Swamp Girl! Chapter 49

The imperial capital of Granadas.

Just as the Empire isn’t referred to by its official name, the [Greya Stroidel Empire], the imperial capital of Granadas is usually called ‘the Imperial Capital’.

Of course, there are plenty of ’empires’ all over the world. If a nation is ruled by an ’emperor’, then big or small, it can certainly be considered an empire.
But still, almost every time ‘the Empire’ is mentioned, it’s in reference to the Greya Stroidel Empire.
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because its might and storied history are overwhelming, such that the other ’empires’ can’t even compare. Considered one of the three global superpowers, it’s an indisputable fact that the Empire possesses the strength to be the greatest of them all.

As a result, the Imperial Capital commands the same degree of recognition.
At least, the more nationalistic citizens simply call it [the Imperial Capital]. It’s an arrogance that refuses to acknowledge the existence of any other imperial capital.
But, in keeping with the stature of the nation, this capital boasts of great majesty.

Population, five hundred sixty thousand. This megacity, said to be the pinnacle of wealth and culture, now appeared before our eyes.

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

exclaimed Aira, leaning out of the carriage.

Her reaction was understandable. Still, since I’d visited several times in the past, I wasn’t quite as floored by it as she was. But no matter how many times I saw it, its dignity filled me with awe.
The tall castle walls loomed above, exerting an overwhelming pressure. Even from far away, they dwarfed the surrounding structures, which looked like toys in comparison. Forming the outer perimeter of the enormous metropolis, they extended so far out that they disappeared into the distance.

And they weren’t the only things visible from the outside.
I’d heard that the city was built at the very top of a gently sloping hill.
For that reason, with the foot of the hill serving as its outer perimeter, its interior rose in elevation toward the center of the city. That’s why the castles inside were visible over the ramparts at this distance, and the closer to the center, the higher they soared.
Vaguely visible at the very heart of the city was Stroidel Castle, the Emperor’s residence and supposedly the greatest castle in the world. Though it appeared hazy, it rose conspicuously high. I couldn’t even begin to guess how tall it was.
At least, the city left an equally deep impression on everybody who saw it for the first time.
The symbol of the Empire’s might. That was the Imperial Capital.

“It’s dangerous to lean too far out, you know?”

Leon, who rarely brought his horse over to the carriage, cautioned a still spellbound Aira. Though he said that, he seemed to be in a pleasant mood all the same. There was a smile on his face.
Truth is, there isn’t a person out there who isn’t astounded by the sight. And seeing people surprised is unexpectedly fun.

“Palmira, this isn’t your first time in the capital, is it.”

As I looked outside through the window Aira was leaning out of, I spoke to Palmira. She stayed inside the carriage, fixed in place.
Sitting with her sword in her lap, Palmira was hanging her head slightly like she wasn’t all there.

“Right.”

And she responded tersely.

She’d said before that she didn’t really want to come to the capital.
But I didn’t think it would dampen her spirits this much. It was too much of a contrast with Aira, who was still cheery even after Leon’s warning.

Well, different strokes for different folks.
I made a note to treat Palmira gently.

We still had a ways to go before we reached the city walls, but gradually, the number of family dwellings grew. In terms of density, it wasn’t a stretch to say that the outskirts were practically a city in themselves.
The ‘original capital’ was within the walls, of course, but for reasons of size and convenience, the city had expanded outward from the outside of the walls too.

The carriage was already pa.s.sing through such an area. Usually, a working cla.s.s visitor’s experience of the Imperial Capital was limited to the districts outside of the walls, which can be considered the downtown part of the city.
That was the Imperial Capital in my memories. I’d never gone inside the walls, not once. Palmira probably hadn’t either.

Though it didn’t pose a particular inconvenience either. It might only be the outlying districts, but the Imperial Capital was huge. It was certainly prosperous enough, and vastly more convenient compared to a city of lesser size and wealth. As I mentioned before, the Adventurers’ Guild was located in the outlying districts too. Adventurers generally had no need to enter the inner city.
That said, if you did need to go inside, tough luck.
The gates to the outer wall were monitored around the clock by dozens of men, and unless you had some incredible reason, it was impossible to pa.s.s through. There was a good chance that even the residents who’d set up homes in the outlying districts had never once laid eyes on the inner city, I thought.

They say that the inner city is for the privileged and those of singular talent. Aside from them, no one is allowed to even go inside, much less live there.
Still, I didn’t actually have a particular desire to go inside. When I heard that kind of talk in the tavern, I’d just grunt and ignore it.

…Of course, it looked like I’d going inside…

About to experience the inner capital for the first time, in an unexpected turn of events, I sighed out of some deep, mysterious emotion.

The inner capital.
A place almost all the outlying residents, or possibly even the entire imperial citizenry, yearned for.
Around here, it was common to hear people saying, ‘I want to go there someday.’ At any rate, those living on the outskirts had those soaring walls immediately in front of them, and they at least had some small idea of what lies on the other side.

It was indeed cruel for this little to be known.
We didn’t have the clearest view from our current vantage point, but as frustrating as the knowledge was, it was at least evident that the world inside the walls was magnificent.
For that reason, the residents outside the walls longed to look inside, and almost all of them would go their entire lives without seeing it even once.
In that case, it was ultimately human nature to hope for a glimpse of what lay within.
‘Just once in my life, I want to see inside.’ ‘I want to go inside.’ ‘Someday, I want to live inside.’
Such wishes were only natural.

But still.
When I was an adventurer, such things held little fascination for me. So now that I was about to cross the wall without even trying, I was keenly aware of fate’s ironic sense of humor. On the one hand, there were those who thirsted for such an opportunity from the bottom of their hearts, and then there were people like me, able to waltz right in without any fuss.
If that isn’t irony, what is?

The carriage pa.s.sed through the lower city, drawing closer to those walls.
From up close, the ramparts gradually loomed over us. They were so tall I already had to crane my neck to get a look at them. It was an oppressive feeling.
They sure were amazing, but too much of that made them seem vaguely threatening. That’s what it felt like.
In the outlying districts, practically all the houses stood in haphazard rows; only along the road to the castle gates were they all uniformly set up in a dense but organized arrangement.
It was a peculiar sight. It even looked as if the city had been divided along a line.

The Elite Guard marched down the very center of that imposing road.
It wasn’t as if there was no other traffic.
However, even so, I felt a strange isolation from the wide berth given us by our surroundings. I’m sure Leon and the rest usually come and go along this road, but if I were to get used to it, would I inevitably stop feeling that way?

“There’s something — frightening about them.”

As we got closer, Aira must have thought the same thing. Pushing away from the window, she settled back into the carriage.
Her expression vacant, Palmira sat quietly to the side.
I instead poked my head out the window and looked outside.

They certainly were frightening.
They were way too big, and we were headed for whatever was on the other side.
A formless uneasiness gnawed at me. ‘Once we cross those walls, won’t we be stuck for good?’ and other wild ideas popped up in my mind for some reason.

“What’s wrong?”

Leon asked me, walking his horse in line with the carriage.
The fact that he was wearing his usual clothing was honestly a relief to me. ‘It’s okay for now.’ It filled me with that kind of rea.s.surance.

“No, it’s nothing… I was just thinking, we’ll be at the gate really soon.”

Under normal circ.u.mstances, I might have settled the question with a curt response. But plagued by that indescribable anxiety, I elaborated somewhat.

“Are you anxious?”

He saw through me right away. My heart jumped, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. Rather, my mood lightened, and I smiled slightly.

“…Uh, well. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“Haha–, I’ll protect you in there, so please, put your mind at ease.”

— A declaration that wasn’t at all like him. His expression was unruffled as he spoke.
The breath caught in my throat, just a bit, and I bit my lower lip. Otherwise my mouth might have broken into a smile.

“O…Obviously. You better do a good job…”

My voice, initially full of bravado, tapered off weakly. Embarra.s.sed, I turned my face away.
What the h.e.l.l am I saying? I was full of chagrin.

“But of course.”

Don’t go spouting such irresponsible things.
Even though I grumbled inwardly, I can’t lie: I found rea.s.surance in those strong words. When I averted my gaze, my eyes fell on the ranks of the Elite Guard marching alongside us. They were watching our exchange with grins on their faces.

I hastily ducked back inside the carriage to hide myself.
When I secretly peeked outside, Leon gave me a grin before a.s.suming a serious expression and walking his horse toward the front. I found myself helpless to tear my eyes away from his profile.

— Seriously, this guy makes a perfect picture.

I sighed deeply before pulling my gaze away with considerable effort, meekly returning to inside the carriage as the ramparts drew closer and closer.

“Big Sister, even your ears are bright red, you know?”

“Were you enchanted?”

“Shaddap you guys! Leave me alone!”

I found even less mercy inside than outside.
Or rather, precisely because I would’ve been aware of it myself if I calmed down, I grit my teeth. In the first place, Palmira was looking all depressed earlier, so what the h.e.l.l is this now?

“We’re already pa.s.sing through the gates, so I must ask that you behave a little,”

said Leon, drawing his horse over to the carriage. Maybe quite a bit of my shout had leaked outside.
Even he might have appearances to keep up here.

“O–Okay… Sorry.”

“Big Sister, you really are weak against Lord Leon, aren’t you?”

“You should have some self-awareness.”

“……”

You’ll regret this, you two. Just you wait.
Doing my best to keep silent, all I could do was glare at them a little.

Before long, the carriage crossed the wall.
There was no turning back anymore.

Author’s Notes
I have a feeling that I’m going to be short one chapter this week…

I wanted to call it the Gray Asteroidal Empire… asteroids are cool…