A Fine Day for a Detour

The journey that was supposed to take us straight to the Kingdom of Rus keeps getting sidetracked, one way or another.

There's no need to hurry to get there, which is a major advantage. Wandmaker 0933's one-of-a-kind, unprecedented dexterity is necessary to resolve the strange events occurring in the Kingdom of Rus, but the situation isn't so urgent that it needs to be dealt with today or tomorrow.

According to the contract the queen of the Kingdom of Rus made with Hiyori, all we have to do is arrive within the next year and a half and get to work.

We have plenty of time for detours.

This route change comes from that very surplus of time.

Tsubaki took a liking to the oil called "Chitaghee" that the auntie at the wand shop gave her, and announced that she wanted to determine whether the place where Chitaghee was produced was suitable for her territory.

We turned south from our route straight west along the great river and headed for Imphal, a regional city in eastern India.

Imphal was the former capital of a country annexed by India several decades ago, and one of India's tiger-monster-producing regions.

Chitaghee is clarified oil made by removing even more moisture and protein from butter made from milk extracted from female tiger monsters called Dung.

Its distinctive toasty aroma, high nutritional value, resistance to deterioration when used for frying, and long shelf life make it highly prized in India. It is fairly expensive, too...