*

"Mister, would you like a piece of silver?

　Gina approached the man from the dark.
　He was a thinly dressed man.
　His clothes were stained with grime and dirt and his sleeves and hem were frayed.
　He hadn't washed his body and clothes in days.
　The smell of rotten food and drink wafted through the air.
　The smell of rotten food and drink is in the air.
　His hair and beard are buried in his face.
　I'm not sure if it's the only thing that shines in his eyes.
　
　It was probably about two months ago.
　I heard that the mausoleum dedicated to King Ramal V and the Six Pillar God was completed.
　According to those who have seen the mausoleum, it was so beautiful that they couldn't believe it was from this world.
　When Gina heard that story, she snickered.
　No matter how much they mended their appearance, they felt that something built on top of a dung heap was as good as dung.
　The workers who had been recruited to build the mausoleum often caused trouble in the city.
　It was common for them to drink cheap alcohol and make noise, and it was not uncommon for fistfights to break out.
　Some were unable to work because of accidents during construction and became beggars, while others died in the process.
　Now that the mausoleum has been completed, the workers have lost their jobs and are spreading the stench and trouble all over the city.
　The construction of the mausoleum has only created trouble.
　I don't know what kind of guy would be grateful for such a thing.
　The man stopped and looked at Gina with a price-stamping gaze.
　No, he is actually priced out.
　Gina's outfit was better than the man's.
　There were some stains and unraveling, but she washed her clothes, and she washed her hair and body.

'I used to work in a brothel in the Twelfth Ward. The one with the big sign. You must have seen it before, right?

　Gina said matter-of-factly.
　She had lied about the big sign shop, but it was true that she worked in a brothel on the Twelfth Street.
　Gina had grown up in the slums.
　When she was little, she picked up trash and begged with her peers who were in similar situations.
　The reason she was with her peers was for safety.
　Garbage pickers and beggars have their own territory.
　We naturally flocked together to compete with other groups, that's all.
　I don't remember when I started selling my body.
　But I do remember the day I became a prostitute.
　I was approached by a prostitute from the slums.
　I asked her to join me, but she refused, saying she was going into the army.
　I never saw her again.
　I don't even know where she went.

I'm willing to give you a small discount if you're short on cash.

　Either he decided it wasn't worth a single silver coin or he simply didn't have any, the man turned away from Gina and began to walk sluggishly.

''I've been........ouch!

　Gina squatted down on the spot.
　A dull ache crawled up from her lower abdomen and something viscous crawled up her thighs.
　It was blood and pus.
　I lost everything because of it.
　If that doctor hadn't screwed up, this wouldn't have happened, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

'....d*mn it, d*mn it!

　Tears trickled down in rags.
　Only a few months ago I was at the height of my life, and now I'm hiding in the dark.
　A few months ago, a nobleman had asked me to marry him.
　He told me he was attending military school.
　This is not unusual.
　A few times a year, a student from the military school would come along with him.
　Perhaps the shop where Gina served was appropriate for a nobleman's boy to learn to play bad games.
　One of them took a liking to him.
　When he started coming in, Gina became his resident.
　This was at the direction of the store.
　It was probably because he was paying more than he was letting them take other customers.
　It wasn't so bad life.
　He bought most things if you begged him, and he bought things without begging.
　One of the reasons why it wasn't so bad was that it was less of a physical burden than when he was dealing with multiple customers.
　Then one day, Gina became pregnant.
　I thought I had failed, but he surprisingly offered to marry her.
　Naturally, I nodded in two words.
　Even if she couldn't marry him, given the way he was getting into it, she thought she could have a secure life as a nobleman's mistress.
　He was a fool and a good man, even though he didn't know if it was his own child.
　But his family and servants were different.
　They acted quickly.
　They skipped the negotiations and grabbed Gina and scraped the child out of the womb.
　It was probably because of that procedure.
　I tended to get sick.
　The store's response was tepid.
　When the blood and pus began to flow, they threw Gina out of the store.
　I have some on hand now.
　The money I got from selling off the things he gave me.
　That will soon be the bottom.

"...d*mn it, d*mn it.

　Gina stood up, holding her lower abdomen.
　I'm still not sure what on earth I'm cursing about.



　どっこらしょ、とファルノスはイスに腰を下ろした。
　イスが抗議をするようにギシギシと軋むが、こいつは誰が座っても同じ反応をする。
　詰め所の備品はどれも似たような状態だった。
　何度も軍務局に陳情したが、新しいイスは届いていない。
　その一方で新しい武器や防具はすぐに届けられた。
　どうやら、新しいイスの優先順位は武器や防具のそれに比べて格段に低いようだ。
　仕方がないので、自分で作ったり、修理したりするようになった。
　三十年以上連れ添った妻は喜んでくれているし、部下からも頼りにされているが、帝都の第七街区警備兵長としては甚だ不本意だった。
　剣の腕を求められていないことなんて分かっているんだが、とファルノスは軽く剣に触れた。
　軍の再編制によって警備兵になり、剣を振る機会はめっきり減った。
　警備兵長になってからは剣を振る機会そのものがなくなった。
　それでも、剣に対する未練のようなものが残ってる。
　ファルノスは苦笑した。
　先日、自宅の階段で転んだばかりだった。
　考え事をしながら階段を登り、最後の一段を踏み外して臑を打った。
　血が滲む程度の傷だったが、老いを実感した。
　そんな自分が剣に対して未練を持っている。
　それがおかしかった。
　剣と言えば、とファルノスは部下（デュラン）のことを思い出した。
　近衛騎士を諦めたと聞かされた時も驚いたが、エラキス侯爵領で事務仕事をすると聞かされた時はもっと驚いた。
　正気を疑ったほどだ。
　だが、デュランは晴れ晴れとした顔をしていた。
　近衛騎士になることよりも大切なことを見つけた。
　そんな表情だ。
　近衛騎士を目指していた頃よりもずっと良い。
　今のデュランならば近衛騎士になれただろうにままならないものだ。
　いや、帝都を離れたのは正解だったかも知れないな、とファルノスは目を細めた。
　帝都の治安は悪化し続けている。
　最初は仕事の量が増えたとしか感じなかった。
　次に職場の空気が悪くなった。
　仕事自体は対処できるレベルだったが、問題は数をこなさなければならないことだった。
　最後に街を歩いている時に言い様の知れない不安を覚えた。
　閉塞感に似ているが、もっと不穏な感覚……戦況が膠着した時の感覚に似ていた。
　そんなある日、警備兵長同士の会合が行われた。
　誰もが口を閉ざしていたが、いくらかの収穫はあった。
　治安悪化の原因は霊廟を建設するために集められた労働者だった。
　誰も口にしなかったが、霊廟の建設は失敗だったと思っているようだった。

※

「……治安が悪化している」

　リオが入室してしばらくすると、ピスケ伯爵は沈痛な面持ちで言った。
　何を今更という気がしなくもない。

"Hundreds of people have entered the capital, so it's only going to get worse.
'I know that!　Count Chiron, what about your own business?

　Count Piske called out hysterically.

'I can't,' he said. I'd like to take my job seriously too, though. His Majesty the next Emperor Alfort wants me to pass.

　Count Piske scratched his head.
　Alfort is actively meeting with the old nobility and participating in meetings.
　Prime Minister Alcor cannot stop it.
　He has no authority to stop it.
　Vizier Alcor was able to wield absolute power thanks to Lamar V.
　Ramal V entrusted him with the government of the country, but Alfort wants to wield the power himself.
　The fact that he is actively meeting with the old nobles and participating in meetings is a sign of this.

''........How can I restore security? ''How do we do that?''

　Count Piske propped his elbows on the desk and held his head in his hands.
　I think Count Piske is the one who forgot that he is the leader of the Twelfth Order of the Kingsguard.　Rio barely swallowed the lighthearted remark, "I don't know what to say.
　Apparently, Count Piske had awakened his patriotism while going back and forth between Vizier Arcol and Alfort.
　The man who had switched factions many times and had risen to the rank of Commander of the Twelfth Order of the Kingsguard, that is.
　The irony, of course.
　Count Piske would just be too tired to make normal decisions.
　'So you're saying that a bat has a bat's temperament.

''Count Piske, shouldn't we think about what we did wrong first, instead of how to restore security?''
"Count Chiron.

　Count Piske looked up at Rio with clinging eyes.

''First of all, it's because of the construction of the mausoleum. I'll use Crono's territory as an example, but Crono left everything to his own men.''
Isn't that the same everywhere?
Oh, yeah?　He had his own people designing it, buying materials from a trusted trade association, and building what they could make themselves. Then they hired workers directly on top of that. Of course, Crono kept track of the workers and the flow of money in addition to the progress of the work.
....

　Count Piske is silent.
　Perhaps Count Piske and Alfort were not doing what Crono had taken for granted.
　But it was too much to blame the two of them.
　The scale of the Empire and Crono's territory is too different.

''I don't think there's any need to be so downhearted, though.
What do you mean?
''In the first place, wasn't the mausoleum built to unite the will of the new and old nobles? It wasn't meant to return taxes to the lords, like Crono's estate.

　At least that's what Rio has heard.
　He can't complain that the people involved in building the mausoleum had a portion of the budget in their own pockets, or that they treated and used the workers for low wages.
　They have created a magnificent mausoleum.

'Since the ex-workers are turning to crime because they can't afford to eat, why don't they just do a soup kitchen?

　Rio sneered.
　As far as I can deduce from the information of my deputy and his subordinates, the time for restoring security through soup kitchens is long overdue.
　Some are alone, some are in cliques, some are huddled in organizations, and some are repeating their crimes.
　Still, it will help to put a stop to some of this.
　That is, if there are enough reserves in the Imperial treasury for a soup kitchen.



　As Crono was working in his office for the first time, there was a discreet knock on the door.
　A few moments later, Alyssa walked into the Oval Office.
　She was holding a piece of parchment rolled up into a tube.
　I felt like holding my head up.
　I always felt like I was going to die when a formal document was sent to me.

'Sir, excuse me. Te.........''
I know, Alyssa.

　Crono interrupted Alyssa's words,

You received a letter addressed to me from the Imperial Capital, didn't you?
You're right.
Read.
Are you sure?

　Alyssa raised an eyebrow, as if confused.

'It's to be expected, though.
So.....

　Alyssa untied the cord and unfolded the parchment.

'It says to ask your husband to take up the task of restoring security to the Imperial City.
'What?　Hey, bring it back.

　Crono took the parchment from Alyssa and read the text written on it.
　It did indeed say that he was to be assigned to the task of restoring the security of the imperial capital.

''What does it mean?''
I assume that's what you meant?

　Crono exhaled and plopped down on the desk as it was.

'Sir, take care of yourself.'
No, I got it under control. But still, it's a security job. Sounds like an easy job this time.
Is that right?

　Alyssa looked at Crono anxiously.

'Yeah, you're right. You can't be too careful.'

　Crono straightened up his residence and began to think about who he should take with him.