Act 4:
Closed Borders
THE DAY AFTER we arrived at the delegation manor, I woke up much later than usual, likely on account of travel exhaustion. I thus wound up having both breakfast and lunch at the same time. In other words, brunch.
The dining hall sported a big, round table, which was the style in Zaidera, at which everyone ate. It was a free and easy gathering that included not only Albert and Yuri, but Oscar, Zara, and May as well.
As we ate, Albert said something entirely unexpected: “We can’t leave the country?”
“So it seems. They informed us this morning.”
Ships were now restricted from entering and exiting the port that we had come in from.
Prince Kyle had explained that an official who had come with us had gone to initiate the proceedings for us to return, which was when he learned the borders were closed. He had rushed back to report the closure this morning.
We still didn’t know when the restriction had been put into place, or when it would be lifted, so the prince had sent his people to seek more information.
“Is that why Prince Kyle isn’t here with us?”
“Indeed. He’s in charge of gathering intelligence with members of his delegation.”
Which meant that we were working in tandem with his people to solve this problem. That was why Prince Kyle wasn’t present, even though he had said he would join us.
I couldn’t help feeling bad. It felt like I had personally caused everyone this trouble. If not for me, I doubted this would have become such a problem. But as sorry as I felt, the fact of the matter was that this inability to return home was a huge problem. So in the end, I was grateful that Prince Kyle was doing his best to leverage his local connections to help us. That local network would surely get things solved faster.
“I hope we’re able to leave soon.”
We didn’t know why the restrictions had been placed, so we didn’t know how long it would take for them to be lifted. I was worried, but I couldn’t really do anything. I was told the books would be delivered that night, though, so I decided I would just do as directed and spend my time reading while we waited.
As I wondered what kind of books Prince Kyle had ordered for us, Yuri idly said, “Personally, I hope we’re able to solve the mystery of the letter first.”
He must have gotten up just before noon, like me—he still looked a bit sleepy.
“You do?”
“Why, yes. If we knew the sender’s objective, then I could do something.”
“Like what?” I couldn’t imagine what Yuri was getting at. His explanations during our classes were always easy to understand, but today he was being vague. Maybe it was because he wasn’t all the way awake yet.
Thankfully, when I asked, he broke it down simply for me.
Based on the contents of the letter, it was highly probable that the sender was after either the panacea, or someone who was adept in healing magic. It was also possible that they had their sights set on the maker of the panacea too, though he considered this unlikely.
If, however, we knew for sure that they were after the panacea, then we wouldn’t need to stay cooped up in the manor—we could actually go out and tour the city.
“Don’t you think they’d want us to stay put even if they were sure the problem was the panacea?” I asked. I doubted they’d just let us wander around when there were nefarious plots afoot.
“That’s what guards are for,” said Yuri nonchalantly. “It’s safe so long as we stay together.”
“Wait. I’m going too,” Albert said at once. Was he really okay with this, though? Wasn’t it his job to rein Yuri in?
“Ah, right, right. We agreed on a two-person team. My apologies,” Yuri conceded.
“But even if you’re sure you know what they’re after, we can’t guarantee they’ll give us permission to leave.”
Thank goodness he was still the voice of reason. Although my relief lasted only a moment. The grand magus had no intention of letting anything get in his way.
“If what they’re after is the panacea, then there’s no reason why I should not be allowed to proceed with my original plans. Lady Sei, I presume you wish to join me on a walk, don’t you?”
“Huh? Uh, well…” Of course I wanted to see the sights, but I felt awkward admitting as much.
Yuri was unbothered by my hesitation. He clapped his hands and smiled charmingly. “Heh heh heh. I’m so looking forward to our stroll through the city. There are so many things I’m hoping to find.”
Judging from his cheerful tone, his heart was already out in the streets. Had I fallen for some kind of trap? And what was this about “so many things”? I had assumed he was only after his favorite food, but it seemed something else was on his mind.
“Your interests extend beyond rice?” Oscar asked. It seemed he was wondering the same thing.
“Indeed!” Yuri nodded cheerfully, which brought a rare crooked smile to Oscar’s lips.
“At any rate, we still don’t know if we’re allowed to leave. We should wait here for now,” Albert interjected, attempting to pacify Yuri.
Yuri shrugged regretfully, finally seeming to have been reined in. “If we must.”
“Grand Magus Drewes is quite a ha—”
“May,” Zara interrupted. Her voice was soft as usual, but it had an edge of warning.
“Sorry.” May held her tongue, a meek look on her face.
After we finished eating, we didn’t really have anything on the docket, so we just hung around, recovering our stamina.
In my room, I looked over a simple map of the city I’d been given by the members of the delegation. We might not have been able to venture out, but I enjoyed imagining what the city’s various quarters must be like while studying the map.
I was thinking about where I would have visited if we could leave when we received a note from Prince Kyle. Albert took the message. In it, the prince had written that he had sought an audience with Prince Ten’yuu. The Zaideran prince was concerned about our delegation, as he had studied abroad in Salutania, which was how the two princes knew each other.
Prince Ten’yuu wasn’t really part of our group, though he acted as a point of contact for the delegation and regularly exchanged letters with them. But the situation being what it was, Prince Kyle had gone to see him in person.
“It seems that the restriction was only just put into place. Prince Ten’yuu himself first learned of it from Prince Kyle.”
“Which means that we still don’t know anything.”
Albert said that Prince Ten’yuu would look into this for us. Prince Kyle would be staying with the prince until they had a bit more clarity. Prince Kyle also noted that he didn’t know if he would be back before dinner, so we should eat without him.
Our prince was considered an adult in Salutania, but he was still only in his late teens. The thought of someone so young having to work late into the night made me feel just dreadful.
“It seems we’ve caused quite the conundrum for him.”
“I know telling you not to worry won’t ease your mind, but it isn’t your fault,” Albert said, trying to make me feel better. He could tell I was starting to regret ever coming. “That reminds me, the books Prince Kyle ordered should arrive soon. I’ll bring them here as soon as they do.”
Perhaps because I looked so dejected, Albert tried to encourage me with news of those books. It seemed the delegation was collecting them for us while they gathered intel.
I supposed that all my worry about the situation was making everyone worry about me. That wasn’t my intention at all, so I put a smile on my face as I said, “Okay. Thank you.”
In fact, the books turned up while we were chatting. I was incredibly grateful to the people who’d gone out of their way to pick them up for us.
There were encyclopedias on plants, herbs, and poisonous varietals as well. There was even one a tome on potions, which immediately lifted my spirits.
I didn’t actually notice how relieved Albert looked to see me smiling again.