FWEEEET!
I wasn't sure what the hell that was, but a loud whistle echoing across the entirety of Juryez interrupted my unspoken question.
Priya and I headed out of the warehouse-infested district and back onto the main street to see what was going on.
A large group of mounted soldiers was headed by a very familiar man. The soldiers were all armored in one way or another, but only the leader was wearing full plate. I recognized him as Paladin Briarhart immediately.
They had probably arrived around one or two days earlier than us due to their access to horses, but only chose to reveal themselves now. I wagered that they were probably biding their time until we arrived. At least now I knew Cyrus wasn't bullshitting me.
"Well, looks like they're holding up their end of the deal..."
Priya nodded, but the look in her eyes told me that she was worried.
"What's wrong? Shouldn't this be a good thing?"
"...Sudden changes are never a good thing. But I guess we can see how good the princess is at this stuff..."
"You mean like, uh, transitioning... stuff, right?"
Priya smiled and nodded. "Mhm!"
Unsurprisingly, even Priya was more well-versed in political bullshit than I was, but that was probably due to the fact that the eastern tribes lived in... Well, tribes. Diplomatic relationships were always shifting in the east and always a topic of discussion.
Back on Earth, politics were popular too, but oftentimes controversial. And god forbid you shared a different opinion than the rest of the echo chamber. That was a fatal mistake that would get you immediately canceled among your friends.
Not that I had to worry about something like that. You needed friends to get canceled in the first place.
But now, I thought that it was a pretty good time to get into this sort of thing. As much as I hate discussing this kinda boring shit, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to get very important in the near future due to my title of "Zaltsel Inheritor."
Maybe I should ask Lucrezia to fill me in once we got out of the city.
Based on the way the paladin was handling things right now though, it might be a while before we'd even be able to head to the tavern.
Paladin Briarhart and his soldiers were rounding up townspeople and merchants one by one as he went over a list. His voice carried easily through the concerned hubbub of the street and people were soon assembled into orderly ranks in front of him.
A soldier rode up to the paladin, reining his horse in as he did so. "Sir, I've gathered all the townspeople in this district who've participated in a transaction involving slaves this past month!"
"Inform the second division commander that we've completed our task and report their status to me. We'll gather everyone outside of the town afterwards."
For someone who I thought was a pushover in combat, Paladin Briarhart was actually quite the adept commander. He'd finished rounding up everyone on his list in record time and marched them out of the town in an orderly fashion.
"You don't think he'll execute them all, right?"
My question was left unanswered by Priya as we headed out among other curious townspeople to see what Briarhart was going to do with the people he'd gathered up.
What transpired was really less of a spectacle than anyone anticipated. It looked like the paladin and his soldiers were simply taking a census of those who were involved in the slave trade for taxation purposes.
As we watched, one of the people in the crowd pointed toward me.
"Hey! Why isn't she a part of this? She's got a slave right next to her!"
Oh, shit. They're right.
Briarhart's gaze landed on us the moment the man finished speaking.
"Get in the line."
Naturally, that was the only thing we could do without blowing our cover, so Priya and I simply moved to join the line.
Instead of gathering any useful intelligence, we ended up spending the entire day stuck in a line to get cited for a slavery transaction that I never made.
By the time we were free to go, the sun was already setting and the horizon had turned a deep ochre. I let out a loud sigh, which caught Priya's attention.
"What's the matter?"
"I just thought we could've gone around to look for more information if we weren't stuck in a line the whole day."
Priya shook her head. "We were planning on stopping at the tavern at night anyway, right? And also, this gave us a pretty good chance to see how good the princess is!"
"I mean, she didn't really do anything with the slavers."
"Of course not! She hasn't gained the throne yet, right? I think she was just using this opportunity to get everyone on a list so she knows who to look for after she's taken power. Not only that, but it made the people of Juryez think she cared about their economy."
What the hell? This was the type of shit politicians would think of when the elections were near! So basically, this princess was pretty skilled, huh?
Actually...
"Hey, Priya, you seem pretty familiar with this kinda stuff. Don't tell me you're a princess too!"
"I am."
The response was instant.
"W-Wait, what!?"
"Hehe, just kidding! I was actually training to be a diplomat before I got captured, so that's why. My teacher spent hours drilling all of this stuff in my head, you know!"
She was smiling, but I couldn't help notice the distant look in her eyes and the sadness that it carried.
Don't you worry, Priya... I'll get you home soon. You, Lucrezia, and Antenora. I'll get us home.
The sound of hoofbeats from behind interrupted what I was about to say and I whirled around, ready to punch a motherfucker if need be.
A soldier was riding a horse, waving at us in an exaggerated gesture. He stopped his horse just in front of me, the animal's horseshoes ringing loudly against the stone-tiled street.
His breathing was slightly strained when he spoke.
"You're Ryuuko, right?"