Chapter 366

First Wave Departure
Setting aside the nobles' agendas, the preparations were complete, and it was time to depart for Galette County.

I noticed that none of the children had come to see off the Kiblinki Saltas, but apparently, they had already said their farewells yesterday.
Truly, these spiders were efficient.

"Then, we are clear to depart?"

"Yes. By the way, Marquis Vardmoi, you're also using a magic vehicle this time?"

"Unless it's an official visit, nobles use magic vehicles as well. Carriages are still considered more prestigious for now, but that will likely change with time."

Huh, so that's how it is.
Carriages will probably still be used for ceremonies, and unless the cost of magic vehicles drops, only the wealthy will be able to afford them.
It seems carriages are still going strong.

"Speaking of which, about your magic vehicle, Lily… aside from the roof, its appearance is quite plain, isn't it?"

"Is that so? Well, compared to the Lumite Grand Wing, it does seem like an unremarkable magic vehicle."

"Alizée, is this magic vehicle really as plain as it looks?"

"Rather than plain… it's an incredibly sturdy magic vehicle. You could say it's the result of the Lumite Company pouring all its technology into it."

"Hmm. Lily, once we've left the city, let me ride in it at some point. If the ride quality meets my expectations, I may place an order with the Lumite Company myself."

Whoa, this just turned into a big deal.
… But then again, I don’t have much to do with that magic vehicle manufacturer, so it doesn’t really matter to me.
It's not like I’m the one promoting it.
Yeah, I’ll just leave it at that.

There were a few things at the start, but after leaving Vardmoi, we traveled along the highway without issue.
Along the way, as promised, I gave Marquis Vardmoi a ride in the magic vehicle—and for some reason, even Young lady Kou ended up riding along. Well, it is what it is.
Marquis Vardmoi seemed to like the magic vehicle, and he decided to place an order once he returned.
I’m pretty sure the Lumite Star Tiara was quite expensive, but I guess that’s not a concern for nobles.

We traveled along the highway toward Galette County, avoiding large post towns since we had Kiblinki Saltas with us.
We booked lodging accordingly and occasionally took down monsters.
Surprisingly, some monsters still attacked, despite our large numbers.
The Kiblinki Saltas would rush out, entangle the monsters in their threads, and then the knights would go around finishing them off. That was all it took.
Judging by how skilled the knights were, they must have been training together in the city.
Since they are comrades in protecting the city, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had been.

Progressing forward itself wasn’t difficult.
What was troublesome were the knights patrolling the highways of other territories.
After all, a magic vehicle bearing a noble’s crest traveling with a massive group of monsters was bound to raise suspicions.

Anticipating this, Marquis Vardmoi had already obtained passage permits from the nobles governing the territories we would pass through.

I don’t have those kinds of connections…
Should I try getting permits through the Trade Guild?
I’ll think about it if I ever have to travel with a large group myself.

What do you think about this chapter?