The midday sun poured down on the smooth stone paving. The main street had numerous houses running along it, each with their own garden. The carriages filled with boxes, running down the road with a pleasant clatter, were truly a splendor to behold.
This was the upper-class district of the capital, where the wealthiest commoners lived. The ones taking up residence here were the merchants in silver companies and above. The only artisans with their homes in this district were basically just at the very top of each guild. The shabbiness of our old covered carriage really stood out.
“You need to keep up a bit more of a dignified act, boss.”
Jacob was sitting next to me, handling the reins. That’s right, it’s been decided that I’m also going to be living in this district. That’s the script, anyway.
“You over there, stop.”
Oh, and here comes a kind gentleman to give a warning to the commoner who doesn’t know his place. Two men in matching green uniforms approached us. They had an X-shaped mark on their chests, signifying that they were entrusted with the authority to keep the peace in the city. They both had long metal batons with leather grips. It seemed like the X mark was using two of these batons as its motif.
These were guards of the upper-class district. They were members of the same organization who was charged with protecting the school gate during the Academy Festival.
“What business does a copper have here?” the man on the right asked in an overbearing tone.
Apparently, they saw the mark on our carriage. It was a stylization of a jar of honey. Incidentally, it was also marked with the circle indicating we were an official member of the guild, a silver company.
“We’re here to supply the goods for one of our customer’s orders. Umm, if I’m right, then this should be the eighth district...”
I pointed at the map in my hands, right around the Kendalls’ main headquarters, and the two guards exchanged looks.
“I see. You just need to go around the road down there to get to the eighth district. Go that way until you see the sign for a tavern, then turn around the corner.”
The guard used his baton to point towards a road running a different direction from the main road we were going down.
“Is that so? Umm, but the map I got from our customer says...”
I looked down the main road and cocked my head to the side.
“What’s that? And here we are kindly giving you directions...”
The man who called us out in an overbearing tone struck the ground with his baton.
“Now, hang on. It’s hardly surprising that a copper would be unfamiliar with the place, right? It’ll become really crowded down that way. Not only that, but some big shot’s gonna be passing through here today. Right?” the other guard said to his partner.
“Oh yeah, it’ll be tough to get by going that way... Mhm, so you’re better off going around, since it’ll be faster that way. You get me?”
“I see. Thank you very much for informing me.”
I politely bowed to them and Jacob handed over a small pouch. The guards verified its weight and sneered.
There is one coin in there that you can’t really use in the city, but please just ignore it.
✦ ✦ ✦
We turned the corner that the kind guards directed us to, and came upon a gloomy backstreet. It was just wide enough for a single carriage to get through. And with the now-boisterous sound of the carriage wheels reaching my ears, I slid back into the carriage’s cargo area.
“What do you think?” I asked the orange-haired girl within the cargo area.
This was my classmate, who came along as a liaison to the Kendalls. She went out of her way to be here on site herself. The district that I had been dazzled by earlier was also her birthplace.
“There’s no mistaking it. Even we don’t normally come to this area three blocks off the main street. If you’re unlucky, it’s more dangerous than the copper district.”
I see, so this is the boundary region between the copper and silver districts. The boundary wasn’t affiliated with either mercantile class, and ended up as a vacant space in between the two. It was perfect for the activities of certain individuals.
“From the central street, to the main street, right into a back street. How do I put it...? They’re pretty good.”
This was actually the second time we were called out by guards.
“This isn’t the time to be admiring them,” the girl with a red ponytail cradling her knees in the carriage said.
She was dressed like a commoner, but there was something out of place at her waist over her apron. She took a careful peek through the canvas and kept a watch on the outside. Once in a while, she would glance over next to me.
“Ah!”
Perhaps having run over a stone, the carriage shook greatly, and the slender girl next to me unintentionally let out her voice.
“Are you alright, Princess Alfina?”
“Y-Yes,” the platinum-haired girl replied as she readjusted herself.
She was dressed like an employee of ours, so it might have been better for me to call her Fina, but if I did, both Claudia and Lilka would have given me a painful look.
“There was no need for you to come along so far with us, Princess Alfina. It would have been fine to simply wait over there...”
“No. With this, we’ll be able to settle things quickly.”
Alfina raised her arm, revealing a silver bracelet with a red crystal in it. The other side was certainly a lot more prepared than we thought they’d be. The ability to get in touch quickly was quite important.