Ch. 212
After ten days of roughing it, our group finally reached the capital, Helikke. And yet, I felt strangely uneasy arriving without a single incident.
How odd… there’s no way my life would proceed this smoothly.
Is this the calm before the storm? If I have to distrust peace like this, I guess I’m not cut out to be ordinary.
With a vague sense of dread, I stared at the distant capital gate coming into view.
That arched gate, painted in light green and ornate Gold… was still very far away.
“We made it, but…”
“…There was no point in rushing.”
Between the gate and our carriage stretched a line of people so long it felt impossible.
“Are all these people… here for Toomdra?”
“Probably. Either to watch it or to do business with the people watching it… Anyway, standing in line will take a full day.”
“At the speed this line is moving, at least two days.”
“Seriously, we’ll end up camping here at this rate.”
The crowd trying to enter the capital was so overwhelming it bordered on frightening. I watched Enk attempt to count the people before quickly giving up.
“Looks like we arrived at the worst possible time. Exactly one week before.”
“That’s a disaster. We should’ve come sooner.”
“What’s the point of saying that now, after rushing as much as we could?”
“The match is in seven days… we’ll get in before then, but…”
Ash glanced at me. Then Chad, in typical Chad fashion, made things worse.
“At this rate, there won’t be any rooms left.”
“Th-There might be!”
Gale tried to smooth it over awkwardly, but Chad remained clueless.
“Really? If we’re lucky, we might get to sleep in the stables. Can all these people even fit inside the city?”
“Surely they won’t cut off admissions halfway. It’s not just a tourist spot, right?”
“Heidrike itself is a famous tourist spot, though.”
“It’ll be… fine…”
“And I heard the capital, Helikke, even charges foreigners an entrance fee disguised as an admission fee.”
When I twitched at that, Ash—and then Enk and Gale—started watching me nervously.
Even Akia stared at my expression, though she didn’t know why.
“…Geenie?”
“Uh… um… what do we do?”
Ash and Enk spoke gently, as if begging for mercy, and Gale tried to coax me into resting.
“It looks like it’ll take a while. You must be tired—why don’t you take a nap?”
“I’ve been sleeping this whole time.”
“A little more…”
“I want to get out of this carriage immediately.”
Even though I spoke through clenched teeth, the three men reacted like they were handling a volatile tyrant.
Only Chad, oblivious as ever, sensed no danger.
Ash, anxious about my simmering silence that could explode at any moment, leaned toward the carriage window.
Ash knows. He knows I can’t stand this kind of time-wasting more than anything.
“Geenie, this can’t be helped… just bear with it a little—”
“Bear with what! We haven’t moved an inch in an hour!”
Having a city right in front of us but being stuck outside for a day was nothing but torture.
“Look ahead. The nobles keep cutting in line, so the queue isn’t moving.”
Akia muttered in dismay.
There were two entrances to the city: one for pedestrians and riders, another for carriages and wagons.
And when the carriage line grew this long, it split again—one side exclusively for nobles. Since nobles never walked, their carriages simply took over the faster lane.
In the end, commoners in carriages had no choice but to be cut endlessly.
But abandoning the carriage wasn’t an option—the pedestrian line was even longer.
To the left, noble carriages glided smoothly along a wide-open road, passed the entire line, underwent a brief inspection, and entered the city leisurely.
[Master! Master! If you go to the front and shout, ‘I am the Saintess of this area!’ wouldn’t they let us through?]
[Oh wow, Rai’s being clever today. Yes, if I go up there and say, ‘I’m the miracle-surviving Saintess of this area’… sure, as if that would work!]
[Why not! It sounds like a great plan!]
I kicked the metalhead inside my brain and shoved him into a corner.
[We’d get trampled to death by the crowd before we even saw the match! No! We might never see it! I’d be the spectacle, not Toomdra!]
[Then tell Ash to reveal his identity! Royal family free pass!]
[As if he would. Idiot.]
Ugh! See? This waiting is making me furious.
To calm myself, I mentally smacked Rai around, then suddenly turned toward Akia.
“Akia!”
“Hick!”
“Why are you so startled!”
“I—I just… yes, Miss Geenie?”
Her wide doe eyes made her look like a herbivore. Meanwhile, I was very much a carnivore.
“Do you have any poisons in that medicine bag?”
“…What do you plan to do with them?”
“Feed it to Chad and pretend there’s an emergency patient. Thoughts?”
“Oh my goodness, you’re joking!”
“……”
“…You’re joking, right?”
“I’m serious. Never mind.”
Tch. Ash, interfering again. It was a much better idea than Rai’s.
Does this mean we actually have to cut in line?
I nudged the heavy pouch under my feet with my toes.
It’s fine. I brought it to spend lavishly in the capital anyway.
“Ash? I have a good method to get through quickly.”
“No violence.”
“It’s not that.”
“No poison or killing anyone.”
What does he take me for?
I raised an eyebrow.
“What are you talking about? I’m a very realistic person. Of course I’ll use gentlemanly methods. Want to see?”
I pulled out a heavy money pouch from under the seat—so heavy even I struggled with it.
The leather pouch, larger than my face, was filled with Gold coins.
Cash I had Rai make during downtime to contribute to Heidrike’s economy. Perfectly crafted counterfeit money. The gold content was identical to genuine coins.
Fake yet real. A scam yet not a scam.
Perfect replicas. No fear of detection. Essentially the same as the truth.
Blessed are the believers!
“Do you know what ‘paying to win’ is?”
“I’ve never heard the term…”
“It’s throwing money around. You buy your way forward. It’s cutting in line—but a win-win for everyone.”
It was common to pay the person in front to switch spots. Normally it cost 1 Silver.
I frowned at Enk instead of Ash, who looked disapproving.
“What do you think, Enk? If we give 1 Gold per carriage, they’ll happily move aside, right?”
“…Per carriage?”
“Yeah. I only made—collected—1 Gold coins.”
“Really, really 1 Gold?”
“Is it that hard to understand? Is your head just decoration?”
“No… if you offer 1 Gold, they’ll all say, ‘Come on ahead! Why didn’t you come sooner?’ and move aside.”
Making everyone happy—truly the work of a Saintess. Not just anyone can be a Saintess.
Feeling very proud, I held the money pouch out the carriage window.
“Then go.”
Seeing the heavy pouch dangling, Enk hesitated.
He glanced toward Ash, the righteous one, but when I growled about the weight, he quickly took it with both hands.
“But… counting roughly… there are over 100 carriages in front…”
“It’s enough. There’s about 150 Gold inside. If someone refuses, give them 2.”
“…Why do I suddenly feel like a criminal? Like a loan shark buying out land?”
“Yeah, that’s just a feeling.”
Nobles wouldn’t move for such amounts, but the majority here were commoners short on cash. They would welcome my offer.
“I’ll give you errand money. If you have some left after buying spots, buy food. You can get permission from everyone in an hour or two, right?”
“That’s impossible in that time—”
I smiled sweetly and told him to hurry up instead.
Enk ran to the nearest carriage like he was fleeing, leaving Gale and Chad confused.
“Next, Gale.”
“Is there something for me too?”
“Take this. Go to that noble gate over there—”
“What? I’ll get caught! That’s a serious crime!”
“That won’t happen. Slip them about 10 Gold. They’ll let you through. I’ve done it before.”
I handed Gale a pouch full of jewels—and Gold. This is what happens when you bring a materialist along.
Encouraging crimes, bribery everywhere, and solving problems with money.
Truly beneficial to the economy.
I contribute so much to world peace.
“Go ask the gatekeeper if he’s a noble, then shove a Gold coin in his mouth. If you might get caught, give more. If a higher-up comes to kill you, shove some in their mouth too.”
“…You’re terrifying…”
“There isn’t a single official who hates money! And my hobby is throwing money around!”
“That’s… true. Hard to argue there…”
“If you understand, go reserve an inn with a bed I can stretch out on. Take Chad. Chad, take the letter of introduction Lox gave you and get the Toomdra tickets.”
My plan was perfect.
As perfect as my overflowing wealth and beauty!
Despite this perfection, Gale and Chad stood still, dazed.
“Reserve the best inn you can find, got it!”
“…Okay.”
“You’re so impatient. You should be more patient…”
“I’m paying for everything!”
“Wow! Sis is the best!”
“Yay! Hooray! I believe!”
It felt great to be worshipped—even if they liked my money more than me.
But me with money is still me, right? I flicked my hair proudly, then turned to Ash.
“And Ash, you—”
“I’ll stay here. I can’t leave you alone.”
Right. There was one person money couldn’t move.
The Second Prince of Epiros before me. Not because he’s royalty, but because that’s just how he is.
I stared at him, then decided to leave him be and shrugged. I was going to have him buy snacks, but too bad.
“Goodness, Miss Geenie… as expected of a noble, the way you spend money is on a different level. But if you’re a noble, can’t you just go through this passage?”
“Um… I’m running away from home, so I’m hiding my identity.”
“Oh! That makes sense.”
Akia shared Chad’s trait of being easily fooled. She didn’t seem to consider that people could lie.
“But wasn’t he the leader? Why is everyone following your orders?”
“Ash is the leader. It’s just that the leader’s owner is me.”
Simple.
“Geenie… please refrain from saying things others might misunderstand?”
While I happily chatted, Ash gripped the carriage window so tightly the frame warped.
He stood outside; I sat inside.
“Why? It’s true. You said you wanted to be my slave.”
“I did say that, but I meant our private matters should remain private…”
“Did you change your mind already? Do you not like me anymore? Is that it?”