On the second day, we continued making good time, setting out at a brisk pace from early in the morning. Of course, we made sure to give the horses proper breaks and take good care of them along the way.
“Hmm… first this, then that…”
“Okay, I got the calculation!”
“I finished mine too, Horn.”
Once again, Shiro and the others were tucked inside the kotatsu, studying away. Today, Ao is acting as their teacher, and apparently, she’s surprisingly good at explaining things.
“I hope they can make good progress with their studies before we reach the Royal Capital.”
“They’ll be fine. Fran and Horn have both been studying very diligently.”
Today, Sue and I are taking turns driving the carriage. We had already left the Western Margrave’s territory behind, and with the road now surrounded by forest, we had to stay on guard against animals and monsters for a while.
Rustle, rustle.
“““Grrrrr!”””
“A pack of wolves!”
“They’re trying to surround us!”
“““Take this!”””
BAM! CRASH! SMASH!*
Every now and then, some animals or monsters would attack the caravan. But Shiro and the others, who were getting restless from doing nothing but study and desperately wanted to stretch their legs, would leap out of the carriage alongside Ao and wipe them out in the blink of an eye.
They were basically a walking safety system.
Still, I wish they’d let the soldiers have a chance to do something once in a while. As for the creatures they defeated, Ao would bleed them out, and the meat would become ours.
“““Zzz… zzz…”””
Since there was no studying after lunch, Shiro and the others settled down for an afternoon nap beneath the kotatsu. Shiro was one thing, but it seemed Fran and Horn had already fallen completely under the kotatsu’s spell as well.
Hmm… It was so warm, peaceful, and relaxing that this didn’t feel like a carriage journey at all.
“I certainly understand why you find the kotatsu so comfortable. Once I return home, I would very much like to have one installed in my room.”
The baron’s daughter beside me happily went on about all the wonderful things about the kotatsu. At this rate, I might have created something far too dangerous for this world.
With a slight pang of regret, we eventually arrived at our campsite for the night.
“Let’s wipe you down until you’re nice and clean, then we’ll give you some water and food, all right?”
“““Okay!”””
Neighhh. Once again, Shiro and the others were taking care of the horses under Sue’s guidance. They used Life Magic to clean the horses until they were sparkling, then even cast healing magic on them afterward. Every now and then, I caught the army’s horses staring at ours with what looked suspiciously like envy.
Yeah, we really shouldn’t go around treating the army’s horses ourselves.
If they get injured, we’ll heal them. That should be enough, right?
“The next territory is one we’ll need to be a little more careful in. After all, it belongs to nobles who openly uphold aristocratic supremacy.”
Tory-san explained the situation as we ate our grilled meat.
Honestly, it was a place I’d much rather pass through without getting involved in anything beyond restocking our supplies. I made sure to warn Sue and the others that they would need to be especially careful tomorrow.
“Zzz…zzzz…”
And tonight, Fran is sleeping inside my sleeping bag.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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