Chapter 769: Travel professional
「The sudden surge in girls wearing collars」 was just a temporary distraction to cool things down after the initial commotion, but the interior work on the 「Flying Bedroom」 was progressing smoothly, and the desire to travel was beginning to take root. The problem, however, was where to go. The first places that came to mind were Kalwin, where the former hero Brian and the high priest……no, Duke, who is now acting as king, were waiting. But showing up in Kalwin with such a frivolous contraption seems a bit much……. Plus, from an external perspective, the carriage and the hut are both just things dragged by a dragon, so it makes no sense, and the fact that it’s a hut is purely my own subjective opinion……nut when you think about why I sought such comfort in the first place, well……no one will ask, but……I want to ride to Kalwin after first taking it around other places to get used to it as a 「Carriage」. But where should I go? The capital or Celesta, I suppose. Now that my mission—or rather, my job as a soldier—is over and all that’s left is to retire, it feels a bit uninspired to revisit places I’ve only ever gone to out of necessity. Is that too much to ask? It’s my freedom, and it’s a new vehicle. I might as well make the most of it. That’s why.
A tavern open during the day.
“You have good taste in passing the bowl to us”
said Naris, puffing out her chest and looking proud. Tetes, Sharon, and Almeida were also there, as things turned out.
“Travel. We, who have traveled all over the continent, are truly the professionals who deserve to be called travel guides”
“We……well, I don’t really know anyone except Afilm and Renfangas”
“I think Naris is talking about me. ……The southern plains we traveled with my brother and Berga were just a small part of the continent, so it wasn’t really that extensive”
“Well, maybe each of us hasn’t traveled that widely, but together we’ve covered most of it!”
“It’s mostly Naris, though. But if Naris is guiding us, we’ll end up flying through the air while having an orgy in that king-sized bed in the erotic hut, right?”
“…………Even in a regular carriage, people have orgies while traveling these days, so we’ll just have to accept that”
Naris shows an expression that’s hard to describe, as if she’s come to some kind of realization. If I say something like, 「It’s a bit disappointing that you’re giving up so easily」, she’ll kick me, so I’ll just keep quiet.
“So, what are your recommended places?”
“I’m having a hard time deciding. There are so many places I want to visit and places I want to show everyone, but”
Naris can’t decide, so let’s put that aside for now and start with Tetes, who seems to have a limited range of action (due to her age).
“For me, it’s definitely the Eastern Mountains. There’s a country called the Lian Empire next to Renfangas, and it’s pretty big for the Eastern Mountains, which are mostly small countries. It has a unique culture, and best of all, it’s close. The elevation differences are insane, so trade is limited, but”
“So it doesn’t matter if we go by dragon?”
“Yes. We’re friendly with them, so it’s easy to talk to them”
The Eastern Mountains. A mysterious region that attracts adventurers with its unique culture and natural environment, but is also avoided because its rugged mountain passes are said to be more dangerous than any labyrinth. It’s been mentioned several times before, and I’ve never lost interest in it.
“It’s also famous for hot spring therapy, right? There are rumors of hot springs that make you a genius just by entering, or ones that make you taller, or even ones where you can talk to the dead”
“……A hot spring that makes you a genius? That sounds like something a powerful person would claim for themselves and keep the common folk away from”
“Now that you mention it, that’s probably true……”
Well, I guess there’s no real effect to take seriously. But the idea of what might happen from entering a hot spring has implications beyond just healing.
“There are stories about healing springs, but as a resident of Polka, I don’t really believe in them, do you?”
“Well, yeah”
Since they actually exist in Polka, it’s not impossible that they exist elsewhere, but they’re not attractive enough to make me want to fly there.
“Almeida, do you know of any interesting places?”
“Afilm……let’s see. The imperial capital is probably the best. ……Actually, I don’t know much about anywhere else except Renne and the Imperial Capital”
“Come to think of it, the duchies have strong territorial consciousness……”
Renne is a forest duchy ruled by the 「Deep Green Clan」 of elves. It is Almeida’s hometown. Its status is lower than that of the nine clans of the forest, which are treated as the main clan, so if I take Irina with me, I’ll be treated as an equal, but……still, though.
“I wouldn’t recommend going to the main country of Renne. It’s not a country that’s particularly friendly to outsiders, and above all……”
Almeida hesitated and looked away.
“……The castle and town built from the wood of half-elves who were turned into 『Trees』 by the Trent Disease are disgusting. I’ll never go back there”
“Ah… I see”
Almeida left her homeland because of that shock, didn’t she? ……Well, even I find it a bit unsettling to imagine. Even though they look like 「Trees」, they were once human. Maybe if the wood were soaked in Polka’s sacred spring… like Selenium, who returned to human form from a potted plant, it could become human parts. Thinking about it that way, it’s like building a castle out of human flesh. Disgusting doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can understand why Almeida couldn’t stay there and had to run away.
“What about Sharon?”
“I haven’t stayed anywhere long enough to be able to show you around. My brother and Berga were overprotective, so I couldn’t really go out on my own to explore the scenic spots. So, maybe the Arcas Forest is about it”
“Arcas……is it more open than here?”
“Compared to the ancient barrier, the forest guarded by human hands is indeed more open, but the Glory Clan isn’t particularly friendly toward other races. They’re just normal”
“When you say the people of Arcas are normal……umm”
“Umm……”
Naris smiled wryly, and Tetes sighed. Then Sharon puckered her lips.
“What are you saying?”
“Well, here, thanks to 10-man captain Smithson and Irina-san, the elves have become quite friendly”
“To be honest, before she became a female slave, Knight Chief Sharon was pretty unpleasant, wasn’t she?”
“……Th, That’s”
Sharon blushed. Come to think of it, she did tend to say things that were a bit off-putting and had a strong desire to show off.
“Y, You shouldn’t use me as a standard……I was once called a princess, after all. I admit I was more arrogant than the average person of glory……”
“Well, you didn’t meet anyone else from the glory clan besides the knight choef. Basically, the glory clan tends to look down on other elves in the south because they’re so prosperous, and they’re pretty rude about it”
“I’ve seen a few others besides the knight chief. They’re completely condescending toward humans”
“……Th, There are some people like that, but they’re just a few……”
Sharon shrinks in shame at her family’s disgrace. I’m more impressed that the troublemaker Sharon has grown up so much in less than a year. Well, maybe 「Grown up」 isn’t exactly the right word. It’s probably because she’s enjoyed her position as a female slave so much that she’s come to find it more enjoyable to abandon her pride and serve others. It’s interesting how she learned to put others first and ended up settling down.
“So, did you decide on Naris?”
When I finally asked Naris, she crossed her arms and pretended to be in deep thought.
“Well, I really want to go to Timbales……”
Timbales, a port town in western Celesta. Come to think of it, during the last Rabbines incident, we were supposed to stop by there, but we had to rush back to treat Hilda’s eye injury. Maybe it’s worth going there after all.
“But if I had to recommend one place, it would definitely be……there!”
Naris hesitates. I’ll go along with it.
“There?”
“……Of course, the hot spring labyrinth in Saint Gardo”