Chapter 59 – Antelope, Heading West

It was a sunny afternoon. Myrril and I were traveling quietly south along the road that connects the kingdom’s capital with Casemaian, keeping close to each other.

…It was supposed to be.

It was supposed to be a sweet road trip just the two of us, but now there were people around us.

“Uooh! As I thought, this is so much fun!”

“…Amazing, the wind is dancing…♪”

There are two muscle-brained idiots who squeeze the throttle at full speed, shouting and running fast.

Putting aside Minya, Yadar is terrible. Just after starting the car, she immediately pushed the gas pedal to the max. Constantly at full throttle. Is there nothing but zero or one in your life?

“Aaaahyahyahya!”

What kind of apocalypse is this? I was expecting it, but…

“Fast! It’s so fast! Much faster than Hanbi!”

Minya, please don’t use that line. It tingles a soft spot in the back of my mind.

“…Hey, Yoshua. Shouldn’t we be trying to keep a low profile?”

“That’s right, that’s exactly what you said.”

How is this possible?

It started with the fact that one of the major purchases I had made was a Ural with a sidecar.

The Ural is a classic motorcycle made by a Russian company called IMZ or something like that, and it started out as a copy of a Nazi German military motorcycle (horizontally opposed-twin engine BMW). And I’m not sure if it’s venerable or not. It’s supposed to be in active production with a few minor modernizations, but the fact that it’s looking like Nazi cosplayer sticks in the mind of a half-hearted military geek like me.

The sidecar’s wheels also drive, so it’s not bad for driving… it is my excuse for not wasting money.

I thought of putting Myrril in the sidecar for this road trip and going like a WW2 German messenger. I even got her a matching bowl-shaped helmet and goggles.

The Ural, which was being serviced before departure, was quickly spotted by the two muscle-brained girls.

“Oh, that looks interesting. What’s that?”

“It can only hold three people…?”

“I won’t give you this Ural. It’s for Myrril and me.”

“I don’t mind. I like that one better.”

“Hmm. That one looks interesting, too. It’s kind of thin and looks like a fawn. I wonder if I can ride that one.”

Simple firearms, machine tools, and vehicles were procured as teaching tools for the Dwarves to work as engineers for Casemaian. The Honda off-road motorcycles that were among them caught Minya and Yadar’s interest… or rather, they did.

Although they adore the Humvee with its extra armor and gun turrets and the yellow school bus Torajima-go, they have the brains to understand that those huge, fuel-hungry vehicles should not be allowed to run around for personal fun.

…Maybe.

“Hey Yoshua, can I take a little ride in this?”

“I won’t break it. I’ll clean it up later.”

It was a mistake for me to agree to it, as I happened to be busy with other matters at the time.

Since I had six of the same bike, I had thought that I would be able to handle it even if it broke a little.

Before noon, I taught them how to start the engine, put it in gear, connect the clutch, and use the front and rear brakes.

When we went outside for lunch after the work was finished, I was surprised to see Yadar and Minya running around the plains at a crazy speed. And then I thought.

Maybe this is a bad idea. I can’t give something like that to those muscle brains.

“Hyaaha!”

“Shut up!”

Well, that’s what happens.

I had refused to go with them this time, saying that it was only for research and preliminary negotiations, but I was persuaded, albeit half-heartedly, by the argument that if we had to evacuate the refugees in an emergency ― and, to be honest, the odds were pretty high ― we would need a driver and escort for the transport vehicle.

After all, it was a last-ditch effort. There’s nothing better than having support in case of an emergency. Even though it’s a little bit difficult to believe these muscle-brained girls…

“Nice, my antelope! I’ll have to put the antlers on when I get back!”

“Don’t name it! I mean, stop naming things!”

“Don’t worry; they’re all ‘antelope’ now.”

They’re going to treat all Hondas of the same model (with a few color differences) the same. That’s not okay at all.

The meaning of covert action has been completely lost. I knew it was coming, but…

“Well, the kingdom is in chaos. There’s nothing to worry about.”

I nodded reluctantly to Myrril’s words. Yes, our destination this time was not the kingdom.

“Yoshua, take a right at the end of the road. Then follow the road for 50 miles to the union territory.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, we’re turning! You guys better get a move on, or we won’t have enough gas to get to our destination.”

“”Okay.””

It was a matter of priority that we decided to let the kingdom in the middle of a civil war destroy itself on its own and pass through this time with as little disturbance as possible.

For the time being, we decided that it would be best to hold off on dealing with the kingdom that was not currently attacking Casemaian.

We can’t afford a three-front war at any rate.

Twenty-five years ago, when Casemaian fell, and a large number of refugees were forced to flee, not many people took refuge in the kingdom that had taken their homeland and was the enemy of their fathers.

Most of them had fled to the union territory.

Even if it was a pretense, the reason for their choice was that it was less racist and had more subhuman residents and citizens than the kingdom or the empire. As a matter of comparison, it was probably better than the other two countries.

However, now that we realized that the tribal union would easily sell out the subhumans to the kingdom after the incident with Myrril’s sister, Misnel, we couldn’t just neglect the situation.

Pointing to a sign on the side of the road, Myrril shouted to me.

“It’s ten miles to Tarantallen.”

“Alright, let’s get off a little further.”

“”Eh?””

I knew they would respond like that. Oh, muscle brains, you’re too predictable. You should take a lesson from Myrril, you know…

“I was hoping to stay on the Uraru a while longer.” [T/n: Ural.]

Yes. You’re in charge of the punchline, aren’t you, Myrril?

I ruffled the fluffy hair that appeared from under her helmet.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Of course. This is a private ride for Yoshua and me.”

Oh. That stuck in my mind. It’s a casual remark, but it’s very destructive.

We’ll travel the remaining 16km or so on foot. With minimal luggage and inconspicuous clothing, we tried to look like traveling townspeople, but in reality, our disguise was low.

We were met with suspicious glances from the passing merchant guards and the unseen watchers.

The eastern border of the tribal union with the kingdom is divided by large rivers and mountainous areas, making it impossible for ordinary people to enter or leave. The road we are on now is almost the only route that is passable for wagons.

Tarantallen, as the only entrance to the city, is also the most important warning point for the union side.

Myrril let out an exasperated voice at the sight of the majesty at the end of the road.

“It looks like a fort. No, it’s more like…”

“Yes. This is a fort itself.”

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