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Chapter 274 part 1

Amria, whose resolve was so steadfast that even I would require an immense effort to shatter, sought information from Gudo that was necessary for her determined course of action.

Gudo caught Amria’s gaze, shining with fierce determination, and straightened his back slightly. Hmmm, to Gudo, who was doing business openly in a foreign country while having the backing of his nation, Amria must have seemed like more than just an ordinary person.

「How does that Regul typically spend his days?」

「Well, he is not only the head of The Roaring Sun’s Majesty, but he’s also in charge of uniting the subordinate tribes, so he usually secludes himself in the governor’s office that they have seized and renovated.

He was originally the kind of brave warrior who would lead the charge on the front lines by himself and inspire his allies, so he often joined training drills. But I’ve heard that he’s past the age where his hot-bloodedness can be excused, and he’s constantly being nagged at….」

It seems that Gudo was struck with a bad feeling at this point. The look he gave Amria was rapidly filling with suspicion and doubt. I can’t help but feel a touch of sympathy for Gudo.

「I understand. I see. So it’s not like I can just go to the governor’s office and be sure to meet him. If I don’t figure out his daily routine, it’s likely to end in a wild goose chase. I have limited time, so I need to focus on gathering information.」

The seriousness hidden in Amria’s voice and her words made Gudo realize what she intended, causing his amiable Bearkin Tribe face to stiffen.

Of course he would react this way. Amria was planning to meet with the most important figure of the Roaring Sun’s Majesty, and this was right after Sazamina had just warned her at the barrack to never cause trouble again!

「W-Well, you’re not considering a meeting with Mr. Regul, right? Lady Ana?」

Gudo was the only one in doubt here. Not only I but also Yachiyo, Fuuko, Lynette, and the others were certain Amria would see and hear Regul to verify his character herself.

However, even considering the fact that she had been living in hiding in the royal castle of the Arkrest Kingdom, wasn’t she becoming a bit too assertive? Had the days in the Romal Empire awakened dormant qualities in her?

「Ufufu, well, who knows. Even a naive and inexperienced girl like me can tell that what you’re saying is very difficult.」

「Y-yes, that’s right. Ahahaha, I couldn’t help but read too much into your words. I prided myself on being able to deal with all sorts of merchants. But still much to learn, it seems. I’m still immature, very immature, hahaha.」

But Gudo, Amria said it would be difficult, but she never said it was impossible or that she couldn’t do it. Had he not realized this, or was he subconsciously pretending not to hear?

Either way, his stomach and nerves were already burdened by the present situation, but it seemed a greater burden awaited him.

Amria, still with a friendly and charming smile on her face, calmly pressed Gudo, who was still shaken, for more information.

If the other person showed any sign of weakness, she would pounce on it without hesitation. It was like she had the instincts and aggression of a predator.

「You never miss an opportunity Lady Ana. Your skill in reading people’s breaths and pauses impresses me.」

Torne, or Lynette, was right. It appeared that Amria had honed not just her bravery but also her observational and decision-making skills.

Amria was unaware of Lynette’s high praise and continued speaking to Gudo. Her words were not entirely false but did not expressing her full feelings either.

I seriously wondered if Amria could become a famed female swindler who could manipulate men in the blink of an eye if she so desired. Oh dear, hmmmmm.

「If possible, I would like to witness the visage of that young leader who’ve been stirring up turmoil in the Romal Empire, but if it’s too difficult, I won’t force it.

By the way, you mentioned only the names of the extremists earlier. Who represents the moderate faction, which I believe is a small group? If put in typical plays or stories, it will often be Regul’s sister or his lover who represents the moderates, and they’re often at odds with each other.」

「Oh, I haven’t mentioned that, have I? Well, Lady Ana, you might be a bit too influenced by the plays. The Roaring Sun’s Majesty’s moderate faction is led by an elder Lionfolk named Leora.

Having witnessed a long history of conflict and discrimination, she seems to be calmly telling the younger members of the tribe that once they have reclaimed their ancestral lands and driven out the Romal people, there is no need to spread the flames of war any further.

However, the fact that the Romal Empire still has a large military force, coupled with the excitement and euphoria of their initial victories, means that very very few people are considering a truce or ceasefire, let alone a peace treaty.

「I see. I’m not sure if I’m entitled to feel this way, but it’s sad that voices desiring peace are so faint.」

Gudo’s expression turned just as sorrowful as Amria’s expression that laden with genuine sorrow.

Gudo was not a heartless man, but he was also a merchant who could separate his emotions from his actions. However, at this moment, he was showing his emotions honestly, as if he were being influenced by Amria in front of him.

「Simply ending the fighting doesn’t equate to peace. True peace is meaningful only when achieved after specific results. As long as the parties involved believe that peace is meaningful only if certain outcomes are achieved, the fighting will not end so easily.

However, the current situation in the Romal Empire is quite complicated due in part to the political situation in other countries. From what I understand, both the people of the Empire and those who rebelled against them would rather not bow to other countries.」

I wondered if Gudo, who was on the side of the other countries, wanted a situation in which the Arkrest Kingdom could easily intervene to benefit himself.

Even in Gudo’s position, the identity of Amria in front of him would be kept secret, but I wonder how he would react if he knew that the hidden princess of the Romal Empire was right before his eyes.

Hmm, the princess of the Romal Empire, huh. Amria’s identity, which must never be easily revealed, could potentially be a trump card that could change the situation. Amria herself probably understood the value of herself as such.

It wouldn’t have been strange even before, but now, she was probably thinking about how to use herself most effectively while talking to Gudo.

Amria’s twin sister, Princess Asteria, was known as a brilliant woman with extraordinary thinking speed, but what about Amria? Hmmmm.

*

After successfully linking up with Gudo and Aldam’s merchant’s association, who were Uminal’s allies, we left our luggage and carriage with him and decided to take a look around Uminal.

Amria was reluctant, remembering the incident at the barrack. Still, she reluctantly put on a hood to hide her face and changed into foreign clothes from a country member of the Aldam’s merchant’s association instead of Romal’s.

In contrast to Romal’s single-piece, loose attire, she wore a vividly embroidered indigo blue skirt, a white shirt, a sleeveless deep green corset, and a hooded short coat.

Just to be safe, she had a magic ring enchanted with an illusion spell on her left middle finger that made her look different. This was a precaution to prevent anyone from recognizing Amria and causing another disturbance while she was walking around Uminal in her human form.

If we were asked about our identities again at the barrack or elsewhere, we would say that Amria was staying at the Aldam Trading Company and that we, having free time on our hands, were sightseeing in Uminal as bodyguards for a foreign woman who was doing business with the Aldam’s merchant’s association.

After all, it was not a lie to say that we were sightseeing while working as bodyguards.

And so, we headed to the port, where waves from the blue sea resonated through us.

In the harbor, sturdy sailors were loading ships with goods for the next voyage: spices, pottery with unique local colors and shapes, dried seafood, high-quality silk, pearl jewelry, and oil pressed from plentiful olives.

Conversely, quite a lot of tea leaves, minerals, fabrics, various liquors, high-quality wood, Magicite, spirit stones, and their processed products were being unloaded from the ships’ storages.

「Hmm, I don’t see any slaves around.」

The heart-wrenching memory of countless people torn from their families, expelled from their homelands, and forced to cross the sea in poor conditions to be bought and sold as slaves remained vivid in my mind. Fortunately, such scenes were not being repeated in Uminal.

While Amria, Lynette, Gundeus, and Kyrlinne were unfamiliar with slavery, Yachiyo and Fuuko nodded in agreement with my words, perhaps because they had seen it in their homeland.

Hmm, though Gundeus and Kyrlinne, in a way, might be considered slaves left by the Deva, I’d like to think that was different since they were living with their own free will now. But did they appear as my slaves to others?

「That’s right. When I and Fuuk-…,Ah,I were shipwrecked and adrift at sea, we desperately wished for rescue, even if it meant being enslaved, even if it meant becoming slaves, but we also didn’t want to be treated terribly. We were whimpering in that mix of feelings.」

「At that time, we were so scared that we might end up in a shark’s belly that we almost peed ourselves. We were rescued by a fishing boat that passed by and taken to a different port. We had a close call that day, didn’t we, Hachi?

Thinking back on it now, the reason we weren’t sold to slave dealers was probably because they were also being oppressed by the Romal Empire and couldn’t bear to mistreat other beastmen, even if they were from a different country.

Whatever the reason, Hatch and I were very grateful.」

「You guys have a slavery system in your homeland too?」

During their stay in the Arkrest Kingdom, Yachiyo and Fuuko apparently had yet to delve much into the history of their homeland, Akitsukuni. Faced with Amria’s inquiry, both Hachi (Yachiyo) and Fuu (Fuuko) pondered a lot.

It was clear that this was not a pleasant topic to discuss, and it seemed understandable for them to be distressed.

Hatch, with a bit shameful face, pursed her lower lip and spoke in a gloomy voice about the situation in her homeland.

「Even now, in times of famine or war, people sell their children into servitude to reduce the number of mouths to feed and to earn money to tide them over.

Though it’s different from the old practice of buying and selling humans, selling oneself to pay land tax is allowed. So, it’s not accurate to say that there are no slaves in my homeland.」

Even during the Warring States period, from some feudal lords who were praised as wise and pious rulers who upheld their beliefs, famous generals who were said to be benevolent rulers who set the Gokougomin land-tax system [1. TL Note: “Gokougomin land-tax system” is “the land-tax system during the Edo period under which the government took half of the year’s crop, and the farmers kept the other half.] and treated commoners and samurai equally, to the military commander, who was said to be a wise ruler adored by his people, all of them engaged in the buying and selling of humans.」

Fuuko ended her statement not with a tone of sorrow but as if she had accepted this as the reality of the world. 「There’s no country in the world where history is only filled with happiness and joy.」

Sometimes, these two said things that were full of meaning, making it hard to see them as just cheerful, carefree, and clumsy girls.

「What do you think of their answer, Ana?」

「If it’s a story from the past, then it means that things are at least a little different now. Even if a similar system still exists, someone must be thinking that things must not continue as they were and have been working to improve them on a national level.

And if this continues, the concept of slavery will eventually become a distant word, a distant concept. Of course, the opposite is also possible, but I want to follow the path I’ve discovered.」

「Well, that was more reassuring than I expected. Hachi, Fuu, how have you been spending your time here? I’m sure coming to the Empire has had some influence, but I think Ana has grown a lot stronger.」

「I’ve learned much, eaten much, played much, and slept much, thanks to everyone’s kindness. but I don’t think anything else has changed that much.」

「Me too, me too.I agree with Hachi. Ana, how do you feel about it yourself?」

「Me? Well, like Hachi said, I’m still grateful that you guys indulged my selfishness. Thanks to that, I’ve learned so much, and I’ve come to realize how much I owe to so many people, and I want to repay that in some way.

Also, everything I’ve seen since coming to the Empire has made me truly understand the responsibility that comes with the blood that flows through my veins. I think that everyone I’ve met since you took me away from that place has helped to shape who I am today.」