A month passed in the blink of an eye, and finally, it was time to head toward the fortress city of Grozar. Wait, was it Cayyenne Fortress City instead?
By the way, the new lord, Count Panamera, couldn’t hold out for more than two weeks and set off for Cayyenne Fortress City ahead of us. I can only imagine how much reward she must have received. She hired fifty adventurers, so she probably made it there quickly and with ease. Considering the distance, it should’ve taken around two to three weeks.
By now, Panamera must’ve already arrived in her territory, discussing matters of management or perhaps suppressing any rebellious factions.
“Well, it looks like it’s time to leave. Building cities is fine, but another month or more of carriage travel is a bit much…”
I muttered to myself, pondering if I really needed to start developing an automobile. Upon hearing my words, Dee, who was checking the final preparations for the knight order accompanying us, turned toward me.
“Viscount Van! A month or two is nothing to worry about! In the future, we can enjoy expeditions and overnight camps with special training! We have about a month’s worth of time for that, after all!”
Dee said with a cheerful laugh, while behind him, Arv and Lou wore expressions that clearly indicated they weren’t as enthusiastic. It didn’t look like the kind of training that would be fun, if I were to guess.
“…S-Sure. So, are we all ready to go?”
I asked, and Dee quickly confirmed with the knights.
“Well, we have fifty elite knights and fifty new recruits. The machine archers—twenty of them—are ready as well. As for the adventurers, there are ten, including Ortho party, who are all quite skilled. There should be no problems there. Regarding supplies, as with Panamera’s journey, a combined caravan from the Bell-Rango Trading Company and the Mary Trading Company will be accompanying us. They’re fully prepared as well.”
Dee gave his report, and at that moment, Bell, who hadn’t been out of the village in a while, waved from the coachman’s seat.
“Viscount Van! Let’s hurry to Cayyenne Fortress City! A new trade route, I can’t wait!”
Bell looked happy, but I had to wonder if he realized just how much more work it would mean for the already understaffed Bell-Rango Trading Company. No, he was probably not thinking that far ahead. The proof of that was in how Rosalie, sitting in the carriage beside Bell, was glaring at him with an expression of disbelief.
“…Bell. I trust you’ve secured enough manpower and materials to regularly manage the caravan routes, right?”
“Huh? Oh, I was thinking of recruiting people soon… but I’ll be going myself for a while.”
“Really? You’re asking for a new trade route… while we’re still borrowing so many workers from the Mary Trading Company? I wonder if I taught you to run a business like that?”
Rosalie asked with a smile, and Bell stiffened up and wiped the cold sweat from her brow.
“Not at all! I’ve got vice store managers working under the store managers at each of the shops! We hire new people every month, so it should be fine soon…”
“Someone who’s only spent a year in the shop and someone with experience in peddling—there’s a huge difference in knowledge and ability… If you want to train a proper merchant, it takes three years in a store, three years of peddling, and two years as a store manager… I’m sure I told you that.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Rosalie’s tone wasn’t harsh, but with every word she spoke, Bell’s head dropped lower and lower. However, Rosalie eventually let out a short, amused laugh.
“…Well, it can’t be helped. The chairman of the Diane Trading Company did ask for all the help they could get, and I’ll give you advice this time. In a city like Cayyenne Fortress City, which has special circumstances, it’s overflowing with people who’ve lost their jobs. You’ll also find small trading companies whose connections with the Yellenetta Kingdom have been severed.”
Rosalie’s words hit Bell like a revelation, and his face brightened with a big smile.
“I see! If we absorb the merchants in Cayyenne Fortress City and make them a part of the Bell-Rango Trading Company… We could easily do business in Cayyenne, and we’d also be able to connect with the trade route to Murcia Fortress City! Oh, what a brilliant plan!”
Bell was excited, but Rosalie smiled wryly, as though she thought Bell still had a long way to go.
“Hahaha! The head of the now-successful Bell-Rango Trading Company still can’t hold a candle to Rosalie-sama!”
Dee laughed loudly, and Bell hunched her shoulders, feeling embarrassed. In place of Bell, I decided to express my gratitude to Rosalie.
“Thank you, Rosalie. I’ll ask Panamera to make it easier for the Mary Trading Company to do business in Cayyenne Fortress City. In return, could you help with setting up Bell-Rango Trading Company’s new stores?”
“Of course, since it’s your request, Viscount Van, I’ll give it my all. Though, it’ll be a bit strict.”
“Eek…”
Bell shrank back at Rosalie’s response, letting out a little scream. However, Rosalie’s tough love seemed to be a form of affectionate teaching, so I didn’t feel the need to stop it. In fact, I found it quite endearing. HAHAHA.
“Well then, shall we get going?”
While laughing at Bell’s situation, which was somewhat similar to mine, Murcia’s voice came from the window of the neighboring carriage. Murcia would be accompanying us part of the way before heading back to Murcia Fortress City. By the way, Espada’s disciples were also in the carriage with him.
“…Right. Let’s head out. Alright, everyone, let’s go! We’ve got to hurry before Panamera gets upset, so we’ll move out quickly!”
I called out to the group. At my command, Ortho and the others, who had been sitting lazily on the ground, stood up. Although they had been in the middle of a dungeon exploration, they had happily taken on the request.
“Going, huh?”
Ortho mumbled, and the rest of the party, including Pluriel and Kusara, poked their heads out of the carriage.
“Viscount Van, are we leaving now?”
“I suppose it’s my turn.”
We heard the chatter of the group as everyone gathered around. Smiling at the lively atmosphere, I nodded.
“Thanks, everyone!”
“Got it!”
Kusara, the guide and scout, led Ortho’s party’s carriage forward, with Dee and the others following. I, along with the machine archers, Bell-Rango Trading Company, and Mary Trading Company carriages, followed in line. Finally, Murcia’s party and the adventurer group took up the rear, and we all set off.
During our nightly camp, Dee’s survival training was introduced, but thanks to Till and Kamshin, we managed to get through it. For some reason, Arte also joined Till in learning cooking for the camp. Could it be that Arte was actually looking forward to the expedition? The Arte from before, who was an extreme indoor type, was nowhere to be seen.
With all that said, after some enjoyable camping, we arrived at Murcia Fortress City. It was our second time here, but thanks to the roads we laid, the journey was incredibly easy. With numerous rest stops along the way, we were able to set up simpler camps, which played a big role in how smooth the journey was.
“Well then, Van. Take care.”
“Alright, I’m off!”
I exchanged light farewells with Murcia and then headed toward Cayyenne Fortress City. Truth be told, I had hoped to rest a bit longer in Murcia, but I could already imagine Panamera fidgeting and waiting impatiently. She had done so much for us, so I couldn’t keep him waiting.
The road from Murcia Fortress City to Cayyenne Fortress City was peaceful and easy, almost comically so, especially compared to the journey through the Wolfsburg Mountains. The journey through the Ulfsburg Mountains was much more comfortable now, thanks to the roads, but still, we were attacked by magical beasts along the way. On the other hand, the road to Kaien Fortress City was flat and calm, with no magical beasts appearing at all.
Since we had just crossed from the Yellenetta Kingdom to the Scuderia Kingdom’s territory, there were hardly any people on the road. But there were also no magical beasts to worry about. If we arranged for knights to patrol the roads regularly, it would be even less likely for magical beasts to appear.
After securing the safety of trade routes, managing the immigrants would be the next task, I suppose. However, in the future, Cayyenne Fortress City would be the main hub for trade with the Yellenetta Kingdom. It would be best to ensure the infrastructure there was in good shape.
As I was thinking about these things, before I knew it, the silhouette of Cayyenne Fortress City appeared in the distance.
“Viscount Van! Cayyenne Fortress City is in sight!”
“Yay! It’s bigger than I thought!”
I called out and stuck my head out of the carriage window, feeling my excitement rise as I saw the distant city walls. It looked nearly twice as large as Murcia Fortress City, which was originally built as a fortress. The height of the walls wasn’t that remarkable, but the long, continuous walls stretched wide.
“Now, how will we transform it?”
I muttered to myself as I gazed at the city walls of Cayyenne Fortress City.
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