The day of the trip arrived.

For the journey to Lucraella, we decided to use a public carriage.

Lucraella was a neighboring town, effectively part of Erische. There were no checkpoints or special permissions required to enter the town.

The fare for the shared carriage to Lucraella was only 20 El per person. For all six of us, that came to 120 El—one silver coin and two white copper coins. A round trip would be 240 El...

At that price, it was far better than bringing our own horses. The only concern, though, was that even though it was nearby, the journey to Lucraella would take half a day. Would bandits show up or something?

According to the young driver, public safety around Erische is good, and it's much more profitable to work in the mines than to be a bandit. Apparently, no one is foolish enough to take the risk of becoming a bandit... or so he says.

But wait... didn't a trio of bandits attack me before?

"Individuals sometimes get attacked even in Erische," said the driver. "But shared carriages are public, and one city guard rides along."

So it's like a bus with a police escort, huh... I guess there really aren't that many idiots who'd try anything. Well, that's reassuring.

Of course, even if bandits did show up, I'm confident we could take down most of them. It's not just me—Diana, Rebecca-san, and Marina are here too.

But that's a separate issue. I want to avoid gruesome scenes as much as possible. Violence itself is something that erodes the spirit.

And so, we set off for the "Mining Town of Lucraella".

* * *

Let's rewind the story a bit.

After registering our Clan and gaining access to the Clan Inventory, I was overjoyed and started investigating it thoroughly.

The first thing I checked was money.

Currency in this world came in coins: gold, silver, white copper, and bronze. And these things were heavy... I realized how convenient paper money really was.

So I thought it would be great if I could just stash the money in here—no worry about losing it or getting pickpocketed.

First, I tried putting in a gold coin—it slid right in, labeled as 『Pure Gold Coin (40g)』.

The term 『Gold Coin』 wasn't used, but other gold coins slid in just as easily, becoming 『Pure Gold Coin (40g) × 85』. It's like a little piggy bank.

Now I don't need to carry heavy gold coins, and it's perfect anti-mugging protection.

By the way, silver, white copper, and bronze coins could be stored the same way. However, I'll probably only keep gold coins in there.

The slots are limited, and I've been carrying money around normally until now anyway. Above all, pulling money out of a Vocation Board every time I make a small purchase would be more than just suspicious.

Next up: Spirit Stones.

Since I had already put one in before, I knew they could be stored. I was hoping I could fit a lot into one slot, but reality isn't that convenient.

While multiple stones of the same type could be stored together, stones of different types occupied separate slots. Among the stones I currently have in quantity, only Malachite exists in three pieces, and those could be stored together. For now, I just threw the Malachite Spirit Stones into the inventory.

Next: Magic Crystals.

These also occupied one slot each. That's probably because, unlike Spirit Stones, Magic Crystals come in various sizes. Spirit Stones are generally about the size of a fist.

I also discovered several other rules:

* High-tech equipment from Earth cannot be stored.

* Earth-made items like steel plates can be stored (the name appears as "Steel Plate"; trademarks like "ATS-34" do not appear).

* Most items from this world can be stored.

* The cloth for my business can be stored.

* Earth-made gems can be stored, but they cannot be stacked.

Apparently, for items to be stored in multiples, they must be the same thing or extremely similar. Otherwise, they take up separate slots.

Still, that's useful depending on how you use it.

At the very least, it seems I can carry several bolts of cloth for business all at once. With just fabric, gold coins, and Spirit Stones, the convenience was more than sufficient.

Because of this, I packed various things into the Clan Inventory for this trip. I was worried about the weight of the steel materials, so this was a lifesaver.

I also included something I had originally planned to bring—the "Rusted Sword -2" that I had bought and neglected some time ago.

I filled the remaining slots with water, souvenirs, and miscellaneous items. Ten slots may seem small, but even ten felt revolutionary.

The six of us were swaying along in the carriage.

The travel carriage was bigger than I had imagined.

It was a large four-horse carriage, with two drivers and one city guard for escort.

It could probably hold ten passengers if pushed, but we were lucky to have it to ourselves this time. With just the six of us, it was still profitable, apparently. Well, since it was publicly operated, I guess it wasn't a tight-for-profit kind of business.

Hetty-san had mentioned that her carriage had a suspension made from bear tendons called "Spring Bear." This public carriage, however, used only the flex of the wood as a minimal shock absorber. I almost felt like bringing some car suspension parts from a scrapyard for them.

The carriage wasn't as high-quality as Hetty-san's; it shook quite a bit. Her carriage had a suspension system made from the processed tendons of a "Spring Bear," but this public one relied on the natural flex of the wood as a pathetic excuse for shock absorption.

The passenger area had three rows of bench seats. Each seat could fit three people if squeezed, but since it was just us, we sat in pairs. I had something I wanted to talk about, so I sat next to Etowa. Marina paired up with Rebecca-san, and Elepipi was paired with Diana. Marina and Diana looked a bit dissatisfied with the arrangement, but I ignored them.

"I haven't really hung out with Etowa much, so this feels kind of fresh."

"Well, Boss is the Boss, and I'm just an apprentice. It's only natural. Honestly, I never dreamed I'd be taken along on a trip. Thank you so much!"

Etowa bowed her head with a cheerful "Nya-nya".

She seemed excited for the trip and wore the Canaan Tribe's traditional clothing.

It was short-sleeved, and for a second I thought she might be cold, but then I realized there was no way she'd feel the chill. If anything, she might even be hot.

The fact that their ethnic clothing consists of only a thin sailor-style shirt and skirt may be because their fur is sufficient, and the outfit exists mainly to fit into society. Well, there's a rumor that skirts can be surprisingly stuffy, so in terms of practicality, shorts would probably be better... But then again, she was covered in fur anyway.

"Etowa is our important Head Shop Manager, after all. To be blunt, there's no doubt Etowa does the most work."

It was true.

Marina helped with guarding, various tasks, and even eye-candy duties. Orica handled cooking, cleaning, housework, and the horses. But realistically, the one earning the most money was Etowa.

Whether it was because her pay was commission-based or due to innate talent, she boosted sales with her natural charm, cuteness, and intelligence. Etowa could run the store on her own, and it was a huge help. She was truly a lucky find. It's true what they say: "There's luck in the leftovers!"

"I'm just doing the work expected of an apprentice."

"Well, that might be true. Anyway, this is a bit unrelated, but you know I started a 'Knight Order,' right?"

"Yes. I heard Elepipi-san is also a [Knight]. By establishing and running a Knight Order, the Boss aims to provide relief for unfortunate female knights! I don't see how it'll be profitable, but it sounds just like you!"

"Yeah... So, about that. I'd actually like to ask Etowa to handle the accounting and operations for the Knight Order side too. With your current salary, of course."

Well, I don't think there will be much work. There's virtually no revenue. It's just a debt-inducing liability that only costs money for the sake of a hobby... Even so, I need to keep track of exactly how much of a loss we're running.

"That's an easy enough task, but... won't you let me join the Knight Order? It's true my Vocation is Mathematician, which has nothing to do with combat, and I'm small, but—"

Oh? An unexpected request.

But come to think of it, since we're all playing at sword fighting without worrying about profit, it makes sense she'd want to join in.

It's not like there's a grim sense of 'I have to fight monsters to survive even though I don't want to die.' It's closer to a sport (though the training is hard—but sports training is hard too). It's no fun being the only one left out.

"Of course, you're more than welcome. Combat is fine, but Etowa is smart, so maybe something like a strategist or advisor would suit you better. Haha."

"A strategist or advisor? That sounds exciting! I'll go buy military strategy books!"

"Oh? They sell books like that?"

I wonder if they actually sell books on military strategy.

"No, I haven't checked. But since the Empire has been at war for a long time, there should be one or two books on military tactics, don't you think?"

"I wonder. Well, if there aren't any, I'll find some for you."

"Thank you very much, Boss!"

Etowa is certainly energetic. It's good to see.

Meanwhile, Marina and Rebecca-san were in the front row, enjoying a friendly chat. Those two get along well, likely because they're both knights. Or rather, Marina seems to have a talent for getting along with anyone—brave, thick-skinned, and unshakable. That was her personality.

Meanwhile, as for Diana—

"...Diana, what are you making Elepipi do?"

"It's because Goshujin-sama threatened me by saying the mining town has soot flying everywhere, and my hair would turn pitch black and the smell would soak in and never come out. So I'm having her braid it nodesu."

She was having Elepipi braid her long, platinum-blonde hair. Diana's hair reached down to her waist. Perhaps disliking it getting tangled, she gave orders like "Braid it looser" or "Use this comb."

Elepipi was braiding diligently, but concentrating so closely in this swaying carriage...

"...P-Princess. I'm starting to feel a bit sick..."

There it is. She's going to throw up.

I told her she could get the braid done after we arrived, and Elepipi was freed.

Before long, we arrived in Lucraella—roughly a half-day's journey.

On a bicycle, it would probably take about that long. By car, maybe an hour.

Lucraella was different from what I had imagined.

I had envisioned bald mountains as far as the eye could see, with nearby forests clear-cut to obtain charcoal. A desolate, dry land. Rolling tumbleweeds. Rising clouds of dust. Polluted rivers, and an atmosphere constantly filled with soot from charcoal and coal...

...but the reality was different.

First of all, there was plenty of greenery.

I didn't know what kind of trees they were, but trees of the same species were lined up neatly; it seemed they were cultivating them. The air was clear, and there weren't any tumbleweeds rolling around.

At this rate, there might not even be any water pollution... And here I am, carrying five bottles of water. Well, if they aren't necessary, all the better.

The townscape itself also seemed properly maintained and clean. Since it's a town that prospered through steel, they likely had money. When there's money, a town becomes clean. When there isn't, it gets dirty. That's how it goes, I guess.

At the entrance stood two iron towers, soaring at least ten meters high on either side. They were about fifty centimeters in diameter and seemed to be symbols of the steel town. The fact that they could afford to use iron for decorations like this showed the town had considerable financial leeway.

The town spread out at the foot of Mount Lucraella—not a single mountain, but a collective name—and steam was rising from various spots.

In particular, from one section that appeared to be the public ironworks, a massive amount of smoke—hard to tell whether it was steam or white smoke—was rising. I worried that there might be invisible air pollution after all. The steam rising from other areas likely came from private ironworks or blacksmith shops.

Passing the iron towers, we all stepped into the mining town of Lucraella.

First, secure lodging, get some food... that should be it for today—or so I was thinking, when suddenly the Vocation Board popped up.

Oh right, I had a Guidance. 'Go to the mining town' had been completed, and it moved to the next sequence.

Let's see...

『Meet the Nightmare Race 1/3』

Another word—or rather, a race—I've never heard of.

...What the hell is a Nightmare Race? I don't wanna meet them.