episode_0067

Christie walks over, carrying a large wooden barrel on one shoulder, and leans over to hand it to Chloe, who is climbing onto the wagon bed. As Chloe bends slightly and deftly receives the barrel with both arms, the outline of Chloe’s muscles between her back and sides is revealed through the fabric, despite the coat Christie bought at the lumber shop being quite large.

Her face was filled with composure as she placed the wooden barrel in the corner of the cargo hold and clapped her hands.

“There will be about five more like this.”

Christie turned around and said to Chloe.

“Yeah.”

Chloe answers while crouching down. She taps the wooden barrel in the hold with her palm, and it makes a pleasant thump sound, along with the sound of liquid sloshing around.

“Wouldn’t it be hard for the young lady? We could move it for you.”

The liquor dealer, sitting on top of a pile of wooden barrels identical to the ones Christie had just moved, in a warehouse just down an alley and not far from the carts on the main street, was munching on nuts.

“Hahaha, thanks, but I can do it alone.”

Christie laughs jokingly and picks up a cask, lifting it over her left shoulder. The next moment, Christie can’t help but click her tongue as the merchant clicks his tongue. She realizes that she was pretending to be nice and trying to collect the labor cost. If you don’t stay alert, it’s not just in the palace where you get stabbed in the back.

After all six barrels of liquor were loaded onto the carriage in the blink of an eye, Chloe jumped down from the hold, stretched, took a leather bag from the bag she had left on the floor, and quenched her thirst.

“Sister, me too.”

Chloe turns her head in surprise, and Christie is standing there looking at her. Chloe stares at her with a hardened expression, as if the line just came out of Christie’s mouth (although it certainly wouldn’t have). Christie opens her eyes fiercely, bites her lip, and tilts her head back slightly, impressing on Chloe the presence of the liquor wholesaler approaching from behind.

“Uh, uh. Here… .”

Chloe looks back and forth between the merchant and Christie, then hesitantly hands the leather bag to Christie.

“Thank you, sis.”

Chloe felt goosebumps run down her spine at the sound of her sonorous voice, which she had never heard before. Christie took out a handkerchief from her bosom, rubbed the mouth of the leather bag, and gulped down water.

“Hey, where did you say your destination was?”

The woman with her orange-tinged hair in two pigtails cleared her throat and asked with a nut crumb stuck to the corner of her mouth.

“I’m going to go west. They said that they can’t sell Fraua’s liquor because they don’t have it.”

Chloe answers as she had planned in advance.

“It looks like you haven’t found a place to sell it yet?”

The merchant asks, clutching his chin.

“Yeah, well. I don’t have any connections yet.”

Chloe looked at Christie’s expression as she answered like that, seemingly unsure if it was an appropriate response. It was hard to see that her expression contained any significant meaning, but she guessed that it was okay, judging from the fact that Christie didn’t open her characteristically snake-like eyes.

“Let’s see… … . Remember, the more you sell, the more money you’ll make. Especially since the toll fees are cheaper these days. Some of the lords of some manors can’t stand alcohol, so if you’re lucky, you might sell it all out in no time. Didn’t I say this was my first time doing business? Even though I’m handling alcohol on such a large scale now, there was a time when I was young and immature. If you think about it, everyone has times like that. What’s important is enthusiasm. When I climbed a mountain all by myself, carrying a wooden barrel on my shoulder… … … .”

Christie sniffles once. As a liquor merchant, she seems to want to check if he has had a drink in broad daylight. Chloe, who has been feeling bored by the merchant’s advice that has been going on for quite some time, taps the floor with her toes for no reason.

“… Let’s just wait. Where did I leave off? Huh? ”

The merchant who had been talking for a while asks with his eyes wide open. The two who had lost their way meet each other’s eyes, and at the moment when Chloe is about to open her lips hesitantly, Christie answers first.

“Oh, I was just about to pay the bill.”

The merchant’s sermon, which seemed like it would go on forever, ended in vain with Christie handing him a heavy bag of silver coins.

“Ah, it’s a good time. Everyone, work hard. Everyone’s eyes are so kind.”

The merchant seemed to be impressed with Christie, who readily paid the price without even mentioning money first.

“Haha, just kidding.”

Chloe mutters. Then she avoids Christie’s gaze and looks at the distant mountains.

“You’re also quite strong. What did you do before?”

When the merchant, who had been counting the silver coins in his pocket with his head down, asked, an odd silence followed. When she finished checking and raised her head, the first thing she saw was Chloe’s tense face.

“… … … … .”

“… … ?”

“Well, everyone has their own unique past.”

Christie said. The merchant nodded silently, thinking that that was true.

“Whew, I thought I was going to die from nervousness! Disguise isn’t as easy as it looks.”

Only after the carriage safely made it out onto the street did Chloe lean back against the backrest and let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s nothing special once you get used to it.”

Chloe, who had been looking at Christie with a puzzled expression as she spoke, soon turned her head back to the front and rode her horse.

“I wonder if it really has to be this much.”

Chloe muttered.

“It’s better to be thorough. The person whose life is at stake will be nervous and suspicious.”

Christie answered, straightening her clothes. The sound of horseshoes clashing against the white bricks of the Frauah pavement continued sharply.

“… … Are you really planning to kill me? That woman who sleeps.”

As they came out onto the main street, the noise of the bustling street began to fill the surroundings, and Chloe asked in a low voice.

“That’s right, I have no choice but to pretend to follow orders right now.”

Christie answers, shoving her arms deep into the gray rag containing her belongings.

“That, more than that… . It’s disgusting. Getting involved in a power struggle between royal families, and killing a person you have no connection with… .”

As soon as her fingertips touched the smooth, rolled-up papers, Christie pulled her arm away, placed the bundle on the table, and looked at Chloe.

“We’ve already gotten involved a long time ago, and who knows if we’ll end up killing that woman. I have no intention of following that unlucky bastard’s orders… … … .”

Christie, who was about to speak, shuts her mouth. As expected, as the carriage turns, a long line of carriages stretches out in front of the western walls of Frauen in the distance. There are endless carriages of the same type as the ones they are pulling, blocking the road, so Chloe pulls the reins and stops the carriage at the back of the line.

How much time has passed since then? When I look back at the path I have taken, I have only progressed about 10 meters. Why on earth did they make me wait so long? As Chloe yawns with her mouth wide open, a woman sitting on the luggage rack in the row in front of me with a bored expression looks over at me with a smirk.

“If this continues, I’ll be absent for another day. Right?”

The woman, who appeared to be pregnant, judging by her bulging lower abdomen and loose-fitting clothes, was kicking her feet in knee-high leather boots.

“Oh, okay.”

Chloe nodded in greeting, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

“I wonder what’s going on in front of here.”

At Chloe’s words, the woman who had been stroking the bundle of cloth wrapped in leather strings looks this way.

“Huh? Is this your first time doing business?”

The woman tilts her head and asks.

“Ah, what is it… . Right. Yes. ”

Chloe answers with a look of regret, wondering if she just said something wrong.

“Hey, what do you do?”

A woman with her arms crossed asks a question with an interested expression on her face.

“Alcohol.”

While Chloe looks around, Christie answers for her.

“Aha… …. What, where? Did you get it from the monastery?”

The woman asks back.

“No, here.”

Christie answers leisurely.

“Then it must be the stuff of that talkative auntie. Oh, I’m in the lumber business. I also occasionally deal with miscellaneous goods.”

Perhaps feeling it was time to introduce herself, the woman pointed to the items in the luggage compartment and spoke.

“Do you know why it’s so long in front of this?”

“Well, on the surface it’s called a search and seizure, but… .”

“On the surface?”

“In reality, they’re just telling merchants who carry around money to be impatient. If you give the guards a few silver coins, they’ll send it to you right away, but if you keep coming and going, the amount is quite large, so some people pretend not to know, and that’s why it takes so long sometimes.”

“Ahhh… … .”

Christie chuckles. When I look at Chloe, she nods and shrugs.

“Since when has this been happening?”

This time, Chloe asks.

“It hasn’t been that many months, right? By the way, do you have any spare cash on hand? It’s better to give it to someone first so that they don’t find fault with it.”

“Uh… .”

“Yes, I have. You guys are doing too much, right?”

While Chloe mumbles, Christie answers.

“What can we do? People like us should just give them whatever they want.”

The woman said this and sat back, stroking her protruding belly.