"Are you going to the Trade Union country under your lady's orders?"
"Glug... Glug... ahhh... Yeah, something like that!"
With one gulp, Mr. Kurogane emptied his glass of alcohol and replied to my question.
After the awkwardness from yesterday's wyvern attack, we became acquainted with this old samurai. He introduced himself to us as Kurogane Takeshi. His self-introduction reminded me of when Fujita introduced himself—Mr. Kurogane also explained about how family names and given names were spoken in reverse.
Today I was talking with him in one of the rest rooms. In the morning, I saw him ordering several bottles of alcohol for himself, and after that I invited him into this room to chat.
During our conversation, Mr. Kurogane suddenly confessed that he was a personal guard of a noble princess in the Hoshigami Kingdom. He had been ordered by his lady to do something in the Trade Union country.
I don't know why he told us that even though we just met yesterday. Was he too drunk? Looking at his red face, it seemed like it. Is it really okay to send someone this talkative? I'd like to give that noble princess some advice if we ever meet...
"Haaa... my shining moment..."
Renaldi, who had been gloomy this whole time, sat on one of the chairs in the corner. On his table was a cup of tea and a few pieces of cake. He stared blankly as he muttered something.
Is he still thinking about yesterday's wyvern attack? Because this world has many monsters and criminals, of course people here must have prepared countermeasures against unwanted attacks. There's no way a transportation vessel this large would operate without thinking of security.
"I had even planned to look cool!"
Hearing Renaldi's regretful lament, it's probably better to just ignore him.
At that moment, from the window, I saw an airship passing by ours.
When the wyverns attacked yesterday, it turned out we had crossed the border between countries earlier than scheduled, so only a few days remain until we reach our destination—the capital of the Trade Union country.
After crossing the border, we frequently saw other ships passing by.
Watching one of them leave, I turned to Prilm.
"Prilm, do you know anything about the Trade Union country?"
I asked her as she sat next to me, busy munching on cake. The way she ate was really like a rabbit.
"Hmm... Let's see... The last time I went there was a few years ago."
Prilm's explanation wasn't much different from what was recorded in my chip, which had copied books from the Jatumheim Castle library.
The Trade Union country, as its name suggests, is a nation of merchants. This country wasn't founded through conquest or noble bloodline inheritance, but through agreements between merchants, guild unions, and sailor associations united to protect their shared interests.
In the beginning, port towns and market centers along the great river often clashed. Excessive taxes, pirates, and monopolies by certain groups slowed trade. Eventually, the trade leaders swore an oath at a grand council: to form an alliance making commerce the foundation of a country.
The Trade Union is governed by a council, a combination of representatives from each trade city. There is no king in this land, but rather the majority vote determines the country's direction. Its core law is simple: keep commerce free, safe, and fair.
But behind that, there's an open secret: the true leaders of this country are a group consisting of five families. They're the richest business magnates in the land.
Those five families have controlled all the cities of the Trade Union for decades. One of them can rule over several cities, but it's different for the Trade Union's capital, Marbor.
Marbor is a city they divided into five districts.
The North — the entertainment and creative district, controlled by the Marshel family.
The West — the manufacturing and industrial district, controlled by the Bloom family.
The South — the commerce and market district, controlled by the Cerf family.
The East — the finance and banking district, controlled by the Dolla family.
The last district lies in the center of the other four — the transportation and logistics district, controlled by the Rose family.
**********
"Hm?"
Three days had passed. Under cloudy skies, on the ship's deck, we finally saw a city beside a mountain. The city's shape was circular, and a river cut straight through its middle. I noticed that the river flowed out to the open sea not far from the city.
I also noticed many airships around us.
"So that's Marbor..."
As we got closer to Marbor, rain began pouring down on the ship, yet not a single drop touched it because of a thin protective barrier surrounding it. This was the first time we had encountered rain during our flight.
"Why does our arrival feel like an omen of something?"
"What's wrong, Miss Prilm?"
While we were gazing at Marbor, Prilm suddenly said something strange and Renaldi asked her.
"N-no, I was just saying something random. I just feel like something might happen, maybe because of the rain I got carried away by the mood. So don't mind it."
"Is that so? Well, maybe you're just overthinking. But if something bad happens, don't worry, I'll protect you."
After saying those cheesy words, Renaldi flexed his muscles and posed like an athlete.
"Eh? That's unnecessary! Don't underestimate me. Even if I look like this, I'm a master at running away. If something happens, I'll be the first to escape."
After being rejected, Renaldi clutched his chest like someone suffering a heart attack.
I turned my eyes to Prilm again—more precisely to her rabbit ears. Beastmen... can beastmen sense threats like normal animal instincts? I hope not.
Once again, I shifted my gaze back to Marbor...
**********
At the same time, in a certain room — a dark room — there were several cages. Inside those cages were several ragged people in unworthy clothing; they all had collars around their necks.
In one cell, a little girl with black eyes stared at the floor, hugging her knees. Those black eyes were like dead fish eyes — not eyes of despair, but eyes of indifference to everything. She didn't expect anything. She didn't want this to end. She also didn't want to begin. She truly had no desire for anything.
At that moment, the door to the room opened, letting light enter.
"It's time to eat!"
A skinny man entered the room carrying a basket of bread. He walked around each cell, throwing bread into each one. When they saw the bread before them, each prisoner hurriedly took the bread as if it were a treasure.
When the man threw bread into the last cell, he saw the little black-eyed girl slowly walk over and pick up the bread he had thrown. After that, the little girl began eating her bread slowly.
The skinny man fell silent when he saw the little girl acting differently from the other prisoners. When he looked into her black eyes, he clicked his tongue and walked out.
After leaving that wretched room, the skinny man let out a frustrated sigh.
"Haa... Even after working in this place for several years, I still can't get used to seeing it."
This place was a slave storage warehouse. Today, they had just received new slaves. Every month, when the stock of slaves ran out, new slaves from who-knows-where would be sent here to be sold.
The man had been working here for several years; every time he saw the slaves, he would feel guilty.
At that moment, a fat man, his co-worker, came out of a certain room.
"Haaa... I feel like dying."
"How's that warehouse?"
Hearing his co-worker's question, the fat man answered.
"It's really hard. One of the slaves is a war slave; I heard he killed his previous owner's family. When I went in, he looked at me with murderous intent — it was truly scary... How about you?"
Hearing the fat man's question, the skinny man clicked his tongue and answered him.
"It's just the usual inside, but there's a little kid there, maybe 9 or 10 years old. Haa..."
Hearing the skinny man's complaint, the fat man walked up to him and patted his shoulder. He knew the skinny man had a little daughter, so seeing a child as a slave must have made him very uncomfortable. He would have felt the same way.
"I think I'm going to quit this job."
When the skinny man said that, the fat man told him:
"You say that every month. Haa... We can only pray these slaves get good masters, especially the child slave."
"You're right. May the slaves find their own happiness."
After praying to the God of Life, they left those rooms behind.