II
The Independent Cavalry Regiment made their first stop after leaving Galia Fortress in the town of Canalia. In the distance, the Est Mountains stood against the clear blue sky while down on the plains flowers were beginning to bloom in vivid colors. A pleasant breeze gently shook the grass and carried a sweet aroma to Claudia. In another couple of weeks, this whole area would be covered in flowers.
“Major, look there on the right. With this warm weather we’ve been having, the flowers are starting to bloom,” said Claudia. Olivia was silent. “Are you listening to me, Major?” she tried again, but Olivia still didn’t respond. She didn’t even glance at the flowers, and her mouth was set in a hard line as she stroked the black horse’s mane. Claudia sighed. “Major, don’t you think this bad mood of yours has gone on long enough? It’s going to impact the soldiers’ morale.”
“In that case,” Olivia finally replied, “can we go to Emaleid via the capital?”
“I told you before, ser. That’s not possible,” said Claudia. Olivia puffed up her cheeks in a pout and looked away. Even the black horse moved away from Claudia’s own horse, as though it was channeling Olivia’s bad temper.
“Olivia, when we take our next break, how about I make you a mustard and jerky sandwich? That sounds nice, doesn’t it? So cheer up a bit, come on,” said Ashton from where he rode beside them. His attempt to snap her out of her moodiness involved some top-quality bait. Olivia moved slightly in her saddle, but continued to face away from them. On this particular occasion, Ashton’s special mustard wasn’t going to cut it.
“Tomorrow night we’re staying in the capital, right?” Olivia had been over the moon when she found the capital was on the way to the Emaleid Citadel. When this possibility had been flatly ruled out, however, her mood had immediately soured, and she made no effort to conceal it.
There were two main routes to reach the Emaleid Citadel from Galia Fortress: crossing the Est Mountains before passing through the capital and continuing westward, or proceeding north through Canalia, then following the edge of the desert east. The Independent Cavalry Regiment was taking the latter route. The reason for this was simple—Osmund and his cavalry regiment had chosen the route through the capital. Unlike Osmund’s regiment, which had prioritized haste, the Independent Cavalry Regiment had to prioritize acquiring information and sniffing out the enemy. In order to get a picture of the enemy’s movements over a wider area, they needed to take a different route. While Olivia had been granted far-reaching discretionary powers, this was still the army. She couldn’t go altering their route for personal reasons.
We’ve just left, and we’re already plagued with problems, thought Claudia with a private sigh.
“Major,” she began, in another attempt to bring Olivia around, “even if we did stop off in the capital, you wouldn’t have time to do proper research. Besides, you can’t just waltz into the Royal Library any time you like.”
Olivia was silent for a moment. “Why not?” she asked. Her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. Claudia held up two fingers as she replied.
“First, it takes two days to apply for permission to enter. After that, you need a reference from a trustworthy individual. In this case, trustworthy means nobility—and then only if the family has a certain degree of status. Every single book and document housed in the library is highly valuable, after all.”
“I’d love to go too, but they don’t let commoners in,” added Ashton under his breath, sounding envious. Ashton was a voracious reader as well, even if he wasn’t on Olivia’s level. The library undoubtedly held a special place in the heart of any booklover.
Olivia gave no sign she’d heard Ashton. “But I’m a noble now, right? Even then they still wouldn’t let me in?” she protested, pouting.
“I’m afraid not, ser. Nobility is something like a certificate of permission that gets you through the gate. In order to enter the library proper, however, a trustworthy reference is absolutely nonnegotiable.”
Claudia didn’t even know where Olivia was from. When she’d asked about her home, Olivia had said it was a temple in the middle of a deep forest. This was too vague to be helpful, so she showed Claudia on a map, pointing to a spot in the far west of Duvedirica. Those lands were generally thought of as a vast region of unexplored forest, inhabited only by a few small settlements. From Olivia’s distinctive silver hair and ebony eyes, it was clear that she wasn’t from those settlements. Olivia said that she’d been taken in by this Z person as a baby. She recounted the fairly incredible tale of her past with a wide smile, leaving Claudia at a loss for how to reply.
Olivia’s past wasn’t the only reason, but all the same, Claudia felt sure that just claiming nobility wouldn’t be enough for her to get easy entry into the library. At the end of the day, the important thing was that intangible evidence—trust. It wasn’t something you could earn in a single day. Olivia could earn as many medals as she liked, and it wouldn’t change the fact that she currently wasn’t trustworthy in the slightest. Not that Claudia would ever have said so out loud.
There was in fact one exception to the rules. Ashton, it seemed, was unaware of it, but anyone, even a commoner, could enter the library if they paid an enormous sum of money. For better or for worse, money had the power to narrow the divisions of class, even if only slightly. Claudia thought it unlikely that any but the richest of the richest merchants could afford it, however.
“I couldn’t get in even with you as my reference, Claudia?” said Olivia, looking hopeful.
“Hmmm. It’s hard to say,” said Claudia. “The Jung family does go back a fairly long way. A reference from me might work, but I couldn’t guarantee anything.” The Jung family could trace their line back to the days of King Julius zu Fernest. Over the past six hundred years or so, the family had made a name for themselves in battle, turning out an impressive number of knights. These days, however, they were little more than another noble house with remote holdings and lacking the means to even maintain a second residence in the capital. This was largely the reason Claudia wouldn’t make any guarantees.
“Okay. Who could guarantee it, then?” Olivia asked, leaning towards Claudia, unsmiling. Claudia sensed she might be in danger here, but tried to think. One person immediately came to mind—Paul. He was more than sufficiently accomplished and respected, and from a good noble family. Paul would also likely be only too happy to provide a reference if Olivia asked for it. The problem was that he was also a general, and the supreme commander of the Seventh Legion. It wouldn’t be appropriate to go to him casually with a personal request, and so Claudia decided it was better not to suggest that to Olivia.
If not Paul, then someone else who’s approachable, and could give a reference certain to be accepted... Does such a person even exist? Claudia wondered. In the back of her mind, she saw a man with pale blond hair just like her own. When she was little, she’d once chased after him, brandishing a wooden sword with all her might.
“Neinhardt—uh, Brigadier General Neinhardt would probably be a safe choice. He has a lot of contacts, so he might even be able to get the two-day application process reduced.”
“Who’s Brigadier General Neinhardt?” asked Olivia, her head tilted in puzzlement. Claudia grimaced. Olivia had definitely met Neinhardt several times, but apparently had no recollection of this. Ashton said her memory was superb, but it seemed that this didn’t apply to things she wasn’t interested in.
“You don’t remember, ser? I believe you met him so that he could thank you after you slew the Raging Bull Samuel.”
“Raging Bull? Samuel?” Olivia crossed her arms and grumbled to herself, the confusion on her face only deepening. Claudia described Neinhardt in more detail, and at last Olivia’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Oh, I remember! The human who did a bad impression of a fish!”
Claudia snorted. She couldn’t help it; Olivia’s words had been so totally unexpected. No one but Olivia could have described Neinhardt in such a way. Even as his cousin, Claudia recognized how dashingly handsome he was. Olivia’s description would probably make any lady with fond feelings for him fall over in a faint. If there had been such a lady, that is.
Oh, I have got to tell Neinhardt about this, Claudia thought with evil glee.
Beside her, Olivia said quietly, “That’s right, I got those delicious fruits. He said they were called cloudy peaches.”
I’m sure he really wanted to avenge Florentz himself... But even so, Neinhardt still feels indebted to Olivia, thought Claudia. She knew better than anyone just how fiercely loyal Neinhardt was. He would probably—no, definitely—readily consent to being Olivia’s reference. Memories of Florentz and his sweet smile welled inside her, but Claudia turned back to Olivia to try to bring her back to the task at hand.
“If you plan to ask Neinhardt for his reference, Major,” she said seriously, “first, you must give your full attention to carrying out your duties. If you do not, I doubt he will even hear your request.”
“Yeah, you’re right!” said Olivia. She clenched her fist and nodded a few times, then cried, “Let’s do this thing!” Her bad mood had vanished.
That grumpy expression really didn’t suit her, thought Claudia. The influence of her improved temper spread amongst the soldiers. They, too, all looked relieved.
Now we can finally focus on the actual mission, thought Claudia. As she breathed a sigh of relief, Ashton came up to thank her. This made her feel ever so slightly pleased.
Two days later, at around midday, the Independent Cavalry Regiment arrived at Canalia.
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