Vol 8 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Chapter 2 – Departure
They left on an abnormally clear day for the season
Seen off by their guild seniors to the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice, their journey west began
Looking to their left, the group crossed the Eight Canal High Coast; in the original world, it was called the Tae river in Celdesia
The area around the river was fa about two hours to ride to from Akiba on horseback, and with many wild monsters, it was one of the places they trained
However, just past the river was a completely unknown land
It was at a distance that would make a day trip from Akiba somewhat difficult, so it was past the boundary of territory that the group had experience with With that being said, the group felt more excited than nervous
Before long, the zone naed to the Plains of Zuland
The area was rew up to Minori’s waist in height and barren land The grass swayed in waves with the wind, and poking out fros The majority of them were uninhabited apart from the vines and animals they provided shelter to
“I can see so that looks like cows” Cae, followed by Serara asking
“Eh? Where, where? Where are they?”
After ns, Minori turned around in the driver’s seat to look, Isuzu was pointing at a group of large four legged creatures
“I think they’re a group of Green Elk” She told them, the information she’d studied from shi+roe on the characteristics and distribution ofin handy
“Are they dangerous?”
“It’s okay, they’re far away, and I’ve heard they’re not aggressive”
Monsters in Elder Tale were eneression There were ressive when you approached too close, ht, and nore you until attacked The Green Elk caroup
The carriage was travelling along a red clay road, occasionally patches of asphalt would appear, but it was fundamentally a red clay road with furrows carved into it by wheels that they travelled along at twice the speed of walking
The as still cold, but it wasn’t the biting chill of winter, it was an invigorating spring breeze
The area had fallen into ruin, but Minori still felt it was a beautiful place
The road through the planes drew a gentle curve, following south west, essentially parallel to the coast, but separated by several kilo plains
Minori remembered shi+roe’s lecture
How he’d told her that the road was Highway 1 on Earth, called the Eastern Sea Road Of course, Minori knew the word ‘highway’, but had never given it’s ht that it was a road with
According to shi+roe, a highas a state-administered main arterial road The main roads of the country were all state-ade sized roads and beloere administered by local authorities This efficient division of labour was invented and used since the Meiji period
Highway 1 was the first road frohway plan, a road which connected Tokyo and Osaka
A corresponding road existed in Celdesia, but couldn’t be cohway, that was the red clay road they were using
“Hey, Minori, the weather’s good, should we hurry a bit further?” Asked a lively Isuzu as Minori turned the pages of her notebook
“Shall we go?”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
“Let’s keep at it!”
“In front of I, Rundelhous, the road is clear!”
“Alright!”
Pushed onwards by her friends’ voices, Minori also roused a “Let’s do this!”
It was a mistake
Without stopping in the Village of Calbe, they hurried further along the red clay road, when in the late afternoon, the gear tethering the horses to the carriage suddenly disconnected
In front of a surprised Minori and Tohya, the horses let out a loud whinny and continued galloping, disappearing over the horizon
Inside the carriage left behind on the road, after exchanging duhter
The time limit for Twin Horse Flute of Lyman had run out
Because no one had noticed the daily six hour li, and because no one had expected that when the time limit ran out the horses would leave at full speed, they couldn’t help but laugh
“No way, even after they ate cabbage from my hand?”
“They ate from mine too”
“They really don’t understand human empathy, those treacherous people!”
“Well, they’re horses”
“I wonder if you can call them treacherous horses then”
“Treacherous horses, horses, just, ahahahahaha”
Isuzu and Serara were rolling about laughing in the carriage Tohya, Rundelhous and Minori were of course laughing too They were saying that, but the horses had looked at theetables There was no roup out of snacks
They’d coaxed the horses, and after the ti able to deal with things, they couldn’t hate the twin horses
They weren’t as worldly as the horses, so Minori laughed and felt ade with no horses, was aso much and they were taken aback
“It’s no use, Minori, come on”
Still giggling, Minori took Tohya’s hand and stepped down froe
Swaying fro, Minori leant on Tohya Her brother who could do the things she couldn’t
On the night when she’d beco in the dark, Tohya had stayed with her Although she’d never say it to him herself, she was proud of her brother
“The horses ran away, but isn’t that exiting itself?” Rundelhous said whilst stretching, “So, where about are we?”
According to Minori’s hly in between Calbe’s inn and Wisteria village
But whichever one they went to, struggling on through the night with the horseless carriage could be good Of course, once the recast time had elapsed, they could re-suhteen hours away, Ten o’clock the following
So the five of them decided they should camp
Together, they e to the side of the road to stop the now stationary carriage fro trouble to merchants or adventurers
Then the group prepared to set up camp
It was a cae failure
Because they weren’t skilled at setting up a ca the Need’s apron, Serara happily made a stew, by the time it was finished, it had become pitch black
After the horses ran away at four o’clock in the late afternoon, for a middle schoolers like Minori, it took a little more than an hour to find so to cook, the sun had set
Whilst they occasionallythe campfire, it was somehoell ordered, and took them probably around two hours
Tohya was in high spirits and the tent that he set up was slightly off balance, its right side slanting soh All of their hands were covered in grass and dirt, but that too was nothing but soh about
Serara’s steas someatery, and couldn’t be called tasty by any standard Rundelhous pulled out a piece of carrot that was still connected by the edge to another, and Serara bowed her head over and over apologising, but even so, the groups huhtest
Minori suddenly understood nature, it was like a nice natural park A hiking course along Ozegahara’s ination With no
experience beyond that, she was surprised, but somehow felt that there was no place rassy plains, with bits an pieces of broken concrete appearing here and there, and tree roots winding beneath the ground
After sitting cross legged for so long, Tohya leapt up with a cry, and with the tent partially collapsed, theyout properly and sleep well
Regardless, the five laughed and ate warether under the starry sky
With distributing anpan fro back to the heartless horses, sitting around the fire watching sparks rise and inspecting the carriage axle bytime under the star dusted sky
The start of their trip couldn’t be praised at all, it ard and clumsy, but it was their first expedition
With no one around for several kilometres, Minori’s heart pounded and she was exhilarated by an uneasy happiness
To catch up with shi+roe who she liked, she wanted a little ain that power made her happy
All the troubles they’dround, but felt like a blessing to the group If she’d been alone, Minori ether they were just funny things to liven up their trip
Isuzu started playing a sweet nuht
By the ti to lighten
It was three days since they’d left on their trip, and Tohya’s party was in the town of Sazan
It had taken just over a day longer than they had calculated to reach the town Whilst greeting e, they continued on to an inn with a horse signboard attached
The road the party were folloas called the Western Highway by the people who lived nearby
To the people living nearby, it was an arterial route which boasted a traffic volues, fishi+ng and slightly s with the occasional reat deal of merchant traffic, and inns were commonplace
They’d heard before, but since they left, they learnt, everything had a reason
When they looked at the s like ”Why does the road bend like that, wouldn’t a dead straight road to the destination bethe road, they saw all the things like deep forests, pits and hills that ht road impossible
With ht be different, but with the y of this world, it was impossible
The placees had a reason too How close they were to water, road connections, whether the land around it was fertile, the distance to forests and resource rich land All of these factors coordinated together, and when they were right to create a village, a village would be created there
A and the nurow, and it would becorow a nuraphical features around it, the volume of trade and the safety of the area, corow
When coe base for people of the land
The first floor of the inn called itself a bar, but rather than a bar or cafeteria, it had an at area
The building was huge andof the first floor was higher than a classroom, the floor was made of brick like blocks, and for about half of the room, they were then topped ooden floorboards
The reception and payment area were in the sa to the cheerfully sitting oldat the side of the fire, with a huge dog lying at his feet, his grand-daughters orked as waitresses would take the guests’ orders
Tanned sailors sat around a large table enjoying a quick drink The menu consisted mostly of marine products and alcohol
Thirtyon top of the largest table
The village of people of the land didn’t havefor so little, the inn didn’t even think of refusing
Serara was playing a toy like organ, Tohya beat the back of boxes, and Isuzu and Minori alternated between playing the lute and whichever was free did the singing
It was athered crowd of people of the land enjoyed it a lot
The owner’s granddaughters (there were soalcohol
The old roup
They drained their glasses over and over, especially Isuzu, as surrounded by people of the land hurling praise at her
Tohya had too much fun too, he eventually hit the wooden box that used to be a suitcase so hard that he broke it It normally would have made Minori mad, but she was happy too
Rundelhous had said that he was originally a noble of the people of the land, but without fitting Tohya’s ie of a noble, he’d taken control and made this party fun
To begin with, Rundelhous had said to the owner
”We are a travelling party of Adventurers, but our master musician has said that they would like to perforht If it won’t cause you any trouble, could you offer us somewhere to perform?” But it was really an excuse for a party
Afterwards, Isuzu stood at the front of their stage and introduced the others When they started playing, Rundelhous’ hair sparkled from the corner he’dthehis hands to them the entire time
Tohya thought that Rundelhous was a pretty auy
When Tohya hadn’t been able to join his football friends, he couldn’t have cheered them on with that kind of expression That filled his chest, and filled hith to perform Isuzu may not have understood the subtleties, but that was fine, this was the respect shared between men
They stayed up extre she could think of and performed as much as she could
Of course, they interspersed breaks for food and rest, and every tiroup of people of the land who hadn’t been in theroom yet would enter When they heard that the performance was over, they dropped their shoulders in disappoint, slowly dragging the performance out until five hours after sunset, the owner stood and shouted
”That’s it for today, everyone’s tired and you all have work tomorrow! Go on! Go home!”
”The girls are already asleep, so keep it down, Rudy!”
”Good night, Tohya-san, Rundelhous-san”
”Night, Tohya, Rundelhous-san”
Leaving behind those words, the three girls disappeared off to their assigned room
The inn didn’t have a bath, but they’d boiled soirls used it to wipe their bodies off and wash their hair Tohya and Rundelhous had roughly dusted themselves off and would do the rest tomorrow
Going in to their own room from the corridor they’d separated in, it was a simple rooined, ooden planks as beds, with a thick quilt futon on top of each If they corounds, it was like heaven
”Magic Light”
By the light the Rundelhous suht froe and sat on the beds
Their throats were dry, their stoish
It was all because of the clamour, but Tohya and Rundelhous basked in the echoes of happiness in the room
A journey to capture a wyvern This was different than what they iht
The five of the across the plains was like an adventure draht He didn’t want to accept it, but Tohya was a city boy, not a wild child
Stopping in the village to perform was a popular idea and a really enjoyable experience On top of it being like a festival, standing in the bright light at the centre gave theiddiness
Stretching on the bed with a sigh, the sense of excitement remained like the roar of the sea and they couldn’t fall asleep
”…fufu”
”…I know…Right?…Knew it!”
In the quiet of the rooh from the next room
They couldn’t understand as being said, but from the tone and type of voices, they could tell it was Serara and Isuzu Minori also chiles could be heard
”They sure are energetic”
”Too energetic” Said Tohya in a voice thatup
”What are they talking about, I wonder”
”Are you curious, Rudy-nii?”
”Of course not, I’ossip over what ladies talk about It’s just I ad”
”Well, they’re girls” Tohya answered with a less response and a smile
It reirls would chatter on and on about things; talking about the patterns of their socks would last half a day, sometimes even a whole day, Tohya and the other boys couldn’t understand it at all
Tohya felt that coirls, Minori was relatively calot heated up, she’d chatter on and on too It was so from a shop in front of the station, she spent about half a day explaining it to him, but he didn’t follow it at all
Judging from appearances, Rundelhous was happy; He irls’ chatter, but he had a se’s Gauntlet
”Rudy-nii, you’re excited too”
”Hmm This is just… ah, you always need to keep your equipment maintained”
”Fufun I’ll do that too then”
Tohya started exae
Just before they left, the party had their equipment examined by the craftsmen of the Eccentric Grotto They couldn’t have their equip after a few days Despite saying it wasit look good
It was already approaching ht, there was no way they’d do proper maintenance whilst their bodies were so tired If they were asked why they were up, it would be e, but they couldn’t quite sleep
It was a ht
Tohya and Rundelhous still had jewels they wanted to get fro the reht
About the carriage, the horses, the trip, the food, the carounds, and battle
Before stopping at this village, they’d easily dispatched the wild boars Minori stayed on high alert, but in the first place, the area around the road didn’t have high level monsters Battles didn’t seem like they’d be a problem in this zone
And then they talked about their friends again With a downtrodden face, Rundelhous sighed and murmured
”Say, Tohya Why is Miss Isuzu so childishly innocent?”
”Is she?”
To Tohya, Isuzu didn’t see and intellectual, but she acted her age She was a good friend who understood what the people around her felt He could understand why Minori had become best friends with her
”Well, she instantly grabs onto me and brushes my hair”
”Ah”
That was true, but she didn’t that to Rundelhous, not to Tohya
”I feel like she doesn’t think h, Tohya, I’m serious”
Tohya fell back onto the bed under the overwhel the tears fro for a response It was difficult, how should he ansithout saying so funny
”Well, uhh”
”Hmm?”
”It e to laugh The thought of Isuzu standing i
”Rudy is my henchman, so he’s special!” was too much, and made his stomach shake
”Special?”
”Isuzu-neechan is like that when you spend tiether and enjoy yourselves”
”I see”
”That’s right”
Rundelhous folded his arreement with himself
”But I don’t think she thinks I’’ or ‘specially a’ How does she think of e expressions”
”No, you saying ‘beautiful’ is a bit strange, Rudy-niichan” Was what Tohya didn’t say Rundelhous was bewildered, and Tohya’s precious older friend And now a member of his party, and an adventurer too
”Rudy-nii, you get on really ith Isuzu-neechan”
”Do you take me for someone ould ht get caught up in some trouble she doesn’t want, couldn’t she?”
Tohya praised hi it firolden haired youth, he’d stayed and listened to the performance, even if he felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave
”It doesn’ta serious face
”Well, yes, I guess so” Answered Rundelhous, cocking his head in confusion
Then the conversation moved on to their plans
They planned to follow the red clay road along to the Ruins of Ariba The Western Highway didn’t follow the coast, but h the plains near the Pacific coast and joined Akiba and Minami Their destination was the Redstone Mountains, at the Ruins or Ariba, the road split, and they would have to take the thinner roads, or where there was no road, they’d have no choice but to climb the mountains
Tohya didn’t hate fighting Of course, it could be scary or painful, but he felt that it brought the It was fact that there were monsters in this world where they were adventurers, if you wanted to live there, you should be able to fight
”To all out to Sakawa, aren’t we”
”Yeah I’ forward to it!”
”We should go to sleep now, Tohya We can’t be sleepy whilst travelling”
The two of them went to their beds and fell asleep with a sense of satisfaction
Sakaas a level area which included Odawari in the original world
Minori’s speciality wasn’t geography, but she could strangely understand this world fairly easily; it probably had so fro an interest
According to shi+roe’s knowledge and what Minori had researched before leaving Akiba, this area had an abundance of water, so was an agricultural centre Ses of people of the land were dotted around, and mainly farmed wheat and rice That’s what she’d heard
The enemy classification was nature centred, there were many monsters like wild hounds, boars and plant monsters However, they mainly lived in the forests and on the mountainside, the plains were by no means absolutely safe, but the monsters encountered had relatively low levels and the encounter rate was low
Nevertheless, the group were put on their guard by a slight tension in the air
It ht have been a difference in the smell of the air, or in how the treetops swayed, but it settled in their chests and told the their journey, they’d happened to catch glances of goblins running far aice They’d also had a battle which couldn’t be called anything more than a skirmish
Of course, they weren’t hurt, but it served as an oe from how they’d been until now
“Dire Rats are co out”
“They surprised me”
The party talked and gradually progressed up the steepening incline in their carriage
As they clireeted them When they first laid eyes on it, it looked like a snowy expanse, but the slight, sweet scent of flowers reached them and they understood
“Cherry trees!? Are those cherry trees?”
Isuzu asked, leaning out of the carriage, and Serara held her up and revealed what they really were
“No, Isuzu-san, those are plum trees”
It stood out a, a hamlet of plum trees
“They sood”
The scent eak, but held a certain presence in the fields
The slopes of the hill were divided into rows by stone walls, with gaps in theh In the rows of fields, plum trees were scattered here and there Whether the exposure to the sun had been thought of, this hill had become a forest of plum trees
They continued following the road around to the west, it was a little off froht ahead was a large river To cross the river, they needed to choose a place
The white scenery continued Isuzu and Rudy were earnestlyto the two of theht plums with Nyanta and pickled them into a jam
It was a peaceful scene
The as still cold, but the glorious sunlight had h sunny areas As they drew closer to the river, the wind had more water in and the temperature dropped, and the calun in the forest continued
From the forest, they could hear the distant voices of people of the land
TheyThe five of thehtly
The ated as they detoured around the riverside forest, searching for so out the light, there came a sharp screa returned in an instant
Minori held up her staff in front of her chest
“Minori, I’ there!”
“Tohya!”
“What is it!?”
Rather than screarew louder and a single man tu brown and grey clothes to protect against the chill In the time it took to look over the burly man, people ere likely his friends ran out after him from the darkness
Tohya leapt from the driver’s seat and raced forwards several times faster than the men
“An attack, get ready!” In response to the yell, Minori waved her staff and put a Purification Barrier on her younger brother The breathing drawing closer through the forest sounded like a beast, it was ogres
Ogres were one of the evil deoblins that the group fought in Choushi+
Cores were taller and more solidly built They walked with a hunch, but if they straightened their backs, they’d be around the saoblins, in exchange, they were poor at coordinating and teaoblins
High level goblins would use weapons, tame Dire Wolves and siic
Most high level ogres however wouldn’t even wear arreater stares nas like Ooei in quests They were a famous race
Ogres and goblins both had a wide range of levels froaed in characteristic areas
Frooblins, and froression, but shi+koku had lizardmen and Kyushu had Orcs
Each area had their influences and characteristic quests
shi+roe had told Minori all of this
And according to shi+roe, the levels of the monsters near the road were kept pinned down Of course, there e in the worlds so he’d advised caution, but even so it was a little strange The ogres they encountered had levels of twenty one, of course, they weren’t much of a threat to the party, but weren’t they inally away from the road, from the forests and mountains?
“Wolf-chan!”
Alert fro of unease at Minori’s side, Serara descended froe and su, still chubby grey wolf Clad in uarding them
“For now”