To the Katus Empire (2)

This must be what it means to be treated as an honored guest.

Amira treated Yona not just as an honored guest, but almost like a state guest.

It was a time when the peak of winter had passed, and spring seemed to be just around the corner.

Even considering these seasonal factors, Port Lukasia had a very mild temperature, probably due to its southern location.

And in this port, on the top floor of the most expensive and renowned inn—so lavish it was questionable to even call it an inn—

A very spacious room that seemed to have been built specifically for wealthy and high-ranking guests.

And in that room, only Yona and Amira were present.

“Well, this is too much…”

“What are you saying—! You’re the Saint of Berbaria-nim, who else but me could serve such an esteemed person—!”

Her voice trailed off strangely at the end of sentences.

And between those moments, a snake-like split tongue flickered in and out.

Every time those vertically slit black pupils turned towards Yona, the gaze felt truly burdensome.

【It seems my faith has been carried on over there.】

‘What do you mean?’

【You don’t seem to know, but oral legends about me have been passed down. It seems humans have forgotten… but it looks like they’ve been preserved over there.】

At Berbaria’s words, Yona looked at Amira again.

Well, considering she knows Berbaria’s name, there must be something to it.

But the problem is this brown-skinned beauty in front of her.

A young lady with brown skin who clearly shows signs of being well-raised.

Plus those unique eyes with red irises and black pupils on white sclera.

Although the emperorship rotates, Amira’s father is the current emperor, so of course Amira would be a princess—

And this Amira was now sticking close to Yona, almost clinging to her, attending to her needs.

“Saint-nim—, aren’t you feeling hot—?”

“I’m not hot…”

You’re a bit overwhelming.

Yona found Amira, who had dismissed all the other maids and insisted on serving Yona herself, to be overwhelming.

“That’s a relief—!”

“…But, why were you at the dock…?”

Isn’t she a princess of a country?

Moreover, the Katus Empire and the Capatia Empire are on bad terms, always at each other’s throats and ready to go to war at any moment.

Even though it’s the Kingdom of Lukasia, it’s still a country that’s almost a vassal state of the Capatia Empire.

It’s quite strange for Amira to be at the port of such a place.

“Ah— about that… I, originally came here to receive education from the Celestine Church…”

Ah.

So that’s what it was.

Yona had heard about this before.

The permission for the Celestine Church to proselytize, which she had heard from Ceres.

It seems Amira had come as part of that initiative.

“But then… now they’re going to ban Celestine Church proselytizing again, so I received orders to return home—”

“I see… So you just wasted your time.”

“Eh— well, you could say that—. But, since I get to return home serving the Saint-nim, isn’t this a much better outcome—?”

‘Oh, this is too much…’

Yona found Amira to be really overwhelming.

It’s fortunate that she’s not clinging to Yona as a person,

And the reason Amira is acting this way is because Yona is a saint, which isn’t exactly a lie.

*

“You, come with me for a bit. You idiot.”

“Ah, ouch! It hurts, you lizard bastard!”

Alec was practically dragged out of the inn by Kaiyak, who was pulling him by the ear.

The sun was setting in Port Lukasia, a cool breeze was blowing, and the docks were bustling with fishing boats returning from the day’s work and others setting out for night fishing.

“Let go of this, let go. I won’t run away.”

When Alec spoke with an annoyed voice, Kaiyak finally let go.

The taciturn Kaiyak didn’t say anything, but instead, James approached and casually put his arm around Alec’s shoulder.

“Look here, Mr. Alec.”

“What, what is it?”

“You must have heard everything too. Isn’t that right?”

“Heard what?”

Alec frowned while rubbing his reddened earlobe.

He had been planning to lie down early and get some sleep before dinner.

But when Kaiyak and James suddenly barged in and told him to come along, he had replied that he was tired and wanted to rest, which led to this situation.

“If you suddenly drag someone out, you should at least explain why. How am I supposed to know what you mean by ‘heard everything’?”

In response to Alec’s grumpy and irritated words, Kaiyak let out a long sigh.

James chuckled as if something was funny, while simultaneously patting Alec’s back loudly.

“Look here, Mr. Alec. Miss Yona made such loud noises, why are you pretending not to know? Hm?”

“Th-that’s…”

Alec felt his face heating up instantly.

How could he not have heard? Of course he had heard.

It seemed Yona had tried her best to muffle the sounds, but unfortunately, the walls of that inn were so thin they might as well have been paper, and the sound traveled so well that Yona’s moans were clearly audible throughout the entire inn.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the sounds could be heard even in the corridor.

Yona herself—well, of course she wouldn’t know, being the one making the sounds.

“We’re doing this to help you score some points with Miss Yona. You need to get married someday, don’t you?”

“Wh-what points? How?”

He doesn’t dislike it.

No, rather, he likes it.

If it’s Yona, he’d welcome it with open arms.

“Sigh… This stupid bastard, really.”

Kaiyak frowned, seemingly fed up with listening.

When that face that looked like a shark’s head scrunched up, it really did look scary.

Kaiyak crossed his arms and approached Alec.

Then he thrust his face forward, looking closely at Alec’s face.

“We’re going to a foreign country, Alec. A foreign country where the water, air, and food are all different. Are you going to just watch Yona suffer from an upset stomach?”

“Up-upset stomach…?”

Alec finally understood what Kaiyak and James were trying to say.

Since they’re going abroad, everything including the food will be different from the Capatia Empire.

Alec was easygoing enough that he hadn’t had many problems wherever he went, but that was mostly for business trips within the Capatia Empire. He had heard that when going to a foreign country with different water and air, people sometimes get upset stomachs.

“So buy some Capatian side dishes here. Snacks are good, side dishes are good, fruits are good, meat is good too. Prepare anything that can only be eaten in Capatia.”

“Prepare that in advance, to score points with Yona…?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m saying. How long are you going to just watch? Or are you really impotent?”

“N-No, I’m not!”

Alec shouted without realizing it.

The idea of him being impotent is absurd.

Just that night, when he heard Yona’s moans…

“…I’m not. Not that.”

“Then hurry up and score some points and do it already. Why are you dawdling?”

“I’m not dawdling…”

No, it hurts.

It hurts even when just holding hands, like a stinging sensation.

At that level, hugging or, well, that… um, that thing that can’t be said out loud—

“—I want to do it too…”

But he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was in a situation where he couldn’t.

He could say it if he tried, but it’s still embarrassing.

“Anyway, hurry up. I’m telling you, you might really lose her if you keep this up.”

“Lose…”

Alec was about to shout ‘That’s impossible—’ but he trailed off.

Honestly, it’s true that he’s been hesitating.

He knows well that the situation surrounding Yona is not one where they can leisurely engage in romance.

“…Alright, I got it.”

*

“It’s a chicken coop…”

Literally, it was a chicken coop.

Chickens were clucking inside a wooden box, and on the protruding platform below, eggs were lined up.

A man with an expressionless face picked up three of those eggs, cracked them without hesitation, and dropped them onto an iron pot lid.

Sizzle…

The sound of eggs cooking.

Then the man picked up some pork fat, rubbed it on one side of the iron pot lid, took a piece of bread, split it in the middle, flattened it, and placed it on the pot lid.

The bread was toasting on the lid greased with pork fat.

Meanwhile, the man grabbed a handful of finely chopped lettuce, picked up the bread again, and stuffed the lettuce between the bread slices.

In the meantime, he lifted the fully cooked eggs with a spatula, placed them between the bread, poured a generous amount of red sauce over them, folded it in half, and held it out.

“This is really delicious, you know—”

Amira took two of these breads and held one out to Yona.

‘That sauce doesn’t look ordinary…’

She really can’t stand spicy food.

Yona hesitated but took the bread—or rather, what should be called a sandwich.

The sandwich, steaming hot, was particularly striking with its red sauce.

Red sauce sprinkled over the pure white fried egg.

“Try it—! It’s delicious—!”

And Amira took a bite.

Watching Amira chew contentedly, it didn’t seem particularly spicy.

“Amira, isn’t it spicy…?”

“Not at all— It’s not spicy—”

‘…Is that so? Really?’

Amira was chewing away, her grayish lips somewhat matching her brown skin.

Although she’s a princess, perhaps because it’s not a hereditary imperial family, she’s incredibly humble.

Amira had dragged Yona out, saying there was a delicacy here that she wouldn’t be able to taste once they returned to Katus.

Although they had just met today, Amira’s affectionate behavior, as if they were long-time sisters, was a rather unique experience for Yona.

Perhaps that’s why she couldn’t refuse.

The place Yona had been helplessly led to by Amira was this night market, and this sandwich was what she had taken, unable to resist Amira’s insistence that she must try it.

Yona looked at the red sauce on the sandwich, then alternately at Amira who was eating it so well, and finally, making a big decision, took a bite of the sandwich.

The first taste that hit her was the strong rye smell coming from the bread.

It might not be high-quality bread as the texture was a bit rough when chewed, and it had the unique taste of rye bread—bitter and slightly sour rather than sweet.

The taste of the egg that followed was rich, having absorbed plenty of oil, and she could also feel the texture of the sauce that had been on top.

The taste of the sauce wasn’t immediately noticeable.

She first tasted the sourness and raw vegetable smell of the lettuce, and then after a few more chews, along with the crunchy texture of the lettuce, the taste of the sauce finally registered in Yona’s mouth—

“Ugh, uwaaaaah!?”

It was spicy.

Insanely spicy.

It felt like her mouth was breathing fire—

That’s what Yona thought.