Having calmed herself a bit with the touch of steel, Neia exhaled a puff of white, pulled her cape close around her, and sped up.
Thinking of the bad news she had to deliver made her feet drag. That’s why she had to consciously move faster. It was better to get unpleasant work over with as soon as possible.
Soon, the inn where the delegation was staying came into view.
It was a gorgeous inn, and the price was proportionately high. She had heard it was one of the top five places to stay in the royal capital.
Thinking of the state of the Northern Sacred Kingdom and how her countrymen were suffering, it felt wrong to be enjoying such luxury. And in fact, the woman heading up the delegation had opposed it on those exact grounds, saying it would be better to choose a lower-class inn and use the money they saved for something else.
But the man who was second-in-command made a suggestion that overturned the leader’s opinion. “If we, as representatives of the Sacred Kingdom, stay in shabby lodgings, people will think Roebel is done for. To avoid giving that impression, we need to stay somewhere expensive to show that our country is still sound.”
Logically, he was right, and no one from the delegation objected. The leader was the only one to disagree—it just didn’t sit right with her emotionally. They argued for a while, and the others urged her until she reluctantly agreed.
Still, everyone understood that they didn’t have money to spare. In order to keep their visit short, they were even putting Neia, a squire, to work.
The delegation’s purpose for visiting Re-Estize was to request aid for Roebel; Neia and the other members were ordered to make appointments with strong people in the kingdom.
The delegation leader wasn’t wrong to think that a squire could make an appointment.
But the only squire in the group was Neia; all the other members were full-fledged paladins. Even if she made an appointment, when whoever she visited heard that their peers were visited by paladins and they only met with a squire, what would they think?
Probably, they would be offended. Even Neia realized that, so she suggested as much, but her orders didn’t change. A mere squire like herself couldn’t say much else, but still she persisted.
If it was her own failure and only her own, that would be one thing. But it might end with the Sacred Kingdom getting less assistance in this time of agonizing struggle. She couldn’t simply say, Yes, understood, when so many lives were on the line.
A squire not immediately following orders had put the delegation leader in an even worse mood. She acted as if everything was Neia’s fault. The second-in-command stepped in and resolved the issue, but it was clear that the leader didn’t think very highly of Neia.
The reason Neia had come was supposedly to keep watch on their travels with her sharp vision. Expecting anything else out of her put her in a tough spot.
Not like I can tell them that…
Neia sighed up at the sky and watched the white puff of her breath disappear into the chilly air. The thought of returning to the inn and being under all that pressure made her stomach hurt.
The noble she had gone to visit wasn’t terribly influential—in terms of rank in the Kingdom—so though she didn’t manage to get a meeting, it probably wasn’t a big deal. Still, she knew the delegation leader would gripe at her.
…What can we expect? We’re asking people with some degree of standing to meet without forewarning. They probably need time to investigate my background and gather information. I might have been able to get a meeting after waiting a week or so.
Or maybe that was just an excuse.
And it was our leader who decided we could only spend a few days in the capital… Our leader…
Their leader was always on edge as of late; she seemed to be having a hard time controlling her emotions.
She didn’t used to be like that, Neia knew. Their leader was once tolerant and generous—or sloppy, to put it less kindly. But after the battle where the Holy Lady had been lost, her personality changed dramatically.
“…I just can’t catch a break.”
As a squire, Neia had to hang her head in response to her leader’s scolding, even if it wasn’t fair.
That said, this burden was nothing compared to what the people still living and fighting in the Sacred Kingdom were experiencing. She could just lower her head and wait for the storm to pass.
Having steeled her resolve—or perhaps just resigning herself—Neia arrived at the inn.
With a deep breath, she took off her hood and pushed the grand door open.
Since it was such a high-class inn, it didn’t open up immediately into the lounge; there was a little room first. Apparently, this was a place to wipe the mud from one’s boots.
That said, she’d only been to a wealthy area paved with stones, which had been much the same as the area around the inn. It hadn’t even been raining, so of course her boots weren’t dirty.
Neia opened the door opposite the one she had come in.
Warm air flowed out.
Directly across from her was reception. And to the right was the bar. To the left were the stairs, and near there were some sofas facing each other.
There was no hearth in the room—the difference in temperature from the outside was supposedly thanks to a magic object.
In Roebel, most casters were priests, and they didn’t create many items for use in everyday life. It seemed Re-Estize was ahead in terms of technology. If that was the case, then the empire her father spoke of had to be amazing.
She figured she’d live out her days without ever visiting, but she couldn’t help wishing a bit.
Most village girls lived their whole lives without getting to see anything beyond where they were born. People like Neia who served their country but weren’t particular adept at anything
