by Mamare Touno
Truth be told, whatever he might say, Touya was in Minori’s debt and couldn’t defy her, which made him just the same as the other guy. That hit hard, and gave him pause.
On this trip, he and Rundelhaus would have to exhibit masculine dignity. He remembered Naotsugu’s expression as he’d outlined his theory, arms folded: When it comes to the crunch, real men put themselves on the line!
Of course they were dependable comrades, but three of their companions on this journey were girls.
As a man, he (and his friend Rundelhaus) had no business doing anything but protecting them.
“Minori, Minori! I’m going to buy tons of replacement strings and things!”
“Oh, Isuzu, honestly!”
This was what was going through Touya’s mind as he watched the members of his group cheerfully bantering.
6
There were several different types of cart in Elder Tales, and the technological revolution that had followed the formation of the Round Table Council had surged over even them: Apparently cart springs had always been used in certain high-class carts, but suspension springs, spring models, and lightweight materials were being introduced as well.
The Roderick Trading Company developed items that made liberal use of freakish technology, appalling all of Akiba’s residents. They had absolutely no idea what the point was in giving a cart a tail fin out of consideration for aerodynamics. However, tricks like this, which were the product of a few rampaging individuals, were gradually penetrating the market, beginning with the simple, cheap ones.
After all, all sorts of products were made in Akiba, but for the People of the Earth, carts were the highest in demand.
The People of the Earth had low mana, and it was hard for them to use Akiba-made items that required magic. In addition, most of the items created in the pursuit of the comforts of modern Earth made them wonder why anyone would go overboard like that.
Even if it was the sort of item an Adventurer could buy with pocket money, the same wasn’t true for the People of the Earth. Of course, this was fine when it came to the expensive items the lords and aristocrats of Eastal purchased, but that meant the demand for them wouldn’t grow.
In that respect, new-model carts were truly ideal products.
While some of them used magic, others did not, and these carts—made more convenient with mechanical devices—could be used by People of the Earth. If their performance was improved too far, the required Driver level went up, which was a shortcoming; but fortunately, Driver and Trader were common classes among People of the Earth. Since there were a lot of them, it wasn’t too much of an issue.
Naturally, the prices for such objects were high, but carts weren’t consumable items. If a merchant was using one, in terms of business efficiency, it was an amount that could be recouped from profits in a relatively short time, and when farmers bought them, instead of an individual making the purchase, the whole village often put up the money and bought it together. As a result, the high prices were also seldom a problem.
Carts were at the top of the list of articles People of the Earth wanted to purchase from Akiba, right next to chrome-molybdenum steel farming tools.
The cart Isuzu and the others had bought was one such product.
Of course, there were high-end carts meant for Adventurers as well, but ordinary carts were the standard. For instance, flame-resistant, cold-resistant, anti-shock, defense-rank-80 properties were too much for Isuzu’s group to handle.
As long as it was sturdy, easy to maneuver, and could hold lots of cargo and carry five or six people, that was enough. They’d considered wagons and closed carriages as well, but had settled on a covered cart. While they were planning to camp in tents, so they wouldn’t have to hope for livability from the cart itself during rainy weather, they’d splurged and gone with water-repellent cloth for the covering.
It was a comparatively lightweight cart, too. Nyanta and Roderick had advised them that, since Isuzu’s group was still midlevel and the road to their destination would often be rough, it would be best if the cart wasn’t all that heavy, and the group had made their decision based on that advice.
Since they’d split the cost equally five ways, this cart really and truly belonged to Isuzu and the others. Serara and Minori had purchased quilted cushions at the market and installed them inside the canopy. The luggage area was waterproofed, and even if it got flooded, anything they put in there would probably be fine. Touya had proposed putting the LOG HORIZON mark on the canopy, and they’d agreed unanimously.
The fact that, afterward, Minori had attempted to draw a picture, and Isuzu had put her in a full nelson to stop her, was something nobody really wanted to remember.
The horses that would draw the cart were dealt with in the style of the Adventurers: by purchasing a summoning pipe.
Summoning pipes were a magic item used to call the animals that Adventurers used. Some high-ranking versions could summon griffins and other flying or fantastic beasts. The item group included a vast number of types, and even if you limited it to the ones that simply summoned horses, there were quite a lot of them. There were all sorts of elements—the type of horse that was summoned and its abilities, the amount of time a horse would help you once it was summoned, the number of times it could be used, the amount of time that had to pass before you could use it again—and naturally, the prices were also all over the map.
In this world, there were “regular horses” that were used mainly by the People of the Earth. These were animals that spent their lives with you; they wouldn’t suddenly appear when you blew a whistle, and they wouldn’t run away when the time limit came.
However, these horses had to be fed and cared for, and the Adventurers couldn’t use their levels to make them obey, so the summoning pipe was the safest option.
Isuzu’s group had bought a Lyman’s Twin Horse Whistle.
Considering the size of the cart they’d purchased, they were going to need two horses, and buying one item that could summon two animals had been cheaper than buying two whistles. Still, the truth was that they’d fallen in love with the name and the horses at first sight, and that had been just as important. Twin Horse Whistle had made them think of Minori and Touya, and the horses it summoned—which had been billed as cart horses—were tough and powerfully built…and also incredibly cool.
“Wafaaah. Wafaaah!”
Serara was joyfully feeding cabbage to the horses with incomprehensible cries of delight. Since they were summoned horses, there was no need to feed them, but apparently that didn’t matter.
With practiced motions, Rundelhaus was using a rag to wipe down one of the horse’s necks. From behind him, Isuzu spoke to him in a hushed voice.
“Say, Rudy?”
“What’s wrong? Why so timid?”
“Do you think they’ll get mad if I touch them?”
“It should be fine. They’re docile, and they don’t seem that restive at the moment.”
The horse glanced at Isuzu. Then, as if it had lost interest, it concentrated on the cabbage Serara and the others were feeding it. Isuzu thought it might just be greedy, rather than docile, but her curiosity won out.
Swallowing, she touched it gingerly.
She’d borrowed a horse and ridden it to the Choushi summer camp, but when she touched this one, she felt its muscles under her palm. Apparently, even when there was no particular reason, touching large animals was a profoundly moving experience.
It shifted from one foot to the other, stirring, and even that let her feel the horse’s overwhelming muscles at work. This was a force that brooked no arguments, and it reminded Isuzu that the horse really was a living creature.
Not that she was making excuses, but Isuzu hadn’t touched the skin of other living things very often. She didn’t think it was just her: She doubted ordinary high school girls in general came into contact with large animals on a routine basis. Once you were in high school, you were past the age for cuddling with your parents. She sometimes hugged
girls she was friends with when they were joking around, but of course everyone was clothed, and there was never any direct skin contact.
She was nodding to herself as she thought. Yeah, living creatures really are amazing…
“Hm? What’s the matter, Mademoiselle Isuzu? Are you frightened of the horse?”
Rundelhaus leaned in to look at her. He seemed worried.
“No.”
She shook her head emphatically.
“I’m not scared at all. It’s cute.”
I see. That’s all right, then. As Rundelhaus spoke, Isuzu put her hand on his hair and petted it. His mouth bent into a dissatisfied line, and he looked cross, but that just made her feel awkward, for which she ended up ruffling his mop of hair out of spite.
Yes, it’s fine. I’m okay with touching dogs.
Isuzu had just confirmed this for herself.
The moment she’d touched the horse, she’d felt startled and incredibly embarrassed somehow, and she’d camouflaged the feeling by touching Rundelhaus. He’d resisted, and she felt a bit bad, but even so, there was no help for it.
Isuzu was still a little uncomfortable around boys. She thought her former, high school self would probably have been uncomfortable around a horse (an animal!) this big, too. The idea of a creature that wasn’t her, was something large, something whose thoughts she couldn’t read…really was a little scary.
But she was fine with Rundelhaus.
She would have expected no less from her personal Guard of the Morning Stroll. He was a golden retriever.
“Do you want to feed them some cabbage, too, Isuzu?”
As if to disguise her own thoughts, she latched on to Serara’s words.
“Yes, I do, I do. Here, Rudy, you too!” Isuzu all but shouted.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “I don’t need to.”
“You can’t be left out, you know. These little guys are part of our tour group, too,” Isuzu spoke loudly, in an attempt to blow away the awkwardness.
Snorting and glaring at her, the horse seemed startled by her sudden noise. As she stared at it, eyes round, Rundelhaus scolded her, too: “Horses are skittish, so you mustn’t yell around them! Never!”
Are you skittish? she asked it with her eyes. The disgruntled horse twitched its ears, but it didn’t look at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she apologized.
The mere idea of having this big, lovely companion dislike her was a shock.
“Give it a better apology than that,” Rundelhaus said.
That was a tough one. Isuzu didn’t have any apologies for horses in her repertoire. In a situation like this, there was nothing for it but to throw herself on the mercies of Rundelhaus’s undiscriminating, tranquil, puppy-dog aura.
“I’m sorry. Go on, Rudy, you apologize, too!”
“Wha—?! For the love of… Fine. Forgive us, O horse.”
At first, the horse had been out of sorts, but thanks to Isuzu and Rundelhaus’s tribute, it seemed as if it just might open its heart to them. By the time they’d presented it with four carrots and made up, the sun was well on its way down the sky.
Rundelhaus had seemed reluctant at first, but now his mood had improved, and he looked like he was having fun. He joined Serara, Minori, and the others in taking care of the horses, took them back to the guild house, and even gave them names (sweet, delicious-sounding ones!).
And so, before they knew it, the day of their departure had arrived.
1
Unusually for this season, on the morning of their departure, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Minori and the others had been escorted as far as the Ancient Court of Eternal Ice by the senior members of their guild, but at that point, they piled into the cart and began their journey due west.
With Eight Canals High Coast on their left, Minori’s group crossed the river.
The waterway had been called the Tama River in their old world, and even in Theldesia, it was fairly wide. This was a familiar area for Minori and the others. It was about two hours from Akiba on horseback, and there were lots of wild monsters in it, so they’d used it as one of their training grounds.
However, once they’d crossed the river and gone a little farther, they were in completely unknown territory.
At this distance, it was hard to make day trips out from Akiba, and it marked the border of the lands with which their group had no experience. Even so, they felt more excited than nervous.
Before long, the zone name changed to Zooland Meadow.
The terrain in this area was a mixture of wilderness and meadows with grass that grew as high as Minori’s waist. The grass streamed in the wind, rippling like waves. Here and there, the ruins of small buildings protruded from the meadow. Most of them were completely uninhabited, providing shelter for vines and animals.
“I see something that looks like cows.”
“Huh? Where, where, where? Where are they?”
Isuzu’s and Serara’s voices came from behind the covered rear seat.
Minori, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, checked to make sure that Touya was holding the reins, then turned back. Isuzu was pointing at a herd of large quadrupeds, out on the meadow.
“I think those are Green Elk,” Minori told them.
She’d learned about monster characteristics and distribution from Shiroe, and it was already coming in handy.
“Are they dangerous?”
“It’s fine. They’re far away, and I hear they’re docile.”
In Elder Tales, monsters were enemies that needed to be destroyed, but not all types were equally aggressive. If their group approached them, the distance at which they’d show hostility varied. Some monsters would attack Adventurers the moment they saw them, while others would ignore them even if they got close, as long as they didn’t launch an attack. Green Elks were the second type.
Minori’s group’s cart was traveling down a road of red clay. Asphalt showed through from time to time, but as a rule, the cart rolled down the rutted red road at about twice the speed at which the group could have walked.
The wind was still cold, but it wasn’t the biting chill of winter. It was cool, brisk spring air that held a hint of freshness. And although the land was desolate, Minori thought it was beautiful.
The road traced very leisurely curves over the meadow. In general, this road was supposed to run southwest, parallel to the coast, but the ocean was several kilometers away, and she couldn’t see it. The rolling grassland hid it, too.
Minori was remembering Shiroe’s lecture.
On Earth, he’d told her, this road was known as National Route 1, and it had once been called the Tokaido, “the eastern sea road.” Of course Minori had known the term national route, but she’d never given much thought as to what it actually meant. She’d thought, vaguely, that it was a road with lots of lanes that got lots of traffic.
According to Shiroe, national routes were arterial roads managed by the nation of Japan. These major roads formed a web across the whole of Japan, and the country took care of them, while the roads that linked them—the ones that were midsized and smaller—were managed by local governments. This efficient division of labor had been devised in the Meiji era and had been in use ever since.
National Route 1, which linked Nihonbashi in Tokyo with Osaka, was the very first road in the national highway project. When she heard this, Minori had sensed something like history about it.
There was a corresponding road in the world of Theldesia, too, although it paled in comparison to the well-maintained, four-lane national highway. This was the red clay road Minori and the others were traveling down.
“Say, Minori. The weather’s great, so can we go a little faster?”
In response to Isuzu’s bright voice, Minori flipped through her notebook.
Think we can do it?
It’ll work, it’ll work!
Let’s do our best!
In the presence of yours truly, the road will manage
it!
Awright!
Urged on by her friends’ voices, Minori felt stirred up, too. “Let’s do it!” she said. —And promptly made a mistake.
Late in the afternoon, when they’d hurried farther down the red clay road without stopping at the village of Karube, all of a sudden, the rigging that hitched the horses to the cart came undone.
As Minori and Touya watched, startled, the horses gave a single loud neigh, then took to their heels, disappearing over the horizon.
Minori and the others were left stranded in the cart on the road, looking at one another blankly. After a short while, they burst out laughing.
Lyman’s Twin Horse Whistle had hit its time limit.
No one had noticed that the time restriction—six hours per day—was about to run out. They laughed about that, too, but more than anything, they hadn’t expected the horses to make a break for it like that just because the time limit was up.
“Oh, honestly! The silly things ate cabbage from my hand, remember?”
“From mine, too…”
“Geez, they’ve got no human feeling. Traitors!”
“That’s because they’re horses.”
“Would you call them trait-horses, then?”
“‘Horses,’ he says. ‘Horses.’ ‘Horses,’ agh, I can’t take it anymore. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Isuzu and Serara rolled around inside the cart, laughing. Touya and Rundelhaus, and of course Minori, laughed, too. Even though Isuzu and the others were talking like this, the horses had gazed at them with such cute, round eyes that even Minori had given them vegetables. Those twins had definitely swindled them out of snacks.
Between the coaxing and the way they’d taken off without a backward glance once their working hours were over, the horses were just too clever, and they couldn’t bring themselves to hate them.
They’re much more worldly-wise than my twin and I, Minori chuckled, feeling impressed. A grassland at dusk, and a cart with no horses. They’d made a huge blunder and were firmly stuck, but Minori and the others had laughed so hard that none of them felt very bad.