episode_0048

“What?”

“Apologize.”

“What’s this brat suddenly going crazy for…”

“You understood perfectly well, didn’t you?”

I stared directly at the employee.

“I said we need two seats on the carriage. Why are you talking nonsense? Are you deaf?”

“This is enough…”

“Didn’t we pay you? Why do you keep talking nonsense when you can just give us the tickets? What do you gain from this?”

The employee’s face flushed red.

It was humiliating to be scolded by a mere ‘woman’, but his expression was furious because he couldn’t refute a single word of mine.

It was obvious without even looking.

Guys like this are simple.

A clamor suddenly rose from behind.

“Hey—up front! Stop being loud and hurry up!”

“What’s going on?! We need to leave now, why are you delaying so much!”

I pointed behind him.

“You heard that, right? The people behind us are waiting. Don’t waste time, just give us two seats quickly.”

I deftly redirected the complaints of the people towards the employee, not myself.

The enraged employee snarled back.

“No. There are no tickets for you. Get out now.”

“No tickets? Everyone, look here! He says all the tickets are sold out!”

“What—?”

“That bitch!”

The employee lunged to grab my collar… but it was no use.

Clutch.

I snatched his wrist right then.

“It won’t be good if you lay a hand on me. You’re making a mistake.”

“This…!”

“Tia! I… I’m fine! Don’t, don’t fight…”

Fosao urgently intervened.

It was utter chaos.

Behind us, people were piling up, loud shouts and complaints erupted, and the employee and I were tangled arm in arm.

I knew it.

That I had caused trouble.

Honestly, I had no desire to cause a disturbance in a strange place.

Even in the , it was written that a traveler’s basic etiquette was to get along with everyone and to protect oneself by avoiding trouble.

If Ritsu had been here right now…

He definitely would have stopped me before I even stepped forward.

I knew better than anyone that I shouldn’t be doing this.

But for some reason, I couldn’t tolerate it.

The sight of Fosao being humiliated, helplessly kneeling.

It made my body move on its own.

And even now, I don’t regret this action.

The employee sneered.

“Going to Deseo? Hmph. See how well you can get there on foot, you little brat.”

“…Alright. If that’s how you want to play.”

I tightly gripped Fosao’s hand.

“…Ti-Tia?”

Bang!

I kicked open the stable door right next to me.

The employee rushed over, cursing, but I paid him no mind and shouted loudly.

“Two people, 4 gold! Looking for a carriage to Deseo!”

All the coachmen who were resting turned to look at me.

The normal carriage fare was 1 gold per person.

At the quoted price, which was about double, the coachmen all began to stand up from their seats.

“4 gold?”

“Me! I’ll take you!”

“Here! My carriage is ready here!”

An old coachman swiftly ran over.

He said that for 4 gold, he’d be ready to depart without delay.

However, he asked to see the gold coins first, to ensure I really had that much money.

I immediately took out the gold coins from my pocket and showed them.

“Here. See? It’s all correct, right?”

“Oh! Good! I’ll prepare now. The tickets?”

“There are no tickets. That employee over there refused to issue them.”

“What did you say?”

The old coachman frowned and walked towards the ticket booth.

He immediately reprimanded the employee and began to grill him about what had happened.

As expected, the loudest voice in the stable belonged to the coachman.

Coachmen’s livelihoods depended on tickets like these, so they couldn’t refuse customers without a legitimate reason.

After being thoroughly scolded, the employee, with a resentful face, issued two carriage tickets.

Although I had spent a lot on the tickets, it didn’t feel wasteful at all when I thought of it as the price for properly teaching that arrogant face a lesson.

No, rather, it felt incredibly satisfying.

We promised the coachman to depart at lunchtime, then Fosao and I stepped outside.

“Tia… didn’t you spend too, too much money?”

“It’s fine. It was your money to begin with. It’s only right to spend it for you.”

Fosao hung his head low.

“Th-thank you so much, Tia…”

“By the way, why did you just stand there and listen to that insult? Didn’t you get angry?”

“Because it’s true that I’m fat, and ug… ugly, and I stammer…”

“Even so, there’s no law that says you deserve to hear such harsh words!”

“…Hehehe.”

While I was scolding him.

Fosao just laughed, seeming pleased.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Ti-Tia… you sound like Rina… it suddenly reminded me. Rina also… h-helped me, and protected me…”

Hearing that, his smiling expression also seemed sad.

At first, I was surprised to hear that my mother was Fosao’s best friend.

Because it meant they spent time together, just like Ritsu and I.

They said my mother put in a lot of effort for the slightly slow and clumsy Fosao.

I hadn’t understood it then.

But now, I think I understand my mother’s feelings.

That compassion, unable to just stand by and watch someone abandoned by the world.

With the feelings I’m experiencing now.

Perhaps my mother tried to protect Fosao with a heart like this.

“Tia… you really resemble Rina.”

“I heard that last time too.”

“Th-thank you, Tia.”

“-Hehe. Oops.”

I took out hardtack from my bag and handed it to Fosao.

“I bought it yesterday. You haven’t eaten anything since morning, waiting in line, have you?”

“Uh-huh…”

“Here, there’s water, so eat carefully. So you don’t choke.”

“Alright…”

We shared the hardtack and chatted.

Before long, it was afternoon. We went to the promised spot.

The coachman had already finished all preparations and was waiting for us.

However, since it was prepared in a hurry, there was only one horse, and the carriage was a two-seater.

“Can we… can we ride this…?”

It was awkward.

The carriage was just small enough to be perfect for Fosao alone.

In the end, one of us would have to sit uncomfortably next to the coachman.

Fosao volunteered.

“I, I’ll ride up front.”

“…No, it’s fine. Let’s just ride together.”

“Together? Ti-Tia… are you sure?”

“Since you’re big and I’m small, it’ll probably fit just right.”

He somehow squeezed his large body in, and when I climbed in too and closed the door.

It was certainly a bit cramped, but we managed to fit.

The problem was that we had to sit so close, shoulder-to-shoulder with Fosao.

…But it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

“Alright, we’re departing!”

As the coachman cracked his whip, the horse began to move.

Now, just one more day of travel like this… and we’ll be in Deseo.

“…”

A moment later. Drowsiness began to set in.

Fosao, perhaps due to his hardships since morning, was already nodding off.

Yawn.

Maybe I should get some sleep too.

I shifted my body this way and that, and finally found the best position to sleep.

Leaning my head on Fosao’s large shoulder.

I closed my eyes in the rattling carriage.

* * *

We occasionally got off the carriage to rest, then climbed back on and continued moving.

As I joined in the conversations between the coachman and Fosao, time flew by in the blink of an eye.

After traveling for a full day, by the time the sun rose the next day.

Finally, the vast blue sea stretching out in the distance.

And the strange sight of a huge city connected to it could be seen.

Deseo.

It was the moment the legendary port city, only heard of in tales, unfolded before my eyes.

“Wow—!”

I couldn’t close my mouth.

It was even grander than what I had read about and imagined from books.

To think that was a single ‘city’.

From the northern end to the southern end.

Buildings were densely packed everywhere my eyes could see.

Beneath the high city walls, countless ships were docked, and even now, more were appearing over the horizon.

As we drew closer to Deseo, the number of people and carriages moving around us increased rapidly.

There were so many that eventually, I felt as if I was being buried in the procession.

How much further did we travel?

The coachman said.

“Alright, we’re here! Get off!”

“Yahoo—!”

I opened the carriage door and jumped out.

I stepped onto the ground and stretched out, feeling good.

Amidst the mingling crowds.

I silently looked up at the massive city gate.

Deseo

A giant banner that required craning my neck to see.

On it, the enormous letters announcing Deseo’s name were embroidered in gold.

What immense grandeur.

Handing 4 gold coins to the coachman, we headed towards Deseo’s city gate.

Fosao said he had only been to Deseo once, a long time ago.

Thanks to that, we were able to proceed with the entry procedures without difficulty.

Deseo was a city with so many people coming and going that identity verification was thorough.

First, an official document to prove identity was required.

Fosao showed a certificate that the lord of Tailedon had issued him long ago, and I proved my identity with a letter written by a court physician.

Once our identities were confirmed, the soldier asked for our names.

“Fosao Modaless… it is.”

“Fosao Modaless. Next.”

“Tia Anshier.”

“Tia Anshier. Next.”

My name and Fosao’s name were written side-by-side on the transit document the soldier was filling out.

As soon as we passed, a contraband inspection was carried out.

I had worried that the weapons I brought might be an issue, but unexpectedly, we passed without any problems.

Later, hearing Fosao’s words, it seemed that the ‘court physician’s letter’ I had submitted had been more effective than I thought.

After completing the identity verification and inspection.

We finally managed to pass through the city gate.

The moment I stepped inside the city gate, a dazzlingly beautiful city unfolded before my eyes.

“So this is… Deseo.”

Fosao also gazed blankly at the scenery.

“Th-that’s right. We… we’ve arrived in Deseo… Finally…”

“…”

It was hard to even dare to speak.

Countless people walking around, carriages.

It seemed like it would be chaotic, but the streets were equally vast, rendering such worries meaningless.

In an area where diverse, colorful shops lined up one after another.

Splendid people mingled together, enjoying pleasure.

A shop specializing in flowers.

A shop specializing only in sweets.

There was also a shop selling playthings.

And even a place selling only pebbles.

I couldn’t possibly focus my gaze on just one thing.

It truly felt as if everything that existed in this world was gathered in one place.

Could one believe that there weren’t just one, but hundreds of such amazing districts?

Deseo was such a place.

If you listened carefully, you could occasionally hear foreign languages, not just ours.

Sailors from distant foreign lands were drinking and chatting loudly.

There were also people wearing unusual clothes, or with long chins, flat noses, or dark skin.

If you followed the sound of singing, you’d find a band playing merrily.

Next to them, there was also a jester performing tricks.

Just taking one step felt like entering a completely different world.

We avoided the bustling main streets and slipped into a quiet back alley.

It was a shaded, outlying area.

“Ti-Tia. Look over there…”

Fosao pointed in one direction.

Far, far away.

But there was a tall, massive castle, so high it was visible even from here.

Golden roofs gleamed between the spires.

Above them, the royal crest, made of rubies, shone a brilliant red.

“…Do you see it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the ‘Red Castle’… the place where the K-King of Deseo resides.”

The King.

An existence ruling over all who live in this land.

An existence I thought I would never see in my life, and one that seemed to have no connection to me, living in a small mountain village.

Of course, I wouldn’t be able to see his face.

But seeing the King’s residence, even from this distance.

I felt anew that I had truly come to a different place.

“You’ve worked hard, Tia.”

“You too, Fosao.”

Fosao slowly stood up.

“Then, now… Is it t-time to part ways?”

“…What?”

Why?

Without realizing it, I found myself asking again.