Jinshi’s strong point would be that he moves quickly once he arrives at a decision.
“Lass, we still have some medicine left. You can take it easy. There’s no need for you to go out of your way to the outskirts of some unfamiliar land.” The quack doctor looked at Maomao worriedly, taking her lame excuse as truth.
“It’s fine. I might come across some not yet known medicine too,” Maomao said.
It wasn’t completely a lie. The vegetation was different from Kaou Province. She had no idea what medicinal value and toxicity these plants and minerals could have.
She got a little excited.
Maomao heard the essentials will be prepared, but she also packed a bag with the bare necessities. As for money when the occasion arises, gold dust and silver lumps will be prepared for her. Currency typically used in Kaou Province is used here too, but it seems Isei Province, with its extensive trade with foreign countries, preferred unprocessed metals.
“Hmmm. So this is a job given to a court lady.” Tenyuu looked at her sceptically.
“I guess so. But rather than a doctor, I originally sold my skills as a herbalist before, so I was already asked this beforehand,” she replied.
(To make medicine that can kill insects.)
“Hmm, a herbalist, huh. I was pretty sure it was from connections though.”
The man spoke like he was bothered about each and everything.
“Come on, let’s stop here. It’s not good to suspect people,” the quack said.
(No, quack. You should suspect more.)
“If the old chap says so, I can’t say anything. Have a good trip.” Tenyuu laid down on the temporary doctor’s office that had just been cleaned. With the desks and beds moved in, the room became quite decent.
New medicine will also come in when Maomao returns. It’ll be functional.
“Then, I’ll be taking my leave,” she said.
“Okay, I’ll watch the place while you’re gone. Leave it to me.”
Rihaku was here, so she should be able to rest easy about the quack doctor.
.
.
.
“You’re late.”
“I’m right on time.”
Basen and Chue were waiting at the entrance of the villa.
(What an amazing combination.)
Speaking of their relationship, they would have to be in-laws.
Maomao looked around restlessly. “Umm, is this all? It was together with a seed potato delivery order, though.”
There were just two horses, if she were to include anything else here.
(I thought Rahan’s older brother would be travelling with us?)
Why were the two of them here?
“Allow me to explain. The seed potatoes will be transported by cart, but it moves slowly, so it’ll set off first! A responsible person said that, although his looks weren’t much to speak of. And, as for the reason I am here, Maomao-san is already my best buddy, no, my bosom buddy. Chue-san had appealed to come along, so you won’t be helpless on unfamiliar land.”
“In other words, it sounds fun, so you’ll be tagging along, right?”
At Maomao’s question, Chue pulled out a flag in place of an answer.
“Then, what about Basen-sama?”
“The Prince of the Moon’s orders. I was told to escort you. It’ll be troubling if Rakan-sama were to go on a rampage at the western capital.”
“….” She couldn’t say, honestly Rihaku would’ve been better.
Jinshi, being Jinshi, probably had enemies in the western capital, but it would be rare for them to mess with him.
(It’s the lord of this region who would be troubled if assassination were to befall his visitors.)
She had no idea what kind of person Gyoku’ou was, but she wanted to believe that he won’t harm his important guests.
“Well then, shall we quickly depart?”
Chue put her foot on the horse’s stirrup. Maomao was bewildered by the unusual combination, but upon closer look, the other woman was wearing something that looked like a barbarian outfit.
“That’s true. The location of the village is around two ri from here. We’ll likely reach it in two-dual hours.”
“We’ll probably overtake the cart. Shall we make a rest stop along the way?” Chue said nonchalantly.
“…unfortunately, unlike the capital, there are few tea houses. I won’t stop you if you want to stop to graze on the grass with the horses,” Basen replied.
(Oh?)
Maomao noticed that Basen didn’t make much of a fuss towards Chue’s joke. No, was he trying to not make a fuss?
(Since she’s his sister-in-law, huh.)
Basen seemed like he pays respect in his own way, but Chue doesn’t seem to treat anyone differently.
“So, who will Maomao-san ride with?” Chue asked.
“Even if you ask me,” Maomao said.
There were two horses. Maomao didn’t ride horses, so she needed to ride with either one of them. She was fine with anyone, though.
“Alright. Maomao-san will sit behind Chue-san. Basen-san’s saddle is hard. Chue-san’s saddle is well-tanned leather that is dedicated to absorbing impact. You won’t get saddle sore from prolonged riding. So, which one will you pick?”
Suffice to say Maomao pointed at Chue.
“Wait a sec. Why do you have a saddle like that? Weren’t the horses borrowed?” Basen asked.
“Yes. The Prince of the Moon’s consideration. Occasionally, he gives good work,” Chue said.
“Hey, what’s with that way of speaking!” Basen snapped, as if he couldn’t stand that Jinshi was being praised condescendingly.
“What way of speaking. When I heard that the Prince of the Moon picked Basen-san to be the escort, I told him that I’ll be coming along as well. He then looked like he saw the light. Yes, that’s right. Chue-san, who is more sensible than anyone, will be supporting Maomao-san. Maomao-san’s heart is bolder than a boulder, but she’ll die if her body gets hit. You should realise that it’s no good to leave it all to Basen-san who doesn’t know his limit, and be grateful to Chue-san.”
(Yes, I’ll die when I get hit.)
Maomao wasn’t the sporty type.
“So, be grateful to Chue-san. Rather, please call me elder sister.”
“…ngh.”
Basen couldn’t win against Chue’s words no matter what.
.
.
.
The three of them set out when the winner was decided.
Having said that, it wasn’t particularly noteworthy.
When they left the western capital, it was a never-ending stretch of grasslands. They followed a path of dried grass that seemed like a road. Along the way, they passed by a group that seemed like a caravan.
They also saw the tent camp of pastoral nomads.
(Could that be that horizon thing?)
Ruomen, her dad, had told her about it. He had explained to her that the world was a sphere. As proof of that, the horizon on vast open land had a slight curve. It actually looked like that to Maomao’s eyes.
It seems he had said that with the world a sphere, the movement of the stars could be explained, but Maomao had forgotten most of it. Thinking about it now, she knew it was one of the things Ruomen had learnt when he was studying in a foreign country. She had done something regrettable.
The temperature was cold for spring. It was sunny enough, but the wind leached body heat. It also dried out the skin. The elevation also seemed quite high, so the air was a little thin too.
Maomao put on an overcoat. Chue had given it to her. Wool lined the inside, which blocked out the wind. It had pretty embroidery, a quality good that was popular even in the capital.
Chue’s overcoat was somewhat plainer than Maomao’s, but seemed just as warm.
(I feel she would have something more flashy normally, though.)
She might have prepared it for Maomao to use.
Basen’s overcoat was plain, yet practical. To keep his hand that was holding the reins warm, he was, unusually, wearing a gauntlet-like thing.
Their bodies were warm, but the exposed areas were in direct contact with the sun and the wind.
(The ointment my older sister gave me was useful.)
With the strong sun drying out the skin, sunburn was a concern. Maomao put on a lot of sunscreen, but what about Chue? Although her skin was tanned, it was supple.
“Chue-san, I have sunscreen. Do you want to use it? It also acts as a moisturiser.”
Maomao asked just in case. If she ran out of it, she could mix something up with ingredients found in the western capital.
“Oh, can I? Chue-san is normally tanned, so sunburns don’t show, but I’ll use it if you’re offering.”
“Then, I’ll give it to you when we take a break.”
Basen said there wasn’t a place they could take a rest stop, but they had to rest the horses. Food grew plentifully around here, but it would be better if they were close to a water hole. Just as well, a stream came into view.
“We’ll rest there,” Basen called out.
“Okaaay.”
“Understood.”
The stream they reached was more a large puddle of water than an actual stream. It was shallow and didn’t flow much. Was it temporarily formed from heavy rain?
There were trees growing here and there around them. There was a large rock under the shade of a tree, looking like a landmark.
(A pomegranate tree?)
The quality of the leaves looked like pomegranate. It was rustling as if there were birds on the branches.
A number of wild horses came to drink water. There were birds too.
“It seems like there would be snakes.”
“Yes. I wonder if there are.”
They looked around but found nothing. When they dug into a burrowlike thing, rodent-like things came out. They had brought food, so they set the animals free without eating them.
The horses drank the water, but Maomao and the others drank the water they brought with them.
(Should I have added some salt?)
With the aridity, their sweat also dried up. Alongside water, their bodies needed more salt than expected. The meat in the bread was salty so that should be good enough.
As Basen looked at the map, he took out a south-pointing fish from his breast pocket and floated it on the water.
Maomao and Chue studied it.
“Would a map be useful on grassland?” Maomao asked directly.
“I think it’s better than nothing, but it’s since there are hardly any landmarks. It seems that as long as we can determine the position of the lodestone with the sun’s location, it’s better we can move a little northbound. Without shelter, our place of destination would be when we can see houses, I guess.”
Chue was, in some way or another, a capable person. Apparently, she was also knowledgeable of geography. In turn, Basen was averting his eyes somewhat awkwardly.
“…I have another question.”
“Yes yes, what is it, Maomao-san?”
“Do we not have a guide for the local area?”
Maomao thought that she should have raised the question earlier.
They set out for a fairly nearby farming village. If they were within the country of Rii, she thought it would be fine even without a guide, but it didn’t seem to be the case.
It’s hard to call a place with such a difference in vegetation safe. They would probably need someone familiar with the terrain.
“…about the answer to that.” Chue glanced around.
Basen looked around with a cold gaze. He grasped the hilt of his sword.
(I have a bad feeling about this.)
Chue stood in front of Maomao.
A number of men suddenly surrounded them. The gentlemen, whose appearances were honestly difficult to call clean, spoke to them in accented Rii language. With simple words of threat, they told them to hand money over. They said to leave behind the women while they were at it too.
Bandits, no matter how they saw it.
Maomao gulped, sweating profusely.
(How did it come to this!)
Keeping her racing heart under control, she exhaled slowly.
“Maomao-san, you can close your eyes. If anything happens, Chue-san will use the sex appeal of a married woman to seduce the enemy.”
Chue, brimming with self-confidence, held her snub nose aloft.
Maomao took offence to closing her eyes. She took out a sewing needle and insect repellant from her carry pack. It won’t have a significant impact, but it could make the other party flinch.
But it didn’t seem like Chue’s seductive techniques nor Maomao’s needle was needed.
With a dull thwack, bandit number one was blown into the air.
With an unpleasant snap, bandit number two writhed as his arm was grabbed.
With a clean crunch, bandit number three collapsed to the floor, vomiting saliva, blood and teeth.
It was a little longer than a stage battle, but there was so little. The depiction was so lacking it was disappointing.
Basen’s hand reached for his hilt. But he hadn’t decided to use it.
(He defeated them all barehandedly…)
Maomao could only be dumbfounded at his monstrous movements.
After Maomao took a couple of breaths, she calmed down. She rushed over to Basen in a panic.
“Show me your hands!”
“O-okay.”
Surprised, Basen held out his hands. There were no signs of breakage on his fists. His wrists were also fine.
(How?)
With all those continuous unpleasant sounds, the person’s fist should be hurting. There was a reason as to why he was completely fine.
Maomao, flusteredly, looked at the gauntlet he took off. At first glance, it looked soft with the packed wool, but the centre was heavy.
It seems there was metal inside.
Basen’s stupid strength and metal gauntlet.
The slumped bandits were pitiful.
Speaking of those bandits, Chue tied them up without pause. The three of them were bunched together, legs up, wiping sweat from their brows.
“What should we do?” Basen asked.
“Nothing. We can’t take them with us, so let’s just leave them here. When we reach the village, we’ll tell them to take charge of them.” Chue looked really pleased.
“But I’m a little uneasy.”
“I understand.”
Unusually, I’m on the same wavelength as Basen, Maomao thought. Wolves might get them while they’re left here by the roadside.
Basen approached the bandits and took their arms. Again, there was a dull snapping and cracking sound.
(….)
The uneasy that Basen spoke of, was apparently the bandits escaping. With both their arms were mercilessly broken, some bandits pissed themselves.
(So I’m the nicer one.)
Maomao thought deeply as she glanced at Chue.
