第１８３１堀：使者の旅路 (Part1)
Chapter 1831: The Envoy’s Journey
Side: Kagura
“So, Canary has decided to step up while we’ve been away, huh?”
“Yeah, well, she’s only just made the choice, so it’s still early days.”
I am receiving this update from Yuki while inside the vehicle. Currently, Micos and I are en route to the Jeyaes Kingdom, serving as the envoys we originally planned to be. The journey has been entirely uneventful, and we are spending our time comfortably inside the camper. Of course, the Ohe soldiers are also using campers—though not quite as luxurious as ours—that allow them to lie down and rest. We had initially considered camping gear, but since we have vehicles capable of rapid transit, and we’d already sent word to the Jeyaes Kingdom about our arrival by car, we decided to stick with this plan. It also avoids the risk of being waylaid by stopping unnecessarily in towns or villages.
But setting that aside, there’s the matter of Canary. I was surprised she’d consider leaving the bento shop in Glass Port Town when it was doing so well, but I suppose she is, after all, royalty.
“Ugh, she’s so serious, isn’t she? If it were you, Micos-chan, I think you’d just keep running the bento shop.”
“That would have been an option, sure, but Canary is royalty—or perhaps it’s more accurate to say she has a deep-seated desire to help people.”
“I think a bento shop is plenty helpful enough. Micos-chan doesn’t think the work of making magazines is trivial, either.”
“That’s true. The work you do, Micos, is a fine way to help others. I suppose it just comes down to what suits whom.”
“Exactly. The bento shop was just a starting point for Canary to figure out her next steps, so it’s a bit different from your situation, Micos.”
“I guess so. I suppose that’s the difference between a princess and a baron’s daughter.”
Micos would certainly reach out a hand if the people in her territory were suffering. In fact, when the Sea-Sypho Kingdom’s army arrived in her father’s territory, she was the first to call for help. I won’t mention that part, though.
“Well, for now, Canary has decided to study medicine.”
“Right. Since Lady Lilishe is teaching her recovery magic, that’s a solid foundation.”
“No doubt about it. Just being able to use recovery magic expands one’s options significantly. If she learns Weed’s medical practices, it’ll be even more useful. It increases what she can actually do.”
“Yeah. She’ll likely be dispatched to various places, and Lilishe, Hairen, Hifie, and Senal have all said they have no problem teaching her if it comes to that. Rurua, too, of course.”
“Ahaha! Knowing their true colors, Micos-chan can’t help but think, ‘What a lineup of teachers she has!’”
I agree with Micos on that. Most of her instructors are goddesses or people who are frankly a few screws loose. Depending on how much Canary grows, she’ll likely become far more than your average recovery mage.
“Well, it’s better than not learning at all. She’s already acquired the bare minimum of technical skill. The rest is just a matter of how far she can push her potential.”
“True. I don’t know how she’ll end up involved in the reconstruction of the old Vinosia, but learning recovery magic and medicine is undoubtedly the right first step.”
“That’s for sure. Even in her father’s territory, people started calling Micos-chan a goddess.”
“Baron Jarna’s territory is a laid-back place, so someone with that kind of ability must have been a rare sight.”
Yuki puts it gently, but Micos’s barony is truly rural—the kind of place where there’s nothing to be found. Micos was born and raised there, yet she possesses impressive recovery magic, and she’s the one who brought Yuki and me into the fold. More importantly, she was the one who facilitated the opening of the airfield and the strawberry farms. From any perspective, Micos is the one who brought those boons, so she’s essentially a goddess to them. Well, there are actual goddesses present, but you get the point.
Incidentally, while the airfield itself is off-limits, the adjacent facilities are free for the villagers to use, and they seem to be gathering there to enjoy themselves. Of course, tourists have started flocking there too, which Baron Jarna mentioned has become quite a handful. It seems to be developing steadily.
“Now, back to you and Kagura—how’s the situation?”
“Everything is going smoothly. It was a huge help that we sent word about our vehicles in advance. We can head straight for the royal capital of the Jeyaes Kingdom without having to stop at towns or villages.”
“Yeah, it’s a hassle to deal with awkward welcomes, anyway.”
“True. Dealing with unwanted hospitality is difficult. We’ll save sightseeing in the Jeyaes Kingdom for another time.”
“Agreed. If they prove to be good neighbors, there will be plenty of opportunities to inspect the country later.”
“First, we need to get diplomatic relations back on track.”
Micos is right. Right now, due to the war with the Human Alliance—or the Northern Alliance, as they’re called—the export of goods to Ohe has been halted. The question of why they stopped it, or why they aren’t providing aid, remains unanswered. Fortunately, drone surveillance has confirmed that the enemy we feared most is not currently attacking the Jeyaes Kingdom. This means it’s highly likely that the delay is internal, or related to diplomatic friction. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine they would stop supporting Ohe, which acts as their shield against monsters.
Of course, there’s a possibility they’re just waiting to see how things play out now that the Human Alliance is gathering, but we already scattered those forces. It’s been twenty days, and if they haven’t sent scouts or envoys, it’s safe to assume there’s a lot of debate going on behind closed doors.
“Yuki, just to confirm—if there are officials from the Clearstream Church or envoys from the Giadana Kingdom present…”
“Prioritize listening to what they have to say over immediate expulsion. If we resort to violence, it could play right into their hands.”
“True. Though, that’s assuming they’re willing to talk.”
“We won’t know until we meet them, but if they’re there to negotiate with the Jeyaes Kingdom, they shouldn’t do anything too reckless—if they do, it would only ruin their own impression with the Jeyaes Kingdom. I’d like to think they won’t pull anything strange…”
As Yuki says, under normal circumstances, one wouldn’t treat an envoy from another country—even a hostile one—with such discourtesy while in the middle of negotiations to bring a neutral nation into their fold. But when it comes to the Clearstream Church, they seem the type to throw common sense out the window.
“By the way, what’s the status of the prisoners Lady Lilishe and Lady Hairen are handling?”
“Oh, I was wondering about that too. Any new information from them?”