Demonlands Carriage

In the same way that mansions typically had their own pools, private residences in the Demonlands typically had their own fighting arenas.

There was even always at least one communal arena per town.

Given that duels were a common occurrence in this country, one could imagine that match between Haku and the Demon King would be quite the spectacle. However, it was as if people were being naturally pushed out of the way.

Ah, there goes a guy who was trying to peek.

"By the way, isn't this town for our studies abroad?"

"No. It will be my territory to the south."

"Heeh, so Aidi has her own territory, how mature~."

"Rokuko has a village too, right? Well, the territory I've been given is a small one too."

Completely ignoring what was going on, Rokuko and Aidi were talking as if nothing had happened.

… I wonder what I should do about Niku and Ichika.

Just then, Aidi turned to Ichika.

"By the way, Ichika."

"Mm? What's up Aidi-sama?"

"You're here as my guest, so come with me."

"Aah, well, can I?"

Ichika turned to me to ask for permission, but I guess it's fine since it's a matter of course.

"No hurting our girls, okay Aidi?"

"Of course… but she's pretty big, can I cut her just a little?"

"I just said no though?"

"Haah, okay. Ichika. I'm counting on you to win the rat race."

It seemed like Aidi wasn't just saying that for show, really intending to hold a rat race in the Demonlands… Well, whatever.

Let's take a break in the mansion room for now… being led by Aidi, we came upon a carriage. The horse's legs were six legs. Isn't that a Sleipnir?

"… Didn't you say you had a room in the mansion?"

"Yeah. I prepared a room in my territory's mansion."

The heck, I thought we'd finally be able to take a break… and, disappointed, I got on the carriage. As soon as we all got on, the carriage started heading towards Aidi's territory.

Ooh, it's pretty smooth… well, not compared to Haku's carriage. That carriage was just too smooth.

"Let's go."

"How far is it to your estate?"

"It'd take three days to get there in a normal carriage, but this one will take half a day."

Oh come on. It's not like it's six times faster just because it has six legs. Even a normal horse has four legs.

At any rate, peering out the window from the rocking carriage, we were already outside the town. It was a greenless, arid land. It didn't seem to be paved much, but we were still speeding along without a care in the world.

… It felt like we weren't rocking nearly enough for how high our speed was.

"Is this carriage a magic tool?"

"Correct. This is a more advanced carriage than the ones in the Empire."

According to her, it would rock a little at low speeds, but at high speeds it wouldn't rock much at all. The carriage was built with some technology called [Fire Arrow] or something.

"The only thing that's better than this is the Imperial Royal Family's carriage, apparently. The carriage that Rokuko and the others rode in."

"Of course. That carriage was a special model, though that much was kind of obvious."

"That one's a luxury item mare with rare materials with no regard for cost. This one is a bit cheaper and more common. It's something that a lord can use… the wheels are easy to break, and it's hard to get horses."

The wheels were special in that they were meant to break in stages. First, they would shake a lot if they broke, and second, they would completely break and stop working. If they broke in the second stage while spinning at high speeds, it would inevitably crash and roll over.

In other words, the special wheels this one had were a safety measure to prevent a major accident. … It seemed that there was also a gimmick to work while on shoddy roads and the price for that was also high.

Moreover, the acquisition of the super high-speed Sleipnir was apparently quite troublesome. Wouldn't it be better to just get it via DP? I checked the DP catalog as I thought that and… wao. They're expensive. I quietly closed the catalog.

"In other words, you need the funds of a lord… I see. That's quite the trouble."

Without maintaining the roads, they somehow managed to make strong carriages and even stronger horses. In a sense, it was a very Demonlands-like thing to do with how they valueed individual power so highly.

"Indeed. Jiji-sama's bearing the cost this time, but in reality I can't even afford it myself. It's expensive to feed Sleipnir. This speed can only be maintained for half a day at most."

"Well, even if you say you can't use this carriage with your own power, Aidi… we came here in Haku-san's carriage. It's the same thing, the same thing."

Rokuko smiled as if she was bragging. Aidi also smiled with a mischievous smile.

… I wonder if they're communicating somehow, these two Cores.

Well, it's good that they get along. I can at least relax and watch without worrying that they'll end up fighting like Haku and the Demon King.

"Still though, studying abroad is actually pretty common, isn't it?"

"Hmm? Why do you think that, Rokuko's Master?"

"Because it felt very pracited. That level of skill… like they'd done it many times before or something."

"What a keen observation. Well, we're taking a different route than usual, but we were supposed to explain some things back where we were earlier."

Are we doing something different? It seems like we're getting special treatment… I guess it's because of Rokuko.

"Rokuko's Master is going to participate in the tournament, right? That puppy, too."

"… Ah, yeah. I suppose, I guess…?"

"Yes. I will."

Niku, who was sitting next to me, also nodded.

Yeah. Come to think of it, there was that whole thing. To get the Divine Bedding that's the prize for the tournament.

… I want the God's Bedding, but how do I get it…? The most efficient way would be to negotiate with the one who got it, or to defeat the one who got it.

It'd be best if I could get the Divine Bedding as a prize for the tournament, but I don't think I can win against people who are as strong as Aidi, or even stronger than Aidi. And Aidi's here as well, so just that alone is a problem.

Yep, I think the legitimate route for getting it is a non starter. Aidi isn't the top of this country, after all.

"Right, what's Aidi's Master doing?"

"Hm? Oh, you'll be able to meet my Master in my territory. My Master is also participating in the tournament… so we're comrades, or something?"

Speaking of which, Aidi also had a master. He didn't come along with her when she came to study abroad, though.

… I wonder what kind of person he is. I think I saw his face once before. I don't remember at all, though.