The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

on for two decades, the land is all the more devastated. Even finding enough food to eat becomes problematic."
    Shoukei said, "No matter the king, he gives his all for the people. But it's not necessarily true that these efforts will quickly come to fruition and yield results. When a kingdom is in chaos, so are men's hearts. For the time being, judgements must be severe and the people brought back to the straight and narrow. Don't you think that is necessary?"
    Her father had said so often. Whenever he promulgated a new law, there were ministers who complained it was too strict. He repeatedly insisted that in order to reorganize a kingdom, such steps were required.
    "But to such an extent? There are limits to everything. True, overthrowing a king is perhaps going too far."
    "The Royal Hou did not fall because he lost the Divine Mandate, but because traitors assassinated him."
    Rakushun nodded. "The province lord of Kei rose up and struck down the king. Though regicide is a grave crime, it is not always proscribed. In some cases, it might be preferable."
    Shoukei bowed her head. It was beginning to dawn on her why her father had been so hated, why a traitor like Gekkei remained so popular. The people believed that Chuutatsu was only making things worse. Gekkei acted before ruin was visited upon them, and so they revered him. The people made their choices clear. And thus their reproach had turned on Shoukei as well, who had never once remonstrated with the king.
    "Let's go," Rakushun said.
    Shoukei walked from the rather sad Ryuu side of the city to the bright and thriving En side of the city. The name of both cities was Hokuro.
    As expected, when entering En, passports were expected. According to custom, passports were always inspected when crossing an international border, in order to check the movement of criminals and inspect any belongings in your possession. You were not necessarily turned away if you didn't have a passport, but you did have to be questioned by an immigration official.
    Having been told about this beforehand, Shoukei nervously told the border guard that she did not have a passport. She was shown to a building next to the gate, but another guard stopped then. "No need to bother," he said. "As long as you're with him, you can be on your way."
    The guard politely handed Rakushun's passport back to him. Rakushun bowed and passed through the gate. Shoukei asked him again, "So exactly who are you?"
    "Like I said, a student."
    "Whenever I think about it, you're an awfully suspicious guy."
    "I've got my reasons. Just as you have yours."
    "It's almost as if your plan all along was to investigate Ryuu."
    "That was part of it. I wanted to see what other kingdoms were like. When I was living in Kou, I heard a lot about En, but actually going there was a whole lot different. School is in recess from the New Year till spring. So I wanted to spend the time to take a look at the other kingdoms. As it turned out, there were people willing to make the necessary arrangements if I went to Ryuu. In exchange, I was to fill them in on the state of affairs in Ryuu."
    Shoukei gave Rakushun a sideways glance. "You mean, like whether Ryuu is in decline."
    "Yeah," Rakushun nodded. "This is a matter of no small import. If Ryuu really is failing, then its borders will become more and more dangerous. Refugees will start flooding out of Ryuu. A kingdom has got to prepare for that kind of eventuality. A heads-up beforehand can make all the difference."
    "So, important people in En sent you to investigate."
    "That's pretty much it. En is a wealthy kingdom, truly blessed. The land and the people are at peace. But that doesn't mean it is free from problems." Rakushun looked over his shoulder and pointed back at the gate. "The Ryuu side of the city is rather forlorn. No two ways about it, it's better to stay at an inn in En. Despite this, come nightfall and you have many people entering Ryuu. Why would that be?"
    Shoukei craned her neck, looking backwards. "It is strange, now that you mention it. So many people leaving like that. There's no way they could make it to the next city now."
    "It's because there's no low-rent district in En."
    "Eh?"
    "The people of En are well off. When they stay in an inn, they don't have to share lodgings with people they don't know. In the first place, such establishments aren't that common. And the clientele tend to be the kind who skip out on the rent, so innkeepers have no fondness for them.