~Side Ryouma~
Time flows so quickly. It felt just like a few days ago when I left to rescue a missing person, but it’s already been two weeks since.
I left Gimuru to greet the duke’s family, but in order to rendezvous with Serge-san, Fei-san and I first had to drop by the town of Gaunago… That’s the plan, but we’re currently taking a little detour and going through a dim forest.
“Sorry for dragging you out here.” [Ryouma]
“It’s alright. I’m your guard right now. If you want to visit your old house, then that’s where we’ll go. Besides, I’m good at finding my way through places like this. It’s fine. Really.” [Fei]
Now that he mentions it, he’s been able to keep up with me all this time without lagging behind even a little. He’s light on his feet and I can tell that he’s used to walking through nature. As expected of a former assassin.
“That’s good to hear. I guess you really did receive that sort of training, huh?” [Ryouma]
“There’s that too, but our country doesn’t have roads as well maintained as this country’s. After all, while having roads means it’s easy for people to travel, it also means that it’s easier for enemy soldiers to move around when they attack. They look like peddlers when they move about, so it’s hard to tell that they’re actually enemies. All the roads back at our country are like this except for large cities and some small villages.” [Fei]
Is that so? …Come to think of it, I’ve never really talked to Fei-san about his country, have I? I know it’s a dangerous country that’s currently in war, but that’s about all I know. It’s already been over half a year since I hired him, but I’ve never really talked to him about it.
But it probably can’t be helped given that the other employees just think he’s someone with experience in the military and considering the circumstances of his last job.
“If you don’t mind my asking, can I ask you about your country? Of course, only the parts that you can talk about.” [Ryouma]
“I can answer any questions you have, Boss. It would be a problem if I were to publicize it, but talking about it with someone like you who already knows about me being a former assassin isn’t a problem at all.” [Fei]
Turns out it’s actually not a big deal. In fact, he’s being so nonchalant about it that I’m starting to get anxious instead.
“You don’t have any secrets that you have to keep?” [Ryouma]
“There’s no one left to complain, so it doesn’t matter anymore. Any information that could be used probably can’t be used anymore, and those that can be used have probably already been taken by enemy forces. That’s why… Information leaking to the enemies of our enemies is actually a bigger issue for our enemies. I have comrades-in-arms who are doing just that actually.” [Fei]
“Oh.” [Ryouma]
In that case, I can ask as much as I want then. But I don’t really know anything, so even if he tells me that, I don’t actually know what to ask.
“How much do you know about my country?” [Fei]
“I know that your country is known as Zilmar Empire, and is slightly northeast of the Riforu Kingdom, where we’re currently at. And just as you mentioned earlier, it’s in the middle of a civil war and is a very dangerous place. That’s about it.” [Ryouma]
“Then I suppose I’ll have to supplement your knowledge.” [Fei]
According to Fei-san…
A long time ago, a human that possessed great power established Zilmar Empire.
With his great power, he unified the villages and the powerful clans of the north.
Unfortunately, there are too many mysteries regarding the history of the empire due to the lack of historical documents. The name of the founder, his birth, and other specific information are missing.
Because of that, when the country was divided due to the civil wars, each faction started talking about their own version of the history and claimed that their boss had the blood of the founding emperor running through his veins… In other words, it’s a troublesome country for reasons other than war.
“When I was in the country, the southern part of the empire was ruled by the Win House, the northern part was ruled by the Tuan House, the northeast was ruled by the Bigan House, and the center was ruled by the Shu House. There were small struggles even within those houses, but most of the bigger conflicts occurred between these four houses.” [Fei]
“What house did you and Leelin-san work for?” [Ryouma]
“We worked for the Win House. The Win House had a lot of assassins like us. They divided us into different organizations and gave us different jobs. There’s an organization that sends its members to live on enemy soil for long periods of time to steal information. There’s also an organization that looks for enemies in major cities and kills them.
There’s also our organization, which is tasked with going to and fro ally and hostile territories to deliver information. We give the information to another organization. It’s also our job to kill any enemies found on the territory of the Win House. To avoid making ourselves suspicious since we move so much, we dress ourselves up as peddlers.” [Fei]
Really? I said as I listened to him while we walked.