16-3
To the Far Western Regions
Translator : PolterGlast
「Listen up, for a grand expedition
like this, first is a carriage. Next is food, medicine, and daily necessities.
Also, don't forget booze and your own dice.」
According to the details, it’s estimated to be an eight-day journey
one way. Since there was a facilitator there who was well-versed in
these matters, I focused on making preparations exactly as I was instructed.
First, we headed to a merchant company that mediates
carriages and rented the biggest one in their garage. It's a carriage drawn by
three horses, equipped with a canopy to ward off the wind and rain. It comes
with one exclusive coachman, and the fee is apparently 220 Crowns per day.
「Umu, next is grocery shopping!」
「Then leave the booze to me. My
nephew runs a liquor store.」
「I see, I leave it to you! But if it
wasn't my imagination, didn't you say niece before...?」
「Ah... Well, my nephew runs a liquor
store too.」
「Sounds sketchy...」
Securing necessary supplies including food, we then packed
the empty space in the carriage with trade goods from the east. When the 10
personnel and their respective equipment were added to that, not much leeway
was left in the carriage bed. Well, we'll just have to endure that until the
food and booze are consumed.
Now then, having finished preparations up to that point, we
departed the Imperial Capital. Having immediately become free, the
drunkards and Sigrun began gambling on the narrow carriage bed.
Kachua, the
former village girl, became absorbed in the passing scenery from the window and
chatting, while I read the books I brought, and since I was bored, I also got
off the carriage and tried pushing it from behind. Thus, noisily and
clamorously, the journey progressed, loud but a little boring. The carriage
that departed the Imperial Capital passed through Erin, ignored Naglfar
Port, and went straight west, ever west.
「Shinza, what kind of content is that book?」
「This...?」
A little while further on, perhaps bored with the unchanging
forest road, Kachua seemed to become curious about my book. It is a
romance novel from this world, and the title [The Knight and the Village Girl]
was inscribed on the heavy leather cover.
Let me tell you, it's not my hobby. Zirant and the
young lady Yumil were noisily insisting that I must read it, so I made
it a companion for this journey. Unlike things from the other world, books in
this world are all handwritten manuscripts. Therefore, the characteristics of
handwriting come out strongly. With a certain frequency, there were outrageous
typos, and sometimes I was troubled by eccentric handwriting.
The content is—I've read about half of it, but it's hard to
say it has depth.
「It seems to be a romance novel.」
「Eh...?! Why is Shinza reading
something like that!?」
「I wonder why... Perhaps because
there were people so persistently telling me to read this and study...」
「Ah... Sorry, but I’ve gotta admit,
that actually makes sense to me... I think you should read a bit more of that
kind of stuff, Shinza...」
I'll be honest. This book is boring... There's a lot of
conversational drama between the man and the woman, and depictions of their
feelings passing each other by. Even though they love each other, they just
won't get together, and the sluggish story continues endlessly. There are few
combat scenes or depictions of food. They don't even go on adventures. There
doesn't seem to be any passionate friendship or tricks to surprise the reader
so far either...
「Hey, but if it's boring, why don't
you stop reading?」
「No, it's not uninteresting. It's
certainly boring, but tracing the letters allows me to immerse myself and calms
me down.」
「Hmm... Weirdo.」
「A bibliophile is fine as long as
they can read fresh text. To put it another way, it's like a drunkard downing
cheap booze.」
Dropping my eyes to the novel, a man and woman of different
social standings overlap their lips and embrace passionately. It's boring after
all... I wonder if a bad dragon couldn't come and smash all this happiness and
pre-established harmony to pieces...
『What are you saying, that is one of
the top two famous scenes in the entire work!? A passionate development, as if
I'd let it become a development like an adventure novel! Read more carefully,
make your heart throb!』
It means that no matter how excellent a book is, it cannot
please everyone, huh. Sorry, Zirant. It seems this kind of thing doesn't
suit me after all. A story where a dragon burns down a town and kidnaps the
heroine is just right for me...
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
Ever since starting this long journey, gazing at the bizarre
book hidden from my comrades was one of my pleasures.
- Exploration -
【Walk
1,000 km around the Empire】 887 / 1000 km Completed
- Reward: Movement Speed LV 2 (Further all movement speeds +50%)
- 『Just a little more... Wagahai
is looking forward to it too.』
When we left the Imperial Capital, it should have
been around 360 / 1000 km. By the time we finished the third day of the journey
and rested the horses at a post town, it had increased by 427 km worth.
By the way, I finished reading that romance novel on the
first day and handed it over to Kachua. Kachua seemed to get
totally hooked on it. A girl who didn't have much of a habit of reading books,
her reading speed was slow, but she kept her eyes solely on the book all day
today as well. Her eyes getting moist, sniffing her nose, turning red or pale; Kachua's
appearance was more amusing to me than the book. Every time we took a break,
she would start secretly discussing the work with the manifested Zirant,
shoving the difference in sensibilities in my face.
Well whatever, 113 km left. Tomorrow too, I'll be the only
one getting off the carriage bed, pushing the carriage as we advance.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
On the evening of the fourth day, the carriage suddenly accelerated.
「Wh-What the?! Oi coachman, that's
speeding way too much no matter what!」
「No, it's not me, tell the horses!
Somehow these guys suddenly got energetic... Hey stop, won't you slow down the
pace!」
Sigrun and the
others were making a fuss in the front. Sorry to the coachman, but the horses
aren't exactly running wild. In fact, the horses' breathing is calm. Sigrun
seemed to have noticed that quickly as well.
「Mu, by the way, where is Shovel
Boy...?」
「Do you
mean Shinza...? If it's Shinza, he's in the back... Uwa?!」
「Hii, a person, a person is
glowiiiing?!」
It seems they finally noticed me. That's right. I achieved
the quota of the bizarre book and became Mr. Firefly again this time. Seeing it
for the first time, Sigrun slapped her knee saying delightful
delightful, while the coachman raised a scream as if he had seen a ghost.
「Wahahaha, why are you glowing, Shinza~!?」
「Didn't you know, Sigrun, this
guy is a firefly, gyahaha! As if there's a firefly like you, dahahahaha!」
「Yeah, sorry for keeping quiet.
Actually, my true identity is a firefly.」
The blue light brought by the bizarre book gave me a new
skill and accelerated the carriage's speed. 1.5 times became 2 times, so it
seems the carriage became about 33% faster.
「What, if you were a firefly, it
can't be helped!」
「Eeeh, you're convinced by that...」
「Big Sister Sigrun is as rough
as a dried-up old man, after all... Oi Shinza, stay inside until we
enter a town, you'll be thought of as a ghost or something.」
「That's true too.」
Returning to the carriage, I waited until my pale blue light
subsided. Now, tomorrow we will arrive at our destination, the town of Enes.
Let's rest our bodies while we can.
「A-A person glowing, s-s-s-something
like that is strange, isn't it!? Hiee...!?」
「But since I've glowed, it can't be
helped, can it.」
Since then, the coachman, who is a hired commoner, wouldn't
meet my eyes anymore. But I have no complaints. Kachua, Sigrun,
and the drunkards all accepted me just as I am.
- Exploration -
【Walk
1,000 km around the Empire】 1000 / 1000 km Completed
- Reward: Movement Speed LV 2 (Further all movement speeds +50%)
Acquired
- 『With this, it's 2 times. If you
combine this much mobility with that underground tunnel, it means you are
an elusive Shovel Man.』
- Exploration -
【Walk
2,500 km around the Empire】 0 / 2500 km Completed
- Reward: Movement Speed LV 3 (All movement speeds +50%)
- 『The priority is low, but I'll
accompany you on your food tours. I want to eat something unusual next time,
find a shop.』
- Exploration -
【Reach
the farthest end of the Coastal Provinces, Port Ake】
- Reward: None
- 『It is strange that there is no
reward... But what you gain from going there would probably just be an
adventurous spirit. Leave something like this alone.』
The Book of the Evil Dragon thrust an empty reward at me. Even if I go to the Coastal Provinces, I won't receive anything. It seems I won't gain anything even if I run away. However, being presented with it as a goal like this despite having no reward, makes me want to board Carral's ship all the more, which is troubling.
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