Chapter 0686 Toward the Corridor

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

One month after the disturbance in the Suje Kingdom.

Ryo and Abel had returned to Hanlin, the imperial capital of Darwei.

“So, from the Suje Kingdom all the way here, nothing went wrong.”

“Abel...”

At Abel’s words, Ryo called his name with an exaggerated sigh.

“Hm? Did I say something weird?”

“Surely you realize that saying it like you’re disappointed we weren’t attacked by a kraken is a bit much?”

“No, that is not what I said.”

“I could tell from the way you said it.”

“That is a misunderstanding...”

Ryo said that with complete certainty, while Abel shook his head slightly and protested his innocence.

“It is because we were on the Lone Dark.”

“Hm?”

“That ship is a lucky ship.”

“That may well be true.”

Abel had no particular reason to deny Ryo’s claim, so he agreed.

The two of them decided to travel up the South River from Imperial Capital Hanlin, then pass through the ‘Corridor’ in the northwest of Darwei, and head over land to the Central Countries.

At one point, they had considered crossing by sea, but this trip was not just the two of them, able to endure any hardship.

“Andalusia’s and Feiwan’s safety comes first.”

When Ryo said that, Andalusia pressed her cheek against him.

“Well, let’s take our time and return over land.”

When Abel said that, Feiwan licked Abel’s face.

It was each of their beloved horses expressing affection.

The two men and the two horses successfully boarded a ship heading upstream.

It had the shape of a cargo ship, but with a movable roof for rainy weather... the same type of ship they had ridden when they went down the South River before.

“From the imperial capital to Sanzuoan, four days, meals included, for two people and two horses, four gold coins...”

“Same as when we boarded near Fenmu last time and came to the imperial capital.”

“At that time, Ryo was completely useless, though.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

Abel said with a sigh, and Ryo averted his gaze furtively.

“Ryo ate too much from breakfast onward, and I ended up having to look for the ship by myself.”

“...I feel like something like that happened, and also like it didn’t.”

“Eating too much is dangerous.”

“Yes, I’ll keep it firmly in mind.”

Ryo nodded obediently at Abel’s warning.

The two of them unfolded the Darwei map they had received when they left the imperial capital.

“Sanzuoan is a city on the north side of the South River, opposite the city of Borgen where we boarded the ship to the imperial capital.”

“Right. From there on, it is completely over land.”

Looking at the map, Ryo and Abel considered the route ahead.

If they headed northwest from Sanzuoan, they would apparently reach the ‘Corridor’ leading to the Central Countries.

It was called the ‘Corridor’, but that did not mean there was actually a hallway there.

The relatively flat area sandwiched between the mountain ranges to the north and south was apparently called the ‘Corridor’.

“For now, once we reach Sanzuoan, we need to buy a lot of supplies for the journey.”

“Supplies for the journey? Buy a lot? What do you mean?”

“Until now, it was just you and me, so we could get by with rather makeshift travel preparations. Food could be procured locally, and living day to day was fine.”

“Uh, yeah...”

“But from here on, that will not work.”

Saying that, Ryo looked again at Andalusia and Feiwan, who were sitting comfortably on the deck.

The two horses somehow suited the deck very well...

“Well, for the sake of the two horses, it is true that we should make proper preparations for over land travel.”

Abel nodded as well.

He did not want to make his beloved horse suffer, either.

“And Abel, from here on, I’m going back to being an adventurer.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Abel tilted his head at Ryo’s declaration.

“Duke Rondo is just a temporary disguise to hide my true identity. And that true identity is... Ryo, the water-attribute magician!”

“Yeah, I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“In other words, there’s no need to keep wearing the mantle of being the Duke of Rondo anymore.”

“Wear the mantle... well, being an adventurer does make a lot of things easier.”

Even Abel, who was the king, understood that well.

Originally, in Fenmu, Ryo had revealed his identity as the Duke of Rondo in order to avoid combat.

But in the end, he even had to use it in the imperial capital...

But now, that necessity seemed mostly gone.

Both of them, as public identities, were sixth-rank adventurers.

Four days later, the city of Sanzuoan, where the two of them disembarked, was quite a large city.

As far as they knew, it could be said to be second only to Imperial Capital Hanlin.

“At this rate, we should be able to prepare for the journey perfectly.”

“Yeah.”

Abel also nodded at Ryo’s words.

Two days later, the two of them mounted their beloved horses and set off from Sanzuoan.

From here, they would first head north.

Since there was a rather large road cut through the forest, they would begin by following that road north.

Riding the horse he trusted completely, Andalusia, Ryo looked delighted.

“With Andalusia, I can go anywhere! Today, we’ll make it all the way to the city of Chuarou!”

He said things like that.

Beside that pair rode Abel and Feiwan.

Abel was originally skilled at riding, so he could handle any horse without difficulty.

But even among them, he felt that his compatibility with Feiwan was exceptional.

That said, Abel would occasionally look behind them.

No, ‘would end up looking’ would probably be the more accurate expression.

He just could not help looking.

This road was a major highway.

Many travelers passed through it.

Those who passed Ryo, Abel, and the two horses almost always glanced behind them as they went by.

“Hey, Ryo.”

“What is it, Abel?”

“I think it is a good thing to prepare perfectly for a trip.”

“Yes, yes.”

“But this... isn’t this going a little too far?”

Abel said while looking at the <Dollies> following behind Ryo. TLN: I’ve always translated it as Wagons but they’re actually shaped more like those flat four-wheel dollies, so we’ll stick to Dollies moving forward.

There were four <Dollies> trailing after them.

“Only four dollies?”

Ryo answered with a puzzled tilt of his head.

If there were dozens of them, that would be one thing, but only four... from Ryo’s point of view, he was honestly baffled.

“No, each one is huge.”

Abel pointed out with a shake of his head.

Indeed, they were Ryo’s usual <Dolly> magic.

But normally, they were only about two meters square at most, like cargo beds.

This time, however, they were much larger <Dollies> than usual, measuring four meters wide, twelve meters long, and four meters high.

Of course, they were completely frozen in ice, and the reflectivity had been altered, so no one from the outside could tell what was inside.

“So Andalusia won’t have to suffer.”

Ryo answered with an expression full of determination.

In response, Andalusia neighed happily.

“I see... then it cannot be helped.”

“Right?”

Abel had given up on everything, while Ryo misunderstood that as having been convinced.

People really could become happier by not letting everything bother them...

After the group had proceeded for a while, they saw several horse-drawn wagons stopped on the road for some reason.

“A dispute?”

“They probably bumped shoulders and got picked on for it.”

“Picked on?”

“That’s something scary people like Abel sometimes do. You have to be careful when passing by.”

“For some reason, I feel like I’m being cast as the villain...”

Ryo explained forcefully, while Abel sighed in exasperation and shook his head.

“Hey, get out of the way!”

“You’re the ones who should get out of the way!”

“You lot are the ones who hit us!”

“Don’t fuck with us!”

The scene was one where about ten wagons had collided or overturned.

Dozens of men who looked intimidating were hurling abuse at one another.

“It was not merely shoulder-to-shoulder; the wagons themselves collided.”

“Indeed, there are a lot of scary-looking people.”

Ryo and Abel exchanged such remarks.

Around them were people who, like them, were watching the collision from a distance...

“Those are troublesome fellows.”

“Ah! They finally started throwing punches.”

Of course, Abel and Ryo did not go in to stop them.

And then, a fistfight broke out. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The area around the wagons grew heated.

But among them, the two noticed some people frowning, arms crossed, watching the fight.

“Those ten...”

“Despite being the most heavily armed, they are not joining the fight. I guess they’re...”

“Adventurers hired as escorts, right?”

“Right.”

Abel and Ryo reached the same conclusion.

They were probably escort adventurers hired by the two trading caravans that had collided.

They did not take part in the fight.

“Well, if those people joined in, it would turn into a blade incident in no time.”

“A blade incident? Ah, yes, if someone were slashed with a sword, it would become that.”

“Abel, please don’t go charging in saying things like, ‘My sword is aching!’”

“What do you mean, my sword is aching...? And I’m not going anywhere.”

Ryo, pretending to be the voice of reason, tried to stop him, but Abel shook his head, since there was no need to stop anything.

“As expected, adventurers are reasonable.”

“Seeing this scene, I suppose it does not look entirely unreasonable...”

“Do you mean there are adventurers like Abel who are quick to pick fights?”

“No, not me. You saw the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society in the imperial capital, didn’t you?”

“Ah...”

Indeed, Abel and Ryo had once visited the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society in Imperial Capital Hanlin.

There, in the waiting room, adventurers had actually been fighting one another.

And according to the guide, it happened often.

“This is, of course, a different Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society from the one in the imperial capital, right?”

“Probably. We are quite far from the imperial capital, and the city of Sanzuoan we passed through was large as well.”

“True, it could be the adventurers of Sanzuoan. Maybe it was the imperial capital’s mutual aid society that was especially strange after all.”

“I’m starting to think so too.”

Since the two were adventurers, they had visited many adventurers’ guilds and, in some places, Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Societies, in many cities.

In Darwei, of course, and in other countries as well.

But in truth, the only time they had ever encountered adventurers fighting like that was that scene in Imperial Capital Hanlin.

“Maybe in the imperial capital, there are too many people and they get stressed out.”

“What kind of conclusion is that...”

Abel was exasperated by Ryo’s flippant observation.

Adventurers who spend their days fighting because of stress... not exactly the kind of people one would want to hire.

Of course, it should be made clear here that the first part was based entirely on Ryo’s own imagination.

“They’re spread all over the road fighting.”

“So we cannot just pass through the side, then.”

“Should we wait until we can get through?”

“That’s true. But if it takes too long, we will not reach Chuarou today.”

“Then we give up on the city of Chuarou...”

“I do not mind, but... in a small town or village, the horses probably would not be able to find a nice, comfortable stable.”

At Abel’s words, Ryo gasped.

And then he declared:

“That will not be allowed!”

“Uh, why say that to me.”

For some reason, Ryo turned a frightening face toward Abel, but there was nothing Abel could do about it.

“Are you saying I should go into that fight and stop them by force? I do not really like that kind of attention-grabbing behavior.”

Ryo said with a grimace.

“Am I the only one who thinks you are already drawing plenty of attention?”

Abel said, looking at the four enormous <Dollies>.

“Whatever Ryo means by attention-grabbing and whatever I mean by it must be completely different.”

“Did you say something?”

“No, nothing at all.”

Abel was a pacifist.

He avoided conflict.

However...

“Pretty sure you were talking about how my definition of standing out is different, right?”

“So you did hear me?”

“I just guessed at random, and I was right...”

“Ah, what a pity.”

“Grrr...”

For some reason, it was Ryo who ended up taking damage.

While they were having that conversation, people and wagons had begun to pile up on the road.

“There is no helping it.”

Saying that, Ryo let out a small sigh.

Then he chanted inwardly:

(<Water Jet 256>)

Bypassing the site of the conflict, the trees in the forest were cut apart into fine pieces.

A path through the forest was created.

(And then, <Ice Bahn>)

The path through the forest was paved with ice.

“Oh, there is a road right here!”

“...”

“We should be able to get through this way! Come on, let’s go!”

Ryo said in a loud voice that carried to everyone nearby who was having trouble.

It was very contrived, but Abel said nothing.

Then Ryo and Andalusia began moving forward.

Abel and Feiwan followed silently, shaking their heads slightly.

Behind them trailed the four enormous <Dollies>.

Everyone who saw it... could not move.

Even the people who had been arguing could not move.

After a while, as though coming back to their senses, the people who had been stuck there began moving.

They started using the path Ryo and the others had cleared.

“Did you see that, Abel? This is what you call a smart solution.”

“Is that so?”

Ryo was puffing his chest out with satisfaction, while Abel looked at him with a very skeptical gaze.

“I solved the problem without causing trouble or punching anyone, didn’t I?”

“That is true, but... you stood out tremendously, did you not?”

“Huh? That cannot be...”

Ryo’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Well, I suppose I may have raised my voice a little and drawn attention... but I made it look properly as though we had simply found a road that was already there. You must have just been taking a twisted view of it, Abel, and that is why you thought it stood out.”

“Well, fine.”

At Ryo’s flustered explanation, Abel shrugged.

He had no particular desire to argue, so he did not press the matter.

In any case.

“At this rate, it looks like we will reach Chuarou today.”

“Yes. In a big city, we should be able to find an inn with a stable where Andalusia and Feiwan can stay comfortably.

And at four in the afternoon, the group arrived at the city of Chuarou.

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