The main issue when traveling by carriage is how to kill time.
When I used to adventure with Kasugal and the others, we didn’t have much to talk about, and I often struggled with boredom.
Thinking back, those guys were secretly flirting.
Luckily, the magic carriage doesn’t need a coachman and hardly shakes at all. Any minor monsters get run over by the horse golem, and if a larger monster appears, it gives a warning.
The carriage is also fast. Once, some bandits appeared, but they couldn’t catch up to us, and it was amusing when we wiped them out from a distance with magic.
This time, Sepia is with us, so we can use the time to make up for lost lessons. Noel and Arnella don’t have much to do in the carriage, so it works out well.
‘Oh well…’
Sepia, who is acting as the teacher, doesn’t seem to mind too much. We take breaks here and there while holding lessons in the back of the carriage.
For meals, we eat the perishable foods first. Even though the nearest town isn’t far, it’s common practice when traveling to eat the easily spoiled items early.
The greatest advantage of a magic carriage is that it can travel at night without any issues. The horse golem’s eyes are equipped with lights, so nighttime travel is not a problem.
Of course, we have to slow down a bit at night to avoid being jolted awake, so I’ve set the pace lower.
We lay out sheets in the back of the carriage and sleep, the five of us. The wagon isn’t being used for business, so there’s plenty of space, though it’s a bit cramped for five people to stretch out.
The sound of the horse golem running is the only thing echoing through the night.
Noel and Arnella are already asleep. They fall asleep quickly, likely due to their training as slaves.
Sepia is also asleep, muttering something in her sleep with a carefree expression, so it doesn’t seem to be anything important.
Mastema, though lying down, has her tail twitching. She’s not asleep. Then again, demons don’t need sleep, so she’s just keeping us company.
When I glance over at Mastema, I notice she’s writing something on paper.
‘Don’t look.’
Mastema notices me and pushes my face away with both hands.
‘What are you writing?’
‘…A book.’
‘A book, you?’
‘I’ve already read everything I have on hand, so if I want to read something, I’ll just have to write it myself.’
She’s started saying things like a writer.
‘I see. Let me read it when you’re done.’
‘Hmm, sure. But not now. It’s not finished yet, and I’m still mulling over some things.’
With that, Mastema resumes writing. I’m curious, but it’s obvious she’ll get angry if I try to peek, so I leave her be.
It’s a good thing to have a hobby. Especially for a demon who lives long lives. Humans would be troubled if demons only found joy in destruction and slaughter.
I read books myself, but I’ve never thought about writing one. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of book Mastema will write.
After a few days of travel, we arrived at the nearest town. It was a small town.
The inn was also small, so there wasn’t much point in forcing ourselves to stay there.
I bought some dried vegetables being sold at the market.
They’re supposed to be rehydrated, seasoned, and cooked.
As for meat, it seemed to be consumed within the town, so it would be better to rely on what we could gather from monsters along the way.
Luckily, the monsters around here are all edible.
We can get clean water as much as we want using magic or magic stones.
As we were about to leave town, a woman of appropriate age stopped us. She appeared to be the mayor’s wife.
‘Are you adventurers?’
‘I suppose you could say that.’
I still retain my adventurer registration.
‘A large man-eating bird has been appearing around the town… Could you please help us get rid of it?’
Small towns often have such requests. Sometimes they can’t afford to commission the Adventurers Guild, or going to the guild itself is a life-threatening journey. There are all sorts of reasons.
It’s an unpaid request, but back in the day, Kasugal and Renatishia would have accepted it without hesitation.
We’re not in a rush either.
‘We’ll take care of it. In exchange, we’ll take all the meat and other materials.’
In return for no payment, we take all the materials. I didn’t miss the brief twitch of the mayor’s wife’s eyebrow.
She was probably hoping to split the materials after getting us to work cheaply. I’ve dealt with this sort of thing many times.
It seems people think the same way regardless of where they live.
Kasugal and the others never managed to save up money because they accepted these kinds of tasks too easily.
We’ll remove the threat to the town for free; they can be satisfied with that.
I had Sepia deal with the man-eating bird. She tried to roast it whole, so I taught her that the valuable parts of the bird are its feathers and beak.
Nodding, Sepia drowned the bird with water magic.
She then skillfully dismantled the bird using wind magic.
As a high-ranking mage, she was more skillful than I had expected. Sepia lacks physical strength, but it seems she doesn’t need it with such magic skills.
I asked her what kinds of magic she could use.
‘Everything but sky magic.’
She said this in a single sentence. I see. So this is what it means to come from a formerly prestigious mage family. It seems Sepia won’t have trouble making a living.
She finished bleeding the bird in no time.
The meat was cut up, and the valuable parts were dried and packed into bags. The unwanted parts were burned to ash.
Unlike Kasugal, who specialized in specific areas, Sepia was a well-rounded mage.
With that, we fulfilled our promise and continued our journey toward the Sky Tower. Instead of smoking the meat, we used preservation magic. With five people, and Mastema being a heavy eater, we’d finish it before it spoiled.
And so, we continued our journey while traveling.
We washed ourselves using a river. Sepia insisted on splitting into men and women.
Washing up while traveling is a waste of time, but well, we have some leeway for now, so I suppose it’s fine.
