The Princess of War

by Hyougetsu

  “How many troops does the city have?”

  “About three hundred garrisoned troops, and a vigilante corps of around six hundred. The corps is mostly composed of ex-soldiers and huntsmen. They also have a lot of connections and can raise a larger, but less organized, militia on short notice.”

  “Sounds like a tough nut to crack.”

  “They are in the mountains after all. With how isolated the city is, they need the troops to survive on their own.”

  Lacy’s homeland was a harsher place than I thought it’d be. Considering the Senate’s relationship with Krauhen, Kite’s authority wouldn’t be much help getting us in.

  “Truth is, my superiors actually forbade me from entering Krauhen. They said that with the way the political climate is, all I should do is a cursory outer inspection then return home.”

  Guess we can’t enjoy ourselves on enemy funds anymore. Hopefully the demon army’s reputation preceded him even here.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be able to get through the gates. I’ll use strengthening magic to temporarily alter your facial features so no one recognizes you.”

  “Huh, but how are you going to convince them to let you pass, still? You’re not planning on announcing you’re from the Southern Commonwealth, are you?”

  I definitely wasn’t going to do anything that foolish. For one thing, there was no telling how many Senate spies were in Krauhen. For another, I didn’t want anyone other than the viceroy to know I was here. I’d already made preparations though.

  Standing at the side of the road heading to the city’s gates was the crafty Ryunheit merchant, Mao. He gave me an annoyed look and said, “You’re late. I’ve been waiting here for you since yesterday.”

  “You didn’t have to wait personally, you know.”

  I knew he had plenty of servants he could have sent. After all, he was the president of his trading company. Mao shrugged his shoulders in response and replied, “If you’re coming here personally, it means you’re planning on shaking things up. I had to see this for myself.”

  I gave Mao a wry smile.

  “You can delegate some things to other people you know.”

  “That doesn’t sound very convincing, coming from you,” Mao replied with a sigh. Jerrick nodded in agreement.

  “He’s right.”

  Why is everyone against me here? Kite observed Mao’s face for a few seconds, then quietly said, “You’re that scheming smuggler from back then...”

  Mao tilted his head quizzically. A moment later, realization dawned.

  “You’re the Senate’s second-rate investigator, aren’t you?”

  “Who’re you calling second-rate!?”

  “Any official who won’t accept bribes is second-rate.”

  I think you’ve got it backwards here.

  “Oh, you two know each other?”

  Kite and Mao glared at each other the way only bitter enemies would.

  “Veight, you can’t trust this snake! He bought up all the stone and lumber in the north, claiming he was going to help with the reconstruction effort.”

  Ah, that was from back when we were upgrading Ryunheit’s walls. I should have known he used dirty methods to get all those building materials. Mao retorted with a straight face, “I said I was going to use it to help the north so why did you try to investigate me so thoroughly? I gave you more than enough bribe money.”

  “So what!? No investigator worth their salt would ever accept a bribe!”

  Mao countered, “Well your boss seemed more than happy to.”

  “What!?”

  “It was thanks to him that I had no trouble buying everything up.”

  “You corrupt merchant!”

  “I can respect your adherence to integrity, but just know that a single honest person won’t be able to achieve anything in a corrupt system.”

  Wow, Mao really is a crook.

  I’d explained the plan to Mao beforehand and he’d already set everything up to let us enter Krauhen as members of his caravan. We made it through the gates without incident, and started looking for an inn.

  “Remember, you three are officially members of my caravan, so please don’t cause any trouble,” Mao impressed onto us.

  “I don’t plan to, but I can’t make any promises.”

  “I expected you would say that. You had better give me those Beluzan saltpans you promised.”

  Kite shot Mao a dirty look and interjected, “Oi, Mao, what are you scheming this time!?”

  “I would prefer it if Senate employees such as yourselves kept your noses out of the Commonwealth’s business.”

  Can you two please just stop fighting? We sure made for an odd group as we walked through Krauhen’s streets. Two werewolves, a traitor to the Senate, and a corrupt merchant.

  The northern edge of Krauhen had no walls. Instead, towering mountains protected it from invaders. Those natural fortifications were more sturdy than any man-made wall. Dotting the mountain slopes were multiple mineshafts, many no longer in use. These above-ground tunnels were remnants from a time when the city was much smaller. Nowadays, most of the city’s active mines were located outside its borders.

  “What do people use those abandoned tunnels for now?”

  Kite and Mao responded simultaneously.

  “Apparently they’ve been converted to storehouses.”

  “They’re storehouses.”

  “You shut up,” Kite hissed. Mao smiled at him and said, “You haven’t seen them in person, have you? Meanwhile I’ve been inside the abandoned tunnels owned by Krauhen’s merchant guild.”

  “I haven’t been inside because they know if they let me, I’ll have proof of all the illegal activity they’ve been up to.”

  “See what I mean? Honesty earns you only enmity.”

  “It’s not my fault that’s what my job is!”

  I didn’t want the two of them bickering this whole trip, so I decided to mediate a little.

  “I’m begging you two, please just stop arguing.”

  Kite and Mao nodded right away.

  “If that’s what you want Veight, sure.”

  “I will gladly comply if you so desire, Sir Veight.”

  However, they then returned to glaring at each other. Jerrick folded his arms behind his head and spoke up for the first time since entering the city.

  “Humans sure are a handful...”

  You can say that again.

  That night, Jerrick and I headed to the mountains under the cover of darkness. Halfway up the slope we found entrances to multiple abandoned mine shafts. Each and every one was for mining rock salt.

  “They sure dug deep, boss.”

  “Supposedly, they’ve been at it for three hundred years, so it makes sense. See what you can sniff out about the tunnels that haven’t been converted to something else.”

  “You got it.”

  There were so many tunnels that we wouldn’t be able to investigate them all in one night. However by using our superior sense of smell, we’d at least be able to sniff out what each one was being used for, roughly. Which was why we were here at night, when no one else should be around. Of the abandoned tunnels, some of the ones closer to ground level had been turned into stores. There were a few others that had been converted into bars or breweries as well. But most were warehouses. However, some of those further up the mountainside were still abandoned. They were too difficult to reach to bother repurposing.

  “Here it looks like... Oh?”

  I caught a thick whiff of dairy. It seemed this was a cheese cellar. I couldn’t detect any other scents from the tunnel. Guess this one’s a bust. How about here?

  “Ulp!?”

  The stench of fermenting vegetables assailed my nostrils, causing me to groan. Judging by how nostalgic the scent was, this was probably where they picked root vegetables like taro. Supposedly Krauhen was famous for pickling its produce in salt. Their preserved foods were known in other cities as Mine Pickles. Oh yeah, Lacy said that some f
oods take years to pickle so they leave them in tunnels far from the city. I guess this is what she meant. As I was sniffing the area, Jerrick called out to me.

  “Come over here, boss. I smell people.”

  I ran up the narrow pathway connecting the various tunnels and poked my head into the one Jerrick pointed out. Even with my superior werewolf night vision, I couldn’t see a thing. However, the fresh scent of humans was unmistakable. In fact, I could even faintly make out the sounds of people talking. Quite a few of them too. Dozens, at least. Based on the echoes, this tunnel ran pretty deep into the mountains. Jerrick glanced at his surroundings before leaning in to whisper, “What do you wanna do, Boss? Get a closer look?”

  “Nah, if it’s a one-way tunnel we’ll be in trouble.”

  If someone started heading outside while we were in the middle of investigating, we’d need somewhere to hide. But if it was a single linear shaft, there wouldn’t be any such places. I examined the footprints near the entrance. There seemed to be a lot of people coming and going through here.

  “This isn’t like, a prison or a house or anything, is it?”

  I looked around, but I couldn’t find anything hinting at the purpose of this tunnel.

  “Maybe it’s a bandit hideout?”

  I shook my head at Jerrick’s guess.

  “If any soldiers found this place, the bandits would be trapped. And according to Mao, soldiers regularly patrol the abandoned mines.”

  “Meaning whoever’s here is here with the viceroy’s permission.”

  “Exactly.”

  The viceroy here was plotting something. I want to see what’s going on at the active mines too. I guess we should be able to get through them tonight too. Most of the mine shafts within the city had gone so deep they were in danger of collapsing if they were mined any further, so the majority of mining operations were conducted in the shafts outside of the city now. I’d heard Krauhen’s soldiers kept watch on the mine shafts since they were a valuable source of revenue, but it was still worth seeing how far we could get.

  We crossed the mountain slopes and headed out of the city.

  The fact that Krauhen relied on natural topography to defend itself was convenient for us werewolves. While a few guards had been posted to watch the slopes, we slipped past them with ease.

  “Over there.”

  I spotted a smattering of salt mines in a small valley between mountain slopes. While there were no walls protecting them, there was a sturdy fence and a guardhouse to keep intruders out. Light spilled from the guardhouse’s entrance. Jerrick looked down at the valley and asked, “Which one?”

  Of the mines I could see, there was one which was clearly separate from the others. I pointed to it.

  “That one.”

  That mine shaft was the only one with guards at its entrance. Still in his werewolf form, Jerrick growled, “It’ll be hard to get close...”

  Unlike the abandoned shafts, these mine shafts were lit by torches at night. Plus they were guarded.

  “Look, Boss. They’re still digging even in the middle of the night.”

  Jerrick was right. Quite a few people were still hard at work. What really caught my interest though was the fact that most of the wheelbarrows being rolled out of the mine shafts weren’t filled with salt. In fact, they weren’t filled precious materials at all, since each wheelbarrow was dumped unceremoniously outside.

  “Doesn’t look like they’re mining to me, boss. Seems more like they’re digging a tunnel.”

  “Yeah.”

  I looked up at the mountain looming over the mine. With this world’s technology, it would be exceedingly difficult to dig a tunnel through the entire mountain. However, the tunnels I’d already seen proved that Krauhen’s engineers were skilled.

  “A tunnel connecting to the other side of the mountain range...”

  Unfortunately, I had almost no knowledge of what lay beyond the Northern Peaks. All I knew was some ancient empire had existed there. If I recalled correctly, it’s name was Rolmund. Since I’d heard no rumors of that empire collapsing, I assumed it still existed. That was the extent of my knowledge on the north. Jerrick leaned closer and whispered, “Boss. The soldiers guarding that tunnel are wearing different equipment than all the others.”

  “Really?”

  “Look at their armor. The parts around their necks are padded in furs and leather to keep the metal from directly touching their skin.”

  “I’m surprised you could tell that from this far away.”

  “Weapons and armor are my forte, remember?”

  Now that I knew what to look for, I realized those soldiers were wearing more insulation against the cold than the other Krauhen guards. Some sort of leather or wool cloth stuck out from underneath their necks, and their capes were much thicker. They looked dressed for mountaineering. Jerrick cocked his head.

  “All that extra clothing definitely helps against the cold, but it’s not really that cold right now, is it?”

  “I don’t think that’s why. Seems to me like they needed those clothes to survive.”

  “Survive...?”

  “I mean they must have come from somewhere where it’s actually that cold.”

  Krauhen certainly did get cold during the winters, but the entire Meraldian region had a relatively temperate climate. However, in places where temperatures truly plummeted, wearing bare metal could spell one’s death. If sub-zero temperature metal touched skin that was even slightly damp, it’d freeze and stick.

  I looked up at the mountain in front of me once more. Its peak was covered in clouds, so I couldn’t see how high up it went. While I didn’t know much about the Northern Peaks, I guessed most of its mountains were at least a few thousand meters tall. My only mountain climbing experience was climbing Mt. Fuji once, but I distinctly remember the mountain’s peak being relatively cold, even during a midsummer day. As I was musing, someone walked out of the mine shaft. It was a burly middle-aged man. I could more or less guess who he was based on the reactions of the workers and guards around him. His appearance matched the description I’d been given too.

  “He’s this city’s viceroy. Belken Zest Defourd.”

  “Oho. He must be really enthusiastic about mining if he’s all the way out here at night,” Jerrick muttered.

  The viceroy shouted some manner of order, and the guards around him vacated the mine. I think that’s enough information gathering for now. All that’s left is to meet with this viceroy. Looks like we’ve got a lot more to talk about than just his werewolf-slaying sword.

  I thought the viceroy would return to his manor, but he ended up going in an unexpected direction.

  “Boss, he’s going deeper into the mountains. Where could he be going?”

  I took out the rough map of Krauhen’s surroundings that Mao had procured for me and looked up his destination.

  “The viceroy’s mountain villa is near here. That’s probably where he’s going.”

  “Humans make no sense... Why would you put a mansion here in the middle of nowhere?”

  Jerrick couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to live outside the safety of their city’s walls. He probably felt strongly about this because of what had happened to our village once before.

  “Officially, it’s where he goes to hunt.”

  “And what’s it actually for?”

  “It’s a convenient location for meeting people he wouldn’t want to bring into the city, but still wants to negotiate with.”

  “I see. I’m surprised you knew all that, boss.”

  After watching the news in Japan, I could more or less guess what rich and powerful people actually used their retreats for. At any rate, while I’d come here to return the werewolf-slaying sword, I wasn’t actually carrying it on me at the moment.

  “Jerrick, grab the Werewolf Slayer for me. Also, tell Kite and the others to flee the city.”

  Jerrick nodded, then asked in a nervous voice, “Boss, are you planning something crazy ag
ain?”

  “No, this is just in case. There’s something fishy going on in this city, so I want to be prepared for the worst.”

  As I replied, I suddenly realized something. Wait a second, what do you mean “again?” While Jerrick ran back to get the sword, I kept an eye on the viceroy’s movements. His mountain retreat was a wooden, two-story building nestled in a small crook up the mountain’s slope. It was camouflaged by the nearby trees and situated such that it couldn’t be seen from Krauhen. Fortunately, all those precautions meant it was easy for me to sneak up on it.

  Three soldiers in Krauhen uniforms guarded the villa’s entrance. But there was no guarantee they were actually Krauhen soldiers. Furthermore, I could smell a large number of people inside the villa. Approaching carelessly would be dangerous.

  “Boss, I’m back. This is the one, right?”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  I took the sword from Jerrick.

  “Have Mao and the others left the city?”

  “Yep. They’re waiting outside the gates.”

  “Alright, Jerrick, you keep an eye on this villa.”

  “You got it.”

  Now then, where’d that viceroy get off to? Werewolves had evolved to hunt humans, so our ability to tell people apart by their smell was quite potent. If we knew a person’s scent, we could track them as well as a police dog. In fact, I had an easier time remembering people by their smell than by their face. Nobles tended to wear expensive perfumes, so it was easy to tell them apart from others.

  Following the viceroy’s scent, I snuck into one of the villa’s second-story windows. His manor in the city likely had more security, but this place was lightly guarded. The room I’d snuck into had no people in it, and it looked to be a conference room of sorts. A long table sat in its center, and a recently stoked fire was burning in the hearth. Seeing as the fire had just been started, chances were someone was planning on using this room soon.