Chapter 104 - 9-5
The dull weather continued for about two days.
An ominous wind sent silver ripples across the grasslands, carrying black clouds that looked like dripping ink. Beneath the overcast sky hanging over the fields, within the Moscow territory, messengers of Siddim rode violently, the sound of their horses' hooves echoing as they carried dispatches back and forth, buffeted by the wind.
Bolsa City was also covered by black clouds that looked as if they would burst into rain at any moment.
During those two days, the princess of the Western Army did not show herself.
Master Orca, the shoemaker who kept a shop in Treve Square, had a worry.
It was Master Lubain, the tanner, who came every day to see the princess. For these two days, Master Lubain had been left waiting in vain. He stood alone in Treve Square, drawing mocking laughter from the townspeople.
Orca could not simply leave him be. Master Orca invited the master tanner into his workshop facing the square and fed him.
"Say, Master, I'm starting to think that princess has finally given up."
"No. I believe she will come again."
Master Lubain devoured his meal with gusto. He seemed energetic.
"Why are you so obsessed with that princess? Is it because she's a beauty?"
"Rather, why is it that no one will listen to her?"
"You can tell without listening. She's telling us to cooperate in the war, right?"
Master Lubain nodded. "Is that not allowed?"
"It's not. This town is getting along peacefully. We shouldn't get involved in something like a war."
"Regardless, that person will come again."
Maybe so, Master Orca also thought. Tomorrow was market day. Many people would come from outside. The town's population would likely double or triple.
If she hadn't given up, she would surely aim for tomorrow.
"Coming" was an understatement.
The next morning, when Master Orca woke up in his second-floor bedroom, there was a stir at his feet. Even in the darkness before dawn, there were already people in Treve Square. The master wound up the window shutters and looked down at the square. Countless heads were moving. By the time he went downstairs and opened the shop, the area in front of the City Council Hall was overflowing with people.
The master spotted a familiar face in the crowd and called out from inside the shop.
"Master Dagis, what's going on? The market isn't in this square, is it?"
"Ah, Master Orca." Dagis the farmer laughed easy-goingly. "Where is Princess Lucy? I've come to see her."
"Come to see her... all of you? Where did you hear such a thing?"
"About the princess? Everyone knows. I wanted to come see her as soon as possible."
—This is bad.
Master Orca panicked alone.
"Eliska," he called, searching for his wife.
His wife, Eliska, was on the second floor with their daughters. They were looking at the square and laughing together.
"Eliska, what do we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? It can't be helped now."
His wife looked blankly at him. Master Orca scratched his head.
"Ah, geez!"
The master went down the stairs and searched for his apprentice, Shatona.
—Protect the town.
Master Orca did not think his resolve was exaggerated. Who was it that had managed this town without causing a single ripple? Was it not the people of this town, including the master? They had obtained their autonomy by practically threatening Count Moscow. This town was the fruit of the residents fighting and winning it.
—And now, a little girl.
Master Orca dared not think of her as a princess. He didn't care if she was the General of the Western Army or whatever. A little girl was trying to cause turmoil. She was challenging the order of the masters. It could be said that it was the masters' duty to drive the little girl out and restore peace to the town.
The young apprentice was at the storefront.
"Master, I sold two pairs!" Shatona's eyes were sparkling. "I don't know what's happening, but the crowd is incredible!"
Feeling uneasy at the sheer size of the crowd, Master Orca intended to instruct him to close the shop. However, hearing Shatona's words, he changed his mind.
"Did you discount them?"
"No, they paid the asking price. They just snapped them up."
"Right, I see... I'll leave things here to you. I'm going to bring out the ones gathering dust in the warehouse."
While selecting shoes to put in the shop in the room he called the warehouse,
—What am I doing?
He felt this, and his hands stopped. Then a voice echoed. It was a commotion. It seemed the gathered people were laughing at something.
Master Orca went up to the second floor and, together with his wife Eliska, looked at the City Council Hall.
Their three daughters let out cheers. All three were influenced by the festive mood created by the gathered people.
A blonde beauty appeared on the balcony.
There was no mistaking it; it was that princess. She planted the pole she had been carrying over her shoulder into the floor of the balcony. The wrapped red cloth fluttered. It was a flag.
Looking at the design, Master Orca's chest tightened. It was the "Daughter of Siddim." Every Siddim person had heard the legend of the girl who saved the nation since childhood. It was a design that stirred nostalgia.
—Is she planning to liken herself...
To the legendary girl.
That was exactly it.
The princess had covered herself from the neck down with a cloak. That cloak fluttered in the wind.
From beneath the cloak, a female form appeared. The princess was dressed as a man. The men's clothing clung tightly to her skin, revealing the curves of her female body.
Armor made of small iron rings woven together is called chainmail. The princess was wearing that chainmail. The chainmail glittered with a light, frivolous shimmer.
The tight bodice emphasized the swell of her breasts, and the silver reflection of the chainmail seemed to flaunt them. Meanwhile, the belt at her waist pinched the woman's stomach to a startling thinness.
The hem of the silver chainmail covered the swell of her hips and only reached as far as her upper thighs. It was like an extremely short skirt that barely hid her buttocks and the roots of her legs. The roundness of her buttocks and her crotch were almost visible, yet not quite.
Of course, the princess was wearing trousers.
The trousers were made of leather, and these too clung to her skin, making the lines of her legs completely visible. The flesh of her thighs seemed to burst out from under the hem of the chainmail.
He could not judge whether this should be immediately perceived as obscene. The princess was far too dignified, and the male attire suited her too well. In short, Princess Lucy was simply dressed as a soldier. While she showed off curves that emphasized her femininity, there was no exposure of skin. Rather, a boyish freshness drifted about the princess's disguise.
As for Master Orca specifically, the military boots that covered about half of her calves also bothered him. As Shatona had once said, they weren't particularly well-made boots. That said, they seemed to express enough thickness to give a resolute impression.
"Let us speak of the history of this nation."
The princess spoke with a voice that resonated as well as ever.
The people who had been commotioning over the young woman's male attire gradually fell silent.
"One thousand years ago. In the south, in the valleys of Siddim, there were people who lived by relying on the Serpent God. Their faith was persecuted by the Koroi Empire, and they gathered under the House of Alish, the priests of the Serpent God religion."
Someone blew a high-pitched finger-whistle.
There was no one to respond, and the sound of the whistle scattered vainly across the square. Though there was buzzing, the people were listening to the young woman's voice.
"They became refugees and moved north, and what they built in this land was our Kingdom of Siddim. Look, you all."
A plump young man appeared on the balcony and received the military flag from the princess's hand. The young man stood at attention, holding the flag upright.
The princess placed her hand on the railing.
"Our nation. The land was tilled, and the roads became so complex that one would get lost. Forts were built, and castles towered. Look, you all. Did such things come to be in the northern nations of Gyua or Skesia? Could the nations of Pushan or Eber have created the same without us?"
The princess suddenly shouted. "Who created this!"
The slight buzzing of the crowd vanished, as if shrinking back from being scolded.
"You created this. Look at the Kosa people. They cannot build, and they possess no agricultural technology. All they can create are tents to light the night. They are still in darkness. They are a people of the darkness. They shall cover this Siddim in darkness."
—Stop it.
Master Orca thought.
Don't lie. Things like Siddim exist in the west too. Things greater than Siddim exist in the south. And what end did that south reach?
Any Siddim person knows that Koroi surrendered.
The giant empire of Koroi, which persecuted the Siddim people, was not defeated by the Kosa people?
Don't say any more. Please don't say it. What can we do?
There were those in the crowd who thought the same thing.
"Idiot! Stop—"
"There is more!" Princess Lucy shouted.
Despite saying that, the brave woman remained silent for a while, glaring at the crowd.
"Many have decided that Siddim is defeated," the princess said quietly. "Not knowing their own strength, and intending to avoid trouble, they do not even think about it from the start. Siddim people can triumph over the Kosa army. You can win!"
The woman on the balcony paused again for a while, perhaps intending to see the reaction.
Due to confusion and awkwardness, it seemed the people were unable to give a reaction.
"You can show that greatness to the world. In what way?"
"Through battle!" someone's spirited voice chimed in.
"That, of course. However," the princess said. "You can show it through your daily activities, your daily spirit, and your usual mindset. You—those of you here—are capable! You are brave!"
The princess pressed her advantage.
—Do not allow the invasion of foreign enemies.
"First, raise your voices. We will not allow invasion! You have the power to back up those words. You have a responsibility to this country and to the future of this country. You have that right! Raise your voices, you all!"
Master Orca was surprised.
—A right?
Those are words a ruler never says to the citizens.
"I shall speak on behalf of what is in your hearts. I shall be your guarantor; I promise your victory. I am the daughter of the kingdom, Luchentin Alish! Do not hold back any longer. What is there to fear of a victory that can be grasped simply by reaching out! Siddim does not fear victory!"
After a moment of silence, the square shook. It felt as if the air warped and the scenery distorted. Voices rose. Voices pooled like a tide, and voices piled upon them, as if the square were drowning in a sea of sound. Master Orca looked at the people.
There were countless eyes. They were laughing, laughing with eyes that sparkled like children's.
They must be enjoying themselves.
Rather than giving their approval to the content of the speech, they were merely reacting to a spectacle. But for that, the cheering lasted a long time.
—What is this?
It must be excitement. There was no clapping; there were shouts. There were raised fists.
What is this?
"The rest tomorrow."
After speaking various things, the princess waved her hand slightly and disappeared from the balcony.
The shouting stopped. However, the excitement in the square would not easily subside. The people would not disperse. They were talking noisily about something.
Master Orca noisily went down the stairs.
"Shatona," he called the apprentice at the storefront.
"Master, don't be surprised, twelve pairs!" Shatona showed his white teeth. "The old stock is mostly cleared out."
"Good, good, well done. More importantly," the master asked in a lowered voice. "What is everyone talking about? Did anyone say anything about that speech?"
"Everyone was praising how good the princess's voice was."
"Ho. And?"
"Also, they're all saying her attitude is dignified."
"Is that all?"
"I think some people also said the clothes suit her."
"What about the content of the talk? Did they say anything?"
"No, I wonder..." Shatona's gaze wandered in the air. "Now that you mention it, I didn't hear any such talk."
"Good! Good!"
—Good!
Master Orca clenched his fist. Everyone just came to watch because it was rare.
No one is interested in the speech.
"Master, I hear the princess is coming tomorrow too. What should we do about the shoes to line up at the storefront?"
"No, tomorrow isn't market day. There won't be a crowd like this. —Shatona, what did you think of the princess's speech?"
"Well, I think it was good..."
"What was good about it? Listen, the Kosa people have already surrounded the royal capital, you know? Siddim has already lost. It's not something that can be overturned now."
"That's probably not true—"
"It is! Admit it. Just go back to the workshop and finish the work!"
Master Orca ordered him bluntly.
Looking at the square, the people were finally dispersing. The master felt relieved for the time being.
Having had a pleasant dream, when Master Orca woke up, he mistakenly thought in his half-asleep head, "Was today a festival?" He could hear a bustle.
To that, the calls of a vendor were added.
"Come and get 'em, please. Roasted chestnuts!"
Someone was calling out to someone else with a rhythmic cadence.
Master Orca sprang up, and as soon as he put on his clothes, he ran down the stairs and went outside the shop. It was as he thought. No wonder the voice sounded familiar. Master Asquith, the hatter and tailor, had set up a stall, producing hearty clouds of steam.
What was surprising was the number of people. The square was crowded, continuing from yesterday.
"Hey!"
Master Orca shouted into the stall that had a line forming.
Master Asquith put on a face that suggested, "Oops," for the time being.
"No, it's not like that, Master Orca. This stall belongs to my cousin, but that cousin heard about yesterday's commotion and bought chestnuts like an idiot."
"What about our unity?"
"Now now, a stall is fine, right? It's not that I'm cooperating with that princess. There are customers, so as a merchant, I have to do business. Besides, it's not just me; Lassalle the tinker has made a soup with scrap-like meat thrown into a big pot, and he's doing business with chairs and tables lined up."
"Oh, is that so. Do as you please. But I am different from you lot."
Leaving them with a grumpy remark, the shoemaker returned to the shop.
To his exasperation, Shatona had only just woken up. This apprentice had been doing something late into the night with a candle lit.
While doing the opening work with Shatona, the sound of military horse shoes approached.
The princess in male attire with a fluttering cloak, and behind her, a man on horseback holding the military flag.
Furthermore, a procession of young men dressed in soldiers' clothes followed.
—What are those guys?
There were twelve or thirteen of them, but such people weren't there yesterday.
The princess was more intense than yesterday, more radical than yesterday.
"We can win! We shall make that realization clear here and now, in this place! In what way? How? By declaring it! We declare! We shall triumph!"
—We shall triumph!
—We shall triumph!
The voices of the audience were becoming synchronized. This was a phenomenon that hadn't existed yesterday.
"You have heard too much grief saying that we cannot win. It is grief that is too early to truly accept. We do not accept it! Bolsa City does not accept it! Siddim does not accept it! We shall triumph! Why! Because we swear it here! Because I guarantee victory! We declare! What!"
—Victory!
—Victory!
The people rejoiced with shouts. Though it was called a square, it wasn't that large a place. Yellow, black, and red human heads were all facing one direction. Blue, green, black, gray, and brown eyes were wet and shining, staring at the girl in male attire. Their mouths opened in unison, "Victory!"
"Now, there are those here who imagine the current hardships. Siddim is wounded, and the east is wounded. Now, there are those here who long for the peace of the past. We had a way of looking at the world. We had a shape for our world. Have those rotted away? Has our world met its end! Absolutely not! I declare here in this Bolsa City, together with everyone! We look to the future! Simply! Recklessly! We push forward toward victory! Where are we heading!"
—Toward victory!
—Toward victory!
After that, it was drowned out by shouting voices.
—I don't understand any of this.
Master Orca was watching the commotion from the storefront today, not the second floor. There was heat. There was a scent of frenzy among the people. They seemed to be getting into the mood, egged on by the princess's words. They weren't simply finding it amusing.
The princess says they will triumph. What is she saying, the master thought. Aren't they losing? Haven't they not won a single time? Isn't the royal capital besieged?
If they could win, he wanted them to have won sooner. What's the point now?
This crowd should be angry.
Was he the only one thinking this? There was no reality here. A strange logic created by the disguised princess was prevailing. It was like the scene of a fraud. Because the people were so elated, Master Orca felt it was ridiculous.
He felt like a sane man who had wandered into a world of madness.
And so, Master Orca the shoemaker became a man who merely watched as the town he loved was poisoned.
—There is no reality here.
The master had such an impression of the crowd.
However, these were words that immediately returned to himself. The master had tried to take responsibility for the city administration. But he had looked away from the country called Siddim. He couldn't say he had looked at reality with cold detachment.
Master Orca was, first and foremost, a citizen of Bolsa. Being a citizen of Bolsa came before being a national of Siddim.
It was natural. He lived in this town. He was a member of the City Council. He didn't care what happened to other towns in Siddim. He had his hands full just with Bolsa City.
However, the people who gathered in the square and chanted
—Victory!
were different. It seemed that being a national of Siddim was more important than being a citizen, villager, or townsman of somewhere. They wanted to believe it was important. They could not bear the boredom of being a single citizen of a cramped, realistic town. They likely wanted to act superior as a member of a greater nation.
—Ridiculous.
Master Orca thought. What has Siddim ever done for you?
To Master Orca, Siddim was a fictional concept. It seemed to be there, and it did actually exist. But he wanted to tell the crowd: Have you truly received any benefits?
True, the Counts who had feudal relations with the royal family might occasionally carry out benevolent projects for the people of their territory. But were the funds for that not spent from what the people of the territory had paid?
From the next day, the master immersed himself in shoemaking.
People came to the square. The princess also came. Those people were fakes. The master could not stand it. It was an exchange of empty words and empty frenzy. There was a sort of complicit atmosphere somewhere, as if they were mutually permitting escapism and deception.
"That's unfair," Shatona countered Master Orca's thoughts during lunch. "Isn't 'atmosphere' just something invisible? She's the princess of Siddim, you know? Should you criticize her based on such vague grounds?"
"Listen, in a war, people die, you know? That princess is hiding that point. That's why her talk is so fluffy."
"No. I think that person is speaking exactly to that point. For what purpose should a person live, and for what purpose should they die?"
"What is that? People live for themselves, and though they don't want to die, they die."
"Then that's just an animal. People can live for someone else, and they can die for someone else. For example, for this town. For the people they love. Going to the battlefield for someone else is an honor. That person is defining it as such."
Master Orca frowned at the voice his apprentice emitted. There was a smoothness like moisture in the apprentice's tone, a naturalness. They were transparent and pure words that flowed from inside the youth before him. Master Orca thought that because of that purity, it could also become poison.
"You..."
However, no further words followed. A customer came to the storefront, so Shatona finished lunch and left.
The left-behind Master Orca felt miserable. He felt like a failure as an adult. However, the inability to deny pure words flowing from a youth might be a characteristic of an adult. Saying it is for Siddim, for the fatherland, for the House of Alish, is justice. Adults do not trust those who speak of justice. Justice is a word used when someone makes someone else submit and makes them obey.
But what about the justice a youth speaks of?
Against a justice that is too innocent and transparent, an adult can only shout things like "Look at reality." That was where Master Orca feared the princess. The clarity of the princess's voice. The lack of malice. The strength dwelling there. That girl did not realize her own lies. One could not stop that girl from speaking of justice. The master knew that he already had no words to stop her.
When night fell, looking into the workshop, there was Shatona working by candlelight.
Where had he hidden them, but a pair of splendid military boots were already nearly complete.
Shatona said nothing. Master Orca also silently sat on a chair.
"Are those the boots you're presenting to the princess?"
The apprentice moved his hands without looking at the master. "Master, you know that it's still impossible for me to make something I could present before the princess. These are my boots."
Master Orca picked up one of the boots placed on the workbench. He had a distressed face, like someone who had been dumped by a lover.
"When I was about your age—" the master said. "I couldn't make boots like these. How many years has it been since you started your apprenticeship? Five years? Six years? That princess only arrived just five or six days ago, you know? What was all your training up until now? You are a serious and skilled apprentice—"
"I will come back, surely."
"You can't come back; it will be a fierce battle. If you go, you'll die."
"I won't die. Even if I die, I can continue to live as part of this country's history, together with the House of Alish. If that's the case, it's my heart's desire."
Master Orca spat in the workshop. "Get lost."
"What else would you have me do? Everyone will fulfill their duty. I don't want to be someone who is protected by others."
"To your parents—"
"I spoke to them. They understood."
"You, don't tell me to Lib..."
The master stared at Shatona's face as he stopped his hands and looked up.
Lib was Master Orca's eldest daughter, and she was engaged to Shatona.
"I spoke to her. She cried."
"You made her cry?"
"Yes. While crying, she praised me, saying I was splendid. That she was proud of me."
Master Orca had not noticed at all. Yesterday and today, Lib had the same face as always. No, was that true? Could he say he hadn't seen the subtle shadows running across his daughter's expression?
"Idiots... you damn idiots..."
"Master, I will live and return for her."
—Idiot!
He wanted to curse him as much as he liked, but the words wouldn't come. Shatona was an idiot. Lib was an idiot. In that case, what kind of person was he?
In the end, he had no choice but to leave his seat. It was painful to admit his own powerlessness at this age. While protecting his aching knee, he headed for the doorway, and
"You've left things completely, entirely unfinished," Master Orca couldn't help but say. "Because you still have so much more to learn in this workshop."
"Thank you, Master."
Looking back, within the firelight, there was a brilliance in the eyes that could only be described as fragility, staring straight at the master.
Then, in about two days, Princess Lucy was to leave the town.
The crowd in Treve Square, the flag fluttering on the balcony of the City Council Hall, the princess in male attire with her back straight—Master Orca watched these now completely familiar sights from his second-floor window.
On the balcony was the representative of the City Council, Master Gabrilo the goldsmith. Master Clock the armorer was also with him. A sword with elegant golden decorations on the hilt was presented to the princess by the two of them.
In the end, the one who won was Princess Lucy. Bolsa City had surrendered.
When the princess raised the sword, the white reflection seemed to illuminate the faces of the gathered people.
The crowd erupted. It was a number of people that seemed as if everyone in the city had gathered.
—Lucy Alish! Lucy Alish!
The princess's countenance, which looked almost cold, stared down at the people.
The people in the square, as if egged on by that gaze, let their feverish passion burn up.
—Lucy Alish!
—Long live! Long live Siddim!
The chanting melted into a roar of voices.
The princess sheathed the sword somewhat clumsily.
"Bolsa City, praise the heroes!" she said in a soaring voice. "Your voices shall shake the world. They shall plunge the world, the Kosa, into terror! Threaten it! The world!"
—Lucy!
—Lucy!
Sent off by the cheers, Lucy Alish headed toward the city gates on horseback. People were also along the roadside, seeing her off with applause and cheers.
Following behind her were countless young men. They were the youth who had responded to the recruitment of volunteers. They were the "heroes" Princess Lucy spoke of. The line was so long it seemed it would never end. The citizens, likely without a single exception, saw them off with applause. There were figures of mothers crouching down, teary-eyed.
Master Orca also could not help but cheer them on.
—Do your best. Don't lose. Don't die.
The master had to wipe his tears with his sleeve, or he wouldn't have been able to see ahead. His wife Eliska and his daughters were the same. They were all crying.
Was he a foolish ordinary citizen? Had he been won over by that princess? Master Orca thought that's probably what had happened. But in the youth who marched toward death without hesitation following the princess, in those volunteers, the master found sublimity. Their smiles were shining. They were dazzling smiles that left those left behind with no choice but to be intimidated.
At this late stage, Master Orca did not want to be a know-it-all. He did not want anyone to criticize this decision, at this time. For example, would historians or critics of later years, reclining in the luxury of peace, judge their decision as foolish? Would they denounce those of them who steered toward a full-scale war as sinners?
Shatona was his most beloved apprentice. He was among the crowd of youth marching without looking away from the battlefield. Master Orca prayed for his safety. By praying, he participated in the war. Though he couldn't say he put his body on the line, Master Orca sincerely prayed for the victory of Siddim.
The Treve Square of the next day was what one should laugh at. It was deserted, the wind blowing in and rolling trash around. The town had fallen silent, as if its blood had been drained.
Then, Master Lubain arrived, shoulders swaying rhythmically.
"Yo," Master Orca welcomed his friend.
"Hello."
Master Orca brewed hot tea and entertained Master Lubain.
He didn't want to say it, but a complaint slipped out.
"I had Shatona taken from me."
"He was a fine young man."
"Is everything okay at your place, Master? You had a son, right?"
"My place was fine."
According to Master Lubain, he had apparently gotten into a fight with his son. Because Master Lubain had abandoned his work to frequent the princess's side, his son had become angry.
"And then, he started saying, 'No matter what happens, I'm not going to the square.'"
"You," Master Orca was amazed. "You did it well. Was that your goal from the start, coming to hear the princess's speech?"
"No, not at all. But I think if everyone had listened properly to that princess's words, they could have predicted it would turn out like this."
"You're clever."
"A tanner can't get by unless he's clever, after all."
A shadow fell over the storefront, and a carefree voice echoed, "Hello—"
Looking, it was the town girl Adelina.
"What is it, Adel. Weren't you with the princess?"
"I really, really wanted to go with her—" Adelina said, lowering the corners of her eyebrows. "But I was worried about my home, so I stayed."
"That's filial piety."
While praising her, Master Orca laughed. If she could stay by the princess's side and still hold her own judgment without being influenced, this girl was quite a big deal.
"I guess there are people like you too."
"She's a daughter of Bolsa," Master Lubain also laughed.
"Both of you are mean— I'm really worried about the princess—"
"Now now, worried about what," Master Orca said. "She's a princess, right? I'm sure she'll manage just fine."
Adelina tilted her head. "But a woman is going to the battlefield, you know? Isn't that difficult?"
"No way. It's not as if the princess is going to swing a sword."
"The knights around her will protect her."
Master Orca and Master Lubain said in unison.
Adelina crossed her arms and shook her head.
"I hope that's the case," she said with a worried face. "The princess is a serious person. She might just charge right into the enemy."
Indeed, she was a person who had shouted such brave things and swept everyone away.
She might have a fierce temperament.
However, she probably wouldn't charge alone. The youth, starting with Shatona, would surely follow the princess. Master Orca felt as if he could see that painful sight.