436 People of Mahdra ② - Women of the North

The people of the north - a clan living in the far northern kingdom of Mahdra.

Five of the women approached us at the helm of the guards.

All of them are long. At least, there was no one smaller than me.

Physical fitness, too, is never skinny. I didn't see anyone as stubborn as Barsha, but he had the impression that the skeleton was slightly more solid than the European and American woman I remember.

Chiffon-Cher and others were graceful hesitations like the ones that made Vina-Lou longer, but that could have been the result of being freed from manual labor. All five of the men gathered on the spot seemed to have a better physical appearance than Chiffon-Cher.

Everyone is wearing hooded rain gear. Peeping through its hood were hair swirling in golden brown, purple eyes, and reddish, sun-burned skin.

The people of Jagal and others had slightly pink burnt white skin, but they were burning more clearly in the day. It is almost a shade that I would like to call red copper. Speaking of which, Eleo-Cher, whom we met the day after, looked just like them.

Age seems to vary. Since it is the youngest, is it about 20 years old, the oldest and about 40 years old? Everyone had a deep carved face, which I could say was beautiful in my aesthetic sensation.

But they had their legs chained up.

It's a chain about 30 centimeters long, and it connects the left and right legs. It was a restraint to forbid them to run and flee, even by the woods, untying them to sinners.

The women stand in a space under the roof that was barely left behind.

Whatever it was, it looked compelling.

There are few people in the west who are big. Even men have an average height of about 170 cm, and rarely are humans as blessed with physique as Melfried. Hence, it was harder to find a longer person on the spot than they did. Even the people by the woods only Giza-Lou and Dari-Sauti outperformed them.

Pull that jizza-luu hand, as the rimi-luu is difficult.

When Giza-Lou bowed his back, Limi-Lou blurred and whispered in his ear.

"... can I start work as usual? May I also exchange words with these men as I normally do? and Limi-Luu, the person responsible for Kamado's number, asks"

"Of course, I don't mind. We have already told them that we are going to inspect. So we got them together a lot later than usual."

Listening to Melfried's words, Rimi-Lou grinned and moved on.

"Guys, that's a hiccup! Limi will help you today, thank you!

Rimi-Lou was visiting Sautti's house from this hour on the holiday five days ago. Rimi-Lou took over what I was trying to do.

So I guess this will be the second time I face them too - I was to be surprised not least by the changes brought about by Rimi-Lou's words. The women of the north, who were as faceless as stone statues, were all at once silenced.

"It's a hiccup, Rimi = ru. Best regards,"

The oldest women drooled their heads as they stated so. It was also an awkward intonation, like a young child, different from the people of the east.

And the other ladies start lowering their heads wrapped in rain gear one after another. Rimi-Lou also played a good old man for losing.

"Well, get to work! How long has everyone else been together?

"Hey, come on, don't move alone, Chibi Rimi"

Limi-Lu and Rud-Lu chasing it stepped first and foremost between their legs.

Five northern ladies and a watchful guard follow it, and Melfried looks back at us.

"It will be difficult for everyone to enter the room. I think four or five of them should take turns and step in, how about that?

"There is no difference.... Asta would have wondered in what way the work was going on. You should step in first."

Sweet for Dari-Sauti's words, I decided to let him be the first along with Ai-Fa. Selected from the aristocratic side were Melfried, Polearth and one soldier for the escort.

In the meantime, Mill Fay-Sauti and the others were already waiting.

Mill Fay-Sautti was here to pay his respects once, too, so he's just quietly coming to see me. The other four women also snuck up on me with a look of relief and joy.

"Then ask me anything you don't know! Because the Remi and the others are watching you all the time!

Ten days have passed since the cooking process began. Limi-Lu and the others did not try to get their hands on the first stage as they moved around with the women of the North.

The women of the North do not rush or lazy, but do their work at a certain speed. Kamado is set on fire, and the bone gallows of Karon and Kimmus are simmered first, during which time the ingredients brought in from the pantry are sorted.

At the same time, the two ladies were beginning to add water to the fuwano as early as possible to work it out. Anyway, the number of people in the north is over a hundred, so I guess the number of buns will jump accordingly.

Also, because there was business on my side, the steamer cage could only be loaned about half of what I had in hand, so I should have had to split it it into several pieces to sprinkle all the buns.

However, the procedure for the work is not good. In the last ten days, I guess I've been able to wear it well.

The three who had thus sorted the ingredients, when they added the right vegetables to the iron pan, two of them engaged in the work of chopping the ingredients for the buns and the last one embarked on the work of separating the milk fat from the caron milk.

"Hmm. I can't tell you anything because I don't know who I was before, but it seems like a really good move."

Polearth snapped like he was talking to himself.

I have no objection to that word either. It was a terribly pale but clueless move nowhere.

Also, I guess it looks pale because they don't try to open their mouths. Then it was thought that there would be no clue because everyone was doing exactly what they were supposed to do.

The women who were carving ingredients look back at Rimi-Lou all the time.

Realizing that, Rimi-Lou approached you a little bit.

What was on the slab was a mountain of chum chum slices similar to the tachenocho.

Rimi-Lou tilted her little neck cutely with "hmm".

"Chum chum was delicious if you put it in a bun! Looks like we have a lot today, so why don't we just use half of it?

The women nodded, transferring half of the chum chum to the wood plate. The remaining chum chum is quickly chopped with a cooking knife.

"... can all the people of the North on this occasion handle the words of the West?

When Melfried inquired, the guard of the watchman said, "Ha! saluted."

"With the decision that it would be necessary to carry out this job, five people were chosen who were particularly speechless! At the very least, we know that this instruction will be conveyed with precision!

"Well," Melfried responded, the guard returned to the wall with a tense face.

Perhaps Melfried, the head of the Kingsguard, is on the cloud for this guard. In the first place, nobility itself is such a thing for humans living outside stone walls.

(But for the people by the woods, nobility and the people of the town are no big difference. Until now, you've been taking this word a lot more amicably for all your burdens there... but when the people of the north tease you, you mean they talk differently)

I think so, stealing a cold side of Melfrid.

But I no longer suspected a man named Mel Fried.

I still feel the bottom line against completely shabby Malstein, but at least I think Mel Fried deserves credit.

Of course, there are a lot of unknown parts to Melfrid because they only exchange words enough to count. Not to mention he was an iron skin that wouldn't let Ziza-Lou peek into his mood. Only when you have a partner or daughter on your side can you feel human in a slight way.

But Melfried is the one who held hands to discuss Cycleus.

At least there was no doubt in one respect that he weighed more than anything else: law and justice.

It is also known in previous writings that if it is for the sake of law or justice, he is not a person who is obsessed with years of learning or decency. He was also such a tyrannical man who faked his identity to uncover the sins of the Sung family and dared to investigate them, and invited hunters from the woods to martial arts clubs to arouse the hearts of swordsmen.

Its melfrids have been harsh on crackling at the people by the woods.

I'm sure that was brought about with a strong will to uphold the laws of the kingdom.

On top of that, he told me he wanted to spin the right edge with the people by the woods, so I wanted to believe the word.

(But then... how do they look in the eyes of the Melfrieds, nobles of the West people)

From my eyes, I still just thought they were normal people. They're just a little tall, well-physique, healthy, beautiful women.

It was a coarse cloth outfit that was wrapped around me, but it wasn't all that thin and dirty. Although the hair was sneezy and the skin and other abrasions were noticeable, I'm sure it cleanses me every day. They seemed so clean as to be no different from the people by the woods and the people of the town.

As a result, only the chain of legs seems disproportionate.

If you are a sinner, you will also need to tie them up in chains. But as much as I was told earlier, it was only the people of the north who did not know the war that were gathered by Turan. Haven't they, then, ever turned their enemies against the people of the West, and were they to lay themselves down to slavery solely on the grounds that they were "the people of the North"?

(Besides, even Camus draws the blood of the people of the North. If Camus had been in Genos, would this have been the time to show his face on this occasion)

Once, when one of Cycleus's cases settled, he tried hardly to get close to Chiffon-Cher. It was a story that he was daring to turn away because it would be very difficult if they thought he crusaded Cycleus to save the people of the North.

As such, the people of the North are difficult to deal with for the people of the West.

First of all, if you were in a position to have hatred or resentment, you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. But there was no such evil sentiment, just that, according to the laws of the kingdom, we had to treat the people of the North as slaves - and yet, it seemed like a much more complicated position.

"Ah! Wait a minute! I hope you don't mix those ingredients yet!

And suddenly Limi-Luu's voice echoed, so I was accidentally thrilled.

The women, who were about to transfer the chopped ingredients to a wooden dish, quietly look back at Rimi-Lou.

"I'm going to try and change the way I make buns a little bit today....... I took the liberty of coming up with Limi, okay?

That was the word that was directed at me.

I nod, "Of course."

"The person responsible now is Rimi-Lou, so you don't have to shy away from me.... but let me know what the hell you came up with."

"Yeah! There seems to be a lot more arrow or lamam today than usual, so I thought I'd make some fruit buns apart from meat buns too! Look, even Min Mi has so much, huh? Minmi is expensive, but it's a waste!

Min Mi is only a peach fruit that is brought from Jagal. It should be a fairly pricey ingredient than the arrows and lambs that can also be harvested in the west.

So, there were certainly a lot of sweet and sour loose ingredients on the spot, as Rimi-Lou put it. Berry arrows, lambs very similar to apples, and Dorian in appearance but with citrus seals in the contents.

"Now that we can use sugar, we can have a bun of sweet fruit, right? I think with sugar, you can eat aloe and seal."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. If you do that, it will be better for meat buns to flourish without having to use extra ingredients."

"Eh heh," Rimi-Lou laughed happily.

"So the seal just creases out the sour part and the skin is used with regular buns? The seal skin is bitter, stiff, and I don't think it's sweet buns."

The instructions given to the women of the North are also accurate. Limi-Lu no longer held the number three seat firm as the Kamadu number in the Lu family.

When I was sneaky impressed that way, the young ladies, who had been wearing fuwano fabrics, looked back without expression.

"... you, huh?

"Ah, yes. This is Asta from Fa's house. Nice to meet you."

"... you are very kansai"

When the women bowed their heads small, they silently began to rub the fabric of Fuwano again.

My name and presence would have been told to them from the very beginning, too. I can't even imagine at all how happy they were with their tears, but I felt like I could have touched their truths with just the short interactions I have now.

That's where Polearth speaks up, "Hmm."

"In the meantime, I wonder how handy they are getting the work going. Lord Melfried, I think I'll take turns with Lord Tolst."

Then me and I-Fa also decided to give up this seat to the Ziza-Lou's. Giza-Lou, Raina-Lou and Tolst go in between, and we're relative to Pol Earth under the roof.

"That little girl named Rimi-Lou is a really good cook number! Not to mention the extra mouth, then the work place is well within reach. It's a big deal at that young age."

"Umm," Ai-Fa took the initiative and nodded, I'm sure because he was glad to be praised for Limi-Lu. Ai-Fa immediately laid her eyes down and accompanied the word "excused".

"Nothing is rude. It is now my official duty to exchange words with the people of the woods. … and we hope that in these informal settings, we will hear your opinions."

"... Hikoshi?

"Yeah. It's an official place for a forest chief to deliver words as a general idea of the people, and it's an informal place to exchange words personally in this way. You don't have to adorn words in these places."

Ai-Fa frowned lightly, showing a contemplative face.

To that elusive look, Polearth gives a small laugh.

"Frankly, it's the beauty of the people by the woods. I wonder if it's going to be too hard to tell the difference between the real story and the use of pre-construction."

"So you mean you have a genuine meaning that you have not shown us"

"That's, well, I don't know if there's a person in Castle Town who's always exposed to the truth. Though I think I'd rather be exposed to the truth."

As Ai-Fa became an increasingly difficult face, Polearth pinched his round cheek and searched for the words "uh".

"For example, you're Princess Lifreia. I guess her true intent is to give the people of the North a more human life. But if you insist on it in its exact language, there is a danger that it will be regarded as treason by the people of the King's capital. So it was decided to twist the pre-construction that we should rethink the treatment of the people of the North for the sake of the wealth of Genos. Does that seem like a mistake to the people by the woods?

"That's... of course I've never been over to expose the truth... but the one that was built before is never a lie, either?

"Absolutely. I guess that's what I thought of how to give the people of the North a human life while upholding the laws of the kingdom."

"Then I think it's the right thing to do."

Ey-Fa said so softly.

Polearths nods with a satisfied face.

"Perhaps there is not so great a difference in consciousness between us and the people of the woods about one of the people of the North. I wonder if this is why Lord Melfried wants to make sure that there are no misunderstandings, mistakes, etc."

When Polluth said so, how long did Melfried leave the scene? Ziza-Lou and Tolsto, who had just entered the room, also followed suit.

"Since the same work seems to continue for a while, I would also like to have inspections of the construction site done within the present time. How's that?

"Oh, there's no difference"

Since I answered that way, Dari-Sauti has turned to me.

"I'm sorry, can you accompany me in Asta's luggage? Sauti's luggage doesn't have a roof, so it's very inconvenient during the rainy season."

"Of course it is. This is just me and Ai-Fa."

That meant that the parents of Dari-Sauti and Vera were also to board Gilru's luggage.

Moreover, only Giza-Lou and Sin-Lou headed to the site of the construction, since Raina-Lou was also to remain on the side of the Lou family for how long. It seemed that a secret conversation had been held between Giza-Lou and Rudd-Lou about how long Sin-Lu should also remain as an escort, but it seemed that if Sanjula were to head to the scene, it would have been arranged that way.

Then one luggage truck is enough for this side. We were all supposed to get on board and leave the settlement of Sauti in the drive of I-Fa.

Going south from here is also my first road trip. According to Dari-Sauti, from here on forward was the story of Faye and Tamr, their families, setting up a house.

There is smoke in the rain on the roads by the woods. From there to the destination, it didn't take three minutes by luggage.

"Mm......" Ai-Fa gives a low voice.

I left my rain gear on, and I accidentally stepped out of it.

In a way, the sight as I had imagined appeared there.

The people of the north are cutting down trees with axes. Cut down trees are transported by trolley or luggage. Dozens of men were put to work on the spot while being watched by guards carrying spears.

All of them are big men who can't even beat Donda-Lou.

Some of them are as big as Ji-Mayam. Whatever it was, everyone had a stubborn stature like a rock.

Shit, the rain gear is wrapped up. But it wouldn't have done much good if I had been engaged in this kind of work. They were all wet and muddy.

Most of them are men who looked great. But by the way, there were also women, who had the job of cutting off branches from the fallen trees, etc.

The trees thus bare are eventually loaded onto a roofless luggage truck. However, because it sticks out of the carrier's butt, it is carried out to the outside world while supporting it from behind.

It was the people of the west who would drive that luggage truck, and it was the people of the north who would support the trees behind them.

In short, only Totos and the people of the North are using their power.

The path to the outside world is also much larger. Ahead, it was supposed to be connected to the southern tip of Dareim territory. Until we got the luggage, Sautti and his family bought Aria and Poitan from the village. It should have taken hours on foot to get from there to the Inn Town.

The road leading to its outer realm is clear to the southwest, and the new road is cut to the east. In conjunction with the road from the north that we've come through, it's a disguised triangle.

The trees were sparse around here, and for that reason, the work was going a lot better than I had imagined. It was a situation where hundreds of metres of roads had already been made and trees were being carried out one after the other from behind them.

(Speaking of which, it means there was originally enough clearance for the luggage car to go through)

Late boy's father and Milan-Math's brother-in-law, among others, probably decided that this could be the way to go because they discovered that kind of gap in the woods.

So I asked Castle Genos for permission to cross, and through Cycleus I was introduced to the Sung family - and at the end of that time, I was gibbered with "Gibberish Fruit," and I was to lose my life.

The people of the north worked silently, even as the three luggage cars rushed and nobles and forestside people appeared from there.

I don't know the look on his face because he wears a hood so deep in his eyes. But after all, they were pale on this occasion and continued to work mechanically without haste or laziness.

"... that's a lot of guards on the lookout"

When I got off my luggage car and stepped out into the rain, Giza-Lou was crushing like that.

The guards stand at equal intervals on one side of the cut path so as not to interfere with the work. Some seemed to move freely and send instructions to the people of the north, but the majority of them seemed to work to cover their spears in the rain.

"There are a total of 120 guards against which people of the north there are 60 guards. Ten of them should be in command of the construction, and the remaining less than fifty should be watchmen."

When Melfried responded with a low voice, Giza-Lou nodded "Hmm".

"Are less than fifty people just standing around without exchanging anything? They'll have a lot of work to do if they give them a hand."

"I'm not afraid that the people of the North will try to escape or rebel, but there was an offer more than usual to strengthen their protection than to keep blades like axes and axes.... If these people in the north were willing to rebel, it would be difficult to suppress them with five or sixty guards."

"That's a good idea. In terms of arm strength alone, these people will not be inferior to the hunters by the woods.... but only about arm strength."

Listening to the two words, I felt extremely restless.

I did not imagine a diagram of the people of the North being made to work while being whipped, nor did I strongly hope not. And in fact, instead of being whipped, they only worked solemnly. They were as neatly behaved as robots, forcing the harsh labor of cutting down giant trees in the rain and carrying them outside the settlement.

(Wonder what...... something's wrong)

Is it also, in a sense, unique to the position of slavery that the colour of distress cannot be ascertained?

And they were too quiet.

Or not as lively as a mud doll, doesn't mean. If this had been the case, the people of the former Sung family would have been so much less humane and even sadder.

(Speaking of which... Chiffon-Cher, 'cause if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought you were a slave, would I?)

This slave in Genos may have been out of my stereotype.

Besides, there was no such thing as a slave in my hometown. The image I had was only from history and fiction.

Even the nobles of Genos don't exactly match the image of the nobility I have. Townspeople, merchants and hunters, maybe that was the same thing.

But they were still slaves.

I didn't like it and was collected in this kind of place, and its legs are chained. No matter how much you work, you don't get paid, and you're not even allowed to marry your partner. That way, it's also unacceptable to return to your homeland permanently - after all, it was supposed to be unmatched and unfortunate raw.

"... I guess what we were supposed to haunt our heads was the price we were paying for giving freedom to Cycleus, the former lord of the Count Turan family," Dari-Sauti said.

and - eventually Melfried said so in an emotional voice.

"Exactly, I guess that's the truth. Whatever the Lord of the Count family exchanges in his own territory, the power to restrain it was not even conferred on my father, the Marquis of Genos - then the Turan is part of Genos, and the untimely end of the Turan must be borne by the Lord of Genos. It is also the negative legacy of Cycleus."

"Because we can treat these people as we please at no cost, it gains Genos.... means you're not thinking about it?

In response to Dari-Sauti's inquiry, Melfried responded "Regardless".

"We have no hatred for the people of the North. Nor are they so poor that they have to rely on slaves. And yet this situation of having to use slavery undeniably - should never be desirable."

Thus Melfried blinked his grey eyes so that he could glimpse the invisible enemy.

"There was also talk that slaves and others should be sold off to other towns. But if it suddenly extends to such imitation, Turan will lose his worker, and there will also be no such thing as this nearby town dealing with slaves. And..."

So Melfried got his mouth shut, so Dari-Sutty said, "And?" He nodded.

But Melfried did not speak in silence, and instead Polearth opened his mouth.

"Besides, it doesn't necessarily mean that the destination sold is happier than Turan. Then it's not worth the effort to find a buyer."

Dari-Sauti and Giza Rue stared silently at Melfrid.

Melfried, dressed in rain gear, stares at the people of the North working with their eyes as cold as moonlight.

"... As much as I did earlier, I probably didn't have enough words. But it is only fair that the people of the woods should not be shaken up about the people of the north."

"Hmm. I'm guessing it's not the wrong word to say, don't stick your neck in a nasty story."

"In the world, there is a word for proportionality. … and I think it is the role of the nobility of Genos to worry about the people of the North who live in Genos"

With that said, Melfried finally turned to this one.

"There is no need for the people of the woods to worry about the people of the north. However, I would appreciate your help with the diet of the people of the North in the future."

"Admitted. … in the context of the talks."

Dari-Sauti looks around at the people of the North with a quiet eye.

Giza-Lou was also silently comparing what Melfrid looked like to you.

It was then that one fact finally came down to me.

Camua-Josh was an alliance with this Melfrid.

I have no idea what kind of relationship that is. But what if, for Melfrid, Camua-Josh is the kind of person he can call a friend - more complicated than anyone else on this scene?

(At a time like this, I wonder where that guy is walking flashy. If you were a camouflage traveling around the world, you would be able to give some useful advice on how to treat the people of the North)

But if that floating Camua-Josh, would he still smile lightly and distract the bystanders?

That was just futile to speculate - whatever, instead of Melfrid right now, there's no sign of Camua-Josh. The next lord of Genos, he should have had to face the presence of the people of the North, prepared and responsible on his shoulders.