New arc!
<strong>Volume 3, Part 2, Free City</strong>
<em>Editor: Tseirp</em>
“I feel the wind of freedom!”
Ryo said, taking a deep breath on the deck of the Lone Dark.
“What’s this ‘wind of freedom’ supposed to be?”
The king, hispanion, didn’t seem to feel the same.
A monarch of an absolute state would, of course, be an enemy of freedom!
Naturally, the Kingdom of Knightley hasws.Even a king can’t ignore thews, so technically, Abel is more of a constitutional monarch than an absolute ruler.
But Ryo didn’t care about such details.
Absolute monarchy had a more tyrannical image, so Ryo liked to picture Abel as an absolute monarch.
“Ryo, you’re scheming something again, aren’t you?”
“A-again with the false usations, Abel! I was merely imagining a future where the citizens of the Kingdom of Knightley are happy.”
“Hmm…”
Abel, clearly not convinced by Ryo’s exnation.
“In my homnd, there’s a saying: ‘The city air makes one free’. If people spend a year and a day in a free city after escaping from a tyrannical lord, they can break free from their oppressor.”
“Interesting. So there are many differentws in the world.”
Ryo was referring to the knowledge he’d learned in high school world history.
Whether it applied in the Free City of Kwebasa was another matter entirely.
The Lone Dark, where the two stood on deck, was anchored about 300 meters off the coast of Kwebasa Freeport.
Awaiting permission to dock.
Being a warship of the Suje Kingdom, the entry procedures were different from a merchant vessel.
Of course, the Suje Kingdom embassy had submitted prior notice, so they expected to be allowed entry shortly, ording to Captain Gorick.
“g signal spotted from port. ‘Wait where you are’. Repeating: ‘Wait where you are!’ ”
A crew member at the mast shouted.
Captain Gorick, who was at the bow, also confirmed it with his own eyes.
“Confirmed!”
Gorick turned to Ryo and Abel.
“It seems there’s some issue. You might have to sleep on the ship tonight.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Well, nothing we can do.”
Ryo and Abel said, epting the situation.
They didn’t really have any other choice.
It was already 5 p.m.
And both of them suspected that they’d likely be dyed until the next day.
“It’s sad to be kept waiting right at thest minute.”
“Ryo-san, I’ll make you a delicious dinner tonight to cheer you up.”
The one who brought thisforting news was Lone Dark’s head chef, Susie.
“Really, Susie-san?!”
“Yeah. Since we’re docking tomorrow. We can use all the ingredients we have. Leave it to me!”
“Yay!”
Ryo almost jumped for joy at Susie’s words.
The crew smiled as they watched Ryo’s delight.
The scene on deck was one of peacefulness.
The Free City of Kwebasa consists of the maind, threerge inds, and more than ten smaller inds.
The threerge inds are called Administration Ind, Diplomatic Ind, and Prison Ind.
As their names suggest, each ind is home to its respective institutions.
Administration Ind houses the central government, including the Supreme Council, Free Parliament, and various ministries, making it the administrative hub of Kwebasa.
It’s quite arge ind, amodating the state’s nerve center.
Diplomatic Ind is where embassies from various countries and state-run amodations for delegations are located.
The embassy of the Suje Kingdom is also there, with over a hundred diplomats permanently stationed.
Afterpleting their mission of delivering Ryo and Abel, the crew of the Lone Dark would stay on the ind for some time to receive new orders.
The embassy on this diplomatic ind will serve as the center of the mission.
Finally, there’s Prison Ind. Which, as the name implies, is a massive prison.
It contains various types of facilities, from those housing petty criminals to high-security prisons for serious offenders.
Naturally, public ess to this ind is heavily restricted.
The threerge inds are connected to the maind by massive bridges several hundred meters long.
There’s also a bridge between Administration Ind and Diplomatic Ind, making travel between them convenient.
Kwebasa Freeport, where the Lone Dark was set to dock, is located on the maind. Most of themercial and residential areas are also on the maind.
The amodation prepared by the Suje Kingdom for Ryo and Abel was also said to be on the maind.
Their stay was pre-paid by the Suje Kingdom for two months.
A surprisingly VIP treatment!
One of the ministries that governs the Free City of Kwebasa is the Ministry of Ports.
Mishita, the deputy minister of the Port Authority, was frowning.
In front of him stood Ronfan, his assistant, waiting for instructions.
Mishita knew he was waiting, but…
“Are you sure Minister Bagaji gave this order?”
It was the sixth time Mishita had asked for confirmation.
“Yes, there’s no mistake.”
It was the sixth time Ronfan had answered.
“He wants us to let the gship Franze of the Atinjo Grand Duchy dock at the administrative port, while the entire fleet apanying it is to dock at Freeport? We’ve never issued such an order before!”
“Yes, I’ve never heard of anything like it. When I received the order, I asked for confirmation myself, but he insisted that it was correct… word for word.”
“What could he be thinking…?”
Mishita sighed for the umpteenth time.
If they followed this order, it would undoubtedly lead to chaos.
The administrative port, located on Administration Ind.
Primarily serves military and official vessels, including those of the Kwebasa Navy.
While there was some leeway, docking the gship Franze might be manageable.
The problem was the apanying fleet.
The Freeport isrge.
As it should be for a nation that thrives on trade.
However…
“A fleet of 200 ships… If that many warships enter Freeport all at once, it’ll cause a massive disruption. How does the minister not understand that?”
Of course, there was space for 200 ships to dock.
But these were warships.
And the crews were military personnel.
With the neighboring nations of the Atinjo Grand Duchy and the Ghegish-Lu Federation being so tense… it was easy to imagine this sparking a conflict.
“In general, no more than ten warships are allowed to anchor in port at one time… right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Although, it’s rare for even ten warships toe to this free city…”
Indeed, it rarely happened.
They would typically reject such requests through diplomatic channels.
But this time, various exceptions had been made.
“Their arrival is the day after tomorrow? There’s no helping it… ept them.”
“Understood.”
Deputy Minister Mishita gave the order, and his assistant Ronfan nodded.
“There’s another issue: the port functions have been disrupted, and…”
“Hm? At this time, there’s a request for a warship to dock?”
“Yes. It’s the Lone Dark of the Central Navy of the Suje Kingdom, requesting to dock.”
“Hmm. Wasn’t it originally scheduled to dock four days ago? Is there an issue with the embassy’s prior notice?”
“No issues. Of the 100 crew members, half are scheduled to stay at the embassy, while the other half will stay in the city… their entry applications have already been submitted.”
As Mishita flipped through the documents, Ronfan added further details.
“Hmm. Despite the rebellion, the queen’s ascension, and all the resulting chaos, they’ve sent a ship here… They must be stepping up their intelligence-gathering efforts. I wonder what their true goal is…”
Mishita let out a small sigh.
Frankly, he wasn’t good at handling these kinds of intrigues.
But with his superiors being unreliable, he had no choice.
He had resigned himself to this fate.
“Very well. Allow the Suje Kingdom’s ship to dock tomorrow morning. Inform Freeport.”
“Understood.”
And so, the Lone Dark, carrying Ryo and Abel, was granted permission to dock the following day.
That night, a luxuriousst supper was served, putting the entire crew in high spirits.
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