“…Remarkable.”
Once we’d followed the coachman inside, Miphra Territory revealed itself to be even more ostentatious than the exterior had dared to suggest.
Whatever they’d done to this place, the roads were as smooth, and the buildings soared higher than any I’d ever seen.
With its dazzling lights and bare-skinned women, it looked like a sprawling pleasure district, and our party stared slack-jawed, practically drooling.
“…Who knew a place like this existed?”
“Looks like there’s plenty to eat, too.”
“Kid, is food all you ever think about? Look at those women!”
“As if you’d get anywhere with them, with that mug of yours.”
“…You little brat.”
Lancelot and Kai traded jabs and awe in equal measure, while Roxen alone kept his silence and simply kept walking.
That’s when Kai turned to me and asked, “Do you come to places like this often, Young Master?”
“No, it’s also my first time seeing a city this extravagant.”
Even in my previous life, I’d never had any reason to visit Miphra Territory.
It was the one place Hera had made sure I never saw.
To think she was hiding this kind of place…
I clicked my tongue and scanned the surroundings.
Of course, I didn’t swivel my head about like the others, but my eyes were already darting about freely.
“…It might even outshine the Imperial Capital,” I observed.
“Mercy! Say that out loud here and you’ll lose your head before you can blink!” The coachman flailed, clapping his hands over his own mouth as if to distance himself from such treasonous talk.
I snorted and waved a hand. “I’ll be fine. I doubt there’s anyone here with a higher rank than me.”
Unless the Emperor or some member of the Imperial Family happened to be lurking about, there weren’t many who could actually punish me here.
Of course, if I started openly badmouthing the Imperial Family, the other nobles would probably report me…
But I doubt anyone’s going to turn me in over something that trivial.
I shrugged and gave the coachman a reassuring pat on the back, adding, “So breathe, will you? You’ll suffocate at this rate.”
“Ah! Yes, of course!” Only then did the coachman finally let out a huge sigh of relief. “Whew! In that case, I’ll trust you alone, Young Master!”
“Suit yourself. Anyway, is the inn much farther?”
“We’re almost there, sir.”
The coachman, wearing a servile smile, bobbed his head repeatedly and led us to an inn.
Unlike the other flashy establishments, this one wore its age openly. It looked like it had been standing for at least thirty years.
“Here we are.”
“…It’s so dirty,” Lancelot grumbled, glancing around the inn.
Despite appearances, he was the pickiest about cleanliness in our whole group.
I said, “It’s still cleaner than your face, so let’s just go in. But really, I have to ask—why don’t you ever shave?”
“…Bloody hell, I really am everyone’s punching bag.”
“I can hear you, you know.”
“I said it so you would!”
“Ah, I see. Kai?”
“Yes, shall I kill him?”
“…No, don’t kill him.”
Kai, ever the eager volunteer, had already half-drawn his dagger before I waved him off.
I let out a faint sigh and continued. “We’ll save killing Lancelot for another day. For now, check if there are any rooms available.”
“Yes, sir. Let’s go, old man.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
Kai tugged at the coachman’s sleeve. The poor man nodded with a bewildered look and shuffled inside.
Honestly, sending just the coachman would have sufficed, but I wasn’t quite ready to trust him with our fate.
After all, if he was planning to swindle us, that wouldn’t do at all.
It’s not like I could justify killing him over a little swindling.
There was nothing quite better than nipping trouble in the bud before it blooms into a full-blown disaster.
So we waited outside the inn for only a short while.
Creeeak. The door opened and Kai appeared, wearing that blank look of his.
He nodded and said, “They said we can come in.”
I waved a hand to signal my understanding and led the group inside.
The inside of the inn was somehow even more rundown than its exterior had promised.
Still, someone had at least made an effort to clean up, so it didn’t feel dirty.
“…There aren’t going to be rats, are there?” Lancelot, still grumbling, voiced his displeasure yet again.
I ignored the knight and walked over to the coachman.
The coachman, spotting me, scratched the back of his head and spoke up. “Haha… It’s a bit run-down, isn’t it?”
“It is. So, why do you recommend this place?”
“It’s the safest place around.” The coachman answered with an awkward grin.
I tilted my head. The safest? This decrepit building? I couldn’t make sense of it.
“What makes it so safe?” I asked, puzzled.
The coachman hesitated, glanced around, and then answered in a low voice. “It’s because the Miph Merchant Guild hasn’t stuck their fingers in here.”
The Miph Merchant Guild? Why were they suddenly being mentioned here?
I lifted my chin, signaling him to explain further, and the coachman opened his mouth to continue.
But then…
“If you’ve come, sit down! What are you standing around for?”
A blunt, no-nonsense woman’s voice cut through their conversation.
Turning to look, I saw a stout woman in an apron, holding a frying pan and glaring at us. She looked every bit the innkeeper.
I was about to offer a polite greeting when the coachman, flustered, hurried over and waved his hands. “Ma’am! These are nobles! If you talk like that, you’ll get yourself in trouble!”
…I’d noticed this coachman seemed to live in constant fear. He had a real talent for worrying out loud.
I shot him a cold look.
Meanwhile, the innkeeper snorted, slapped her frying pan down on the kitchen table, and said, “Hell. If I can’t speak my mind in my own inn, I might as well be dead. What’s the point of living, then?”
“Agh, ma’am!”
“What is it now, you fool! That so-called noble over there doesn’t seem to care, so why are you making such a fuss?” The innkeeper pointed her chin at me as she shouted.
Only then did the coachman glance at my face. Realizing his blunder, he quickly bowed and began begging for forgiveness.
“Oh, my lord! Please, just think of it as the ramblings of a dotty old woman and show a little mercy!”
“…I’m fine. Just take a seat,” I said, sighing faintly.
Only then did the coachman, after glancing around furtively, sidle over and settle into a nearby chair.
I pulled out the chair across from him, sat down, and turned to address the innkeeper.
“Two ales and one Quatria roast. For the rooms—” I paused mid-order, glanced back at my companions, and continued, “—give us two small rooms and one large one.”
Perhaps it was the way I ordered, as if I did this sort of thing every day, but the innkeeper raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
“…Here I thought you were some high-and-mighty nobleman. Are you with a mercenary band?”
“I am high-born, and I have been a mercenary. Just bring the food, will you?”
“Hm… All right, then.”
The innkeeper shot me an intrigued look, but soon enough turned her ample frame and lumbered back toward the kitchen.
Once she’d disappeared, the coachman looked at me, curiosity replacing some of his earlier nerves. “You’ve worked as a mercenary before, sir?”
“Is that really important?”
“Oh, it’s not that, but… I’ve just never seen a nobleman such as yourself order Quatria or ale before.”
“I grew up a bit rough, that’s all.”
Quatria meat, for those not in the know, is the sort of pungent, gamey stuff that only mercenaries would eat by choice.
And ale—well, ale is so cheap and smells so strongly of regret that it’s practically the official drink of mercenaries. Nobles like me aren’t supposed to go near the stuff.
Of course, before I turned back the clock and stopped being House Artezia’s favorite hunting dog, I ate plenty of both and got used to it.
The coachman, oblivious to all this, seemed to relax a little, as if my taste in questionable food made me more approachable.
“Haha… No wonder I sensed a real wild streak about you, sir!”
“Man’s slathering on the butter real thick alright,” Lancelot jeered.
“Kai, hit Lancelot in the stomach.”
Thud!
“Argh!”
Caught completely off guard, Lancelot clutched his belly and rolled on the floor.
Honestly, loosen the reins even a little and people will instantly be climbing all over you.
I ignored Lancelot, who was still loudly advertising his pain to anyone within earshot, and turned my attention to the coachman.
The coachman, meanwhile, watched Lancelot roll around on the floor and swallowed hard.
“Let’s get one thing straight first,” I began.
“Y-yes, sir!”
The brief moment of ease in the room snapped back into tension.
But since I saw no compelling reason to let things relax again, I pressed on, ignoring the coachman’s discomfort.
“Lancelot is my knight, so I’ll forgive his rudeness. But if you cross me, I promise you—I’ll take your head.”
“O-of course, sir!” The coachman nodded vigorously.
Watching him, I continued my questioning. “Now, let’s pick up where we left off. You said there are places the Miph Merchant Guild can’t reach. Does that mean everywhere else is under their control?”
“Y-yes, that’s right!” The coachman nodded, tension radiating off him.
“Relax. As long as you don’t cross the line—” Clink. A gold coin landed on the table. “—I can be as generous as you like.”
Gulp. The coachman’s eyes flickered with greed.
But after a moment’s struggle, he pushed the coin back and shook his head.
“N-no, sir. When a man takes more than he’s owed, trouble always finds him in the end.”
“…That’s unexpected.” I retrieved the coin without protest and slipped it into my coat.
I’d expected him to grab for the gold, but apparently, even greed has its boundaries.
With a faint sense of trust budding toward the man, I spoke. “All right, then. Tell me—what’s this about the Miph Merchant Guild?”
The coachman wiped the cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve and began.
“Whew. To explain that, I’ll have to start with myself. I grew up here, in Miphra Territory. That old lady over there—she’s the one who took me in when I was just a petty thief and turned me into a proper human being.”
I cast a look toward the innkeeper.
No wonder they seemed so familiar. There was a story there, after all.
Perhaps, more than the promise of safety, the real reason he’d brought her here was to repay her kindness.
Well, I’m not about to judge him for that
I tapped my fingers on the table and nodded for him to continue.
The coachman nodded back and began to speak, words spilling out in a rush.
“Right. To be completely honest, the reason I brought you here, sir, was to repay the madam’s kindness. This place is so run-down that no one ever comes as a guest.”
“Honest of you.”
“It’s the best way to keep out of trouble, after all. Anyway, what you’re really curious about is why this is the only safe place, isn’t it? It might sound strange, but if you go anywhere connected to the Miph Merchant Guild, you’ll end up getting sucked into gambling.”
I cocked my head. Gambling? That was unexpected.
As I blinked in puzzlement, he hurried to explain.
“I don’t know the reason. Maybe it’s drugs, or maybe it’s some kind of magic the Demonkin uses. No one really knows. All we know is that travelers who go there all become gambling addicts and end up wandering these parts forever.”
The coachman pointed out the window with a finger.
“See those shops? Every one you can see from here belongs to the Miph Merchant Guild. In fact, aside from the madam’s place, they all do. So, you see, it’s no lie that this is the safest spot.”
He finished with a faint, uncertain smile.
Judging by his expression, the man didn’t seem to be lying.
I nodded, letting it go for now. “All right, I believe you’re telling the truth.”
“Whew! That’s a relief.” He exclaimed with a sigh of relief.
“But since this place is so run-down, why not fix it up? Business would be better.”
“That’s all because of the Miph Merchant Guild, too. Whether it’s renovations or repairs, you have to hire one of their shops. But if they won’t take the job, what can you do?”
Without thinking, I muttered in realization. “So, all of those belong to the Miph Merchant Guild, and they just refuse to take the job… Is that it?”
“That’s correct.”
“But why? Is there any real reason for that? Seems unnecessary.” I tilted my head in confusion.
Just who was this landlady for them to be so hostile?
No, more importantly, the Miph Merchant Guild had always been attached to House Artezia. Why would a guild like that bother with a woman like her?
I tapped my finger on the table for a moment, baffled by the whole situation.
Then the coachman began to answer my unspoken question.