Volume 6 Chapter 62 Fate
'Reed was riding high and having a drinking spree with Rouza. If it weren't for that, things might've been better.'
Meanwhile, Rouza, amidst the swaying voyage, had been drinking since noon, emptying several bottles by the time they arrived at Sanmoto.
Unlike the drunk Reed, Rouza was in high spirits throughout.
To put it in perspective, it was like a evenly matched contest between him and Nikyou of the Jingin Family, based in Eubarest.
'Somehow, those 2 seem to hit it off, don't they?'
It's like they'd be interesting, a bit scary if they met.
Anyway.
Besides us, Rouza's guards are disembarking one by one.
Some of them silently vanished into the distance.
They must have started with the surrounding exploration and information gathering, among other activities.
We're planning to stay overnight in this harbor town, recover from the journey, and then head to the capital of Sanmoto.
If all goes well, it should take about 2 days on foot.
As I was casually pondering over our future plans, I noticed the locals' gazes suddenly focusing on us.
Specifically, their eyes were locked onto Rouza.
"Could it be, that's Rouza-sama..."
"That's right, it's Rouza-sama!"
"Rouza-sama has returned!"
Someone's voice served as a cue, and the locals began to gather in droves.
To avoid getting caught in the commotion, we stepped away from Rouza, and in a blink, a crowd had formed.
"Welcome back, Rouza-sama!"
"Oh, thank you for the warm welcome! This Rouza has safely returned to Sanmoto!"
In the center of the gathered crowd, Rouza proudly announced himself with open arms.
The cheers that rose just from that showed his popularity, which somewhat surprised me.
"I thought I knew, but he's quite the favorite, that Rouza guy."
"Rouza-sama isn't exactly goofing off all the time. He's been making time to visit the different parts of Sanmoto, listening to the people's concerns. It's the same for the folks here."
Getsuya, the guy talking, is giving the crowd around Rouza a hard look.
He's on guard, making sure nobody's about to pull something on his boss.
But he's not pushing people around, 'cause he knows that's not what Rouza wants.
'No need to get your panties in a bunch, partner. There's no one here who looks like they're about to start some trouble.'
Gram, and probably Touga too, are on high alert, so we should be good.
Still, considering why we're in Sanmoto, we can't let our guard down completely.
"For the commoners, Rouza-sama is way more approachable than those high-and-mighty shogun family bigwigs talking politics from up in the clouds."
Compared to when we first met, my chats with Getsuya are way more chill now.
He used to see me as a creepy bug bothering Mikage, full of hostility and wanting to kill me.
But, that's cooled down, and he's come around, I guess.
He's a workaholic with a short fuse, but once you get past that, he's just a regular dude.
"...You're making it sound all serious, but he's definitely just messing around, right?"
"Ahem...ahem."
Getsuya's fake cough is all the proof we need.
"Knowing Rouza-sama, he was probably serious about both the people and the fun."
"Maybe he wasn't thinking about anything at all."
"That's definitely possible."
When I cracked a joke, Mikage chuckled.
I'm gonna get the runaround if I ask anyway, so I might as well just make stuff up.
"...Some of the shogun family's vassals secretly look down on Rouza-sama for not doing much with his political duties. But they don't say it out loud as much since he's Touga's heir."
I've heard about Rouza's standing within the shogun family and my biggest concerns - her 2 older brothers - on the way to Sanmoto.
I need to know this stuff beforehand, so I've tried my best to cram it into my meager brain.
If you're talking about power, Rouza is well-loved by the common people, the oldest brother has the support of the military officers, and the second oldest brother leads the bureaucrats.
"If we're going by Rouza's words, then it's about knowing your place."
"But words can be deceiving, can't they?"
It probably looks like he has been letting his older brothers do all the work while he play around.
To be fair, until he was named heir to Touga and the next shogun, he was just a bastard son doing whatever he wanted.
That's why, no one - including Rouza himself - expected him to inherit Touga.
Now, the crowd had been rowdy for a bit, but they eventually said their goodbyes to Rouza, waved, and dispersed.
"Whew. Being popular is tough."
"I guess you're a big deal now... hey, what's with all this?"
With a nonchalant expression, Rouza walked over to us with a bunch of fish and sake bottles piled up in her arms.
"Everyone's giving them to me. For those who are quick, we'll process them at tonight's lodging. Looks like dinner is going to be pretty extravagant."
A few of the guards immediately rushed over, quickly collected the items, and disappeared.
They're always so efficient.
"By the way, I heard something interesting."
With both hands free, Rouza gripped her azure monk staff (Touga) and patted her shoulder with it.
"Apparently, even before we arrived, a ship from a foreign land docked here."
I knew this place was also a thriving trading port, so it wasn't that unusual for ships from abroad to visit.
Of course, the story didn't end there.
"Along with unloading their cargo, foreigners came ashore. Apparently, they were 3 men and one woman. They asked about the location of Sanmoto's capital and left the next day."
"That doesn't tell us much."
"However, that one from my group, the apparent leader, was said to be wearing a beautifully designed sword at his waist. It seems that this left quite an impression on everyone's memory. Perhaps, we might just run into that quartet in the city."
──Three men and one woman.
Moreover, the leader stands out with a striking sword at his waist.
For a brief moment, the thought of 'maybe' crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head to dismiss it.
No way, there's no chance such a coincidence could happen.
To deny the one possibility that popped up, I adopted a tone of disbelief.
"Even if you lump the city together, it's still vast. Is it really that convenient?"
"Who knows? If there's a 'connection' between them and us, then maybe."
Rouza seems genuinely excited.
He was practically bursting with anticipation about meeting them soon.
──Realizing that this 'connection' is indeed tied to me will come a bit later.
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