Vermillion

Chapter 33 – Library

Fortunately, acquiring the marriage certificate did not prove to be all that difficult.

They just had to fill out a document at the municipal office and exchange a kiss at the public notary. It was a little unexpected that a kiss was part of the official procedures, but the Kiss of Oath apparently existed in this world too. While Kei and Aileen blushed as they had to kiss in front of others, the notaries and the other office workers didn’t pay any heed to it, their expressions clearly telling, “We’ve seen more than a fair share of this.”

The inspection and procedures for issuing the certificate followed thereafter, and safely ended shortly after they had their lunch break. But by the time they left the municipal office with the certificate, the sky was already darkening, so they two decided to delay the library visit to the next day.

“Man, the issue with the marriage certificate really came out of nowhere.”

“See it in a positive light: we managed to obtain it smoothly.”

Apparently the city and its inner workings had trained them to the extent that Aileen had started to think that finishing a procedure could be regarded as smooth. Although the two felt somewhat fed up with all the waiting, they did not seem particularly exhausted.

On their way back to the inn, they went around the market, looking at carts and stalls without buying anything. Aileen pulled Kei’s hand whenever she saw something interesting — a sight often seen in Urvan these days. The merchants warmly watched over these two. Although some of the men also stabbed Kei with looks full of jealousy as they had fallen for Aileen.

Eventually, the two bought crystals that seemed usable as magic catalysts, as well as your ordinary peaches that were called pêche plate as is, and then returned to the inn.

“…Oh, welcome back. How was the library?”

Jamie greeted them with a calm smile, holding a broom in her hands as she had been cleaning the tavern.

“Ah, no, we haven’t gone there yet.”

“We needed a marriage certificate for me to be allowed entry into the high-class district together with Kei, and getting it took the entire day.”

Aileen showed her the parchment after pulling it out of her pocket.

“I see… So you two officially entered your names in the family register, huh?”

Ignoring Jamie who looked like she would vomit blood any moment, Kei and Aileen quickly sat down at a table. Once the two ate and drank their fill while they were served by Jamie who wore a damn expression, they flirted in their room as usual and then went to sleep.

The next day greeted them with a clear sky, only blemished by cirrus clouds trailing high up in the air. Kei and Aileen were finally able to pass through the gate, entering the area within the first wall.

“…I see, so this is the first-class district.”

“As expected, it’s amazing. The difference between here and outside is like night and day.”

The two restlessly looked around them while walking, acting almost like country bumpkins who are visiting a city for the first time.

It was a world where everything was made out of high-quality stones and red bricks. The streets extended in a radial shape with the castle in the center. The buildings on both sides of the streets were at least three stories tall, and surprisingly, almost all of them had glass windows. This orderly arrangement of the entire district made them somewhat feel like being in a modern world’s city, and coupled with the chilly morning air, it carried a somewhat cold impression.

Usually this district would look deserted when peeking inside from outside the gate, but now that they were here, they could see people bustling around, despite it still being early in the morning. Most of them were servants dressed in simple yet clean clothes. Every once in a while they also spotted merchants riding small carriages. Moreover, guards in red uniforms scrutinized the passersby with coercive stares.

On top of their uniform, which was adorned with the dragon crest signifying Urvan’s emblem, they wore a metallic breastplate which had been buffed, and a flashy feathered helmet. They held well-ornamented halberds in their hands — making Kei think that they looked like toy soldiers. But as Kei observed them, his eyes suddenly met with those of a guard.

“—Hey, you over there!”

The guard pushed his way through the pedestrians, lumbering over with heavy strides. Kei reflexively looked around, searching for someone suspicious, but unfortunately, he himself turned out to be the suspicious person in question.

Kei wondered why he would be suspected. He looked down at himself in doubt, not remembering having done anything that would warrant any suspicion. Aileen and him had even made sure to not look poor by buying new clothes before coming here.

“…You’re talking to me?”

“Yes, you! What’s that on your waist?”

The guard pointed at Kei’s bow case with an accusing tone. Ahh, Kei finally realized with that.

“It’s a bow case.”

“…It is strictly forbidden to carry weapons inside the first rampart without permission. Not to mention, projectile weapons… Are you carrying this with you despite being aware of that?”

“I have the permission though.” Kei presented his ID to the guard, who let loose a dangerous atmosphere for some reason, while shrugging

Ordinary citizens aside, Kei was an honorary citizen, and thus he was allowed to carry blades and archery tools inside the first-class district. It was limited to things you can carry on a person but Kei was only carrying the Dragon Stinger and his longsword right now. Hence there were no legal problems.

Incidentally, even as an honorary citizen or whatever, it was still forbidden to carry items that could injure targets from afar like arrowheads and crossbow bolts for the sake of preventing assassinations. If one was found out to be carrying such things without permission, they would be immediately sentenced to capital punishment unless they were under the protection of royalty or titled nobles.

Then again strict inspections were not performed at the gates, different from Satyna with its check for drugs, so it wouldn’t be impossible to sneak something in, but either way, that had nothing to do with Kei.

“Permission…Hmm, so you’re an honorary citizen, Keiichi Nogawa… This name…”

The guard scanned the ID and closed his mouth shut under the helmet.

“Ah, captain. This person is the winner of the tournament’s marksmanship division.”

Another nearby guard pointed at Kei as he unsteadily approached.

“I saw him at the assembly place so I remember his face.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

At his subordinate’s words, the captain started to closely compare Kei with the ID in his hand. Kei thought he was quite unreserved, be it this or his earlier threatening attitude, though he didn’t put his impression into words, merely staring back with his head tilted.

“…I see, my apologies. Incidentally, who may she be?”

“She is my wife.”

“Here’s the marriage certificate.”

Aileen quickly opened the parchment and showed it. This time the captain just scanned it with his eyes without taking the certificate.

“I see, my apologies. It looks like you weren’t suspicious individuals.”

“Your colleagues are standing guard at the gate, so how about putting a little bit of faith into them?” Aileen commented with her cheeks puffing out, earning her a wry smile and a tap of the helmet by the captain.

“Well, yes, you’ve got a point. It’s just that I can’t exclude the possibility of some lawless folk scaling the wall to sneak in,” he remarked. “At any rate, my bad,” he added and returned to his post.

“Please don’t let that affect you. Despite his behavior, our captain is a very diligent man.” The guard excused his superior with a shrug, and then faced Kei, “By the way, can I get your handshake? I saw your exploits during the tournament! You were amazing! It got me really excited!”

“S-Sure. I’m glad that you enjoyed it.”

The guard’s forcefulness overwhelmed Kei a bit, but he still took the man’s hand and shook it, not really looking all that dissatisfied with it.

Watching this scene play out, Aileen knitted her brows, “Hey, Kei, your name and face aren’t very well known despite winning the tournament, are they?”

“Huh? Uhh… I guess…”

The guard who was still holding Kei’s hand answered her in slight doubt, “…I think it depends on the person. They wouldn’t know his face if they weren’t present during the tournament, and many likely lost interest when they heard a stranger won.”

“Aww, what’s up with that?” Aileen complained with a voice lacking enthusiasm and her body losing its tension in dejection.

“Oh, our captain’s an exception, though. He had some business in a different city until just recently, so he missed the tournament and doesn’t know anything about it.”

“Ah, I see. But still, it’d be pretty irritating to get stopped like this over and over again.”

“…Are you planning to come here so often?”

“Yeah. We have business at the library. We’ll be investigating things for a while.” Kei nodded deeply.

“I see. The library, eh…? The number of guards is limited, so it won’t take long for everyone to know your faces. But if you don’t want to wait for that, how about riding a carriage? This would prevent anyone from stopping you once you pass the gate.”

“…I see, makes sense since you can’t sneak in with a horse and carriage. But are there any stables at the library?”

“There are. After all, many esteemed nobles come to visit the library from afar. As long as it’s not some ferocious animal, they’ll keep watch over most things.”

“Oh. Then I guess we’ll visit with our horses next time.”

It would probably make Sasuke and Suzuka feel better as well, if they took them out for a bit when going to the library, instead of forcing them to stay at their stable all day long.

With the handshake finished, Kei and Aileen thanked the guard for his advice and continued their walk.

“Though I have to admit it sounds pretty silly that we’re going to ride horses because we can’t handle the questioning.”

“I mean, it’s really annoying, so what can we do?” Aileen responded with a shrug to Kei’s mutter.

After spending so much time with Aileen, Kei had noticed that she apparently was very bad at being outside of her comfort zone. When it came to things she could not accept culturally or psychologically, or when she had to deal with people she could not handle, it stressed her out quite a lot. Especially because the government officials and citizens of Urvan all faced outsiders with cold attitudes, Aileen had recently been in a fairly sulky mood.

On the other hand, Kei was quite familiar with this kind of isolation as he had played the game as the sole Japanese person among western players.

Kei glanced at Aileen walking by his side. She had a somewhat bored, somewhat dejected expression, a common sight as of late. He nonchalantly reached out towards her golden hair.

“Uh, what?” She blinked in surprise as Kei started to stroke her hair. “…What is it, Kei?”

“Oh nothing much, I was just thinking I’m glad to have you with me.”

“Huuh?”

She blinked again, making Kei scratch his cheek in embarrassment and shaking his head with, mumbling, “Nevermind it.”

Before they knew it, the two arrived at a square with a fountain. The paving beneath their feet was no longer made out of red bricks, but marble tiles. In front of their eyes spread a shiny, white world as the marble reflected the sunlight, and further down the square stood a white palace.

“…So this is it.”

We finally reached it.

The crystallization of wisdom that Urvan boasted of.

The ducal library stood there to welcome the two.