episode_0068

There were a few waits, but from the middle on, the number of turns decreased and soon it was the turn of a group of women with pot bellies right in front of them.

As Christie and Chloe watch silently as the sentries guarding the western gate harass the pedestrians, they come face to face with a pot-bellied merchant with a face that clearly shows signs of fatigue.

“Spices, precious metals, jewelry, etc. are special taxable items. Please report them voluntarily. ”

She rummaged through the cargo hold with a club that was about the length of her arm and the blunt end of it, and once again said the phrase she must have said a hundred times today.

“No. Well, as you can see, there’s just some fabric and a few books. ”

The pot-bellied woman spoke as she placed bundles of plain-colored cloth one by one in front of the soldier’s eyes.

“… …Please also tell us if it includes gold embroidery or some high-quality fabrics.”

A woman confirms the soldier’s words by running her thumb down the edge of the cloth.

“You can just look at it yourself.”

Then the soldier slowly lifted each piece of thickly piled cloth and checked it with unfocused eyes.

“Hey, you guys, you don’t really want to do things thoroughly, do you? I’m not even single, but I left at the crack of dawn, and now I can’t even leave this city until the sun is overhead. Is this just something you do to annoy me? What’s different?”

The woman who had been tapping her aching waist with the back of her hand finally started complaining out of frustration. However, the soldier just ignored her and continued to look at the fabric at the same speed as before.

“Oh my, it’s not just once or twice. What’s going on? Every time we come and go, I keep doing this… .”

The soldier stares blankly up at the woman who has been looking through about five or six bundles of fabric for a long time, then suddenly starts grumbling. He picks up the club he was holding in one hand and taps his other hand. The merchant flinches at the sight.

“Over there, in the back, let’s take a look at the book.”

The soldier stretches his club out in front of him and points it over the woman’s shoulder. The pot-bellied woman sighs softly, nods with a resigned expression, and takes out a pouch of silver coins from her waistband.

“Yeah, it would have been better if it had been like this from the beginning. I was an idiot trying to have a conversation with you guys. If it were a book, I’d just flip through each page. Is this enough? Yes?”

A soldier opens his palm as if he had been waiting, along with the sound of silver coins clinking. A woman with a potbelly nervously places silver coins one by one on his palm.

“Ah, ah. Let’s just take two.”

When the woman picks up two silver coins with her fingers, wondering what the soldier’s words are, the soldier looks around, puts his club down on the ground for a moment, and lifts the lower part of the muffler he was wearing, revealing the sternum that the breastplate could not fully cover.

The soldier’s behavior was very similar to the way adults in the world would work in a store and receive tips from customers, but the pot-bellied woman felt exactly the same discomfort as a man in the world would when he accidentally saw another man’s buttocks with his pants slightly down.

“Oh my god, seriously.”

The woman reluctantly throws two silver coins into the dark valley between the fleshy masses. Only then does the soldier take a step back, seemingly satisfied.

“All checks are completed. May your journey be blessed.”

Instead of answering, the pot-bellied woman clenches her fist and extends it forward, with her index and middle fingers touching and pointing down.

“Let’s go, let’s go! I’ll go first. Good luck!”

The woman turned her head as if to shout for the rider to hear, and then turned her head in this direction to greet them. Only then was their carriage able to leave the western gate of Frauah, and Chloe and Christie couldn’t help but be delighted that it was finally their turn.

When Chloe pulled the reins and stopped the carriage in front of her exactly where it had just been, she turned to face the soldier and saw that she was handing the silver coin she had been holding in her palm to another soldier (presumably an officer) whose uniform had been redesigned at Christie’s suggestion.

“I get the general feeling.”

Christie mutters.

“That’s right. Those low-level sentries dare… . turn it over once?”

Christie shakes her head at Chloe’s words.

“Stand out. There are other ways that those guys can easily understand.”

Christie said.

The soldier who slowly approached their carriage seemed not to be interested in the wooden barrels loaded in the cargo hold, and suddenly said this.

“It’s almost lunch time… … .”

At those words, the other merchants lined up behind him started shouting in annoyed voices.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you going to check?”

Chloe turned to the direction where the loud noise was coming from and asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“The morning schedule has been completed, so work will resume as soon as the afternoon shift workers arrive.”

Mechanical speech, unchanging, unfocused eyes. The soldier says that and turns away.

“How can this not work out for us? We’re in a hurry.”

At Christie’s words, the soldier stops walking as if she had been waiting for this moment and turns back. She has an expression full of annoyance on her face, but her steps are light as she is glad that she has caught the target this time.

“We also have principles, so it shouldn’t be done originally… … .”

The soldier stares intently at the large sack in Christie’s hand, mumbling nonsense.

“I think you’ll like it. Here, here.”

As Christie smirked and handed the entire gray sack to the soldier, the soldier opened the opening wide and looked inside. After tilting his head for a moment, the soldier reached into the sack and took out a strangely textured, rolled-up scroll.

“… … … .”

The soldier, who was unrolling the scroll, noticed a large golden feather design decorated at the very top of the document, and then looked up at Christie with wide eyes.

“How about this? Is this enough?”

Christie spoke with a fierce expression and a voice that was infinitely kind. At the same time, a gulp could be heard as the soldier swallowed.

“This, this is… … .”

The voice of the trembling soldier, and the scroll in her hand, which was also trembling, were shaking together.

“Don’t be too nervous. I was just passing by.”

Although it couldn’t be seen from this angle, Chloe could tell that he was glaring at the soldier with an expression that made it seem like he should be very nervous.

“Hiccup… … ! Then first… We will first verify the authenticity of this document… … … .”

A soldier who musters up his courage and stretches out, perhaps because he thinks he cannot back down like this, or because he thinks that the situation he is currently facing may not be real.

“Ah~ Okay, then. You must have had a hard time.”

As Christie slowly nodded, she turned around with an awkward expression and walked towards the castle.

“There are some guys who are so gutsy that they dare to imitate that sign without permission. Why deal with those people? Why are you so engrossed in cute pastimes while working? You must be working too hard~.”

The soldier felt a cold sweat run down his spine as he heard Christie’s voice from behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his body towards him again, standing at attention.

“I’m sorry.”

The line of sight is 15 degrees forward.

“Hey, don’t do that. It makes the atmosphere awkward.”

Christie said, resting her chin on one hand.

“I’m very sorry for not meeting you. I, I have nothing to say to you. Please be lenient… .”

The soldier keeps apologizing in a voice that sounds like he’s choking up.

“… I told you not to do that. Hey? Rest, close your eyes. There are so many people around, do you plan on making us stand out? ”

Christie begins to speak in a whisper, her voice as cold as ice, all the blood drained from her.

“No, I’ll fix it. Sorry.”

The soldier spoke with his gaze down on the ground, his posture awkward, not knowing where to put his arms and legs.

“As I said before, we’re just passing through. I wish you’d send us off soon.”

Chloe, who was next to me, said.

“I’ll open it right now. Please wait a moment and I’ll clean it up right away.”

As the soldier said this and started to run towards the barricade, a loud voice was heard from an officer standing far away.

“What’s taking so long? I told you to come in the afternoon! I have to eat… Tsk.”

The soldier frantically waved his arms in the direction of the voice, repeating the desperate gesture as if to tell him to stay still.

“Why are you doing that? You’re trying to sneak out because you won money this morning. I’m going to raise the stakes, so just try to get out. ”

The soldier, who had lost his will to live, collapsed on the spot in front of the officer who was shouting without even knowing what was happening.

***

“Oh, thank goodness you got through quickly. I guess nothing happened there? Or did I give you a big pat on the back?”

A pot-bellied woman stopped her carriage and had a quick meal not far outside the walls of Frauen. She looked at Chloe and Christie and asked.

“I was lucky. It almost overlapped with lunch time, so I had to wait until the afternoon.”

Christie spoke again in a warm voice.