The next day, the 6th of spring April.

In the morning, Jin and Reinhardt visited the room where Erza was staying.

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"............"

"............"

"............"

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No one spoke. They just looked at the items Erza had left behind or had been forced to leave behind.

Among them was Non, the doll that Jin had given her earlier.

It had a faint stain on it, but it was not from neglect, but from being stroked and picked up repeatedly.

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（You were left behind, too?)

Jin muttered only in his mind and gently touched Non's head.

The dagger was still there. Jin was a little disappointed to see it.

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However, he was more worried than surprised to see that the protection ring was still there.

Jin was pained to know why Erza, who should have known how useful it was. He wished she had at least this one. So Jin took the ring and put it in his pocket.

As he was doing so, the door unexpectedly opened and Elsa's brother Fritz entered with his men.

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"What, Reinhard, you're still here?"

He said as soon as he saw her face.

"We were just leaving."

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"I see."

Fritz looked around the room and said to the butler and the guards.

"Get rid of everything you don't need. You will be under my command for the time being. I will decide whether or not to send you back to your home country.

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With that, Fritz swatted Non off the nightstand with his hand.

"Oops."

Jin catches it before it hits the floor. Fritz looks at him sideways,

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"Hmph."

Fritz looks at him sideways and snickers,

Reinhard, get out of here. You know what I mean, but don't say anything else.

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He said to Reinhardt over his back.

"I understand."

Reinhardt patted Jin on the shoulder and walked away.

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Jin followed Reinhardt with Non in his arms and did not look back.

Adberg, the butler, and Hermann, the guard, looked sadly at the two.

* * * * * * * *

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At 10:00 a.m. on the same day. Jin and Reinhard entered the Kingdom of Celluloid in a carriage.

Since Reinhard had completed the formalities, they were able to pass through the border gate without any problems.

Neither of them speaks much. Erza's disappearance seemed to have taken its toll on them.

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At 2:00 p.m., we arrived at Tellurus, the regional city where we would be staying for the night.

Behind Tellurus flows the mighty Torres River, and beyond it is the capital city of Esia.

The Torres River is over 200 meters wide and has no bridges. Ferry boats are the only means of transportation. Therefore, boats are available only by reservation. There are few boats large enough to carry carriages.

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"Mr. Reinhardt, the boat is fully booked for the next three days."

Claude, the butler, says apologetically.

"Oh, well, it can't be helped. You got a place to stay, didn't you?"

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Since there are so many people waiting for the ferry, there are inevitably many innkeepers.

Yes, there was a good hotel available.

So first Jin and the others went to the hotel. The hotel was a 10-story building, which is quite tall in this world. Jin and his friends' room was on the sixth floor.

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"It must be hard to take the stairs to the sixth floor," Jin thought.

Jin thought to himself, "It must be tough to take the stairs to the sixth floor," and to his surprise, a golem carried him up.

"The Kingdom of Cerroa has a small population for such a large area. That's why golems are used in various places.

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Reinhardt explained.

It was Jin's first experience to climb the stairs sitting on the golem's arm. He did not see Reiko, who was following him out of sight, looking slightly frustrated, of course.

"Ah, I can see the river."

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On the sixth floor, the Torres River could be seen in the distance through the roofs of the buildings. There were dozens of ferryboats coming and going. But all of them were small boats.

"Why don't they build bigger boats?

Reinhardt overheard him muttering to no one in particular.

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"That's the policy of the kingdom. The Torres is a natural moat. Across the river is the capital, Esire. That's why no boat larger than a 10-seater can be privately owned. All large ships for carriages are under the control of the state.

When Jin heard this, he thought it was like the Oi River in the Edo period. Even boats were forbidden there, and people were ferried by footmen," he recalled a scene from a period drama he had seen.

"Well, we'll just have to relax for the next three days.

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The room we took this time was a four-roomed room. The first room was assigned to Reinhardt, the second to Jin, the third to Claude and the other male servants, and the fourth to the female servants. The third room is for Claude and other male servants and the fourth room is for female servants.

The rooms are connected to each other by doors, so that they can be accessed without having to go through the corridor.

Jin and Reinhardt were now chatting in Reinhardt's room.

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"Reinhardt stopped here on his way there, didn't he?"

"Yes. There's no other way to get there."

Reinhardt said that according to the policy of the Kingdom of Cerroa, this is the only road to the Kingdom of Egelea.

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There is one more narrow road in the mountains, but it is only occasionally used by the army because of wild beasts and bandits. There are no settlements where people can resupply.

"This city is nice, but there are five city walls on the other side of the river, and you can only pass through the first wall unless you are allowed. Ordinary travelers have to walk along the road between the first and second walls.

Jin thought that Reinhardt's explanation made it sound like a complicated country.

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The city walls are an endless series of stone walls like the Great Wall of China. Five layers of them. Jin felt like he was wasting his time and effort.

"I'm a diplomat, and I stopped by Esia on the way there, so I can pass through the fourth wall without any problem. What do you say?

"Yeah, well, you don't have to go that far.

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Jin tells Reinhardt that he does not want any trouble. Reinhardt agrees,

"Then let's use the second road inside the city walls.

He decided to use the second road inside the city walls.

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The original Esire is within the fifth wall.

With time free for dinner, Jin asks Reinhardt for more information about the walls of Esaias.

The space between the fifth and the fourth wall is large, and there is one town. The wealthy commoners can't be found there. For non-aristocrats, it might be called an esiah, in a sense."

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"So Reinhardt has no problem getting in there?"

"Well, that's the way it is. And between the fourth and the third, it's even wider. But it's also a place to hold off the enemy in case of emergency, so it's not a very nice place to be in, with the military drill grounds and all.

Jin nodded his head in agreement.

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"Oh, so it's the road between the third and the second street.

Yes, it is said that the area between the second and first streets is not safe for anyone to pass through. Not that I saw it with my own eyes.

That night the meal was lonelier than usual. Jin wondered if the atmosphere would change so much just because Erza was not here.

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"I wonder what Elsa is doing now..."

Jin's voice leaked out.

"Yeah, I wonder. I wonder what Erza's happiness is.

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Reinhardt seemed to be thinking the same thing, and he gave him a nod.

Jin wanted to ask Reinhard about something, so he drank some after-dinner tea and said to Reinhard, "Reinhard, what is it that makes Elsa so happy?

"Reinhard, can I ask you a question?"

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He asked him.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Elsa's brother, Fritz, you said?"

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"Yes, that's right."

So, did you used to play with and love Elsa?

I asked him, because he was so far removed from the image of his brother that Elsa had told me she had played with when she was a little girl that night in DeRead town.

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Reinhardt gave a big nod,

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Reinhardt gave a big nod and began to explain.

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"Fritz changed four years ago. The previous king of the Kingdom of Selroa had passed away and the political foundation of the current king who succeeded him had not yet been solidified.

There was a battle, not quite a war, but more of a skirmish and less of a war," Reinhardt says.

"He was a second lieutenant at the time and was taken prisoner by the enemy ...... Wehrmacht of the Kingdom of Celuloa. He was rescued in an exchange of prisoners, but since then he has changed.

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He has become a power-hungry man," Reinhardt said sadly.

"Until then, he was a good brother who cared for Erza.

"I see. That must have been hard for Erza.

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The kind older brother who used to be a laughable "brainiac" turns out to be a complete jerk. It must have been a bolt out of the blue.

Jin thought again about what Erza's happiness was.