貴族の役割は、政治的な面での取り組みをし、一般庶民がその貴族の領地内で、平和かつ秩序ある生活を送れるように取り計らうこと。その他にも、自身の家で行っているなにかしらの経営や、軍事の取り締まり等々を行うのだ。
とどのつまり、貴族と庶民というのは、庶民が生活出来るように秩序を敷く者と、貴族が秩序を敷く為に税を納め働く者、という御恩と奉公の関係にある。
お金を納め、秩序通りに働く。働ける環境を整え、秩序を作る。そういう役割分担の出来た関係なのだ。
そしてその環境の土台となっているが故に、貴族には裕福な暮らしとある種の権力が与えられている。それは秩序を乱す者を排除する権利だったり、罪を犯した者を裁く権利だったり、地球で言うところの著作権や徴税する権利だったり様々だ。
だが、それでもその権限にも限度がある。
例えば、そういった権限を悪用した過度な徴税や、自分にとって都合の悪い
自分の感情のみで権力を振るう貴族程、秩序を乱す存在はいないだろう。土台が崩れればその上に立つ者は呆気なく崩壊するものだ。完全に、その行為は罪に値する。
問題なのは、罪を裁く側である筈の貴族が、罪を犯すということ。地球風に言うのなら、犯罪者を捕らえる立ち場である筈の警察が、犯罪者となるということ。
罪を裁く者が罪を犯した場合、それを裁く者は誰なのか? 貴族よりも上の存在は、唯一無二、『王家の人間』だ。
だが、貴族という存在はかなり多い。王族もそれを一つ一つ対処するにはそれこそ、莫大な費用と世界中を監視出来る程の広い視野が必要になって来る。
結論を言えば、貴族が罪を犯した場合、その罪を揉み消し闇に葬られることはそう珍しくないのだ。
貴族同士の小競り合い、潰し合い、牽制のし合いは庶民の知らない水面下で毎日のように行われている。その領地内で尤も位の高い貴族が、欲に駆られた俗物であればあるほど、秩序は乱れる。土台は崩壊し、その上に立つ庶民は生活する事が出来なくなる。
御恩と奉公で成り立っている秩序と平和は、貴族の行動の一つで直ぐに瓦解していくということだ。
そして、まさに今桔音のいる街、グランディール王国の庇護下にあるこの街、『アネクス』もその危機に瀕していると言って良い。
桔音とニコが集めた情報と、レイラが瘴気を使って集めた情報を見れば、そうとしか言いようがなかった。
まず、この街で領主をやっている貴族は、『オルバ・フォンネス公爵』。
フォンネス家という上級貴族であり、元々はグランディール王国に存在していた貴族だったのだが、軍事の領分でそこそこ力のある家に生まれ、戦争や侵略の際には数多く国に貢献してきた人物だ。
だが、とある戦争の際にちょっとした失敗を犯し、その償いとして王族からこの街へと異動を命令された。それからずっとこの街の領主として君臨しているのだ。
ちなみに貴族の位は地球同様、位の高い方から、
気に入らないと思った者を捕らえたり、反抗的な貴族の家を没落させたり、やりたい放題だ。しかも、それは巧妙に揉み消されている。王族が気付かないように行っている辺り、周到なようだが。
「聞いたところ、街の人達はオルバ公爵について良い思いは持っていないらしいんだよね」
「ふむ......」
「それに、明らかにニコちゃんを探していた男の件もあるし、ニコちゃんの家は多分税金未納だけが原因で没落させられた訳じゃないと思うんだ」
そういった情報を基に考えて見て、桔音はニコの家が崩壊したのはもっと別の理由があるんじゃないかと考えていた。
表向きは税金未納ということで捕獲しようと騎士達が動いていた訳だが、それならばニコの父親が捕まった段階で話は付く筈だ。にも拘らず、ニコという幼女までも捕獲しようと騎士達がまだ動いている。あの貴族の家の使用人であると名乗った男も、同様に。
「そっちの収穫は?」
桔音はレイラ達の集めてきた情報を求める。
すると、リーシェが何かを言う前にレイラが身体を乗り出した。
「うん♪ ちゃんと集めて来たよ! なんでも、騎士達はなんでそこの子を捕らえるのかの目的を知らないみたい。幼い子を追い掛け回すのは気が引ける、とか言ってたし......多分そのオルバとかいう人間とそれに近い貴族達位しか知らないんじゃないかなぁ?」
「ふーん......となると、ますます税金未納の線は薄くなるね。黙っておく必要はない筈だし」
「それと、その子のお父さんは捕まったみたいだけど、まだ生きてるようだよ♪ その子の居場所を吐かせようと尋問や拷問に掛けてるって言ってたしね♪」
なるほど、と桔音は頷く。
気になっていたニコの父親の生死も確認出来たことで、少しだけニコの表情にも明るい色が戻ってきたようだった。
だが、レイラの話を聞く限り尋問拷問に掛けているということは、父親には本当になんの用もなかったことになる。拷問ともなれば多少身体を痛めつけるのだろうし、最悪腕の一本や二本持っていかれていてもおかしくはない。
そうしてまで聞きだしたいことといえば、やはりニコの居場所なのだろう。何処に隠したのか、もしくは何処の誰に預けたのか、セオリー通りに行くのならニコの家と交流があった家は調べられていると見て間違いない筈だ。
「これはニコちゃんの家が貴族だっていうのもあながち外れてないかもね......」
「きつね君きつね君♪」
「ん、何?」
「私情報集めて来たよ? 褒めて褒めてっ♡」
思考を広げる桔音を余所に、レイラはむふーっと鼻息を出し、自信満々な表情でそう言った。心なしか少しだけ顔を桔音に寄せている。
桔音はそれを見て、呆れた様な眼をレイラを向けた。だが、それでも情報を集めて来てくれたことに対してなんのお礼もないのもなんだと思い、溜め息を吐きつつ、突き出された頭を撫でる。
「はいはい、ありがとうレイラちゃん」
「うふふ、うふふふ♡」
白い髪をくしゃくしゃと乱す、かなり雑な撫で方ではあったが、それでもレイラは満足そうな表情でだらしなくふにゃりと表情を綻ばせた。まるで懐いた猫の様だ。
そして、レイラはもっと褒めてとばかりに、頭を撫でる手に自分から頭を擦りつける。桔音はマーキングの様だと感想を抱いた。
そうしている内に、上機嫌になったレイラを一瞥しながらリーシェが口を開いた。
話を進めようという意味も含んでの言葉だ。桔音もそれを分かって、レイラの対応に止まっていた思考を再度働かせる。
「そうだね......幸いにしてニコちゃんの身柄はこっちにあるんだ。それに、僕達は冒険者だし、向こうからすれば力づくで排除しても問題ない立ち場の人間......そして僕の顔は向こうに知れた訳だ―――なら、何もしなくても向こうから何かしらの刺客が来る可能性が高い」
「......ああ」
「それをなんとかして、返り討ちにする。殺さず、撤退させるのが最良の対処だね」
情報は集めたものの、ここから何か出来るわけでもない。ならば、向こうから出て来てくれるのを待った方が無難かつベストだ。
そしてその刺客が好戦的なものであろうが、交渉的なものであろうが、返り討ちにして撤退させることが出来れば、それは確実に上に伝達される。
そうなった場合、最初の刺客と同等の刺客を用意するのは馬鹿のやることだ。件のオルバ公爵が同じ失敗をする程の馬鹿であるのなら別だが。
十中八九、そのオルバ公爵に近い地位の高い人材が出てくるか......もしくは用心棒を務める様な実力者が出てくるだろう。桔音達にとって最高なのは、オルバ公爵が出てくることだが。
「だから、まずはその最初の刺客を退ける為に......僕はまず出来るだけレベルアップに専念するよ。この左眼を取り戻してから向上した能力値とか手に入れたスキルも、まだ良く理解出来ていないからね。それに、リーシェちゃんやレイラちゃんが常に一緒にいるわけでもない以上、僕が一人でいる時に襲い掛かってくることもあり得るし、少しでも戦える力を増やしておくに越したことは無い」
「......なるほど、じゃあ私達はどうすればいいんだ? きつねがそうなると当分この街に留まるんだろう?」
「うん、リーシェちゃんにはギルドへ行って依頼を受けて来て欲しいんだ。この街にもギルドはあるようだから。と言っても、依頼の受注くらいでその他素材の売却とかは出来ないみたいだけど」
桔音はそう言って、リーシェにも指示を出す。
ギルドで依頼を受け、それを達成する事で次の街で使えるお金を少しでも増やしておこうという考えだ。
「ふむ......そうだな、分かった」
リーシェが頷くと、今度はレイラの方へと視線を落とす。いつの間にか腰のあたりに抱き付いているレイラは今にも眠ってしまいそうなほど気持ち良さそうに目を細めていた。
「レイラちゃんには、ニコちゃんと一緒に居て欲しいんだ」
「僕とリーシェちゃんはしばらく修行と依頼で出るから、レイラちゃんはニコちゃんを護衛してて欲しいんだよ。お願い出来ないかな?」
「んー......良いよっ♪ 修行から帰ってきたらまた膝枕してね?」
「......はいはい、分かった分かった。それじゃよろしく頼むよ」
桔音はレイラのおねだりにまた苦笑する。なんだかあの膝枕以降レイラのひっつき度が急上昇している気がする。
桔音も、レイラが自分に恋愛感情を抱いていることを知っているが故に無為にはしないが、その感情がどういうモノなのかを知らないまま放置しておくのも駄目なんだろうなぁと考えている。
いずれ、それをレイラが知る時が来る。その時は、きっと自分とレイラは今の様な仲の良い関係で居られるかどうか、分からなかった。
「じゃあ、それで行こう。いつ刺客が来るか分からないし、来るのかも分からない、いつも通りに無理に気負わず行こうよ」
だが、今はニコのことだ。
桔音はそう思考を切り替えて、そう言った。
Nobles' duties were to meddle with politics so that the commoners who resided inside their territory could lead a peaceful life. Furthermore, they also had to manage the matters inside their family, as well as the military affairs and so on in their respective territory.
Which meant, between nobles and commoners, the nobles ought to create regulations where the commoners could life peacefully, the commoners ought to work to pay the tax so that those regulations could be implemented, it was such harmonious public duties they had.
To save up money, they worked according to the regulations. To make an environment where they could work, regulations were created. It was such role-sharing they had.
Thus, as the foundation of such environment, nobles were granted with affluent wealth as well as authority. They were the authority to remove anything that disturbed the regulations, the authority to judge those who committed crime, the authority to collect tax as well as things like, in earth term, copyrights, and so on.
However, be that as it may, there was limit to such authority.
For example, abusing their authority to excessively collect taxes, framing and punishing any inconvenient people to them.
Most likely there was no nobles who would exercise their authority following their sentiment to the point of throwing the regulations out of order. If the foundations were to collapse, anything above it would surely immediately follow suit as well, after all. They were fully aware of that.
The problem was, the nobles, who were supposed to hold the authority to judge crimes, committed crimes themselves. If we put in on earth terms, it would be like, the police, who was supposed to be those who arrested the criminals, became the criminals themselves.
If the one who judge crimes were to commit crime themselves, who would judge them instead? The only one who stood above the nobles were, none other than, "Royal families".
However, existence known as nobles were very numerous. Thus, to judge as well as monitor every one of them all around their whole territories would cost the royalty an enormous amount of resource.
Thus, if nobles were to commit crimes, it wasn't something strange for those crimes to be cleaned up and buried in the dark.
Skirmish among nobles, crushing each other, constraining each other, such things happened everytime and everywhere in the dark unknown to the commoner. The nobles who were seated on the highest seat in their respective territory, if they were to succumb to greed and worldly desire, they might even temper with the regulation itself. With the foundation collapsed, the commoner who lived above that regulation were unable to conduct their daily activity peacefully.
Regulation and peace; which were constructed by duties and role-sharing; collapsed one after another because of the nobles' deeds.
And it was exactly such danger that was lurking within Anex, a town under Grandile kingdom patronage, which Kitsune and co. were currently at.
From the information Kitsune and Niko gathered, as well as the information Leila gathered using her miasma, that was just how the situation there expressed.
First, the noble who reigned as the feudal lord there was Duke Orba Fonnesse.
Fonnesse house was a high rank noble, it used to be a noble house at Grandile Kingdom, and as it had a fairly powerful military power, it also greatly contributed during war and invasion period.
However, upon making a blunder during a certain war, the royalty ordered it to be transferred into this town as punishment. And so it reigned as the feudal lord there from there on.
By the way, the noble ranks were pretty similar like the one on earth, those were Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.
Capturing people he deemed to be displeasing, crushing opposing noble houses, pretty much anything he pleased. Moreover, he slyly covered such deeds. So that the royalty didn't notice it, he did everything very meticulously, however...
"From what I heard, seems like the townfolks here aren't particularly fond of Duke Orba."
"Hmm...."
"Also, there's also the case about that man who was looking for Niko-chan, so most likely Niko-chan's house wasn't ruined simply because of the tax, or so I think."
With that information as the basis, Kitsune thought that perhaps Niko's house wasn't ruined because of tax, but for a completely different reason.
The knights were looking for them with the guise of tax overdue, however if that was really the case, it should've been settled the moment they captured Niko's father. Nevertheless, the knights were even looking for the young girl named Niko. Just like that man who said working for a certain noble house.
"Anything on your end?"
Kitsune asked Leila and Trisha about any information they got.
And then, before Trisha could say even a word, Leila suddenly leaned her body forward first.
"Yes, we got properly some! Unexpectedly, seems like even the knights; who are looking for that kid; don't know they reason behind it. Some even said how embarrassing it was to look around for a single kid, or something.... So perhaps only that Orba guy and nobles close to him who know about it."
"Hmm... which means, tax overdue becomes more and more unlikely the real reason, huh. Because, if it's only because of tax overdue, there shouldn't be any reason to hide it, after all."
"Also, seems like this girl's father has been captured already, but seems like he's still alive. I even heard that he was tortured to spill where this child is."
I see, Kitsune nodded in mutter.
After pretty much confirming that her father was still alive, Niko's expression became slightly more cheerful.
However, from Leila's words, if he was tortured in interrogation, Kitsune wondered whether he was really alright or not. Speaking of torture, it was usually in form of body torments, so in the worst case scenario, it wouldn't be strange even if he lost on or two limbs.
As for why he was tortured in the first place, as expected it was to know where Niko was. Where did he hide her, or perhaps to whom he entrusted her with, if they put that into consideration, without a doubt they most likely had done some investigation about any house that had connection with Niko's house.
"With this, it's almost for certain that Niko-chan's house was a noble house, huh...."
"Kitsune-kun, Kitsune-kun."
"Hmm, what is it?"
"I've gathered the information, you know? Praise me, praise me."
Toward Kitsune who was deep in thought, Leila said so excitedly; brimming with confidence at that; at him. She even slightly closed in her face toward his.
Upon seeing that, he looked at Leila with astounded eyes. However, he also thought that it might be not too good to not give her any reward for gathering the information so, even while sighing, he extended his hand and caressed her head.
"Okay okay, thank you, Leila-chan."
"Ufufu, ufufufu."
Making her white hair disheveled, it was quite a crude caressing, but nevertheless, Leila herself was brimming with satisfied and slovenly expression. As if a cat that was being hugged.
And then, wanting him to do it more, Leila rubbed her head against the hand that was caressing it. Kitsune felt as though she was trying to leave marking on herself.
And then, Trisha asked so while glancing at the happy looking Leila.
Those words contained meaning to continue the discussion. Upon understanding that, Kitsune continued the thought that once stopped due to dealing with Leila.
"Let's see... fortunately Niko-chan herself is with us. Moreover, we're adventurers, after all, so in their eyes, there won't be any problem to remove us using force... moreover they've already known my face, so even with us doing nothing, most likely they'll be the one coming at us with some sort of plan."
"...yeah."
"We'll somehow deal with it and turn the table on them when that happens. I think it'd be best if we could make them reat without killing any."
While ignoring Leila who was hugging him like a spoiled child, Kitsune discussed so with Trisha. Even if they had gathered such information, it wasn't like they could do something themselves. Thus, waiting for the other side to come to them themselves was the best option here.
If they managed to deal with the assassins who came, either it with force or negotiation, it would surely be conveyed to their superior.
If that were to happened, sending another assassins with the same level as the first would be an idiotic move. It'd be a completely different story if Duke Orba were actually such idiotic guy who would do such a mistake, though.
Most likely, it'd be either talented people close to Duke Orba, or some powerful mercenaries hired by him. The best possible outcome for Kitsune and co. was the person, Duke Orba, to come out himself, though.
"And so, to deal with those first wave of assassins... we should level ourself up as much as we can first. Ever since I got my left eye back, I haven't perfectly grasp my current status, as well as the new skills I acquired, after all. Moreover, since I won't always be together with you or Leila-chan, there's a possibility that they'd attack me when I'm alone, so I think it won't be bad to improve my prowess a bit."
"...I see, then what should we do? If you're going to do that, that means we're going to stay in this town for a while more, aren't we?"
"Yeah, Rishe-chan, if possible I want you to take some quests from the guild in the time being. Seems like there's guild in this town as well, after all. However, seems like we can take quests just fine, but we can't sell raw materials there, though."
After telling her his intention, Kitsune gave her some instruction as well.
By taking quest there, they could raise the funds that'd be used at the next town even for a bit, or so he intended.
"Hmm... you're right, got it."
After receiving Trisha's assent, this time Kitsune turned to Leila. Before he noticed it, Leila who and was hugging him around his waist ever since, was closing her eyes with a very happy expression, as though she might fell asleep at any given moment.
"As for you, Leila-chan, I want you to stay with Niko-chan."
"I and Rishe-chan are going to train and taking quest for a while, so I want you to guard Niko-chan in the time being, Leila-chan. Can I ask you to do that?"
"Umm... fine, but give me another lap pillow after you finish training, okay?"
"...okay okay, you get it, you get it. Then, I'll leave Niko-chan to you."
It felt as though after receiving that lap pillow back then, Leila became more and more clingy to him.
Kitsune himself was aware that Leila held affection toward him, so he didn't stay idle about it, but since he still didn't know to what extent her affection was, he thought that perhaps he shouldn't just leave her be.
Anyhow, there would come the day Leila understood that feeling. At that moment, he couldn't be sure whether they could stay as close as they were or not.
"Well then, let's get going. We don't know when or where those assassins will come, we also don't know whether they'll really come or not, so let's just do everything as how we usually do without concerning ourselves with such matter too much."
However, currently Niko was their main priority.
Shifting gear, Kitsune said so.
I Kinda Came to Another World, but Where’s the Way Home?
【書籍化】異世界来ちゃったけど帰り道何処？
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-kinda-came-to-another-world-but-wheres-the-way-home/
Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Harem Shounen Slice of Life
Apathetic Protagonist Bullying Calm Protagonist Demi-Humans Demon Lord Demons Dense Protagonist Fairies Game Elements Ghosts Heterochromia Knights Level System Male Protagonist Murders Naive Protagonist R-15 Royalty R*pe S*aves Sword And Magic Transported to Another World Weak Protagonist Yandere
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2650bx/
こいし