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After building the door and getting some proper rest, my fever finally subsided, so we decided to resume our journey.

Our travel method was simple. We’d walk from morning until past noon.

When we found a campsite, we’d camouflage ourselves to avoid being spotted by animals or other humans, then I’d take the door from my Pocket and set it up.

We’d leave the door half-open with a stopper, and take turns keeping watch.

My request to take a watch shift was unanimously rejected. The logical argument was that if we put someone who looked like she might collapse at any moment on watch, the others wouldn’t get any rest.

“Alright, let me explain again.”

After confirming our basic routine, I placed some copy paper I’d found on the living room table.

I placed one poker chip—the kind that came with the cards and board games—in the bottom left corner of the map I’d drawn with a ballpoint pen. That was our current location.

“We’re in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Roud, which is the southwest on the continental map. Our destination, Alveria, is here.”

Next, I placed another chip roughly in the upper right corner of the continental map. It wasn’t an exact map, so it was just a rough estimate.

“Opposite sides, nya.”
“Yup.”

Alveria lay directly opposite us, separated by the massive Dragon Mountains Belt that crossed the continent’s center. Obviously, it wouldn’t be an easy journey.

We had a plan. We just needed to adapt what Grandpa had thought up before he passed away to our current situation.

“The town of Forligen we’re heading to now is bustling with trade. We’ll stay there for a little while before aiming for the border. Once we enter the neighboring country of Panadia, we’ll head south.”
“Why south?”
“We’ll take the sea route.”

I pressed my finger down on the map. Crossing the Dragon Mountains required traversing several untouched territories inhabited by vicious magic beasts—a grueling journey that even seasoned adventurers risked their lives on.

The relatively safer routes were heavily guarded by neighboring nations, making a stealthy passage impossible.

Therefore, ordinary people used the sea route, circling around the continent from above or below.

The northern side has rough seas and bitter cold due to the terrain, plus it’s simply too far from here.

If we’re going through, the southern route is the only option.

“Ships, nya…”

Noche made a slightly sour face, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

“If we want the air route, money and connections are absolutely essential…”
“What a drag, nya.”
“Yeah…”

Long ago, an alchemist who yearned for the skies created a flying ship. Alone, it could only glide slowly with the wind. But by having it towed by a Sky Dragon—a lesser dragon that ruled the skies—it achieved high-speed travel, revolutionizing human mobility.

…The dragons of this world can be roughly divided into three types.

The Lesser Dragons, which are closer to animals; the true Dragons, possessing high intelligence and advanced civilization; and the Archdragons, counted among the Gods due to their immense power.

The relationship between lesser dragons and true dragons is essentially like chimpanzees and humans, while true dragons and archdragons are like ordinary people and gods. I remember that after Grandpa, a passionate fan of dragons, was lecturing me for hours because I mixed them up.

As someone who doesn’t want to lose that childlike sense of wonder, I can’t say I don’t understand the appeal of dragons.

So while dragons are often revered as sacred in some circles, only Alveria possesses the lesser dragon taming techniques through its contract with their Guardian Deity, the Star Dragon. The airship construction technology is also held by the Alchemist Guild, whose headquarters are in Alveria.

In other words, air routes are monopolized by that country.

The Luminism Faith, deeply rooted in the Western Continent, despises alchemists and Alveria like poisonous snakes and scorpions. Consequently, on the Western Continent, only a select few royal nobles and the wealthy who curry favor with them can benefit from this technology.

In the West, having money alone is useless.

But if you can make it to the East, the technology is widely available. So, the plan is to earn enough money to use the air routes.

The real problem remains crossing the Western Continent. Grandpa gave up precisely because traveling with children all the way to Panadia’s port was unrealistic.

Panadia, situated in the southwest of the continent, retains vast stretches of untamed wilderness—or, to put it bluntly, uncharted territory. These are places untouched by human hands, where magic beasts and unknown mythical beasts roam freely.

For instance, primeval forests teeming with magic beasts, a desert of death where half who enter never return, underground caverns carved from ice that never melts… It’s packed with mysterious places like the zones classified as Unknown in my past life.

Situated north from Panadia, trying to reach the port from the Kingdom of Roud inevitably meant cutting straight through that area.

Even if it wasn’t all that dangerous, it was still a journey far too long for a sickly elderly to bring children with. Even for the four of us, trying to get to that port would be the hardest part of this journey.

The route avoiding that area connected to a troublesome, human supremacist nation. Either way, it wasn’t a place suitable for traveling with two beastman children.

“If he was such an amazing alchemist, why didn’t he just hire adventurers, nya?”

When I explained the situation, Noche voiced a perfectly reasonable question.

“Grandpa, you see, he didn’t really want to tell people about Alice and I.”

For some reason, Grandpa was extremely reluctant for our information to be known by just anyone. Especially those connected to the “upper echelons of the country”—like skilled adventurers, knights, or soldiers.

Having seen that world, he clearly didn’t think Sufi and I had ordinary origins. He mentioned studying at the Alveria Alchemist Guild in his youth, so maybe he took us in during some noble family feud over there…

“It seems his idea was to wait until we were grown enough to protect ourselves…”

His initial plan was for us to live safely in Forligen as ordinary wolf girls, accumulating money and power.

“Isn’t that a bit too long-term, nya? What about Alice’s illness, nya?”

…Huh? Oh, right.

“Noche, I’m perfectly healthy, cough.”
“??????”

When I corrected the misunderstanding, she tilted her head at full tilt.

“I’m not sick, I’m healthy.”

Her neck angle straightened, but her expression now looked like she was hallucinating galaxies in the background.

“I’m medically healthy. I’ve no illness or disability. My body is just extremely weak.”

I’m hopelessly weak and I get a fever as soon as I get a little tired, but I don’t have any physical deformity or disease. Other than having an extremely frail constitution.

That’s why I believe resting my body slowly can improve my condition. I’ve actually recovered enough to move around.

“That sounds like a pain, nya.”
“Tell me about it.”

Beside the dumbfounded Noche, Sufi nodded deeply in agreement with my words.

■■■

“So, our immediate goal is to prepare for crossing the border and heading south in Forligen.”
“Yeah!”
“Got it, nya.”
“Y-yeah.”

By the time the meeting wrapped up, the sun had completely set outside.

“Today’s our last bath, nya…”
“We only have so much bath salt left, after all.”

Even Noche, who initially disliked water, seemed fine with the warm bath and had grown fond of it. Sufi, who loved cleanliness, naturally enjoyed it, and Filia looked disappointed too.

Still, going into town looking too clean was extremely unwise. Incidentally, the shirt I was wearing now was also problematic. The mysterious pocket attached to the belly part of the shirt was also something I didn’t want seen.

Everything I carried into town was problematic.

“Speaking of which, what about money, nya? I only have a few copper coins, nya.”
“You have some?”

I was actually surprised she had any coins at all. Grabbing them and getting out safely in that situation was honestly impressive.

“Oh, here they are nya.”

Noche slowly reached under her shirt hem… probably into her underwear, rummaged around, then proudly held up a copper coin between her fingers.

“…Why would you keep it there?”

I asked, slightly dumbfounded.

“Mom said if they’d lift it up this far to search, it’d be over either way, nya.”

Well, that’s true, but…!

“Oh~… I see!”

Stuffing a grimy coin into your pants is seriously unhygienic, so don’t copy that, Sufi.

“Doing that’ll make your crotch itch… Let’s buy a coin purse when we get to town.”
“Really? But what about the entrance fee?”

I had a solid plan for that.

“Sell it to the merchants waiting at the gate.”
“…our bodies, nya?”
“The ones I’ve sorted.”

Please don’t casually suggest ideas that border on last resorts. Accompanying dirty old men is disgusting and I hate it. Besides, we’re all beastkin and homeless, our price would be next to nothing.

Considering the risk of being kidnapped as merchandise outright, it’s way too much trouble for too little gain.

Last time, the entrance tax was only about one large copper coin. As for identity, we can just have the Alchemist Guild verify ours.

“I’ve got connections at the Alchemist Guild, so I’m confident I can manage things once we’re inside. If they introduce us, we can register as apprentices at the Adventurers’ Guild. Then all three of us get ID cards.”
“So I’ll finally make my adventurer debut, huh…”

Until age ten, you’re considered an apprentice and can’t get a full license, so you can’t take on quests like monster hunts or escort jobs. But it works perfectly well as ID—something we’ll absolutely need going forward.

“Alice, what are you going to sell?”
“Hmm… Tools…?”

Selling off handmade potions and herbs might not be the best idea. I was told it’s better not to flaunt my license around when I first got it.

Usually, you learn as an apprentice before adulthood and finally acquire the license around age 20. It varies by country, but most consider 15 the age of adulthood.

If I translate this into a Japanese context in my head, it feels like a 7-year-old girl saying, “Hey, I have a doctor’s license and a pharmacist’s license! Look!”

Yeah, better not show it off carelessly—it’ll only cause trouble.

So, I’ll earn money using the “I’m good with my hands and make all sorts of tools, so please buy them” tactic.

“Like knives made from stone?”
“Ah—”
“Those were good stuff, nya.”

It’s just a sword made from some random stone, but both of them seem to like it quite a bit. If I can find some decent iron in town, I’d like to make them some proper gear.

I could make it from that mysterious metal, but I can’t carry it around in case someone tracks its source.

“For now, I’ll think about it while we’re traveling.”
“Yeah! Sufi and Filia will carry it anyway, so take your time thinking!”

…Are you feeling a bit prickly today, Sufi?