Chapter 577: The Utility of Earth Magic

There’s no point standing here overthinking it. Leaving the cargo wagons to Lionel, we headed toward our own carriage. Naturally, that meant passing by the royal carriage as well.

…It looked like no one had boarded the royal carriage yet. Just to be sure, I decided to confirm. I approached the coachman seated at the driver’s bench and called out to him.

“Um, will members of the royal family be joining us as well?”

“Ah, Julius-sama! My apologies for the sudden arrangement, but Her Highness the First Princess and Erwin-sama will also be accompanying the party to the site.”

“I see. Understood.”

So it really was Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama. I was relieved it wasn’t His Majesty the King or the Queen. If it had been them, everyone would’ve been so tense they might freeze up entirely. With just the two of them, it would probably only be the usual level of nervousness.

Instead of boarding our carriage, Fabienne and I remained outside, waiting for them. Offering proper greetings was simply good manners.

It seemed the researchers and alchemists had finished loading their equipment as well. Now they were carefully checking the ropes, as if performing a final inspection.

“My apologies for the delay.”

From the distance, Sophia-sama’s voice rang out, clear and composed. It seemed she and Erwin-sama had arrived. The workers’ hands paused almost simultaneously.

“Sophia-sama, we have just completed our preparations as well.”

One of the workers responded, and the two of them made their way toward us. Besides them, there were additional guards accompanying them, and in a nearby covered wagon, I could see what appeared to be servants climbing aboard.

This was turning into quite a large group. Given that, it wasn’t surprising the preparations had taken time. They must have decided rather suddenly to join—just like we did.

Maintaining my posture, I waited for Sophia-sama to speak.

“I requested permission from His Majesty, and we have been granted the opportunity to observe alongside you. I look forward to working with you.”

“The ones who should be making the request are us. We’re the ones imposing by insisting on coming along.”

“Oh my…”

Sophia-sama blinked in mild surprise. I was probably wearing the same wry smile as Fabienne beside me. Unlike her, who had obtained proper permission, we were essentially forcing our way into the expedition.

“Well then, I shall make arrangements for your lodging. Or rather… what were you planning to do?”

“If there were no accommodations available, we intended to camp. We’ve brought a full set of camping equipment in our carriage.”

Camping was second nature to me. Setting up a tent would be enough, but if safety was a concern, I could simply surround the area with earth magic. A stove, a toilet, even a bath—everything could be created easily with earth magic.

When I thought about it, earth magic was ridiculously versatile. You could do almost anything with it. If manpower was lacking, you could even create golems. Earth magic was honestly a bit overpowered. Maybe I should practice building a quick “tofu house” just in case?

“Julius-sama… that won’t be necessary.”

Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama both gave strained smiles. Apparently, that idea wasn’t acceptable. Perhaps I should demonstrate my survival skills to them someday—I wouldn’t want them thinking I was reckless.

As we chatted, it seemed departure time had arrived. From the lead carriage, a deep, resounding blast echoed out, like a conch shell signaling the start of a journey.

“Julius-sama, Fabienne-sama, it is time to depart. Please board your carriage.”

“Got it, Lionel. We’ll see you later.”

“Yes, until then.”

Taking Fabienne’s hand, I helped her into the carriage. I’d done it enough times by now that my escorting was flawless. I’ve improved quite a bit, if I do say so myself.

The carriage began moving almost immediately. As expected of the latest model built by my Alex-niisan, it barely shook at all. Truly impressive.

When Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama had test-ridden this carriage before, it had apparently caused quite a stir. I heard they immediately sent a letter to order one of their own. This would certainly add to Alex-niisan’s reputation.

Our carriage rolled forward smoothly without incident. Since we had departed early in the morning, we should reach our destination by today—assuming it was the same place as before.

After taking a few breaks along the way, we finally arrived. It was the same town we had visited previously.

“Will we be using this town as a base and heading out to the surrounding villages from here?”

“That appears to be the case. With members of the royal family present, it would be inappropriate for them to stay in a village.”

“That makes sense.”

A small village would be too much to ask. That village we visited before was tiny— even its largest house wouldn’t be suitable for a princess to stay in.

It seemed we would be lodging at the largest and most respectable inn in town. The rooms must have already been secured, as we were guided there together.

“Huh? According to the schedule, weren’t we supposed to continue on to the village today?”

I checked the itinerary Lionel had given me in the inn’s lobby. There was no mistake—we were supposed to reach the village at the foot of the mountain by today. What were they planning now? Were the researchers and alchemists going ahead first? If so, perhaps it would be better for them to take the fertilizer along.

“That seems to be the case. I’ll gather some information.”

Sophia-sama, several senior researchers, and even Giovanni-sama were present here. It shouldn’t be difficult to find out what was going on. While Lionel went to gather information, I looked around the area.

“I thought we’d reach the village today and begin full-scale work tomorrow morning. I guess that’s not happening?”

“Since we’ve joined, they’re probably rushing to adjust the plans.”

“Ah… that’s definitely possible. I feel bad for everyone.”

“That’s not true at all. With you here, Julius-sama, I’m sure everyone feels reassured.”

Fabienne said that with a bright, confident smile. I hope she’s right. Well, we weren’t the only ones who joined suddenly, so a change of plans was probably unavoidable.

Sophia-sama hadn’t come here to interfere, after all. Most likely, her presence was meant to lend authority and legitimacy to this purification effort.