Chapter 76 - The Sailor Uniform and the Citizen's Council
The Citizen's Council convened at City Hall. It was a massive building with stone walls, its bricks a combination of different colored stones that formed beautiful geometric patterns. In the center stood a colossal wooden door, with a steeple that seemed to pierce the sky. The windows, arranged in neat rows, were arched.
Here and there, the stone was chipped or cracked, with sections left unrepaired. The number of soldiers was also small; perhaps the city lacked the tax revenue to maintain the building.
The Citizen's Council attendees were me, Fam, Mizuki, Maira, and Hyakka. I wore the suit from my original world. Mizuki had even returned my tie. She, in turn, was wearing the sailor uniform I'd been holding onto. Since we were all dressed up, we decided the four of us would present ourselves at the council together.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. It suits you."
"You think so?"
Mizuki's cheeks flushed, and she looked away, embarrassed.
"How do I look?"
"...You look a little like a pervert I saw on the train once."
"..." Is she still mad?
"Just kidding. I think you look cool."
I suspected it was just flattery, but I was happy to be praised by her. Mizuki turned back to me and adjusted my tie. Fam was looking at my outfit with a curious expression.
"In my world, everyone dresses like this when they go to work. Maybe it'll catch on here, too."
Unlike yesterday, there was no parade following us, but whenever the townspeople saw us, they would cheer and make a fuss. It was better than being hated, but it had become difficult to walk through the city normally.
"Fam, are you ready?"
"Yes."
She nodded. I'd had her take off her arm covers for today. It was to make it clear that she wasn't a slave. I didn't know if standing out would be good or bad for her, but I hoped her conduct could help reduce the friction between the human and dog-eared races. On second thought, I regretted not bringing Cecily and Aira along as well.
We stood before the large main door. Just as I thought we would enter through there, a smaller door to the side opened. A soldier was beckoning to us. It was a bit of an anticlimax.
"Well, shall we?"
Shaking it off, we stepped inside the city hall.
The chamber we were led to was a space large enough to hold over a hundred people. The ceiling was high. The building made heavy use of arches—not just in the window frames, but in the ceiling as well. Morning light streamed through the windows, illuminating the chamber brightly. The windows were large, and the pillars were considerably thinner than those in the church. On the left and right were seats for the council members, where men who appeared to be said members were seated. We walked down the central aisle.
Most of the seats were empty. In total, there were perhaps only about ten people participating. They were all dressed like the wealthy elite. The common citizens, the literal majority, seemed to be absent from this place.
"It's usually packed. But this is an emergency meetin', and people are still cleanin' up from yesterday," Hyakka explained, though her tone was somewhat hesitant. If that was the case, I thought, they could have waited until things settled down. Of course, by then, we'd be on our way to Migul. I'd rather they hold all the meetings they want when we're not around.
At the far end of the chamber, a banner bearing what must be the city's crest hung like a tapestry. In front of it, on a raised dais, sat a man in lavish attire on an ornately carved wooden chair. This must be the Governor. While presenting the facade of a citizen-led government, he was, in effect, running the administration as a dictator. He looked surprisingly young, maybe around twenty. He rested an elbow on his armrest, a graceful smile on his face as he welcomed us.
Could he have been the one who secretly let Mii and his group into the city, orchestrating this whole commotion? It seemed to benefit them, but I couldn't see what the Governor stood to gain. In any case, it was impossible to uncover the truth here. The only way to find out would be to interrogate them, but that would happen behind closed doors. We would never know.
A middle-aged man stood beside him, likely an attendant.
Hyakka dropped to one knee before the Governor in a show of respect. I was about to follow her example when Maira grabbed the hem of my clothes from behind.
"You are one sent by a god. Even if he acts like a king, he is merely the Governor of this city."
Maira whispered in my ear. Then she took a step forward, positioning herself in front of us.
"Your Excellency, I am Maira, of the church in the city of Richelle. This is the hero sent by the goddess Racshell, Lord Mash."
The Governor nodded at Maira's words, the smile never leaving his lips.
"Indeed. I thank you for your cooperation in the defense of our city."
Maira nodded on my behalf. Was it really okay for me to just stand here? I could feel the silent pressure from the surrounding council members, urging me to kneel. As I scanned the room, annoyed by their stares, I spotted a familiar face. It was the commander from atop the city walls yesterday. Was a soldier serving as a member of the council? I felt an indescribable sense of unease.
While I was making these observations, the conversation between the Governor and Maira continued.
"As for a reward, or rather, a token of our gratitude, the city's finances are quite strained, you see," the Governor said. Maira looked at me.
"About the ones who attacked the church..." I began.
The Governor gestured for the man beside him to speak.
"They will be publicly executed within a few days."
That was a quick decision, coming just a day after the event. It seemed awfully rushed, but perhaps this was normal in this world.
"There were slaves among those you captured, weren't there? If they wish it, I would like to buy their freedom."
I was talking about the priestess, Doris, and the werewolf warrior, Fang.
"Oh, the slaves..." the Governor murmured, his gaze sweeping across the chamber.
But no one else spoke up.
"It is true the slaves were merely following their master's orders. However, the people of this city will likely demand they receive the same punishment as their master."
"I have no intention of keeping them in this city. We will take the slaves and leave within a few days. I will ensure they never set foot in this city again."
"...Well, for one who saved the church, secured the cooperation of the Wandering People, and saved the city with the power of a goddess, it is perhaps too modest a wish."
As for the value of the two slaves, Fang would be worth about a hundred gold coins, same as a female warrior. Doris, being a priestess, would fetch a decent price—maybe two hundred gold coins in total? But if public sentiment couldn't be ignored, they were effectively worthless. Once again, the council members responded to the Governor's words with silence.
The atmosphere was strange. Was it that no one was in a position to voice an opinion to him? I was starting to lose track of why I was even summoned here.
"The hero's wish shall be granted. Their will is irrelevant. You may take them. We will also have their slave crests rewritten. However, as long as you remain in this city, they will stay in their cells."
I nodded.
After being dismissed from the Citizen's Council, we headed for the prison to confirm Fang's and Doris's intentions. They were apparently being held in the dungeon beneath the palace. We had the knight on guard announce us and then descended into the depths.
"Please be careful. Magic cannot be used here. The slave crests are also ineffective."
I listened to the knight's explanation. Thinking about Mii and the others being locked up here, it seemed special skills were also sealed.
"After hearing Mii's story, I understand this place is controlled by a Crystal Core, but is it easy to create such a space?"
If so, there could be situations where I couldn't summon Racshell during a battle. For me, that would be fatal.
"I am sorry, I do not know... One theory is that a person with the power of a Divine Blessing programmed these functions into the Crystal Core," Maira replied. Programming functions... was it something like actual programming?
"Mii was controlling a Crystal Core. But only one person can be granted a single type of special skill. There's one in the church, one in the prison... assuming every city has at least one, that's a considerable number in circulation. Has a line of people been traveling from city to city for generations, spreading this technology?"
Some of them would surely slack off. There would be troublemakers like Mii, and others who might live their whole lives without realizing their power. It didn't seem like a system that could be passed down unbroken for generations.
"There may be a method of control that I am unaware of. Or perhaps, there are Crystal Cores that possess these functions from the start."
As I listened to Maira's answer, we were shown into a sort of waiting room. A door at the back seemed to lead to the cells, and the knight proceeded further in. The space was damp and musty, illuminated only by the light of a lantern. There was a small desk surrounded by a few round stools. They were old and looked ready to break, so I had no desire to sit.
"In the end, why were we even summoned to the city council today...?"
"Everyone who attended today was part of the Governor's faction," Hyakka answered.
"Does that mean something?"
"They were testin' how tight-lipped you are, weren't they?"
"Me? I don't get it."
On the surface, it just looked like the Citizen's Council was thanking us.
"You said it yourself, didn't ya, Mash? That the mastermind would be in the church if the palace was attacked, and in the palace if the church was attacked."
"Does that mean those guys were the ones who instigated this whole incident?"
And that's why the only people summoned were those involved in the incident, which explains the small number.
"I dunno. But they were all people who'd be fine no matter what you started blabbin' about."
That commander, too? If so, I wondered what was going through his mind as he commanded his troops on the bastion until he collapsed.
"If that's true, Mii and his group were after what's in the church's basement, but what was the goal for the Governor's faction?"
"Mash, it appears the city walls and public buildings in this city have not been repaired for a very long time," Maira offered.
"Come to think of it, he did say something about not having a reward for us. Was it money? But how do they plan to make money by doing something like this? Considering the damage to the citizens, it seems unlikely they could raise it through taxes."
"Most likely, their objective is to secure aid from the Imperial Capital."
"...I see."
But wouldn't that lead to them surrendering their authority to the capital? However, this world didn't have the high-speed, large-scale transportation or information networks of my old one. City-level administration was probably necessary. They must believe that even with intervention from the capital, the current power structure of this city would be maintained. If the Governor and Mii's group were connected as we suspect, then releasing Fang and Doris wouldn't be a favorable reward for them. Would they really let us take them in a normal state?
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me. I'll do my best. Thank you for pointing out typos. It's a great help.