Chapter 45

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Amidst the white morning mist, soldiers wrapped in coats dashed through the town roads. A part of the road which fell under the forest had gotten wet last night due to a downpour, amplifying the footsteps of anyone that walked on them.

They were currently searching for the village they had lost contact with.

“The village should be there as soon as we pass this street.”

The one leading them from the front turned back and said so.

“Are there really people living this deep in the mountains?”

“The sanctuary is pretty wide after all. There are plenty of villages still unregistered with the central government.”

“That said, the one we’re heading towards is a registered one, so it’s still one of the better ones, I think.”

“Hey, what the hell is this…”

Having reached the end of their journey, the troupe was at a loss for words and stood dumbfounded. In front of them were burnt buildings and the ground, gouged out in concentric circles.

“What could have happened here?”

“Let’s focus on finding the governor’s son for now.”

The leader of the troupe takes a step into the ground that was once a village.

“I can’t imagine him being alive in this situation though.”

The soldiers march through the burnt grounds.

“Oi! There’s footprints here. They were likely made after this mess was made.”

“That’s… a person collapsed over there!”

“A survivor from the village? Secure them immediately!”

At the end of the footprints lay a single girl on the ground, crouching down as if she was holding something.

◇

Early morning following the rain, Ritsu and Ren were eating dumplings at the dumpling shop facing the inner lands.

“Was it really fine? Coming along like this.”

Ritsu asked Ren, while looking at the skewer he had just cleaned.

“Of course! On the contrary, being able to accompany Ouchou-dono is like a dream come true!”

While swing the dango in his hand, Ren expressed his happiness using his body.

“I see. In that case it’s fine.”

Ritsu had insisted that he didn’t need company, but Iori and Igarashi had decided that someone had to stay with him, and the person chosen for that was Ren.

A job notice for the attendant of the Ousei was secretly put up, and the one who was somewhat familiar with Ritsu, Ren, was chosen for it.

“The next magic pulley seems to be an hour away.”

Ren takes out a time table from his pocket and mutters. After the transfer, most propulsion technology was lost, leaving human powered handcars as the only solution.

A magic pulley is a handcar used by someone who strengthened their body using magic, and moves by pulling the handle back and forth. It moves much slower compared to trains, and it travels at a similar speed to bicycles. Its specialty is that its breaks are hard to apply.

“From the next town onward, we will enter the territory completely governed by the central government.”

Ren showed Ritsu a map, with an expression that was a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

“Is this your first time coming to the inner lands as well?”

“No. I once stopped by as I was getting transferred from Reibai to Yozakura. The central government divides the land into various districts, and dispatches governors to those districts in order to rule them, but there are stories which suggest that the governance system is quite a hit-or-miss depending on the governor.”

“Let’s hope the place we’re going to is one of the better ones.”

Ritsu says, seeing the anxious Ren.

“I only hope that you don’t go looking for trouble.”

Ren pleadingly utters so, since he was told by Iori to specifically avoid that.

“The trolley will be here soon so please get ready.”

As the time comes, the two head out to where the trolley would arrive.

“Yeah.”

Ritsu stood on the platform which was just raised soil, and waited for the trolley to stop. The fervent voice that pulled on the handle gets closer, and the slightly decelerated trolley passes by.

“Ritsu-san! Please get on!”

Ren shouted out to Ritsu who stood dumbfounded, waiting for the trolley to stop.

“We’re jumping on?”

Ritsu got onto the trolley, slightly panicked.

“I got nervous there.”

Ren sighed in relief, seeing Ritsu who had safely boarded.

“Sorry, I thought it would stop.”

“I’m not so sure either, but once a trolley stops, it needs a tremendous amount of power to start moving again. Even when passengers are getting on, it maintains a slow speed of moving.”

“Is that so…”

Ritsu remembered his high school physics lesson from before the transfer. Static friction or something. Resistance caused by friction is the highest right before something starts moving.

“Even with man power, you can reach impressive speeds.”

“Despite man power, it also has a support mechanism built in so speed at this level is normal. It’s fee is a bit high though.”

“I still haven’t grasped the market value of things in that area, but is it really expensive?”

Ritsu remembered the fare he had heard before getting on the trolley. The fare for the trolley was about 100 yen, so it sounded cheap.

“Yes. A set meal at a restaurant costs between 5 and 10 yen. The dumplings at the dumpling shop earlier were 50 sen for 3 skewers.”

“There weren’t any sen coins in my time… They were hard to get your hands on. Even currency notes have gone out of use.”

Within the sanctuary, banknotes disappeared and changed to coins. By the way, the currency seems to be issued by the central government.

“I have heard about that, and have also seen paper currency in history lessons. Still, I can’t imagine paper ever serving as currency.”

“But within the Yozakura city, disciples can shop using cards, right?”

Ritsu recalled the time when he was shopping at the weapon shop.

“Not disciples but instructors and above certainly can. However, that’s only possible since people belonging to those ranks are well-trusted. The belief in Yozakura makes that possible.”

Ren says that, somewhat proudly.

“I think paper currency from my previous world also worked similarly.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I heard somewhere that paper currency started as an exchange medium for precious metals.”

“I see… In that case I can somewhat understand.”

“I don’t know much about it either though.”

Ritsu, who wasn’t particularly good at social studies, ended the conversation before Ren could ask any more questions.

“In any case, it’s so peaceful inside the sanctuary.”

Ritsu utters while leaning against the wall.

“Is that so? It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes monsters overflow from the labyrinth. Above all, there are many bandits around here.”

“Bandits, huh… Are there really that many?”

“Yes. Among those bandit groups, there are some that have existed since the transfer, and some honorable ones as well.”

“There is nothing honorable about being a bandit.”

Ritsu answers with a sigh.

“I have heard that pillaging was rampant in the sanctuary right after the transfer. So in a way, they might also be victims.”

“I see…”

The trolley carrying both of them marched on towards the central government management city.

◇

“Ren, wake up. Ren.”

Soon after the sun had set, Ritsu wakes up Ren who had dozed off, by shaking his shoulders.

“N, mm. What’s wrong?”

Ren replies while groggily rubbing eyes.

“I felt the presence of “Ki” from where this trolley passed by.”

“”Ki”? The power which Ritsu-san has? Didn’t you say there was no one other than you who possessed it?”

“Yeah. That should be the case, but it’s possible that a spirit beast has entered the sanctuary. There’s a possibility of it being another human though.”

Ritsu ponders while placing his hand on his chin.

“A spirit beast!? But that’s a disaster!”

Whether he had finally awoken, or whether Ritsu’s words scared him, Ren jumped up.

“That’s right… I want to check it out, so could you go to the town ahead of me?”

“I understand… If it’s a spirit beast class, then my being there won’t make a difference.”

The existence of spiritual beasts was well known even inside the sanctuary, and they were treated like legendary monsters. During the attack before the transfer, those who miraculously survived an encounter with spiritual beasts had, for better or worse, spread the word about them.

“Sorry. See you later.”

Ritsu steps off from the trolley’s carrier and runs into the forest, which was increasingly getting darker.

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Changed sacred beast to spirit beast since it fits the context better.

Next chapter out in a few hours!

When the author says trolley, I think he implies something like this:

Basically a train that uses the lever system and the super-strength of people in this world to run it at humble speeds.

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