Глава 9

This is our home! It's not us who should go packing!

—Who had the lip to say that just now?

What are these... Wilted leaves?

Step forward right now!

You Tara rabble, watch I don't—

Brandishin' a bolt on the street's far too dangerous!

Who're you?

Ah, I'm here on orders. Come to investigate the case.

You're here for the murder at the bar?

Er, what murder?

This rabble right here. They've killed plenty of ours.

...Damian Barry?

Right, I hear he's been put to death already. I suppose it was you lot who caught him? Nicely done, thank you.

We didn't know yet when we caught him... was he really part of the spectre force? Er...

Who gives a shake what he was? Serves him right he's dead!

Did you hear me? No—congregating! Each and all of you up to whatever secret business here, you'll all be treated as suspects!

You bloody Tara arselickers—

Don't! Don't get carried away! Look, most of 'em are just plain city folk, with a loved one dead, and they're here grievin' for him, like human nature would.

Uh—a—a rotten potato?

Ha ha, see? You spoke for them, and you got battered, right?

If you're so keen on staying here, stay. As long as I make sure this rabble behaves itself, I'm done. My rotten luck for getting this patrol duty.

You riff-raff, I'll say it again, no congregating!!

I...

Oh, it's just more and more rottin' leaves...

Come this way.

Eh, what?

'Reporting in, 9th Defence attacked...'

'Reporting in, 13th Defence currently in firefight...'

Send notice one more time, please. I want to see Colonel Hamilton.

The Colonel's handling urgent affairs.

You said that two hours ago.

I've already abided by strict process. I submitted description of my duty yesterday when entering County Hillock.

If the Colonel won't let us take part in suspect interrogations, and goes to lengths to execute them beforehand, and presently refuses my request to meet him—

To anyone else, don't you think this conduct might be taken as a deliberate hindrance to our fulfillment of orders?

I have no authority to answer your question, Lieutenant.

That's fine. I'll say my part, and it's enough if someone listens.

I've said before, the Originium products thieved are not small in number. It's sufficient arms to allow a detachment to attack a small town, or bomb a medium nomadic city's support tracks.

Who'd want to obtain these products?

Ordinary bandits wouldn't need them; it'd cost too much to smuggle them out. With Victorian military goods in this great a bulk, even a Sargon black market under Columbia's protection wouldn't dare provide a means for a deal.

Who else is left? A local private arms dealer, moneymaking off the costs of remodeling? They haven't got the appetite, let alone the guts.

Only a well-trained unit, well-versed in military methods would dare take it, and could evade our spies on top.

If this unit got hold of that large a quantity of Originium product, what would their goal be?

Conspiracy to overthrow? Taking the chance to embezzle far removed from Londinium, colluding with outside powers to fill their pockets, slowly and steadily?

Lieutenant...

No need to panic, this is all just baseless reasoning, no thanks to whoever's keeping me waiting. I can't get anything done like this.

(Subdued communications)

Lieutenant, the Colonel says he'll be here imminently.

Ugh, took a peltin' and some. Missed Captain Kelly in the end.

Here, take this hankie, wipe yourself off, or else the smell of those rotten leaves'll stick to you.

Thank you!

Didn't imagine any of our soldiers apart from Captain Kelly would visit District Seventeen on their own.

Our soldiers? You mean like, you're one too?

Shh.

(Clears throat) I slipped out in secret. Can't do that in uniform.

You're not gonna make anyone happy taking a shortcut to the barracks through here in that getup.

Eh, really?

No wonder. I barely said anythin' before it was a bombardment of all gone-off leaves and fruit.

Are you a new transfer?

Kind of. I'm here from Londinium.

Well, Londinium! I've never been. Must be miles larger than County Hillock there...

Does The Shard really go three hundred floors up? Is there really a teleportation circle buried in the mound under the Royal Victorian Academy of Sciences, leading to the miraculous space where the first Draco King's Jewels are kept?

Eh... eh? Jewels? Never even heard of them.

But I do know what the high-speed terrestrial warships look like when they leave the factory, and I've seen the hydroponics workshop... If you wanna know anythin' of that sort, I could definitely tell you.

Warships? Hydroponics workshop...? Doesn't sound... too much like Londinium is in novels... Oh! Sorry! Don't let me distract you.

If you want to investigate, it'll probably be hard to ask on any of these streets.

Might end up like this again, with...

With gettin' a stink all over me for no reason?

Got off light, haha. You're not that stinky.

Do these residents often have clashes with us soldiers?

Used to just be minor friction, but it's been getting tenser lately.

It's like you've been hearing. There's been several cases of our soldiers getting targeted in attacks, and it's stretching everyone's nerves close to the limit—

Could it really be the spectre force... that's weird, they didn't really target ordinary soldiers before.

Spectre... what are you going on about?

...Nothin'.

Speakin' of, that patrol just now callin' the people here 'Tara rabble'—

Hold on, don't—don't just say that out loud here! They'll be eyeing us again... What, are you hoping to take away even more rotten veg?

Ah... gotcha. Are they really not Victorians?

Of course they're Victorians.

I'm gettin' more and more lost here.

Some people would choose another word, yeah, the one you've been hearing—Tarans, that's their identity.

You have both the locals themselves who would call them that, as well as a decent portion of the soldiers.

Now that you put a fine point on it, I've heard the term before.

In novels?

In history textbooks.

Right. They've always been here.

Over hundreds of years ago, when it wasn't County Hillock yet, and we still hadn't built our nomadic cities, back when it was grass all across the vales as far as the eye could see, this place was their home.

I still remember the legend of the Draco King, Gaeil... was he born right around here?

Tara was the very name of this region back then.

Right. I've read heaps of novels all about the saga of King Gaeil.

King Gaeil led the Tarans in a conflict against the first Aslan King, but a few years later, he signed a peace treaty along with the ruler of Londinium, didn't he?

And here I was thinkin', after that, the word Tara just sort of fell away.

Before I came to County Hillock, I thought the same...

But Victoria's always changing, isn't it? Us Vouivre didn't always live here, but we're all Victorian citizens now.

If everyone's minds went like that, we'd avoid plenty of conflict.

*Sigh*...

No need to let it get you down, though. The whole reason we're here is to uncover the real enemy, stop the clash gettin' any bigger, isn't it?

So you'd rather not leave, even if it means a headful of rotten cabbage?

Haha, you think I'm bein' a right dunce, don't you?

No, not at all. Actually, you're amazing to me.

The patrol just now, I've seen masses of rough attitude like that. It's not like I've never wanted to stop it... but I'm a guard of honor, that's all I am.