Driving Up the Mountain Pass

I am taking a mage who was originally Japanese and his family from the Empire to seek asylum and bringing them to the royal capital.

There'll probably be a commotion when we return, but I'll think about that once we arrive.

Since Akira, who was also originally Japanese, can drive, I left the Land Cruiser Prado to him so he could transport his family.

I had considered buying a minibus, but there was no way a bus with poor maneuverability could cross the Hell Pass waiting ahead—or rather, I wasn't confident it could.

We split up into two vehicles to improve our survivability.

We replenished our water from a river along the way. It wasn't safe to drink, but we could use it for baths and such.

The duke's residence had a well, but drawing water from a well was hard work.

After storing the water in my Item Box, we raced along the road, overtaking one horse-drawn wagon after another on the way to the royal capital.

Looking to the left, I could see the surface of the lake where we had butchered the dragon glittering in the sunlight.

As I squinted against the dazzling light, I received a radio transmission from Akira, who was following behind us.

'There's a mountain in front of us. Are we going over that?'

When speaking over the radio, you press the button on the handheld microphone.

"That's right. It's a very steep pass, so be careful."

'There are a lot of carriages traveling along here. Are they headed for the royal capital too?'

"Yeah. They're risking their lives."

'And they make good money for it, right...?'

"The royal capital suffers from chronic shortages of goods. The more you bring in, the more you can sell. It's a chance to make a fortune."

'Haha, it was like that in the Imperial capital too. We even had to cut through areas crawling with monsters.'

"I guess it's the same everywhere."

I hadn't checked the back seats, but Primula was probably making a sour face after hearing that conversation.

"It's been a while since you've driven a car, hasn't it? Are you all right?"

'Haha, no problem! It's hard to forget things you've learned with your body.'

"Come to think of it, you handled a motorcycle pretty well too."

'I rode a motorcycle all the way around Japan, you know? It was practically an extension of my arms and legs.'

I was a little envious. Even if I couldn't travel all the way around Japan, I had wanted to tour Hokkaido at least once.

We took a short break in the post town before entering the pass. The women probably wanted to answer nature's call.

We had a quick drink. Akira got out of the Prado and stretched.

"Mmm! We're going over that pass?"

Akira pointed toward the entrance to the pass.

"Yeah, it's a pretty steep pass. Want a canned coffee?"

I took a canned coffee out of my Item Box.

"Oh! Seriously? Much obliged!"

Akira happily drank his canned coffee.

"Give me your trash. I'll dispose of it all at once."

"Sure! Some strange metals have weird catalytic effects, so you can't carelessly leave trash lying around."

"Exactly. Even pouch bags and cup-noodle lids sometimes have aluminum foil attached to them."

"That's dangerous."

As I talked with Akira, Bell came up to my feet.

"Nyaa."

"Mom, do you want a snack too?"

Shangri-La's recommendations included a cat treat called Churu that came in a tube.

Hmm, I wondered if this was popular these days. I bought one package to try.

I opened the package, took out a tube, and cut open the seal.

"Hmm? What's that?"

"Apparently it's a snack for cats."

"Is it safe to feed it to the Forest Cat?"

"She happily eats canned cat food, and I've heard matatabi works on tigers and lions too, so I figure it's probably fine."

"Ah, I've heard about matatabi before..."

Akira looked at the package of Churu he had taken from me with interest.

"The package has a picture of someone feeding it directly like this, so I guess you do it this way..."

I squeezed the paste out of the tube and let Bell lick it.

"Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick, lick..."

She was sticking out her tongue and licking it single-mindedly, but I wondered if it was actually good.

Just then, Myaree and Nyamena came over.

"What are you eating, nya?"

"It's a snack for the Forest Cat."

"Nya? I want some too, nya!"

"Huh? Is that really okay?"

"Is it safe?"

Akira looked worried too, but Bell had eaten canned cat food before.

"Before curry became her staple food, canned cat food was her favorite, so I think she'll be fine..."

"This is how you eat it."

I squeezed out a little from the tube, pretended to lick it, and handed it to Myaree.

"Like this, nya? Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick, lick..."

The moment she started licking it, Myaree's expression became completely serious. Seeing that, Nyamena seemed to want to try it too.

"Here, Nyamena, you can have some too."

"Is that all right? Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick, lick..."

Both of them had incredibly serious expressions.

Seeing that, Akira shouted.

"Hey! Myaa!"

"What is it, nya?"

Akira handed a snack to Myaa, who came over wagging her tail.

"Try this. Apparently it's delicious."

Akira pointed at the beastfolk who were already licking their snacks.

"Like this, nya? Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick, lick..."

As soon as she started licking, Myaa's expression grew serious too. Three beastfolk women were now licking their snacks with perfectly straight faces.

"Is it really that good? Could there be something in it?"

Akira said that, but selling something like that would cause a huge scandal.

After they finished eating, I asked the beastfolk what they thought.

"Is it really that delicious?"

"...It's delicious, nya." "Yeah... It's delicious." "It's delicious, nya!"

They seemed to be struggling to express themselves, but apparently it was delicious.

"Akira, they say it's delicious."

"Ohhh."

"But it could use a little more salt..." "That's right, nya." "Nya."

"Come to think of it, canned cat food isn't very salty either. They say feeding cats human food makes them sick."

"If it were salty, it would make the perfect snack with drinks."

Nyamena said that.

While I was talking with Akira, the princesses and Reiran-san's group returned as well.

I did a roll call, pointing at everyone in turn. It would be a disaster if we left anyone behind.

"Reiran-san and the others, are you all right too? Any motion sickness?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"It's much more comfortable than a horse-drawn carriage."

Annerose-san was a former noble. She had probably ridden fine carriages before.

Even compared with those, apparently the Prado was more comfortable.

"It feels creepy, as though we're inside some monster's stomach, but there's nothing to it once you get used to it!"

The female knight had been the most frightened of all, so if she said she was fine, she must have been fine.

"Shall we head for the pass?"

"Sure! I can't wait to see what kind of Thunder Road it is."

We all got into the cars and set off toward the mountain pass.

The road gradually began to climb, with a cliff appearing on the right.

Since traffic drove on the left, just as in Japan, the return trip would be safer. Still, overtaking slow carriages was nerve-racking.

Akira radioed from behind us.

'Whoa! This is incredible!'

"Apparently it's called Hell Highway."

'There was some Fairy-whatever Road in Pakistan that looked like this.'

"Pakistan? You went to Pakistan?"

'Yeah. I took a leave of absence from university and went on a shoestring trip around the world. Haha!'

According to him, he had crossed a mountain pass by bus, but...

'I was terrified the whole time, wondering when we'd fall. There were bus and truck wrecks scattered all over the bottom, you know?'

"There are carriage wrecks scattered below here too."

Someone else's voice came through the radio.

'Hey, Akira! Is it really safe to drive in a place like this?'

'Shut up, Clementina! Keep quiet, you useless knight!'

I heard Akira shout angrily through the radio. He could have just released the microphone button, though.

"You sound panicked. Are you all right?"

'Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine! She talks big, but she's the biggest coward of all.'

'I am not a coward!'

Ahh, how noisy. Still, there was no doubt we wouldn't get bored.

'Over the hills we'll go~ Let's get moving~!'

The princess in the passenger seat laughed at Akira's singing coming through the speakers.

"That is the same song you sing. Truly, you are from the same homeland."

"What would I gain by lying about it?"

"Hmm... You are hiding something from me, are you not?"

"I'm sorry, but I do have personal secrets. Even my family doesn't know this one."

"..."

We continued for a while and reached the midpoint of the climb to the summit.

We were moving quite slowly, but we were still several times faster than a horse-drawn carriage.

"Princess Lilith, at this rate, we'll reach the summit shortly after noon."

"Yes."

When I looked behind us, Akira's Prado seemed to be lagging a little.

"I suppose I should slow down a little..."

Just then, a carriage sped past our Hiace.

I quickly grabbed the handheld microphone and contacted the vehicle behind us.

"Akira! A carriage just sped past us. Be careful."

'Understood!'

Then, as I slowed down a little to wait for Akira and the others, he radioed me.

'Hey! Kenichi! The carriage fell off the cliff!'

"What?! Seriously?!"

'Yeah! It fell right in front of me!'

"Princess Lilith, I will go confirm it."

"Yes!"

I stopped, pulled the stick-like handbrake, got out of the car, and walked along the cliff's edge, looking down.

After passing a blind corner, I saw a vehicle that had stopped.

Akira's Prado had stopped too, about a hundred meters away. He had gotten out of the car as well.

The Hiace could have backed up, but I decided to leave it where it was. I didn't want to reverse in a place like this.

When I reached Akira while looking down over the cliff, I saw a carriage below.

"Hey! Are you alive?!"

There was no reply. But I thought I saw something like cloth moving.

I took binoculars out of my Item Box and peered through them.

"Ah, it's moving. Looks like they're alive."

"Seriously?"

After handing the binoculars to Akira, I opened the Prado's door and took the handheld microphone.

"Hey, hey! Myaree, Nyamena! Come over here for a moment!"

They didn't know how to use the radios, so there was no reply.

"The people who fell—are they alive?"

"Yes. Reiran-san, you stay in the car. Myaa, could you give me a hand?"

I asked Myaa, who had been riding in the Prado, to help me.

"Got it, nya."

Myaree and Nyamena quickly got out of the car as well and came over to us.

However, the princess and Anemone were following them.

I took a rope and climbing harness out of my Item Box.

I was going to climb down again, just as I had when I descended the cliff before.

Besides, this cliff was lower than the place I had descended before. I lowered the rope over the edge and had the beastfolk hold it.

"You're going down the cliff?"

"Yeah. I've done it before, so it'll be fine."

"We climbed down a cliff and recovered a wyvern's corpse, nya!"

"Seriously? You've taken some pretty dangerous risks too, Kenichi."

"But mine was voluntary. Nobody forced me."

"Yes!"

I made sure to emphasize that the princess wasn't forcing me. I didn't want anyone to mistake the Kingdom for an exploitative place.

Well, the fact that it had a few exploitative aspects was true enough.

"Hold on to the rope for me."

"Leave it to us, boss!"

"Are you sure?"

Anemone looked worried, but this wasn't a situation where her magic would be of any use.

Trusting the beastfolk's strength, I kicked off the cliff and descended. I climbed down with the rough rock face directly in front of me, until my feet touched the ground.

I immediately headed toward the carriage. A merchant was trapped beneath the wreckage.

"Hey, are you all right? We've come to help."

"Ugh..."

He was breathing, at least. But he was completely pinned beneath the carriage wreckage, and I couldn't lift it by hand.

"The footing is... fine. All right, summon Yu○bo!"

After confirming there was enough space to place the heavy machinery, I brought a Yu○bo out of my Item Box.

"All right!"

I climbed into the seat and started the engine. Carefully, so I wouldn't injure the victim, I slid the Yu○bo's bucket beneath the wreckage and lifted it.

This should let me pull the injured man out. I dragged the man, who was wearing a white shirt and green vest, out from beneath the wreckage.

He might have hit his head, so moving him could be dangerous.

"Right..."

When I searched Shangri-La, I found that it sold an aluminum stretcher.

It was a sturdy one like those used in helicopter rescues shown on the news.

But it was a little expensive at 50,000 yen—but this was a life-saving effort.

"Click."

The aluminum stretcher dropped down with a clank. I laid the injured man on it and secured him with three belts so he wouldn't fall off.

It really did look as though he were being hoisted by helicopter—yes, exactly like that.

I bought more rope from Shangri-La and tied the stretcher to the rope hanging down from above.

I gave it a little tug, and it seemed secure.

"Hey! Pull the injured man up!"

"Got it, nya!"

With the beastfolk's incredible strength, the injured man on the stretcher was pulled smoothly up to the top of the cliff.

While they did that, I stored as much undamaged luggage as possible in my Item Box.

There was no time to pick up the scattered goods from split wooden crates and barrels.

Akira was up above, so he should know how to remove the belts. Having another Japanese person around made coordinating things much easier.

After the stretcher had been pulled up, the rope was lowered again. I attached my harness and had them pull me up.

When I returned from below the cliff, Akira had already begun treating the injured man.

"How is he? The injured man?"

Akira was holding his hand over the head of the injured man lying on the stretcher.

He had also received a blessing from the Emperor and could use Natural Recovery.

"I'm treating him now. It looks like he hit his head too, but in my experience, he'll be fine."

"That's good."

"This thing—the stretcher—is aluminum, huh? I panicked at first when my power almost overloaded."

"Aluminum can act as a catalyst for blessings too?"

"Yeah. I've used it on the battlefield before."

This was valuable information. He had moved from battlefield to battlefield and had more experience than I did—he was also practiced at using his power.

I took out an energy bar and a banana for Akira.

"Using your power makes you hungry, right? Eat this."

"Oh! A banana! Thanks! It's great having someone else who can use the same power. Makes things much easier."

"Nya? What does maternity leave have to do with it, nya?"

The beastfolk tilted their heads at our conversation, but they would get used to it eventually.

"Haha, I haven't eaten a banana in two years!"

"I had one for the first time in ages recently too."

His arms and legs weren't broken, but they seemed to have hairline fractures.

I would handle those injuries, while Anemone would use Recovery to treat the rest of his body.

"Anemone, just use a little. This metal can serve as a catalyst for magic."

"Got it."

Reiran-san opened the Prado's window and watched what was happening.

"Akira! Should I help too?"

"Sensei! Just sit there. It'll be over soon!"

"What an incredibly lucky merchant, to receive treatment from two people with blessings and a grand archmage."

The princess, who had been watching the treatment intently, murmured.

"He may have used up a lifetime's worth of luck."

"Perhaps."

The princess groaned, but Akira, who was treating the man, seemed interested in the Yu○bo I had used.

"More importantly... Kenichi, you even have heavy machinery like that?"

"Yeah. I have even larger heavy machinery."

"Seriously, you really do have everything."

"But mine requires payment. The Prado costs five Kingdom gold coins, the Hiace costs ten, and large heavy machinery costs fifty."

"That's a fortune."

"And operating large heavy machinery consumes 400 liters of biodiesel fuel a day."

"Four hundred? That's insane. Can't your cheat ability or magic replenish the fuel?"

"If only it were that easy..."

In any case, the treatment was finished, and the man's condition was stable.

There was no room for the stretcher in the Prado, so I had the beastfolk carry it to the Hiace.

The princess and Anemone followed the stretcher.

"Myaree, let's lay him down in the aisle between the seats."

"Got it, nya." "Sure."

"Is he going to be all right?"

Primula anxiously peered at the injured man lying in the aisle, while Bell sniffed around him.

"Akira says he'll be fine. He's a veteran—no, an expert—who has treated a lot of injured people."

"He seems to have been through some truly terrible situations."

I thanked Anemone for helping with the treatment.

"Anemone, thanks."

"Leave it to me!"

While we were doing that, the Prado reached the back of the Hiace, and a radio transmission came in.

'Kenichi, is everything all right?'

"We're fine. We've laid the injured man in the aisle. Let's get going."

'Understood!'

The Hiace carrying the injured man and the Prado driven by Akira resumed driving along the winding mountain pass.

'Accidents must happen every day on a pass like this, right?'

Akira's voice came through the radio.

"Apparently so."

We had lost more time than expected, but there was nothing we could do about an accident.

Around two in the afternoon, we arrived at the post town at the summit of the pass.

"Phew... We finally made it."

When we got out of the car, the princess gave Mairen-san an order.

"Mairen, go and bring the mayor of the post town here."

"Understood."

After bowing, Mairen-san, still in her maid uniform, ran into the post town.

While she was gone, we carried the injured man out of the Hiace, and Akira and the others got out of the Prado.

Bell got out with me and began patrolling the area.

"Wow... That was one hell of a pass. Are we staying here tonight?"

"Yeah. We're later than planned, and it would be dark by the time we descended."

"I don't want to go down that pass in the dark."

"Exactly."

As I talked with Akira, the mayor came running over.

"Your Highness! Welcome!"

"Skip the greetings. Take in the injured man."

"I hear he fell off a cliff. He was very fortunate to survive."

"My holy knight descended to the bottom of the cliff and rescued him. Then that grand archmage treated him."

The princess introduced Akira.

"Thank you. To survive an accident in a place like this... Truly, he was granted a godsend in hell!"

"Yes!"

We had the beastfolk carry the injured man to the inn.

"We also recovered the undamaged luggage. I would appreciate it if you could take care of it."

When I took the luggage we had collected from the bottom of the ravine out of my Item Box, the mayor ordered the townspeople to carry it away.

"You've done so much for us... I am sure that man will be grateful as well."

"In that case, Mayor, we'll be camping outside the town. Could you let us use a place again?"

"Of course."

After obtaining the mayor's permission, I set up the house in an empty space.

"Princess Lilith and the women can sleep in the house. We'll sleep in the tent."

"I'm sleeping with Kenichi!" "Me too!"

"Then I'm sleeping with Akira!"

The beastfolk would sleep in the tent. There simply wasn't enough room for them in the house as well—the place was already packed tight.

Besides, they seemed uncomfortable sleeping in the same house as royalty.

"I'm sleeping with Kenichi too!"

Apparently Anemone would be sleeping with me as well.

"Primula, shall we start preparing dinner? It's a little early, but..."

"Yes."

I brought out the tables and cooking utensils and talked with Primula.

"Primula, keep Reiran-san and the others company. You might find something that could turn into a business opportunity."

"Understood. She is the Empire's grand archmage, after all."

Reiran-san seemed interested in starting a business too, but with a body like that, so many men would come flocking that it might be impossible to conduct business.

She didn't seem to like that sort of attention, either.

"Kenichi, what are we having for dinner? Or, if you just provide the ingredients, we have a pot and a magic stove, so we can cook it ourselves."

Akira seemed eager to know what was on today's menu.

"You're still our guests, so I'll prepare it for you."

"Curry!"

"Curry, nya!"

Anemone and Myaree raised their hands.

"Whenever I ask everyone what they want for dinner, it always ends up being curry."

"I don't mind curry, but..."

"No, why don't we try some lesser-dragon hormone-grilled offal?"

"What? Hormone-grilled offal? Is it good?"

Akira's eyes lit up.

"I don't know... The meat is delicious, so the organs should be delicious too. Didn't you eat the Red Dragon's meat after you defeated it?"

Akira's expression darkened, as though I had reminded him of something unpleasant.

"The Emperor confiscated it without giving me a choice—she was still the Crown Princess back then. From what I heard, the meat was delicious, but..."

"It's a shame that the person who defeated it couldn't eat it."

"Yeah. All I could do was cry."

"Come on, maybe we'll defeat another dragon someday and get to eat the meat."

"What? No way! I never want to go through anything like that again!"

I took the lesser dragon's intestines out of my Item Box and began preparing them.