Kays Translations

Chapter 11 – Aboard the Guardian Knight [3]

They spent the following day enjoying the elegant overland journey as well.

Then came the morning after that.

It was before sunrise, when most passengers were still asleep.

Ren, who had stayed up late reading, woke and sat up in bed.

He raised the blind he had closed before sleeping and saw the first edge of the sun beginning to appear beyond the horizon.

It was still too early for breakfast, but he did not feel like returning to sleep.

After washing his face and making himself presentable, Ren left his compartment.

He headed toward the dining carriage to wake himself with a little tea and found Fiona there. She sat alone beside a window, drinking quietly.

“Good morning, Ren.”

Only a handful of other passengers were present—several refined-looking young couples and no one else.

“Good morning. You’re awake early, Fiona.”

“I always wake at this hour. But if you say that, you’re awake rather early too.”

Fiona laughed softly and invited him to join her. Ren sat across from her.

A service attendant appeared as if from nowhere, prepared tea for Ren, and withdrew at once.

Ren looked over the menu on the table, considering whether to order a light meal.

Watching him, Fiona glanced at the glass before her. It had been filled with fruit water until moments ago, but was now empty. Drops of condensation still slid slowly down its surface, chilled by the remaining ice.

In the glass, she saw a small, faint reflection of herself.

“…I don’t look strange, do I?”

She murmured the question without thinking and touched her bangs.

Her appearance was already immaculate. Even so, had she known she would meet Ren like this, she would have spent another five minutes—no, at least ten—preparing herself.

Even the slightest angle of her bangs suddenly bothered her.

“Did you say something?”

“N-No! Nothing at all!”

Fiona quickly released her bangs. Before lowering her hand, she gently smoothed the silken hair falling across her chest.

The morning sun was finally beginning to rise, and its light lent her profile a jewel-like radiance.

“We’ll reach Eupheim soon,” Ren said.

“Did you enjoy the journey aboard the Guardian Knight?”

“Very much. I was thinking that I’d like to ride it again sometime—and buy my own ticket next time.”

“I’m glad. Please enjoy your time in Eupheim too.”

The next day, Ren, Licia, and Lessard would visit the Ignat marquis’s mansion.

Ulysses had long wanted to arrange an occasion at which his family could properly thank its great benefactors.

Their conversation continued as the dining carriage gradually became busier.

By the time the sun had fully risen, both of them returned to their rooms.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

At ten in the morning—the hour when they would normally have been attending their first lesson at the academy—the Guardian Knight finally drew close to Eupheim.

Ren and Licia stared in astonishment at the beauty filling the windows: Eupheim, the land called the White Crown.

White-painted houses lined a city crossed by an intricate network of waterways. Boats floated along the canals, while enormous buildings rose everywhere, befitting a great metropolis.

The City of Water looked out over a crescent-shaped bay. The sight seemed to explain more eloquently than words why Eupheim was known as the White Crown and why generations of the imperial family had visited so often.

The picturesque city rivaled the Imperial Capital in scale.

The Guardian Knight stopped at Eupheim’s largest station.

Its vast white exterior resembled the houses of the city, and the station itself was another breathtaking work of architecture.

Naturally, a ceremony awaited them there as well. In Ulysses’s words, it consisted of one troublesome noble greeting after another.

When the scheduled proceedings finally ended, the guests began leaving the station one by one and dispersing into the city.

“Licia, Ren.”

Lessard called to them across the crowded platform.

“A carriage has been prepared to take us to the inn. We should be going.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Their first task that day was simply to reach the inn and unpack.

As the three began walking, Fiona approached them.

“Someone from our household will come to the inn for you tomorrow. Please relax and enjoy Eupheim today. Should anything happen, call for us at any time.”

She gave a graceful curtsy and turned to leave.

“Ren, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

In a gesture unusual for her, she looked back and left him a playful wink. She appeared unable to contain her anticipation for the following day.

Once they entered the waiting carriage, the driver set it moving without needing to be told their destination.

Licia looked through the window and spoke to Ren.

“Eupheim really is remarkable.”

“At the moment, I find it strange that I’m so close to the lord of a city this enormous.”

“You’re also very close to the Third Prince.”

“…That’s true.”

Ren had been born in a remote village, yet somehow he had traveled very far from that beginning.

When he remembered that his present position also allowed him to help his village, he occasionally felt entitled to take a little pride in himself.

“You two can see something interesting over there,” Lessard said with a smile.

Ren and Licia looked in the direction he indicated.

A portion of an enormous harbor came into view along the crescent bay. It was the largest port in all Leomel.

Several warships lay at anchor.

Remarkably, every warship not docked inside the military harbor belonged to Ulysses’s own forces.

Eupheim was historically and culturally important, but it was also a vital center of trade.

Both its commerce and its national-defense infrastructure were among the greatest in Leomel.

After an early lunch at the inn, Ren was resting in his room when someone arrived.

“Lord Ren, you have a visitor.”

The message came from a Clausel household attendant who had accompanied them to Eupheim.

Licia, who had eaten lunch with Ren in his room as though it were the most natural thing in the world, voiced her surprise.

“A visitor for Ren? Is it Ulysses or Fiona?”

“No, my lady. It is neither of them.”

“Then who could it be…?”

Ren rose and left Licia’s side.

A knight waited in the corridor. Ren recognized him as a Mighty Sword Style practitioner he frequently encountered at the Lion’s Holy Office.

“Good afternoon, Lord Ren.”

“I see. Radius sent you.”

“Indeed. I traveled from the Imperial Capital by magic ship with His Highness. He instructed me to come and escort you.”

The Lion’s Holy Office knight nodded.

Radius had been too busy to accompany the Guardian Knight’s journey, but he too had now arrived in Eupheim.

Ren returned to the room and explained the situation to Licia, including that he intended to leave the inn.

“All right. I’ll tell Father, so go ahead.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back later.”

“Be careful.”

Ren left the room again and walked beside the knight, who was dressed in civilian clothes. They entered the inn’s elevator and descended to the ground floor.

The knight spoke while they were inside.

“How was your journey aboard the Guardian Knight?”

“It was wonderful. I had never spent a night aboard a train before, and the two-night, three-day journey was a valuable experience.”

“I thought it would be!”

The knight’s voice became animated.

“Are you interested in the Guardian Knight?”

“Very much so! I intend to ride it on one of my days off. I’m hoping to secure a first-class ticket.”

First class was the section in which Ren and the others had traveled, though its high ticket price was a significant drawback.

The knight continued as though money were no concern.

“Ha ha… When an unmarried man serves as a knight, his wages simply continue to accumulate. One has to enjoy them at times like this.”

“…I hope you have an excellent journey.”

The Guardian Knight project had been led by Ulysses himself.

Apparently, the unprecedented experience of overland travel had attracted the interest of Mighty Sword Style practitioners as well.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Back in Ren’s room, the Clausel attendant addressed Licia.

“Will you return to your own room, my lady?”

“…What should I do?”

The attendant had assumed Licia would leave immediately, but she hesitated for a moment.

She soon stood and said, “I’m joking,” yet the uncharacteristically self-conscious way she behaved where Ren was concerned mildly surprised the attendant.

When Licia entered the corridor, a friend called to her from the opposite end.

“Licia! I was looking for you!”

Sera appeared farther down the hall.

Licia was still reacting to the unexpected encounter when Vayne came into view several steps behind her.

Sera reached Licia first.

“We haven’t seen each other since this morning. Are you staying at this inn too?”

“Yes. Vayne and I just finished lunch, and we were talking about going outside. What about you?”

“I finished eating with Ren a little while ago.”

Sera carried a sword at her waist, and Vayne wore one as well.

For some reason, both of them were dressed in their academy uniforms.

“Why are you wearing your uniforms?”

“As I said, we’re about to go outside. Clothes that are easy to move in are better, aren’t they?”

“…Is that the only reason?”

“Of course. Besides, we’re students. We should get as much use from the uniforms as we can while we still have them. We won’t wear them after graduation.”

Sera proudly thrust out her chest.

Licia still thought there was no need to wear academy uniforms all the way in Eupheim, though she could agree that they were easy to move in.

“Since we’re all here, why don’t you come with us?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

As Licia hesitated, Vayne made another suggestion.

“Could Ren come too?”

“Unfortunately, he had an errand and left a few minutes ago.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

“Yes. You just missed him.”

Vayne and Sera both sighed in disappointment.

They had arrived one step too late.

“It’s unfortunate that Ren can’t come, but what about you, Licia? Join us if you have time.”

Lessard had a small amount of work to complete, but by his kindness, neither Ren nor Licia had any duties that day. He had encouraged them to enjoy their holiday in Eupheim.

Licia had therefore intended merely to relax at the inn until Ren returned, then explore Eupheim at night with him.

Judging from the conversation, however, “outside” probably meant not merely outside the inn, but outside the city itself.

She nodded, deciding she should hear the rest of their plan before answering.

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