“Nope. We’re affiliated with Shalloak Cornrogue’s band of merchants.”
“Oho! The Merchant King, you say? Then I take it you’re a merchant, or perhaps the daughter of one?”
“That’s right,” said Mia. “And I suppose you’re a traveling bard?”
The man chuckled. “I do like music, but my job isn’t anything so cool. I’m just a lowly, wandering adventurer.”
“My, an adventurer!” For a moment, Mia couldn’t help but feel relieved that Bel had stayed behind. She’d certainly have made a fuss about this. “I see. This is my first time speaking with an adventurer,” said Mia, her eyes quite serious.
The man flashed her a playful smile. “But...” He took off his hat and began playing with it in his hands. “You’ve come at a bad time. You probably don’t want to stay here too long, nor stick your heads into anything that has to do with the Visalians.”
A gust of wind rustled the man’s hair, immediately sparking Mia’s memory. “Hmm? Have we perhaps met somewhere before?”
She certainly recognized him, but she couldn’t quite recall from where.
He winked at her. “My apologies, beautiful young lady. Unfortunately, I have no memories of us meeting.” He placed his hat back on his head. “But if fate so chooses, perhaps we’ll meet again.” He gave her a smug-looking wink before gallantly making his exit.
“Your Highness. W-Was that...?”
Mia turned around to find Ludwig looking awfully shocked. His eyes were open as wide as the frames of his glasses, and his lips quivered. Seeing him like this induced some panic in Mia.
Huh? Does this mean I actually was supposed to recognize him?!
“Yes, you’re exactly right,” she said immediately, looking as if she knew exactly what he was talking about!
Wait! That was the wrong move! Now he’s not going to tell me who he was! Mia had realized her mistakes, but unfortunately, it was now too late. Ugh, I messed up. Ludwig seemed to know exactly who he was, so I just ended up following his lead...
“Um, are we not going to follow him?” Ludwig had launched another attack! But for Mia, this was a much-needed wave, albeit a small one. Mia subscribed to the Flotsam school of thought, which meant her brain didn’t move on its own. Instead, she truly shone when lazily floating up through the waves others had created!
Thus, Mia hopped on this wave and let her thoughts carry her away. Follow him... That means we should have gone after him, right? But who would we need to follow? Well, there’s the Serpents, people related to the Visalian Ghetto, and my Great-Uncle Hannes... Huh? Mia clapped her hands. That’s it! That man looked exactly like the portrait hanging in the Clausius manor!
And that portrait was supposedly of Mia’s Great-Uncle Hannes—Patty had even confirmed as much. That man looked identical to the one in that painting, which means...
“Great-Uncle Hannes... I can’t believe he truly looks as young as he does in that portrait.” Mia was regretting leaving Patty behind.
“My apologies. I was too shocked to stop him, myself. Shall I go after him now?” asked Ludwig.
Mia glanced at Dion, who answered. “It’s probably best not to. They might be trying to split us up.”
“You’re right. It’s possible that man was with the Serpents, and even if he was my Great-Uncle Hannes, he told us himself to not stick our heads into anything. We should assume doing so could be dangerous.”
But once that thought occurred to Mia, sending Dion Alaia after him was no longer on the table, and sending Ludwig would be too dangerous. Mia was the Great Sage of the Empire, but Ludwig was the source of all her sagacity. Anything happening to him would be disastrous for Tearmoon.
“Just knowing there’s someone out there who looks like Great-Uncle Hannes is a boon for us. Let’s just celebrate that intel for now.”
Mia was a woman who fundamentally didn’t overexert herself. Doing what could be done tomorrow today meant neglecting today’s tasks. There was a right time to sow every seed, just as there was a right time to harvest them, and Mia wasn’t interested in doing something as foolish as reaping the fruits of seeds she had yet to sow.
“Our first matter at hand is figuring out how to get to that island, I suppose. But...” Mia returned her gaze to beyond the sea. “It seems quite far. We’ll need to charter a boat.”
Orania frowned. “You’re right, but there are no boats in Ganudos that will take you there...”
“Really? Well, I suppose it’s been closed off on purpose, after all.” Mia nodded in understanding, but Orania shook her head.
“Yes, that’s one reason, but the waters around the island are full of reefs and unpredictable currents... The boats that carry provisions there consist of only the best sailors.”
“Then it really is closed off! This is troubling...”
“Then why don’t we swim?” said Dion, failing to make it clear whether he was joking or not.
Mia judged the distance from the capital’s shore to the island. It’s really...far. Just as she was questioning that option, Orania offered a helping hand.
“Like I said, the currents are unpredictable... Swimming would be hard...” She was scowling. “I tried to go fishing there before, and they stopped even me...”
“I see. In that case, we better give up on that idea. Yup!” Mia nodded away before letting out a ponderous groan. “But that means investigating the island ourselves will end up being rather difficult. In that case...” Mia nodded. “We’ll have to think up a new plan,” she said, glancing at the source of her knowledge.
“Another plan...? Do you have another idea, Master Mia?” Just as Mia was about to throw the ball of conversation at Ludwig, her disciple Orania slipped in the way!
Inwardly, Mia cursed, but outwardly, she folded her arms with a scowl. She had wanted to hear ideas from Ludwig and work from there, but she’d have to rethink that plan. And luckily, she was okay with that, because she actually had one of her own this time. “Hmm... Well, I have just one idea,” muttered Mia as she glanced at Dion.
To be honest, my job was practically over the moment I decided to bring Dion with me! Her plan was to first save the king from assassination, and in return, have him improve the situation of the Visalians—in other words, make him indebted to them. If I save his life and then ask to see the island, he won’t be able to refuse! I’ll be killing two birds with one stone, thought Mia, quite naively. The only problem left is to make sure these efforts aren’t all attributed to me. It’d be nice if I could thrust it all on Orania’s shoulders, but...
Mia glanced at Orania.
“Hmm?” She flashed Mia back an inquisitive look. She seemed to be deep in thought, perhaps about the plan Mia had up her sleeves.
Mia looked straight into her eyes. “Orania... I truly believe that there’s something more important than the methods we choose, and that’s what’s in your heart.”
“Huh...?” Orania simply blinked back at her.
“Everything depends on what you want to do. How should we treat the Visalians? What is the right thing to do? Our actions depend on what you think are the right answers to those questions, as you’re the princess of Ganudos.”
With Abel and Ludwig there, Mia wanted to make this absolutely clear. All of this was just Orania’s problem—and by extension, Ganudos’s. Thus, Orania’s wishes needed to be prioritized above all else.
“What do you want to do, Orania?”
She pondered this question for a moment. “I don’t think it’s right to persecute the Visalians...and I want to do something about it!”
“Then you want to fix the injustices in your country, right?” asked Mia, looking for confirmation. She thought it was important for Orania to say this clearly with her own words...as it meant Mia could just fall back into the role of helper.
I’ll just insist that what I did was all to realize Orania’s dream! That’s my only escape from that golden lighthouse!
“That’s right... I don’t want any kids to have to suffer what Yanna and Kiryl did, and I want to do something about it... That’s why I asked for your help, Master Mia!”
She was satisfied with that answer. “I see. Then I will do everything in my power to help you,” emphasis on help. “In that case, I suppose we’ve seen everything we need. Shall we head back to the inn?”
That’s when Mia turned her attention to the streets...and began to pat her stomach.
“It’s not every day I come to Ganudos. Shall we buy some souvenirs? Miss Rafina promised to come to my Birthday Festival, so I’d love to treat her to some snacks, at least. What would you recommend, Orania?”
“Ganudos has plenty of snacks, and our fish are particularly delicious. For example...” Orania skipped down the street with a huge grin and pointed to a single stall. “What about this? It’s dried queen squid...”
Mia looked into the direction of her finger and scowled. Orania had pointed to a creepy, dried something with ten legs.
“Um... It looks quite grotesque on the outside. Is it really edible?” asked Mia.
Orania nodded emphatically. “It’s really tasty... The more you chew it, the more flavor it has. It’s quite a popular souvenir...”
“I see. Well, I suppose Miss Rafina is from Belluga, after all, so she must like seafood. She might appreciate this sort of gift.”
Thus, Mia decided to buy some dried queen squid. When she eventually gave it to Rafina, she’d be met with a smile that seemed on the verge of tears...but Mia had no way of knowing that now.
Incidentally, Mia would become quite fond of dried snacks which grew in flavor as they were chewed. Not that it particularly mattered.