CH 263

“Neigh♪”

“Brrrrrr♪”

“Oh, you’re all going out together?”

“Yeah, we’re going to Glasco territory.”

We met Kruiz-san at the exit of the town, who was guarding the gate as usual. I greeted him from the guard stand and briefly told him about my purpose.

“I see, It’s going to be night before you reach the first town from here, so be careful on the road at night. There will be monsters, but sometimes it’s better to rest than to take strange paths.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“We’re off!”

“You don’t want to get in their way, okay?”

“I won’t, though!?”

Kruiz-san laughed and teased Basleigh-sensei, and the carriage left the town without him looking out the window in exasperation.

It’s a four-day journey from here to Glasco territory, and we’ll pass through two towns before we reach the place where the Lord of Glasco is. One is on the side of the royal capital, and the other is after we enter the Glasco territory. We need to camp at least twice.

“I’ve been camping several times before, and I’m well prepared, so I think I’ll be fine. We’ll rest when you’re tired, so don’t overdo it, okay?”

“Neigh!”

Perhaps it was because it had been a long time since they had been away from home, but the two horses were running briskly even though they were carrying four people.

“It’s looking good. At this rate, we should be able to pull away …… and reach the next town, don’t you think? Johnny, Mora, keep up the good work!”

“Brrrr♪”

“♪”

“Hey, don’t get out of the back of the carriage. It’ll be dangerous if fall, after all.”

“!”

I let Sephiro out of the cage, thinking it would be okay if he was in the carriage, but he was walking around all over the place with flowers in his head, and was still playing on the horse’s back, so I chided him. He held up the branch as if to say “yes” and went back to the back of the carriage.

“Ho-ho, you’re quite skillful.”

“It’s true. You’re amazing.”

“♪”

I glanced at Sephiro’s twirling dance, pleased with the praise, and then I spoke to Basleigh-sensei. I thought it was the only time to ask her since we left in a hurry. I wanted to get some information before we arrived there too.

“I’ve already made the rounds and asked Norma to take a look at the house. And when I went to the guild, Sonea-san told me that the Glasco territory smells fishy?”

“…… Oops, so you heard from Sonea. Yeah, I was going to tell you about it on the way over, so this is just perfect!”

“…… I won’t ask you why you’re breaking out in a cold sweat. So?”

When I asked again, Basleigh-sensei sat down between the driver’s seat stand and the carriage, and turned to the carriage to speak.

“It seems that the number of monsters in the territory has been increasing lately. The Glasco territory, like Oriola and Gust, has a border, but I heard that the encounter rate is completely different between the royal capital side and Glasco. Also, there were many sightings of Treants and Qliphoth, where I have to go, I guess. I haven’t heard of any attacks on towns or villages, though.”

“Where did you get that information?”

Makina tilted her head. I was thinking that it’s important to make sure the source is trustworthy.

“I’ve heard from an adventurer from Glasco at the guild, and from someone who worked over there. Both of them are highly credible …… and I can’t see any reason for them to lie, so I’m pretty sure they’re right.”

“Then, I’m sure it’ll be troublesome on the road too. It’s better to stay up two by two in the camp. So I think I’ll take a nap!”

“Oh, that’s not fair!?”

“Well, I’ll take turns with Master tonight, so I’ll go to sleep too, Lars.”

“You can take your time and get some rest. You can sleep on the futon on the chair. Basleigh-sensei will be in the driver’s seat.”

When I called out to her, she reluctantly sat down on the driver’s seat. She’s been fidgeting for a while now ……

“You’ve been looking behind you for a while now, but is there something there? Also, are you sure it’s okay if  Himmel-san doesn’t go with us?”

“My brother will be coming later with the other investigators. It’s probably best if we go ahead and check it out!”

“That’s–“

I was about to say that was a lie, but Basleigh-sensei smiled and continued.

“–well, that was just an excuse, I wanted to go ahead of big brother to check on Lux-kun. Of course, I’m concerned about Qliphoths, but as I said before, my brother is an inquisitor, so I want to check on the situation as soon as possible.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay if Basleigh-sensei asked about it ……?”

I think that as the older brother, he can be a little more flexible. But Basleigh-sensei shook her head and answered.

“Work is work. If it was just a guild request, my brother would just laugh and let me do whatever I wanted, but this time it was an order from His Majesty. So before he goes to work, I’d like to do everything that I can do as much as possible …… This is why he didn’t work with me. This time, since it’s a friend of Lars-kun’s, I think it was a deliberate decision for him to join a separate team, and he expected me to go first. I just wanted to get out of town before they send their hands around.”

“I see ……”

I wondered if that would be okay, but after all, Basleigh-sensei is a minister, so I guess it’s okay ……? 　

“If we solve the case, the fact that we are ahead of them is trivial! If it’s not good, we’ll run.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

But if that’s the case, I appreciate Basleigh-sensei’s suggestion. We need to get to Glasco territory as soon as possible.

Maybe there is a story about another town?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“……”

……

“It’s short!”

I’m sorry, my neck is killing me ……