Chapter Seventeen: Campy Is Running… As Far As It Can
It was quite a process getting Mr. Ville seated as a passenger and departing, but somehow we departed safely!
He very reluctantly put on his seatbelt, saying, "I won’t be able to react in time!" However, I managed to convince him with stories of how scary the impact would be in a crash, akin to stories they tell at lectures during license renewals… And when it came time to fasten it, all his gear got in the way, with no quick way to take it off… In the end, I managed to persuade him with “Campy has a stealth effect making it invisible to enemies, and a barrier effect preventing entry. So, let’s keep the passenger’s gear relatively light!” This time, since there were no groups of monsters forming along the planned route and no likelihood of us being surrounded, Mr. Ville opted to remove the breastplate. However, with his build, even a fully stretched belt was a bit short…
After about an hour of driving, Mr. Ville seemed to have become accustomed to being in the car. He gazed at the passing scenery through the window, opened and closed the dashboard for no apparent reason, and displayed an ongoing excitement for the first time in an obviously not dangerous vehicle.
I wonder… Maybe guys never really grow out of liking vehicles…?
“Hmm… This is good…! I imagined something like a rider’s perch, but no comparison!”
“That different?”
“Totally different! The cushion wasn’t this high-class, and the shaking was severe… In the first place, just riding on a carriage felt like the skin on your butt would peel off.”
“Oh… Probably wagons here don’t have suspension or anything like that…”
Without shock-absorbing mechanisms, the shaking probably transfers directly… But really… The skin peels off, that bad… Never had an opportunity to ride one, but that’s scary!
Anyway, horrors of transportation aside, Campy is smoothly cruising down the road. Despite being an unpaved road, I don’t really feel shaking or vibration… Maybe the suspension is just that good, or some kind of “magical” force is at work… Thinking about it just sends me in circles with no answer.
By the way, around Rhielle Lake were grasslands and occasional groves and forests… But now the scenery is a brick-paved road. Did we get on a wide highway? The road, now significantly more well-maintained compared to before, resembles the wide trails seen in TV dramas from my childhood set in the era of Western pioneers, allowing carriages to pass each other comfortably. This broader path is convenient for Campy’s travel, and I am grateful to be able to make good use of it. Thanks to that road, we can travel at an average speed of 40 kilometers per hour, slightly faster than I expected.
“However, it’s really fast…! Have we already reached the Large Highway?”
“The Large Highway? Like a main road?”
“Yes, it’s the road that connects the capital and various places.”
I see. So the Large Highway is like a bypass, branching into roads like the one earlier—slightly maintained—and ones like just widened animal trails… And the level of maintenance corresponds to the importance… If that’s the case, the town of Ellarge is indeed a significant hub. Well, being the only port town connecting to foreign countries and a central hub for trade, it’s only natural.
Several settlements, seemingly serving a role similar to that of a post town, are visible beyond the window as we pass by. This is a sight not observed around Rhielle Lake. I wonder if that lake is of low importance? Well, certainly, trout fishing was enjoyable, but if asked about any industries… um… camping grounds, perhaps?
And then, my worry came true…
On this major maintained road… the number of carriages and travelers besides Campy started increasing! It’s still low enough to avoid them, but once we near the city and numbers rise, won’t we get stuck…!?
“…Rin. I have a proposal. What if we get off this camper vehicle a little before Ellarge and walk the rest?”
“You’re right. At this rate who knows when we’d cause an accident… and the fact that the vehicle is not visible is also something to consider.”
“We can’t expose this camper vehicle either, the risk is too great.”
“I guess we have to sneak through somehow.”
It seems Mr. Ville was thinking the same.
If Campy were visible to others, they might take evasive actions and avoid us, but since Campy is not visible to others… A carriage could suddenly change course and crash where Campy is with no warning or a traveler could jump out in front of it. Not knowing whether we’ll crash or not, such a nerve-wracking journey is too much! So stressful!
Moreover, to enter the town, we’ll have to get out of the vehicle, and in that case, to others, it might seem like people suddenly appear from an empty space.
It’d be weirder if it didn’t cause a commotion…
Yet making Campy visible would also just bring commotion—what is that, whose doing, how does it work?
Causing a stir either way… Jeez…
After narrowly dodging what seemed to be a galloping horse on a collision course off to the roadside, an uncontrollable sigh escaped me.
Why not just run along the roadside, even though it’s unpaved…? As far as I can see, there’s no boundary of steps or ditches between the brick-paved and unpaved sections along the side. And no signs of any drunk daredevils trying to take the unpaved parts in carriages or on foot. Well, if asked which you’d rather walk on, easy or difficult terrain… which would you prefer?
“Mr. Ville, hold onto the handrail!”
“Huh? What so sudd… Woah!?”
Confirming no people or carriages ahead in our lane, I turn the wheel diagonally left while stepping a bit harder on the gas. Some kind of barrier existed despite being invisible, and a jolt transmitted as we crossed over something. The ride itself doesn’t feel much different from the grasslands around Rhielle Lake. Compared to the paved road earlier, there’s a little more vibration maybe. Very much within acceptable range.
“Alright! Let’s go all the way to the vicinity of the town like this!”
“Quite the maneuver!”
“It would be nice if we made it to the town that way!”
Hearing Mr. Ville’s cheerful laughing voice, perhaps something struck a chord. Making sure the unevenness of the ground doesn’t catch the vehicle, I grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
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