Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 150. Three Companion And A New Journey

“The mayor, Dodoru Messara, is absent? What’s the meaning of this?”

The stern voice belonged to Winston Garret, the captain of the vigilante corps. Currently, they were at the white mayoral residence. In the guest room where they were led, they were informed that the highest authority of the town, the mayor, was away. At first, he thought it was due to the busyness brought on by this emergency, and that the mayor had simply left the mansion for the moment. However, when they pressed the butler for details, it became clear that the mayor wasn’t even in town. The butler, sweating slightly, began to stammer an excuse.

“Well, after hearing that a large horde of goblins was approaching, the mayor judged that the town would be overrun if nothing was done, so he left to personally request military reinforcements from Sevites…”

“Are you kidding me?! Do you realize how much chaos it causes to have the mayor absent during a crisis like this? Look at the mess—there are even impossible orders like closing the highway…”

The captain’s angry voice gradually faded. Yeah, he’s probably right. Hagg, Yaralai, and I all fixed sharp glares at the butler, with a clear murderous intent.

“So, you’re saying the mayor blocked the highway when he left the town? Just to ensure he’d reach Sevites?”

Winston, his voice filled with anger, interrogated the butler. The butler, who had been trying to feign ignorance, could no longer withstand the pressure from the four of us and continued his strained justification.

“Th-that’s because leaving the highway open would allow the army to pass through quickly… It was a difficult choice the mayor made…”

“Then why block the road to the west?! That doesn’t even make sense!”

That had been bothering us as well. Closing off the route to Sevites could be excused, but the reason for blocking the western road was incomprehensible.

“Hmph. He’s using the townspeople as bait. The more people there are, the better they serve as decoys.”

“What?!”

For some reason, even the butler seemed shocked. Perhaps he only just realized he had been made a pawn.

“N-no… The deployment of Sevites’ military has always been Messara-sama’s… dearest wish…”

The butler muttered something under his breath, but what did he mean by the mayor’s “dearest wish” for military dispatch? From what we’d heard, a military presence from the “kingdom” would be disastrous for the town… There were too many things I didn’t understand. But there was one thing I could grasp.

“So, the mayor abandoned his own town.”

The butler stood speechless, frozen in place. Seeing this, we shook our heads and decided to leave the mayor’s residence. The captain, however, continued shouting in anger for a while longer, but we half-forced him outside. There was no point in yelling.

As we walked away from the mayor’s residence and headed back to the inn, the four of us discussed the situation. Though we were technically five in number, one of us wasn’t being very cooperative.

“I can’t believe it… Sure, that mayor was always selfish, but I didn’t think he’d abandon the town.”

“You don’t really know someone until they’re backed into a corner.”

“Indeed. If a dwarf leader were to act like that, they’d get a good beating.”

“You dwarves really don’t hold back, huh?”

“For us, leadership is like drawing the short straw. But those chosen do their best.”

“I see… Yeah, you guys don’t seem like the type to enjoy authority.”

“Most of us are satisfied just hammering iron all day.”

“Whether that’s good or bad…”

“Well, you can’t easily change the way you live.”

“True enough.”

Perhaps the mayor was also the type to run when things got tough. He’d just been lucky so far.

“The mayor, Dodoru Messara, is the third son of Gogon Messara, one of Sevites’ three elder council members. He’s been in power since birth.”

“The Elder Council?”

“Yes. Sevites’ political system is quite unique on this continent. You know there’s no king in Sevites, right?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Instead of a king, they have a system where governance is determined by two councils: the City Council and the Citizen Council.”

Interesting. I’d always assumed everywhere was a monarchy. This was intriguing, so I urged him to continue.

“On proposals from either council, they hold a majority vote. The City Council has seven seats, and the Citizen Council has four. A majority of 8:3 or more is needed for approval. If it’s 6:5, the proposal is delayed for revision. The balance between the two councils makes sure nothing passes easily.”

“So the City Council holds more power, but not overwhelmingly?”

“Exactly. But if just one seat flips, the outcome can change drastically. To pass a proposal, the City Council must get at least one Citizen Council member on board, so it’s not a simple advantage.”

“I see.”

“And if a proposal doesn’t pass after two rounds of voting, it’s discarded. Though this mainly applies to City Council proposals. Proposals from the Citizen Council rarely pass.”

“That’s harsh.”

“It’s a system designed to prevent unilateral decisions by the Citizen Council.”

“Makes sense.”

Originally, the City Council was probably filled with powerful figures, and the system was designed to check their authority. It seemed like a well-thought-out system in this world. I remembered hearing that Tessa’s Minister of Reconstruction, Blow Thor, had taken an interest in Sevites’ system. Maybe he saw the limits of a monarchy. Still, he was insistent on making Cherina the queen. …Wait, I was getting sidetracked. Back to the topic.

“So, where does the Elder Council fit into all this?”

“The Elder Council has the right to provide opinions on bills and even send them back.”

“That sounds pretty extreme.”

“So far, it seems to work. They rarely interfere unless something serious comes up.”

“Hm.”

“In terms of authority, the Elder Council is at the top. If things get complicated, they’re the ones pulling strings behind the scenes.”

“That’s something…”

“Even so, the country runs smoothly. As long as the people are satisfied, I guess it’s fine.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

I couldn’t say if it was good or bad. But hearing about the political system of the country we were heading to was helpful. As we continued chatting, we soon arrived at the inn.

“Father…”

When we entered the room, we saw Lalaila, her face pale, turning toward us.

“What happened?”

Yaralai responded sharply.

“They’re saying none of the women are from this town…”

“What?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice, but the captain only furrowed his brow.

“…You knew, didn’t you?”

“Sorry. None of them looked familiar, but I thought it might just be people I didn’t know. I had my subordinates investigate immediately, and I guess they just brought back the report?”

“Yeah… the vigilante corps members told me…”

“What’s going on?”

“There hadn’t been any reports of missing persons from this town, so I was suspicious. But since there were attacks on caravans, I thought it could’ve been people we weren’t aware of.”

“So, they were brought here from outside the town?”

“That’s the most likely scenario.”

“…”

Silence fell over us. What were we supposed to do about them?

“Akira, that thing… If you do it, everything will be solved.”

Hagg’s words made me recall the quest. The one where we’d get the cure if we saved the slums of Sevites.

“Yeah… you’re right. Nothing’s changed about what we need to do.”

“Indeed. The only problem might be taking care of them.”

“I’ll handle that!”

“But… even if we look after them, their chances of recovery…”

Captain Winston folded his arms, his face full of sorrow.

“Well… we’ll figure it out. Besides, this town isn’t a safe place for them to stay.”

“…I’m sorry. Hosts usually meet tragic fates.”

“And what kind of fate is that?”

“It’s not pleasant… Most of them are sold cheaply to brothels.”

“Disgusting…”

“I don’t know how they’re treated there, but at the very least, it seems they’re kept alive. Some men prefer women like that, apparently.”

“Hmph. Humans can be such wretched creatures.”

“Yeah, that stings.”

“Well, who knows how this will turn out, but we’ll take care of it. You should focus on restoring this town.”

“I appreciate that, but are you sure?”

“We’re already knee-deep in this. We’ll do what we can.”

“…Thank you.”

Captain Winston bowed deeply. I simply raised one hand in response.

“Well, we’re heading out now. Has the roadblock been lifted?”

“I used my authority to have it forcibly removed. …Though, if the mayor returns, he might face the death penalty.”

“…”

“No, that was inappropriate of me. Forget I said that.”

“You’re a good man.”

“A man who couldn’t protect anyone.”

We said nothing more, quietly loading the women into the caravan. It seemed Lalaila had given them a newly mixed sedative to calm their minds, and they appeared more relaxed. Though, given their incoherent muttering, they were far from normal.

“Lalaila, sorry, but I need you to keep taking care of them a bit longer.”

“Yeah! Leave it to me!”

She acted cheerfully, but caregiving can wear down your soul. We needed to resolve this quickly.

“Alright, let’s head to Sevites.”

““Yeah!””

“Hehehe… I wonder what kind of trouble awaits us this time?”

“…Don’t jinx it.”

And so, we set off toward new lands… no, a new country.

Oh, and the captain treated us to breakfast, including food for the women. …It wasn’t the most dignified departure.

God, couldn’t life be just a little easier?

—End of Volume Two—