MaruMA:Volume06:Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Flynn returned from her scouting expedition and pulled a face like she didn't know how to best vent her anger. She looks like she could easily tear apart two or three handkerchiefs.

"Things have become troubling."

"Don't make that face. You'll get worry wrinkles."

"You know, Captain Crusoe, we're in a very serious situation. We're in a lot of danger. Do you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. That's why we didn't just make a run for it while you were gone."

"Yes, and I'm thankful for your cooperation."

She looked down at the back of one of the lazily grazing animals and snapped her tongue in disgust. Her ladylike demeanor that she possessed when we first met her had disappeared somewhere and now she was acting like a typical girl next door.

We'd just barely managed to escape the Plainsmen by clinging to the backs and stomachs of the sheep and we were letting ourselves sink down into the grass outside a village. Of course, about thirty head of sheep were also in the traveling party.

A little while ago, I had caught a glance at a signpost where it was written that the eastern path led to Dai Shimaron territory, and the western path to the motherland of Shou Shimaron. This is seriously a crossroads.

After Flynn had impressed upon Murata and me not to run away, she'd made her way to the general store on her own. It was to collect information.

Even if we were now prisoners in name only, was it really alright for her to leave us without a guard? The chain of unpredictable events must have really put her off her stride.

"The border with Dai Shimaron is reportedly tight. Not even the shopkeepers and sheepherders who cross the border every month can get through. The residents in this area seem very unnerved. The soldiers seem to be the only ones who know anything about what's going on, but in this heavy atmosphere, it's only a matter of time before notices are given to the regular populace as well."

"Well, we are sheep thieves," Murata added in a carefree tone. Thinking that it had been called out to, one of the sheep raised its head and looked at us through soft gray eyes as it chewed.

"No, no one would make this kind of fuss over a few stolen sheep."

I petted the animal's head. If she was human, the T-zone on his light brown face is white.

"Honestly, your family is a nuisance. They blockaded the borders. Do people usually do this to their daughters? You're parent and child at the end of the day."

"Parent and child? So what if we're parent and child? Whether he is my father or I am his daughter, it doesn't change the fact that he is a man with his sights on Caloria. As soon as my father finds out that Norman Gilbit can no longer has the ability to lead, he'll charge in immediately try to take over his seat. Hey! Get this furball out of the way! There's nowhere for me to sit!"

When Flynn yelled at them, every animal turned their heads toward her, feeling unjustly snubbed.

"Nmo!"

They're mad.

"What? Don't threaten me. Because of you, all my plans fell through! Oh my, there are low-quality, 10% wool sweaters walking around all dirty and ruined!"

The situation won't change if you tell a lame joke to a bunch of animals.

Elbowing the sheep aside, she flopped down at the foot of a tree. Like a young girl, she cowered there with her arms wrapped around her knees.

I thought she was going to start crying.

Her back looked so small.

"... How did it get like this..."

"That's what I want to ask."

Meanwhile, Murata Ken, having gotten his prescription sunglasses back, was going through the beige-faced sheep one by one to determine how much their wool was worth. Leaning against a thick tree, I looked down at Flynn.

"We came to your estate because we thought someone would help get us home. Then all of a sudden it was 'You're a descendant of the Wincotts' and 'You're some kinda important key manipulator' and then we get locked up and dragged all the way out to this place. We're the ones who want to ask 'how did it get like this?'"

"... You're right."

"And then there's all that stuff we didn't even know about like your disagreement with your father and the whole... political marriage? Is that what it was? We couldn't know that was the sort of relationship you had with your husband right off the bat."

"You're right. I apologize."

Meek words come out of the usually proud older girl. As I have a long history of being an unpopular baseball brat, I'm extremely weak against that sort of surprise attack.

"Ah, no, I didn't want to make you apologize! Well, it's not something that will be fixed by an apology anyway... not at this point. But..."

Her face is buried in her lap.

"... But, it's normal to want to know why we got involved in this mess or what this mess actually is right?"

"Yes."

"So hey, isn't it time you told us? Why are you trying to bring us to the big Shimaron? Why does the motherland want us? Is it-"

-because I'm the king of their enemy, the mazoku? I was about to ask that, but stopped myself.

There was no way Flynn knew about the unique identity of Shibuya Yuuri. Right now, I'm Captain Crusoe, descendant of the Wincotts. I shouldn't reveal any more about myself.

The afternoon bell rang several times. A quiet little group stepped out of a building that looked like a church.

In the middle of the group, men were carrying a pure white box. Judging from the size and shape, it was probably a casket. The silent procession walked past us, then turned down a path that led up to a hill with a gentle incline.

Involuntarily, I tucked my thumbs behind my back, which is traditional for children in Japan when they see a funeral. When I noticed it, I gave a bitter smile. I wasn't an elementary school student any more. And I also wasn't in Japan any more.

"It looks like a funeral. I wonder who died."

"A child."

"Eh?"

I focused my gaze once again on the retreating funeral procession. There is a woman who could be a mother, but...

"It's a white casket, so it was a boy. Adults use a brown casket, girls use an auburn casket. Child soldiers are buried in a white casket to praise their courage and patriotism. The boy was at most twelve or thirteen."

"But the war hasn't even begun yet. right?! And twelve... how can a twelve year old be a soldier..?"

"That's nothing unusual here."

Flynn lifted her head from her knees and looked up to the cloudy sky. A small bird I didn't recognize flew past the sun, which was shining weakly between a few clouds.

“The Plainsmen have not owned land for a country since a hundred years ago when this continent was divided into almost a hundred countries. It was always an organization entrusted with the task of training soldiers sent to it from other nations so even if they possessed enough estates and assets, they were still just an training institution. Even after the invasion of the continent by both Shimaron empires, the status of the Plainsmen did not change. It saw to the training of the men entrusted to it, nothing more. It didn't make any difference what country they came from or what region. The only goal was to turn them into good soldiers. While that was going on, many countries fell in battle and almost the entire eastern side of the continent became Shimaron territory. Caloria was the same. The Gilbit family also surrendered to Shou Shimaron."

Flynn added that this was before she had married into the family.

"From that time on, my fath- the Plainsmen's duties started to change. The people who were sent to us to be educated were simply too young. Under the the laws of our suzerain, Shimaron, a boy must become a soldier at the age of twelve. But at that age, there are large differences between individuals. Children who grow up in poor villages are usually gaunt and in poor health. There were even children who were too weak to hold a sword properly and are thus totally unsuited to be soldiers. Despite that, my father and brother... approached the training like in old times. Because that was our clan's job. The casualty rate during the training increased. That was to be expected. They were only children, their bodies weren't fully developed yet. They were children who didn't know how to use swords or where a human's vital spots were... they had to teach those children from the ground up and somehow send them off. Except now they weren't being sent off to various nations, but to the superpower Shimaron... I grew up at a place like that. In an estate where day after day, I could hear clinging of swords and war cries and sometimes even screams."

It seemed Murata had identified the sheep with the highest market value. Happily cheering, a young girl came running up and hugged the wool-fluff as big as a large motorbike. Her mother, who'd followed laughing, called out to Murata.

If I hadn't just seen that funeral procession, I'd think that this village had nothing to do with what Flynn said about the clashing of swords and war cries and screams.

"When my marriage into the Gilbit family was decided, my father and brother celebrated and told me this was their greatest opportunity to seize possession of a country of their own. Since they would be related to ruling party by marriage, it wouldn't be odd for them to lend a hand and get criticized by the suzerain state. It wouldn't be impossible to seize full power as advisors after slowly gathering power... Even if the area isn't recognized a country anymore, it was a much higher status for the Plainsmen who were classified as a mere institution. Even though it's a Shou Shimaron territory, Caloria was treated as autonomous and was not as strictly controlled as other vassal states. It has a large harbor and good relationships with the owners of merchant ships. My father decided it would be best if he let the Gilbits continue to take care of those matters and then simply take possession of the profits rather than riding in and taking the place over by force."

"We went to the Gilbit harbor. It was lively and many huge ships were anchored there. The streets and buildings were well-built and above all, the seniors were all energetically working. It really is a nice harbor."

"Thank you." Flynn's smile reached her bright green eyes.

"Ah, yeah, I mean, we were able to get some day work after all. And everyone at the job helped us out even though we were some strange drifters they'd never seen before."

"You worked!? Why!?"

Because we wanted money, of course. But anyway, why was I getting so worked up for over some green eyes looking my way? If we're talking about light green, I'm used to seeing melons and tea and bathroom walls.

"But even though your husband died, you still didn't try to bring your father into the country. Instead, you wore that stuffy mask for years and pretended to be your husband... Why? Did you not want to give up the power you got a hold of?"

"That's not it." Flynn shook her head slowly and her long hair slid from her lap. "I hate my father's organization. Year after year, boys were conscripted from Caloria. All of them, as soon as they turn 12. It was said that there was a need for every soldier possible to prepare for the coming war with the mazoku. If they're so keen on the idea of war, they should fight it with their own people! All those high-born noblewomen who've never walked on a muddy road, all the noble gentlemen who've never taken care of their own horse, they should fight by themselves! If I give Caloria over to my father and brother, they’ll convert the whole country into a giant army barracks. The country my husband loved was not like that. It wasn't a country soldiers to strut around in."

I get it.

That's why she took the place of the feudal lord. To carry on the will of her late husband.

"... The mazoku won't participate in any war against humans. At the very least, I won't let them as long as my eyes are black."

"How?"

I hesitate at the question.

"How can you make that declaration, Captain Crusoe? Since your hair and eyes are the color of darkness, I know that you are a powerful mazoku of high birth just by looking at you. Norman once told me that a perfect Twin Black is rare and then there's that terrifying power..." Flynn hesitated for a moment with her fingers touching her lips. Now that I think about it, I ended up using some vulgar majutsu against against a girl during that tea-demon-god incident. I apologize for not showing restraint.

"... Since you're a descendant of the Wincotts, you surely possess even mightier powers, even if you really don't give that impression at the moment. But even so, you wouldn't have any influence over the entire kingdom, would you? It's said that the mazoku are governed by a king who holds immense authority and demands absolute obedience from the elderly to the infants and anyone who isn't loyal to him will be beheaded and he'll eat them whole from the head down. If the one who moves the mazoku into action is a king of terror, no one could stop them."

Who made up this false rumor? I'm not Nostradamus or a salted salmon. And if you behead someone beforehand, how are you supposed to eat them whole starting from the head?

Suddenly I was uncertain. This information about the mazoku was really too much even if it was false, but Flynn was someone who was very knowledgeable about all levels of her society and the various characteristics of the regions of her land. I can only listen to her speak in admiration and couldn't even begin to start comparing it Shin Makoku. I didn't have any ability when it came to politics or diplomacy or military strategy.

This woman who wasn't allowed to rule over Caloria because she was female is much better suited to be a ruler than I was.

... It's hard to admit that though.

"You're a good ruler."

"Me? Why? It's not true. My husband was a good feudal lord and the people loved him, but stones were thrown at me during my bridal procession. 'How can he marry a daughter of the Plainsmen?!' the people ranted. I couldn't hold that against them. For generations, my family had sent innocent people into battle and earned their money doing so."

"But that was your father doing all that! The people can't blame you."

"I'm the same," Flynn said with a hint of self-derision and then fell silent. When she next opened her mouth, the fragile impression she was giving from a moment ago was completely gone. "Have you forgotten, Captain Crusoe? I'm in the middle of taking you to the Shimaron mainland. And not the suzerain, Shou Shimaron, but to Dai Shimaron who is keeping them in check."

"And why exactly are you-"

Murata let out a strange cry and awkwardly turned to face us in robotic movements. Then he swung his right arm around wildly and yelled into the sky.

"Wh-what's wrong, Murak- Robinson?! Did you get stung by a bad bug?!"

"Ugh, your friend, Captain, is truly a puzzle to me. I still can't explain where he might have hidden that smoke bottle and he was acting like a completely different person before..."

"So~so~so~sold! I sold a sheep~! And the new owner is little girl named Miss Mary! Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb! Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb! Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb!"

Just say that it's cute!

---

If your wallet grows, anyone would start to think that things will work out.

With the money from selling off thirty sheep, Flynn Gilbit was looking to the future a little more optimistically. She seemed utterly determined to deliver Captain Crusoe and Tokyo Magic Robinson to Dai Shimaron, no matter the cost!

"... But seriously, what's up with Captain Crusoe and Tokyo Comic Romantica..."

"No Shibuya, Tokyo Romantica is Tsuruoka Masayoshi."

I don't even have the energy to ask how old he is. I'm completely exhausted.

"Anyway, women are tough, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And just a little while ago she had a face on like it was the end of the world."

"Yeah."

Flynn was gearing up with such skill, you'd never think she was a highborn lady. We needed clothing and equipment because we'd went from travelers on a door-to-door carriage journey to refugees slipping past police checkpoints, but Flynn very quickly took care of that as well and returned with three sets of men's clothes.

"But changing in the shop's restroom is something an old lady would do," Murata observed.

"Yeah."

Even her platinum blonde hair that she had tied up to show her determination was regaining its luster. However, because we can't stand out too much, she has the headgear I recommend for doing battle on the other world, my baseball cap, pulled low over her eyes. Even though I can't see her face that well anymore, I give her new look a high score. I might even give her a +5 points. I only got a chance to see a blond beauty with a pony tail and a baseball cap from the satellite transmissions of Major League Baseball games.

Whoa, sixteen year old, settle down now! I feel like I've been telling you this over and over, but this is a scary woman who imprisoned us and is dragging us away!

"You know, I've had this suspicion for a while now but, Shibuya, your taste in girls is fairly polarized, isn't it?"

"Huh? What do you mean, polarized?"

"Well, you either like older women or lolitas."

"Excuse me?! Why do you say that?!" Murata stared at me with that half-open-eyes look that people who wear glasses tend to use and I started to get a little nervous thinking that I got found out. "Th-th-th-that's not true! My type is whoever I fall in love with! As someone part of the extermination of popular guys committee and the committee for breaking out of unpopular life, any girl is in the strike zone! Welcome, dead ball of love!"

"It's okay, it's okay, you don't have to get so embarrassed. It's just that I never heard of you liking someone your age. I was just thinking of that younger girl with the short haircut you went out with right before you graduated. Her face and body were small and she looked like an elementary student."

"That was a guy! From the baseball team! That was a sports buzz cut! And I wasn't going out with him!"

The happy daily life of someone with really bad eyesight is scary. I've discovered how false rumors are set loose in the world.

"Okay, you might say I'm acting like an old perv, but she's got a great neck and her hairline is just unbelievable, isn't it, Robinson? Hey, you're kind of furry and fluffy and snuggly and lumpy- uwah! What the hell!?"

"Nmo!"

I had stuck my hand out to clap Murata on the shoulder, but instead I'd touched the back of an animal that was already quite familiar to me.

"Hey, you're T-Zou. What are you doing here?"

"Oops, looks like one of them has followed us. Mary's lamb is living up to its reputation."

"Don't say 'oops it followed us!' What do we do now? Teacher Flynn is going to get mad at us."

As expected, Flynn, who'd been organizing some winter clothes for the cold weather, let out a sharp scream when she discovered the sheep.

"Kyaaa! What's that!? Why is a sheep we sold still around!? They'll never let us on board a ship with that!"

"Why a ship? We aren't near the sea," I wondered.

Our tour guide, cozy in a leather jacket, propped her hands on her hips and said arrogantly, "We're going to go around the Plainsmen who are securing the borders to Dai Shimaron and enter Shou Shimaron from the western border. If we travel along the Longalbalu River north to its mouth and get onto a boat going north around the coast, we'll pass by several Dai Shimaron ports. It's true that it's a considerable detour, but this route is the safest."

"A ship, huh..." I sighed.

My impressions of ships isn't all bad, but because I had been put onto a luxurious passenger ship, I have experienced being sea-jacked by pirates. It's not good to use vehicles that don't match my social status. For someone like me who doesn't know the difference between the English words 'cruising' and 'grooming,' swan boats suited me best.

However.

"... In-in this?"

I had nothing to worry about.

The river that was to bring us north was absurdly wide. From the point of view of a regular Japanese person, no matter how big the river, you could always see the bank on the other side to some degree.

"Is this Longalbalu... lake?"

"No, the river. And a ship is much more comfortable and faster than traveling over land, isn't that so?" Flynn said with a know-it-all tone.

In the light of the setting sun, the surface of the water took on an eerie violet color.

"But are we really riding on this? Nevermind us, but you too?"

"Of course I'm coming on board. We have no choice. We're a group of three suspicious people and farm animal. A normal passenger ship would never let us aboard."

At the end of the boardwalk with dried grass poking up through it, a ship lay in anchor which surpassed all our expectations.

Although it was the size of a tourist ship in Hakone, its design was shockingly plain. It looked like an over-sized rescue boat with a partial roof. Nearly the whole deck was covered with wooden crates and people were packed tightly into the places where you could just manage to avoid the rain.

Isn't this a little too primitive for a woman like Flynn who'd lived on a grand estate up until a few days ago?

"Amazing! This looks like the Nile river! What do we do if a murder takes place? I'll be Holmes and you can be COMSN!"

"... I'm a nursing service?"

Murata may have been totally willing, but we're all going to be in a huge room without partitions so everyone on board will be a witness. Turning into a great detective would be meaningless.

"What do you mean you don't deal with this? This is genuine Shou Shimaron money. I won't let you tell me that these are counterfeit." Flynn was getting worked up at the ticket counter. The eyebrows of the man she was talking to were going up and down and he did not make any moves to take the money from her

"What's wrong here?" I asked. "Is it time for the Captain to make an appearance?"

"I don't know which army you military couple belong to, but with war about to start, there's no one stupid enough to accept Shimaron currency. Our business isn't limited to within the country borders. Only amateurs bracing themselves for a price slump would accept this."

We're all amateurs.

"We're letting unknown passengers make an unscheduled boarding. We need gold, silver or esoteric stones as payment."

Flynn pressed her lips tightly together for a moment in silence, but then immediately lifts her hand to her left ear. I unconsciously averted my gaze. I can't watch when a woman removes her earring. It looks painful.

"Will you be satisfied with that?"

The man happily took the precious metal. It was surely very expensive. Probably a gift from her husband. Why was Flynn Gilbit willing to go so far?

Robinson and I, not being any use at all, pulled T-Zou from munching on the dried and led her up the gangway. As soon as we were on board, the ship raised anchor and gave itself up to the gentle current.

The evening sun sank into the horizon and everything around us took on the color of a mandarin orange.

Although we'd decked ourselves out in winter gear, the onset of night was really cold. Even more so because we were on a river, I wanted to get behind the shelter of a wall to block the wind.

The few passengers who'd come on board with us were all hanging around on deck. They used the wooden crates as protection from the wind and huddled together tightly with their collars turned up.

"... Why doesn't anyone go under the roof?" I mused.

We immediately discovered why.

When we opened the door to the large room that was the only indoor area on this ship, there were over a hundred men of all ages hunkered down in the comparatively warmer room. They were all men who looked like they had one or two quirks, and their faces were all equally villainous. When the men clad in matching light pink outfits noticed us, they all fell silent at once and stared in our direction.

Two hundred and four eyes(bloodshot). Being bathed in their scalding gazes, you'd want to huddle behind a box. Even I wanted to slam the door and get out of there, but I was too scared to turn my back on them.

"Um, which team do you gentlemen belong to?"

"Hey, Robin! Are you stupid?!"

"Well, they're all wearing uniforms in that cute color."

Even though I had whispered to him in a panic, I couldn't talk down Murata Ken. It's because he can't see their faces properly. Nearsighted people are scary.

Just because people are wearing the same uniform that doesn't make them athletes and just because people are wearing the same outfit that doesn't make them coworkers. But they might be a bunch of runners who really like the color pink...

All at once they bared their teeth threateningly and began to laugh maniacally.

"We’re all a bunch of murderers!"

"If you gather a hundred of us together, we've slaughtered a thousand people, if not two thousand!"

And there it is. They're on the murdering team.

When I lowered my gaze in fear, I saw chains and iron balls on the men’s legs.

"This is bad... This boat is a prisoner transport..."

It's too late to turn back. The shore was already far away.

Flynn became very pale all of a sudden.

"... Actually, I'm feeling a really urgent physical need..."

The toilets were on the other end of the room.

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