Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter4 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

“Thank you for coming.”

Speaking up first, Orba acknowledged the two as they came into the room. Although he displayed a princely thin smile, naturally, in his heart, he couldn’t help but find their unusually abashed behaviour amusing. The normally fearless Gowen fumbled muttered words of greeting out of his mouth, which he could barely hear, and Shique kept staring around in wonder.

He realized that, most likely, they’d been like this ever since receiving an ‘invitation from the prince’, and Orba had a hard time resisting the urge to burst out laughing.

Dinn was also equally surprised. He had thought either Fedom or another prominent Mephian figure would come in.

“Wait – what’s the meaning of this? I can’t have you inviting gladiators without permission. If Fedom-sama finds out—”

“''I’m'' the prince, right? Can’t I do as I please? Or am I not allowed to talk with somebody without your approval?”

As he brought up again their earlier conversation about behaving like a prince at all times, Dinn couldn’t give a reply. By Orba’s command, he helplessly poured wine into their glasses and treated the two visitors to a drink.

“These guys have worked well as sword-slaves. If it wasn’t for their efforts, I might not have been able to pick up this cup. We should hail them as national heroes!”

He raised his hand to put glasses together, the two nervously joined in. Enjoying his companions’ reactions, Orba slightly sipped his drink. It was essentially not so strong. 

‘Prince Gil’ didn’t quite seem to go onto the main subject, even though his guests grew more uncomfortable, so Shique finally broke the ice. It looked like he unexpectedly had more guts than Gowen in this kind of situation.

“Although I thought it strange that you spoke to me back then, how come you are f-familiar with our names?”

“You said you’re a fan,” Gowen said. “B-But I haven’t fought in the arena myself these past several years. Even back when I was a gladiator, I don’t remember having any fights to leave such a mark. So, really, where Your Highness learned the name of someone like me…”
<!-- Gowen doesn't finish his sentence -->

“Really, I’ve known,” Orba said, purposely grimacing. “Is it something so inconvenient that I know your names? Or does an outrageous thing, like a prince indulging himself in gladiator fights, go against your conscience?”

“N-No, never!”

“No, never mind. Drop it. I’ll give the instructions later.”

Although he didn’t know what these instructions were, Gowen’s face stiffened and Shique frantically took a step forward.

“Please forgive us, Your Highness. We are but lowly gladiators. We’re not used to a place like this, let alone know the proper etiquette when talking to people of royalty. We barely even know one language… If we have in some way offended you…”

Orba kept staring at the flustered Shique with cold eyes, but then,

“Kuh…”

Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer and sputtered a laugh. He took another shot, and then Orba started clutching his stomach, laughing loudly. The two stared blankly at him. 

Dinn turned pale, and kept rebuking him, saying “Prince, Prince!”. However Orba said, “Who’s this prince!?”, wiping the tears from his face and laughing once more.

“You still haven’t found out, Gowen? This is so unlike you! So you’re quicker with the sword than with words?”

Taking a smallsword hanging on the wall, he thrust it out right in front of Gowen’s eyes.

“Although I haven’t used it in the arena many times, it was you who taught me the basics of using a smallsword. Show refinement in your posture, strain your upper arms, but keep it supple from the elbow down – isn’t that so?”

He lightly thrust out the tip of his sword in a dance, performing his steps around Gowen. Shique then raised his voice in surprise. Orba gave him a wink, with a smirk on his face.

“Could it be – no, but – although his voice is quite similar… n-no, but…”

Orba took one step forward, aiming for Shique, who couldn’t seem to reach a decision. Shique easily moved his face away from the sword’s tip, swinging through the air. He took a step back on reflex.

“Will you allow me to scar your face? So it’ll become a bond between me and you?” Orba said, grinning.
Instead of Shique, who was moving his white throat, gulping up and down, Gowen raised his voice.
<!-- Strange expression. I get the feeling 白い喉 means Adam’s apple, although I can’t find any reference for this. Basically, Shique is stupefied... -->

“Orba!?” he shouted recklessly.



The two sat at the table, taking in the shock, and it looked like not all doubts had been completely cleared away. They listened in astonishment as Orba explained how things had gotten this way. No one interrupted him in the meantime, and Dinn continued serving the three at the table with a half-sulky attitude.

“Hrm,” Gowen grunted. “I’ve been alive for many years and haven’t heard such an odd thing. But, without the mask, your face really does resemble the prince’s. Honestly, I already thought he was quite young, but didn’t think it was this much.”

“I thought about the same,” Shique said, having completely reverted back to his normal attitude. “Better yet, aren’t you more of a handsome man like this?”

Gowen shook his head.

“But is it all right to be so open about this with us? Isn’t this a state secret?”

“It's 'not' all right,” Orba quickly said. “But if I pretend to be a prince all on my own, I won’t have any breathing space, right? I thought at least you’d be able to keep your mouths shut.”

“Ohh?”

“What’s with those eyes?”

Receiving a squinted look from Shique, Orba uncomfortably turned his head to the side.

“Well, never mind. You’ll get used to my face.”

“No, that’s not it. Orba, it’s not that the mask’s been removed. Something in the atmosphere has changed, you know?”

“The atmosphere?”

“The gladiator in you, somehow, seems to have been crushed by something ‘invisible’ to the eye, yet your eyes seem to constantly be shining. While, among the gladiators who are mostly ruffians, you were apparently seen as some sort of dangerous person. You gave ‘em the chills. Now, however, even if there’s no reason for it, part of you seems to have completely lightened up.”
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v01 185.jpg|thumb]]

“Though, posing as the crown prince, I seem to carry this country’s weight on my back? You’re taking Mephius rather lightly.”

“Even so,” Shique said with a puzzling smile.
<!-- そういうところがさ. Not sure if he means it like “It’s still so”, “Even with that” or “Despite that” - “Even so” probably comes closest here. -->

Strangely feeling like he was being treated like a child, Orba started to get a little irritated.

“Anyhow,” Gowen interjected. “If you’ve been trained as a body double before the wedding, does that mean they already expected a surprise attack like today on Mephius?”

Shique also turned serious and shook his head.

“That seems a little bit too strange, right? All of the Mephian soldiers were taken by surprise and were hardly able to deal with it. If the prince… I mean, Orba, hadn’t given those orders, we would’ve stayed in the confusion too, and both the prince and the princess could have been killed by the sniper, right?”

As expected from a swordsman with this much experience, he took a good look at the situation. Orba held out the wine bottle to Gowen, who had drained his cup. 

“Ah.”

Raising his voice, Gowen gave a forced smile. He still was a little uneasy about this situation.

“Weren’t there any signs that Tarkas knew something?”

“N-Nah. He seems to persist that he didn’t know or was aware, but… that man isn’t the type to put on a false show. I fear it’s likely that he truly doesn’t know anything at all.”

“But the ones who were about to kill Princess Vileena, and shoot the two of you, were the newcomers that Tarkas had brought in. If I’d at least kept one of them alive…”

Shique curled his red lips. But he couldn’t have expected to arrest his opponents in the middle of the melee. There was only the one swordsman whom Orba had hit unconscious and tied up. Right now he was being interrogated, or possibly in the midst of torture.

“And Hou Ran? She’s so good at handling the dragons, if it’s her, she should know something about that rampage.”

“They say they’re questioning her about the drugs. Although it seemed that she let one of the newcomers take care of the dragons, it has credibility. But I’ve gotten a better opinion of Tarkas. Because she comes from a tribe of the Ryuujin Faith, and yet came to like handling the dragons, she was the number one person to doubt. And even though the provincial council finds it to be obvious that she applied the drugs, he continues to keep sticking up for Hou Ran.”

“So, when it comes to it, Tarkas can be a good guy?”

“According to Tarkas, after he was to be the presenting gladiatorial group, he was approached by a merchant who offered considerable financial support. Apparently, he’d jumped in without a second thought, because the Tarkas Group could then somehow carry that load on its own. He claims he had to take in those ‘newcomers’ as a trade-off.”

“So ''that'' guy’s pulling the strings? But if he had to lay out a lot of money only for those newcomers, he must likely be on a short list of names here in Mephius, right?”

“That’s…” Gowen said, having regained his usual calmness. “If only it were so. Whether it’s true or not, any mention of this ‘person’ is only coming from Tarkas’s mouth. Nevertheless, you could say it was a bold cooperation, but there’s no clear evidence to catch him by the tail. It’s fruitless anyway. This obviously won’t be any ordinary foe. You can conclude that something of a larger scale is behind this.”

“For example, the Garbera Kingdom?” Shique asked.

“I believe there’s no doubt Garbera’s involved.”

Orba chose his words carefully.

The soldiers he’d personally faced in the hidden passage, clearly held feelings of love and respect for Princess Vileena. However, that was also why it was such a baffling issue. According to Shique, it was likely that not only Orba, but also the princess, was about to be killed back then. There was no question that those people, who had been planning to help the princess get back home, wouldn’t try to get her killed.

Gowen cocked his head in thought.

“It’s not entirely unlikely that Ende was about to exact revenge on Mephius and Garbera either. They too, could bear a grudge for the alliance they once wanted to form with Garbera, being called of all. Most of all, if these two countries become allies, Ende would be the first to get into danger.”

“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions now? If that’s the case, instead, it’s like virtually giving us a justification to attack Ende.”

“You’re right,” Orba agreed. “Especially if both royals get killed, the momentum will be terrible. Until yesterday, Mephius and Garbera were mutual enemies, but then they will join hands for a firmer cooperation to thrust the sword of revenge at Ende.”

“Oh. Such a princely speech, huh?”

“Shut it.”

Suddenly, it grew noisy near the room’s entrance, and the atmosphere was again about to become strained.

It looked like the palace guards had prevented someone from entering the room. In an instant, Gowen and the rest prepared themselves, as if an enemy was about to break in.

“I’m sorry. Will you please go back to your rooms?”

Hearing the guards’ polite words, Orba spoke up without batting an eyelid.

“Dinn, let them in.”

“Prince. On your own accord, again…”

“It’s okay. If you want, you can go ahead and reveal my social status.”

“If I do, you will be hanged!” he said in complaint, although it was the same for all who were already inside.
Dinn sighed and obeyed his orders. And although Dinn felt gloomy when he gave them permission to enter the room, he took a startled step back when the door opened.

Watching the ones who entered, Gowen and the rest hurriedly sat up straight as well, and stood up from their seats. Although he had about expected this, Orba, too, was inwardly surprised. 

Crossing her hands before her waist, walking gracefully, but showing a firm pace, was Princess Vileena of the Kingdom of Garbera. Behind her, her chief attendant Theresia followed suit. Although both their expressions were stiff, the colour of readiness and determination shone through.

“Ahh, even though she’s supposed to never enter the other’s chambers before marriage. Although I do understand this is a disgraceful act for a Garberan lady, this has somehow turned into an unforeseen situation. Please forgive us for our rudeness, Prince Gil.”

It seemed that the first to show her determination was Theresia.

In any case, because the ceremony had been interrupted halfway, Gil and Vileena still weren’t officially a married couple. Orba again took on the mask of a prince and offered them a seat, but Vileena remained standing stock-still.

“Please, have a listen, and pay no heed to my impoliteness.”

The first thing she said, Vileena said with the look of a soldier challenged with war. It was due to her errand, the subject, and, most of all, due to her expectations. Vileena charged that this matter was never an incident directed by her country, and that Garbera didn’t feel inclined to stir up trouble with Mephius once more.

“But,” Orba interrupted his adversary. “Is this Ryucown not someone from Garbera?”

When his name was spoken, she cast down her eyes for a moment. She tightly chewed on her lip, and immediately regained her composure. The scowling look that she gave seemed to consider Orba as an enemy.

“Yes. Now that this has happened – it’s too late. When my country is informed of this incident, Ryucown will be stripped of his knighthood, and lose his Garberan nationality.”

“So this was a scheme by Ryucown alone?”

“It only seems most likely. Those soldiers who tried to take me away also used Ryucown’s name. And right now, there’s only one person in Garbera who has the strength to attack Mephius like this.”

“Ryucown?”

“Indeed.”

“What kind of person is he?”

The black pupils in her bright and beautiful eyes opened wide. Orba’s tone of voice was mild, and she hadn’t been prepared for him to ask her such an unexpected thing.

“Of course, he is famous enough that his name is known even in our Mephius, but we know nothing of his true nature. Have you happened to meet him, your highness?”

“Yes… I have.”

Ryucown’s lineage came from a powerful clan of an area that had recently become Garberan territory and, in the generation after his grandfather, had officially become a retainer to the House of Garbera. However, Ryucown’s father lost part of his territory due to a skirmish with an equally strong clan, and his family was forced to practically live the life of commoners. Most of the nobles who had become central figures in Garbera had supported the country that was built around the Garberan royal family as dukes<ref>The actual term used here is 譜代 ‘[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fudai_daimyo fudai]’. They were trusted lords of the Tokugawa family in Japan, similar to dukes in being the most powerful lords beneath the monarchy. The Garberan noble hierarchy described here, is about the same as that of the Tokugawa family in the Edo Period. Outside lords, given positions when the territory expanded, held a lower status.</ref> for generations and stood firm against any influence from the ‘outside lords’.

When Ryucown was ten, he served as a knight commanding a single unit. After getting his first military feat at the age of thirteen, and having many more successes up to the age of twenty, they said he was simply not able to get out from his rank as a knight apprentice.

The status of ‘knight’ was not a familiar term in Mephius, so she made it easier to understand by explaining it as a noble among warriors. In Garbera, all the people that led the army beneath the king were knights. Although not all nobles were knights, a commoner couldn’t ever be one. Ryucown too, because the earlier mentioned dukes considered him an outside connection, didn’t seem able to become a knight so easily.

And then, the story traced to five years ago.



At that time, a rebellion took place in Garbera against the royal family.

Having expected to be the leader among the dukes, a man named Bateaux, in cooperation with a number of local clans that had been assimilated by Garbera several years ago, had played a central role in staging the revolts. Although it was considered to have probably been a plot by Mephius, Vileena refrained from speaking about that for the better.

Nine years old at the time, Vileena had been out to play at her grandfather Jeorg Owell’s estate, but Bateaux wanted nothing more than to have that palace. At midnight, they were struck by a sudden attack.

Although Jeorg, who was at the time retired, fought a commendable battle with a small company of men, the reinforcements he was waiting for didn’t seem to come. As he judged it pointless to just increase the number of deaths like this, he decided to submit. With the palace surrendered to Bateaux, Jeorg himself, Vileena, and the others were held hostage.

Jeorg had been injured during that battle. Even without taking his illness into account, the wound was a severe one, and he’d been bedridden ever since. There was a short supply of doctors and medicine, and naturally they couldn’t get any supplies from the outside. And the soldiers, who had barely survived the battle, were also in a condition that if one didn’t lose his life yesterday, he would do so today. 

At that time, Princess Vileena was the one who took over Jeorg’s place representing the monarchy in the negotiations with Bateaux. While she had the body of a child, she argued with him on a grand scale. She insisted on keeping herself as a hostage and demanded of him that, first, her wounded grandfather and the dozens of injured soldiers, as well as the women, be released. Bateaux, impressed by the young girl’s courage, complied by releasing half of his prisoners, but Jeorg would remain among the remaining half’s hostages.

However, although the rebellion had been very effective in its initial stages, it also contributed to internal discord among the families during their struggle for power, and one month passed in which they were being suppressed one after another. In the end, only Bateaux remained with his hostages at the estate, while he continued holding the fort. There was only a little water and food left, but Bateaux didn’t intend to lay down his sword. It looked like he was prepared to die in battle.

Be that as it may, his resolution made his troop’s morale drop. The people of the palace, who’d become hostages, found collaborators among several of the soldiers. Although several of them were tasked with keeping a tight watch in the castle’s underground waterways, one day, they succeeded in making an opening between the watch for but a short amount of time. They tried to take it to their advantage by setting at least Jeorg and Vileena free.

However, Vileena refused. She wasn’t sure whether only her wounded grandfather and her young self would be able to escape. And even if they did, Bateaux was bound to find out that they disappeared, completely ruining their secret route in and out of the castle. And the people left behind would stand no chance. They would either starve to death with Bateaux, or might die, swallowed up in the fight when the Garberan army started their relentless assault, as they would no longer have to worry about rescuing the royals.

Although Jeorg was lying on the floor, he agreed with his granddaughter, and they worked out a plan. Vileena had secretly made a rough sketch of the palace layout including the soldiers’ positions. She handed it over to a young lad among the hostages and told him to ‘join the Garberan troops outside, waiting for this.’

After getting this information, the Garberan army gathered a number of capable hands and sent them into the palace. They used the same route through the underground waterways. Vileena guided them to the hostages, who were imprisoned separately, and they rescued them right away.

Among this small number of elite troops was, of course, the 23-year-old Ryucown. As soon as he gave the sign that the hostages were freed, the Garberan army commenced its attack. And, when the defending forces were too busy with the assault, Ryucown singlehandedly rushed into their midst and personally brought back Bateaux’s severed head.



''Wow, impressive…''

Orba honestly admired the tale deep inside. Not Ryucown’s part. But Vileena’s – arguing with a rebel at the young age of nine, and still not giving up hope when she’d used her wits together with her grandfather.

Afterwards, when Ryucown’s meritorious act of subduing Bateaux was recognized, the previous king Jeorg wrote a personal letter of recommendation to be sent directly to the current king, and he was finally officially appointed as a knight. And, after that, Ryucown quickly rose to fame. His achievements up to then immediately gave him the authorization to command a single air carrier. In Mephian terms, it was like getting the status of a winged dragon officer.

Ryucown further made a name of himself in his battles against Mephius, and soon after, it was decided that he would be engaged with Vileena. It was an attempt to further solidify the sense of unity in the country.

“If I would have to describe General Ryucown’s character in a single word, it would be, yes, ‘honest’. He’s a person who isn’t able to cheat. Not even for others, and probably not for himself.”

“Himself?”

“Yes,” Vileena nodded. He noticed her lips slightly forming into a faint smile. 

“Therefore, if it’s so that my marriage into Mephius will bring peace, he’ll be all the more against it. It’s not because his own chances of marrying into the royal family were made void. I don’t like it that others might suspect this is the case – I refuse to even consider such criticism. He would never even think of something like that. His feelings are much more straightforward, for he would simply hate to end the fight with Mephius halfway. He carries the pride and courage of a knight more than anyone else. I’m afraid that he’s always been a knight, ever since the day he was born.”

“Isn’t that the idea all Garberan citizens apparently support?”

“No,” looking as if she suddenly woke up from a dream, Vileena raised her guard again. “Of course, a lot of people yearn to become someone like General Ryucown. When they decided on having this marriage, there were also a lot of generals who were opposed to the idea. But, that’s just an opinion based on the stubborn side of man. Among the royal court, no, within most of the country, everyone wants an end to the war.”

“Is that also Lady Vileena’s opinion?”

“Me? I… of course.”

The girl, whose eyes started to grow dark with a sadness unbecoming of her age, placed a hand on her chest. 

“The soldiers are tired, and my people have been forced through hard times for too long. At the very least, to save them from their troubled times, no one could wish it more than me to form an alliance between Mephius and Garbera with this wedding.”

Vileena looked straight at Orba, speaking without hesitation. It was within a glance, but for the first time since meeting her, she gracefully showed the true person inside. It was the kind of look that gave off the impression that there wasn’t even room for anyone to doubt her words.

And that was exactly what got on Orba’s nerves.

“Your people, huh?”

This princess spoke as if she knew her people – with an unquestioning attitude, as if she personally knew them all on sight – but he was certain she wouldn’t think twice of someone like him, who stood at the bottom of society. Compared to some of the Mephian nobles, who treated their people as if they weren’t even human, it felt as if she looked down on them even more.

“If the royal family caused this war out of their own accord, without considering their people’s feelings, how can they now claim to take them into consideration by ending that very same war? Only being born into a different rank completely changes the way you’re treated. It was better not to start a war in the first place! If that had happened, we wouldn’t have ended up with a situation where a princess has to cast herself into a marriage she doesn’t want.”

“So, that means… Are you trying to tell me that you, the prince, don’t want this marriage either?”

“Aren’t we the same? Yesterday, those ‘ringleaders’ were the ones who caused this blood-stained fight. Today we hold hands, have a marriage, and make peace. But the people who didn’t want to fight, or even those who found at least ''some'' meaning to it, have all ended up under a stack of corpses. What kind of peace is that?”

“That’s—”

It looked like, the moment Vileena made a sound, she suddenly sucked in all of her words. Although he may have been right for putting the blame on the royal family, eventually her fair cheeks reached the highest shade of red, and she raised her voice.

“You can simply direct your words at other people’s business, but it was ''your'' imperial family that drove its people and its soldiers into war against us! As for your feigned ignorance, isn’t that nothing more than betraying those who have died in your name? We were both born into either the royal or imperial family. It is our duty to devote ourselves to the country’s affairs. We cannot help it if it’s our duty to quell personal joy or personal will. It’s only to be expected that people praise our superior blood and kneel before our superior selves. Without such awareness, not only usurpers, but the populace too, would rise against the royal family.”

“Superior blood? Superior selves!?” Orba shouted.

When he was leading a life full of hardships, the thought of royalty hadn’t even so much as come up in Orba’s mind. So when the word ‘superior’ came out of Vileena’s mouth, it was as if he received the mixed nuance of conceit and mockery full in the face. 

“I see. So, as one who was born ‘superior’, you can hold all the lives of your subjects in your grip. You’re completely in control of how they live, and how they die. Your kingdom’s ‘pride’ is nothing more than a figure of speech when you win as long as you can change the rules that’ll make you win. Quell personal joy, you say? Just what’s the fun in having hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of people, each with their own feelings, kill each other!?”

“You…”

Flying into a rage, Vileena took a step closer to Orba, but Theresia, calling out “Princess!”, pinned her arms behind her back when she was halfway there and stopped her.

“What!? You’re only fourteen years old – how can you act like you know anything and everything. Go on, tell me!”

Orba, as well, took a step into her direction. When Dinn called out “Prince”, hoping to stop him, Gowen and Shique quickly helped him out.

“Let go, dammit! You…”

“Cut it out, Orba,” Shique whispered into his ear. “Others are coming. If it’s revealed you’re a double at a time like this, the peace with Garbera will be entirely gone.”

“Don’t you think I know?” Orba yelled back, and Gowen continued.

“If it gets out the marriage ceremony was done by a boy double, it won’t just be Garbera, but the Mephian imperial family will hang you to protect their own hides. Then what’s the meaning of having survived those two years as a sword-slave? Is this the kind of future you had in mind?”

“Let me go Theresia! Unhand me!”

On the other side, too, Theresia was having trouble with the fuming Vileena.

“Please stop this, princess. Just what were you trying to do? You can’t deceive my eyes. Though this may be something you didn’t like, that was the attitude of a princess about to wallop her company.”

“That prince! He’s trampling his dirty feet on the Garberan royalty’s pride, with the face of a child that knows nothing! What’s wrong with hitting him? I’m just teaching him a lesson!”

“Princess, you’re revealing your true colours. Control yourself.”

They were raising quite a commotion, screaming and brawling like children being brought along to see a dragoneer at the pens for the first time.

At that point, someone else appeared in the room. Of course, the guards had tried to tell them so up front, but it had fallen on deaf ears for Orba and Vileena. That person stared at the strange commotion with boggling eyes.

“Prince! Princess of Garbera!” he shouted out in an angry voice, drawing the attention to himself.

It was Fedom Aulin.

“What’s all this about, at a time like this? Lady Vileena, as well. A situation is a situation.<!-- That’s literally what it says – I’m not sure what he means by it, though. Maybe something like ‘mind the situation’? --> Please refrain from any rash behaviour.”
The two said nothing in return. They were glaring at each other with detest. Fedom cleared his throat.

“Very well, it’s actually convenient now that His Highness and Lady Vileena are together. Just now, airships from our country have arrived. They were carrying a notice.”

Fedom pulled out the report with a look on his face that suggested he had been quite shocked and surprised by the contents himself.

“Yesterday near dawn, Zaim Fortress, near the border of Ende and Garbera, was occupied by an army calling itself the ‘Ryucown Force’. They claim to be the true representatives of the Garberan nation, and that the Garberan royal family fully supports them.”

“No way!”

Vileena turned pale and stood stock still as if she’d been hit by a lightning strike. When Orba saw that, although he felt inclined to say it served her right, he immediately blocked that thought.

“Emperor Guhl Mephius has concluded that the sudden attack during the wedding ceremony at hand was also done by Ryucown. Regarding this vicious inhuman act of crushing the country’s dignity and its people’s hope, our Imperial Dynasty demands retribution. Troops will be sent over and, under the command of the crown prince, Gil Mephius, subjugate Ryucown—” 

“What?”

“In a hasty conference with the country of Garbera, we have obtained permission to cross its borders. Without passing through the imperial capital, the crown prince must immediately head for the Fortress City of Idoro along the eastern border. That’s what it says.”
When he finished speaking, Fedom heaved a deep sigh.

When silence swooped down over them, Orba naturally assumed it wasn’t related to him at first. But Fedom’s eyes told him that this would be his ‘first campaign’.
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