Chapter 0518 The City of Lysra
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
Five days after the group left Mifasoshi, in the evening.
They entered the city of Lysra, said to be a satellite city of the capital Jonjon.
“Normally, it takes one day from here to reach the capital, right?”
“That’s what they say. But since this is the second most prominent deputy governor’s official entry into the capital, we’ll make preparations in the city just before the capital, enter in the morning, and proceed directly to an audience with the king.”
Abel answered Ryo’s question politely.
Though Abel was once an adventurer, having ruled for three years, he now understood the significance of ceremonial ‘official entries’.
“By the way, this country is called Bosuntar, right? Not the Kingdom of Bosuntar. If it’s ruled by a king, it should be called the Kingdom of Bosuntar…”
“I don’t know the details, but it’s apparently due to their relationship with Darwei. Look, just like the title of Emperor and how this country’s daughter is titled Princess, right? There was a time in Darwei when the sons were titled King. Because of those connections, surrounding countries dropped ‘King’ from their names, I hear…”
“I see… Countries really do differ in many ways.”
Hearing Abel’s explanation, Ryo nodded thoughtfully.
The central and western countries seemed very different.
Back on Earth, Ryo had learned about the tributary system in world history classes.
Applying that knowledge, the relationship between Bosuntar and Darwei became clearer.
It wasn’t a simple vassal state relationship— it was the tributary system.
Even among Eastern history scholars, there had been quite a bit of debate regarding its nature…
“How exactly does this system work here?”
Ryo muttered, purely out of curiosity.
Yet, a faint smile played across his lips.
Abel caught a glimpse of it and muttered quietly to himself, unheard.
“Ryo’s probably scheming something troublesome again…”
A pitiable man, Ryo.
In Lysra, the group rented an entire inn.
“This inn has open-air baths in the guest rooms, so please relax, Abel-dono and Ryo-dono.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“This is incredible! Thank you!”
The group’s leader, deputy governor Sue Ku, spoke, and both Abel and Ryo expressed their gratitude.
At dinner.
“Abel, did you see the bath in the room? It’s huge!”
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
“Yeah, I saw it. It’s as big as the one we had at that inn in Acre when we went to Twilight Land. Having a bath that large in a guest room is impressive.”
“That was the inn run by the Marquis Heinlein’s family, right? Yeah, that was big too.”
Abel and Ryo mentally compared this inn to places they had stayed before.
While the Acre inn was more refined, this bath was larger… as Ryo thought about this, another question occurred to him.
“By the way, is it normal for high-class inns to have open-air baths in their guest rooms? I’ve seen them in central countries… and even in the western countries.”
“Huh? Isn’t that just normal?”
“Normal? Even though the cultural spheres are completely different, this seems oddly universal…”
“Well, there are swords and books everywhere in the world, right? So it’s only natural that guest-room open-air baths exist everywhere too.”
Abel dismissed Ryo’s doubts.
To Abel, who was born and raised in ‘Phi’, it was simply natural that all high-class inns, regardless of region, would have open-air baths.
Just like swords or books existed everywhere.
“Hah. Could it be that this was also spread by King Richard…?”
“The hell he did. I’m pretty sure there are descriptions of open-air baths in Richard’s tales too, so they must have existed everywhere from long ago. Good things spread. Naturally.”
“Fearsome… guest-room open-air baths…”
Ryo shuddered.
Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t help but think that these baths, which had spread worldwide, had contributed to the advancement of civilization.
It was said that people experienced flashes of insight when theta brainwaves were active.
The Three Places concept by Ouyang Xiu, each of them often invoke situations that encourage theta brainwaves.
For the Japanese, theta brainwaves often occur while taking a bath.
Many people have experienced coming up with great ideas while bathing.
Therefore!
Open-air baths in guest rooms might also encourage great ideas.
If open-air baths spread to cultures where bathing wasn’t a tradition… the number of ideas sparked would surely have increased dramatically.
That could only have accelerated the development of society.
“Guest-room open-air baths might have accelerated the pace of global progress!”
While Ryo rejoiced over this discovery, trembling with excitement, Abel quietly shook his head and muttered.
“I really don’t understand half the things Ryo says.”
Oh, the difficulty of understanding one another…
Ryo, Abel, Mifa, twenty subordinates of Sue Ku, and forty guards ate dinner in the inn’s dining hall.
However, Sue Ku was not among them.
Sue Ku had been invited to the private residence of Lysra’s deputy governor, Buhyan.
They were old acquaintances.
“So, Buhyan, you invited me here because there’s something you want to tell me, right?”
After dinner, they moved to the reception room, sipping tea as Sue Ku and Buhyan began their conversation.
Buhyan, like Sue Ku, was also a woman of the same generation.
“First, riots are breaking out frequently in the southern part of Darwei.”
“I see. We should be cautious about choosing a city for Princess Shio Fen’s marriage procession. I’ll inform His Majesty.”
Hearing Buhyan’s information, Sue Ku nodded deeply.
Sue Ku had always held Buhyan’s information-gathering abilities in high regard.
Her timely intelligence had saved them from total defeat on multiple occasions…
Yet Buhyan’s expression darkened further.
“That look… it seems there’s a more troublesome and direct issue, isn’t there?”
Sue Ku spoke with a bitter smile.
Buhyan’s information-gathering and analysis were so accurate that, in moments like this, Sue Ku could do nothing but smile wryly.
“It’s about Duke Kang.”
“Him again?”
Buhyan spoke with a dark expression, and Sue Ku shook her head slightly at the mention of that name.
Duke Kang was the younger brother of the previous king and the current king’s uncle.
He was of the same generation as Sue Ku and Buhyan and someone they knew well.
He wasn’t a bad person by any means and was undoubtedly someone who deeply loved the country.
However…
“The leading hardliner against Darwei…”
At Sue Ku’s murmured words, Buhyan silently nodded.
Although labeled a ‘hardliner’, it wasn’t as if DUke Kang was advocating for outright war with Darwei.
Since the time of the previous king, Duke Kang had been arguing that Bosuntar should maintain more distance from Darwei.
His views had significant support within Bosuntar.
Ranging from influential figures to ordinary citizens…
“I don’t entirely disagree with Duke Kang’s perspective, but the difference in national power is simply too great.”
“Indeed. While we send tribute to Darwei, we also receive as much in return. They’ve never demanded military cooperation. And since other neighboring countries also pay tribute to Darwei, we rarely find ourselves at war with them. As long as we follow the formalities, there are no real losses…”
“But it’s precisely those ‘formalities’ that Duke Kang and his supporters cannot tolerate.”
While nodding at Buhyan’s explanation, Sue Ku could still sympathize with Duke Kang and the sentiments of those who agreed with him.
They wanted Bosuntar to stand as an equal to Darwei.
Understandably so.
It was a sentiment born out of love and pride for their country.
But the reality of the world is not so kind.
Not just Darwei, but all past dynasties in that region had shown tolerance toward tributary states that adhered to the proper formalities. However, they mercilessly invaded and destroyed any nation that broke those formalities.
“Given the timing… is Duke Kang trying to…”
“Block Princess Shio Fen’s marriage procession.”
“Princess Shio Fen is his niece’s daughter—his grandniece! Surely, he wouldn’t go that far…?”
Sue Ku trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
She knew better than anyone the reliability of the person before her, Buhyan.
If Buhyan had chosen to relay such information, it must be with considerable confidence.
At the same time, Sue Ku also knew Duke Kang.
She had known him for a long time.
Based on his character, she found it hard to believe he would deliberately obstruct his grandniece’s marriage procession.
If the promise of the marriage procession were broken, Darwei would see it as a severe affront.
The bridegroom was the Sixth Prince.
One of the emperor’s sons.
To insult the prince by breaking the agreement would be tantamount to undermining the emperor’s authority. There was no way such a sight would go unanswered.
The likely outcome would be the execution of Princess Shio Fen.
Even though Darwei does not typically interfere politically with its tributary states, this would be an exception.
An affront to the emperor’s family… would be seen as a direct attack on his sovereignty.
There would no doubt be repercussions.
Execution of the princess would likely be the minimum demand.
And it might not stop there.
Undermining Darwei’s dignity carried such grave consequences.
Duke Kang was no fool.
He must understand that much.
Then why…?
“The problem lies with a man named Dezai, who became Duke Kang’s closest advisor three years ago.”
“Dezai? I’ve never heard of him.”
At the mention of this individual, Sue Ku tilted her head in confusion.
Duke Kang was a key figure in the nation.
Naturally, Sue Ku had been keeping an eye on those around him.
But she had never heard of this Dezai.
He clearly wasn’t someone who had been by Duke Kang’s side for long…
“He gained Duke Kang’s favor after curing his grandson’s severe illness.”
“That… sounds awfully suspicious.”
Sue Ku grimaced.
Helping someone’s beloved child or grandchild and then gaining their trust…
An age-old pattern seen countless times throughout history.
Once someone saves a loved one, it’s easy for their words to carry great weight… it’s difficult to comprehend from an outsider’s perspective, but it preys on the most vulnerable part of the human heart.
It’s a pattern common in any era, in any world.
That said, it’s typical for those around them to intervene, either by advising caution or using force to remove such individuals…
“Duke Kang’s close aides have been dismissed or eliminated, one by one.”
“What…?”
“Dezai isn’t a healer; he’s rumored to be a practitioner of sorcery.”
“Well, that’s… troublesome.”
“It’s possible Duke Kang has already lost his ability to make rational decisions. That’s why…”
“That’s why you’re telling me now, knowing I’ll be heading to the capital. To meet him and assess the situation myself.”
“You’re one of the few who could meet Duke Kang directly. For most, that’s impossible.”
Buhyan sighed softly as she spoke.
“I see. Well, I’ll meet him. Talking face-to-face might resolve some issues.”
Sue Ku shrugged, sounding unconvinced.
There are times when one has to say such things, even when they don’t believe them.
“But when you do, please exercise extreme caution.”
“Oh?”
“There’s unconfirmed information suggesting that Dezai is a former retainer of the fallen Ide Kingdom.”
“The Ide Kingdom? The one ruled by the Ide tribe?”
Sue Ku’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Yes, that Ide Kingdom. The one implicated in the assassination of the late king, which our country destroyed ten years ago.”
“And that’s just unconfirmed information?”
“Yes. I’ve been tracking it for the past year, but I haven’t been able to verify it.”
“If even you, Buhyan, can’t confirm it… then no one else could, either. What about the Intelligence Department…?”
“The Intelligence Department in Jonjon is useless. It’s already under Duke Kang’s control.”
“That’s a grave issue…”
“Indeed.”
Both Sue Ku and Buhyan frowned deeply, letting out heavy sighs.
It was painful to watch the country they loved begin to fray and falter.
What made it worse was their inability to take effective action, despite their efforts to stop it…
