parentshiftbook #416 - There are thousands of roads, but safety comes first
#416 - There are thousands of roads, but safety comes first
It seemed that only Zun Zun and the others were serving as Alice's guards this time.
According to Claire, even their team of six was a bit too many.
After all, this trip was not public. If too many followers came along, everyone would immediately realize they were nobles from who-knows-where. Even the dragon carriage's appearance had been modified to be very simple.
Claire really wanted to come along, but as a famous guard by Alice's side and a high-ranking minister in the kingdom, she was responsible for so much work that she really couldn't leave for too many days.
Besides, this dragon carriage wasn't ordinary.
Instead of normal horses, it was pulled by two Running Lizards—the two-legged moving monsters that had given Sato Kazuma so much trouble in the past. Furthermore, to arrive faster, the dragon carriage was in a floating state.
"…I see. Reducing friction does make it faster."
Zun Zun hadn't expected this.
This was the application of magic.
At this moment, Yuiyui sat in the driver's seat and pulled on the reins attached to the Running Lizards.
"Wait a minute, it's not that I don't trust Yuiyui, but if she's driving the carriage…"
"Please don't worry, Kazuma-san. I've practiced driving the carriage properly so that I can go out and play with my friends happily. Not only that, but rowing is also my specialty. Ah, by the way, I'm also proficient in swimming, and also, also…"
Yuiyui had worked very hard to go out and play with her friends. Thinking back to when they went to the front-line fortress, she seemed to have been this excited then too.
Sato Kazuma couldn't help but look at Megumin and Zun Zun.
"…Don't look at me like that. Unlike Yuiyui, I don't have any spare time to play when it comes to survival."
"Me neither. I don't have time to play in order to become stronger."
Various reasons, probably.
Of course, Zun Zun and Megumin weren't deliberately neglecting Yuiyui, but the Red Demon clan's customs, coupled with only having two good friends, couldn't fill her emptiness.
"But…"
"Don't worry, Kazuma, I'm here too."
"Darkness, can you…drive a carriage?"
"Don't underestimate nobles!"
Darkness was originally a noble. According to her, driving a carriage was a required course for nobles. Although she said she was skilled at it, considering how clumsy she always was, he felt vaguely uneasy.
It seemed they would have to trouble Yuiyui a lot along the way.
"Hey, I want to sit next to Yuiyui because I want to admire the scenery along the way from the front."
Aqua suddenly said this.
"Well, no matter what, we have to allocate the seats properly." Darkness looked at the dragon carriage and said, "Then I'll sit in the front row, so it's convenient to switch with Yuiyui."
"Then Zun Zun and I…"
"Zun Zun, please come over here! The seat next to me is still empty. Let's play games together on the road like we used to!"
"Tch."
Megumin clicked her tongue in displeasure at being interrupted.
Probably having prepared for the trip before they even arrived, Alice looked impatient, wearing armor that looked like what royalty would wear, and a glittering sword.
She sat in the dragon carriage like this, patted the seat next to her, and signaled for Zun Zun to sit over there.
Before even getting on the dragon carriage, Megumin suddenly jumped on, brought her face close to Alice's, and stared at her with her red eyes.
"Hey, you grassroots staff member actually wants to snatch the best seat. Aren't you being too presumptuous! The position behind the driver's seat has the best view and should be given to me! Otherwise, I won't come to play with you anymore!"
"T-Too cunning! This and that are two different things. Today I'm not a grassroots staff member but a princess! My status is lofty! I won't give up this position behind the driver's seat. If you really want to sit here no matter what, then have a showdown with me!"
He had thought that since they hadn't seen each other for so long, there would be a touching reunion.
He didn't expect them to suddenly start fighting.
But strangely, Claire and Raine's reactions were as if they were used to it, looking troubled.
"…Hey, Kazuma, Darkness, have you guys been meeting with Alice often while I wasn't here? I feel like Megumin and Alice have gotten very close without me knowing."
"N-No, that's not true!"
"That's right. Megumin calling Alice-dono a 'grassroots staff member' makes me curious!"
The two explained in a flustered manner.
Sato Kazuma usually had a glib tongue and lots of clever ideas, but he wasn't very good at lying. He would panic and become helpless as soon as he was suspected. Darkness, the crusader knight, was even worse. Lying was taboo for her, and she would always be exposed.
It seemed something had happened while he was away.
"…Never mind, isn't it good that they've gotten closer?"
Zun Zun didn't mind.
The dragon carriage had two rows of seats, each able to seat four people. Presumably, considering Zun Zun's team's large number and Alice's situation, they had to lengthen the dragon carriage.
While the two were arguing, Zun Zun casually sat on the left side of the dragon carriage.
Megumin and Alice, seeing this, quickly ran over, sandwiching him on either side. Adding Darkness next to the driver's seat on the far left, Zun Zun was inexplicably surrounded by beautiful girls.
On the right side was the lonely Sato Kazuma alone.
"H-Hey… Although it's great to see beautiful girls on the opposite side, shouldn't two of you sit over here? Hurry, hurry and have two of you come over! It's too heavy over there; the dragon carriage is tilting! I can already feel it, so hurry up and come over!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
Seemingly feeling excluded, Aqua cried and ran over to sit on this side, but Zun Zun and the others easily dodged her, and the group sat on the right side again.
This was repeated several times.
The lonely Sato Kazuma shrank into the corner of the dragon carriage, pale all over, drawing circles with his fingers, muttering something.
After everyone had gotten into the carriage, Claire ran to Alice's side.
"Alice-dono, did you bring everything? Did you bring your handkerchief? Did you bring spending money in case you need it? In case of an emergency, take out all those magic scrolls and magical tools I gave you and use them. Don't save them. If you feel lonely, please don't cry…"
"Claire, I'm not a child anymore. It's okay. If you don't let go of me, we can't set off…"
Compared to Alice, she was more like an old mother who couldn't bear to let her child leave. In the end, Raine pulled the crying Claire away, and they were able to set off.
"Well then, Alice-dono, please do your best and take care of yourself. Have a pleasant journey!"
"Sato Kazuma, Zun Zun! I'm entrusting Alice-dono to you! Any rude person who offends Alice-dono, you can execute them immediately! Alice-dono——"
Probably, this was the feeling of parents seeing their children off.
"Goodbye, you two. I'll be back soon."
Alice waved her hand, and Yuiyui whipped the lizards, causing them to run.
Half of this mission was a trip, a leisurely dragon carriage journey.
—That's what it should have been.
"Waaahhhhh—Darkness, slow down a bit! Don't rush so fast!"
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!"
Sato Kazuma and Aqua were screaming, frightened by the Running Lizards' speed.
Because it would take 20 days to reach the neighboring country, even if the dragon carriage floated to speed things up, it would still take 10 days. And Yuiyui couldn't possibly last that long alone, so she and Darkness took turns driving the carriage.
But unexpectedly, Darkness was speeding!
When the scenery was receding so fast that it couldn't be seen with the naked eye, even Zun Zun was a little scared. He shouted at the excited female knight, "Listen up, Darkness! There are thousands of roads, but safety comes first. Irregular driving brings tears to loved ones!"
"Hahaha, don't worry, Zun Zun! The royal dragon carriage has a powerful barrier. If there's an accident, only the driver's seat will be destroyed! Hahaha, these Running Lizards are really great. Good, run faster!"
Darkness seemed to be aiming for a crash!
Only in this way could she experience the thrill of being sent flying at super speed.
But wasn't this guy ignoring someone?
Aqua shouted in fear, "Hey, what if we encounter monsters at this time and crash into them! If the esteemed me is smashed into meat paste, this world will be finished! Hey, Darkness, are you listening!?"
"Don't worry, Aqua. This dragon carriage has a magical tool to drive away monsters, so it's impossible to encounter them!" Darkness said confidently.
"What, monsters!?"
Alice's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Megumin asked uneasily, "Hey, Alice, why are you so excited?"
"Because, isn't it common in storybooks to encounter powerful monsters on a journey and then defeat them with difficulty!??"
"You said it yourself that it's something that happens in storybooks… Eh, Zun Zun, why are you putting on your equipment?"
Sato Kazuma couldn't help but retort, but he immediately saw Zun Zun entering battle mode. Not only him, but Megumin and Yuiyui had also taken out their magic staffs.
"Wait, wait… There's no need to be so nervous, right? Doesn't this dragon carriage have a magical tool? And no matter what, Darkness wouldn't drive the carriage into a pile of monsters, right?"
"Kazuma, you obviously haven't realized the seriousness of the problem."
"What?"
While he was stunned, the carriage suddenly stopped, the sudden braking causing everyone to fly around inside. Aqua, who was sitting in the driver's seat, flew several meters away and fell to the ground, wailing.
However, there was no time to comfort her, because a group of monsters was blocking the main road.
They were giant bull-type monsters.
"Darkness, I told you not to casually set flags!"
"Wha—!?"
Although Sato Kazuma blamed Darkness, he obviously didn't know that Alice had caused this result.
"Then we, as guards, will take action——"
"Extelion!"
Before he could show off, a brilliant, radiant slash shot out from the sword in Alice's hand as she shouted.
It looked like the ultimate move of a hero that would appear in manga or games, cutting all the giant bull-type monsters blocking their path in half.
"…Eh?"
Sato Kazuma was dumbfounded.