Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Clatter! Thud!
Every time the carriage wheels rolled over a bump, my butt screamed in protest.
Is this a carriage, or a torture device shaped like one?
What was this, cramming giant men into a cramped space like cargo and rattling along an unpaved road.
Somewhere, a stale smell of sweat mixed with leather drifted up.
'……Ugh.'
I felt like my stomach was about to turn inside out.
The memory of my past life from twenty years ago was forcibly dragged into my mind.
The cargo bed of a dark-green two-and-a-half-ton military truck racing through an unpaved road in a mountain valley in Gangwon Province.
The nauseating vibration and exhaust smell I felt then were being recreated here across time and space.
If that wasn't a PTSD trigger, what was.
The nobles around me were chattering away like it was the best thing in the world.
“Wow! Look over there! That mountain scenery is amazing!”
“As expected, getting out into the open really clears the chest!”
What’s so clear? Did your brains get blown open or something?
I wanted to stab all those eyes sparkling with curiosity and wonder with chopsticks.
I clutched the window frame and desperately held back my urge to puke.
'Damn it... I should’ve brought motion-sickness medicine.'
I had no idea I'd be this screwed as of this morning. Damn it.
I was already in enough trouble, and then another worry suddenly slithered up.
'Is that weak little jellyfish bitch, Lily, still alive?'
Did I feed her too much jerky before we left?
What if she threw it all up and collapsed from exhaustion?
She was probably too broke to bring motion-sickness medicine even though she knew this was today's trip.
Then it happened.
“Exciting, isn’t it?”
A voice prodded me in the side.
I turned and saw some pretty-faced guy smiling at me.
Brown hair, with a kind-looking face.
But all I saw was a clueless bastard.
Who the hell is this clueless bastard?
I'm at MAX irritability right now, so why is he picking a fight?
Just as I was about to glare at him with dead-fish eyes and snap, “What is it?”
The man slowly held out a small glass bottle from inside his robes.
“Take it. It’s motion-sickness medicine.”
“...!”
“You look pale. This works like a charm.”
I take back what I just thought.
Are you an angel?
I snatched the bottle without caring about appearances.
“...I really don't have the face to refuse. Then I'll gratefully accept it.”
“Yes, please take it easy.”
I opened the cap and downed it in one gulp.
Gulp.
Alchemy in a fantasy world was amazing.
My queasy stomach calmed in five seconds, like a clogged drain suddenly opening up.
My vision cleared, and the world began to look colorful again.
“Hoo...”
I let out a deep breath as I set down the empty bottle.
I feel alive again.
But this stuff is pretty insane, isn't it?
This isn't ordinary motion-sickness medicine.
My seatmate, my savior, was watching me with interest.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Thanks to you.”
“You flatter me. But I have one question.”
The man tilted his head.
“For someone of Lord Cassian's caliber, you should be able to control your body with magic just fine, so why didn't you? If you used self-healing magic or sensory-blocking magic, it would have been easy.”
“....”
Ah.
Here we go again.
'...I don't know how, damn it.'
The only magic I know is that useless click-and-cast nonsense.
Honestly, if I used that, I probably could’ve stopped the motion sickness.
But the problem was, I'd only just learned that self-healing magic and sensory-blocking magic even existed.
If I’d known they existed, I’d have learned them ages ago and used them while farming, thinking, 'Wow! This would be amazing for farming!' Why the hell would I be going through this misery?
But now that someone I'd just met had recognized me, I couldn't exactly say, “Ah, I actually can't use magic at all.”
So I started spouting some convincing bullshit.
“You mustn't abuse magic for such convenience-oriented purposes.”
“Pardon?”
“Interference with cause and effect should always be handled with a grave mindset.”
Now that I've said it, it actually sounds pretty convincing.
The man stared blankly at me for a moment, then slapped his knee as if impressed.
“Ah...! Just as expected.”
His eyes sparkled with admiration.
“I thought as much. Your philosophy toward magic is on a different level. I was too narrow-minded.”
...It worked?
They say once you're famous, people will clap even if you take a dump. Should I really switch careers and become a con artist?
The man introduced himself.
“My name is Lucius. I'm a first-year in the Alchemy Department.”
Lucius?
I racked my brain, but that name wasn't in the original novel.
As a mere background character, he was way too handsome, and his preparation was meticulous too.
'What is this guy? Someone who didn't exist in the original?'
“I'll pay. How much is it?”
The surrounding nobles clicked their tongues and frowned as if to say, 'Ugh, as expected of a savage.'
But Lucius just smiled warmly and waved it off.
“No need. That was cheap.”
“Pardon?”
“For the price of one bottle of medicine, I got to make the acquaintance of the academy's most famous person. Consider it a gift. Buy me a meal sometime.”
What a smooth talker.
I put my wallet away again.
“Fine. I hate owing favors, so I'll definitely treat you to a meal.”
And then I got to the point.
This was actually the most important part.
“So, by any chance...”
I held out my palm with my most shameless expression.
“Do you have any spares?”
“Pardon?”
“I need quite a bit of it. I've got two mouths to feed.”
“...Two mouths?”
Lucius looked back and forth between my mouth and my stomach, apparently imagining something weird.
“No, not a literal mouth. There's one more person I need to look after.”
I'm not some mutant or anything.
“Ah.”
Lucius tilted his head, but without another word he rummaged through his bag.
“I’m obsessively cautious, so I brought plenty. Here you go.”
He took out two more bottles of motion-sickness medicine and handed them to me.
* * *
Screech, thud!
The carriage came to a rough stop with a harsh sound.
It was a clearing near the forest, our first destination.
“Ugh...”
“Save me...”
The noble young masters who had been hauled along like baggage stumbled out of the carriage one by one.
They all looked pale blue, looking exactly like a defeated army.
So much for fresh air clearing you up?
But thanks to Lucius, that alchemy guy, I was perfectly fine.
I stood lightly on the ground and watched the carriage on the other side, the one carrying the girls.
Let's see.
If I was right, they'd be half dead by now.
And sure enough.
“Ugh...”
The ornate carriage door opened, and a head of pink hair came wobbling out with someone's support.
Her face was the color of dirt.
Since her skin was naturally as white as rice cake, the way her face had gone to shit stood out really clearly.
Her eyes were hollow, and her legs were so weak they were shaking.
She's turning into a zombie, all right.
I clicked my tongue and strode over.
Lily was crouched beside the carriage wheel, hands on her knees, staring at the ground.
She was practically one step away from talking to the dirt.
“Lily.”
“...!”
At my voice, Lily jumped and snapped her head up.
Her dull light-green eyes instantly lit up, and her expression brightened with such force that, if she were a real dog, her tail would've been spinning like a helicopter.
“L-Lord Cassian?”
I casually handed her the small glass bottle I'd wheedled out of Lucius.
“Take it.”
“Huh?”
Lily fumbled to take the medicine bottle.
“What is this...?”
“Motion-sickness medicine.”
“Ah.”
Lily carefully cupped the bottle in both hands.
Then, without even opening the cap, she looked up at me and asked,
“Ah, what about you, Lord Cassian? Did you take yours? Your face looks a little...”
“....”
That was rich.
You're the one who's in rough shape, so why are you worrying about someone else?
Worrying about other people at a time like this?
She's definitely a saintess.
At this point, it's no wonder God would pick her.
Meanwhile, I was already busy shoving mine straight into my mouth.
“Can't you tell I'm fine? I'm sturdy enough that I don't need that crap. Quit yapping and take it if you don't want to puke.”
“Y-yes! Thank you. Hehe.”
Only then did Lily seem relieved, pop the cap open, and toss the medicine back.
Gulp.
The effect was immediate.
Her slumped shoulders straightened, and color began returning to her dirt-colored face.
Like a puppy suddenly coming back to life.
But she'd already gone and nearly died after drinking radioactive tea, so you'd think she'd be wary of stuff like this, and yet she was happily swallowing what I gave her.
“Wow! This is amazing! I don't feel nauseous at all!”
How does that even make sense?
'So she's never had anything like this before.'
Are you kidding me?
I suddenly felt like a sponsor for overseas famine relief.
Please let this pink-haired girl never become a pirate.
“All right then. Let's get up. The professor says he's assembling us.”
I turned away coolly.
I could hear the noble ladies nearby whispering.
“My, that barbarian? Is he the one taking care of Lady Lily?”
“He even brought medicine for her. How unexpected. But his way of speaking is really... not great.”
“So coarse...”
Were they saying that so I'd hear it, or do their ears just not have filters?
But I was already max level, so it had zero impact on me.
'Bark all you want.'
I ignored them and headed for the assembly point.
* * *
Professor Wilhelm lined the students up in straight rows.
His expression was solemn.
“Attention!”
His booming voice echoed across the clearing.
“Today, we'll be holding our first campout here. But before that,”
Wilhelm pointed beyond the forest with his baton.
“As proud nobles of the Empire, you must see clearly what kinds of people exist in the world under the name of imperial citizens.”
His eyes flashed sharply.
“Absolutely do not make a disgusted face or show it. I warn you. A noble's dignity doesn't come from clothes, but from the way they treat other people.”
He'd gone from just teaching in class to coming out here on something like an operation, so I guess his soldier blood was boiling.
His tone had become strangely rigid.
The noble students were clearly tense at this pitiful sight they'd never seen before.
Far outside the walls.
A desolate place where the lush forest blocked even a glimpse of the castle spires.
There, a shantytown spread out as if it were a lie.
Ramshackle shacks on the verge of collapse.
And.
“Ugh...”
“This is seriously awful.”
“Even perfume won't get rid of it.”
We hadn't even entered the village yet, and a foul stench was riding the wind, stabbing at the tips of our noses.
Lily muttered to herself.
“Why on earth does it smell like this?”
Let's see.
What was it again?
“A disgusting smell mixed from stagnant water, sewage, and the reek of unwashed people, I guess. This is a slum.”
Lily tilted her head.
Right. I don't really know either. I just know because I read the original novel.
“The slums I experienced...”
Were probably different.
You never actually went to a real slum.
The students raised their hands to cover their noses, but after seeing Professor Wilhelm's fierce gaze, they hurriedly lowered them.
But my reaction was different.
“Haa.”
A deep sigh escaped me.
At my reaction, Lily, who was standing next to me, asked carefully,
“Why are you sighing? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No. Just...”
Shit.
“It's been a while since I came out to do civil-support duty, so it feels nostalgic. I thought I'd never do it again.”
“...Pardon?”
Thinking of it as the smell of rich compost and a livestock barn, PTSD started creeping up on me.
My brain's database spat out memories from twenty years ago.
Civil-support duty = the army sending you out with a shovel to do unpaid backbreaking labor.
When it flooded, you went to help with recovery; when it snowed, you cleared snow; during planting season, you went to transplant rice seedlings—the life of a slave.
To think I'd come to this world at this age and still have to do that again.
I got hit with a brutal wave of existential dread.
'That damn old geezer is really shoving us into this place...'
But Lily, who had no idea what I was thinking, had sparkling eyes.
Her interpretation circuit was running in a completely different direction from what I'd expected.
“...Ah.”
Lily clasped her hands, looking moved.
“Lord Cassian... you are truly a kinder person than I imagined.”
“...Pardon?”
I stood there dumbfounded under Lily's admiring gaze.
'What the hell is that bullshit?'
I just swore, didn't I? I said 'shit,' didn't I?
“To think you'd been going around doing volunteer work in such harsh places... and for it to be 'a while ago,' meaning you do it often...”
Ah.
She'd mistaken me for a kind nobleman practicing noblesse oblige and doing volunteer work.
“No, that's not it...”
As I tried to explain, Lily looked up at me with sparkling eyes and whispered,
“I respect you. Truly.”
“....”
No, that's not it.
I just sighed because I didn't want to do shovel work.