On the Road

It takes five days by carriage to get from Tsuia to the next town.

We plodded along the endless prairie road in our carriage. To the right, forests were always visible far off from the road. To the left, mountains rose in the distance. A different range from Tsuia Mountain… I was getting tired of the unchanging scenery.

I wanted to sleep, but with so many people in the carriage, I couldn't lie down. Maybe I should have arranged for another carriage.

"Hey, Ichika. What's the name of the next town? Come to think of it, I never asked."

"The next town's Mikhan. It's a town in the grasslands, known for raising sheep and other livestock."

"Sheep… I see, so lamb… shish kebab…"

"They're raisin' them for wool, wool. Well, meat too. Their farming ain't as big as Tsuia's, but it's decent enough since the land's flat."

I see.

"Man, carriage travel sure is boring."

"Goshujin-sama, this is a noble's carriage on a flat road, you know? Normal public carriages shake your butt so hard it could split, and people who can't get used to it just end up puking."

"Motion sickness, huh… yeah, that sounds rough."

"This carriage is so comfortable because it has anti-shaking modifications."

"Ooh, mind if I join this conversation, Kehma-san?"

With that, Wataru joined in on the chat with Ichika.

"Actually, this carriage has a suspension system."

"Heh, a suspension system… So that suspension thing is what stops the shaking?"

"… Yes, apparently it reduces the shaking by inserting well-tuned springs. They're produced at Hero's Workshop in the capital."

Phew, that was close. Wataru's still casually trying to probe whether I'm a hero, huh… I thought he'd given up.

"Come to think of it, how do you usually travel to our village, Wataru? Carriage? Or [Teleport]?"

"No, no, you can't just casually ask someone to cast [Teleport] for you. The only ones who can use it like it's nothing are Haku-sama and her people. I'd love to learn it myself, but the scroll is super rare. So normally I use a horse. I leave it in Tsuia and walk from there."

Wouldn't walking be faster than a horse for Wataru?

"… Huh? So did you leave your horse behind this time?"

"Oh no, I rent from the Adventurer Guild. It's convenient since you can just return it at whichever local guild you end up at."

"Huh."

"How did you get to Golen Village, Kehma-san? Oh, I mean, before you built the village."

"On foot, I suppose."

Actually, it was via a 1,000 DP gacha summon, but I didn't use any transportation, so saying on foot isn't exactly wrong.

"I was transported with a bunch of others in a slave carriage."

"Oh, Ichika-san, you have a Pavera accent, right? Is that where it happened?"

"Mmm, I partied a biiiit too hard in the capital… ended up with debt and stuff, and got collared."

"I see, a debt slave then. In that case, once the reward from this job comes through, couldn't you buy yourself back?"

Hm?

"Hold on, what do you mean buy yourself back?"

"Eh? You didn't know, Kehma-san? There are several types of slaves, and debt slaves can buy themselves back. Though since slaves basically work for no pay, it rarely actually happens."

"Ah, wait up. I've got some circumstances, so I'm not a debt slave. And I don't have the slightest intention of stopping being Goshujin-sama's slave anyway."

S-So that's how it was? I didn't know. So if I'd bought a debt slave, there was a chance the dungeon's secret could have leaked… that was close.

"Hm? Then what kind of slave are you, Ichika?"

"… A criminal slave, I guess. I messed up a bit."

What on earth did you do?

"Remember how I said I've earned a lot of grudges? I got set up. I was innocent, I tell ya."

Come to think of it, she did say something like that when I bought her.

… Wait, then what kind of slave is Niku? She doesn't seem like a debt slave, so is she a criminal slave? The bandits did have her, after all.

"Considerin' her background, she's probably an illegal slave. Most likely registered as a war slave. Y'know, slaves captured in war. When kidnappers make children into slaves, well, that's usually how they register 'em."

"Ah, war slaves are the type adventurers find useful, right? I've never used one myself, though."

Apparently, male war slaves are the ones used by adventurers as meat walls and meat shields. They get replenished regularly through wars that are periodically started… the Raverio Empire is ruthless.

"Honestly, once you become a slave in this world, the hurdle to return to being a regular citizen is way too high. I think it's basically impossible unless you're a contract slave."

"Contract slave, there's something like that too?"

"Yes. They're slaves who become slaves under pre-agreed conditions. Like mistress contracts and such."

Apparently there are all sorts of variations depending on the conditions, like setting a time limit, exchanging it for compensation, or being freed upon the master's death.

Hmm, setting Ichika aside, maybe I should change Niku to this contract slave thing?

But well, it's not really inconvenient right now, so maybe it's fine as is…? If I put something like "don't talk about the dungeon to outsiders" in the contract, the slave merchant would notice. And if I try to be vague about it, I'm not sure how effective it would be. I could ask Haku-san for help, but owing her a favor is scary.

"Actually, why do I know more about this than you, Kehma-san, when you're the one who owns slaves? Didn't you get an explanation when you bought Ichika-san?"

"… That's obviously because you're a closet pervert who looked into slaves for nighttime duties, right?"

"N-No, that's not it, it's not like that at all, I just thought it would be good to know this kind of stuff as an S-Rank adventurer, so I looked it up as, you know, common knowledge?"

"I won't tell Nerune."

"… Why do I feel like I have to say thank you even though I haven't done anything wrong? Thank you."

Even so, there are a lot of different types of slaves, huh…

I glanced at Niku. Rokuko was clinging to her, petting her ears and tail. How yuri. Roppu and Shikina watched them with warm smiles—no wait, Shikina had the face of someone having weird fantasies. Like "guhehe."

My eyes met Niku's. Niku doesn't show much expression, but this was clearly her troubled face. Like she didn't know what to do.

… Yeah, bonding time is important. I silently wished her luck.

"Hey, spotted some monsters. Small fry. What do we do? Kill 'em?"

Gozoh, who'd been on lookout next to the coachman, called out.

Hearing that, Wataru nimbly hopped over to the driver's seat in a single bound.

"Yeah, they're small fry. Let's take them out for the highway's safety. Oh, while we're at it, how about a bathroom break?"

"I-I'll go."

"Oh my. Take care, Niku."

"I'll go too, I need to use the bathroom. Gozoh, stop the carriage!"

Even though monsters appeared, it somehow turned into a bathroom break discussion.

Are the monsters that appeared goblin-level weaklings or something?

"They're just orcs, Kehma-san. Five of them. Definitely small fry."

Wataru said it casually, but are orcs really small fry? I suppose they would be to a hero.

"This is my first time seeing orcs. How strong are they?"

"In terms of subjugation difficulty, they're a bit below Iron Golems. A rookie adventurer party would have no choice but to run, but we wouldn't lose even against a hundred of them. After all, we've beaten a dragon."

I see, so Niku should be able to handle it alone. Though if it were a hundred, I'd probably leave it all to Wataru.

"As expected of Wataru-sensei! Master, I want to go too!"

"… Stay put, Shikina."

"Why!? Isn't this the perfect opportunity to see how much stronger I've gotten!?"

This disappointing elf is hopelessly incompatible with humanoid monsters. And these are orcs, no less. The orc-and-elf combination is a classic trope at this point.

"Kehma-san. How about leaving just one for Kuro-chan and the others to try? I can step in if it gets dangerous."

Hmm… well, it would be good training.

"Alright, let's do that. Niku, can you handle it?"

"Yes."

"Alright, today's meal is grilled orc! My stomach's already rumblin'!"

Wait, Ichika, you eat orc? It's a bipedal, humanoid pig, you know? … Actually, come to think of it, they eat minotaur and such in this world, so if orcs are edible, they'd eat them too.

According to Wataru, it tastes like pork. According to Ichika, it's better than wild boar. I started getting hungry myself just listening to them. Let's hurry up and hunt them.

By the way, Shikina was utterly defeated by the orc. Of course, Wataru stepped in to save her before anything happened, but yeah, she's hopeless.

I mean, the moment she stood in front of the orc, she went all pigeon-toed and fidgety. I couldn't see her face from behind, but it was definitely bright red. This elf has an orc fetish.

… Oh wait, we have a goblin fetishist at home too. I can't really laugh at Shikina.