"It is quite peaceful."
Like I said, nothing has really happened during the entire time we have been walking along this path. If I had to describe how it feels, I would say it is pretty boring.
About two days have passed, and we have not encountered a single passerby. Considering the limited mobility in this world, we should have at least come across a carriage. And the only monsters we have seen are horned rabbits.
Although I am probably the only one who is frustrated.
Maria, despite her cold demeanor, tends to be quite curious. Back when I was experimenting with art as a hobby, she showed a strong interest in painting and drawing. So much so that now practically all the paintings in the mansion are hers.
As for me, I got bored of painting pretty quickly. I find more art in music than in anything else.
She is quite passionate, so during the trip she sketches everything that catches her eye in her personal notebook. Including now, as she draws the same open meadow for the tenth time.
"You are not really bored, are you? Although this view does not seem any different from the ones we have already seen."
"This is only the background. I plan to add the rest later."
"As long as you are having fun, that is fine… although I am still surprised at how good it always looks when you draw."
"This is normal compared to what Lucia-sama does."
"Hey, that is not true! I do normal things too, you know?!"
"I do not think recreating cities and monuments with every detail at real scale is normal."
"…"
Well, I cannot deny it. Before I was born, I had a hobby of making dioramas and terrariums, so I tried to revive that in my free time. Then I had the idea to make them life size, which eventually led to me recreating cities and monuments that once existed on Earth—or in fiction.
The last one I made before leaving was London, the capital city, before World War I.
Now that I think about it, maybe I did go a little overboard.
"By the way, Maria, how much longer until we reach the border city?"
"At the rate we are going, probably one or two days at most."
"I see… would we not get there a little faster if you stopped drawing everything you see?"
"I do not want to."
"…"
This girl always acts mature, but then behaves like a child whenever it suits her. It is probably because she has only existed for two years.
"Anyway, this is getting a bit frustrating. Nothing has happened in the last few days."
"We could have used the dimensional jump to appear at the city gates, but Lucia-sama insisted on walking."
"Well, the journey to the destination is supposed to be the fun part of the trip."
"Unfortunately for you, this path connects the border with the Iron Empire, which is on bad terms with the kingdom of Galark. Consequently, this road is mostly empty, and rarely used by nobles with political business."
sigh "Honestly, I thought it would be more—"
"...!"
Before I could finish, I sensed something ahead of us.
"Maria, it seems we will need to pick up the pace."
"What is the reason?"
"It looks like there is a fight up ahead."
"I see."
She does not seem very interested. Well, that is just the kind of girl she is.
We ran quickly toward the source of the disturbance until we spotted a group of knights and a luxuriously decorated carriage being attacked by what appeared to be an armored bear.
An armored bear is usually a creature over three meters tall, coated in a magical metal alloy, and capable of using fire and earth magic.
Well, that is the armored bear I know. This one looks more like a normal bear a little over two meters tall, with armor that seems to be made of stone. It probably cannot use magic either.
Still, it was giving them a beating.
I took my crossbow and fired two arrows into the side of the bear's head—just enough to get its attention.
"ROOOOARRR!"
It worked. The bear charged at me at full speed.
I had weakened the arrow's power so I would not accidentally kill a knight. I suppose the shot was dangerous enough to send the bear into a frenzy.
"Maria."
"Understood."
At my signal, Maria stood in front of me, expanding her shield and activating Charge.
The moment the bear collided with the shield, the impact shattered its stone armor and sent it flying. Literally flying.
"How far did it go?"
I am not sure whether it was Maria's absurd strength or the force of the impact, but the bear flew so far it is practically out of sight.
"Well… that was quick."
I could have killed it instantly, but displaying too much power in front of others would look suspicious. And since armored bears are considered very powerful monsters in this world, it is best not to take unnecessary risks.
"Um… excuse me."
"?" "?"
In the middle of my thoughts, a middle aged man approached us. He appeared to be one of the knights who had been fighting the armored bear.
He looked no older than 30, with a morning beard and short brown hair. His appearance was… normal, I guess. I do not know what the beauty standards of this world are, and frankly, I do not care.
"Sorry, I just wanted to thank you for helping us."
"Do not worry, we were just passing through."
"Even so, you saved our lives. Thank you very much!"
This man is quite serious. That is a good thing. He also does not seem bothered by the fact that I am a Majin. Starting our journey in the Galark kingdom really was the right choice.
"Is it over already?"
A voice came from inside the damaged carriage. Young, probably in its teens, and carrying an air of cuteness and dignity.
"Your Highness! We still do not know if more monsters will appear, please do not come out yet!"
"This is the only monster around here, so there should be no problem."
More than a hobby, it was the result of several traumas I had as a child before coming into this world.
"I see. Miss Lucia is an ancient Majin. I suppose learning alchemy is easy if you have lived a long time."
"..."
Yes, I had forgotten.Since the kingdom of Galark had several races, it was not surprising that they could tell the age of demons. And this girl was a princess, so she must have been well educated. It would have been strange if she did not know.
"Maria, go and heal the damned horse along with the others. I will go repair the carriage."
"…I understand."
I could not help but feel irritated by this situation.Between the time I lived in my previous world and the time I have lived in this one, I should only be about twenty seven years old.So why the hell do I have to be treated like a damn fossil?!
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Your Highness, I believe there are things that are taboo to the ears of an older woman."
"??"
"He is still too young to understand, Your Highness."
Old woman, your nonexistent balls! Go eat horse dung, you devilish coachman!
While cursing the coachman in my mind, I proceeded to fix the carriage, leaving some spikes on the driver's seat.
...
Repairing the carriage was not that difficult, or rather, it did not cost me anything.The vertical axle was broken, the wheel supports were split, and the inside of the carriage was a mess.It only took me two minutes to fix it.
Maria had finished tending to the wounded.They all seemed in better shape now, but since their horses had fled during the armored bear attack, they would have no choice but to walk.
"Hey, kid, we are done here!"
Having finished, I called the little princess, who seemed to be resting while being attended to by what looked like her personal maid.
She had not done much during the fight with the armored bear, but she was probably quite scared. Her hands had been shaking when she stepped out of the carriage.
"Really? That was pretty quick. Miss Lucia is very skillful!"
"Well, it is not something difficult to achieve."
Honestly, compared to what I have done before, fixing a carriage like this was nothing.
"So, can we move now? I feel sorry for the gentlemen, but in this situation we cannot pursue the horses that fled."
Faced with the princess's worried response, the knights could not help but smile bitterly at the tiring journey that awaited them.
"By the way, where is Miss Alicia headed right now?"
"For now, we are targeting the city of Asarina."
"I see. So, would you mind joining us? I have not thanked you enough yet for saving us in so many ways."
"Mmm…"
Honestly, dealing with a country's royalty was quite annoying, but I did not plan on refusing their favor.As long as nothing happened that tied us to them or involved us in some political conflict, it would be fine for a while.
"If that is alright with you, then I will accept your offer. Although there is a small problem."
"What could it be?"
"I do not think I can fit in the carriage."
With a body over two meters tall, it would be uncomfortable to enter a carriage designed for humans.
"Hmm… then how about using the driver's seat? It should be wide enough!"
"Well, then there is no problem."
I felt like he somehow implied I had a big butt.Although I am not going to deny it.
"Maria, you are done there!"
"I have finished with them all, Lucia-sama."
"Okay, then let's go."
"Yeah!"
She was a very active girl.It was good to be young, was it not?Though I was young too.I AM YOUNG TOO.
While reaffirming my age, I approached the driver's seat where the annoying old man was sitting.
Several minutes later, we had resumed our journey along the road.During this time, the princess asked us several questions.
Many of them were about where we came from, why we were traveling, how strong we were, and so on.
In particular, she asked me questions about history.
"Miss Lucia, do you know how the Beastmen War ended during the Nordland Empire Rebellion?"
"Yes… it seems that several members of the wolf tribe used the Cursed Seal of the Moon to wipe out the army of the lion beastmen, which caused destruction on both sides, since the Cursed Seal of the Moon consumes the life of its users."
"Wow, that is very different from how I was told about it. I thought the Cursed Seal of the Moon was just a myth."
"It is real… but there is no one left among the wolves who can use it. That battle ended up degrading their race for several generations."
"Wow, that is amazing. Were you there?"
"…Maybe."
Obviously, I was never in that battle.The only reason I knew all this was because I had a universal Google as one of my skills.
We continued those kinds of questions until the sun set over the horizon.We stopped near a stream to spend the night and continue our journey in the morning.
"Miss Lucia, you are surprisingly good at cooking."
"Well, I am used to it."
"I could perfectly well have taken care of the cooking myself, Lucia-sama."
"Maria, the last time you cooked, you ended up creating an amorphous mass… alive."
"I have improved since then."
"Why are you so interested in cooking now?"
"…"
Maria simply turned her face away without answering.Although it was not very visible beneath the mask, I could see the faintest reddish tint on her ears.
Seeing that, I could guess why.
"By the way, princess."
"You can just call me Celes. There is no need for honorifics."
"So, Celes, were you coming back from the Iron Empire? I thought you were on bad terms. What were you doing there?"
When I asked that, Celes's expression turned gloomy.
"I went in response to a summons to discuss a nonaggression treaty between the kingdom and the empire. My father and the Iron Emperor had reached an agreement to end the conflict that had been ongoing for years."
"I see… and what happened?"
"Not long after the agreement was announced, the current Iron Emperor was found dead… and the kingdom of Galark was singled out as the prime suspect."
"So, faced with the prospect of armed conflict, you had to return to the kingdom."
"…"
She nodded silently.
It was clear someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes.The person responsible for assassinating the emperor was likely the same one who orchestrated the attack on the princess, probably to incite the king of Galark to start a war.
"Well, let us leave this for another time. It is best to rest. We will go later."
"…I understand."
Without saying anything more, Celes moved dejectedly toward her personal tent.
"It seems we came at a problematic time."
"I do not think anything will happen if we do not get too involved, Lucia-sama."
"Yes, but it hurts to see someone like that so distressed by the situation. She probably blames herself for not being able to do more."
"It is best to adopt a wait and see approach. We can think about what we do later."
"…Yes, I suppose that is better."
Looking at the starry sky, we spent the night feeling quite melancholic.
The next morning we continued our journey. Celes, unlike her self from yesterday, was quite quiet.
We spent the hours like that until we finally glimpsed the city walls.