Chapter 637
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no. That person just now…”
The coachman pointed in confusion.
He had just asked for directions, but the person was running away at full speed as if they had seen a wyvern.
Seeing this, Gainando spoke seriously.
“They must be afraid of carriages.”
“…?”
The coachman stared blankly at Gainando.
No matter how he thought about it, that statement just now felt like nonsense.
Where in the world was there a person afraid of carriages?
‘No. This person attends Einroguard. He must know much better than an ignorant coachman like me.’
The coachman shook his head to dispel the irreverent thought he had just had.
Although still young, the person the coachman was serving now was of imperial blood (albeit low in the line of succession) and a mage studying at Einroguard. 𝙍
His wisdom could not be underestimated.
“Yes. Then we’ll continue on.”
“Oh! There! There’s one more person!”
“!”
This time it was a peddler walking with luggage on a pony.
He seemed to be quite an experienced peddler, with a rough face full of scars. His eyes flashed with the will to travel anywhere from the empire’s hot southern deserts to the cold northern glaciers.
There was no one more reliable and good to ask than these peddlers who traveled throughout the empire. The coachman hurriedly called out.
“Hey! Hey! May I ask you something?”
“Ask away.”
“Is this the right way to the Wardanaz family?”
“Are you going to the Wardanaz family?”
“Yes. As guests…”
The peddler quickly took out the luggage placed on the pony and threw it indiscriminately at the coachman. The coachman was startled and covered his face.
“Ugh! What are you…”
The peddler ran away without looking back. He didn’t even take his pony or luggage.
“…”
“…I guess that person is afraid of carriages too?”
‘Something’s not right!’
The coachman began to strongly sense that something was amiss.
No matter how he thought about it, this wasn’t about being afraid of carriages.
They were afraid of the name Wardanaz family!
It was one thing for the passerby from earlier, but for even a seasoned peddler to just run away like that.
“Young master. Isn’t something strange? Could something be happening with the Wardanaz family?”
“No. Yi-Han said everything was fine.”
“Who is this Yi-Han?”
“My friend. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family! By the way, he’s my best friend.”
“…?”
The coachman hesitated.
To find out if something was happening with the Wardanaz family, shouldn’t he ask an objective outsider, not ask ‘Is your family okay?’ to a family member?
What if that friend Yi-Han was plotting some evil scheme…
The coachman had heard some of the terrifying rumors about the Wardanaz family a few times.
Although the Kraha family had said ‘They’re false rumors, don’t worry’, now that the situation was like this, they suddenly came to mind again.
What if they weren’t false rumors?
‘No, no. This person attends Einroguard… If his friend was plotting something suspicious, he would have found out first!’
The coachman tried hard to calm himself.
Shik!
Gainando threw a crumpled paper out the carriage window. The coachman asked curiously.
“What did you throw?”
“Ah. An arithmetic problem. It’s a secret. I’m going to say a bird secretly took it away later!”
“…”
Gainando was so impressed with his own wisdom that he didn’t notice the coachman’s gaze growing colder.
“It’s the town. Shall we take a short break?”
The vast territories of great noble families were close to independent spaces, with their own towns and servants.
The Wardanaz family’s territory would naturally be the same, so the Udamhwa Town now visible could be said to be the closest town to the family and the last town before entering the territory.
And for the coachman, it was the last chance to get useful information.
Screech!
The coachman stopped the carriage in front of the inn.
“Young master, please wait here.”
“Okay.”
Gainando nodded, deeply engrossed in .
“This way! This way!”
A servant from the inn quickly ran out and gestured towards the stable.
Certainly, this town, though not a city, was quite large and prosperous. This could be seen from the fact that the town inn unhesitatingly accepted an eight-horse carriage.
In smaller towns, due to lack of space, they sometimes just tied them up on the outskirts.
‘This is good. In such a large town, I should be able to get some useful information.’
The coachman firmly resolved.
While it might be difficult in a small town, in a large town there was usually at least one person who would give proper information.
“…?”
The moment he opened the inn door, the coachman felt something was off.
Throughout the spacious first floor, old round wooden tables were packed tightly, with townsfolk and travelers sitting here and there, filling large tin cups with alcohol.
At the counter inside, the owner was skillfully tending to barrels of alcohol, and next to him, even minstrels were gathered and seated. It was a large inn befitting a prosperous town.
But…
‘Why is there no sound?’
Surprisingly, this inn was eerily quiet.
The townsfolk and travelers were just sitting silently without saying a word. The owner was quiet, and even the minstrels weren’t performing.
“Has… has someone passed away?”
“Shh!”
At the coachman’s question, a townfolk nearby signaled him to be quiet.
“Keep your mouth shut, stranger. Now’s not the time.”
“…??”
“Sit here. Quickly.”
The coachman sat next to the townfolk, not knowing what was going on. The townfolk frowned and whispered.
“You came on a day like this. You’re unlucky too.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Look outside there.”
The coachman turned his gaze to the window.
A giant, amorphous demon with dozens of hooves was leisurely striding through the town.
And next to that demon was a boy. The boy was muttering while holding a paper, with a bundle of luggage placed on the demon.
“Hmm. Next is… Do we need chocolate? Ah, this bastard. He’ll probably just eat chocolate…”
-Did you perhaps have a child at Einroguard…?-
The coachman almost fell over in shock. The townsfolk panicked even more and grabbed the coachman.
“Stranger, are you trying to get us all killed?!”
“I-I’m sorry. I was just so surprised. Wh-wh-wh-what on earth is that?”
“It’s the Wardanaz family’s demon.”
The townsfolk spoke the name of the Wardanaz family with voices full of awe and fear.
“The great mage’s minion!”
“Wh-wh-wh-why did the great great great mage send a demon to the town?”
“How would we know? We’re like this because we don’t know!”
The coachman finally understood why the inn was as quiet as a mouse.
And come to think of it, not just the inn, but outside the town was all quiet too.
People were now holding their breath, afraid of giving any excuse for trouble!
“B-but the Wardanaz family is a mage family that protects the empire…”
“Well said, stranger. You go tell that demon.”
The coachman shut his mouth.
“Do you know why this inn is called ?”
“W-well…”
“When the owner was young, he went out on a lake with a small boat and was dragged up into the clouds.”
An old dwarf sitting next to them, who had been just listening to the conversation, spoke quietly.
“Dwarves have a saying. Don’t get involved with great mages. No matter how righteous a great mage is, nothing good will come of it. It’ll ruin your life…”
Clunk!
“!?!?!”
Everyone in the inn held their breath.
While they were talking, the inn door opened and the Wardanaz family’s boy entered.
“Will you wait in the stable?”
-I’m not a horse… Alright…-
Gulp!
The sound of someone swallowing was particularly loud.
The boy walked over and asked the owner.
“Could I perhaps buy some candied lemon? I heard at the general store that the candied lemon here is so delicious…”
Thud!
The owner quickly brought out an entire barrel of candied lemon. The boy replied, puzzled.
“You don’t need to give me this much.”
“It’s a gift from my heart!”
“Please just scoop out a little.”
The boy scooped some candied lemon and then fell into thought.
“Do you perhaps have grapefruit too?”
“Gra-gra-gra-grapefruit you say? Yes!”
“It is grapefruit, right? Wait, could you hold this for a moment!”
-If you were going to do this, why did you send me to the stable… Not that I’m complaining…-
Finding his hands full, the boy called the demon.
The inn became the quietest it had been today. It felt like even a falling needle would sound like thunder.
“Don’t drop this.”
-Yes…-
“Shall I give you one?”
-Yes…-
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-It’s very delicious…-
“I’m glad. Haha.”
The boy chatted with the demon, then packed all the candied fruit and left.
Only then could people breathe.
“You see? Why we told you to keep your mouth shut…”
Instead of answering, the coachman burst out the door and ran out of the town.
***
Nillia sat in the Maykin family’s carriage, glancing outside.
‘Ah. That flower is delicious.’
For a moment, she thought about stopping the carriage, picking the flower, and telling Yonaire to try it, but Nillia restrained herself.
The coachman might inwardly sneer if he saw.
-Goodness! How could Miss Maykin be so barbaric, vulgar, rough, and like a hunter tearing apart live prey…-
“Wait! Stop the carriage!”
Yonaire shouted to the coachman, then opened the carriage door and jumped out.
She quickly picked the flower, then climbed back in, panting.
“…This flower is good for making wind barrier potions. Sorry for startling you.”
Yonaire explained, seeming a bit embarrassed when her eyes met Nillia’s. Nillia felt very pleased.
“No, that flower is delicious too! Look there. That person is also eating flowers… Ack!”
“???”
Yonaire was flustered when Nillia screamed and looked out of the carriage.
A familiar relative was sitting in a field with a gloomy face, munching on flowers.
“…”
“…”
Gainando, who had been munching on flowers, raised his head. Seeing the Maykin family’s carriage, Gainando cried out tearfully.
“Yonaire!!!”
“Go!”
Yonaire shouted coldly.
However, Gainando grabbed the carriage with unbelievably quick movements.
“It’s me! Me!”
“How can you prove you’re not a fake?”
“H-here. I have homework Yi-Han gave me!”
“You’re a fake. Go!”
Yonaire, who didn’t want to get involved with an annoying relative during the vacation, ordered coldly.
But Nillia’s heart softened a little.
“Sh-shouldn’t we at least ask what happened?”
“…Sigh. You’ll regret this.”
Yonaire sighed and opened the door. Gainando climbed in, whimpering.
“What happened?”
“The coachman ran away!”
“You must have done something wrong.”
“No!!”
Gainando poured out the story of the coachman with a voice full of resentment.
He had left him in the carriage and disappeared!
“When I asked the townsfolk, they said he just ran away. Sob sob.”
Yonaire and Nillia exchanged glances.
There was only one thing they could guess.
“Did you force the coachman to read magazines?”
“You must have used dark magic on the coachman.”
“Did you pester the coachman to buy you snacks?”
“Did you ask the coachman to do your homework for you?”
“It’s none of those?!”
Gainando was angry at his friends’ suspicions.
These guys couldn’t even be called friends!
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