Chapter 181: The White City
Chapter 181 - The White City
When Hikaru arrived in Agiapole, the first thing that captivated him was the whiteness of the cityscape. White wood was used for the roofs and even coated in white paint. It reminded Hikaru of Santorini island in the Aegean Sea.
I think they just painted the lime rocks white over there. Here though, the wood itself is white.
The color white reflected more light from the sun, resulting in an overall cooler temperature. Bios's capital, Agiapole, was located further south than Ponsonia's royal capital. Putting on an overcoat during winter was not necessary.Summer must be hell here.
Incidentally, Santorini's lime rocks weren't just for lowering temperature, but for sterilization purposes as well. In this city, however, that didn't seem to matter.
「Wow... So this is Agiapole... I've dreamed of this place!」
Paula was deeply moved. Lavia's eyes darted all over the place. They were both fully prepared to go sightseeing. But there was something they had to do first.
Before getting a room, Hikaru made his way to his destination to complete his task. In order to deliver Princess Kudyastoria's official letter, he would need to see the Pope, so he headed to the tower.
「Let's see.」
Hikaru arrived at the remarkably huge tower without getting lost. A moat clearly surrounded the building. There was clearly a castle gate. Soldiers were clearly guarding the place. Yet people referred to it as a "tower". As he passed through the gate, a voice called out to him. An old Gray Deacon.
「Me?」Hikaru asked.
「You can't just come here. This isn't a tourist spot.」
「I have important business here.」
「Sightseeing isn't important business.」
「I'm not here for sightseeing.」
「Those girls seem to be giggling a lot, though.」
Hikaru turned around to see Lavia and Paula making comments as they pointed at the building. From his perspective, they absolutely looked like tourists.
「That's not good... But really, I have business here.」
Hikaru showed the Adventurers Guild request certification. It served both as identification and a pass. The old man glanced at it.
「I see. In that case, you may give me the letter.」
「I have to give this to the right person. Can you inform them of my arrival?」
「Now, now. I said I'll take it. Hand it over quick.」
「I need to know if it makes it to His Holiness, the Pope.」
「His Holiness?!」
The old man looked surprised, covering his mouth with his hand. He was clearly exaggerating.
「What's wrong?」A hooded soldier guarding the gate approached them. Chain armor covered his body, and he carried around a lance.
「This boy says he has a letter from Ponsonia.」the old man said.」He says to inform the Pope.」
「That is absurd. Why, you're an adventurer.」the soldier remarked.
Hikaru gave a shrug.「Is this how you treat someone delivering a letter from a princess of a nation?」
「Hahaha! You think you're an emissary or something? Just give me this letter you're talking about. I'll take good care of it.」
Looks like I misunderstood something. I never thought Bios was this too egoistic.
「All right, then. I'll hand it over as long as you give me attestation that you received it.」Hikaru said, fed up from dealing with the two.「Either of you will do.」
The soldier was surprised from Hikaru's change in attitude.「Wh-What? You're not getting one.」he said.
「I need proof that says I delivered the letter within the allotted time so I can get my reward from the guild.」
「The Adventurers Guild is none of our concern.」
「Okay, then. I guess I'll just have the Adventurers Guild file an official complaint. I still have three more days. That's plenty of time. If there's a complaint that concerned two nations, let's just say a few soldiers might have to kiss their jobs goodbye.」
Hikaru turned around. The soldier panicked.
「W-Wait! Okay. I'll ask a Blue Knight to write a proof of receipt.」he said.
「What are you saying? You can't trouble a knight for something like this.」
「You know this is not something a mere Gray can handle.」
「Ugh...」
Hikaru heaved a sigh as he watched the two men arguing.Hierarchical societies are everywhere, he thought.
The soldier left in a hurry and came back with the proof of receipt. Hikaru checked its contents. After confirming that everything was good, Hikaru handed over the letter.
「All right. I'll give this to the Blue Knights. You can leave.」
「.........」
「Is there something else?」
「Nothing...」
The civil war plunged Ponsonia in a state of chaos. This arbitration might solve the kingdom's problem. Yet the soldiers had no knowledge of a messenger coming, and they didn't give them a warm welcome either, instead treating them roughly. Soon the real emissary, Ponsonia's delegate would be arriving.How can they act like this? Is this common in this world? Or is Agiapole's an exception?Hikaru turned his back to the soldier.
「No! Please let me go!」
「Are you serious? Lord Gelop here is talking to you!」
Paula moved in front of Lavia, as if to protect her. A Gray Monk grabbed her arm. Not too far away, a fat monk was watching them with an indecent look. Hikaru wondered which part of him was religious.
「They call me Guru Gelop, the closest person to the Reds. Behold, my sleeves!」
「What elegant three lines, Lord Gelop.」
「I can feel the virtuosity emanating from you.」
The man's sleeves were embroidered with three lines. His followers either had one or none at all.
「You look cute.」Gelop said.「I'll personally preach to you about the teachings of God.」
「I said, let me go!」
「Come here! Lord Gelop is—」
The man grabbing Paula grunted in pain. A hand was gripping his wrist tight.
「Oh, you look like monks. I thought for sure you were thugs.」
「Hikaru-sama!」
「Hikaru!」
The monk looked at Hikaru. At first, he appeared to be surprised it was just a kid, then suddenly his face contorted. The grip on his wrist was too strong, he had no choice but to let Paula go. His wrist made creaking sounds.
Hikaru had one point on Strength. He was as strong as people who did manual labor.
「Ugh... O-Ouch... That hurts...」
「Hey, what are you doing this time?!」
The soldier came running over. Hikaru let the man go and shot a glare at Gelop, whose face was red from infuriation.
「So men of faith take girls by force now?」
「Bastard... You better not make Lord Gelop mad.」
「What happened?!」the soldier cut in.
Hikaru ignored him and started walking, grabbing both Lavia's and Paula's hands. Gelop kept his eyes on them, but didn't follow.
「What is wrong with this place?」
「I-I'm sorry, Hikaru-sama. I got too carried away.」
「It's not your fault. If getting too excited is wrong, then I'm at fault as well.」Lavia said.「Even Hikaru when he gets a ton of money.」
「Wait a sec. You make it sound like I get excited when I get money.」
「It sure looked like it when you defeated Senkun and won a hundred million.」
He couldn't deny it.
Their order arrived. Hikaru decided to go to a café before giving his report at the guild. They needed to get their minds off of things.
They ordered the city's famous product, souffle pancakes topped with fresh cream and white sugar. The table was white, but the plates were green, making for a bit of variety.
「But Like Lavia said, it's not your fault, Paula. It's those idiots' fault for ganging up on you.」
「R-Really?」
「Just be honest, Paula.」Lavia said.「You thought Hikaru would come to you rescue, right? You were delighted he saved you.」
「Wha?! Uhm... Uh... Yes.」
Paula was fidgety, tapping her two forefingers together as she looked at Hikaru. With her completely new look, her mannerisms struck a chord in him.
「I blame Dodorono for all this. It's his fault for making you look too pretty.」Hikaru said.
「What?! N-No. I'm not—」
「Nice one, Hikaru! I think so too. People keep staring at her.」
「That's not true! It's because you're cute, Lavia-chan.」
「No, it's you that's cute.」
「Nuh-uh.」
「It's true.」
「All right, break it off. This might go on forever.」
They've been getting along too well lately that their conversations seemed to not go anywhere. Hikaru was glad, but also felt a bit sad that he was being left out.
「Anyway, I've been wondering. People here are ranked based on colors, huh?」
「Yes. It's called the Five Divine Ranks. The White Pope stands at the top, then Purple, Red, Blue, and Gray.」
「But what about that guy? Uh, what was his name again? Fatty?」
「Uh, I don't think that's his name...」
「Whatever. He said he was a guru or something.」
「Apparently there's hierarchy among the Grays as well.」
「Even thought they're all the same Grays?」
「Yes, but it's not official.」
Hikaru heaved a sigh. He'd been sighing a lot today.
「You know what they say, if three people gather, you can create two groups. Do they really have to put a ranking in everything?」
「Do you hate this city?」Lavia asked.
Hikaru thought about it for a bit.「My first impression is awful, at least.」
「But it looks beautiful.」
「Beauty is useless when you're rotten on the inside. We still have a few days before the Foreign Minister arrives. I say we go sightseeing. We might find some great spots here and even good people.」
Hikaru wondered. He made sure to arrive in seven days.I just hope there's someone out there who knows what this means.
He took a spoon and took a piece of his pancake. Sugar spread in his mouth. It was sweet enough to cover up slight cooking errors.