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「Well, I’ll let you take care of it then.」

Seeing how reliable and sturdy the golem looked, Mira said that. Hebi replied with a short but energetic 「My pleasure」 while nodding. The wheels began rattling while a pleasant swaying spread through the wagon. Their land trip felt calm and easy in a different way than the air one was, Mira had only been thinking about speed when flying, but she realized that hearing that rhythmic rattling did not feel that bad either as she glanced at the scenery outside the window.

Their trip was uneventful until they reached the city of Sarut at around noon. Hebi had looked up the address of the Union beforehand, so she carefully led the golem through the city. They were going through a rather well-known street, lined with shops, a street full of people and other carriages. As Mira looked out the window, she saw multiple other carriages being pulled by similar golems, which finally made Hebi’s reasoning click in her head.

Most of the buildings in Sarut were made out of wood, while larger or more important ones were made of stone. It felt like she was going through the set of a western movie, seeing many buildings with elaborate designs replicating that style. The entire city was like that, maintaining a certain harmony of wood and stone that formed a peculiar scene. While Mira was entranced by the scenery, they arrived at a two story stone building. The entrance looked like that of a palace, with the symbol that represented the Union throughout the continent carved in it.

「Well, I’ll be going then.」

Arlon got ready to disembark the wagon since he had to go request permission to enter the Libra Fortress. The paperwork took around five minutes to finish, and when Hebi saw that Arlon was back and everything was in order, she put the wagon in motion again.

After that they went to a large inn. It was known for having a really good stable and garage, which Hebi had researched the day before to have a place to safely store the wagon while they were gone. If they took the wagon into the dungeon and Chimera Clauzen arrived afterwards, they would be very easy to spot which would put them on alarm. Even small things like that had to be taken into consideration for their mission.

After a few words with the clerk currently in charge, Hebi followed his directions and took the wagon to their garage. Next she discussed things like payment and the days they would leave the wagon there. While that discussion happened, the other three disembarked the wagon.

The building was made of wood, and there were many other carriages of varying sizes already there. The clerk that guided them in also wore a workers suit that had seen a lot of use, showing he also diligently performed any maintenance needed on the carriages. Seeing all of that, Mira felt reassured leaving her wagon there.

「Sorry for the wait.」
「I feel bad for letting you take care of everything instead.」

Hebi came back from arranging everything and handed the wagon’s parking card to Mira, who replied in that way.

「I don’t mind.」

Hebi’s reply was monotone, but her face looked slightly glad, as well as a bit bashful.

Sarut was frequently visited by adventurers, as Mira could spot many groups of them, who looked visibly strong all around her. In other words, there were many parties of adventurers there. Mira had no qualms at rating in her mind everyone she saw, all the while following Hebi who confidently took the lead for the group.

After a while, Hebi took a turn away from the main street. There, they saw many carriages lined up one after another. Looking more carefully, there were also many parties of adventurers there, discussing something with the drivers of the carriages before hopping into them.

「Ohh, a stagecoach.」

Hearing Mira’s mutter, Hebi turned around and slightly shook her head.

「That’s not quite right. This is a stop for taxi carriages. It’s more expensive than a stagecoach, but the carriages can be individually rented. They’re commonly used as transportation for adventurers. I believe this is the best way for us to travel.」

Stagecoaches would come and go from certain given destinations in regular time intervals, picking up people on their way there. In other words, they were the equivalent of busses in that world. Taxi carriages on the other hand, would take a single person or a party to a given destination, and had also become a common means of transportation. Mira’s group was carrying out a top secret mission for the Fifty Bells, so they had to minimize their interactions with other people as much as possible, while also trying to not stand out, so using a taxi carriage was perfect for them.

「Ohh, a taxi. That would certainly be the most comfortable way of getting there.」

Since they had no idea who could have ties with Chimera Clauzen, a taxi would allow them to relax so it was currently their best bet. Hearing Mira’s approval, Hebi quickly plunged into the lines of carriages in high spirits. A few minutes later Hebi had arranged things with one of the drivers, finding the best carriage out of the ones there, so her gait was also triumphant as she returned to bring Mira and the rest with her.

The many carriages passing through the streets were varied, so much so that it was almost hard to classify some of them as carriages. Some were pulled by the obvious horses, but there was variation in size and build even there. Then there were those pulled by bulls with magnificent horns, or those pulled by hogs that snorted vigorously, as well as some pulled by golems. All those factors combined defined a carriage’s speed and reach, so they would be chosen depending on one’s destination. Since the Libra Fortress was surrounded by rocky mountains, the group had to choose one fit for that terrain. The taxi Hebi found had two drivers, and was pulled by two golems that were even bigger than the one Hebi had used earlier.

After the group boarded the taxi, which also had a considerable speed on top of strength, and headed into the mountains, Hebi hesitantly kept turning to look at Mira. For some reason, ever since they had boarded the carriage she had barely spoken a word. Hebi was growingly uneasy, wondering if the carriage she had chosen was not of Mira’s liking, or if her forcing her way there had Mira miffed.

(There were so many golems there, even some shikigamis… but why wasn’t there a single summoning…)

Mira was resting her chin on the window frame, looking at the trees and plants becoming smaller and sparser as they went deeper into the mountains, lost in thought wondering if summoning had also become withered like the plants out there. It did not take much longer for Arlon to notice something was happening between the two and spoke to them. Hebi’s insecurities were quickly swept away as Mira explained that she was not displeased with her, but that as a summoner she felt saddened to not see a single summoner driving a carriage.

Meanwhile Arlon mentioned that summoners that could summon flying entities like Garuda would hold way more important duties, and stood at a higher point compared to a taxi carriage driver, which made Mira feel better for a while. After that the group posed as a party of adventurers, ending their trip with no issues and arrived at the Libra Fortress.