Chapter 38 (1/2)

Constructed to protect the highway pa.s.sing through the imperial capital’s natural defenses to the north, the Sarcalnaa Mountains, Basragate Fortress is the empire’s oldest stronghold.

Long ago, the Empire’s influence extended only as far as the Sarcalnaa Mountains, its northern border. But after expanding to the south and east, it established a route heading north. This highway owed its existence to the Empire’s invasion of the Sartein region north of Brellwandy.

Basragate Fortress was constructed at that time.

At the beginning of the invasion, the frontline base at Basragate Fortress also served as the bridgehead.

Because this was the only route the invasion could take, the push-and-pull, back-and-forth struggle between the two sides continued for quite a long time.

The Empire feared the possibility of the enemy defeating its advance force and launching a counter-invasion, so Basragate Fortress was upgraded and fortified repeatedly, developing into a fortress solely dedicated to military operations.

In the end, there was no counter-invasion and no opportunity for the fortress to display its defensive capabilities, but as the Empire’s conquest of Sartein swept on, it turned its attention to maintaining the Sarcalnaa highway.

I’ve said this before, but the Sarcalnaa Mountains are also famous for the appearance of powerful monsters, so the fortress was also there to ensure safety on the road.

Incidentally, the empire’s northern border currently runs along the northernmost edge of the Sartein, where the fortified city of Kakraw.a.n.ga is giving the stink-eye to the Confederation, another of the three global superpowers. For this reason, it’s not wrong to say that Basragate Fortress now serves no military purpose.

“…and so we have the Basragate Fortress of today.”

My summary of Leon’s lecture, which I could hear coming from behind me: see above.

In truth, the story went on much longer, but more than half of it went in one ear and out the other. It was all about the history of the Empire, I think.

“Hmmm.”

And that was all I had to say about that. To be honest, I wasn’t really going to bother cramming that much information into my head.

More importantly, Basragate Fortress had actually come into view.

We finally made it? Thank G.o.d. Not gonna lie, I’ve had enough of carriage travel.

That was why I was. .h.i.tching a ride on Leon’s horse right now.

Mostly thanks to Palmira’s willfulness, riding one of the horses had somehow become a regular thing. Not for Aira — she wasn’t all that eager to ride, but Palmira and I would go for a change of pace. However, neither I nor Palmira had any experience riding horses, so someone had to ride with us.

At first, everyone took turns on Leon’s horse, but now, Palmira mostly rode with Leopard and I went with Leon.

When I turned to the side, I could see Palmira leaning forward on Leopard’s horse, looking all war-like. Curiously enough, there was a certain charm to the sight.

No matter how I looked at it, she was out of place. With Leopard out of his full battle gear, they looked just like a grandpa out with his granddaughter.

The fortress before us was like a dam, blocking the mountain valley.

Tall ramparts completely closed off the way forward with a grave solemnity. Unsurprisingly for such an old installation, its walls were tinted so that they seemed to melt into the terrain. They looked a bit like ruins, even, but from the flags atop the ramparts and the visible castle gate, where merchant caravans were gathered, anyone could tell that it was fully functional.

“Are we making a stop at the fortress?”

I asked, tilting my head to look up at Leon, who was closely glued to my back.

Truth be told, I want to stop. Since it’s just past noon now, I know it’ll be quick to travel the rest of the way to the capital all in one go, but it’ll still take about two days.1

Given its age and the gathering of the merchant caravans, the fortress had to be equipped with the appropriate facilities.

Okay, to be blunt, I wanted to sleep somewhere other than the carriage. And I wanted a bath.

“That’s the plan, more or less. Our pace thus far has been a bit hurried, so it would be good to take a proper rest. To be honest, those taking this route on foot are much more exhausted than usual.”

True enough. Since that night, our speed had risen halfway to a forced march to get to this point.

Plus, we might’ve been taking the highway, but it was quite narrow, and we had to mind the cliff while simultaneously keeping an eye out for monsters. These guys were the Elite Guard, but that said, they’d been put under more stress than usual.

Unless there’s a need, don’t push the troops beyond their limits.

I didn’t know much about commanding, but maybe he was following that frequently shared piece of common sense.

Not that many others did.

“Gotcha. Then I should be getting back to the carriage soon.”

“No, let’s go like this.”

“Ehh?”

I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security.

Recently, I’ve gotten a little more used to being called ‘Princess’ by the soldiers. But entering a place I’ve never been before, like this…

It was pretty long overdue, but earlier, I was thinking: How about I get used to being called Princess?

Though I’d heard about it from Rupert in Telaberan, I asked Sieg how others really saw us. As the story goes, [Leon found his long-lost childhood friend, so he’s taking care of her]. Who the h.e.l.l thought that up?

But, in terms of [Chris’s] story, I certainly wouldn’t call it a lie.

It’s all a little too neat, huh. But considering fact is stranger than fiction, you might even say that this is far more believable.

“The main point is, you’ll be my fiancée in the capital, so it’ll be hard on me if you don’t adjust,”

Leon said, shamelessly.

Oh yeah, that’s true.

So much happened on the way here that it slipped my mind, but that was half my objective in going to the capital to begin with.

The other half was to collect my compensation for the slavery sting, but that had been pushed even further to the back of my mind.

‘Get used to it.’ So I’m told, but honestly, I don’t want to get used to it any more than I already have. For me, this is already more than enough… well, the only way I see this going is with me crossing a dangerous line.

“Oh, for G.o.d’s sake… c’mon, lemme down.”

Because he had a point, my resistance didn’t have any real bite in it.

I didn’t just ride with Leon, I couldn’t even get down without him. Leon was holding the reins, of course, so in a sense, sitting in front of him had trapped me.

Looks like I’m not getting out of this one…

We approached the gate. I had no other choice but to give up.

–

–

It didn’t take long to pa.s.s through the gates.

I’d gone through this place many times in the past for one thing or another, but making a flashy entrance on horseback was a first for me. It was a fresh experience, in a way.

This was the imperial capital’s northern doorstep — naturally, entrants had to undergo inspection. But maybe they knew we were army, or maybe someone on our side had sent advance notice, because we strolled right on in. Casting a sidelong glance at the merchants undergoing inspection — southbound, like us — I went through the gates.

Leon would stand out even if he were left to his own devices, but now he was riding a horse together with a woman.

I could see why, but coming out from the ma.s.s of caravans, pa.s.sing through the gate, and even after getting inside, he was naturally the center of attention.

Leon was probably used to it. Paying the stares no mind, he urged the horse forward.

I, on the other hand, had never been scrutinized by so many curious eyes in my life. It made me uncomfortable. I had no choice to but to look down and shrink down as small as possible in front of Leon.