“I want to be hugged by an Eastern beauty!”
『….What’s with that out of the blue!?』
When I expressed my deepest desires, Lindwurm sighed in exasperation.
East. It is a term used to refer to the eastern side of the continent. It is not easy to travel back and forth between the east and the west where we have been active because it is separated by huge mountain ranges and deserts. Therefore, a unique culture that can only be found in the East has developed.
“Female samurai, female ninja, shrine maidens and geisha! There are many wonderful elements in the East!”
『……Please, have you ever been to the East?』
I’ve only been to the East once in my previous life.
However, back then, they were hostile towards people from the West, and I was already an old man, so I wasn’t able to flirt with the girls.
“But now it seems that they have more interaction with the West.”
The other day, there were swordsmen from the East participating in the martial arts tournament. There were also few people in the audience who were clearly of the Eastern race.
“I’m thinking of going to the East.”
“Mm, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Understood, Master.”
“……No, I mean, what’s the point of going there?”
I completely skipped the introduction and just told the others my decision. Fana and Lill agreed readily while Anje glared at me with a suspicious look on her face.
“There are unique swordsmanship and martial arts developed in the East, so I thought it would be a great learning experience.”
『What you said earlier is completely different, isn’t it? 』
When I mentioned a plausible reason, Anje seemed to be convinced.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that the East have their own martial art called ‘Karate’! I want to try it out!”
Of course, we are travelling via the magic airship, the Seno Grande.
In a straight line, the shortest route would be to cross the great mountain range that divides the east and west in half, but unfortunately, this old airship wasn’t designed to fly at mountain range altitudes.
Moreover, there are many dragons living near the top of the said mountain range. If it’s just one, we can get by with the defense function of this airship, but if we are attacked by a swarm, it will be really tough.
Crossing the Great Mountain Range is difficult even for an airship. So it would be much more difficult for humans to cross over. Well, it is unlikely that anyone would want to travel back and forth between East and West on this route.
The next shortest route is through the desert. It is a desert that stretches in the southern part of the mountain range. Severe temperature differences, numerous vicious monsters unique to the desert, and endless stretches of sand with quicksand.…. that’s what you can expect.
Crossing the mountain range is out of the question, but crossing the desert would take dozens of days. This is also the reason why exchanges between East and West have been restricted.
However, although it is larger than the desert we passed on the way to the Great Sage’s Tower, it is not so dangerous. The oases scattered along the way are relatively safe so we can take a break there.
I decided to choose this desert route this time.
(It’s hot during the day, so swimming in the oasis lake feels really good. I’d love to go swimming with everyone. Guhehehe…)
『Don’t choose a route based on your worldy desires.』
(No, no, it’s not just that.)
Incidentally, there were other routes that will pass through the north of the continent and routes that will pass through the sea further south of the desert.
The northern route is a series of frigid and snowy roads, and if you do it poorly, it is more difficult than the desert route.
The sea route, on the other hand, was the quickest route, as long as you had a sturdy ship. However, the risks were just as great as the desert route, with ships capsizing in storms or being attacked by monsters and wrecked.
Of course, with an airship, either route is not much different from the desert, but it’s simply a longer detour and the distance is longer.
In other words, the desert route is the obvious choice!
“Oh, I can see it.”
“That’s the desert huh.”
Eventually, a vast expanse of sand came into view.
The sun was directly overhead, pouring down intense sunlight that shine through the sand on the ground. Sand absorbs heat easily, and navigating on foot on that sand would be hell.
Of course, the inside of the airship is also air-conditioned, so it is very comfortable for us.
Suddenly, Lill, who was peeking at the ground from the window of the airship, noticed something.
“Master, I can see a group of people on the ground.”
“A crowd of people? For real?”
I also looked below.
I could see a group of people straddling a lizard monster and scurrying through the desert with a cloud of dust.
“They look like bandits….. Hmm? They seem to be chasing something….”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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