Chapter 127: Unexpected Hardship. I Was Looking Down on Travel [7 Hours Since Onahole Ban Began]

In the afternoon we continued heading north on the highway.

The more we walked, the more I was amazed at how advanced the technology of the people who built this road was. It was beautifully paved compared to the streets inside cities. The 3-meter width was maintained, with stones of almost identical color and shape laid out continuously.

Perhaps a highly advanced civilization once existed here. The sheer volume of stones transported suggests a king with considerable power. Or maybe the highway was built using magic, cutting magic, or some other skill.

Civilizations can leave behind only their advanced ruins, just as on Earth, and this planet was probably the same.

The surrounding wasteland gradually turned into grassland at a certain point. To the east the wasteland continued, but to the west the grass slowly increased until the entire horizon was green. The terrain was flat with only occasional gentle hills.

The highway continued straight north without any turns. It was so perfectly maintained that it gave the impression it was probably built more with magic than human labor.

Along the roadside there were regular large stone piles that looked like lanterns. Esty-san turned at one of them.

"From here we’ll take the side path."

A side path...

In truth, it was just grassland.

The grass was slightly shorter where footsteps had worn it down, but you wouldn’t know it was a path unless someone told you. It was probably rarely used.

The grassland spreading ahead...

Somehow... it felt a lot like the scenery I saw when I was doing infinite tongue shots with Ifelasuki.

"Hey, Esty-san."

"What is it?"

"I still remember my kick power, right?"

"Of course. I plan to use that as material to talk about with everyone I meet."

"Not just the kick power — I’m also fast at running. You said you planned ten days with a margin for fifteen, right? That assumes I was walking at a human pace, doesn’t it?"

"Yes."

"If I carry Esty-san’s basket and you and Shepa run at a pace you can manage without tiring yourselves, how long would it take to reach the destination?"

"Well, of course the number of days would be halved if we assumed the speed of beastmen, but there are places suitable for spending the night, so we’ve already decided today’s destination."

I see. At double speed we could probably reach it in five days.

"Shepa, do you have enough stamina?"

"I’m fine! I’m full of energy!"

Shepa wagged her tail happily. She wasn’t boasting; she really seemed to have plenty.

"Can you reach tomorrow’s destination?"

"That... I’ll think about it."

Esty-san seemed to be consulting an internal map. She fell silent for a moment.

"...I see. Let’s try it and see if the two of you can keep up with me."

"Ah. Then I’ll carry the basket."

"No need. We’ll run lightly. If it becomes too difficult for you two and you can no longer see my figure, shout as loud as you can."

"Understood."

She sounded very confident. I wasn’t going to lose that easily.

"Well, let’s go."

The two girls started running at a jog, so I followed behind.

Because it was grassland, it was a bit harder to run. The grass hindered my footwork and I couldn’t kick the ground as I wanted. Also, the grass kept the ground shape from being visible, making it easy to lose balance on small dips. Running was extremely difficult.

However, the two beast girls didn’t seem bothered and kept running.

I see. That explained why Esty-san had been so confident.

Running off the highway requires technique. I have excellent physical ability, but I don’t have that technique.

But my physical ability should more than make up for the lack of technique. I looked at the ground, chose my footing, and ran.

Good. I was right behind them. I’d run while staring at their butts.

But because they both had tails waving, the angle was bad and I couldn’t see their butts.

After about ten minutes? Or twenty? The scenery stayed completely unremarkable.

"Are you two okay with this pace?"

"I’m fine! I’m a dog girl. I don’t lose to fox girls in speed!"

"Yeah, I’m fine too."

"Good. But how long can you keep it up?"

— Esty-san smiled with hidden meaning. She probably thought one of us would quit.

No matter how you looked at it, Esty-san carrying a large basket on her back was something Shepa and I couldn’t possibly keep up with...

I had 10% of Lucia’s status thanks to the Dragon God’s Blessing, and Shepa as a dog girl didn’t lose to a fox girl in any way.

Just as I was thinking that, Shepa’s pace suddenly slowed.

"Eh... Eh...?"

Shepa also looked confused by the sudden loss of speed.

"Should we slow down a bit?"

Esty-san turned back with perfect ease and checked our situation.

Hmm. Was this pace too fast?

I’d investigate Shepa’s sudden slowdown later. For now I wanted to keep the pace without slowing down.

Alright—

"Esty-san, it’s fine even if we go faster. Here, Shepa. Combine!"

I spread both arms wide.

Shepa jumped and twisted her body sideways; she should have fit perfectly between my arms in a princess carry.

However.

Boing!

Shepa did jump.

But higher than I expected, and she didn’t twist her body. In fact, she spread her legs like she was jumping on a pogo stick.

If I kept going like this, I’d end up with my face pressed against the 14-year-old dog girl’s small butt. That would be fun on its own, but I lightly lowered my head to—

Spot!

I was now riding on her back. I grabbed her ankles.

It wasn’t what I expected, but the combine was a success.

"Masharu-san, can you keep up with that?"

"Probably. I’m fine."

Even considering how difficult it is to run, my stamina consumption is only about the same as light walking. I felt the softness of Shepa’s thighs against my neck while chasing after Esty-san’s back.

Yeah. I can keep up.

"I think the most important thing on a journey is knowledge."

"Yes."

"Both of you, when I said I’d run lightly, how much time did you think we’d be running? What kind of road did you assume we’d be running on?"

"Well..."

"You only thought ’can we keep up with my speed’? You didn’t think about anything else deeply, did you?"

"That’s right..."

The area had become sparse forest. Trees about 3 meters tall were growing in such a way that there were too many to call it scattered.

"Alright."

Esty-san slowed her pace and stopped.

Her breathing was slightly labored, but it didn’t look like her limit had been reached.

"Look over there."

As if she were a tour guide, she pointed with her palm to the direction she indicated. There was an old wooden house.

"If we continue, there’s a logging site ahead. They probably cut the trees in the forest ahead of us and transported them by river for the buildings in Rowburg."

I see. The short trees were blocking the view, which was why it was hard to see. Sure enough, the forest was on my right.

"Further ahead you’ll find the remnants of a village where the workers lived. The small house you can see right there was used by officials."

In short, the house was a guard post and beyond it were prefab worker houses.

"We were planning to stay in that house tonight. It’s old, but travelers regularly repair it, so it should still be usable. As I said, there’s a river nearby, so we won’t lack for water. It’s perfect for spending the night."

"I see."

"After that we’ll enter the animal trail through the forest. The trees get in the way and it’ll be hard to tell when it’s getting dark. If we stop in a bad spot we’ll have to spend the night scared of beasts in a dark forest. I recommend making sure to secure a sleeping spot early so that doesn’t happen. We’ll also need to gather firewood. Well, what do you want to do? Keep going? Rest here?"

Honestly, I had been looking down on traveling.

I thought that with 10% of Lucia’s running power I could reach the destination in a day at most.

But running off the highway is difficult, and as Esty-san said, I didn’t want to spend the night in the dark forest. Just having running power isn’t enough to move that far...

If I pushed ahead with no regard for getting lost, assuming I was alone, I probably could make 100 or 200 kilometers, but I wouldn’t reach the destination. Traveling is hard.

"Let’s stay at the house."

"Yes. That’s a wise decision."

I finally understood why the concept of bypassing checkpoints existed.

In pre-modern Japan and Europe, checkpoints with forts or gates blocked the road, and you needed a travel permit or to pay tolls to pass. Wanted posters were sent to checkpoints, so criminals couldn’t pass.

Well, checkpoints were basically checkpoints and inspection posts.

I thought people who didn’t want to pay tolls or were criminals could just walk somewhere else and ignore the checkpoint.

That was impossible... Leaving the highway meant the road disappeared and walking became extremely difficult.

Even on Earth, in a mountain with a maintained trail, lost hikers still appear and rescue is difficult even with helicopters and phones. In the Middle Ages, when roads aren’t maintained at all, entering the mountains or forests is reckless...

The fact that I reached Montvant with Ifelasuki’s infinite tongue shots was truly an absurd stroke of luck.

Or maybe Ifelasuki was truly excellent — she ran in the right direction even while being carried away in a rampage. She probably knew Montvant was nearby. She has no memory of cutting through the forest, and Esty-san might have used a route she didn’t know.

Did that girl really run through grassland and wasteland with no landmarks and actually reach Montvant?

She’s smart, but remembering her face while she was sucking my dick like crazy makes me not want to admit it...