PAGE 1

　　□　　　□　　　□　　　□

 

Daniela appeared to be inside one of the inns. I followed the signal and arrived at a very luxurious looking building. She didn’t compromise…

 

I opened the door and entered. Daniela was facing the counter with her back to me. Quite the negotiation seemed to be in session, and I could hear them from my position.

 

“…As I said, we really must have a place to stay.”

“But the thing is…”

“We will pay double. So give us a room.”

“But we do not have any rooms available…”

 

Oh, dear. She wasn’t backing down… Well, I had been the one who provoked her into doing it.

 

“Daniela.”

“Asagi. Just wait one moment. A room will be available soon.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

 

And so I grabbed her shoulder and peeled her away from the counter.

 

“Sorry. We’ll be back later.”

“What are you saying, Asagi? I almost had it.”

“Hush your voice for a second.”

 

And with that, I pulled her out of the building. Then we moved to a back alley, where I took out the priority pass from the bag and explained to her what had happened.

 

“…So, that’s what happened.”

“You could have told me sooner and just used it!”

 

Do you know how many years I have lost because of this? Daniela grumbled.

 

“Well, this means we can stay at almost any inn that we want now.”

“That is quite forceful of the military. How do they enforce it?”

“They probably write over some reservation.”

 

Knock out someone’s reservation… That seemed really slimy. I would hate it if it happened to me.

 

“Well, let us go and see if it works.”

“Yeah. I hope it does…”

 

And so we returned to the inn we had just left.

 

　　□　　　□　　　□　　　□

 

“I am terribly sorry…but we do not accept these here.”

“Hmm?”

 

They don’t accept them? Were these only usable in select places then?

 

“I’m sorry, but could you explain to us how this works? I think that I might have made a mistake.”

“Ah, I see. Well, to put it simply, these military priority passes allow you to receive the same services as soldiers of the Empire. In other words, facilities that are exclusively for military people. They can not be used in civilian facilities. If you could, there would be people who abused their right…”

“Ahhh… That’s very helpful. I get it now.”

 

That intelligence agent hadn’t told me anything. How was I supposed to know it was only usable in military exclusive facilities? Besides, why was it even called a priority pass anyway?

 

“So, we just need to go to such a place then.”

“Indeed so. By the way, most of the military facilities are concentrated towards the north. I would advise you to hurry…”

 

What. That’s on the opposite side!

 

“We have to hurry! Excuse us. And thank you!”

“Thank you.”

 

I grabbed Daniela’s hand and we ran without waiting for a reply. 

 

After mulling over it for a while, I decided to use Legs of the God Wolf. Of course, I used it up in the sky, so we would not disturb the civilians. I also avoided getting close to the nobles district or the imperial castle.

I was carrying Daniela as we moved, and surprisingly, no one seemed to notice us. We should have been visible, but it was as if we weren’t…or was it just me?

 

The north district…where all the military facilities were. I see. Most people here were in uniform. However, there were also civilians and tourists. The most important facilities would be closer to the center of the city. From what I could see, there was no security gate for entering the district. It felt that they lived quite closely with the civilians. Perhaps this was a place where they could interact freely with each other.

 

In any case, we were able to reach the place without losing any time. There was still plenty of time until sundown. First, we would have to find an inn. Was there a direction board anywhere?

 

“Asagi. Over there.”

“Oh, right…”

 

There was a guardhouse. We should ask them.

 

“Hello?”

“Yes. What is it?”

 

A woman in military uniform shuffled some papers before looking up at me. Hmm, quite pretty. Daniela stomped on my foot.

 

“Could you help us with directions?”

“Yes, I can. Where are you going?”

“We’re looking for an inn to stay at.”

“I see. An inn. But they are military facilities, and only those in the military may use them…”

 

She scratched her chin uncomfortably as she tilted her head. It was kind of cute… Daniela’s heel ground into my toes.

 

“But we have this.”

“Oh… A priority pass. Where did you get it?”

“I have my connections.”

 

I covered my face so only my mouth was showing. She looked at me with surprise. Apparently, she had gotten the message.

 

“Very well. I shall take you to an inn.”

“No, you just need to tell us where it is…”

“You are important guests. Allow me to take you there.”

 

She gave a sly wink and then called another member of staff. As she was leaving someone in charge, she clearly meant to be thorough in guiding us there.

 

“Let us go then. I am Licoris Ladiaray. Management Division of the Empire’s North District. It’s a pleasure to meet you two.”

“I’m Asagi Kamiyashiro. And this is…”

“Daniela Villesilf. A pleasure.”

“You two are… Yes, I understand. Silvergreen, Asagi Kamiyashiro, and Lightwind, Daniela Villesilf. Please allow me to escort you.”

 

She gave a most elegant salute then. Clearly, someone who had been in the military for a while. 

Now, would we get there alright…? No, of course, we would. What I was actually worried about was what this place would be like.

Next Chapter

---

https://www.patreon.com/tigertransations