Category: Isekai Nonbiri Sanpo Tabi

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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After replenishing our supplies in a nearby town, the military and our group continued onward as far as we could. Eventually, we arrived at our campsite for the night.

“Shun, it’s been a while since we last slept outside.”

“Yeah. Not since we traveled to the Southern Margrave’s territory.”

As I prepared dinner, Shiro came over and started talking to me.

Back then, we had slept in sleeping bags inside tents, but tonight, we were going to spread our sleeping bags out inside the carriage and all sleep together.

Sue and Ao were taking care of the horses. They wiped the sweat off them, cleaned them up with household magic, and then Sue cast healing magic on them as well. They’d worked hard all day, after all. The horses must have been tired, too.

“Fran sleeps in the middle!”

“Then Horn can sleep next to Sue-oneechan.”

It was already decided that Sue and I would sleep at opposite ends of the carriage, while the children laid out their sleeping bags wherever they pleased.

Still, I had a feeling the kids would somehow end up crawling into someone else’s sleeping bag and sleeping together anyway.

As for the military, some of the soldiers were setting up tents while others were resting inside the carriages. Since they also had to keep an eye on the people under their escort, the soldiers would take turns keeping watch over the surrounding area.

As for us, Ao said he would let us know if anything happened.

“All right, it’s ready. Shiro and the others, help me serve it.”

“““Okay!”””

“I’ll help, too.”

Together with the military’s rear support unit, we had prepared a hearty soup packed with meat and vegetables. We ladled it into bowls and passed them around to everyone.

The night had started getting colder, which meant it was just about the perfect season for warm, comforting food.

“It’s getting to be the perfect time of year for hot pot, too.”

“Yeah! Ishikari hot pot when it’s cold!”

“Maybe we could substitute a different kind of fish instead of salmon.”

Just like Shiro said, I’d love to sit around a kotatsu with everyone and enjoy a hot pot together.

Just then, Sue, Fran, and Horn came over to Shiro and me, bowls still in their hands.

“Shun-san, what’s hot pot?”

“A clay pot would be ideal, but basically, you put soup and ingredients into a small pot and everyone eats from it together. I like putting it on top of a kotatsu and eating while everyone stays warm.”

““Ooh! I wanna try it!””

“We can’t make hot pot right now, so we’ll have some after we get to the Royal Capital.”

Though I wasn’t sure whether we’d be allowed to set up kotatsu tables throughout the mansion, so we’d probably have to wait until we reached Sue’s baronial estate and ask first.

After dinner was finished without any problems, we cleaned ourselves up with household magic and went to sleep inside the carriage.

““Zzz… zzz…””

“I knew this was going to happen.”

“You can’t really blame them. They’ve always slept with someone else until now.”

Fran and Shiro were curled up in my sleeping bag, while Horn had climbed into Sue’s. Apparently, they didn’t like sleeping alone. Just five minutes after we went to bed, they had crawled into our sleeping bags.

I had a feeling this might happen, which was why I had prepared sleeping bags that were large enough for two people. The two of them were nice and warm, and with their body heat keeping me cozy, I figured I’d be able to sleep quite comfortably like this.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

We rode through the streets in our carriage, making our way toward the gate in the city walls.

“““Bye-bye!”””

“Take care out there!”

The orphanage construction site we had visited was near the gate in the city walls, so Shiro and the others leaned out of the carriage and waved goodbye.

Before long, we met up with the military convoy.

“Tory-san, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, no. We just arrived ourselves. Now then, sorry to rush things, but let’s get going to the Royal Capital.”

There were six carriages in total, four of which were for transporting supplies and personnel, while a cavalry unit formed a tight perimeter around the entire convoy. We are scheduled to travel at the very back of the formation.

“We’ll be traveling at a fairly brisk pace along the way. We’ll only stop in towns to replenish our supplies, and otherwise we’ll be camping out. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all. We’ve brought plenty of food, and we’ve also prepared everything we need to sleep inside the carriage.”

“Hahaha. That’s reassuring to hear.”

I had assumed Tory-san would be riding in one of the carriages, but he’s actually handling his own horse. Apparently, he didn’t like being cooped up in a confined space and wanted to keep his body moving. He rode alongside our carriage, peering curiously inside.

“Hmm… this goes here, and that goes there…”

“Sue-oneechan, I finished the calculations!”

“I finished mine, too!”

“All right, let me grade them.”

Inside the carriage, we had set up one of our little secret gadgets.

We placed a cloth over a low sitting-style desk, then put a wooden board on top to serve as a tabletop. Underneath it, we had placed a magic tool that generated heat. It was a makeshift kotatsu, and considering how quickly we’d put it together, it had turned out pretty well.

Sue was using the kotatsu to teach Shiro and the others. Ao was helping teach them as well.

“That kotatsu of yours is quite something. Winters are inevitably cold, so having something that can conveniently provide warmth is very useful.”

“The mechanism is extremely simple, so you’re welcome to make one yourselves.”

“Hmm. We can’t try it right now, but we’ll give it a shot once we return to the Royal Capital.”

Tory-san seemed quite interested in the kotatsu inside our carriage. 

That said, since we were currently escorting the convoy, I imagine he’d probably make one for himself once we reached the royal capital. Incidentally, although we were traveling at a fairly brisk pace, our two horses were handling it without the slightest problem.

After stopping in a town to replenish whatever supplies we needed, we traveled a little farther before stopping along the highway for lunch.

“Good work, Maroon!”

“Ale, I’m going to wipe you down.”

“Here’s some water.”

““Hi-hiiin””

With Sue helping them out, Shiro and the others eagerly took care of the horses. The water was supplied using Fran’s magic, and we had plenty of feed stored in the magic bag we kept for the carriage.

Sizzle, sizzle.

As for me, I am preparing lunch together with the members of the rear support unit. It’s much more efficient to cook everything together rather than making separate meals just for ourselves after all.

Ao is helping out as well, grilling meat one piece after another.

“It’s nice being able to have a hot meal while on the march like this.”

Tory-san is looking forward to the food we were making, too.

Apparently, there really had been a time when soldiers on the march had nothing but hardtack and dried meat to eat. These days, however, magic bags had become so advanced that transporting ingredients was hardly an issue.

Of course, we were also preparing meals for the people we were escorting.

And now, as for how the finished food tasted…

““““Yummy!””””

It was enough to put big smiles on Shiro and the others’ faces.

When it’s time to eat, you need to eat well and get plenty of rest, too.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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At long last, the morning of our departure for the royal capital had arrived.

We’ll be leaving early in the morning and meeting up with the military at the gate in the city walls. We had all gathered in the entrance hall of the mansion.

“Shun, you’ve helped us in so many ways. Thank you. Truly.”

“Even with such a major incident occurring, we were able to keep the damage to a minimum thanks to you and the others.”

The Margrave and Emilia-sama shook my hand as they spoke to me. Our stay had been short, but we’d certainly packed an incredible amount into that time.

Then Emilia-sama handed me a letter.

“When you arrive in the Royal Capital, give this to my father.”

“That’s basically the same as setting a flag that I’m going to be forced to meet His Majesty, isn’t it…?”

“Don’t worry about it. My father is a very easygoing person. I’m sure he’ll take a liking to you, Shun.”

As if the whole business about an audience with the king wasn’t enough, now I had a letter to deliver on top of that…

This is starting to feel rather troublesome.

I’m giving a wry smile when Maria-san and Toria-san came over to speak with me.

“Shun-dono, thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Toria having so much fun. I hope you’ll continue to look after her.”

“Shun-sama, I’m going to study much harder and do my best to become a proper adult as soon as possible. Please take care of yourself, too, Shun-sama.”

I shook hands with Maria-san and Toria-san as well. 

I’m pretty sure I’d be seeing Toria-san again in a few years, so I need to keep working hard on my end, too.

“Sorry I couldn’t give you anything more than the reward money.”

“No, no. Even after buying the carriage and horses, I still have an incredible amount of money left over.”

“Hahaha. At this point, there’s no doubt you’re one of the wealthiest adventurers around, Shun.”

I shook hands with the former Margrave as well. He was right, though. I really did have a ridiculous amount of money, and I had no idea what to spend it on. When you’re traveling, there really isn’t much need for money in the first place.

Hmm… I guess I should start thinking about what I want to spend it on.

“““(Sniffle, sniffle…)”””

Meanwhile, Shiro and the others were hugging and crying, saddened by having to say goodbye to Kent-chan. And Kent-chan seemed just as sad, since everyone was leaving him behind.

“Come on. Give the things you all bought together.”

“““O-oh.”””

Prompted by Sue, Shiro and the others took something out of their magic bag.

They were slightly oversized stuffed animals and dolls.

“Wow! Thank you!”

“Play with them together with the baby, okay?”

“Yeah!”

The moment Kent-chan received the stuffed animals and dolls, his face lit up with a wonderful smile. Shiro and the others had carefully chosen them as presents for Kent-chan.

Seeing how delighted he was, Shiro and the others soon broke into smiles as well.

Well, it was about time for us to leave.

We climbed into the carriage. I would be taking the reins.

“Well then, we’re off.”

“Mm. Take care on the road.”

““““Bye-bye!.””””

Shiro and the others, along with Kent-chan, kept waving at each other until they could no longer see one another.

We had already uncovered the existence of a new threat in the western margrave’s territory. We’ll have to stay on our guard as we made our way to the Royal Capital.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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With our departure for the Royal Capital just one day away, we are still practicing how to properly handle the carriage.

Ao and Sue had taken turns driving earlier, and now it was my turn.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

“Next, Shiro gets to make the horses walk!”

“All right. Once we take a break and let the horses rest, you can take over.”

“““Okay!”””

We are traveling through the outskirts of the city, and Shiro and the others were eager to have a turn as coachmen, too. It seemed they had gotten quite attached to the horses, because they were also taking care of them enthusiastically.

“Maroon, does that feel good?”

“Ale-chan says it feels good, too.”

The two of them were wiping down the horses, and somewhere along the way, the horses had apparently gotten names.

The chestnut horse had been given the extremely straightforward name Maroon, while the bay horse was named after the legendary horse Areion.

Areion was a bit of a mouthful, so everyone called him Ale or Arei for short.

“Boo… I liked Shiro’s names better…”

“No, no. Those names were definitely out of the question.”

The names Shiro had wanted to give the horses were To◯kai Te◯o and Di◯p Im◯act.

Shiro sulked, but there was no way I could give them names that dangerous. I am sure someone somewhere would come after me for it. More importantly… how does Shiro even know names like that?

“They’re young horses, but they’re very calm and easy to handle.”

“If they were wild and unruly horses, we’d be in for a lot of trouble. Of course, I wouldn’t buy horses like that in the first place.”

Sue seemed quite pleased with the two horses as well.

Since they were young, there was always a chance they might have had a rough temperament, but the two of them showed no signs of that at all.

“The horses are feeling better now. Okay, Shiro gets to walk them!”

“Shiro, wait a second. There’s someone not in the carriage yet.”

“Hehehe.”

And so, we spent the entire morning practicing how to handle the carriage before returning to the Margrave’s residence.

Since even Fran and Horn could handle the horses without any trouble, there was nothing to worry about. We took the horses back to the stables, and in the afternoon, Shiro and the others studied together with the children from the orphanage.

“I see. So you’re finally leaving tomorrow. You’ve been a big help to us, young man.”

I had gone to visit the construction site of the church’s orphanage. With many craftsmen hard at work as usual, I told the foreman that we would be leaving tomorrow.

“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure this orphanage is finished properly. You guys just focus on your own work. When you come back to the Margrave’s territory, you can see the finished place for yourselves.”

We wouldn’t be able to stay until the very end and see the construction completed, but seeing the foreman flash a big grin, I knew the orphanage was in good hands.

The next time we came to the western Margrave’s territory, I hoped to see the children happily running around this place.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“““Bye-bye!”””

Neighhh!

We said our goodbyes to everyone at the ranch and headed back to the city. I figured it would be good practice, so I took the reins and drove the carriage myself.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

“This is amazing! There’s hardly any shaking, and the ride is incredibly comfortable.”

“Indeed. It’s even more comfortable than some luxury carriages.”

Sue and Toria-san were amazed by how smooth the ride was. They had laid out cushions and draped blankets over their laps, already looking completely relaxed.

I suppose that was the advantage of having the latest suspension system—the carriage barely shook at all.

“Whoa! We’re moving!”

“So cool!”

“This is fun!”

Shiro and the others came up behind me, excitedly watching the scenery from the front of the carriage. They always rode at the very front whenever we took a carriage service, so I guess they were going to claim the best spot here, too.

Ao’s riding on the back of one of the horses. It looked like she’s having some kind of conversation with it.

“All right, first, go pick out whichever cushions you like.”

“““Okay!”””

Our first stop was a fairly large trading company.

Until now, we’d always bought cushions that were convenient to carry around, but this time, we decided to go with larger ones that were more comfortable to sit on.

While the girls picked out their favorite cushions, I bought a small table and a few other things, then stored them in the magic bag we were using for the carriage. I also bought some magical lanterns, along with blankets and heat-producing magic tools similar to hand warmers.

With these, we wouldn’t have to worry about getting cold while sleeping.

Just to be safe, I decided to buy some spare pillows and blankets as well.

“We bought them!”

“You sure bought a lot. Put everything in the magic bag.”

“““Okay!”””

Now that Shiro and the others had finished shopping, we headed to the bookstore.

“Hey, hey, what kind of books are we buying?”

“A book on how to take care of horses. And some books for Shiro and the others to study.”

“““Uu….study…”””

Oh dear. The moment they heard the word “study”, Shiro and the others immediately drooped. But we’d have plenty of free time while traveling in the carriage, so I wanted them to do at least a little studying.

“Come on. You guys can pick out any books you like, too.”

“““Okay…”””

““Fufu””

Sue and Toria-san watched Shiro and the others trudge toward the bookstore with their heads hanging low, giggling a little at their expense.

With that, we had bought everything we needed, so we returned to the Margrave’s residence.

“You bought a good carriage. When it comes to things like this, it’s important to buy a good one even if it costs a little more.”

“Yes. It was certainly expensive, but we managed to get a high-quality carriage.”

Emilia-sama took one look at the carriage sitting in the garden and gave her seal of approval regarding its quality. Incidentally, the horses would be taken care of in the Margrave’s stables until we departed.

“““Yaaay!”””

The children from the orphanage and Kent-chan were riding in the carriage, with Ao serving as the coachman.

We were leaving for the Royal Capital in two days, so we had to spend the time we had left getting to know the horses better.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Next, we’ll practice putting the harnesses on the horses. Then we’ll actually try driving the carriage. Go ahead and take it out for me.”

At the ranch manager’s request, I pulled the carriage out of my Item Box.

Whoosh. Thud.

“Oh, this is a fine carriage. Isn’t this the latest model released this year?”

“You know quite a bit about carriages too, Manager?”

“When they’re making a carriage, they usually do test runs, so I get to see them pretty often. Anyway, let’s get the harnesses on the horses.”

With the ranch manager’s help, Sue and I put the harnesses on the horses and hitched them to the carriage. Then came the test run around the ranch.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

“You’ve got the hang of it, kid. Just like that.”

Maybe it was because we’d already practiced horseback riding, but I was able to handle the carriage surprisingly smoothly. Sue took turns driving as well, and Shiro and the others had no trouble handling it either.

Perhaps it was partly because these horses were so easy to work with, but it looked like everyone could manage the carriage if necessary.

Still, I had a feeling I’d be the one doing most of the driving.

“Goodness, I never thought I’d see a slime driving a carriage…”

“Ao is a special kind of slime.”

“I suppose it is. It’s not every day you see a slime riding a horse, either.”

The ranch manager watched in fascination as Ao skillfully manipulated the reins with his tentacles and drove the carriage.

After that, we spent about an hour learning how to handle the horses.

“The horses have worked up a sweat, so now we’ll give them a good wipe-down.”

“““Okay!”””

The horses were sweating from all the exercise, so Shiro and the others grabbed stools and carefully wiped down their bodies.

Meanwhile, the ranch manager taught me how to take care of their hooves.

Sue filled a bucket with water that Ao produced using magic and gave it to the horses to drink.

“You’re all picking this up remarkably quickly. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“What should we do when the horses sleep at night?”

“It would be best to lay down fresh straw for them, but that becomes extra baggage when you’re on the road. Fortunately, horses can sleep standing up, so you should be fine without it.”

I vaguely remembered seeing stables on horse-racing programs in my previous life. They always seemed to have straw spread across the floor.

Well, it’s probably better to have it if we can.

I decided we might as well buy everything we needed.

“Then I’d like to purchase the horses, along with two weeks’ worth of feed.”

“Are you sure you want that much feed? It’s going to take up quite a bit of space.”

“I’ll make a magic bag specifically for the horses. I’ll also keep some in my Item Box and Ao’s Item Box.”

“Hahaha. In that case, I don’t see any problem. Come on, let’s head back to the office.”

And so, I successfully purchased the items needed for the carriage journey.

That said, there is still more to be done. I am going to further modify the carriage to ensure a comfortable trip.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The carriage itself was fine. The real question was which horses we should get to pull it.

“How many horses does this carriage require?”

“Two. A single horse would be enough if you used one of the larger breeds, but I’d recommend going with two. It’s the safer choice.”

While paying, I asked one of the craftsmen at the workshop about the horses.

As far as I remembered, the carriages I’d seen online back in my old world had usually been pulled by two horses as well. Carriages in this world seemed to follow the same principle.

There’s a horse ranch they recommended, so I had the craftsman write me a letter of introduction.

“By the way, how are you planning to transport this carriage?”

“I have an Item Box, so I’ll just store it in there.”

Whoosh.

“Oh! You can store something this huge? You’re not just some ordinary cook, are you, kid?”

The craftsman cheerfully slapped me on the back several times.

Uh… So he really did think of me as a cook rather than an adventurer…

I couldn’t help but slump in disappointment.

Sue and Toria-san watched me, barely managing to hold back their laughter as their shoulders trembled.

And so, we boarded a horse-drawn carriage service and headed toward the outskirts of the city. As it turned out, there was a ranch located just outside the city.

“““Hi-hiiin!”””

“““Horses!”””

When we arrived at the ranch we were looking for, we were greeted by a whole herd of horses.

For Shiro and the others, this was their first time seeing horses anywhere other than pulling a carriage, and they were absolutely thrilled.

“First, let’s go to the office.”

“““Okay!”””

We had quite a few things we needed to ask about, so we headed to the ranch office first.

“Oh, you’re that young man, huh? I’ve heard a little about you. Come on in.”

As soon as we arrived at the office, the ranch manager came out to greet us. Apparently, the Margrave’s household had informed him in advance that we would be visiting the ranch.

I handed the ranch manager the letter we’d received from the carriage workshop.

“Let’s see… Two horses, the harness equipment, and instructions on how to care for them.”

“If we were going to the royal capital, we could keep them in our family’s stables, but…”

“I see. So you need someone to look after them during the journey to the capital. All right, come this way.”

We followed the ranch manager toward the stables. Inside were countless horses, each one being carefully looked after.

The ranch manager brought one of them out for us.

“For feed, you’ll want to give them hay or pellets made specifically for horses. They also love carrots, as well as sweet things like apples. However, don’t give them vegetables such as cabbage or broccoli.”

He paused before continuing.

“And they can’t eat a large amount all at once, so make sure to divide their food into several smaller meals throughout the day.”

I always assumed horses could eat pretty much any kind of leafy vegetable, but apparently there were some things they shouldn’t eat.

I’d have to be careful about that.

“Taking care of their hooves is important, too. Dirt and small stones can get stuck in them, so if possible, you should check and clean their hooves whenever you stop to rest. You should also wipe away their sweat and brush them regularly to keep their skin healthy.”

Just like humans needed to bathe, horses needed regular grooming and care as well. I had a feeling Shiro and the others would be more than happy to take care of that part.

“At this ranch, we raise horses that aren’t particularly tall, but have strong legs and sturdy builds. This one can be used for riding, too.”

“““Ooh!”””

Besides Shiro and the others, it looked like Ao would be able to ride as well. So, to get some practice handling horses, we decided to go horseback riding right away.

Standing in front of us were two horses, one chestnut and the other bay.

“Whoa! It’s so high up! We’re moving!”

“This is fun!”

“This is interesting!”

Perhaps it was because they were demi-humans, but Shiro and the others took to horseback riding almost immediately. According to them, they were able to ride because they could talk to the horses while doing so.

“I never thought I’d see a slime riding horses. As expected of the champion.”

Ao was no different. She held the reins with her tentacles and skillfully controlled the horse.

The ranch manager was visibly impressed by how effortlessly Ao handled the horse.

“Sue, you’re really good with horses.”

“I’ve ridden before, but only for the riding itself. The staff always took care of the horses for me.”

Sue is handling her horse with ease, and I’m managing to ride mine quite well, too. The horse is incredibly docile and even I was able to ride it without any trouble.

Since we’re all riding the same two horses, we’ll likely end up buying them.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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However, the next day, we ended up having to go shopping again—this time for a completely different reason.

“Shun, you guys won’t be traveling by carriage service this time, so how are you planning to travel with the army?”

The Margrave brought it up over breakfast, and I froze.

Wait… what?

“Can’t we ride in one of the army’s carriages?”

“Oh, you thought you could. One of the army officials came by yesterday, so I asked. Apparently, there are so many people being transported that all the carriages are already full. And it’s difficult for my household to lend you one right now, too.”

What?!

The carriages are full?

I suppose I should be grateful that the Margrave was actually getting things done for once, but… What were we supposed to do now?

“There’s a shop in town that sells carriages. They have all sorts of models, so go there and ask them what would suit you. They’ll even teach you how to take care of the horses.”

“I’ll show you the way today. I haven’t been able to help everyone for some time now, so I’d like to make up for that.”

Toria-san volunteered. She had been taking care of Maria, who had been suffering badly from morning sickness, so she hadn’t been able to help out at the church. Of course, everyone understood that there was nothing she could do about that.

And so, with Toria-san leading the way, we headed into town.

“This is the carriage manufacturer.”

“““Ooh!”””

Toria-san had brought us to what looked more like a carriage factory, where numerous carriages were being built. But what really caught me off guard was the construction of the carriages themselves.

I walked over to one that is still being assembled. Sue, Ao, Shiro, and the others followed behind me.

“This is a suspension system, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you really know your stuff. It’s a newly improved model that was developed just this year.”

As I am examining the carriage’s undercarriage, one of the craftsmen from the factory came over to us. Apparently, he had seen me during the Harvest Festival.

“It’s a leaf-spring carriage. Most modern carriages have some kind of basic suspension these days, but this one can handle a fair amount of weight.”

“It would be well suited for freight wagons or carriages carrying a lot of passengers.”

“Exactly. Even on fairly rough roads, it’ll make for a much more comfortable journey.”

Ao is poking at the carriage’s leaf springs with one of her tentacles. There’s a huge difference in comfort between a carriage with good suspension and one without it. Until now, we’d had to rely on improving the cushions as much as possible to reduce the vibrations.

Fortunately, money wasn’t really an issue for us.

And they even had covered wagon-style carriages.

“By the way, would it be possible to have the carriage maintained in the Royal Capital?”

“Of course. We have a factory in the royal capital as well, so we can handle all the necessary maintenance there.”

Cars needed regular maintenance, and carriages were no different.

All right. This is the one.

“Then I’ll take the covered wagon equipped with this latest suspension system.”

“Sure thing. Give me a moment.”

They had plenty of luxurious carriages designed for nobles, but we didn’t need anything like that.

A covered wagon gave us more room inside, and if we arranged our belongings properly, we could even sleep in it.

Looks like we made a pretty good purchase.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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We also needed to stock up on supplies before leaving for the Royal Capital. So that day, we wrapped up the children’s studies around noon and headed out shopping in the afternoon.

“Let me make one thing clear right from the start. We’re buying sweets last. We’re getting the things we actually need first.”

““““Ehhhh…..””””

I laid down the law with the girls to make sure they didn’t immediately drag me toward the sweets. There were plenty of complaints, but this was one point I wasn’t willing to compromise on.

Ao and I decided to start by buying food.

“Just to be safe, let’s buy enough food for two weeks.”

“What about fruit?”

“As long as you don’t go overboard, you can buy some.”

““““Yaaay!””””

Eating fruit is healthier than filling up on sweets.

That said, Shiro and the others…

I think they might have gone a little overboard as they bought enough fruit to fill their arms. Still, the three of them looked so happy that I ended up giving in and buying it anyway.

“It’s going to get colder, so let’s get some new blankets and warmer sleeping bags, too.”

“Can I get a scarf?”

“Sure. Get enough for everyone.”

“Okay!”

With the food taken care of, we headed to a clothing store next. 

Winter is approaching, so we need to make sure we have enough warm clothing for the journey. Scarves are a must, but we should probably get gloves, too.

“We should probably get some coats as well.”

“Sue, which one do you think is good?”

“I have no idea…”

“For Fran and Horn, let’s pick ones that won’t get in the way if their wings come out.”

““Okay!””

Sue helped choose coats for Fran and Horn. I also picked out a cute hooded coat for Shiro. They’d be able to use them long after this trip, so there was no harm in having them.

“Let’s get two slightly larger tents.”

“Eh? Wouldn’t one tent for everyone be fine?”

“Shiro, you need to be a little more aware that you’re a girl.”

With Sue being old enough to care about privacy, it was definitely better to have two separate tents. It had been fine when it was just Shiro and me sharing one, but with everyone else joining us, that simply wasn’t going to work anymore. We already had all the cooking equipment we needed, so I figured we were pretty much set.

“Next, let’s go buy some sweets!”

““Yay!””

We’d bought everything we needed for the journey, so now Sue and the others were finally free to make their long-awaited pilgrimage to the sweet shops.

Wait, weren’t their Magic Bags already completely full?

“Don’t worry. I bought a Magic Bag specifically for sweets.”

Sue, you really didn’t need to puff out your chest and look so proud when saying that…

Buying an expensive Magic Bag solely to store sweets in it, wasn’t that kind of missing the point of having one? 

But completely ignoring my silent scream, Sue and the others happily made their way from one confectionery shop to another. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so Ao and I simply wandered around and waited for them.

“We’re back.”

“““We’re back!”””

An hour later, Sue and the others returned from their shopping spree, all of them looking thoroughly pleased with themselves.

Yeah, I think I’ll just avoid asking exactly how much candy they bought. Despite all the chaos, we had finally finished shopping for our journey to the royal capital. Now we were ready to leave whenever the time came.

“Oniichan, are we going shopping again tomorrow?”

“We’ve already bought everything we need, so no more shopping.”

““““Ehhhhh!?””””

It wasn’t just Shiro, either. Every single one of the girls looked disappointed at the prospect of not going shopping tomorrow. 

Regardless of age, I guess girls really do love shopping.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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