshippers of evil gods. Bringing them in alive even doubled the reward.
According to what I read in books, you can get two gold coins per head of an evil-god cultist!
That meant bringing them in alive could yield as many as forty gold coins. For someone who had grown up poor like Emily, just hearing the number made her head spin.
There was only one thing that bothered her…
But why did these people lose their minds?
She simply could not figure out the reason. People who could barely move their bodies would never have walked all the way out there in the middle of the night. Something must have been done to them nearby. Just what had happened last night—
“Miss Emily, what are you staring at so intently?”
“Eeeek?!”
Yoanna’s soft breath tickled Emily’s ear.
When did she wake up?! More importantly, her breath smells nice! Her face and eyes are way too pretty!!
Regardless of status, Emily felt the sheer gap in their very existence. She scurried into the corner like a startled hamster and flailed her hands.
“Th-That is, I was wondering why those people showed up in that condition!”
“That doesn’t seem like something to get so flustered over.”
Emily tilted her head. It wasn’t a lie, yet she could feel something being hidden in the other girl’s manner.
Just then a crumpled sheet of letter paper peeked out of Emily’s pocket.
“Is that a letter?”
“A l-letter?! Ah— look at that, a letter just happened to be here~”
“For an old letter, the ink is still awfully wet.”
Right. There was no way that was going to work. Emily forced an awkward smile and squeezed her eyes shut. She had thought they were getting a little closer, but her habit of writing down whatever popped into her head was about to drive a wedge between them. Ever since childhood she had been ostracized for observing and cataloguing everything around her. Knowing someone’s habits and preferences when you weren’t even close was bound to feel creepy.
Emily dropped to her knees on the carriage floor, sniffling, and pulled out the letter.
“I-I absolutely didn’t hide it with any bad intention, so please forgive me.”
“…I wasn’t asking in order to scold you.”
Still, she was curious why the letter had been hidden. Would it hurt to take one look? Yoanna reached out, curiosity piqued—
“Miss! The gate city is coming into view!”
Heaven itself had dropped a lifeline for Emily. Both of them forgot the letter and leaned out the window.
Cliffs that looked as if they had been carved solely to hold a gate, and a colossal wall sealing every gap without a single crack. The gate city of Teodor revealed its full majesty as it welcomed them.
The moment they arrived in the city, Yoanna headed straight for the guard station. She needed to sell—no, hand over—the useless cargo that filled the carriage.
The captain of the guard eyed the ten figures bound in rope and looked at Yoanna with open skepticism.
“These fellows are…?”
“Worshippers of an evil god who call themselves Guinhwe.”
“Hmm. Wait a moment.”
The captain had a subordinate check the wanted lists. Churches often posted bounties on evil-god cultists. After examining the wanted poster his man handed him, the captain scratched his head.
“Confirmed—they’re a group the Church has declared illegal. Their faces match the montages closely enough. But…”
“Is there a problem?”
“Just what in the world did you do to them to turn them into complete idiots?”
“Dwoo…?”
The captain pointed at Joseph with a look of pure distaste. The man drooling and nodding his head looked nothing like a vicious criminal, no matter how you squinted.
Still, the captain of a major city’s guard was no ordinary man. After a brief moment of thought he pressed his fingers hard against his forehead and waved a hand.
“Never mind. What does the method matter when you’re catching criminals? I’ll prepare the Church’s bounty and the guard station’s reward. Wait a bit.”
Curiosity about unrelated matters never led to anything good. Once you got tangled up, every day became a mountain of worry. His hair was already starting to thin under a mountain of stress; he had no desire to create another headache.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Yoanna had no convenient explanation either. She bowed in gratitude, then glanced at Dantalion perched on her shoulder. She didn’t need to ask. She already knew he had used his power to protect her.
I must train harder so I can ease Lord Dantalion’s worries.
A short while later a guard staggered over carrying a sack heavy with gold coins. Yoanna took it lightly in one hand and left the guard station.
Outside, Emily was trying to calm her racing heart as she asked,
“H-How much did you receive?”
“I haven’t counted, but this should be quite a lot, don’t you think?”
Yoanna opened the sack wide. Gold coins packed it to the brim, glittering as bright as the sun.
Thud!
At the sight of more gold than she had ever seen in her life, Emily’s knees gave out of their own accord.
“Th-There’s so much gold… hweeeek.”
“Miss Emily’s face is rather entertaining. How do you make that expression?”
“Truly an amusing face.”
Petit Dantalion nodded in agreement. The way a person’s eyes spun in circles was quite impressive. Not just anyone could do that; it was a talent in its own right.
Yoanna finished her quiet amusement with a small smile and held out a hand to Emily.
“Please get up. How did the errand you asked of Mr. Thomas go?”
“Hweee… Just now Mr. Thomas said he’d secured an inn and left.”
There was still time before the entrance ceremony. More importantly, housing prices in the capital were murderous. There was no need to pay for a house they would only use briefly on holidays and during vacations. Unless one was overflowing with wealth, most students entering the Imperial Academy found lodgings in the gate city first.
“Is this the inn Mr. Thomas booked?”
“The name is…”
Emily checked the sign. The Rusted Sword and Shield. It matched the name Thomas had given them.
When they opened the door, a fair number of people already reeked of alcohol even though it was morning.
“Ugh… the smell of liquor.”
“If customers are coming this early, it must be a good establishment.”
Even heavy drinkers preferred to drink at a decent tavern. The hall was spacious and clean, and the kitchen sent out delicious smells and sounds that warmed the heart.
A one-eyed middle-aged man who looked to be the proprietor spotted the new guests and smiled.
“Oh! Are you the daughter of the fellow who just took a room?”
“We’re traveling together, but I’m not his daughter. Still, Mr. Thomas has a good eye. Finding an inn like this can’t be easy.”
“Hahaha! Of course—I run this place with a fair bit of pride. Ah, Brother Thomas is out in the stables looking after the horses.”
His unreserved friendliness was rather impressive. But approaching everyone with friendliness was not always effective.
“I-I’ll go fetch Mr. Thomas.”
Emily, shriveling like mold meeting sunlight, scurried off toward the stables. Watching her go, the proprietor scratched his head and laughed.
“Hahaha, looks like this old man spoke without reading the room.”
“Miss Emily is quite shy. Ah, my name is Yoanna.”
“Oh-ho, a young lady introducing herself first—that makes me happy. Call me Cesar.”
Yoanna shook Cesar’s hand lightly. This was a city she would visit often while attending the academy; building connections was worthwhile.
After the brief greeting she took a gold coin from the sack.
“This is for the lodging.”
“Gold? Miss, sorry, but do you have any silver? The change on a gold coin is going to be enormous.”
“We’ll be staying until the academy entrance ceremony. Isn’t that fine?”
“Even feeding you three solid meals a day, it’ll be tough. If the bank were open it’d be different, but there was a fire recently and they’re closed.”
Carrying large sums around was troublesome in many ways. People after the money would start sniffing around, and it was simply cumbersome to haul about. Was there a good solution?
Lord Dantalion?
Having listened quietly, Dantalion offered advice. There was no urgent need for a large sum; why cling to every coin?
Yoanna nodded. Then what was the most efficient kindness one could show in an inn?
She found the answer quickly, smiled gently, and pointed behind her—at the drinkers already holding a morning revel.
“Then how about using the leftover money to give every customer a free drink?”
“You sure that’s all right? I’ve got the money, so I don’t mind, but…”
Cesar eyed the drinkers with a sour look. The way the drunks’ eyes lit up at the words “free drinks” was absurd. Was it really fine to freeload booze off a young lady?
“It’s fine. We’ll be neighbors who meet often from now on.”
“Ooooooh!!!”
Who among drinkers would refuse free liquor? In that instant Yoanna’s favorability among the inn’s regulars shot straight through the ceiling.