0686 Toward the Corridor
One month after the turmoil in the Suje Kingdom,
Ryo and Abel had returned to Hanlin, the Imperial Capital of Darwei.
“Nothing happened on the way here from the Suje Kingdom.”
“Abel...”
At Abel’s words, Ryo called his na while letting out an exaggerated sigh.
“Hm? Did I say sothing strange?”
“I think it’s a problem that you made it sound like you were disappointed we didn’t get attacked by Krakens.”
“No, I didn’t say that, did I?”
“I could tell from the atmosphere.”
“That’s a misunderstanding...”
Ryo declared it flatly, and Abel gave a small shake of his head, protesting the false accusation.
“It’s because it was the Rhohn Dark.”
“Hm?”
“That ship is a lucky ship.”
“Well, that may indeed be true.”
Since he had no particular reason to deny Ryo’s claim, Abel agreed as well.
The two of them had decided to travel upstream along the South River from Hanlin, the Imperial Capital, then ultimately pass through the Corridor in northwestern Darwei and head overland toward the Central Countries.
At one point, they had considered crossing by sea, but this journey was not just the two of them, who could push themselves recklessly if needed.
“Andalusia and the others’ safety cos first.”
When Ryo said that, Andalusia pressed her cheek against him.
“Well, let’s take the overland route and make our way back slowly.”
When Abel said that, Feiwan gave Abel’s face a quick lick.
It was each beloved horse’s own way of showing affection.
The two n and the two horses successfully boarded a ship headed upstream without incident.
It was shaped like a cargo vessel, but equipped with a movable roof for rainy weather... the sa kind of ship they had ridden before when traveling down the South River.
“Four days from the Imperial Capital to Sanzoan, als included, four gold coins for two n and two horses...”
“It’s the sa as last ti, when we boarded near Fenmu and ca to the Imperial Capital.”
“Back then, you were totally useless, Ryo.”
“N-now what could you possibly an by that?”
Abel said it with a sigh, and Ryo’s gaze slid away.
“You ate too much at breakfast, and I had to find a ship by myself.”
“...That may or may not have happened.”
“Eating too much is dangerous.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that firmly in mind.”
At Abel’s reproach, Ryo nodded obediently.
The two of them spread out the map of Darwei they had been given when they departed the Imperial Capital.
“Sanzoan is the city on the north side of the South River, opposite Borhen, where we boarded the ship to the Imperial Capital.”
“That’s right. And from there on, it’s completely overland.”
Looking at the map, Ryo and Abel considered the route they expected to take from there on.
Apparently, if they headed northwest from Sanzoan, they would co out at the Corridor leading toward the Central Countries.
That did not an there was an actual corridor there.
Rather, it seed the term referred to the comparatively flat stretch of land caught between the mountain ranges to the north and south.
“For now, once we get to Sanzoan, we’ll need to buy a huge amount of what we need for the trip.”
“What we need for the trip? Buy a huge amount? What do you an?”
“Up to now, it’s only been and you, Abel, so even rough travel preparations were enough. We could procure food locally and live day to day.”
“R-right...”
“But from here on, that won’t do.”
As he said that, Ryo looked toward Andalusia and Feiwan, who were again sitting comfortably on the deck.
For so reason, the deck suited the two horses extrely well...
“Well, for the sake of those two, it’s true we should prepare properly for the overland route.”
Abel nodded as well.
Abel did not want his beloved horse to have a hard ti either.
“And Abel, from here on, I’m returning to being an adventurer.”
“Hm? What do you an?”
Abel tilted his head at Ryo’s declaration.
“Duke Rondo is rely a disguise I use to move unnoticed through the world. But his true identity is... Ryo the water-attribute magician! That sort of thing.”
“Yeah, I don’t really get it.”
“What I an is, there’s no need anymore to throw around the fact that I’m Duke Rondo.”
“Throw it around... well, being an adventurer is certainly easier in a lot of ways.”
Abel, who was in truth a king himself, understood well enough.
Originally, Ryo had revealed his status as Duke Rondo in Fenmu to avoid a fight.
That had ended up forcing him to use it in the Imperial Capital as well...
But now, there did not seem to be much need for that anymore.
Officially, the two of them were both Sixth-rank adventurers.
Four days later, the city of Sanzoan where the two disembarked was quite a large one.
As far as the two of them knew, it might well have been the second-largest city after Hanlin, the Imperial Capital.
“With a city this big, we should be able to make perfect travel preparations.”
“Yeah.”
At Ryo’s words, Abel nodded as well.
Yes, Abel nodded too.
Two days later, the two of them departed the city of Sanzoan riding their beloved horses.
From here, they would first head north.
There was a fairly broad road cut through the woods, so for now they would follow that road northward.
Riding atop Andalusia, whom he trusted completely, Ryo looked delighted.
“With Andalusia, I could go anywhere! Today we’re going all the way to the town of Chuarow!”
He was saying things like that.
Beside that pair rode Abel and Feiwan.
Abel had originally been skilled at horsemanship, so he could handle any horse without issue.
But even among those, he felt that his compatibility with Feiwan was exceptional.
But every now and then, Abel looked behind them.
No, it would be more accurate to say he could not help looking.
He kept finding himself looking.
This highway was a major road.
Many people passed along it.
And the people crossing paths with the two n and two horses... almost all of them passed while looking behind them.
“Hey, Ryo.”
“What is it, Abel?”
“I also think making perfect travel preparations is a good thing.”
“Yes, yes.”
“But this... isn’t this going a little too far?”
Abel said it while looking at the following behind Ryo.
There were four s following them.
“It’s only four.”
Ryo answered with a puzzled tilt of his head.
If it were dozens of them trailing one after another, that would be one thing, but only four... Ryo genuinely found it puzzling from the bottom of his heart.
“No, each one is huge.”
Abel pointed it out while shaking his head.
Yes, they were indeed the usual spell.
But ordinarily, each one was at most about the size of a two-ter-square wagon bed.
This ti, however, each was far larger than usual: four ters wide, twelve ters long, and four ters high.
Naturally, they were completely frozen solid, and the reflectivity had been altered, so there was no way to tell from the outside what they contained.
“It’s so Andalusia won’t have to suffer.”
Ryo answered with a face full of determination.
In response, Andalusia gave a happy little whinny.
“I see... well, if that’s the reason, I guess it can’t be helped.”
“Right?”
Abel gave up on everything, while Ryo misunderstood and assud he had been convinced.
Surely people could beco happy even just by passing them on the road...
After the group had gone on for a while, they saw that several wagons had stopped up ahead on the road.
“A dispute?”
“I’m sure shoulders must have bumped, and soone decided to pick a fight.”
“A fight?”
“It’s the sort of thing scary people like you, Abel, do from ti to ti. We’ll have to be careful when we pass by.”
“For so reason, I feel like I’m being cast as the villain here...”
Ryo declared it passionately, and Abel shook his head in exasperation.
“Get out of the way!”
“No, you get out of the way!”
“You’re the ones who ramd into us!”
“Quit screwing around!”
At the scene, around ten wagons had collided or overturned.
Dozens of rough-looking n were hurling insults at one another.
“So /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ it wasn’t shoulders bumping—wagons were crashing into each other.”
“There really are a lot of scary-looking ones.”
Ryo and Abel were exchanging remarks like that.
Around them, there were other people, like themselves, watching the collision from a distance...
“They’re a nuisance.”
“Ah! They finally started swinging!”
Of course, Abel and Ryo did not step in to stop them.
In the midst of that, a fistfight broke out.
The area around the wagons grew hotter and hotter.
But within it, the two n spotted people standing there with frowns, arms folded, watching the fight.
“Those ten...”
“They’re the most heavily ard ones there, and yet they’re not joining the fight. That ans they’re probably...”
“Adventurers hired as guards.”
“Exactly.”
Abel and Ryo were in agreent.
Most likely, the guard adventurers each of the two rchant caravans had hired.
They were not laying a hand on the fight.
“Well, if those people joined in, it’d turn into blades being drawn in no ti.”
“Blades being drawn? Ah, right, if swords start flying, that’s what happens.”
“Abel, don’t go charging in saying sothing like, ‘My sword is itching!’”
“What is that supposed to an, my sword is itching...? As if I’d go.”
Ryo put on the air of the sensible one and tried to stop him, while Abel shook his head—there was nothing to stop.
“This proves adventurers are sensible after all.”
“Looking at this scene, I can almost see why you’d think that...”
“You an there are hotheaded adventurers like you too, Abel?”
“No, not . Didn’t we see the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Association in the Imperial Capital?”
“Ah... right.”
Yes, Ryo and Abel had visited the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Association in Hanlin, the Imperial Capital.
There, unbelievably, adventurers had been fighting one another in the waiting room.
And according to their guide, it was a common occurrence.
“This is naturally a different Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Association from the one in the Imperial Capital, right?”
“Should be. We’re a fair distance from the Imperial Capital, and the city of Sanzoan we passed through was a big one too.”
“True. They might be adventurers from Sanzoan. Maybe that Mutual Aid Association in the Imperial Capital really was unusually strange after all.”
“I’m starting to think so too.”
Since they themselves were adventurers, the two had visited many adventurer guilds, or Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Associations, in many towns up to now.
In Darwei, of course, and in other countries as well.
But in truth, the only place where they had ever actually encountered adventurers fighting one another had been that one scene in Hanlin, the Imperial Capital.
“In the Imperial Capital, maybe there are just too many people, and the stress builds up.”
“What kind of theory is that...”
Abel stared at Ryo’s offhand remark in disbelief.
Adventurers who spent their days fighting because of stress...
You would not especially want to hire them.
Of course, it should be clearly stated here that the first half of that theory was based entirely on Ryo’s imagination.
“They’re spread across the whole road, fighting.”
“So there’s no way to slip past along the side.”
“Should we wait until they clear enough for us to get through?”
“Yeah. But if it takes too long, we won’t make it to Chuarow today.”
“Should we give up on Chuarow...”
“I wouldn’t mind, but... in a smaller town or village, the horses probably wouldn’t get a comfortable stable.”
At Abel’s words, Ryo froze.
Then he declared:
“I refuse to allow that!”
“No, don’t say that to .”
For so reason, Ryo turned a frightening face on Abel, but there was nothing Abel could do about it.
“So what, you’re saying we should go into that brawl and stop it by force? I don’t really like conspicuous actions like that.”
Ryo said it with a frown.
“Am I the only one who thinks you’re already very conspicuous?”
Abel said it while looking at the four gigantic s.
“The way you define conspicuous and the way I define conspicuous must be completely different.”
“Did you say sothing?”
“No, I said nothing.”
Abel was a man of peace.
He avoided conflict.
But then...
“You were saying sothing about how my definition of conspicuous is different anyway, weren’t you?”
“So you did hear .”
“I just guessed, and it turned out I was right...”
“Yeah? Too bad.”
“Ggh...”
For so reason, it was Ryo who ended up taking damage from the exchange.
Even while the two of them were talking like that, people and wagons were beginning to pile up along the highway.
“It can’t be helped.”
As he said it, Ryo let out a small sigh.
Then he chanted in his heart.
()
Circling around the site of the dispute, the trees of the woods were sliced apart into fine pieces.
A path through the woods was created.
(And then, )
The path through the woods was paved with ice.
“Oh, wow, there’s a road here!”
“...”
“With this road, it looks like we can get through! Co on, let’s go!”
Ryo said it in a loud voice, loud enough for everyone around who was troubled by the situation to hear.
It was extrely obvious, but Abel said nothing.
Then Ryo and Andalusia started forward.
Abel and Feiwan followed in silence, Abel giving a small shake of his head.
And behind the two of them ca the four gigantic s.
Those who saw it... none of them could move.
Even the people who had been in the middle of the quarrel were unable to move.
After a while, it was as though they had all suddenly co back to themselves, and the people who had been backed up started moving.
They began passing through the path Ryo and the others had opened.
“Did you see that, Abel? That is what you call a smart solution.”
“Is it?”
Ryo puffed out his chest in satisfaction, while Abel sent him an intensely skeptical look.
“We solved it without causing trouble and without punching anyone, didn’t we?”
“That’s true, but... it was incredibly conspicuous.”
“What? That can’t be right...”
Ryo’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
“Well, I suppose I may have drawn attention by speaking a little loudly... but I made it look exactly like I’d rely found a road that had already been there. You only think it was conspicuous because you’re looking at it in such a cynical way, Abel.”
“Whatever.”
Abel shrugged at Ryo’s flustered explanation.
He did not especially want to argue the point, so he did not pursue it.
In any case—
“Looks like we’ll make it to Chuarow before the day’s over.”
“Yes. If it’s a big enough town, we should be able to find an inn with a stable where Andalusia and the others can stay comfortably.”
And so, at four in the afternoon, the party arrived at the town of Chuarow.
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