226: Moving on the road's a thing you gotta think about.

The direction shown by Dowsing Tear Drop is a straight line to the destination.

Meaning, no roads or paths get considered.

We’re squinting at the map we borrowed from Van, trying to figure out which way to go, but all we know is a vague direction. It’s giving us trouble.

At least if we knew how far it was, that’d help. But all we’ve got is that it’s pretty far.

“Let’s just head down a major road for now.”

A bunch of nobles are stationed around the capital city.

King Van told us the safety of the capital’s surrounding area is guaranteed by these nobles.

Their lands, right next to the capital, are considered top-tier nobles within the kingdom. Kyle’s father, Lord Bairoroad, the Marquis of the Frontier, is one of them.

We’d been traveling along the main road, roughly gauging our progress until we cleared the neighboring noble’s lands—so far, the trip had been shockingly uneventful.

“Huh. Two days from the capital to get past the adjacent noble’s territory. Took longer than I expected.”

Jitarou answers my mumble.

“The road wasn’t properly maintained.”

“Could’ve been the terrain. It twists and turns like a snake.”

Leifan cuts in, exasperated.

“Both of you… you’re just used to Goldendoon.”

Nobuna nods in agreement.

She’s a Muzho warrior, a user of Onmyou magic, wearing the lightweight Muzho armor that suits her movements.

“Seriously. I thought Muzho’s two-legged birds were the best in the world. But Goldendoon’s horses? Absolutely ridiculous.”

Chiyome follows right behind her.

She’s one of those special spies known as ninja, shinobi, or kunoichi—good at fighting too, and dressed in a getup that makes her movements look like they’re trying to distract you.

“Walkin’ this way? Takes ten days.”

I keep my eyes off certain parts of Chiyome’s outfit as I answer the two of them.

“Yeah, the horses from Elxir territory are top-notch. But Nobuna and Chiyome’s two-legged birds weren’t lagging behind either.”

“Started breeding them right after the exchange began. Didn’t think my favorite bird would fly this far ahead.”

This time, everyone’s brought their own transport.

Me? My beloved steed, Black Dragon Number One. Jitarou? His favorite pony, Super Jet Number One.

Maina’s not riding anything. She’s riding the two-legged bird of her useless guard knight, Persia—Tebasaki Number One. She rides my horse sometimes too.

And my Black Dragon Cart—mostly carrying Master Javir and Ryuuko.

Should’ve been for Maina and Master Javir, but lately Maina’s been too lively to sit still in a carriage.

The cart’s loaded with all the daily necessities, so everyone can grab what they need right away.

Leifan had prepared the finest horse from the Golden Dune stable—just a rental, so we’ll return it if we make it back in one piece.

The Jasper sisters were supposed to be on foot, sharing the ride with the carriage, but the march’s been going faster than planned, so they’ve mostly been riding.

Switching out with Leifan’s rented horse, taking turns.

The two from the Mizoho group each had a pair of two-legged birds with them. Both had been given stamina potions right after Mizoho Shrine Nation first opened contact, and now they were supposedly top-tier steeds—even top-tier birds—in all of Mizoho.

"Still can't beat the Tebasaki."

Persia smirked at Nobuna’s words.

"Fufu. Don’t let the looks fool you—I’m a Beast Rider, remember? I know how to raise beasts."

Chiyome tilted her head, puzzled.

"Isn’t that different from a trainer or a beast tamer?"

"Never heard of it."

"..."

Why could she say that so confidently?

Seemed too much to watch, so Javir stepped in.

"Ah, I’ve been asking Seal Officer Genelis about everyone’s crests—just a bit, you know..."

Professor Javir gave us a look—firm, yet somehow baffled.

(I’m the one who has to stay steady. This kind of thing should be the party mage’s job, Evah, or that fool student’s duty… but not mine…)

He paused for a beat, then cleared his throat and continued.

“Hmph. The Beast Rider crest—apparently, it’s a rare one, even among seal instructors. The higher-level crests themselves are rare, so there are probably only a handful of people in the world who’ve ever manifested one.”

I nodded, “Ah, I see,” and he seemed satisfied, going on.

“The Beast Rider’s ability… one is the instructor’s skill in raising animals and beasts…”

Huh? Raising? Beasts?

I couldn’t help blurting out my confusion.

“Wait. You’re saying raising monsters? Monsters just attack humans without question, right? Some smarter ones might avoid reckless fights, but they’re still basically enemies, aren’t they?”

“Hmph. You’re mostly right. But that changes when a trainer raises a monster from an egg or its youth… What’s with that dumb look on your face?”

Yeah, I’d be shocked. My whole idea of adventurers was just shattered.

“Wait—no, I mean, in the adventurer’s world, stealing a monster’s egg is said to cause a stampede, right?”

I remember the incident with the Kendall siblings bringing back a cockatris egg to Goldendawn.

“Nonsense. Adventurers who get caught stealing eggs are just blowing things out of proportion, that’s all.”

Come to think of it, adventurers do tend to blow failures out of proportion.

"Yeah, back during the Kendall cockatris egg incident, the Adventurer's Guild instantly declared there was no issue. Could there be a bunch of similar cases?"

"Monsters attack humans on sight, plain and simple. If someone's caught stealing an egg, they'd naturally get furious and chase after them. Maybe they're just mistaking that for a stampede?"

Yeah... now that you mention it, there were plenty of things that fit.

"...Possible."

"Lord Bairoroad's wyvern, for instance, is a national trump card precisely because stealing and raising one is nearly impossible."

True, wyverns are monsters—but Kyle's dad managed to ride one.

"If a whole wyvern herd started stampeding, the country wouldn't be safe even if it went up in flames."

"That’s right. Got sidetracked there. Apparently, not only does the trainer’s ability boost their own skill, but riding a trained beast or monster—whether you trained it or it was trained by someone else—amplifies both rider and mount’s capabilities. Seems to affect allies nearby too, though I’m not entirely sure how that part works."

Persia, who’d been silently listening until now, suddenly piped up with a cheerful voice.

"Wait—so it boosts not just the rider, but everyone around too?"

"Hey, you lazy knight! That’s your own ability, isn’t it?!"

"Hey, what do you expect? No one in the Royal Guard has this power. Who’s supposed to teach me? And who the hell are you calling lazy?!"

The teacher just stared at me and Persia as we squabbled, clearly exasperated on the inside.

The mark of Orthros’s dragon knight—should be the same lineage as dragon-specialized beast riders, but I can’t go asking the lord about this.

Persia silenced me with the tip of her sword, then raised her voice to all the animals.

“Hmph. Better try than think! You lot—line up!”

Black Dragon, and every mount after it, snapped into formation like soldiers.

“Y-yeah!”

“Good! All at a steady pace! Right! Now, quick march! Excellent! Next, trot! Perfect! Now, gallop! Magnificent! Finally, charge! Oh! Nothing can keep up with you now!”

Still in perfect formation, the mounts began a slow walk, then gradually accelerated with each command—unbelievable to watch.

No, that’s awesome, but if you could’ve done it from the start, we’d’ve had an easier trip!

Fine. You can call me a woman who grows every day.

Listen up!

Maina’s happy, so it’s fine.

So, for whatever reason, the journey picked up pace a bit.

Persia’s the clumsy type, huh!

Just a weakling, right?

Cutting through!

Persia had ears for hell.

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★

The fact that I hesitated over whether to emphasize the 'pathetic' part is my little secret.