Chapter 31 - Chapter 30: Pseudo-Experience Travel 3: The Adventurer Plan
When Mika reached for the door to the changing room, Ninetiana suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
"...Hey, Mika-kun. What's going on?"
Mika turned around, and Ninetiana brought her face very close.
Ninetiana's eyes were fixed.
The sheer pressure of it made Mika involuntarily gasp.
What? Why is she so angry!?
Startled by Ninetiana's sudden change in attitude, Mika panicked.
Had he done something wrong?
But Mika couldn't think of anything.
"Until just now, your butt was so red and cute! What happened to you, monkey?"
Hey...
Mika slapped Ninetiana's hand off sharply and stepped out into the changing room.
"Now, explain yourself properly!"
Ninetiana came to the changing room carrying a basket.
Inside the basket were dry, tattered towels.
Mika took a towel and wiped his head.
"I healed it. That's all."
"Healed it..."
Ninetiana froze in the posture of wiping her head.
Hey, hide something! Don't just stand there like that!
Mika sighed while drying his own body.
"If you have something you want to ask, ask later. First, don't you want to change clothes?"
You'll catch a cold.
Ninetiana seemed to remember what she had been doing, and quickly dried her wet body and changed clothes.
Mika changed his underwear but wore the same shirt and pants he had worn today.
This was Ninetiana's instruction.
Considering they carry things with them constantly, adventurers can hardly bring changes of clothes.
He didn't want to increase the amount of laundry too much, but wearing dirty clothes all the time would build up stress.
So, this became the method for changing clothes when adventurers travel.
It seems they only change their underwear while on the move and accumulate the laundry.
They wash everything all at once when they can, and only change outerwear and such at those times.
There is a magic tool bag called a Magic Bag, which can hold far more items than it looks, and with that, there is almost no need to worry about changes of clothes.
But, this is incredibly expensive.
Even C-rank adventurers have them, but they are mostly shared among parties.
Since Ninetiana and Diego also shared one in their party, it seems they left it behind with the party members when they quit being adventurers.
After finishing changing and exiting the changing room, he called out to the grumpy old man at the counter.
The grumpy old man, as expected, didn't even lift his face and just replied, "Ah."
Leaving the inn, he returned to the stop for the shared carriage.
Inside the dilapidated hut of the stop, moonlight entered only slightly, so it wasn't pitch black, but it was quite dark.
Inside the room, which was more than twice as wide as the hut in Kotontesse, there were several people.
In the back left corner, two middle-aged men who seemed to be a pair.
In the back right corner, a young woman.
Others were scattered along the walls.
Everyone sat silently on the floor, leaning against the wall, staring straight ahead.
Held by Ninetiana's hand, he was led to a wall space where there was room.
"We'll spend the night here until morning."
Ninetiana whispered.
Huh?
He involuntarily looked around.
In the dark room, although separated, there were other people.
The sun had set and the temperature had dropped, but it would drop even more from here.
I'm already chilled from the bath.
Are we really going to spend the night in a place like this?
"...Aren't we going to an inn or something?"
Mika, mindful of the quiet room, asked Ninetiana in a low voice.
His tone became slightly scolding.
Ninetiana wrapped her arm around Mika's shoulder and pulled him close.
"You want to act like an adventurer, right? Look, there are plenty of comrades here."
Hearing that, he looked around again.
There were men. There were women. The common point was that everyone lacked vitality.
"...Are all the people here adventurers?"
"It doesn't seem like everyone, but... most of them are. Why do you think they are in a place like this?"
"Why..."
Spending the night in a place like this. It was easy to imagine they had no money.
But, was that all?
"I understand that it's because they have no money..."
"Yes, they have no money. Well, some are trying to save money because it's a waste. But you know, if you can't become a full-fledged adult, it's hard to earn enough for inn fees. So, they spend the night in places like this."
This was the reality of adventurers.
He had dreamed of them wielding magic freely and making a name for themselves, but he had never once imagined them in this state.
In reality, they eat a mixed daily special, wash away only sweat in the bath, and rest their tired bodies in the dilapidated hut of the stop.
"Using a shared carriage for travel is also rare. Of the people here now, how many will use a shared carriage tomorrow? In that sense, the half-baked ones from the daytime must have found good work. ...If they used a shared carriage, they'd be penniless in no time."
Just because their pockets happened to be warm, if they spent it, it would disappear quickly.
That's the kind of financial sense they have, so their lives never become easy forever.
In Ninetiana's words, he felt a tone of mocking the adventurers from the daytime.
Didn't she say before that she herself had a nature of wasting money?
Was it about wasting money even while still half-baked?
"You can only rent a base room and use inns during expeditions after becoming a full-fledged adult. Even then, traveling on foot and camping outdoors is natural. Compared to camping in the forest, isn't this place heaven? You don't have to fear beasts or monsters."
Previously, she had said that Dur's night crying was easier compared to a night raid.
If they lived like that, surely a night cry would be nothing.
He felt he could understand the true meaning of what Ninetiana had said, just a little.
"When spending the night here until morning, don't make noise, don't lie down. Just be careful of those two things."
"Can't I lie down?"
This was tough for Mika.
If he could just lie down, he was confident he could sleep anywhere.
But lying down was a violation of manners. It seemed to be the cause of trouble.
"It means go to an inn if you want to lie down. This is a place to rest, not to sleep. ...If you try to sleep soundly here, your luggage will be stolen in no time."
"............."
The security is too bad.
Shared carriages, baths, even the stops seem to require vigilance against theft.
"Yaunasun here has good security? It's a trade route, after all. But since there are many people, it's unavoidable that those kinds of people come and go."
Ninetiana taught him about Yaunasun and the region.
"Goods are transported from the southern 'Am-Tast Trade Alliance' through Yaunasun and Sarbengeal to the Royal Capital. The Trade Alliance is a commercial nation located in the south of the continent. Small nations formed an alliance, and now it's like one country. Actually, you can reach it by crossing the mountains south of Rish Village. Did you know?"
Gosh, there was a neighboring country south of Rish Village.
Mika widened his eyes in surprise, and Ninetiana smiled bitterly.
"Well, there are monsters in the forest and the mountains are steep, so you can't walk there easily."
Geographically they were adjacent, but it seemed impossible to travel between them.
He thought that if there were options other than Kotontesse for trade, Rish Village might become a bit richer, but it didn't seem to be the case.
"The textiles of Rish Village are traded here in Yaunasun. Then they are transported to Sarbengeal in the north or the Trade Alliance in the south. Sarbengeal is the third largest city in the country. The Trade Alliance is a commercial nation. No matter which way you take them, the more you have, the more you can sell."
"I see..."
He felt a strange sense of pride.
It seemed the textiles made by Amalia and Loretta were traded here.
Even though he wasn't the one making them, he felt a little happy.
"Come on, it's time to rest soon. Even if you can't lie down, closing your eyes and staying still will be a bit better."
Ninetiana stroked Mika's head.
Mika decided to try to sleep as instructed, leaning against the wall.
His body was tired.
But even after a while, he couldn't seem to sleep in an unfamiliar posture.
"...Why aren't you asking anything?"
He muttered softly.
It was about Mika's magic.
When he mentioned healing magic in the bath, she was very surprised.
Even Ninetiana, who usually didn't freeze up, had frozen.
He thought she must have something she wanted to ask.
But Ninetiana hadn't asked anything.
"There's nothing I particularly want to ask? I was just a little surprised to see your [God's Miracle] for the first time."
Saying that, Ninetiana smiled.
First time? Didn't you see it during the factory fire?
When he was helping with the logging work, Ninetiana hadn't seen it either.
It was surprising that he hadn't shown it to Ninetiana, who was the closest to him aside from family.
"I can do things like this too? 'Limiter Off', 'Blast'."
Mika aimed his hand at Ninetiana and blew a weak wind.
It was wind warmed by thermal energy manipulation.
Finally, Ninetiana went blank.
"............I heard your [God's Miracle] was amazing, but can you do things like this too?"
Kifrod had told him when he went to the church, but it seems [God's Miracle] is not something that can be used freely to do various things.
Kifrod, who was not a user of [God's Miracle], didn't know why it was so, but anyway, that was what it was.
And he was also told to properly learn the true [God's Miracle].
Ninetiana looked closely at Mika's hand, then grabbed it tightly.
And she shoved Mika's hand inside her clothes.
"Huh!? What are you doing...!"
"Ahhh... so warm..."
Mika swallowed the urge to shout loudly and desperately tried to pull his hand away.
Ninetiana, with a relaxed expression of "hohee~...", held Mika's hand firmly and wouldn't let go.
Y-you...!
Mika lowered the temperature of the "Blast" using thermal energy manipulation.
That said, he didn't lower it below freezing. At best, about 10 degrees or less.
But at the sudden cold wind, Ninetiana shivered and hastily pulled Mika's hand out.
She looked at Mika with a resentful gaze.
"...Hey, Mika-kun, what are you doing? It's cold."
"That was entirely your fault, Ninetiana-san."
They argued in low voices for a while, but someone in the room cleared their throat lightly.
Hearing that, both Mika and Ninetiana fell silent.
Then, they giggled together while trying not to let any sound escape.
"...It would have been nice if I could form a party with Mika-kun. It looks super convenient."
"I can only see a vision of being worked to death, though."
It was undeniable that he would be used as heating.
But even for such a reason, he was happy to be told by Ninetiana that she "wanted to team up with Mika."
"Come on, you really should rest now. If you can sleep, you can sleep. I'll keep watch properly."
"...Please."
He didn't know if he could sleep, but the drowsiness was strong.
Mika relaxed his body and tried to sleep.
The journey had only just finished its first day.
But there had been too many things.
As he recalled the various things that happened today, Mika fell asleep without realizing it.
......Clatter.......
At the faint sound, Mika's consciousness began to rise slowly.
......Ah......sleep....... Lazy.......
He should have been sleeping until now, but the drowsiness was abnormally strong.
His whole body felt stiff, and various parts hurt.
...Why... is it so... painful? Sleepy....
Had he woken up just as he was falling asleep?
Fatigue remained in his body.
Coton... Katan....
He heard a sound.
Had Amalia woken up?
Amalia, who was a hard worker, always woke up early.
It seemed she not only prepared breakfast for Mika and the others but also took care of small errands around the house in the morning.
...Thank you as always. From now on, I'll be more reliable....
............Be more reliable...?
What was he going to do?
!
Mika opened his eyes suddenly.
Old, dirty wooden floorboards, an unfamiliar ceiling and wall, a wide space.
It was the dilapidated hut at the shared carriage stop.
...Right. This isn't home anymore.
Since it was before sunrise, the view from the window was dim.
"...Have you woken up already? It's fine to rest a bit more."
Ninetiana, who noticed Mika had woken up, spoke to him.
She was still sensitive to presence as always.
Mika adjusted the posture of leaning against Ninetiana.
"Good morning, Ninetiana-san. Thank you."
"Good morning. It's still too early to get up."
"My body hurts a bit."
Mika moved his body lightly right there.
Various parts creaked, and his arms felt slightly numb.
As he loosened his body and looked around, he noticed that some of the people who were there last night were gone.
"...Have people already left?"
"Yes. Although, everyone just left. Did that sound wake you up?"
Maybe that was it.
He vaguely remembered hearing a sound.
"Rest a bit more here, then we'll go eat."
Saying that, Ninetiana closed her eyes.
Mika had fallen completely asleep, but Ninetiana must have kept watch while resting.
He decided to wait quietly until Ninetiana moved.
Waiting for sunrise, Ninetiana began to move.
Leaving the dilapidated hut, people were already coming and going.
Going to the dining hall where they ate dinner, about 70% of the seats were filled.
Ninetiana told the staff, "Two," giving only the number.
It seemed the menu was decided in the morning.
Food was brought immediately.
Two pieces of bread, a soup full of ingredients, and something yellow that looked like pickled vegetables?
Mika had secretly prepared himself for the mixed soup from yesterday, but that wasn't the case.
Taking a sip of the soup, the warm soup seeped into his cold body, and he involuntarily sighed.
Delicious...
The ingredients contained many vegetables Mika didn't know, and while the appearance was colorful, the taste was excellent.
It also contained smoked meat cut into large pieces, and the umami of the vegetables and meat came out well.
The flavor was well-seasoned with salt and pepper, so this must be the original taste of this shop.
I wanted to drink this soup yesterday too, Ninetiana...
Mika cried secretly in his heart.
The soup was a very common size, unlike yesterday's large bowl.
He wanted to complain why they didn't serve it in yesterday's bowl.
After eating one piece of bread, soup, and the yellow pickled vegetables, he was full.
He gave the remaining bread to Ninetiana, and after finishing the meal, they left the shop.
At the shop entrance, Ninetiana bought two rations and handed one to Mika.
He hadn't brought anything like that when he came, so she must have prepared it while they were eating.
It seems some dining halls sell rations like this in the morning.
Rations sold only in the morning are rations intended to be eaten for lunch that day.
Separately, there seem to be rations intended to be eaten over several days to a week.
It seems this shop doesn't handle those.
By the way, the price is.
・Morning Set Meal 500 Rats.
・Rations 500 Rats.
Both were double the price of the daily special.
Or rather, half price...
Does it make sense for a shop to offer a daily special?
After finishing breakfast, they went to a shared well.
There are always a few wells in the town, and they said they would replace the water in the water bag there.
Since Mika had "Waterball," it might not be strictly necessary, but he thought it was strange to use magic in front of people so casually, so he did as told.
Then they returned to the stop for the shared carriage.
The dilapidated hut at the stop had more people than when he left in the morning.
The Kotontesse shared carriage only goes to "Yaunasun," but the Yaunasun shared carriage, simply put, has "Kotontesse-bound," "Sarbengeal-bound," and "Trade Alliance-bound."
Ninetiana said there were others, and it seems the number of people gathering at the stop is incomparable to Kotontesse.
The shared carriage arrived, and sitting at the very front as yesterday, the hellish day finally began.
Even though he said he could heal with healing magic, he wasn't used to using it casually yet.
Mika decided to endure for a day and follow the same pattern as yesterday, getting treated in the bath.
After several breaks, they arrived at the post town in a day.
The post town was, frankly speaking, a messy place, giving the impression of forcing various shops into a narrow area.
However, there were quite a few buildings using concrete partially, and wooden buildings were slightly more common?
It seems this post town is located in the middle of Yaunasun and Sarbengeal.
They would stay here for one night and arrive in Sarbengeal around tomorrow evening.
For dinner, they ate the daily special at a delicious shop they heard about from passing adventurers.
Heading to the inn, this time Ninetiana voluntarily declared, "Two baths, together is fine."
Of course, Mika's protest was quickly silenced by the quick-moving Ninetiana, and although the innkeeper gave a suspicious look, she still gave a discount as expected.
After somehow washing away the sweat while receiving sexual harassment from having his butt stroked by Ninetiana, it was finally time for healing magic.
"Let's stay like this. You're cute."
"It's obviously no."
"Ugh... monkey..."
While having such exchanges, the treatment was completed safely.
They spent the night in the dilapidated hut at the stop.
The next day———.
More than eight hours had passed since leaving the post town.
The last break was over, and the pain in his butt had already reached its peak.
Even so, it was the third day, so he was somewhat used to it, but the damage didn't disappear.
Ninetiana, who acted nonchalant, was the strange one.
"It's in sight."
Ninetiana pointed forward and told Mika in a low voice.
The sky and earth were beginning to be dyed by the sunset.
Something seemed to be visible beyond that slightly reddened area.
"...I can't see anything."
The scenery was still unchanging.
Even straining his eyes, he couldn't see anything special.
As Mika continued to look forward, as the carriage moved forward, something faintly appeared.
That "thing" far away was still too far to understand well.
"That is Sarbengeal. The city where you will spend the next two years, Mika-kun."
"That is..."
That "thing" visible through the haze seemed to be a city wall.
As they approached, the inside of the carriage became noisy.
Everyone might have something boiling up in their hearts at finally reaching their destination.
The carriage continued to move, but the city wall seen up close was very large.
The height easily exceeded 10 meters, and the wall built solidly with stone made one feel oppressed just by looking up.
The shared carriage stopped outside the city wall, and passengers got off one by one.
It seems that, unlike other cities, the stop in Sarbengeal is outside the city wall.
"Only those who have received special permission can enter the city with the carriage."
In the direction Ninetiana pointed, several carriages were lined up.
Soldiers in leather armor were checking inside the carriages or checking travel permits.
Some carriages passed through almost without stopping and overtook other carriages, so there might be different types of travel permits.
Mika followed Ninetiana and approached the gate.
The left side of the huge gate was for people and carriages entering the city, and the right side was for those leaving.
Moving with the flow of people, they reached a checkpoint.
More than ten soldiers were busily checking people and carriages.
"Person with a child over there. Come here."
As Mika looked around nervously, one of the soldiers called out to Ninetiana.
Seeing Ninetiana, Ninetiana nodded.
"Do you have anything to declare?"
"Declare...?"
The soldier asked Ninetiana in a matter-of-fact manner.
Looking at Ninetiana, wondering what it was, she said, "Show the order."
The only thing called an order was "that."
Mika reached into his rough bag and took out the [Order for Enrollment in the Magic Academy] from Baron Limpēre.
When the soldier saw the order Mika presented, his eyes widened for a moment.
"Ho... is this child a student of the Magic Academy this year? Wait a moment."
The soldier raised his hand and signaled to the guard post.
A man who seemed to be a knight wearing splendid metal armor came from the guard post.
"What is it?"
"Please verify."
The soldier handed the order to the knight.
The knight glanced at the handed order.
"...It is indeed the order of Baron Limpēre. Welcome to Sarbengeal. Young Lady... Hmm? Mika? Welcome Mika-kun's enrollment in the academy."
The knight tried to return the order to Mika, but checked the name again once.
It seems he was thought to be a girl based on appearance.
...Since leaving Rish Village, I've been seeing things like this all the time.
Returning the order to Mika, the knight went back to the guard post.
The soldier told them to follow him and proceeded past the gate.
"Do you know the location of the Magic Academy?"
"Yes. I haven't been there, but it's in the northwest of the town, right?"
"Yes. Well, if you don't know, there are soldiers on the main street, so just catch one and ask. Now, take care."
Wasn't the soldier's attitude slightly different from the beginning?
As Mika watched the soldier returning, Ninetiana patted Mika's head.
Looking up, Ninetiana pointed at the city.
"Look, Mika-kun. This is the city of Sarbengeal."
Looking in the direction Ninetiana pointed.
There, the streetscape of Sarbengeal dyed in twilight spread out.