"We're leaving!" (Mitsu-Sabi)
"…………" (King + others)
In the middle of the night, we secretly set out, being seen off by only the king and the prime minister.
Of course, we were disguised so as not to attract attention, and in a plain old carriage with a driver.
It's amazing that the royal palace's carriage warehouse had even a worn-out carriage available for times like this.
We would ride the "Big Lorry" after leaving the royal capital.
Once transferred, this carriage would return to the royal palace.
Ah, it was me and Sabine-chan who waved to the kings earlier, but of course Colette-chan was also on board.
...It's just that Colette-chan didn't have the courage to wave and talk to the king and the prime minister.
Yeah, that's the feeling of a normal commoner...
The reason for secretly leaving at night was, of course, that this matter needed to be kept secret, as some of the nobles might make a fuss if the truth was revealed.
It was an attitude that makes fun of our country, or that it is an act that blasphemes the Archpriestess and Goddess.
Besides, if it's done poorly, not only the aristocrats, but also the military and commoners might become agitated.
Therefore, it would be best to finish it quickly without anyone knowing about it.
It's the kind of thing that quickly shows up and quickly solves the problem, yeah!
I got out of the royal capital safely without being spotted by anyone other than the guards.
The guards got a free pass if Sabine-chan and I sticked our heads out the window and waved at them, and they never told anyone what they saw or hear dwhile on duty, so it's not a problem.
Sabine-chan and I were a bit disguised, but no guards could see through that much, yeah.
Then, in a deserted area, I transferred to the Big Lorry.
The carriage returned to the royal capital.
"Then let's go! Full speed on both sides, Big Lorry, take off!"
Fly at full throttle!
...No, no, it's only about 30km/h.
It's well-maintained enough for horse-drawn carriages to run on it, but it couldn't compare to asphalt pavement, no matter how much of a major road it was.
Well, large horse-drawn carriages of four and six horses also ran, and they overtook and passed each other, and thousands of thousands of troops moved. We should be thankful that the main roads were wide enough for large campers.
If the roads had been narrower, I might have had to use a light camper based on a light car for the trip to conclude the treaty...
If that happened, the living environment would deteriorate considerably, if there were three people on board...
At the very least, I'd like it to be as spacious as a van, a minivan, a one-box car, or a wagon.
Well, in our case, we could go back to the Japanese residence to use the restroom, bathe, and sleep, but if we had to go back so many times every day, there would be no sense of travel.
I wanted to avoid that kind of thing if possible, but I was glad the main roads were wide enough to accommodate large vehicles.
Well, I couldn't go into narrow side streets, but in those cases I could leave the Big Lorry at the Japanese residence and use the light car that I used for shopping, or just walked.
……ah!
If Sabine-chan and Colette-chan can practice riding a moped...
If it's a moped, I could carry gasoline in a jerry can, and we didn't have to have a license plate.
Licenses didn't matter here; Sabine-chan was a genius who could do anything with ease, and Colette-chan was a monster with wild intuition and physical ability. I was sure they would master driving in no time.
I feel like I can see a vision of the two of them hurtling away at something like 100km/h...
Ah, no, a moped doesn't go that fast.
...Even though it's called a moped, it didn't necessarily mean it had a nuclear engine...
"…So, we have arrived at the country you were called to, the Kingdom of Aleidis." (Mitsuha)
The border line had already been crossed, and the royal capital of this country was now within sight.
Well, there were a lot of things that happened along the way, but for us it was all within the realm of daily life.
"Sister, ordinary nobles and commoners don’t hunt thieves or disperse hordes of monsters every time they go on a journey, right?" (Sabine)
Ah, is that so...
I hadn't said it out loud, but at times like this, Sabine-chan could pretty much read what I was thinking from my facial expressions...
No, it's not like I actively hunted down thieves.
Since Big Lorry's speed was much faster than a normal carriage, there was a high chance of encountering a carriage being attacked by thieves or monsters.
So, we had two encounters in total: once when we encountered a merchant caravan that was being attacked, and once when we encountered people who seemed to be trying to attack us.
It's rare to come across so many thieves in one trip.
If there were always this many thieves, neither the merchant caravans nor the nobles would be able to move to other towns.
If that were the case, there would be no trade or anything, so in that case the lord would send out a subjugation squad, and if that didn't work, the national army would come from the country.
However, if the country were to help, the feudal lord would lose face, and there was even a possibility that he would be demoted or stripped of his title.
Therefore, when the damage increased too much, the feudal lord would desperately try to subdue the bandits.
...Yeah, there can't be that many thieves.
Before the attack, the thieves set up lookouts on both sides of the highway to ensure that no other commercial caravans with escorts passed by while they were working. Like on top of a small hill.
It seemed that signals were sent from there to let them know if other caravans were approaching.
...However, our Big Lorry rapidly approached the scene from outside the field of view of the lookouts.
Of course, it's not hard to understand why they tried to attack us because we were riding in a mysterious vehicle that looked like it would be worth a lot of money, and there was no bodyguard in sight.
However, they couldn't keep up with Big Lorry's speed, so they couldn't catch up with us and fell behind.
Therefore, the only time I actually fought and defeated them was when I rescued a merchant caravan that was being attacked.
Well, the bandits who targeted us could have stopped us if they had just rolled some logs on the road, but in that case, it would have been a million times better if they had let us escape. If I did, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.
Well, if they were to be forced to work in a mine as a slave for a serious crime, it wouldn't be that long for a lifetime.
As I was thinking about this, Sabine-chan muttered to me.
"I think it's possible that the person who targeted us knew that we were part of the archpriestess's party and attacked us..." (Sabine)
"Eh? Because the thief must have known we were coming...ah..." (Mitsuha)
……Really. Is something like that even possible?
Is it an ambush aimed at us?
Certainly, it's unusual to encounter thieves twice in one trip.
And in my country, the only people who know that we were passing through this road are the King, the Prime Minister, Marquis Aibringer, and a few other ministers.
Even Marquis Bozes-sama didn't know. ...Marquis-sama, now I had to return to my territory.
And for anyone else who knows...
Yes. Only the person who invited me.
"Well, by the time we were riding in the 'horseless carriage,' it was obvious that it was us. If you do a little questioning in my country or the towns and villages around the route you took when you traveled to the area where the treaty was signed, you'll quickly find out. However, even if the upper echelons of the country knew this much, there was no way that a mere thief would know such a thing. And yet, I wonder if they're going to make a move on an unknown and suspicious person. It could be a trap, or it could be an experiment with new military equipment... Although criminals appear to be strong and enthusiastic on the outside, they are actually quite timid and cautious. Except for the real idiots and incompetents. So, is it possible that they know everything...?" (Mitsuha)
"Yeah. You should keep that in mind, just in case.It's all about preparing for the worst-case scenario." (Sabine)
Sabine-chan replied immediately.
Yes, that's absolutely correct.
Colette-chan also nodded her head.
"I see. Is there someone like that over there? ...Oh, I'm so excited!!" (Mitsuha)
Yeah, I like guys who confront you head-on more than guys who do things in a roundabout way.
However, I'm not going to do anything special to you!