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“Hey Ryoma, have you ever had beer?” Scarlet asked as she held up a wooden mug full of a foreign liquid.
Ryoma shook his head. He vaguely recalled seeing beer before, when he had travelled with his father on diplomatic trips, but he was too young to appreciate it.
“Here, have some!” Scarlet placed a mug on the table in front of him. Ryoma looked inside at the dark liquid. It had a slight fermented smell characteristic of alcoholic beverages.
He lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip. It tasted bitter, but he admitted it had a pleasant, earthy, after taste.
“It’s not bad.”
“Not bad?” she laughed, “This is the good stuff!”
She sat down opposite him and took a swig from her own mug. “Drink up while you can, we don’t get this very often.”
He looked around the dining hall; it seemed that almost everyone had a mug in their possession. He gave her a small smile, “Thanks.”
“Do you have something similar in Hoshido?” she asked as she took another swig.
“Hmm…” Ryoma tapped his chin, “I guess sake would be the closest thing. It’s made from rice. But,” he stared down at the large mug in his hand, “You would savour it in small amounts instead of… drinking it like that,” he gestured to the various people throwing back mug after mug.
Scarlet burst out laughing. “I see, I see. I would like to try this ‘sake’ of yours one day.”
Ryoma then proceeded to tell her all about sake; how it was made, the ways it was used in Hoshido.
“You can even use it in cooking!” he gestured excitedly.
She grinned, “Wow Ryoma, usually you’re so reserved, but when it comes to a topic you’re knowledgeable about, You get really passionate.”
“Oh…” He hadn’t even realized that about himself. He supposed that was true. But part of it was that he found it so easy to talk to her. He couldn’t remember the last time he opened up so much about anything to anyone back in Hoshido.
Being here, fighting with the resistance, certainly wasn’t without its challenges. But it had been a lot more enjoyable than he had ever imagined. It was quite liberating, being in a place where he could just be himself. In the short timespan he had been here, he had made several friends.
“So, what’s the occasion?” he asked as he took a drink, savouring the taste.
“Oh! It’s a gift from one of the nobles we took a job from the other day,” she replied, “A bonus for a job well done.”
Ryoma looked at her, surprised. “I didn’t realize that nobles did that.” He had thought that all the nobles in the area were corrupt, and that was why they were fighting.
She gave him a wry smile. “There are a few good ones. Though most of them are greedy and only think about themselves.”
“And I’ll tell you what’s worse than nobles, royalty! They’re the worst!” Scarlet slammed down her mug, making a face.
Ryoma almost choked on his drink.
“Are you ok?” she looked at him, surprised. He managed to nod as he coughed a few times.
“They’re all a bunch of lazy bastards!” she continued, “While we toil in the land, barely scraping by, I bet those fancy… weaklings laze about in their castles, not lifting a finger!”
“And they squeeze us dry with taxes without giving us anything in return. Even though it’s their duty to protect the citizens, they take from us instead. Just because they’re some sort of descendant of dragons, they think themselves gods or something. They never think of us normal folks they step on.”
“They’re either ignorant to our plight, or they know exactly what they’re doing and doing it on purpose… and I don’t know what’s worse!” she groaned.
“What about you?” she turned to him, “Is it like this in Hoshido too?”
Ryoma was silent. He liked to think that he and his family weren’t like that. But it wasn’t like he helped his citizens personally, or really got to know them…
He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers; he was told that he was descended from the Dawn Dragon, but unlike Corrin, it didn’t give him powers to transform or anything. The most he could do was use dragon veins to affect the landscape…
…which he admitted was probably a super power to a normal human.
All his life, he was told it was his birthright to rule the land of the Dawn Dragon. He never really questioned if it was something that he should, or want, to do. It was simply his lot in life.
We were given the powers to rule, but in exchange, it’s your responsibility to protect the weak. He recalled the words of wisdom from his father, ingrained in him since childhood.
Ryoma thought had a decent grasp on the internal affairs of Hoshido. While he knew he couldn’t please everyone, he felt he did his best to assist his mother. But Scarlet’s words stung. They weren’t directed at him, but it made him wonder if his citizens felt the same way. His stomach churned with the realization that there was probably a resistance group somewhere in Hoshido too.
No, I’m better than those Nohrian royals.
It would be easy to think of it that way. But ever since he came here, Ryoma became painfully aware of how little he knew about the world. He had vague memories of travelling outside Hoshido with his father when he was young, but after his father died, Hoshido closed its borders, and he too had closed his eyes and ears to the outside world.
“...Do you wish you could be the ruler instead?” Instead of answering her question, he proposed one of his own.
“Oh…” she looked surprised at his question. “Hmm….” she knitted her brows and thought about it for a few moments, then sighed, “Nah, not really.”
Perhaps realizing what he was getting at, she laughed sheepishly. “It’s not like I think I would do a better job or anything. I just wish…” she sighed, her voice lowered, “I just wish things were different, better.” She rested her head on her arms. “Sorry… I’m just venting. I know that doesn’t really help…”
“But you are doing something. You’re not satisfied with the way things are, and that’s why you started the Resistance, right?” he smiled.
“Ah…” her face reddened. It seemed that he had seen through her. “Well… yeah. I do my best, but honestly I don’t know how much of a difference I can make really.”
Ryoma was really glad he came here. He had initially joined them to gather information, but his experiences here opened his eyes. He had seen their struggles first-hand, and experienced them alongside everyone. Scarlet’s leadership and passion had inspired him, and prompted him to self-reflect on what he could do better.
He vowed that when he went back to his normal life, when he had the power and ability to make a difference, he would do his best to affect change.
“Heh, don’t discount yourself,” he gave her a reassuring smile, “You’ve already made a bigger difference than you know.”