CH 70.1

It has been some time since we finished trading in Tarababara and began our return journey to Torquiva.

The ground, which had been white with a thin layer of snow when we arrived, was now bare and reddish brown on our return trip.

The wheels of the carriage squeaked as it rolled on a stone on the ground. That made the carriage driver look back with concern.

I had never heard such a sound on the way there so I was a little worried too.

We had been told to buy whatever unusual items we could find so the carriage was full of unusual items we had brought from there.

We have a spare wheel on board but perhaps we should have been a little more conservative with our purchases.

We followed the track that led to the distant horizon, wheels squeaking, passing and overtaking other merchants and adventurers as we continued our way to our hometown, Torquiva.

「Hey Pickles, how far is it to the next town?」

Jiren, the representative of the trading party, asked, peering through her far-sighted glass on the roof of the carriage.

「I don’t know the exact answer to that question. I don’t know how long it would take a centaur like me to run there but given all the stuff we’re carrying in the carriage, it would at least take us 3 days. 」

「That means we’re staying in the field again. I miss the bath at the Schenker Headquarters.」

Saying so, Jiren pulled her clothes, which color’s already different from when we left, from the chest part and smelled it.

「It can’t be helped. Dirt and smells are the best part of traveling.」

「If we could aboard the train, we wouldn’t have feel this way.」

「That’s right. If we can….」

「….co….ming…」

Vongo, a birdkin, who had been flying up in the sky as reconnaissance, swooped down on my back.

Then, the stones on the railroad track on the other side of the fence began to shake, and a humming sound could be heard from a distance.

「Stop the carriage! The train’s coming!」

「The train’s coming!」

「Get your gears ready!」

Far off the distance of the tracks, I caught a glimpse of what looks like a red pea but it quickly grows bigger.

The bright red locomotive with a gold emblem on its forehead approached us at great speed and whizzed by us.

The sand mixed with the wind hurts a little as they hit your skin.

No matter how many times I’ve seen the trains, I’m always impressed.

They are fast, powerful, and ridiculously long.

It must be moving at the speed of a flying dragon but the light of freight carriages following the locomotive never stops.

I wonder what they are transporting with a train that is so long it could wrap around a city.

「I’ve seen this red train so many times. Isn’t this the one that Sawadi-sama made? 」

「The one that master made was much smaller and slower.」

「…let…s…go…」

「Yeah, I’m counting on you, Vongo.」

Vongo, who had taken her lance from the carriage, took a few stems and soared into the sky.

After the train passes by, the sound attracts monsters so everyone will intercept them while Vongo watches over the sky to check if there’s any big ones coming.

「Walking birds, east! Two!」

「Masked monkey, west! Three!」