Kuro no Hiera Glaphicos - Volume 6

Library

Due to the demands of institutions such as the Magic AcademyPrasa Marefikos and the university, the paper industry in Roma had flourished from long ago.

As the woods in the surrounding plains of the town had been mostly cut down and the procurement of wood, which was the raw material for paper, had become costly now, the top place for simple production output had been conceded to another town, but utilizing the water in the canal that was drawn in from a branch of the Rubel River, the paper-making craftsmen were still producing high-quality paper in Roma now.

It could be said that not only did the flourishing of such a paper industry made the producing of cheap manuscripts possible, but it also supported the elementary education of Ahmad’s citizens.

At present, the paper from Ahmad, which prided itself on its stable quality, was even brought into the countries in the south, and of course, the allied nations, extensively via various routes.

The moon was thin.

Due to the clouds hanging in the sky, the stars were also few. The darkness tonight was stickily deep.

Like several jewels linked together by a string, about fifty horses were walking on a thin and precipitous path among the mountains within the darkness.

Brushing up her hair that was about to droop onto her forehead, Galarina looked back at her own column, which resembled a caravan.

At the north foot of the Cardoso mountain range was the Romarikku region of the Kingdom of Ahmad; as the nature of the locality was one full of undulations with little level ground, it flourished by means of the mining industry rather than agriculture, and above all, by means of commerce. Galarina’s caravan also had big luggage tied to both sides of the saddles of all the horses, but the contents were nothing but objects that could only be obtained in the south side of the Cardoso mountain range—the large country of the barbarian believers, Bigelow.

Galarina’s caravan would come and go between the antagonistic Ahmad and Bigelow, loaded with the products of both countries—to tell the plain truth—they were a group of smugglers. They had purposely chosen to pass through the mountain road at such a midnight in order to cross the national border without being seen by the soldiers of Ahmad.

In Ahmad where the barbarians’ doctrine wasn’t approved, the matter of barbarian believers entering the country itself was prohibited, but merchants with a strong commercial spirit like Galarina, who would cross the precipitous Cordoso mountain range and religious wall and come and go between both countries, existed in no small numbers. Although Ahmad as well as Bigelow were clamping down on that as their official stances, their commercial activities were mostly permitted tacitly. Due to such a guilty commerce, an unofficial interaction between the antagonistic Ahmad and Bigelow materialised.

「……」

Galarina pushed up her spectacles and looked downwards at the book in her hand again.

Galarina, who had placed her right leg on the saddle and was sitting in a half-cross-legged state, was skilfully holding a lantern up high and reading the book. She didn’t even know how many times she had gone into the territory of Ahmad via this byway with this. As it was a path they had already become familiar with, the menservants of the caravan were advancing their horses silently without the need for Galarina to be in charge in particular.

「—Nee-san!」

From the rear of the party, a tall and thin man came riding on horseback. He was Galarina’s biological younger brother, Fatih.

「Galarina-neesan!」

Fatih caught up with his older sister, who continued reading in silence, and tapped Galarina on the shoulder with a delicate movement.

「Why don’t you do something about that habit of reading a book on a horse soon? There’s nothing more ill-mannered than this」

「…I believe that I aren’t causing you trouble」

Although it was a little lacking in manners for Galarina to say this, Fatih was an eccentric man. Even though he was turning twenty-four, he was always delicate; under these circumstances, it could be said to be a trivial problem. Fatih closely resembled their mother who was similarly beautiful as Galarina; however, he was a man who would apply gaudy make-up on his handsome face and wear flashy women’s clothing.

「—Rather, you’re a bother, Fatih」

Glancing at her younger brother through the lens, Galarina continued.

「I’m not very impressed that your make-up is thick to that extent. The smell is too strong」

「Araran… how upsetting, I’m so hurt」

At the curt words of his older sister, Fatih joined both hands together and twisted his body.

「—Or rather, more important than that, aren’t we arriving at Romarikku soon? It’s my first time in half a year, so I’m looking forward to it~」

「That’s right. —Or rather, you specially came riding on horseback from the rear to say such a thing? The protection of the rear should have been entrusted to you, right?」

「Ah, I forgot an important thing~. Can I buy jewels after we reach the other side? I want to give them to Kaa-san and the other older sisters as souvenirs」

「You’re very unpleasant, Fatih」

Galarina threw down these words coldly.

「Why do you, who is a man, want to dress up as a woman, and why did you twist and turn meaninglessly like that? That’s impossible to understand even for me(masculine first-person pronoun)」

「Is that so? But Nee-san call yourself “me”, don’t you?」

「It doesn’t mean that I want to become a man in particular. The coquettish appearances, speeches and conducts like those of our older sisters just aren’t my cup of tea. I don’t intend to dress up as a man either」

During the strange conversation between the older sister and the younger brother, the other men didn’t even speak a single word. Excluding the voices of the two people, only the orderly sounds of countless hooves and also the sounds of Galarina turning the pages of the book dissolved quietly into the silence of tonight.

When—.

Galarina, who had been reading her book enthusiastically until then, knitted her brows suddenly. She had sensed that the night air was disturbed unnaturally.

「Hahan?」

Caressing his lips on which an indigo-blue lipstick was applied, Fatih narrowed his eyes. This younger brother might also have sensed the same thing as Galarina. The man who was advancing at the head of the party pulled the reins and looked back at the two people.

「……」

In the path of the party, countless lights were flickering.

「In a mountain like this at such a time… are they by any chance of the same profession, I wonder? Hey look, Nee-san, don’t you have a premonition that something interesting will happen~?」

Fatih shook his older sister’s shoulder and laughed.

「…Fatih」

Galarina, who had confirmed that the ones approaching slowly were slightly dirty men wearing shabby leather armours, pressed her spectacles down with the tip of her little finger and murmured.

「No matter how you look at it, those guys come from the south side of the mountain to work」

「…That seems to be the case」

Similar to Galarina’s party, the men who had dangerous looks in their eyes all possessed dark-brown skin. These men most likely also crossed the national border from Bigelow’s side and came here. It could be said that they were the same kind as Galarina’s party in the sense that it was a behind-the-scenes business, which avoided attention.

However, their gazes which were fixed on the party contained clear hostility. They were without a doubt the kind of guys whom one would call “thieves”, “bandits”.

「I see… for caravans that make a living by smuggling like ours, we can’t ask the authorities for help even if we were attacked. That’s why they purposely spread a net at such a place and lie in wait… something like that, huh. I’ve understood」

「It’s good that you understand, but what are we going to do, Nee-san?」

Although he asked Galarina so, Fatih seemed to be happy in some way.

「I’m reluctant to injure our companions, but we also have an agreement with the prefectural governor. If we can’t get them to return to the other side of the mountain obediently—」

「Well, I’ll try asking for the time being?」

Fatih advanced his horse and moved in between the caravan and the thieves.

「—You guys over there~」

Grasping the reins with his left hand, Fatih spoke loudly while in a posture where his right hand was moved to the back of his waist.

「Judging from appearances, it seems that you’re people from Bigelow like us, but why do you come to such a place and attack your companions~? If you’re going to be after someone anyway, isn’t aiming for the caravans of Ahmad’s people the logical move~?」

「This is divine punishment!」

The man at the front with an unshaven face shouted in a rough, husky voice, which gave one the impression of a gong.

「We’ll give traitors like you who violate state prohibition, ally with the heretics and crave fortune divine punishment!」

「Uwa…! Divine punishment!?」

Fatih widened his eyes and looked back at his older sister.

「—That’s amazing, Nee-san! We’ve seen various scum so far, but this is the first time that we meet scum who spoke of something like divine punishment with a serious look, isn’t it? Right, right?」

「…That’s impossible to understand」

Heaving a long sigh, Galarina waved her hand lightly. It was intended to put the meaning of “you can do as you like” into it.

Sure enough, Fatih smiled a smile of satisfaction and nodded.

「Then, everyone~♪」

Fatih placed his hand to his mouth and informed the men of the caravan.

「Can everyone protect Nee-san and the luggage carried by the packhorses~? —For the time being, I’ll deal with these guys by myself」

「What did you say—!?」

Slight confusion and anger spread among the thieves. Properly speaking, the caravan should have been terrified by the appearance of the thieves, but they were completely unperturbed; on the contrary, the man of slender build who was wearing female clothing declared that he’d kill them just by himself.

Fatih easily slipped in during that moment of opening.

「Gufu, ehehe. —Die! Idiot!」

Fatih, who had let out a coarse chuckle as if mumbling, kicked the stirrup and disappeared from the top of his horse. At least, it probably seemed that way to the thieves.

「—!?」

Just like a bird of prey that had set its sights on a prey on the ground and swooped down on it—his right hand, which had moved to the back of his waist, was already pulling out a large curved sword when he flew down—Fatih slashed at the thief.

「Gya, ha—」

Fully carried by the acceleration and his weight, the blow practically cut the man with the unshaven face, who appeared to be the leader of the thieves, in two with a single stroke.

「……」

When the man with the unshaven face fell to the ground, making a wet sound, Galarina lost interest completely.

If this was dealt with by Fatih, no matter how many thieves of that standard there were, it was irrelevant. This would probably be settled shortly. The eccentric Fatih was a warrior who possessed that much power and also the guard who protected this caravan.

While listening to the death throes of the thieves, Galarina devoted herself to reading.