Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 13 - Chapter 6

6. If You’re Going to Travel

Her name was Zapp.

There was one very prominent horn on her sturdy head. Her face was big and oval-shaped. Her thin eyes looked nothing if not peaceful, but who knew if she actually was.

Her movements were relaxed, and she was mild. She was hairy, but her tough, brown hair wasn’t all that long.

Her body was huge. Taller than Kuzaku. What was more, Zapp wasn’t even standing up.

A ganaro was a quadrupedal creature, so it wasn’t common for them to stand on their hind legs, but this one was still big.

Ganaroes were raised widely throughout Grimgar as livestock. Humans, orcs, and other races had tamed ganaroes since long ago, using them for milk, meat, or labor. They were a common animal, so Zapp felt familiar.

She was an especially large ganaro. At first they thought she was male, but she was actually female.

Kejiman stroked her strong neck and smiled as he introduced her. “This is my partner. She’s like a wife to me. Wahahaha!”

Did he mean that as a joke? It wasn’t clear, but Haruhiro wasn’t going to laugh.

The boxy four-wheeled cart Zapp pulled was rather small, but it had spring suspension. It was called the Vestargis-go.

It had a crew of one. It looked like you could cram three people into the coachman’s seat, but Kejiman said it really only sat one.

In addition to Zapp, Kejiman brought a bird named Nipp with him. Nipp was a kind of large, flightless bird called a storuch.

There were wild storuches living in the Quickwind Plains, but they were not used to orcs or humans. Only this domesticated breed, produced through the tenacious use of selective breeding, would let humans and orcs ride it.

Still, it was important to never stand behind a storuch. Because they would send you flying with an incredibly powerful kick.

“Nipp is my friend, I guess,” Kejiman grinned. “The only friend I need. Wahahaha!”

He deliberately stood behind Nipp, showing off this neat trick of his where he dodged a powerful kick by a hair’s breadth.

“Even I have a hard time getting out of the way. If you don’t retreat immediately, there’ll be a second one coming, too. If you take two in a row, it’ll nearly kill you. I speak from experience here. Wahahaha!”

With that said and out of the way, it was now the party’s job to protect the merchant caravan consisting of Kejiman, Zapp the ganaro, Nipp the storuch, and the four-wheeled cart Vestargis-go on their twenty-five day journey to Alerna.

Food and water were provided, and he would pay them thirty silver each. Kiichi the gray nyaa would, by the way, not be counted towards that.

Kejiman’s initial offer had been a daily allowance of one silver, making it twenty-five silver per person. It was hardly good pay, and it would have seemed unnatural to accept it easily, so Haruhiro had made a point of at least haggling.

“Now, listen, my life is on the line with this trade,” Kejiman warned them. “It always is, though.”

After holding out as long as he could, Kejiman offered thirty silver, saying he could go no higher, on account of not having the money.

“I put almost everything I have into stocking up, you see. There’s no way I’d have money to pay you people. If I hadn’t met you all, I was thinking I’d be fine going alone. I’d’ve had no choice but to go it alone. What will you do? Will you go? Will you not go? I’m fine either way. It’s up to you people. Do as you please!”

As per their first impression, this guy was nuts. He was a bit nervous to do it, but Haruhiro didn’t want to be taken advantage of, so he kept on haggling, and they finally agreed that once the cargo was sold in Alterna, there would be a bonus.

The Gate of the Sea God in Vele opened at half past six o’clock in the morning. They set out not long afterwards, taking an unmapped route to the southwest.

Kejiman sat in the coachman’s seat of the Vestargis-go, and Nipp followed behind despite not being tethered to it.

Haruhiro and the party were on foot. While making very sure that they didn’t end up behind Nipp and get kicked, they kept on walking.

The humble merchant Kejima’s trade caravan ignored the perfectly fine road paved with whitish stones, the White Road, and instead crossed fields, forests, and hills to push southwest.

That it was better than Darunggar went without saying, but it was also better than Thousand Valley or the Kuaron Mountains. Even if they did nothing but walk for twenty-five days, that was an easy trip by the party’s standards.

“Man, there’s nothing out here...” Kuzaku mumbled to himself, and Kejiman laughed nasally.

“We’d be in trouble if there was. I’m going out of my way to avoid places people go. Now listen, I’m about to say something obvious, but it’s because you people are ignorant. I’d like you to hear me out with that in mind, but there are a million thieves and bandits in these parts. I say a million, but I don’t mean a literal million. That would be way too many. Still, there are a lot of them. I’ve been hit a number of times myself.”

It seemed Shihoru, Merry, and Setora, who had Kiichi with her, were ignoring whatever Kejiman said unless it was important. They didn’t even respond.

Haruhiro know how they felt. The guy was kind of... infuriating, yeah. Haruhiro would have preferred not to listen himself, but the guy was their employer, so he couldn’t ignore him outright.

“So that’s why you’ve developed your own route,” Haruhiro responded.

“That’s right. Light, the Raiders, the Crush Underdogs, Dashbal... there are all these famous groups of thieves and bandits. If they find you, and think you’ve got something of value, it’s over.”

“Light...” Haruhiro murmured.

“Light is a group of volunteer soldier drop-outs. If you ask me, humans who’ve ruined themselves are far more villainous than either orcs or undead.”

“...Oh, yeah? Is that how it is?”

“Orcs, they’re pure, I guess you could say,” Kejiman said. “There’s something refreshing about the way they act. It’s a bit harder to figure out what undead are thinking, but they don’t act cruel for no good reason. The ones you really need to watch out for are humans who’ve gone astray.”

“Right...”

“Still, though, even with scary guys like Light, it’s not like they’ll just show up out of nowhere to kill, rape, and pillage.”

“...Yeah.”

“Ha! ‘Yeah,’ he says! What’s your problem?! Come on! Get involved in the conversation! I’m making an effort to talk with you here!”

I’m not getting involved in the conversation because I’m not that interested in what you have to say. Haruhiro wanted to say that, but couldn’t. It might be satisfying to, but it was sure to cause trouble.

“...Do they threaten you?” Haruhiro asked at last.

“They do. Well, hey. I guess you’re interested, after all.”

“Do I look that way?”

“There! That’s the way to be!”

“...Huzzah.”

“Threats are their usual modus operandi. ‘You pay us this much, we won’t attack,’ they’ll say. I’m sure that larger caravans with a proper defense force can just tell them to ‘Bring it on!’ though. That’s why the thieves and bandits, they don’t attack those sorts of caravans. Everyone values their own lives, after all. In the end, it’s the medium and small ones that get hit. For an independent trader like me, I have to get by on my wits and courage alone. I’m looking for a wife, by the way!”

“...I see.”

“I mean really looking for a wife! I’m super, super looking for one! How about it?! There’s a seat open beside me, you know?!” Kejiman slid over, patting the spot beside him.

The women in the group were freezingly silent.

“Wahahaha! It’s fine, it’s fine. Pure, innocent men who are pursuing their ideals, like me. Women hardly ever understand us. It’s fine. Just fine. When it comes down to it, I can just buy them!”

“That’s pretty scummy,” Kuzaku let slip.

Kejiman erupted in an instant, standing in the coachman’s seat. “Hey, you! Who’re you calling scum, you handsome bastard?! Don’t get all full of yourself just because you’re tall and good-looking!”

“Nah... I’m not that full of myself.”

“Yes, you are! You so are! Let me tell you, me, I’ve never once been popular with the ladies! The number of people I’ve gone out with, zero! Still, if I just pay, even a man like me can have his needs satisfied! This is reality! Even if they don’t love me, I have people who’ll pretend they do! If I pay, that is!”

“...Erm. Listen, I’m sorry.”

“You pity me?! Even my own father never pitied me!”

This was going to be the first a long twenty-five days. Haruhiro didn’t even want to think about it.

But, well, it wasn’t like he had no tolerance for men like Kejiman. Besides, once they reached Alterna, it’d be goodbye. If he considered this a limited-time thing, it would be easier to put up with.

On the first day they walked twenty-five, twenty-six kilometers over the course of half a day, making camp at the base of a small mountain.

Even when he slept, Kejiman stayed in the coachman’s position. Haruhiro and the rest pitched tents, taking shifts on watch. They heard the cries of nocturnal beasts, and sensed their presence, but the morning came without further event.

Kejiman being annoying aside, the second day also went well. The third, too. When things were so uneventful, that was actually worrying.

That night, Haruhiro slept lightly even when not on watch. In the morning, he had a short dream. Yume showed up out of nowhere, and she wanted Haruhiro to be a target for some reason.

Well, if you insist, he said, and acted as a target for her. Yume took aim and fired arrow after arrow at him, but they all narrowly missed.

They’re not hittin’, huh? Yume laughed.

They’re really not. Haruhiro laughed, too.

But I’ve got a feelin’ the next one’ll hit, Yume nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring.

Just as Haruhiro thought, Oh, this one’s going to hit the bullseye, he woke up.

What a dream...

On the fourth day, they had a good time cutting across the fields, climbing gentle hills, and ambling through quiet forests. It really was peaceful.

They reached the climax of the first stage of the journey a little after noon that day. They got to the edge of the forest, and there was a river.

Kejiman jumped down from the coachman’s seat and ran forward. “Yahooooooo! We’re here! The Irotoooooo...!”

“This is...” Haruhiro rubbed his cheeks and chin. He had a bit of a beard going. It was pretty thin, though. He’d have to shave it.

“It’s big...” Shihoru murmured.

Maybe the sparkling surface of the water was too bright, because Shihoru was squinting. No, it was cloudy today, so it wasn’t sparkling at all. She must have been confused.

“I wonder how wide the river is...” Kuzaku cocked his head to the side.

Yume would have been able to eyeball it with a reasonable amount of accuracy, but Haruhiro could only tell vaguely.

“Two hundred... Three hundred... More, maybe,” he said at last. “It could be four or five hundred meters.”

Obviously, if they were traveling along the ground, there were going to be rivers. They had crossed a number on the way here, but none had been further than waist-deep for Haruhiro, and their currents hadn’t been fast.

Kejiman had warned them in advance they would be crossing a river today, but he hadn’t mentioned that this Iroto was such a major river.

Nipp went into the shallows, drinking the river water eagerly. Tied to the Vestargis-go a short distance from the riverbank, Zapp looked a little jealous.

Kejiman was playing around, skipping flat rocks across the surface of the water.

“What is with that man?” Setora muttered. “Is he an idiot? I suppose he is.”

Setora skillfully removed the yoke keeping Zapp fixed to the Vestargis-go. Now Zapp could move about freely.

Zapp gave Setora a short cry of, “Bumo!” before slowly walking toward the bank. She stuck her face in the water, and drank. She was gulping it down.

Beside her, Kiichi wet his hands and rubbed his face.

Seeing that made Merry smile. Well, when a nyaa washed its face like that, it was cute, after all. Yeah. It was the sort of thing that’d make you smile.

But moving on.

Shihoru made a gesture with her chin. “That guy...” she said, indicating Kejiman. “I don’t believe he said the river wasn’t crossable. How do you think we’re crossing it?”

“Thirty-five skips!” Kejiman threw his hands up in delight. It seemed the stone he’d thrown had skipped thirty-five times across the surface of the river.

“Dammit,” Kuzaku said, clicking his tongue. “Seeing that, it makes me want to try, too.”

“You can,” Haruhiro said. “If you really want to.”

“Stop it, Haruhiro! If you tell me that, I’ll seriously end up doing it.”

“Do it, man.”

“But if I do, you’ll look down on me. You’ll think I’m the same as that guy.”

“No, I won’t.”

“I’ll do it, I’m serious! This is no good. I’ll hold back. If you ended up looking down on me for something like this, man, I wouldn’t be able to go on living.”

“You really don’t need to worry about how I see you...”

“Well, I do!”

“Thirty-seven skips...!” Kejiman called.

Kejiman had kept throwing small stones, and it seemed he had a new record.

What’s he fooling around for? Haruhiro wondered. It looks super fun. I... don’t want to do it. I’d never do it.

“Umm...” he began, trying to get the man’s attention.

“Hold on!” Kejiman shouted as he pulled back his arm, then threw yet another stone. The stone skipped across the surface of the lake, almost as if it were sliding, and then sunk into the water. “Yessssssssssssssssss!” Kejiman shouted and pumped his arm. Thirty nine skips! I win! Zeeeeeeeeeeed...!”

“Zed...?” Haruhiro repeated. He knew it was better not to say anything, but he did.

Kejiman turned back, using the middle finger of his right hand to push up his glasses. “Me! I won! In a competition against myself!”

“No, not that. What’s zed...?”

“Heheheheh...” Kejiman suddenly burst out laughing. “Wahahahahahahahahahaha!”

He laughed loudly. Like an idiot. There was something wrong with him. Haruhiro had thought he was weird from the beginning, but the man kept on being even more of a weirdo than anticipated.

He’d have to consider his options. Like abandoning Kejiman and running for it, maybe. Was it too early for that? He wondered.

Looking over to Zapp, Setora and Kiichi were riding on her back.

“Um... Er...” Haruhiro began.

“Hm? What is it?”

“No, don’t ask me...”

“Oy, oy, oy, oy, oy?! Zapp is not a vehicle!” Kejiman shouted, looking off to the side. His face was a mask of anger, but Setora seemed unaffected.

“She’s an animal, after all. I see no reason to think she would be a vehicle.”

“Then why are you riding her?! What for?!”

“I thought I could, so I did,” Setora said. “Is that wrong?”

“I should ask, how do you think it’s not, zeeeed! By the way, I feel like I can say it easily now, so I’m gonna announce it, but we can’t cross the river here! We should’ve been able to, though! We should have! But it looks like not! How regrettable!”

Shihoru’s jaw dropped, and she blinked repeatedly.

Merry’s face tensed for a moment, then she smiled for some reason afterward. It was a little scary.

“What’s that mean?” Kuzaku asked, then a few moments later, his eyes went wide. “Huh?! Wh... What do you mean? Whuh...?!”

“You’re way too shocked...” Haruhiro sighed.

It was a surprise, though, sure. He was starting to get a headache.

“This is why you were goofing around,” Haruhiro said. “I knew something seemed off...”

“Well, sorry.” Kejiman bowed his head with a beaming smile.

If he was going to apologize, he could try to look more apologetic. Why did this man do things that brushed people the wrong way? It was hard to understand.

“So, what do we do?” Setora made no attempt to get down from Zapp. Well, in this situation, even if Kejiman was going to snap and demand she get down, Haruhiro didn’t think she had to.

Kejiman picked up a small stone, throwing it at the river. It was an upwards toss, so the stone fell into the water without skipping.

“Yeah, that there. That’s the problem...”