Kays Translations

Chapter 157: Count Eriksen's Territory

Gradually, the group began to understand what had happened in the pouring sunlight.

And then emotions erupted.

"Whoa!!? Is this, could it be Meator-sama this time!?"

"No doubt! There's a legend saying Meator-sama's incarnation is a white snake."

"A snake that big—if it's not a goddess, we'd all be swallowed whole and done for."

"Stopping the rain, no matter how great a mage you are, that's impossible..."

"It's not just Lusarsa-sama, but even Meator-sama... Orihime-sama is amazing."

Excitedly, everyone recounted the recent events.

"Haa, Isamu-sama never ceases to be interesting. To think we'd meet two goddesses while we're still alive."

Laughing heartily, Captain Revecchio spoke to Isamu.

"Well, I was surprised too... It's not me who's amazing, it's the princess."

"Yeah..."

With a wry smile, Isamu stroked Orihime.

"While I'm curious about the Oriza, I'm more grateful that the rain has stopped. It would've been depressing if it kept raining. It'll still take three more days. Constant rain would've been too much."

"That's true. We couldn't move our bodies much, and I've been cooped up in the magic car too much, my back is starting to hurt. Thanks to that, though, the prototype for the ship's propulsion device is almost complete."

Since the rain didn't stop, Isamu, Eto, and Willem ended up spending most of their time working on the prototype waterwheel.

At first, members of Team Orihime took turns coming to see, but they couldn't keep up with the enthusiasm of the craftsmanship otaku, and by the third day, no one came to watch anymore.

Since the river ports where they anchored every day naturally had facilities for ship repairs, they could easily obtain the necessary materials.

As a result, the device was completed to the point where it could be installed and tested.

"Will it be attached to the back of the ship?"

"Yes. Since it's a catamaran, I thought about attaching it to the middle of the rear of the hull."

They considered attaching it to both sides, but they had to prepare two sets of magic devices or separate one system, and it would require some modification to the hull, so they decided against it.

If they set it up in two systems and controlled the rotation independently, they could turn it, but they decided to leave that for another opportunity.

Afterwards, while examining the ship's plans and peering into the underside, they arrived at the port where they would dock for the day.

Since it needed to be attached to the underside of the hull and couldn't be worked on while floating in the river, they entered a repair dock.

After having a meal and taking a break, Isamu, Eto, Willem, the captain, and the crew started the installation work in the dock.

Using a simple crane-like equipment to lift the hull lightly, they placed the propulsion waterwheel against the center rear of the hull, which looked like a sled.

"Since the axis of rotation will be above the water surface, it's likely to last longer."

"Yes. Maintenance will also be easier this way, and it's reassuring even in shallow waters."

While Eto and Isamu watched the situation, they decided on the installation position.

"I see, so you use the wind on top to rotate the waterwheel and move forward."

"Yes. When not in use, it's designed to be lifted like this."

Saying that, they lifted the waterwheel with handles attached to the outer frame surrounding it, and the waterwheel was raised along with the outer frame.

It was a movement similar to raising and lowering a tractor's rotary.

"Also, although the operating time will be a bit reduced, it's designed to operate with cheap and easily obtainable small magic stones, so you might be able to charge a special fee from customers who want to hurry."

"What, you can run it with small magic stones!!"

"Yes. I'm not sure how much power is needed, but it should run for about two to three bells (three to four and a half hours) if it's the same output as the prototype light magic car that runs on small magic stones."

If it has the same output as the prototype light magic car that runs on small magic stones, it will run for three hours, and if it's weaker, the operating time will be extended by how much weaker it is.

It seems faster to actually test it while navigating.

Afterwards, they repeated the process of temporary mounting, lowering into the water for confirmation, adjustment, and lowering into the water again for confirmation several times, and the installation work was completed a little after the day changed.

The next morning, after breakfast and completing the departure preparations, the ship set out on the now completely clear Meator River.

"Wow! This thing is definitely fast! It's not double, but it's about fifty percent faster."

Revecchio said with a slightly excited tone.

When they went out to the center of the river and stabilized, they immediately tried running the waterwheel. They found that it reached about one and a half times the speed of doing nothing with the same output as the light magic car.

Even though the ship was designed for shallow draft, water resistance is much greater than air resistance, so it was decided that it would be safer to keep it at this level.

Even so, if they use magic stones without hesitation, they can shorten the remaining three days of the journey to two.

It would be best to have Revecchio and the others investigate how fast it is safe to go on another occasion.

Thus, after two days of traveling down the river on the magically modified transport ship, they finally reached the port at the downstream end of the Meator River, which is the nearest to Elixirburg.

"Revecchio-san, thank you very much. I'm sorry for modifying the ship you just bought..."

"No, no. Like the last lightning ball, we got this one for free too... I should be the one thanking you."

The next morning, when Isamu apologized, Revecchio hurriedly waved his hands and dismissed it.

For Isamu, it was better to have them receive it willingly, considering he had made it on a whim and for his own convenience, and he wouldn't know what to do if he was told it wasn't needed.

"Come to think of it, there's a possibility that your stay here might be shorter, right?"

"Yeah... We might leave a little earlier."

"Got it. Then we'll stay here and make sure you can leave anytime."

"That's very kind of you, but are you sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, no problem. Besides, there are things I want to try with this magic waterwheel. It's actually convenient."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Well then, we'll be off."

"Yeah. Take care."

After bidding farewell to Revecchio for a while, Isamu and the others set off towards the capital of Count Eriksen's domain, Elixirburg, for the first time in about a week, riding in a magic car.

From the nearest port to Elixirburg, it's a three-day journey by carriage.

With a magic car, they could cover the distance in a day, but arriving late at night would be inconvenient, so they plan to spend the night along the way as they head to Elixirburg.

Count Eriksen's domain is located inland and is said to be a forest steppe with somewhat dry grasslands and scattered forests.

They've come quite a bit south from Klaufendam, so the vegetation is quite different.

While most of the trees seen from the window were conifers in Klaufendam, there are a lot more broadleaf trees around here, which looked fresh to Isamu.

After about six hours of driving on a road with little elevation, they arrived at the town where they planned to stay for the night in the late afternoon.

At first glance, there didn't seem to be separate entrances for nobles, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, they parked the magic car a little away and were approached by someone who looked like a guard.

"By any chance, are you folks Isamu-sama's group from the Klaufeldt family?"

The person who looked like a guard, well, because his appearance, dressed in deep blue leather armor, didn't quite fit that of a guard. To put it bluntly, they seemed more like they'd be on the receiving end of being policed rather than the ones doing the policing.

"Yes, that's correct, but..."

Confirming with confusion, Isamu nodded.

"Oh! So it is you after all! Your crest is famous around here now. You're the ones who defeated that undefeated captain."

The "undefeated captain" must refer to Gascoigne. Calling him a captain means he's also a member of the mercenary knight group.

Now that he thought about it, the armor he was wearing did seem similar to what Gascoigne and the others wore.

"Um, we'd like to go through the entrance procedure..."

"Procedure? Oh, I've heard about you from the general, so no procedure is necessary. Is that your carriage, no, is it even a carriage? There are no horses..."

Realizing there were no horses attached to the magic car, his eyes widened.

"Oh, that's a magic car, it moves with magic stones. Well, it's a magic device for transportation."

"Seriously... By the way, the captain also said that the Klaufeldt family is amazing not just in skill but also in magic devices. Well, if it's like a carriage, you can go on through. It's smaller than a carriage without horses, so no problem."

His rather rough demeanor was, if anything, quite mercenary-like.

"Thank you very much."

"Yeah. Oh, and if you have time, let's spar! There's no one who can beat that captain around here."

"Hey, Wayne! What are you slacking off for and trying to get ahead of us!!?"

"Oh no, oh no. Hey, you guys, could you please make way? Let this magic car through! It's a guest of our boss, so don't cause any trouble, got it?"

Wayne, who was reprimanded by his superior officer, hurriedly called out to the people who were observing the situation at the gate.

However, the point where the superior officer got angry, trying to fight someone strong and trying to skip ahead, was very much like a warrior.

As Isamu slowly moved the magic car forward, he couldn't help but feel a bit strained, thinking they might have ended up in quite a place.

As they slowly drove through the town, Isamu chuckled at how his unpleasant premonition had come true.

"Oh? That crest, is it from the Klaufeldt family? I'd love to have a match with you!"

Within 10 minutes of driving, they were casually asked for a match by five people, almost like being called to a food stall.

There weren't any people who forcibly attacked them, but it didn't feel appropriate to approach a carriage carrying nobles like this.

No, normally, they wouldn't approach a carriage carrying nobles at all.

"...This is quite something, isn't it, this place."

Even Annemarie, who doesn't get shaken by much, seemed surprised by this.

"Indeed... As expected of a mercenary territory. To be approached so frequently like this, it must be their everyday life... And it also means that the other nobles aren't treating them with much importance either."

"They've probably given up saying anything, thinking it's futile. Stirring up trouble unnecessarily would be troublesome when they need help in times of crisis."

"That's true. Well, the people here might not refuse if they're asked, but..."

After being continuously approached until they reached the inn, the group, feeling that they wouldn't be able to handle any more, decided to stay holed up in the inn until the next day.

However, it was inevitable that it would soon become apparent which inn they had stayed at. People began to visit the inns here and there.

What saved the group, who were beginning to think things were getting really bad, was the landlady of the inn.

"Can you folks stop already!! The guests are troubled, you know! If you keep bothering them, I'll spread your names all over town to every woman!! And I'll make sure Eleonora-chan hears about it too, so be prepared!"

With a stern reprimand, she made the tough guys tremble.

She was a respected figure among the women in town, an ex-mercenary who had once roamed the battlefield alongside Eleonora in her younger days.

"Oh, we're really grateful. Thank you very much."

"Don't worry about it. Those guys are all muscle up to their brains, so it's troublesome."

"Nyaoo~"

As she gently tapped her shoulder with a large ladle and sighed, Orihime rubbed her cheek and left side of her body against the landlady.

"Oh my, what an incredibly cute little thing! Is it your familiar?"

As the landlady crouched down with a smile and gently stroked Orihime's head, Orihime purred while narrowing her eyes.

"She's my familiar, but she's like family too since we've always been together. Oh, that's right, please take this as a token of appreciation. You can serve it at your shop, or your family can enjoy it, it doesn't matter."

As she opened the package handed to her by Isamu, the landlady tilted her head.

"Hmm? This meat has a strong redness to it. Is it from a water buffalo or a deer?"

"No, it's from a wyvern."

As Isamu said it casually as if it were nothing, the landlady, who was about to ignore it, hurriedly asked again.

"Oh, a wyvern... Huh?? A wyvern!? No, no, no, there's no way I can accept such outrageous meat."

"No, no, it's really nothing... We're truly grateful... If anything, it might not be enough."

"What do you mean by 'nothing'... How much do you think this amount would cost?"

The landlady looked incredulous at Isamu nonchalant attitude.

"Oh, it's fine. We defeated it ourselves, so it's free. Ahaha."

"You guys defeated a wyvern... Well, that explains why they'd be so eager. Got it, I'll graciously accept it. I'll put extra effort into making it tonight's dish, so look forward to it!"

With a beaming smile, the landlady said so and went inside, calling out "Hey, honey" as she disappeared.

A few seconds later, a voice, presumably from her husband, could be heard saying, "Huh? A wyvern!?"

That evening, Isamu and the others were treated to a wyvern full-course dinner, and fortunately, the other guests who happened to be present were served grilled wyvern without being told what kind of meat it was.

The guests who ate it without knowing were all speechless at the unexpectedly delicious taste.

The next morning, relieved that no one had offered to spar with them, possibly due to the landlady's scolding the day before, Isamu and the others thanked the landlady again and left the town for the capital of Count Eriksen's domain, Elixirburg.

Having covered a considerable distance the previous day, it took them about four hours to reach Elixirburg, the capital of Count Eriksen's domain.

Elixirburg stood on top of a small hill, but since Isamu and the others were on the top of a slightly higher hill in front of it, they could see its majestic appearance at a glance.

"I see, so that's how it is..."

As Isamu muttered while temporarily stopping the magic car and gazing at the city, Annemarie, who was also looking at the city in the same way, murmured.

What had the group's attention fixed was the presence of two arenas, one smaller and one larger, standing proudly in the center of the relatively modest-sized city, the capital of the Count's domain.

Even the smaller arena was as large as the one used for royal matches in the capital, so the larger one was of impressive size indeed.

As Isamu observed it with a grimace, recognizing it as a testament to the Mercenary Count's commitment to constant training and keeping the gates open to capable fighters, he couldn't help but think this was bound to be troublesome.

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