CH 344

“……You called?” (Sabine)

“Yeah. Hey, there’s something I want to consult you with…” (Mitsuha)

It seems that Sabine-chan has a dubious group called “Oneesama Watching Corps” watching over me and keeping track of my movements.

They don’t come into the store, but whenever I go out or something, they seem to check where I’m going.

……What splendid stalkers!

Well, I guess the truth is that they are probably my escorts.

No matter how much of a princess Sabine-chan is, I don’t think she has the right to arbitrarily keep watch over me.

Perhaps it was the king’s instructions. And Sabine-chan is just taking advantage of it a little.

I think she thought I might not like it if she said they were guards assigned by the king, so instead, she says that they are light guards assigned by her own selfishness. Sabine-chan can be considerate sometimes.

So, I opened the door of the shop, stuck my head out, and shouted, “Summon! Sabine-chan!”, then the messenger immediately ran. That’s what happened.

As expected, I can’t ask the orphaned children to call a princess from the royal palace, can I?

……And it’s more convenient, isn’t it?

“This. What does this mean?” (Mitsuha)

Sabine-chan’s eyes widened when she saw the wooden letter I presented to her… A direct letter of appeal.

“U~waa… Now you’ve done it, Oneesama…” (Sabine)

Sabine-chan frowns in annoyance as she says this.

Not the usual mischievous smile, or the look of someone doing it on purpose, but a really troubled look.

“Anyway, I don’t have enough knowledge of this country’s system to know what this means… No, of course, I know it’s a ‘direct appeal’, but why is it addressed to me, and whether or not am I obligated in any way to receive it… Besides, what am I supposed to do with it? I need you to tell me about that……” (Mitsuha)

“Is that right…

Oneesama. The ‘direct appeal’ you’re thinking of, is that one, the ‘Jidaigeki’, thing we saw in Terebi together, isn’t it?” (Sabine)  (『じだいげき』)

“Yeah. That’s right.

Seven or eight peasants line up in a row, with the first person holding up a letter of appeal tucked into a bamboo stick.

And then, ‘O-gane de gozaimasu da! Please, please, please, please, please!’ and rushed toward the palanquin basket of the lord. The samurai escorts then shouted, ‘Rampaging peasants!’ Then the first one was cut down by the samurai guarding the palanquin, and the second one picked up the letter of appeal and rushed into the palanquin.

One after another they are cut down, and each time the next one picks up and rushes in.

And the last one was cut down and fell a few meters before the lord’s palanquin.

Then the lord asks the attendant, ‘Is this a direct appeal?’…

And when the attendant answered ‘yes’…

‘Do they have a complaint?’

‘Yes sir!’

‘……Give it here then.’

Then, when the attendant handed out the letter of appeal that he picked up, a hand stretched out from inside the palanquin and grabbed it…

…Yeah~, I cried at that part…” (Mitsuha)

“Indeed. After the evil magistrate killed a large number of villagers to prevent direct complaints, and the plan came to a standstill, they had no choice but to do a literal suicide mission, and they were prepared for being annihilated… I cried too, but you know…

…In real life, if you kill that many villagers, the village will not be able to survive and will collapse!

They don’t kill all those people like that, in real life, absolutely! At least not in my country!” (Sabine)

And what Sabine-chan told me was…

Direct Appeal.

It’s a system that has existed since ancient times in which commoners and low-ranking aristocrats skip over their immediate superiors and deliver their appeals directly to the one above them.

……This part is the same as old Japan.

It was a complete humiliation for the immediate superiors who had been skipped over, but since usually the purpose was to accuse them of wrongdoing and misdeeds in the first place, it was only natural.

And it seems that there’s no such thing as a death penalty for all those who appealed.

It seems like it was treated like a whistleblower or a suggestion box.

…However, this shall not apply if the complaint is false.

It’s kinda obvious, isn’t it? You have caused extra trouble for the far superior by lying about your immediate superiors. False accusations, false charges, and the impious charge of trying to deceive a nobleman. In a world like this, it’s only natural to be sentenced to death.

But normally, it’s almost impossible for a commoner to hand over a complaint directly to a noble.

If you try to approach a nobleman in a bad way, he will think you are trying to assassinate him and he will cut you down.

It seems that some nobles are aware that they are hated by the commoners.

It’s no use giving it to the guards and the like. It will mostly just be thrown away.

You can’t even ask a servant or someone who can meet directly with the nobles… or a merchant who frequents the estates…

If such things were to happen, the servant would be dismissed on the spot, the merchant would be banned, the story would be spread, and other noble families would cut off business with the said merchant.

Therefore, no one would take such a risk when there’s nothing in it for them.

A direct appeal is strictly a violation of the rules and is thus forbidden.

While for those in power, it’s like a hero’s holy sword for the demon king, which can be fatal to them.

It’s unbearable for such things to be abused.

Therefore, since such an action is undesirable, it seems that neither the ringleaders nor the collaborators of the direct appeal have any benefits or perks for themselves. Only personal destruction awaits them, regardless of success or failure.

……Well, if there’s no penalty, might as well do it, continuous direct appeal……

So, if the direct appeal is successful and the bad magistrate is ousted and a good magistrate is appointed in his place, that would be good, but if it’s judge as ‘that much is within the scope of his authority as a magistrate’ or ‘it’s not enough to dismiss him, so only a stern warning and a fine’, then…

Those who appealed directly will be thoroughly stared at.

Ostensibly, no retaliatory action can be taken.

But if they watch them all the time, they will have gaps in other people.

Things like, putting the coins they picked up in their pocket.

Poking lightly at the shoulder of the person with whom they are arguing.

That alone is a charge of embezzlement or assault.

It’s easy for those in power to drive commoners to ruin by “not righteously judging criminals, but unreasonable acts”.

“…So, in the end, what does this mean?” (Mitsuha)

I heard the explanation of direct appeal in this country.

But I still don’t have any idea why it was delivered to me.

I am certain that this is not from the people of my territory.

If the people of my fief want to complain about something to me, they can hand it directly to me while I’m walking through the towns and villages, or they can come to the fief’s mansion.

I’ll always receive it in person, and if I’m not available, they can give it to a servant to make sure it gets there.

There’s no need to pay the delivery fee and deliver it when I’m in the royal capital.

And if it’s an urgent matter, Anton-san will make the decision and include it during the regular radio call.

…Or rather, it’s written properly in the letter that it’s from someone from another territory.

“Why would someone from another territory appeal directly to me?

If they’re going to appeal directly, shouldn’t it be with their local governor, lord, or a minister in the royal palace?

Why did you come to me, a mere viscount from another territory?” (Mitsuha)

“That’s why I said earlier, ‘Now you’ve done it’…

A person who can almost certainly receive a direct appeal without throwing it away.

A sweet and good-natured person who would never abandon a person in need.

And someone who has difficulty ignoring others saying that ‘it’s none of my business’.

It was not addressed to ‘Her excellency, Viscount Yamano, the lord of another domain’, but to ‘the messenger of the Goddess, Hime Miko of Thunder’. Not to ‘correct misgovernment’, but rather, ‘Please help, Hime Miko-sama!’. So it doesn’t matter if it’s from another territory…” (Sabine)

Sabine-chan says that but……

“There’s a problem, a big problem.

The way you put that, it means all the direct appeals from all over the country, or even the continent, would come to me~!!

Besides, the titles divine messenger and Hime Miko are just common names, like unofficial nicknames, and my official title in this country is a Viscount! A Viscount!

Along with the Barons, Viscounts are classified as lower nobility. In other words, I’m a low-ranking member of the nobility.

I’m not in a position to put on a big face and act like a big shot in another territory!” (Mitsuha)

I roared like that, but…

“Yeah, it’s certainly true in terms of the peerage, but apart from that, Oneesama, you have the title of ‘Great Hero of Salvation’ along with the intimidation effect of ‘If you have a problem with me, I’ll call the Divine Army’ and a powerful weapon called ‘unmarried girl with a title and no fiancée’.

There aren’t many people who would treat you poorly, even the upper nobility, and few would want to be openly hostile to you. Moreover, your biggest advantage is…” (Sabine)

“My advantage is?” (Mitsuha)

“The nobleman over there didn’t know that you received a direct appeal, Oneesama.” (Sabine)

“Which means?” (Mitsuha)

“You have a very capable brain, you know, Oneesama.” (Sabine)

“A capable brain, you say?” (Mitsuha)

Sabine-chan then raised her right thumb and pointed it to her face.

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