Crossing the Border

After hearing Mr. Arle's words, the young man nodded and began writing. "The suspect has fully confessed to tax evasion..."

Mr. Arle hurriedly tried to stop him. "Sir, why rush to put it on record? As long as it doesn't go down on paper, there's still room for negotiation."

The young man set down his pen, his face full of amusement. "Mr. Arle, since you put it that way, then show me some sincerity."

"Sir, I can represent our merchant guild in contributing to the Empire's defense efforts. My personal means may be limited, but the guild's resources should be enough to satisfy you." Hearing this, Mr. Arle immediately relaxed, and his businesslike smile returned.

"Fine. We need the strength of 2,300 gold coins. Does your guild have that sincerity?"

"That's impossible! Sir, even if I sold all three wagonloads of hides, I still couldn't raise that much!"

Arle slammed the table in agitation. "You've opened your mouth wide enough to swallow a man, but I can't even fill the gaps between your teeth! Just throw this poor merchant into prison!"

"Hey, don't get worked up. I know your goods can sell for that much. Others can't manage it, but goods bearing the Luowei Merchant Guild's mark can." The young man gestured to stop the guards, who had been about to give Arle a more physical warning.

"Still, we aren't devils. We can't possibly make you hand over both principal and profit. We have another plan for you to show your sincerity."

"Then please stop joking around, sir! Get straight to the point!"

"We need you to purchase something for us in Valois." The young man handed Mr. Arle a set of rough blueprints depicting a component, with its dimensions and materials marked on the three-view drawing.

"We need five sets of these components. As long as you bring us qualified parts, we can trade at your quoted price. What do you say, Mr. Arle? You could even say we're showing our sincerity to you."

"This is something the Kingdom has banned from being sold to the Empire."

"Otherwise, why would we ask you for this little favor? Accept it and trade with us, and tomorrow you can go back to being a subject of your king. Whenever you want, you can become an Imperial citizen again.

"If you can't do it, the Empire's gates will no longer be open to you. Furthermore, on behalf of the Imperial Army, we reserve the right to hold your merchant guild accountable."

If Rorschach had been there, he could only have shaken his head for Mr. Arle's sake. The blueprint depicted what appeared to be a Constant Pressure Valve—a privately manufactured item in Rorschach's previous life too, the sort of thing that would get you invited in for tea if you tried to buy one.

Three Steam Engines imported from the Holy Kingdom had burned out during the Carnival Night tests. Since the Holy Kingdom restricted the export of Steam Engines and related parts, the young man had chosen to have various merchant guilds smuggle them in bit by bit.

"Sir, I can feel your sincerity. Of course I accept." Arle took the blueprint and tucked it into an inner pocket of his clothes.

Rorschach had no idea that his employer had suffered such a calamity. On his way back to the prison, he ran into Unuk, the resident mage, who had been waiting at the fortress gate.

"I heard from the captain that you went out. I figured you wouldn't abandon your employer and teammates to run off by yourself, and sure enough, I found you."

"Mr. Unuk waited specifically for me?"

"I haven't been waiting long. Mainly, I wasn't sure whether you'd return to the inn, so this was the only place I could meet you."

Unuk and Rorschach walked side by side into the fortress. Whenever the guards saw the resident mage, they saluted him, and Unuk nodded in return.

"Perfect timing. I need to submit a report on last night's incident to the garrison mage. I really have to thank you. One slap helped us catch a big fish."

Unuk explained, "That flying man was wearing a mask. When we took it off, he turned out to be the city governor's son."

Rorschach both wanted and did not want to hear this kind of explosive gossip, but Unuk went on without pause. "No wonder his dear father invited me and the Mage Guild's branch Guild Master to a banquet, then kept trying to force drinks on us.

"I don't drink. I can't stand putting on a show with people whose guts are no different from their brains, so I slipped out. Luckily I did."

"Governor, were those noble merchants the masterminds behind this incident? Were they all Secret Followers of Cress?"

"What does faith have to do with it?" Unuk was not particularly sensitive about True Gods people worshipped. "They were merely taking advantage of being caught between two nations, using the gods as a pretext to set up their own little operation off the Empire's pot. The Holy Kingdom and Istarani were happy to see it happen anyway. So many merchants came and went—collecting their own money and spending it themselves instead of sharing it with His Majesty the Emperor. Doesn't that feel great?"

"With the garrison right in the city, they were truly blinded by greed."

"That's why the gods' names were so important. They even fantasized about Valois intervening. Too bad the Age of Gods ended long ago!"

"What happened to the rain back then and the magic in the environment disappearing?"

Unuk's expression rarely turned serious. "Mage Rorschach, it involves classified matters. Sorry, I can't tell you. I don't know much about it myself."

His tone softened as well. "In any case, thank you, Mage Rorschach. Here's a small gift, the result of some practice work.

"If you have no use for it, you can sell it. Though I'd be a little sad if you did." Unuk even made a small joke.

"Your companions are being held just ahead. This is where we part!" With that, he tossed down a scroll of parchment and vanished around a corner inside the castle.

"Thank you. What is this?" Rorschach unfolded the parchment and found another Learning Scroll: Ice Ray.

He was somewhat surprised. This resident mage had always been rather friendly toward him, and now he had given him a Learning Scroll. Rather than activate it in a hurry here, Rorschach first stored it in his storage ring.

As he continued deeper into the fortress, he happened to meet the haggard Mr. Arle outside the door to the large room. He was being carried back between two soldiers.

"We can set off again tonight and leave this cursed city. Before then, please allow me to take a nap." Mr. Arle unusually requested some sleep, then collapsed onto the pile of straw.

After the incident in Andorilla, the caravan finally resumed its journey.

After her "release from prison," Tasia bid farewell to the caravan and continued riding toward a port city in the Holy Kingdom, where she would board a ship, cross the strait, and travel to the island nation of the Kingdom of Istar to study.

"Next, we'll be entering the Holy Kingdom. Valois has a strong religious atmosphere, so we'd best watch what we say and do. We've already had more than enough trouble in the Empire." Mr. Arle sighed involuntarily. "Fortunately, both we and the goods are still intact. We'll reach our destination eventually."

Then Mr. Arle hesitated slightly. "Miss Hill, you should wear a hood and conceal your elven features. As for Mr. Singlev, it would be best if you didn't speak. I mean nothing by it, but that is simply the way things are in the Holy Kingdom. I hope you understand."

Hill nodded, while Singlev patted the flask at his waist. "Boss, you think too little of me! Not only have I been to the Holy Kingdom, I even made friends with a fat monk there!" He removed his flask and held it high. "The finer the wine, the stronger the friendship! Let the Dwarf King and the human Hero King bear witness!"

A chestnut-colored furry head poked out from Rorschach's nearby carriage. "Senior, who is the human Hero King?"

"Do they not teach mythology and history at the Tower of the Forest? Sigh, this is a story about the God of Wisdom taking the blame. Two years before the Old Empire calendar..."

The caravan traveled for several days. In theory, they had passed the Empire's checkpoint the moment they left Andorilla, but several villages and towns along the way were still under Imperial jurisdiction.

Then, one day, the scenery was not much different from before, but a small monastery appeared in the distance. The group watched as a pair of fully armored knights in white robes approached them.

Mr. Arle signaled for the entire caravan to stop. "Paladins of the God of Order. Everyone, there's no doubt about it—we're in the Holy Kingdom."