A Stroll Through the Imperial Capital (1)
“Why do you suddenly want to go to the Imperial Capital?”
Clea, who had barely taken part in the conversation until now, asked the question.
“Huh? Well, because I’m curious. The Imperial Capital’s supposed to be full of all sorts of things, right? Including the Emperor’s palace.”
“So you want to see the Imperial Palace?”
“I want to see the palace, too. And I’ve never really been into the city properly before.”
My mother might have been a prostitute who worked in the Imperial Capital, but I’d been sent to that orphanage not long after I was born.
I’d been near the Imperial Capital all this time, and yet I’d never once gone back.
“Then I’ll guide you.”
“You, Clea?”
“What? Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s just surprising. I thought you’d be the type who wanted to rest in her room on the weekend.”
“I am, but only for one day out of two. And it doesn’t look like we’ll get any assignments this week, either.”
“Really? Then please do. Is Saturday okay?”
“Yes. We’ll go on Saturday and rest on Sunday. But….”
Clea asked cautiously.
“Ellie, about the future… I mean….”
“I know what you’re trying to ask.”
Ellie smiled with confidence and reached for a fifth piece of bread.
“The money, right? What I’m going to do about hanging out with you all from now on.”
It was something everyone had been thinking about to some degree, and a few shoulders twitched around the table.
Ellie was a raw gem, the first student in the Academy’s history to be discovered and brought in by an admissions officer.
As a result, her dorm fees and textbook costs were waived, and she received a small allowance to cover meals and daily expenses.
But it wasn’t enough to spend time with four noble girls as friends. Especially not if they were going out beyond the Academy.
“It’s simple. You buy things for me.”
Judging by the contents alone, it was something everyone had expected, and something each of them had accepted when they decided to become friends with Ellie.
But they hadn’t expected her to come right out and say it so boldly, so from all around the table came a scatter of “Huh?” and “What?” and “Oh….”
“Of course, I’m not saying I’m just going to live off you guys, either.”
Ellie grinned and held out the loaf of bread she’d taken a bite from toward the center of the table.
“I promise.”
It was almost like she was extending a wand to make an oath.
“If you’ll be my friends and patrons, I’ll repay you with far more than what I take from you.”
How was it that it didn’t feel childish in the slightest?
On the contrary, it felt heavier than some half-hearted mage’s vow, more trustworthy, as if it had echoed all the way down to the bottom of the soul.
To me, truly.
That was why Clea could only murmur to herself.
Do I really deserve to be friends with someone like that?
The words stung like a thorn driven straight into her chest.
But if the thorn was already lodged there, there was no avoiding it. Not even if touching it hurt. Not even if it made her bleed a little more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the end, the only one who rode with me in the carriage bound for the Imperial Capital on Saturday was Clea.
Philia had declared that this weekend, above all others, she was going to stay alone.
Stella said she absolutely wanted to look around the Academy grounds and the mountain around it.
And Isabel had already received an assignment for the very first week.
Jaina and Melitt were there too, since they weren’t students, but Jaina was too overwhelmed to dare follow us, while Melitt looked like she was one headache away from collapse thanks to the first week of classes next week, too.
Come to think of it, it’d be awkward to go around with Melitt and my friends, too.
Because she was a professor. If it were just the two of us, that would be one thing, but if she were seen around with two or three students, people would immediately start saying she was favoring a particular group.
Honestly, I didn’t care much if people said things like that.
This world was materially affluent because of magic, but the social structure was still close to medieval, so the line between public and private life was pretty faint overall.
The general assumption was that if I had power, then naturally I should use it to help my friends and harm my enemies. Likewise, if someone gained authority, it was only natural for them to settle private grudges and favors with it.
The real problem was that if I got accused of favoritism toward Melitt when she wasn’t actually helping me academically at all, I’d be furious.
It would be insulting, wouldn’t it? If people started whispering that my achievements had only been possible because I’d gotten special treatment instead of earning them through skill.
“…Ellie.”
“Mm?”
Clea’s voice spread through the carriage, which had been silent ever since we set off.
“Do you remember what you asked me before?”
Of course I remembered.
I’d asked her why the other students avoided her. Or rather, I’d asked why they seemed to want her goodwill without hating her, yet still couldn’t bring themselves to approach her.
And at the time, I told Clea that if she wanted to speak about herself, she would tell me in her own time, and I’d wait until then.
“Actually—”
“Don’t say it.”
Clea’s eyes, drooping at the corners, went round with surprise.
“Even if you told me now, I wouldn’t listen.”
Because right now, Clea wasn’t trying to talk about it because she truly wanted to. She was being pushed from behind by the feeling that she had to.
“…What exactly are you….”
“Driver, how much farther do we have to go?”
“We’re about halfway there now.”
“That close? So if one person rode a horse all out, they’d get there in ten minutes?”
“If they sprinted for their life, then yes. If they simply ran it hard, it would take about twice that. Of course, it depends on the horse.”
“Ah. Thanks, that’s helpful.”
“Hoho, think nothing of it.”
Ellie turned back to Clea and yawned.
“Yaaawn… Clea, wake me when we get there, okay?”
“…All right.”
It was clearly meant as consideration, a way to let her settle her mind for the rest of the ride.
“Yeah, thanks.”
But Ellie simply sprawled out on the seat, closed her eyes, and fell asleep with soft little breaths.
“…Ellie?”
No. She was actually asleep?
What kind of nerves does she have?
Wasn’t the limit for a normal person usually just closing their eyes and pretending to sleep? Could you really think, I should sleep for a bit, and then actually fall asleep?
Clea let out a long, deep sigh.
How should she put it?
She suddenly felt as if everything had become nothing at all. All the worries she’d carried about whether or not to tell Ellie had gone that way, too.
Clea moved from the opposite seat to the empty space beside where Ellie was lying down, or rather, sat down right next to Ellie’s face.
“…You really are something else.”
And then, for the first time in her life, she reached out and stroked her friend’s black hair.
She’d meant to stop after one pass, but it felt better than she’d expected, so she kept petting Ellie all the way until they arrived.
“Oh. So this is a city.”
For once, Ellie’s reaction was far calmer than expected, and Clea couldn’t help lifting her brows.
“You’re not very surprised, are you?”
“Should I be?”
“Didn’t you say this was the first city you’d ever seen? Then this must be your first time seeing so many people all at once, too.”
“Ah….”
Ellie scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed.
“I guess so… I mean… I just never really get shocked by crowds, even since I was little.”
“What? No, I mean how would you even know that—”
“Whoa, what’s that over there? Food, right?”
Ellie changed the subject. It wasn’t as though she could talk about the world’s megacity of ten million people that had been her homeland in a past life.
Still, it was true that seeing food had caught her interest.
In most places, regardless of era or region, cities had street vendors. Medieval London, Edo-period Tokyo, Hanyang in the Joseon era—of course, even ancient Rome and Babylon had them.
Because in a city packed with busy laborers, there was always demand for food. Especially simple things you could eat by hand.
“Mm? Mm? Clea, that is food, right? Right?”
Of course anyone could tell it was food. Gruff-looking men were taking skewers of meat and tearing into them with enthusiastic bites.
Clea remembered what Ellie had said the day before yesterday.
That from now on, she should support her. That someday, she would repay her with something not even worth comparing.
“Haa….”
Clea fumbled in her handbag and pulled out her wallet.
For reference, almost all the currency in the Empire circulated as silver or copper coins, so a wallet was basically a coin purse.
Clea took out a few silver coins and handed them to Ellie from that heavy little purse.
“Thanks! Mister, can I get two skewers of that?”
“That’ll be twenty knercts.”
“Yep!”
One silver coin changed hands for a few coppers and two skewers of meat.
Ellie held one of the skewers out to Clea.
“Here.”
“I’m fine.”
“Really? Then I’ll eat both?”
It wasn’t that she disliked common food or anything. It was just that what she’d eaten before coming here still hadn’t fully digested.
Besides, nobles were supposed to be able to chew through rough, tasteless food without complaint if they wanted to be praised for not losing their warrior spirit. On the other hand, if they only liked delicate, soft things, they got mocked as flowers in a pot.
One mustn’t forget that the reason mages were considered nobility in this world was, in the end, because they belonged to the warrior class.
“Then… nom!”
Ellie took a big bite out of the skewer, chewed, and swallowed.
The juices dripped down in a modest, pleasant trickle. The scent of meat seared by the Maillard reaction rose into the air.
Then she swallowed, fixed her eyes on the meat again, and went nom once more.
She ate so deliciously that even Clea, who had just refused it because she was full, found herself swallowing unconsciously.
“Gulp….”
R-right, maybe I should just ask for one piece after all… ah. She’s already eating it.
No, wait.
If she wanted food that badly, she could just buy one for herself. There was no need to ask Ellie for one—
“Mm? You still want some, don’t you? Here.”
Ellie held out the skewer she’d already eaten half of.
“…Excuse me.”
She wondered if it was really all right to just eat this, but the moment she thought of it as Ellie’s food, it didn’t feel dirty in the least.
She’d been about to bite from the top, but the length was a little awkward, so Clea turned her head to the side.
Her hair slipped down. She tucked it behind her ear so it wouldn’t get in the way, then carefully brought her lips to the skewer.
“…”
“Nom… munch… gulp… It’s delicious.”
“Y-Yeah… Want more?”
“No, that was enough. I just wanted a taste.”
Honestly, the flavor itself seemed ordinary. It was probably only because Ellie had been eating it so happily that it tasted better.
“Ellie? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no, nothing. Ahaha… O-Oh, right! Since I’ve come to the Imperial Capital, there was somewhere I wanted to g—”
A thunderous voice rang out.
“Everyone, make way and lower your heads!! His Majesty’s carriage is passing through!”