Chapter 38

Two kites soared in the blue sky above as Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Leontine du Louvre sat on top of the armor chest, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

The gentle hills were covered in wheat fields, creating waves of hay-colored undulations under the summer sun. Beyond them stood the ancient city walls, the largest stronghold in the northern empire and an old capital.

Leontine, a woman with a bit of confidence in her physical strength, was exhausted from the past two days.

It was all well and good that she had driven off the three bandits who had attacked her with her prized sword. The problem was that the commotion had caused her horse to bolt.

She couldn't abandon the ancestral armor and helmet, so she had tied a hemp rope to the armor chest and trudged westward along the road. She had passed and been passed by several carriages, but all of them were loaded to the brim with goods, leaving no room for an armor chest or a weak woman.

Fuming at the narrow-mindedness of the imperial people, Leontine had walked through the night and finally reached the hill from which she could see the ancient city.

The heat was unbearable, but the breeze here was pleasant.

The wind caressing her cheeks reminded her of the seaside of her homeland, the Eastern Kingdom, and Leontine's face relaxed.

It seemed foolish to camp out in the open when the city walls were in sight. With a final effort, the female mercenary got up. She wanted to sleep in a bed tonight.

By the time she reached the eastern gate of the ancient city, the sun was beginning to set.

Perhaps suspicious of a woman pulling an armor chest, a guard with an ill-fitting mustache was reluctant to let her through.

Realizing that the sun would set and the gates would close if nothing was done, Leontine noticed that the guard was looking for a little extra incentive.

"You also do a bit of pocket money on the side, huh?"

"It's my duty, my duty. I can't report to my superiors that I let a suspicious mercenary into the ancient city if something happens."

"But you are letting me in, aren't you?"

"It's fine now. The issue with the Northern Three Provinces has been settled. There's a lot of traffic, and I can't turn away someone just because they look a bit suspicious."

That was true. The mountains of goods on the carriages Leontine had passed were a sign that trade with the north was picking up.

The Northern Three Provinces, especially the House of Windermark, had dismissed their mercenaries, and the mercenaries, even with half their pay, were likely to spend their money on their way home, bringing a bit of a boom to the inns along the road.

"Then, I'd like to pass through for free."

"You're a mercenary, but you're a knight, aren't you?"

"...Sharp."

"From the shape of the armor chest, you're from the south of the Eastern Kingdom. You take from those who have, and you give to those who have more."

"I didn't expect you to guess my origin. You're quite perceptive. Are all the guards in the ancient city like this?"

Handing over a silver coin with a bit of a tip added to the official entry tax, the mustachioed guard shrugged.

"Not at all. There's no one as considerate as this Nicolas in the ancient city."

"Is that so? Then, since you're so considerate, can you recommend a good tavern where I can get a nice drink? I'm starving to death, actually."

Leontine's light-hearted remark made Nicolas smile.

"I know a good place. It's a bit different from the others."

Following the directions, Leontine found herself on a pleasant street.

There were stables and wooden inns for travelers, and it seemed that some of them were suitable for mercenaries like Leontine.

Among them was a tavern that stood out.

While all the surrounding buildings were made of stone, this one was built of wood and plaster.

The tavern's name was Nob. It was written on a large wooden sign along with exotic characters.

"So this is the guard's favorite spot, huh."

She couldn't shake the suspicion that he was being paid to recommend it to everyone.

Still, she had come this far. It was too much trouble to look for another place, so Leontine decided to go in.

A familiar smell greeted her, and her stomach growled softly.

"Welcome!"

"...Welcome."

When she opened the door, the first thing that surprised her was the coolness inside.

She didn't know how it was done, but the stifling heat outside was completely absent inside. And the scent...

The tavern was moderately busy, but fortunately, a customer had just left a single seat at the counter.

Sliding into the seat, Leontine raised her hand to call the server.

What she needed now was a drink and some food.

She had to fill her empty stomach to avoid hindering her true purpose for coming to the ancient city.

"Here's your otoshi."

A cute server with black hair brought a small dish of cooked shellfish.

The shellfish were shelled, and Leontine, who had grown up by the sea, recognized them immediately. The aroma suggested that alcohol had been used in the cooking.

Otooshi, she realized, was probably a pre-meal snack.

"An amuse-bouche in a tavern, that's quite sophisticated."

"Thank you. Today's otoshi, the scallops, are delicious."

"Scallops, huh."

In the carefree manner of a mercenary, Leontine picked up a scallop with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. The texture was a bit like chicken, despite being a shellfish.

The dish was well-prepared, with no fishy smell and a well-seasoned broth.

She could eat this in any quantity, not just a small dish.

"Good. A tavern with good snacks is trustworthy. Can I have a beer?"

"Of course."

The server's bow was graceful.

As a knight, Leontine sometimes attended social events, but it was rare to find a server with such good movements.

She was pleased to have been recommended a good place and picked up another scallop.

"Here's your draft."

"Draft, I've never heard of that. Is it a local beer?"

"No, it's a lager."

"Lager..."

She had heard the name before.

It was apparently made differently from ale and had been monopolized by the empire for production and distribution.

She had heard that it had been recently legalized.

"...Wow, I'm surprised."

The cold lager was refreshingly smooth.

It was so delicious that it seemed to seep into Leontine's body, which was filled with fatigue from the past two days.

"Delicious, isn't it, Triaezu Nama?"

A different server, with flaxen hair, spoke with a slight blush. He looked young but had a charming face.

"I thought I heard 'nama' earlier. Is this lager also called Triaezu Nama?"

"Yes, all the regulars call it that."

Having regulars was a minimum requirement for a good tavern.

There were no good people among those who made a living by swindling travelers and first-time customers.

"Customer, what would you like to order?"

"I'll have anything but potatoes. I've had enough of potatoes in the north."

The Count of Windermark was a good noble who made sure his mercenaries were well-fed, but the meals were mostly potatoes. Leontine had eaten more potatoes in the north than she would in a lifetime in the Eastern Kingdom.

"Actually, I've been wondering... What's that smell?"

"Oh, that smell. What would you like to try?"

"What do you mean by 'what'?"

"Would you like the 'Tide Soup' I made or the 'Fake Bouillabaisse' that Taisho added to?"

"Both are delicious?"

The server pointed to wooden signs that read "Hermine's Special Tide Soup" and "Taisho's Special Fake Bouillabaisse." The numbers below them seemed to indicate a popularity vote. The Tide Soup was currently in the lead.

"Tide Soup, I can understand. It's a salted fish broth, right? But what's this 'Fake Bouillabaisse'?"

"It's a dish where vegetables are sautéed and cooked with seafood and tomatoes."

That made sense. Leontine's hometown had a similar dish.

However, it wasn't called bouillabaisse, and the local fishermen simply called it "gurnard with tomatoes."

"Ah, then I'll have the bouillabaisse. And another Triaezu Nama."

"Thank you."

Hermine bowed and went to the counter to place the order.

She was gentle and cheerful, a completely different creature from Leontine, who had lived on the battlefield. They were as different as a wolf and a dog.

As a noblewoman, she might have had a different life. Thinking about it, a sense of loneliness washed over her.

She had become a mercenary out of poverty, but she could have chosen a different path if she had wanted to.

However, Leontine was twenty-six this year. She had no desire to dress up in a dress and attend social events. There were lingering regrets, but it was too late to change now.

"Here you are."

Leontine savored the bouillabaisse with a wooden spoon.

"...Wow."

The soup was rich with the flavors of shrimp and seafood.

It was different from the gurnard with tomatoes from her hometown, but it had a nostalgic taste.

"This is delicious."

"I made too much Tide Soup... So Taisho cooked it with tomatoes to change things up."

"I see. That's a great idea. We have a similar dish near my hometown, but we add saffron to it."

"Saffron?"

Hermine's puzzled face suggested she didn't know what saffron was. It was understandable, given the distance between the southern and northern ends of the continent.

Even the same fish soup could have completely different ingredients and flavors.

"Yes. Also, we don't add squid."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you dislike squid?"

"No, I love it."

Leontine had an unbreakable bond with squid.

"I'm the daughter of a squid fisherman, but my husband couldn't eat squid until he married me."

"Wow, that's quite a challenge."

Hermine was likely from a port town.

It was possible that her husband was a scoundrel for making her work in a tavern after marrying her. A girl like Hermine could have found a good match anywhere.

If she had met Hermine when she was unmarried and looking for a husband, Leontine might have found her a few trustworthy men.

Thinking about it, she almost laughed. She should worry about herself first.

Eating the bouillabaisse made her feel that way.

If she had been married, she might have been making gurnard with tomatoes for her husband.

The land in her inherited territory was poor, but the seafood was delicious.

The taxes were half in cash and half in kind, so she could eat as much seafood as she wanted. She had started her mercenary career out of boredom with the daily fish dishes, but now they seemed nostalgic.

"Are you a mercenary, ma'am?"

"Yes, I am. You figured it out pretty quickly."

"You're the only one who would bring an armor chest."

"That's true."

She should have booked an inn and left the chest there, but she was so hungry today. Some inns served meals, but the food was usually just to fill the stomach, with taste being secondary.

"Actually, I'm looking for someone."

"Looking for someone?"

"Yes, that's why I came to the ancient city."

The signs of war had left the north, and it was better to earn money in the Eastern Kingdom.

Still, she had come to the ancient city out of a lingering attachment.

"If you're looking for someone as a mercenary, I might be able to help. I have some connections."

"Connections, huh? That's reassuring. I'd be grateful for your help."

"An old comrade or a benefactor?"

"No, it's a bit different."

Leontine realized she was smiling.

The remnants of her youthful self, which she thought she had long abandoned, were filling her chest with a sweet and sour fragrance.

"The person I'm looking for is like my love interest."