Chapter 406: The Lugen Mountains
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 406: The Lugen Mountains
Before the break of dawn.
From the wee hours of the morning, while everyone else was fast asleep, I was busy preparing to leave.
Besides setting up a barrier, I also had to modify the carriage I received from Duke Winchester.
For the record, I brought two decent-looking horses from the stable to pull it.
The carriage could run automatically on its own with just magic stones, so the horses were really just for camouflage.
Though I hear European nobles don't use that feature.
Anyway, it was a state-of-the-art, magic-powered carriage equipped with various enchantments like shock absorption, self-cleaning, and a reinforced barrier.
I wanted to add a few more spells, but since I'm no engineer, I might have just ended up breaking the poor thing.
So I focused on remodeling the interior.
On Earth, it would just be a substitute for a car, but in this world, I'd be using it more like an RV, so some modifications were necessary.
Thankfully, just before dawn, the modifications to the carriage were complete.
I hadn't slept a wink, but I wasn't particularly tired.
For a mage, pulling all-nighters for weeks on end while focused on research is just part of daily life.
When I returned to my quarters and came out after washing up, I found Elisabeth sitting on the bed.
A short silence passed before she was the first to speak.
“...Are you leaving now?”
“I have to.”
“When will you be back?”
“I'm not sure.”
Plop—
Towel-drying my wet hair, I sat down next to Elisabeth.
As if she'd been waiting, Elisabeth immediately snuggled into my arms.
“I won't be gone for too long.”
“That's what my mother said when she left for convalescence when I was ten.”
“...”
Another heavy silence fell. Just as I was trying to figure out what to say...
Smack!
Elisabeth grabbed my face with both hands.
Finding it hilarious for some reason, she started squishing my cheeks like they were clay, making my head spin.
But that only lasted a moment. Elisabeth stopped and looked at me with a rather serious expression.
“...Promise me you'll come back safely. I have no desire to become a widow at this age, only to be dragged to the guillotine in a rebellion because I have no heir.”
Seeing the faint anxiety in her eyes, I slowly nodded.
“I'll be back soon.”
I laid Elisabeth down on the bed and stole her lips. Thankfully, there was still a little time before I had to leave.
About thirty minutes passed like that.
Leaving Elisabeth behind in the room to fix her disheveled hair and dress, I opened the door and saw a familiar face.
“Sir Hyun-woo.”
“...Tina?”
My eyes met with Tina's, who was neatly dressed in her maid uniform.
She bowed politely, as always.
She was such a flawless, perfect maid that it was hard to believe she was also an assassin.
'...How long has she been standing in front of the door?'
For a moment, a cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
I had no idea.
I hadn't felt her presence at all. Even though I was using mana detection out of habit, I couldn't sense her until I opened the door and our eyes met.
'Could it be...?'
“Tina, about that Ghost Divine Art I taught you. What stage have you reached?”
“The third stage.”
“...What?”
The day before Elisabeth's coronation, I had passed on the oral formula for the Ghost Divine Art to Tina.
Although Elisabeth's security detail had grown since she ascended the throne, I worried that her guards alone might not be enough to completely stop an attack from someone as skilled as Marquis Laxion.
Of course, the chances of that actually happening were slim, but it was my role to prepare for that 'one in a million' chance.
The method I chose was to foster Tina's growth.
'I knew she was talented, but to reach the third stage in just a few days...?'
“Tina, may I take your wrist for a moment?”
“Yes.”
The moment I took Tina's pulse, a disbelieving laugh escaped my lips.
She was telling the truth.
Which made it even more unbelievable.
Among martial arts, there are countless fakes that bear the name 'Divine Art' (神功), as common as pebbles on the road. But the Ghost Divine Art, at least, boasted a fiendish difficulty worthy of its name.
Thanks to my Primordial Body, I've never had trouble learning martial arts, but Tina was different.
Moreover, the mana cultivation method she was used to was fundamentally different from martial arts.
A knight handles aura by accumulating nature's mana in their heart, like a mage, while a martial artist handles internal energy by gathering it in their dantian.
There might be similarities, but fundamentally, they were worlds apart.
I had helped her form a dantian, but still, was it really possible to master the basics and advance to a higher realm in just a few days, all by herself and without a proper master?
'...A genius.'
No other word came to mind.
It was a wondrous talent, hard to believe even seeing it with my own eyes.
“...That's incredible.”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, Sir Hyun-woo, I believe I've found the goal I should strive for.”
“Just don't push yourself too hard. You've read the book I gave you, right?”
“Yes.”
The book I'd given Tina contained the basic theories of martial arts.
Acupoints, internal energy, qi circulation, and so on.
I made sure to emphasize the dangers of the Heart Demon (心魔) several times, so knowing Tina's personality, she probably wouldn't be reckless.
“I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then, please take care of Elisabeth.”
“Please do not worry. Even if it costs me my life, I will protect Her Majesty's safety.”
“...Don't go that far.”
I pulled the determined-looking Tina into a hug.
With anyone else, I wouldn't be worried, but I was afraid Tina might actually give her life.
“I'd be in trouble without you.”
“...”
After a brief silence, Tina slowly nodded.
With my farewells complete, I quietly slipped out of the capital.
*
Unlike on Earth, where you can easily find beast-kin anywhere, the beast-kin of this world live together in the Santala Kingdom, located in the southeastern part of the continent.
Of course, you can occasionally see them in other countries, but most of them are slaves.
Anyway, there were two ways to get to the Santala Kingdom. One was to cross the Sutra Desert, and the other was to go by sea.
The pros and cons of each were clear.
Crossing the Sutra Desert would get us to the Santala Kingdom in a month, but going by sea would take at least three months.
And that three-month estimate was only if we didn't miss the regular transport ship for trade.
I'd heard from the Hessler family's butler that if we missed the boat, it could take over a year.
But choosing the land route meant crossing the Sutra Desert, which was not only as vast as the Great Basin Desert in the United States but also boasted a climate harsher than any desert on Earth.
On top of that, there were powerful magical beasts preying on travelers and an ancient curse covering the entire desert.
Throughout the continent's history, the number of people who had safely crossed the Sutra Desert could be counted on one hand.
Honestly, if I had just crossed the Great Forest from the start, I wouldn't have had this problem, but at the time, I had to be wary of Peledeia's pursuit team.
And now, trying to bypass the desert by going through Peledeia would take far too long.
It would take at least half a year.
For that reason, while I was hesitating to help Amelia, she told me she knew a way to cross the desert safely.
Of course, Sylvia gave me an earful for believing Amelia without any proof, but I thought the word of the sole heir to a major southern power was worth trusting.
And on the evening before we left the Nivia Kingdom, Amelia came to me and explained her method in detail.
'A relic from a fallen ancient kingdom...'
Decades ago, an expedition team dispatched by the Orsia Grand Duchy had managed to brave the harsh environment of the Sutra Desert and return with significant findings.
According to the expedition's report, a massive structure had appeared before them as they wandered lost in the middle of the desert. They claimed that an artifact they acquired there helped them escape the desert safely.
As you might have guessed, the method Amelia mentioned was using that artifact.
But if you were to ask if that could really be called a 'method,' my answer would be 'it's debatable.'
From what Amelia said, it seemed the Grand Duchy hadn't properly researched the artifact yet.
In other words, no one knew if the expedition team's safe escape was truly thanks to the artifact's power or if they were just incredibly lucky.
But I didn't blame Amelia.
Still, it was a much better option than trying to cross the desert empty-handed.
Besides, she said the Orsia Grand Duchy had made numerous attempts to pioneer the Sutra Desert over the years.
If we can get the Duchy's help, crossing the desert should be much easier.
Even if that doesn't work, if the Duchy cooperates, there might be a way to cross the sea faster than the regular transport ships.
And if all else fails, I can just find a solution in another world, so there was no reason to be impatient.
Clatter—!
“...Right now, I just wish they'd do something about these roads.”
Sitting in the driver's seat, I grumbled and glanced to my left.
A deep and rugged canyon stretched endlessly beside us, so deep that even with my eyesight, I couldn't see the bottom.
I carefully controlled the speed to keep the carriage from falling off.
Three days had passed since we left Rogen, the capital of the Nivia Kingdom. We had safely crossed the border and arrived in the Orsia Grand Duchy.
This was the Lugen Mountains, located in the western part of the Orsia Grand Duchy, a route that led to the capital, Pendria.
Hee-hee-hing!!
“You're not going to fall, so stop crying. If you keep that up, you really might fall.”
“Hehe, perhaps it's because animals are more sensitive than people?”
“Looks to me like it's just being a drama queen.”
Iris, sitting next to me, let out a small laugh at my words.
I had told her several times that she could stay inside, but she insisted on sitting next to me, so here we were in the driver's seat together.
You might wonder why we don't just go inside and use the auto-drive function, but the Lugen Mountains are infamous for frequent appearances of violent magical beasts.
It would be a disaster if a wyvern showed up and snatched the whole carriage.
The reason we were traveling through such a perilous place was simple: the Orsia Grand Duchy was in the middle of a civil war.
It would be a hassle to run into an army on the plains, so we had no choice.
Besides, despite the rough and dangerous road, the Lugen Mountains had the distinct advantage of being a shortcut to the capital.
“It's about lunchtime. Should we take a break before we continue?”
“That's a good idea.”
Iris usually got terrible motion sickness in carriages, but thanks to the shock absorption magic, she seemed fine even sitting in the driver's seat.
I parked the carriage in a secluded spot.
In truth, we weren't stopping just for lunch. It was hard to find a flat enough spot to park the carriage in the Lugen Mountains, so we had to rest when we could.
Knock, knock—
After stopping the carriage, I knocked lightly and then opened the door.
“Miss Amelia, are you alright?”
“Ah, Sir Hyun-woo.”
Amelia greeted me with a bright smile.
“I'm fine. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Sir Hyun-woo, the ride has been very comfortable.”
“My childhood dream was to be a coachman. I'm finally living the dream.”
Amelia chuckled at my words.
It wasn't a lie. I remember watching a movie as a kid and vaguely wanting to be like the protagonist, who drove recklessly.
I put one foot on the carriage step and offered Amelia my hand.
Amelia blushed slightly as she took my hand and carefully stepped down from the carriage.
Next, I offered my hand to Sylvia, but she ignored me, getting out of the carriage silently and walking over to Iris.
I scratched my head with my hand, now left hanging awkwardly in the air, and gave a bitter smile.
It seems she's still holding a grudge from last night.
'...Well, I did tell her to only treat me like her husband when we're alone.'
With the help of the three of them, I began to prepare lunch.
The road may have been rough, but eating lunch while looking out at the magnificent mountain scenery was quite satisfying.
But that peace didn't last long.