1546 - - 42-07 Duchy.
The journey to the capital takes 3 days by carriage.
Jin and the others travel in the original car. Jin is the driver. Jin, Katya, Eira, and Golem< are on board.
They are accompanied by Paelova Sondvik, the regional administrator, her secretary, Jed Alamold, and two guards. They were in a car that had been repaired by Jin.
The group arrived at the capital on August 22nd, just as summer was ending, without much to report.
"Wow, the royal capital is really big!
"Well, this is a town after all.
"Hm? Jin, what do you mean by that?
While Ka-cea was honestly marveling at the size of the city, Jin was a little relieved at the chaos of the city. When he expressed this feeling, he received a shove from Eira.
"How should I put it ...... my image of is that it has no sense of unity, or a sense of history?
Jin explained that he was used to the messy mix of old and new.
"That's an interesting thought. It's true that this country has a short history, and the local towns were built in a planned manner, so they don't seem as chaotic as Jin describes."
"......, but Jin-san who says that's normal, you're from far away, aren't you? ......"
Jin was about to say something back,
"Stop!
He heard a loud voice saying, "Stop!
It appeared to be a checkpoint, and a soldier in light armor was blocking the group.
"This is Paelova Sondovik, the regional administrator.
I beg your pardon!
The soldier saluted and the group was quickly let through.
After passing one more such checkpoint, they arrived at the royal castle of Prince Mahaliegh.
They parked their cars at the designated parking lot and entered the castle on foot.
Paelova seemed to know the castle well, having been there many times.
Jed followed her, making sure that Jin and the others were following.
Paelova went to her room in the castle.
As a cousin of Prince Mikhailinov Hangazonet Melkana, he is the third in line to the throne and has a great deal of power within the castle.
The first in line is Paelova's brother, the second is Paelova's father, and the fourth is Paelova's son.
In other words, the Sondviks are candidates for the next duke.
The Sondviks were allocated their own rooms in a corner of the castle, which consisted of more than 10 rooms.
Each of the Jin was assigned a room. Although the rooms were for servants, they were more comfortable than those of a hotel.
Only Jed and I are allowed to see the king. ...... Oh yes, Jin, could I borrow your golem for a moment?"
How could I refuse this request?
"Yes. ...... Hope, follow him."
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
It's a bummer not to be able to get out of the castle.
It sure is.
I hear the food is good.
Jin, Katya, and Eira gathered in Jin's room to kill time.
"I wonder what I was invited here for in the first place."
"I bet it's not a big deal, anyway."
Eira was as tongue-tied as ever.
"Even if we can't get out of the castle, we can walk around inside, can't we?
Eira stood up and looked around the hallway.
"I'm staying here today, can you tell me how far inside the castle I'm allowed to look around?"
"...... Oh, yes. This is the floor where the rooms of our guests and high-ranking officials are located, so you are free to go through all the corridors. You are not allowed to enter the rooms without permission.
"Well, even if they say we can only walk in the corridor, I don't get it. Is there any room that I can look at?"
"Then feel free to visit the common room, the recreation room, and the archive room on the first floor. I'm sure it's a bit noisy with all the soldiers from the castle.
"Okay. Thank you."
"....... That's all I meant. Let's go!"
And so, Jin and the three of us headed for the first floor of the castle.
"What the heck is this ...... exhibition room?"
Eira muttered in a disappointed voice.
"Normally, when you hear the name of the exhibition room, you would expect to see the history of the country, the armor of the knights of the Kingsguard, and old maps of King's Landing, wouldn't you?
"Well, I don't know, but I agree with Jin-san."
On display in front of the three of us were products of the country, poems and prose written by who knows who, and paintings.
"It's good that there are products on display. ......"
Jin looked at them.
Rice. Wheat, barley, rye. Round beans, black-eyed peas, red-eyed peas. Vegetables are not displayed. Is it because they would be shriveled up?
Then some rare jewelry and a few small stuffed animals and birds.
"The crops look the same ...... or the jewelry looks ...... of poor quality."
The gemstones in the row were in the rough, but the visible parts were not very clear.
"Well, I wouldn't put a first-class piece in a place like this," Eira said from the side.
Eira said from the side.
"I guess that's what you get in a public reference room.
There was little to be gained, so I took a look around the common room and the recreation room.
It seemed to be a hangout for low-ranking soldiers, and I didn't really feel like going in there.
"Let's go back."
"Yes, let's go back."
"Let's go back." "Yes, let's go back."
Disappointed, the three of them turn back the way they came. They heard a loud cheer.
"What the hell?"
It sounded like it was coming from outside. And the sound of metal clashing against metal.
"Is there a window anywhere?
He paced back and forth in the hallway, but could not find a window.
"Oh, Mr. Jin, look!"
Meanwhile, the soldiers in the common room and the recreation room were all heading in the same direction.
"Maybe they're going outside?"
"Let's follow them."
Trusting in Ka-cea's judgment, Jin and the others followed the tail of the soldiers.
Their decision was correct, and they reached what appeared to be a courtyard. It appeared to be a training ground or a training area for soldiers,
From behind the crowd of people gathered in the courtyard, we could hear the sound of wooden poles colliding with each other.
I wonder if soldiers are training there.
Eira seems to have judged so, since all the people gathered there are soldiers.
"I can't see much. ......
"Ah, Jin-san, over there!"
Jin looked in the direction to which Ka-cea pointed, and saw a familiar face looking down from a window on the second floor. They were two of Paelova's guards.
"What, we could have gone to our room and looked down from the window.
Let's hurry back!"
So they ran back to their room and looked out the window.
"What?
"What?
"Oh, come on. ......"
All three of them were absolutely stunned by the sight they saw from there.