第５４１堀：鉄面の女 (Part1)
**Chapter 541: The Iron-Faced Woman**
**Side: Yuki**
"Final check. Is everything...?"
"Are the rooms prepared...?"
"Is the food prep underway...?"
Voices were flying back and forth since the early morning. The reason for this commotion was simple: today, the envoys from the Findal Empire were arriving in Baide, and everyone was scrambling to finish the final preparations.
"Lady Catherine, the security deployment for the city is complete."
"Understood. The citizens will be waking up soon, so make the announcement again. Ensure there is no discourtesy shown to the Findal Empire’s envoys."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Beside me, Catherine, the lord of Baide, was busy overseeing the final preparations to welcome the envoys. As expected of someone who had been managing the trade city of Baide, she was accustomed to welcoming dignitaries from other nations. She showed no signs of panic, handling everything with steady efficiency.
Catherine truly is an invaluable talent. Of course, being capable just means she ends up being incredibly busy. I had my own preparations to handle for Weed, so I was very grateful to be able to leave this to her. It meant I could just sit back and listen to the reports. Well, I did have to manage the transport of supplies from Weed since they were running low, but that was about it.
As I was thinking this, Catherine finished giving her orders and walked over to me.
"Yuki-sama. The preparations to welcome the Findal Empire will be ready shortly."
"Any issues?"
"None in particular. The citizens are a bit wary about welcoming the Imperial army, but that is to be expected."
I suppose that’s unavoidable. They were invaded, after all; it would be unreasonable to expect them to feel completely at ease.
"There is a slight possibility of someone trying to harm the envoys out of resentment for the attack on Baide, but fortunately, the citizens suffered no casualties in the recent battle. I believe the risk of retaliatory violence is quite low. If anything, they are more likely to just lock themselves in their homes."
"Yeah, that sounds about right. If there was going to be any retaliation, it would have happened when Georgin and his men first started moving in Baide."
"Indeed. Thanks to the reconstruction efforts led by Georgin-dono and the Imperial army, the sentiment toward the Empire isn't actually that bad. Besides, picking a fight with Weed would be suicide. Neither Baide nor the Empire would be foolish enough to do that. The soldiers on both sides are desperate to prevent any such retaliatory acts."
Ah, right. At Georgin’s request, Shera had set the stage, and together with Aslin and the others, they had crushed anyone who tried to stir up trouble. Thanks to that, the soldiers stationed in Baide and the Imperial troops were now working together quite amicably.
"If there’s going to be a retaliatory attack, it would be against us in Weed."
"...No, I don't think so. The people of Baide, the magic students, and the Imperial soldiers were all thoroughly humbled. I doubt the common folk would think of causing us harm after seeing that. I also asked *that person* to keep an eye on the underworld."
"Ah, Bicks?"
"Yes. You also took measures early on, Yuki-sama, and we have been distributing food regardless of social standing. There is no reason for the commoners to hold a grudge against Weed in this situation."
"Well, I know it’s relatively safe, but don't let your guard down."
"I understand."
"As for the welcoming party, it’s as planned: Georgin-dono, Shera, and Catherine will be the main representatives, with Samantha and Ria as guards. My personal guard will be Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro. Cleena, Aslin, and Firia will handle the surveillance and mobile defense for the entire city. I think that should be enough to prevent any attacks on the VIPs."
"Thank you for your consideration."
With that, the preparations were finished without any major issues, and all that remained was to wait for their arrival. There were plenty of things to do, but I couldn't afford to be running around frantically. I borrowed an office in Baide to work on some paperwork when Catherine and Georgin entered.
"Have they arrived?"
"Yes. They have set up camp about ten kilometers away."
"Then, as planned, we will head out to welcome Princess Stasia and Prince George."
"I leave it to you. Shera, you’re the conversationalist. Samantha, Ria, I’m counting on you for protection."
"Yes!" the three replied in unison.
With that, the five of them left the room. Now, let’s try to clear as much work as possible.
"Aren't you going to go see how it’s going?" Cleena asked as I resumed my paperwork.
"Cleena, you’re monitoring everything right now, aren't you? There’s no reason for me to go out there. If a battle breaks out, this place will become the temporary command center. For that reason alone, I can’t be moving around."
"Hmm. Makes sense."
Cleena seemed satisfied and continued monitoring the situation via the call screen. Then, Dressa, who had remained as a guard, seemed to have a question of her own. She waited for Cleena to finish before speaking up.
"That’s fine and all, but why are we the ones guarding Yuki?"
"Dressa!! Guarding Onii-sama is an honor!"
"No, calm down, Vilia. Aren't Samantha and Ria more skilled than us? Wouldn't it have been better if we went to guard the welcoming party?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, that’s true. Hiiro is curious too."
"It’s exactly as it sounds. Ria and Samantha have higher combat capabilities. If a battle were to break out, they would be able to protect the targets while fighting their way out. Besides, there’s the matter of etiquette. Since we’re protecting high-ranking officials, a certain level of decorum is required. Ria is still a bit rough around the edges, but Seraria has been teaching her, and Samantha is a lady by birth. She knows the intricate customs of the Rogali Continent and has even been taught the etiquette of Hayden and Findal by Catherine. Dressa, could you handle that?"
"Ugh. No way, no way. I’m glad I’m guarding Yuki."
"Hiiro can't do it either~"
"...You two really need to study more."
Vilia’s temple twitched as she grew angry. Personally, I thought all three of them were doing their best, but Vilia’s standards seemed quite high.
"I mean, Dressa! You were a princess, weren't you!? Have a little more dignity!"
"Ah, Vilia. I told you, I’m not good with those kinds of details. Hiiro hates etiquette too, right?"
"It’s all so complicated, Hiiro hates it."
"Geez!!"
Vilia seemed to be getting heated up.
"Calm down, Vilia. They’ll learn slowly over time. Right?"
"Eh?"
"Feh?"
My attempt to smooth things over wasn't understood, and both of them reacted as if it were impossible to learn. However, if I left them alone, Vilia would start lecturing them, and I didn't want that happening right before meeting the Findal Empire’s bigwigs.
"You *will* learn, right?" I said, adding a bit of pressure to my voice.
The two finally realized I was trying to help and hurriedly spoke up.
"Ah, yeah. Right. I’ll learn properly."
"Hiiro will try her best to learn too~"
"...Well, that will have to do. But for today’s meeting, please stay quietly behind Onii-sama. I will handle the correspondence."
"Yeah, I’ll leave that to you."
"Please do~ Hiiro will protect Onii-sama~"
Phew. That worked out. Just as we finished that exchange, a messenger arrived to report that the envoys were already heading toward Baide.
"Alright. Cleena, Aslin, and Firia, continue monitoring the whole area from here. We’re heading to the entrance of Baide to welcome them."
"Mhm. Be careful."