“Let’s go to the northern village today. We’re not in a hurry after all.”
After stocking bio-plant vegetables from the southwestern village, we decided to head for the famine-stricken northern village.
“Okay, got it~”
“Filo, did you really listen to what he said? Naofumi-sama said you don’t have to hurry, okay?” Raphtalia asks Filo with a worried look.
It’s no use. Filo doesn’t listen to people that seriously.
Come to think of it, back when I hung a large pocket watch around Filo’s neck with the thought that it would look good on her, I did get a bad feeling from it.
“Okay~” she said, but the moment Filo grabbed the handle of the carriage… a phenomenon that I had previously confirmed, was now happening again, with Filo’s eyes looking like those of a dead fish. And then, for some reason, the villagers raised a flag and waved it downwards.
“AH──” Raphtalia rolled to the back of the carriage, taking care to soften the sudden impact.
So it has come down to this after all… I can’t help but to let out a sigh.
The wheels rattled on noisily as they spun at high speeds, leaving clouds of dust to rise up behind us.
In the front, we have Filo running at such high speeds that her steps reverberated. The carriage was violently shaking along with her footsteps. And the carts linked at the back…. Are they still alright?
Knowing that something like this would have happened, I already had them carefully covered with cloth and snugly tied them together with strong ropes.
“Filo, please slow down a little more!”
“Eeeeh! We can’t shorten the time like that!”
“You don’t have to! So take it slow!”
Currently, a single horse-drawn carriage and multiple carts connected to it are roaring along the highway where peddlers come and go.
We eventually left the highway and reached the mountainous roads. A mountain pass… I think that’s what they were called. The mountainous roads went on and on, and if we weren’t careful, we might fall straight off a precipitous cliff.
“Huff puff! Huff puff!” Filo went as she stomped her feet.
You could even hear the rattling sound of the wheels cutting through the air at times when the carriage jumps off the ground, along with the numerous rearrangements of our luggage moving from one side to the other.
Raphtalia desperately clings to the floor, trying not to fall. As for me… Well, I’m in the driver’s seat, so I’m barely okay. I’m holding Filo’s reins, after all.
Raphtalia should be able to sit next to the driver’s seat, but she hasn’t wanted to since she fell from it once. I think it would be better if she rode on Filo’s back, but she can’t.
“Hmph!” And as Filo approached the nearby downhill, she transformed into her human form before beginning to run once more.
Ever since she learned that a lighter weight allows for faster speeds, Filo tended to run in her human form along downhills.
… I do wonder how she’s able to drift the carriage, though. My sense of reality was slipping away from me as the carts connected along the back moved laterally together with the drift. A phenomenon that could never happen in a racing game unfolded before me, and all I could do was stare off into the distance, as though my life was flashing before my eyes in a near-death experience.
“Na-Naofumi-sama! Please, please order Filo to stop…!”
“Have you forgotten that a big accident happened the last time we tried something like that?”
Ever since I gave Filo a carriage to pull, she has constantly plotted to shorten the travel time between village to village and town to town. So, a particular thing happened when I used the monster crest to stop her.
Filo immediately stopped in her tracks, the carriage flipped over and flew forward.
I even thought I was going to die at that time.
I wasn’t hurt thanks to my shield, but Raphtalia on the other hand, was left traumatized. The medical bills weren’t cheap either…
Then again, it saves time while I’m also raking in the money from Filo’s express delivery…
“Ugh… how did it end up like this?”
“It might have been better if we just had a normal Filolial…”
There are times when I envy people using Filolials to pull carriages normally. Those same Filolials are looking at Filo with envy, though.
Recently, we’ve pretty much become famous with Filo, as the Heavenly Fowl, racing all across Melromarc. It’s gotten to the point that there is even word about it becoming a competitive sport among the nobles that were imitating us. I also remember the accessory merchant saying that even Zeltoble, a country famous for gambling, was in the know about the trend.
“Hmm! Maybe I can take a shortcut there!”
Filo rushes towards the cliff.
“Cliff!” Raphtalia screams.
Ah… now I know how it feels to be freed from gravity. A little while ago, I felt my whole body being pushed back, but now everything just feels ridiculous.
Ah, the memories of my past came flooding back. Just… how many flashes of my life have I gone through? I can no longer keep count.
Just as a wheel came off the carriage when it slammed onto the ground, Filo made her landing before continuing to run, crossing the mountain pass. I checked the carts behind and… yeah, I don’t know how that works, but they’re fine.
“Ugh… Naofumi-sama, why don’t we stop peddling?”
“What a coincidence. I was starting to think the same thing.”
Though it might make a lot of money, just how many times do we have to keep experiencing these life-threatening situations?
When we arrived at our destination, Filo took out her pocket watch and checked it.
“Yay! Filo was able to save 20 minutes from last time~!” Filo happily reports back to me in human form… but now isn’t exactly the time for that.
The villagers of the village we arrived at were also clapping while checking the time.
“Congratulations Sir Saint! You’ve broken a new record.”
“Oh… is that so…” The time record we spent traveling from village to village is written on some kind of signboard.
It seemed to have started with Filo, but… now the whole country has begun carriage racing time attacks… what the hell, man.
There are no set rules. It’s all about how quickly you can get to your destination. By the way, it seems like Filo is faster than dragons that can fly in the sky.
“… I lost.” For some reason, Itsuki and his party are looking at me with frustration. His ride is… a horse.
I’ve seen Ren’s before, his was a griffin instead.
“I won’t lose next time!” Was what Itsuki spat out as he rode away.
… This is another world, right?
“Congratulations, Sir Saint! We will purchase your items at a 20% increased price due to the success of your time attack!”
Though the end result may have been good, there’s still something about it that I just can’t bring myself to accept. The carriage is already in tatters.
“Master… about the carriage repairs this time… Can you make it so that the wheels turn a little faster, tilt the axles a little more, and for the oil—” Filo continued, as she lists her requests filled with technical terms.
You’re still going to compete for speed? I mean, recently, a mysterious girl with twin tails who’s a filolial maniac has been competing against us after all.
What in the world am I fighting against? Why am I racing up and down mountain passes when I have come to another world! Wasn’t I supposed to be preparing for the waves!?
—
Conclusion: Peddling is a success, but we always have to think about the carriage repairs, and the mysterious race becomes a worldwide trend.
