No, even if I think about it now, there’s nothing I can do. Zen was no longer a guard, let alone a central bureaucrat. He was a minor official who’d been demoted. If he happened to meet that monster again, he’d probably run away this time. He could probably turn a blind eye. Maybe. Surely.
“You sure are quiet today,” said Zen.
“P-Please don’t tease me, father...” Elysia was fidgeting in shame on the carriage seat next to him.
It was right after they’d left the inn.
“There was something wrong with me yesterday. Exciting trip or no, I was too pushy—I mean excited.” As she glanced at Mina sitting across from her, she dropped her head, red-faced. “Please forget what happened...”
Unbeknownst to Zen, during the night, Elysia had actually reflected on all the things she’d done. Unable to bear her feelings of shame, thinking to herself, I’m such a child! I really fell asleep after tiring myself out from excitement, she’d covered her head with the blankets and writhed with shame, screaming to herself.
“I see. You weren’t yourself yesterday, Elysia. As you are father and daughter, it seems that behavior truly was unusual for you two. Yes, I understand. I shall forget.” Mina also appeared somewhat relieved and gave several quick nods.
Seeing her reaction, Elysia regretted her actions even more, realizing she’d approached things the wrong way. Of course, Zen noticed none of her internal cringing.
In any case, she’d changed completely from yesterday. She took the initiative to bring up some mundane topics to pass the time. Zen and Mina replied with smiles and the three of them had fun chatting.
The carriage peacefully proceeded down the highway. Keel was also enjoying his second sleep on top of the roof to the fullest.
The Ezwaz Highway that they had used to move from the imperial capital to Nazalf City was a major highway that cut vertically through the entire southern half of Catalan. Compared to that, Talum Highway, which connected Nazalf City to Alona City, was very much a branch road.
It was only just wide enough for two large carriages to pass each other. Even so, Catalan never dismissed the importance of its transportation network, so it was properly paved with cobblestone, and frequent inspection parties preserved the peace of the journey.
If this were a different country, the roads likely wouldn’t be paved unless it was an especially important main road. It’d be good enough if they were weeded. That would be considered relatively well managed. You’d probably also have to be on high alert for bandits and robbers along your journey.
Cobblestone paving and maintenance cost a lot of effort and money. As a fellow government official, Zen admired the hard work and attentiveness of the prefectural government offices for not neglecting it despite being so far out in the country.
Well, at least, he admired it to a point.
What changed his mind was what happened when they entered Alona after crossing the Talum Mountain that served as the prefectural border.
Zen was startled several times as the swaying carriage jolted with a loud thunk sound. He was enjoying his time chatting with Elysia and Mina, yet every time that happened, it put a damper on the fun.
Each time, when he looked out the small rear window, he could see that the wheels had run over some turned-up cobblestone or large crack. It was proof that the highway wasn’t being well maintained.
Still, other than those times, the road wasn’t showing its age so much as to be noticeable. That meant it’d probably only been a year or two since the prefecture had started neglecting its repairs. Zen made this guess based on his experience working at the Highway Bureau in the Public Works Agency.
There aren’t a lot of tax funds to work with, especially all the way out here. This might be on an acceptable level...
The road was perfectly maintained on the side that was under Nazalf Prefecture’s jurisdiction, though, which Cummel ruled over. It was hard not to doubt the abilities of the Alona Prefectural Government Office—and by extension, the current prefectural governor Stoga—in comparison.
No. That’s really unacceptable of me. I’m too preoccupied by my prejudice toward His Excellency Stoga for being selected by the current emperor and not Heinri. When it comes to this road, I should focus on praising His Excellency Cummel instead of complaining. It might be harsh to expect too much in this remote region.
As he became aware of his unpleasant feelings, he pushed them down, and the carriage reached town.
It was South Talum, the third biggest town in Alona Prefecture. It had a population of about fifteen hundred.
Just before they arrived, Keel deftly got off the roof. When Zen opened the door for him, the wolf skillfully slipped into the passenger car while it was still in motion. It’d be cramped for a short while, but his giant body would’ve stood out and frightened the townspeople. There was nothing else they could do. They also planned to have Keel continue to hide here until nightfall, when they could sneak him into the inn room.
The inn that Cummel had prepared was the best one in town. That’d gone for the inn yesterday too; His Excellency had splurged a good amount of money on their travel expenses. (Well, if an important person such as himself had been the one visiting, he probably would’ve had to spend ten times as much for the large number of people he’d have had to take along.)
In the large, three-story building, they were guided to the spacious corner room on the third floor. “This is the best room in the inn.”
It was honestly a bit lacking just by sheer virtue of the view outside the window. You could only gaze at the crude inns in the surrounding area and the rural landscape of the suburbs. However, the furnishings were something pretty special.
In particular, the four canopy beds were such that would normally be used for nobility in foreign countries. They were large and first-class. The partitioning screen in the middle of the room offered privacy between the genders.
Although it was certainly much better than going on foot, even just being jostled by the carriage for so long had tired them. Zen promptly sprawled out on the bed with relief. It probably wasn’t even four o’clock yet.
It was common sense to find an inn town to stop at before sunset. No matter how safe the empire’s highways were, it got risky the moment it got dark. There were many potential dangers out there like robbers and wolves.
And at this hour that was so early that it wasn’t time for dinner yet, this inn came with a massage service. Three ladies of various ages came to massage them as they lay on their beds.
When they massaged Zen’s muscles that were sore from sitting so long, like his lower back, his thighs, and his calves, he felt indescribably good.
Aah, I feel like I could meeelt! Zen bit back the weird voice he’d nearly let out.
Meanwhile, he kept hearing Elysia giggle beyond the partition. It seemed she felt more ticklish than good.
She’s so young... Now that he thought about it, Zen himself hadn’t needed massages when he’d been a teen. Lucky.
After their massages had concluded and the women had left, an employee came in to call the three of them to dinner.
They were getting a good appetite going now that their circulation had improved. As they all headed to the dining hall together, Elysia asked, “What delicious things is this area known for, father?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Although Zen had been in the Commercial Affairs Agency, he obviously couldn’t know the products of each and every town in the countryside (unless it was something especially famous). However, they’d probably be listed on the menu, and he felt that the real pleasure of the trip was to find out. But that was when Mina spoke up.