1. Margaran>After finishing their sightseeing in Renorva, Sian and Steel headed east.
To be precise, they headed toward the eastern coast of Broshan, located to the east of Renorva.
Because while deciding their next destination, this place had piqued Sian’s interest.
Sian had asked Lady Steel, who was now traveling with him, for her understanding, but since any place was fine as long as Sian was going there, Steel readily agreed.
And so, their destination upon departure was Margaran, a great city on the eastern coast of Broshan.
“Hmm… Lady Steel, has it been long since you last saw the sea?”
“Well… partly that, but I’ve also never gone for anything besides work.”
“Work, you say?”
“Well… naval battles… pirate suppression… amphibious assaults… that sort of thing?”
“…….”
“But the sea is terribly convenient, you know. Bodies don’t remain. You just sink them in one blow. Haha! And even if blood splatters, it’s easy to clean up.”
“…….”
At times like this, she truly seemed like a carnivorous beast, so Sian looked at her with a sigh.
“Little brother, why are you looking at me like that? Huhu, you’d do the same, wouldn’t you? You’ve never let anyone who rushed at you to kill you go free, have you?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“That’s how it is. Hehe. I just operate on a slightly larger scale.”
Amidst their conversation, the carriage had already arrived near their destination.
The moment they crossed the hill, a blue ocean stretched out in the distance, and along the coast lay a city and beach of enormous scale.
Moreover, this vibrant city situated on the coast of the Kiaran Sea was famous for two things.
First, it was the largest trade port connecting Kiaran and Broshan, where hundreds of ships came and went each day, exchanging people and goods.
Second, it was a beautiful resort counted among the top five destinations that nobles wished to travel to across the entire Rasian Continent.
The northern part of the city was developed with trade ports and commercial districts, while the southern part was filled with villas and tourist sites for noble accommodations.
As Broshan was a neutral country, whether or not one owned a villa in the resort district of Margaran had become a point of pride for nobles of various nations.
To that extent, villas here were precious, and the lodgings built by merchant guilds for commercial purposes were always bustling.
Even in the off-season, people never stopped coming.
Moreover, it was now the peak season of all peak seasons.
Even from afar, the entire city was visibly teeming with people.
Because it was the season for
And Sian and Steel, who had gone there without knowing this, were now facing a problem.
“Are you saying there’s no room here either…?”
“Yes, sir. If you don’t make a reservation during the Ragaope season…….”
The clerk’s expression, trailing off at the end of his sentence, seemed to say, “How bold of you to come without a reservation.”
“Phew! Everything’s packed… Arriving during the festival season is nice and all, but……”
Having more things to see was good, but having nowhere to stay was a big problem.
The situation was probably similar elsewhere. Indeed, the streets were overflowing with people stomping their feet in frustration at being unable to find a room.
“Huhu… Little brother, why take the hard way when a single request is all you need? Just one word. One. Word.”
“Ugh…….”
Sian flinched as he looked at Steel, who was chuckling sinisterly beside him.
Lady Steel beside him remained perfectly composed, as if she had some trick up her sleeve.
It was a leisurely attitude, as if she were watching to see how long he would hold out before asking.
Sian had been reluctant to ask Lady Steel for help because he knew that if he did, she would definitely bring it up somewhere later and demand something in return.
But judging from the situation, it seemed difficult to find a room.
In the end, Sian declared his surrender.
“…
Hoo, very well. I ask of you, Lady Steel.”
“Hahaha! If it’s a re! Quest! from my little brother, of course I’ll oblige. Perhaps you’re starting to feel that bringing me along was an excellent decision?”
‘Haah…….’
Steel strode ahead with a laugh, and Sian followed behind.
“Uh… Lady Steel? Is this the right place?”
“Of course, of course.”
Exile
Entering the long-distance intercity liaison center
And after cutting straight across the nobles’ vacation villas towering along the coast, she soon passed through a white-sand beach restricted as private property where no one was present.
At the end of this entire path stood… a building truly the size of a house—no, closer to a mansion that one would be almost embarrassed to call a mere villa.
Moreover, its garden was so vast that it occupied an entire corner of the famously expensive southern Margaran as private land.
“Hmm… Lady Steel, I’m afraid I only have enough money to stay in a bathroom around here…….”
He had saved some money during his Dragona days, but how much could he have earned?
Sian lacked the means to stay in a villa that made one’s jaw drop just by looking at it.
“Huhu, don’t worry. A child I know lent me this place for free.”
“Hmm… A child you know?”
“Of course, of course.”
Sian carefully recalled what the sign at this place had said on their way here.
‘A child she knows…….’
Sian shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Lady Steel.
“Huhu, let’s go inside.”
Steel strode in and entered the mansion.☆ ☆ ☆“Lady Steel, a villa like this mansion seems truly enormous, doesn’t it?”
“Huhu. You don’t have to be too grateful.”
“If it’s this large, there must be an incredible number of rooms, right?”
“Hmm… I heard there are ninety-nine, but I don’t quite remember.”
“And currently, excluding the caretakers, the only guests are myself and Lady Steel, correct?”
“Exactly. With me here, who would dare share the villa?”
“…
Then why must Lady Steel and I stay in the same room?”
Relying on clear logic, Sian pressed Steel, who was rolling around on a bed as large as a regular home’s garden.
“Ah… Well. I’m quite sorry about it too. What can be done about things that can’t be helped? I rented this place too. We have to follow the house rules.”
“…….”
“Ah! You must not have heard earlier? Then let me tell you one more time.”
Steel snapped her fingers, and soon after, a caretaker who had been waiting outside the door entered politely.
“You called.”
“Yes. As far as I know, there is only one room here where the two of us can stay, correct?”
“That is correct.”
Seeing the caretaker answer without a moment’s hesitation, Sian made an incredulous expression.
“…
Excuse me? Is that really true?”
“It is.”
“I’m certain I saw about thirty vacant rooms on our way here.”
“They are being used as storerooms.”
“Storerooms for what?”
“For storing chairs, beds, dining tables, and wardrobes.”
“…
Then isn’t this place also a storeroom?”
“It is not.”
“Haah…….”
Whatever methods she had used, the caretakers here were all on Lady Steel’s side.
No, to be exact, they looked more like slaves.
Sian couldn’t even complain since he was staying here through her request, so he let out a deep sigh.
“Huhu, what can you do? They say men and women should be kept apart, but this is a special case, so it’s fine.”
Steel looked at Sian triumphantly.
“…It can’t be helped. In any case, thank you, Lady Steel. Now that we have lodging, let’s go out to see the festival.”
Sian took solace in the fact that the bed was enormously wide and prepared to go out.☆ ☆ ☆The festival held once a year in Margaran, Ragaope, was a festival honoring the maritime hero ‘Ragaope’, who hundreds of years ago had first succeeded in navigating the sea route connecting Kiaran and Broshan.
The stretch connecting Kiaran and Broshan required an enormous detour by land, but could be crossed much faster by sea.
However, no one had been able to trade through that sea route.
That was because the route was swarming with Harijan living in the sea.
Because they were colossal, they didn’t come up to the shore, but any ship trying to cross the sea was completely sunk and became their food.
The sea was different from land, so many Bandeo and dharma masters had tried to open the route but failed. In the old days, one of Broshan’s Grand-Bandeo had boldly challenged it and ended up fish food, after which everyone had practically given up on the sea route.
If even a Grand-Bandeo had failed, who could possibly break through such a perilous sea route!
But Ragaope broke through.
What abilities he possessed or what methods he used were never revealed, but Ragaope discovered a single safe route unviolated by Harijan and informed both Broshan and Kiaran of it.
At the beginning of that route was Margaran.
With the discovery of the route named after the great pioneer, Ragaope—
“…
So it explains in this pamphlet. Fascinating.”
“Hmm… I’ve heard of it. That there was someone who accomplished a great pioneering feat in the eastern continent before I was born. So that person was someone named Ragaope, it seems.”
“Could he have been a new Ra-Bandeo?”
“Huhuhu. I don’t think so. One can hide their whereabouts after becoming a Ra-Bandeo, but they cannot hide the fact that they became one.”
A thorn in one’s pocket is bound to stick out.
Moreover, a talent great enough to become a Ra-Bandeo is no mere thorn.
It would be stranger if rumors didn’t spread while such a person wandered around for decades before becoming a Ra-Bandeo.
“Then perhaps he was a peculiar Exer… that possibility exists too.”
“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t much matter. And if he had been a Ra-Bandeo, he wouldn’t have stopped at just opening one route. Here, try this. It’s delicious.”
Saying so, Steel thrust the skewer—a Margaran specialty she held in her hand—straight toward Sian’s mouth.
Sian bit off a mouthful, chewed, and nodded at her words.
If he had been a Ra-Bandeo, he would have tried to tear apart and kill every Harijan in the Kiaran Sea. It would only be worth challenging if it were to that degree.
“Hmm. We should go here next.
The Rokum Show was so popular that one had to wait in line, so Sian asked on the off-chance.
“…….”
“If not, there’s nothing to be done. Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?”
There was much to see, so Sian ignored Steel’s incredulous gaze and quickly made his way through the crowd.