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The two of them were on horseback, plodding their way back to the city.

"You know..."
Snow, sitting in front, muttered, tilting her chin up slightly.
With the movement of her head, her hair and scent tickled the tip of Coai's nose.

"I couldn't really tell what the main attraction was."
"I'm sorry..."
"Ah, no, it's not your fault, Your Majesty. Don't worry about it."

The two had visited a nearby historic site recommended by the ring-maker Theodora... and were now on their way back.
Theodora had asked them to wait two days for her to come up with design proposals for the rings. So, while waiting, they had decided to ride out and visit the recommended historic site, but...

To put it bluntly, both the Al-Hisar Fortress ruins and the Al-Hikma Manor ruins had been a letdown.

The Al-Hisar Fortress ruins...
Holes large enough for a person to pass through dotted the uneven rock face. However, they hesitated to explore the interior.
This was because the inside was apparently an intricate structure of complex passages connecting the holes... and signs had been posted everywhere with warnings like, "Do not enter, as you risk getting lost once inside."

Of course, it would have been fine to just peek inside near the entrance... but a few steps in, it gave nothing more than the impression of a slightly narrow cave.
If Coai had been alone, it wouldn't have been a problem to proceed further, even if she got a little lost... but she didn't want to needlessly worry Snow, so she decided not to go too deep.
Still, even just looking from the outside... Coai couldn't really see the difference between it and the bandit lairs she had seen on the way to the castle city of Lascaris, and Snow, for her part, didn't seem particularly intrigued by her expression or attitude.

However, the Al-Hisar Fortress ruins were still the better of the two, if only because one could imagine the possibility that it had been effectively used as the stronghold of the 'King of the Demon Sword'—a labyrinthine trap to lure in and defeat surging enemy soldiers or political rivals.
As for the Al-Hikma Manor ruins, it was nothing more than the site of what seemed to be a former mansion, and the explanation given by the person there about the ruins was... utterly boring. Snow, who had been looking around everywhere else, likely felt the same.
Even though she had only just heard the story today, nothing of it remained in her memory. Snow, who had been yawning repeatedly since they started back, probably felt the same.