160: They say shock comes last.

Me, Kyle, Leifan, and Raidock were riding in a carriage.

The envoy party had already left the riverbank base camp and was barreling forward.

Speed, and no proper roads—so the carriage was shaking something fierce.

Still…

“Would’ve been busted to pieces by now if it were a regular carriage.”

Leifan lit up at my mutter, eyes gleaming.

“Right?! It’s not just that the axles and wheels use special hardened mithril mixed with dragon bone—there’s also a shock-absorbing contraption layered with hydra hide and springs, stacked multiple times!”

I’d made plenty of alchemical concoctions on Leifan’s request, but I’d never really grasped how smithing tied into it. So that’s how it worked?

“Huh. Don’t get it, but it’s impressive, I’ll say that.”

“Of course!”

"Guess you're the true Forge King, huh."

"That nickname makes me kinda uncomfortable, so can you cut that out?"

"Now you get how I feel being called 'Twilight'?"

"Only the Emperor and Lady Batista call me that, really."

"Guess that's true."

To be honest, I've gotten used to it lately. Leifan'll get used to it too, eventually.

"Still, you're impressive, Jitarou. Really."

Raidock answers that one.

"Yeah. His Ranger ability's kinda ridiculous. Even Solara looks dull next to it."

"Really that much?"

"Solara’s become the mark of the archer goddess Artemis, but that doesn’t mean her Ranger abilities took a hit. Still, Jitarou—whatever you wanna call it, his instinct, his talent, whatever—it’s ridiculous. Right now, in my party, Camille’s actually the better Ranger compared to Solara. And yet, Jitarou’s in a league of his own."

Jitarou was currently leading the party with Camille, exactly as Raidock said—showing off his skills in a way that was downright terrifying.

As mentioned briefly before, there wasn’t even a village around the base camp. This whole area was frontier land—no roads at all.

And yet, the carriage was barreling forward. All thanks to Jitarou.

"Uhh… I think we could get through that way!"

"Better take the long way around, I think!"

"I think we can see open ground if we climb up this cliff!"

Whatever he was basing it on, Jitarou’s chosen path somehow always had just enough space for the carriage to squeeze through.

Sure, the carriage and horses were exceptional—could climb steep slopes where no carriage should go—but still, it was a little too much.

In the violently shaking carriage, Kyle forced a smile.

"Means we’re cutting way into our planned time."

"Can’t argue with that."

I nodded, and Raidock shot Kyle a slightly worried glance.

"Considering how far we’ve already gained, should we slow down a bit?"

"No. Keep going."

"...Understood. Then we’ll maintain this pace. But don’t push yourself too hard."

"Promise."

Raidock, who’d come to check on Kyle, leapt nimbly from the galloping carriage and took off in a full sprint. Dust kicked up behind him—like a runaway horse.

Speaking of horses, Jitarou hadn’t brought his beloved pony, Superjet, this time.

Still, with the Matagi crest in hand, he didn’t need a regular horse. He was faster than one, no doubt.

As Raidock stepped aside, Eva climbed into the carriage. Eva and Marilyn couldn’t keep up with the stamina of a madman unless they took regular breaks in the carriage.

I was glad I got to cover Kyle’s flank.

The carriage could fit six easily, but if the guards were riding in it, what was the point?

If everyone rode in the carriage, the trip would be a lot more fun, though.

“Phew… Excuse me, Kyle-sama.”

“Yeah. Take it easy. Rest up.”

"Thank you. Still, I'm amazed by Jitarou's abilities. Even Camille couldn't keep that speed and pick the best route at the same time."

"Hmm. Feels weird, having Jitarou be useful like this."

I crossed my arms, and Eva gave a dry chuckle.

"Man, I'm really pushing the 'cool' thing hard, huh? Kinda annoying, right?"

"Jitarou..."

You know, you'd be getting more girls if you weren't such a show-off.

"Every time you pick the right path, stop turning around and smirking. I'm serious."

"Aha... heh."

Eva spoke with a surprisingly straight face, but Kyle could only manage a helpless laugh in return.

No real harm done, so I guess I can't exactly ruin his enthusiasm.

That's pretty much how the first day went.

By the time the sky turned to dusk, we finally stopped moving.

Normally, we’d start setting up camp earlier, but thanks to Leifan and Eva’s space storage, we can stretch it right to the wire.

The carriage stops. Leifan’s the first to hop down, springing up with a *piff*.

“Alright! Everyone, set up camp!”

“““Yeah!!”””

Leifan quickly assembles a simple campfire frame. Marilyn helps with cooking. Jitarou and Solar gather firewood. Raidock takes guard duty. Camille scouts the surroundings.

Eva and I pull out the sleeping carriages and supplies from our spatial storage.

Ryuuko hands out tea, sets up bedding, and starts cooking.

“Still, Eva’s storage capacity’s gotten better, huh?”

I watch her pull out the female crew’s carriage and can’t help but nod in approval.

"I’m surprised myself. Since I got the Sage’s insignia, my mana efficiency’s improved dramatically."

"Good to hear."

"That’s why I can better understand just how abnormal your storage capacity is."

Even Javirou-sensei was stunned by my mana levels and storage ability.

"Being able to stash a carriage is already insane. But even with a high-tier colored insignia, I doubt you could fit an entire giant dragon inside."

"Like I said before, the mage’s insignia was a terrible fit for my body. That’s probably why my mana got so strong, sensei said."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah. That’s why we agreed not to make it public."

Some idiot might go and carve a life-threatening, utterly mismatched insignia just for show.

While we were chatting, Leifan opened the wagon’s cargo bed.

Inside was a massive box.

"Huh? Did we have stuff in the wagon?"

Most of the cargo should’ve been stashed in my or Eva’s spatial storage by now.

Curious, I moved to Leifan’s side—Eva followed along without a word.

"Um, I packed ceramics and glass items in a big wooden crate filled with sawdust."

"Wait, why?"

"Testing the wagon’s performance. How well it handles fragile stuff."

I rubbed my chin.

"Seriously, this is way too extreme to be useful as a reference."

"Heh. Didn’t think the road would shake us this hard, huh?"

Jitarou’s jaw jutted sharp, and with a grin he shouted, “Even if it looks like an impossible cliff, the Black Dragon and White Fang can make it!” And sure enough, those two horses, nurtured on stamina potions, snorted hard and breezed right over it. I just wanted to grab my head in despair.

“Even if we could trade with some backwater nation, this route’s useless.”

“Road maintenance is a must.”

We’ve got the know-how. Give us the okay, and we’ll build it all in one go with Elxir’s budget.

“Hmm… how many are broken?”

Leifan slowly opened the big box. And what we saw made our heads go completely blank.

“…kyuu”

Inside was Maina, dizzy-eyed and out cold.

We stared down at her, stunned, utterly drained.

Why?

Seriously, why?!

“Maina—!”

My scream echoed across the twilight sky.

Aiee!?! Maina?! What the hell are you doing, Maina?!

That full-on, Maina-centered fifth volume? It’s already out and selling like hotcakes w