052: On the Way

November 6, 2020 - 8 minutes read - 1563 words

The trees are starting to grow leaves, and the garden looks to bloom soon based on the amount of buds. I can also hear a bird singing, so spring will be soon to arrive. The temperature has been rising for a while, it’ll be a while before it becomes hot, and it’s hard to call it cold either. In the mansion garden, home of the hesitant greenery, luggage is being loaded hurriedly into the carriage. Yes, for the royal capital journey.

There’s still several days before the party will be held, but Koriat Village in deep in the countryside. It’s far away from the royal capital, a good week’s journey by carriage. Does it really take that long?

We’re not sure what trouble we might run into along the way, so we’ll start earlier than necessary. We wouldn’t want attend the party the day of, or the day after we arrived at the royal capital. Carriages aren’t very comfortable, so you want some time to relax before jumping into aristocratic events. I’ve tried riding in carriages before, they shake a lot. Perhaps they would be better on a well-maintained road like in Japan, but we’re not going to be able to use just well-maintained roads, even for this world’s standards of well-maintained. Due to those circumstances, we’re leaving a full two weeks before the event date.

For me, I’m just bringing my own clothes, so I can get ready quickly. I packed the clothes into a large bag and was done. Obviously I’ve got all sorts of things stored using Spatial Magic. I don’t have to worry about leaving anything behind, whether it’s heavy, delicate, or easy to spoil. When I think about it, Spatial Magic is the kind of thing a merchant would sell their soul for. I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll watch the rest of the group loading their luggage.

I can see the maids Mina and Mel as well as Bartolo loading luggage on the wagon. I can also spot Rumba and an unknown man helping out as well. They’re running around trying to make sure that all the necessary supplies are loaded. It would be hard if there wasn’t enough food during the trip. Nord seems pretty calm during the chaos, maybe he’s done this a bunch as an adventurer?

“Was the tea set loaded properly?” Nord

“Mina just handed it to me.” Bartolo

“Ok, what about books, cookies, candies, and pasta?” Elna

Mother seems to be worried about food.

“Yes, yes, it’s all loaded” Nord

“If you say so, it’ll be fine” Elna

My parents seem to be handling the chaos well as the walk together to the carriage.

“Elna, you forgot your formal dress” Mina

“I don’t need it” Elna

“Oh, What?!” Nord

Elna is swiftly persuaded by Nord to load the bag containing the dress. That was a clever ruse, by the time it was realized the dress wasn’t loaded, she couldn’t have attended the party since a new dress couldn’t be tailored in time. If only she hadn’t been caught, her “I can’t attend the party” plan would have worked.

It’s obvious that Elna doesn’t want to attend the party, since Nord will get surrounded by wistful women. It seems that she was asked to visit her parents during the capital visit, so she had to come along this time. It seems she skipped the previous visit with Silvio. If I didn’t get the opportunity for plays, ingredients, and magic tool research, I’d be in the same boat. People say I inherited some of my mother’s personality.

Perhaps I should join in this battle of forgetting items. Maybe I could skip attending the aristocratic party? I try moving my bag to an inconspicuous corner where I could rummage through it and “forget” something. As I grabbed my bag casually from the carriage I was thumped on the head by my sister.

“What are you doing? Put that bag back. Even if you couldn’t find your formal clothes, Nord would just buy new ones in the capital. You’re the main reason for this trip.” Eleanora

My sister Eleanora does something like a facepalm from seeing my antics. Hmm, she’s right, I have to participate. Children’s clothes are much easier to make than an adult woman’s dress. Dresses are expensive and they take a while to make or adjust.

“I was almost there…” Al

“If you make such a stupid face while doing it, of course you’ll get caught.” Eleanora

Did she really need to call my face stupid? Am I no better than Thor?

“My face isn’t that bad. I just don’t have many preparations so I’d walk around before I had to sit for a long time.” Al

“Yes, yes, just get in already” Eleanora

Getting to walk about is an important preparation, but Eleanora just puts one hand on her waist and gestures for me to get on with the other. Besides, my face may not have the looks of her or Silvio, but it’s not stupid. Since I wasn’t exactly hurrying, Eleanora roughly pressed my bag into my chest and pushed me into the carriage. You’re acting a little cute, please stop.

The Slowlette family members visiting the royal capital this time are my parents Nord and Elna and me. For assistance, we have the maids Mina and Sarah, and a temporary coachman named Mr. Rowe. He normally takes cares of cows and horses in the village. For protection, we have Rumba and a former adventurer named Gates who recently immigrated to Koriat Village. Silvio, Eleanora, Mel, and Bartolo will not be going on this trip. It will be troublesome to get to the capital, and trouble seems to occur with our family at the party.

Soon, our large carriage with the draconic coat of arms sets off loaded up with our luggage. The two escorts ride alongside on horses. Eleanora, Silvio, Mel, and Bartolo wave goodbye to send us off. Before we left, Eleanora warned me to not get entangled with strange aristocrats. What exactly happened with the boy who approached her? It seems likely that if he is still bearing a grudge, he’d come after me?

The carriage leaves the village behind before I know it, and my anxiety quiets down some too. Houses, fences, and fields start to fade away into the distance. How long will I be away from the mansion? If worse came to worst, I should be able to Transfer there. I’ve been training my magic every day, so I should be able to make it. I don’t know that I could do it all at once, or I’ll need to take breaks in towns and villages along the way. At worst, it’d probably take no longer than two days.

That thought helped my anxiety a good bit.

“This area seems so peaceful”

“It feels nice that the green area is so large”

After a few hours on a straight flat section of road, we’re resting near a small village. Currently, we’re letting the horses rest in a meadow with good visibility.

“The village I mentioned earlier, Poda Village has become more lively recently. When I was growing up, the food situation was critical at times, and there were less inhabitants.” Gates

Gates is talking about his background in the area around us. He has a deep, sharply defined face with blue eyes. His hair is a soft mohawk-ish cut with long and thick sideburns on his face. His most notable feature is his long chin to the point that his silhouette looks like a crescent moon.

He used to be an adventurer, but he decided to retire and went to live in the countryside with his wife. He was born in Poda Village, which we passed earlier, but when he tried to retire there, he found that his parents had moved to Koriat Village and there were new people living in his family’s house. He had heard that Rumba was also moving to Koriat Village, so he ended up retiring to Koriat Village.

He looks into the distance while saying things like “I was surprised at the time…” He must be thinking of his childhood based on his pensive look. It’s hard not to look at him and laugh, his chin is so long.

“There are things in this world that must not be commented on, even if they’re obvious? Things like a woman’s breasts and hips… well, kids can’t comprehend it yet.” Gates

He’s trying to sound significant, he’s thinking that he said some great hidden truth of life.

“Yeah, I’m a kid and don’t understand. I’ll try to think on it more.” Al

“…” Gates

I hear some branches breaking nearby. I look towards the sound, but I can’t see what’s doing it. Soon I can’t hear any branches breaking, but some bushes are shaking.

“That smell, goblins maybe?” Gates

At this point, a goblin leaves the bushes. Goblins have a distinctive scent that is easy to pick up according to Rumba. I was able to smell something weird before this one appeared. The goblin sees us and jumps around with an ugly smile. It’s like we’re thought to be prey.

“Get back to the carriage, it’s an adventurer’s job now.” Gates

Gates pulls his sword from the scabbard and holds up a small shield to take on the goblin.