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WHILE the castle did have walls to make it a stronghold, it was also a structure made to magically defend the palace. The castle grounds weren’t filled with the normal defense structures you might see in a castle. Instead, there was a splendid and elegant palace built from wood and plaster and gardens with clear running waters and seasonal flowers in full bloom.
Manmade creeks sparkled between the neat rows of trees in the garden, and a path of hydrangeas led to a gazebo. You could spend a whole day in one spot here, just looking and never becoming bored.
No one really showed them the way. Timm walked in without waiting for permission, leading Lushera to a gazebo in one corner of the garden. There was a set of delicately worked chairs and a table beneath the roof, setting the sort of scene that would work well for an elegant afternoon tea.
They were given high-quality yet businesslike tea, which they sipped while having a meeting with a rather meek-seeming, middle-aged government official. His social status and fief were gained not through owning land but through his service to the court, which was why people called people like him court nobles.
“Well then, perhaps an outdoor setting would be best?” said the official. He’d brought along several plans for Kaphal’s meeting with the King, which helped move the conversation along.
“I think so. Going inside would require her to adhere to certain…rules of etiquette. And you’d be forced to roll out all the pomp and circumstance for her.”
“Indeed. There are many commonalities between the various countries’ ways of showing hospitality, and…we may accidentally send the wrong message if we fail to meet the prescribed method for providing the highest of welcomes. Though in this case, perhaps it would be more likely that the message we must get across would fail to make it at all.”
Politics was, in general, the act of putting one mask over another.
The official chuckled, as someone one step removed from that context, and said, “Haha… I suppose it is rather meddlesome, all these politics.”
This man is an incredible negotiator, thought Lushera. He immediately gets the other person to like him. He’d be effective against even the best managers.
The more important the negotiations were, the greater tendency people had to send someone of higher rank, rather than of greater skill, but that didn’t seem to be something Lushera had to worry about here.
“Now, this may come as somewhat of a surprise, but our proposal would be to set up a sort of mock military encampment in the courtyard. That would be suitable if our goal was a military alliance. The King also acts as the general for the country’s entire military, and this would show that we are engaging with the queen of Mount Kugus as a general of the same rank as His Majesty.”
“…I see. That seems good, then.”
Lushera didn’t have much confidence in her political knowledge, but she still did her best to look for any pitfalls that might have been placed in these plans. Even so, she got the impression the court was approaching her with honesty and openness, knowing she was a newcomer to this world.
“There is one request we would like to make, if at all possible. While the Lady Kaphal is staying here in the capital, His Majesty would appreciate it if she were to…go out and enjoy herself where people might see her.”
“Um, sorry?” said Lushera, the pitch of her voice rising suddenly at the unexpected turn in the conversation. But she got what he was aiming for after a moment of thinking. “Ah, I think I understand. This is about public perception, isn’t it?”
“Correct. The court believes Lady Kaphal is deserving of trust as it was the Golden Helm who introduced her to us, but that fact is not obvious to everyone. There is a fear of dragons amongst the people, which could turn into a crippling issue down the line.”
Lushera’s impression of the court’s handling of them was that they were both careful and thorough. It was likely a reflection of the current king’s temperament.
Martgarz might try to use that fear…but probably not. A more likely scenario is Mom getting dragged into internal political conflicts. Someone could use the people’s fear of her as a platform for their own advancement.
There were rumors that the King was fairly cautious of internal stability. He paid attention to the people’s discontent, soothed conflicts between nobles, and made sure everyone was together as they moved in one direction or another.
No horse pulls a carriage without being fed, no fire burns without kindling. And if two people hate each other so much they would likely kill each other, they would probably end up only insulting each other if they had no swords. If you looked at it that way, then it was dangerous having the people divided on something so great it couldn’t be ignored, like a dragon.
“Lady Kaphal has become a topic of much discussion even amongst the people since her arrival yesterday,” continued the man. “Not everyone has quite realized she is a projected form of a dragon, but the dragon aura she emits has drawn everyone’s attention. We feel we must take advantage of this.”
People in power often put out political propaganda that painted them in a light that the masses would find favorable.
The people were likely to be curious and excited to learn the beautiful mystery woman everyone was talking about was in fact the incarnation of a dragon. Lushera felt bad making a spectacle of Kaphal, but…needs must.
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“SO, is there anywhere we can go out for some fun?” asked Lushera.
“The King’s being ridiculous, demanding you just go out and have fun,” muttered Weyne with a shrug. Lushera came back to their flat and told them all about what happened while he sharpened his throwing knives.
Honestly, the only part of Setrayu Lushera was familiar with was Kugut’hulm. This was her first time in Alhyura. She had no idea how to “go out and just have fun” here. That’s why she asked the other members of the party.
“Hm, let’s see. There are all sorts of sights to see, but… Oh, Lushera, you notice how there are loads of people walking around town wearing swimsuits?” asked Weyne.
Lushera nodded. People wearing swimsuits weren’t exactly overrunning the place, but she was surprised to find there were certain spots filled with people wearing them. All types of people too, men and women, young and old. “Everyone’s going swimming, right?”
“Yeah. And Alhyura’s incredible for that.”
“In Kugut’hulm, you can swim anywhere so long as there are no boats passing by,” said Timm. “But you can only swim in certain spots in Alhyura. And there are loads of folks going swimming. You get people packed in a tiny space. On the weekends, it’s so busy you can’t even find room to swim.”
Setrayuan summers were hot and humid. And, since there was so much water throughout the kingdom, people did a lot of swimming.
“Lushera in a swimsuit…” muttered Viola. “I mean, it will be crowded, but it won’t be anything near what it’s like during the summer weekends. Right now should be just about the right level of busy. We should definitely go.” Viola’s glasses gleamed suspiciously.
“Your mouth’s letting your dirty pleasures slip out,” said Weyne.
“I don’t actually have a swimsuit that fits my new body,” said Lushera. “We’ll have to go buy one.” She hit on the idea listening to the suggestion Viola seemed excited about (which was therefore quite ominous).
“Good idea! If we do that, I want to take you and your mom to look at a bunch of shops. How does that sound?” Viola asked.
“That sounds great!”
Thinking about it, even “shopping” was a sort of pastime they could do for fun in the public eye. They could use that to achieve their goal of showing the people a Kaphal who was having some laid-back good times.
“Shopping? Buy what?” asked Kaphal.
“Oh, right. Shopping isn’t part of dragon culture, is it?” said Lushera. “We don’t necessarily have to buy anything. We can just have fun looking at everything on sale…and if we like something, we can obviously buy that…”
Lushera was also hoping this could help Kaphal learn more about human society in the process. Alhyura had all sorts of interesting shops selling various luxury goods or items brought from far-off lands. This could be a good chance for Kaphal to interact more with humanoid culture, since she was lacking in that area.
“I think we’re about to embark on a long shopping excursion, so why don’t the two of you take a little rest for now,” said Viola. It sounded like she was planning on doing all the cleaning up after the meal on her own, but Timm sighed and stood too.
“I know the worst isn’t gonna happen if you’re with Lushera, but I’m gonna feel uneasy with you lot roaming around Alhyura while I put my feet up here. I’ll come along and carry your bags or something. If I get too bored, I can do some squats.”
“Please don’t. You know how much worse you’ll smell of sweat if you’re doing strength training in this heat?” said Weyne.
Summer was quickly approaching. The sun shone early on, like it was ahead of the turning of the seasons, creating the perfect day to go swimming.