The Runaway Serf

We headed for the city of Kassad, leading the mules along with us.

The girl appeared to be in a deep sleep and still hadn't woken.

Moving while wrangling captured mules inevitably slowed us down.

Mules couldn't match horses in speed, but they needed less feed, had sturdy bodies, and could even plow fields.

They were in high demand and fetched good money.

When the sheer number of them became a real hassle, we ran into a caravan.

The caravan master spotted us leading a large herd of mules and called out.

In no time at all, a deal was struck for the caravan to buy them.

The price was a bit below market rate, but he offered to pay in full on the spot for all but two, so I agreed.

The reason I didn't sell them all was that we needed two ourselves to pull the new carriage I planned to buy.

I shook hands with the caravan master, handed the mules over, and collected payment.

He went on his way with a smile, resuming his journey.

With just two mules, things were much more manageable.

They'd already been well trained and fitted with saddles, so Elza and Alexia each mounted one and we set off for Kassad again.

Azu and I took the driver's seat.

We spent one night on the road, then finally arrived at the shop in Kassad.

We had citizenship, so there was no entry tax to worry about.

After unloading the goods at the shop, I left Elza in charge of carrying the girl we'd taken in to the house.

The shop's expansion was already finished, and the space had grown considerably.

I moved the two mules to the carriage bay in the newly built section and tied them up.

They immediately started drinking water and munching on the grass I'd prepared.

Pretty relaxed for animals that had just changed owners, but that worked in our favor.

I returned the rented carriage and checked on the one I'd ordered. It would be ready soon, apparently.

Back at the shop, I arranged the goods I'd picked up during the peddling trip in part of the expanded space and put price tags on them.

The soap we'd discussed before was already on the shelves. Fast worker, that one.

"They've been selling pretty well. I had them made with a nice scent."

"That's good. But if there's only one variety, customers will get bored. Have them make a few more test batches."

"Understood."

Nothing to worry about with the shop.

I checked the ledger and the safe. The expanded floor space had led directly to more sales, just as expected.

The Empire's goods were selling too.

Probably because recent events had made it harder for Empire products to flow into the Kingdom, so they had a novelty factor.

Once Aquarius settled down, trade should pick up again. Surely it wouldn't come to war again. Right?

After finishing all that, I finally headed home.

The girl had been put to bed, so I made bread porridge by simmering bread in goat's milk.

I peeled and sliced an apple, mixing it in. That would soften it up nicely.

Enough for us, plus a portion for when the girl woke.

I added a small pinch of cinnamon as a spice, and the aroma filled the room.

When I set the bread porridge beside the bed where the girl slept, the scent must have reached her, because her nose twitched.

I started eating first, and before long, the girl finally woke up.

She looked around in confusion.

"Um, where… am I?"

There was a slight accent to her speech.

Everyone on this continent used the same language, but in rural areas, local dialects could give people a distinctive way of speaking.

"This is my house. I found you captured by bandits and took you in for the time being. Do you remember?"

When I said that, the girl fell into thought.

The smell of the bread porridge beside her seemed to be distracting her, though.

"Have some first. You must be hungry."

"Is that… really okay? Um, sir."

"Just eat. It's yours."

She must have been starving.

She grabbed the bowl of bread porridge and started shoveling it in with the wooden spoon.

"Take it easy. No one's going to take it from you."

Elza said that and wiped the girl's messy mouth with a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry… I've never eaten anything this good before, so…"

"… Just finish eating. Oh, right. Tell me your name, at least."

Otherwise I'd have to keep calling her "hey" or "you."

"My name is Orleans, sir."

The girl who'd introduced herself as Orleans finished her bread porridge, drained her water, and took a breath. Her complexion had improved.

"Right, Orleans. After we fought off the bandits that attacked us, we found you at their hideout and took you in. If we'd left you there after wiping them out, it would've been leaving you for dead. Do you remember any of that?"

The girl had been assaulted. I didn't want to make her relive those memories, but I had to ask.

There might have been other members of their group.

"… I'm sorry. I remember being captured by the bandits, but I don't really remember much after that. When I came to, I was here."

"I see. Well, that's fine. So where were you living before the bandits grabbed you?"

"Yes, um… I was living on a nobleman's estate. I ran away with my father and mother, but we were caught by pursuers. They told me to run on my own, and I managed to keep going, but then the bandits surrounded me, and then…"

"That's enough."

I cut Orleans off. I had a rough idea now.

A runaway serf.

They were uncommon in the Kingdom, but in the Empire, senators and nobles often controlled vast tracts of land where people were bound to agricultural labor. Generation after generation, they had no path but serfdom, worked to the bone without end.

Apparently, slaves were sometimes bought and made into serfs as well.

"Um, sir. I want to go back to my father and mother."

"… I hear you. For now, rest. You're in the Kingdom. You're safe here."

When I told her that, Orleans, perhaps exhausted from talking, fell asleep again.

Sending this girl back to where she came from would only bring her misery. Her parents wouldn't want that either.

But her own wishes mattered. They probably wouldn't chase a runaway serf across national borders, but still…

What to do.