Volume 4, Chapter 16 – Miyako Where Cherry Blossoms Flutter

“Wow, what a beautiful town!”

As we passed through an incredibly massive gate painted in vermilion and entered Miyako, we were greeted by rows of cherry blossoms in full bloom.

A road, perhaps dozens of meters wide, stretched straight north from the gate, flanked on both sides by walkways about ten meters wide.

A single line of cherry trees was planted along the boundary between the roadway and the sidewalks.

Their magnificent blossoms added a contrast of white and pale pink against a cloudless, clear blue sky, with the soft white petals occasionally fluttering down.

“We were lucky to arrive right during the cherry blossom season.”

“The flowers of this cherry tree look just like Fiene-sama’s Riche petals, don’t they?”

“Yes. I’d thought they looked similar before, but seeing the real thing, they really are identical.”

As for Riche, she was perched on top of my head as usual. I’m sure Riche was admiring the cherry blossoms too.

“Oh, young ladies from abroad! Since you’ve come during the cherry blossom season, why not stay and have some flower-viewing dumplings?”

A woman running a teahouse called out to us. I glanced at Lu-chan, but she nodded, so I figured it was safe here.

“Well, since you’ve kindly offered, we’ll have some.”

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“Coming right up! I recommend the flower-viewing set—three-colored dango ¹ Dango (団子) is a traditional Japanese dumpling made from rice flour and water or glutinous rice flour. and tea.”

“We’ll take one set for each of us, please.”

We sat down on a long bench provided at the storefront, and the sets were brought out almost immediately.

The pink color was much redder than expected.

As I thought, that vivid pink coloring might not exist in this world.

“…It doesn’t have much taste. The texture is… strange,” Chris-san murmured.

Lu-chan also had a look on her face that suggested she wasn’t impressed.

W-well, it’s true that without something like red bean paste, it might feel a bit empty. Though, I personally like this clean sweetness.

I looked up at the cherry blossoms while sipping the hot tea.

“Where are you young ladies from?”

“We’ve come from the White Moon Kingdom.”

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“Ah, I don’t know it well, but I imagine it’s far? Do people in your country all have different hair colors? And your skin is so fair, and everyone’s ears are shaped differently, too.”

“Yes. There are people with many different hair and eye colors.”

“Is that so? How mysterious. Did you come all this way to our country just for sightseeing?”

“No, we came to look for a friend. I have to return something important.”

“That sounds like quite a task. Does she live here in Miyako?”

“No. Actually, I don’t know her exact address. She’s the eldest daughter of the Mieshiro family.”

“The Mieshiro family? Hmm, never heard of them. What kind of girl is she?”

“She’s a very tall woman who carries a katana. Also, she introduced herself as being from the ‘Mieshiro family of Fuzan’.”

“I’ve never seen anyone like that, but Fuzan is the district on the eastern side of Miyako. There are certainly plenty of swordsmanship dojos around there, so she might be from that area.”

“Thank you. We’ll go check it out!”

Yes, it seems I’ve managed to get some information that might serve as a lead.

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“By the way, have you decided on an inn for tonight?”

“No, not yet.”

“If you’re heading toward Fuzan, there are plenty of good inns around the Neginabe River, so why not try there?”

“Thank you very much.”

“I am grateful for your kindness. Tell me, are there any places we should be cautious of?”

Chris-san cut into the conversation. It seemed Chris-san had also decided that this woman was trustworthy.

“Hmm? Oh, because you’re three girls? In Miyako, under the protection of Suikyou-sama, I don’t think you’ll run into much danger. Oh, I know—just don’t get too close to drunks, and avoid the pleasure district at night, and you’ll be fine!”

As expected, the Queen is truly beloved here as well.

“This country really is safe.”

“It is. Oh, but you know, it’s all thanks to Suikyou-sama. I hear things were terrible before Suikyou-sama ascended. I was just a child then, so I don’t remember clearly, but Miyako was hit by a plague and it was awful. In the countryside, I heard they sold their daughters, offered them as sacrifices, and even had bandits appear—it was truly dreadful. But everything changed once Suikyou-sama ascended. They say Suikyou-sama received the protection of the Dragon God, and since then, plagues and famines have ceased to occur. And so—”

For a while after that, the landlady continued with words of praise for Suikyou-sama.

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“Are there still places that offer sacrifices today?”

“Who knows? At least, I don’t think there’s anywhere doing it within Suikyou-sama’s sight. I’ve never heard of it.”

I see. So when Ade said she was “incompatible” with me, she probably wasn’t referring to the sacrifices?

“Fiene-sama, it seems best to have an audience with the Queen and consult her after all.”

Chris-san made the suggestion just as I was about to fall into a whirlpool of thought.

“You’re right. Excuse me, is the Queen’s castle straight down this road?”

“It is. But I wonder if they’ll let young ladies from a foreign land see her?”

“I see. But we’ll go and ask anyway, even if it’s a long shot.”

“I suppose so. I hope you get to meet her.”

With that, we left the teahouse, passed through the tunnel of cherry blossoms, and headed toward the Queen’s castle.