"Hey, are you bringing along Gwine again? What about me~?"

Just as expected Ralpha started throwing a tantrum.

"Hey Ralpha. Things are difficult without you around. You understand right?"

Bel tried to pacify her but it wasn't very effective.

"Ralpha, did you forget our disgrace when we were fighting against the dragon? I can't say anything about anyone else but we were a disgrace because our skill levels were too low right...You should enter the dungeon together with me everyday."

Zenom let out a roar saying that and Ralpha made an expression as if she realized and backed off.
It's recognized as the cause for Angela's death.
Everyone's expressions stiffened up as they lowered their heads after hearing Zenom's words.
However, I can see several people with something like a strong resolve in their eyes as well.

"..Toris. Don't get impatient and overdo things. There's no such thing as an absolutely safe place inside of the dungeon but even then..make sure you do your best to keep things safe."

I put emphasis on it several times to Toris who was making a face as if he was brooding over it.
Honestly speaking, in regards to the {Saviors} who are mostly all over level 20 I really don't think there's a need for them to earn anymore experience than this in a hurry.

Rather I almost wish they'd just stop entering the dungeon and focus on nothing but training.
Though I won't say anything like that because it concerns our income.

Generally speaking the people whose levels are in the double digits are generally famous for being skilled and in over 30 years old. Let alone us who are barely 20 years old and our levels are 20 I've never seen anyone else like that.

Even among the knights who went to war and made great achievements there's no one this high of a level.

Baron Logan who was acting as the leader of the first knight group was only level 17. According to what I've heard when he was still young and had just received invest.i.ture as a true knight he was a member of Duke Zamu's knight group but back then around 30% of Duke Zamu's knight group were stationed in the Dirt Plains. Supposedly since he was a member of those stationed troops he partic.i.p.ated in combat and made quite a few achievements there. Well, almost all of the people who enter the first knight group are like that so you could say just that place is the exception among exceptions.

On the contrary you could say that even though we're all around our 20s we've earned more experience points than those sorts of people.
In the first place, it's already about time for us to say farewell to the dungeon of Baldukk.

Eh? It's hard to understand? Then I'll get a bit off topic but is that fine?
..For example, in order to reach level 20 you need to earn over 1,000,000 experience points.

In order to earn just that many experience points then you would need to kill over 3,000 enemy soldiers in their late teens who are between level 5~6.
Of course this is just in the case if your opponent is a Hyumu who hasn't gained very much experience, if it's someone who has the special skills of magic, from non-hyumu races, or someone who has a lot of experience and is a high level then the number would decrease even more from 3,000.

If I were to bring up one example then if the ones you were killing are the same cla.s.s of adventurer as the one I first killed back in Bakuddo then it would only take several hundred people to earn the same amount of experience.
Obviously if the opponents level is even higher or they have special skills like magic or you focus on non-hyumu races then that number will be even lower but I don't think things will be all that convenient.
Though it would be a different matter if high level creatures with a bunch of special skills like that dragon are all over the place.

Although, it's possible to earn experience points from other methods than just training so this is limited to a.s.suming you're earning experience points solely from killing people.
Even then it's not limited to people but killing living creatures with mana MP is the most efficient method though.

..Just as you can understand from this, level 20 is something like a super human.
It's not something you can reach that easily.

Though if you have as much MP as sister then you could probably manage it if you wanted to do it.
Even then it's still probably impossible in just one or two battles.
It would probably need a much larger scale war.
No matter how much MP she has sister only has level 6 magic skills so they're still pretty inefficient.

As the magic special skill levels go up the efficiency in earning experience points towards it goes down.
That's one of the things that differs from earning experience points towards raising the body level.

For example, if there was an orc that earns 100 points of experience towards the skill when using attack spells to kill things other than the normal experience points.

If the level of the elemental magic skill that is being used is 0 then when the attack spell deals damage it'll earn 100 points of experience towards the skill but as the level increases if they use the same method against the same opponent and deal the same damage then the amount of experience points they earn towards the skill will go down.
At level 8 one step away from the final level you'll only be getting 20% of the experience points you gained when you did it at level 0.

Ah, just in case I'll mention this as well but in order to use attack spells level 1 void magic is necessary. But in that case you can't deal much damage at all so it's normal to think you need over level 3 void magic. This is close to a fact unless they have excessive amounts of MP like sister and I so I don't want you to forget that it's still technically, "theoretically".

Putting that aside and it's about time to return to the matter at hand.

The ones going to Lail Kingdom are Miduchi, Gwine, and I.
I thought about bringing along some combat slaves as well but we didn't have enough horses so I gave up on it.
This time we'll be traveling in a hurry so I didn't feel the need to increase the number of riders like when we went back to my home village.

Incidentally all of the members of the {Slaughterers} have ordered their own horses.
Horses are one of the top things to purchase that even if you have the money to buy them if the timing doesn't match up it takes time to get them.
After all there's not a large number of them.

Since she was originally part of a merchant household and they owned horses in the past Gwine was quick to get her own.
Above all else it's necessary to remember the geography so she can't afford to go without it right.

"That's right, just like that..here."

I was helping her attach the {Breeze.Horseshoes} to the legs of her horse.
One of the goals of the journey this time is confirming the abilities of these {Breeze.Horseshoes}.
Whether they can really walk over rivers and swamps, if they can really run for half a day without fatigue, I wanted to check things like that.
Normally it's a trip that takes over a month and a half to do a round trip but if the abilities of the {Breeze.Horseshoes} are just as they say we should be able to reduce the amount of time it takes to return by quite a bit.

It's a necessary journey to understand exactly how much time they can reduce it to and actually get a feel for it.

"Then we're heading off. I think we'll return by the end of the month. I'm leaving things in your care."

After saying short farewells to Zenom, Toris, Bel, Ralpha, Basutoral, and Cathy who came to see us off we left the town of Baldukk with a load full of baldoggies.

Ah, and about Mira-s.h.i.+sho and the others.
In the end they said they couldn't abandon the comforts of the fairy village.
If you've lived there for hundreds of years and haven't felt it was very inconvenient then I'm sure you wouldn't feel like moving right...
It seems like one of the reasons is also because it's a place the demi-G.o.d Lilus prepared for them as well.

But well prior to that, if someone like me who doesn't even have much of a relations.h.i.+p with them asks there's no way I'd receive a good reply immediately right.
Well, it wasn't a matter that I had very high hopes for in the first place so it can't be helped.
Of course, while I'm saying that I still haven't completely given up.

........................................................

Year 7448, Month 1, Day 8

No~ this is crazy~ these {Breeze.Horseshoes}.
The horses were really able to run for a half day with a full load without any rest and no fatigue.
Even the rivers they were able to pa.s.s over them without a problem as long as the current wasn't fast or too many waves on the surface.
They even smoothly pa.s.sed through a swamp area off the side from the road
The horses weren't getting tired so if we wanted we wouldn't even have to take any breaks.

Thanks to that we were able to arrive at Lail Kingdom in just a single week, seven days after leaving Baldukk.
That's on top of wasting time here and there testing out various things and intentionally taking the round about path so we could avoid other people from seeing it, so if we were to have focused on just speed I think it would have been even faster.
After all according to Gwine on average we were traveling over 100 km a day.
During the longer days we even went close to 150 km.
On our way back I planned to take a different road so it'll probably take a similar number of days though.

Incidentally, if the rider were to skip over taking breaks for drinking water while keeping the horse running then it should be possible to move close to 200 km in a day.
With a trot of about 15 km/hour it's possible to move for 12 hours after all.
If it's during one the seasons with longer days and you don't mind letting the horse get a bit exhausted then you could probably go another couple hours.
Of course it's fine to go even faster as a speed close to the limit but if we were to try and ride for a long period at that speed our bodies wouldn't be able to endure it.
Even riding for half a day at a speed of 15 km/hour is exhausting.

If it were an emergency messenger riding forward without thinking about the consequences then it's not even a dream to go 400 km in a day.
If a single person rides with the bare minimum of baggage at the maximum sprinting speed then it can manage around 40 km/hour after all.
At speeds like that even excellent horses will only last a few minutes but if you use these {Breeze.Horseshoes} it's almost like you're riding on a race horse the entire time.

According to Gwine the distance from Baldukk to the entrance of Lail Kingdom's capital Erurehei is just over 600 km in a straight line.
Previously Miduchi said it was about 1,000 km but that's after stopping at towns and villages here and there along the way so her sense of distance must have been thrown off.

In any case I was very satisfied with the performance that went beyond my expectations.
It was just when we were having lunch in a village at the base of Mount Kinru~ when Miduchi proposed, "Let's switch the horseshoes with normal ones".
The reason was because it's unnatural for horses to not be tired at all after climbing up the mountain road.

That was certainly true so we decided to take off the {Breeze.Horseshoes} and switch them with normal horseshoes.
Since we weren't very used to re-attaching horseshoes it seemed like we were going to struggle quite a bit with it.
However, just as expected from Miduchi for suggesting it she was pretty used to readjusting horseshoes so it only took us about 1 hour to readjust them for all three horses.

And then about 2 hours after we started climbing the mountain roads.
The sun was still plenty high in the sky.

"Shall we raise the pace a bit more?"

Miduchi called out to us.
It seems there's still a ways to go.

Following Miduchi's suggestion we raised the pace by a bit.
And then an order echoed through my brain from {Party-ization}.

""Get up""

..Ah, a lookout is it.
We already discussed and decided this code on the way here.

"At earliest when were about halfway between the base of Mount Kinru~ and the entrance I think a lookout will start watching us. If you notice it then don't mind it. If possible it's best to act like you didn't notice them so the lookout doesn't get tense."

However, is there really a lookout?
I can't tell at all.
But, since Miduchi says there is one then I'm sure there is.
Hey, Gwine, stop looking around so much.

About 2 hours after that.
We finally arrived at the entrance when it was close to the evening.
Since we switched out the horseshoes for normal ones as expected the horses have started to get tired.

"I'll go a talk with them so wait a moment."

Miduchi got off her horse and walked while holding the reins as she went towards a male dark elf guard.
Gwine and I got off our horses and watched from behind.

Miduchi talked to the guard-like man about something for a bit then came back over to us.

"After all we can't just go in as we please. Sorry. Wait for a while longer."

It's something we originally heard about so we just nodded and waited.
The entrance to Erurehei is a building like a small fortress.
Gwine and I were on the outside of it's fence brus.h.i.+ng our horses.

"I wonder what it's like inside of the underground city?"

Don't ask me...
Even I've never seen it before either.

"I've only heard stories about it after all. I don't really know. It's supposedly dark inside but still better than the dungeon."

"That's exactly what Miduchi-san this morning."

It can't be helped right...

We continued talking about pointless things for another several tens of minutes.
Finally Miduchi came back and just as expected we aren't able to go inside.
However, we got permission to stay in a room inside of this fortress.
It seems merchants that occasionally come along stay in them as well so I've heard that there's several guest rooms.
After Miduchi told the leader of the guards that she got permission he glanced at me for a moment and then returned to the underground city.

I felt like it would give a bad impression to just lock ourselves up in our rooms so Gwine and I decided to spend the time watching the setting sun.
On a mountain about 1,000 meters high in the middle of winter.
We watched the bright red sun while trembling from the cold near the gate of the fortress and drank hot soup.
The sun set in no time at all and then we ran out of things to do.

It couldn't be helped so we went back into the fort.
Gwine and I are in different rooms so we can't talk.
We were told not to pa.s.s by the decided areas inside of the fort so it felt a bit off to chat in the halls or dining room.
Of course, I wanted to hold back on going to each others rooms to talk until after I talk to the head warrior or an elder.

Just like that 2 hours pa.s.sed and Miduchi finally came back.
She brought along her older brother.

I've covered things up by giving proper reasons for the journey up until now but honestly speaking the number one goal this time was to greet her older brother.

Her older brother was just as I heard, he has a considerably weak const.i.tution and his body is weak as well.
Though I was a bit surprised when I was introduced to Miduchi's uncle, aunt, and cousin as they carried her older brother in on something like a stretcher.
I had heard about it but for him to be in this bad of a shape...
Supposedly he hasn't even been able to walk on his own over the past year or so.

Since I was sure Miduchi would ask about it later I checked using {Identify} and it was {Condition: Full Body Autoimmune Disease}, that sort of really troublesome sounding name.
Rheumatism is a difficult disease that costs a lot of money for treatment even in j.a.pan...

However, he's clearly conscious and he can talk with a quiet tone of voice.

I politely greeted her older brother after he seemed to painfully apologize for greeting me while laying down.
I told Miduchi not to give him the medicine until I finish greeting and talking to him.
Of course, it's different if he was in a condition where there's no time to waste but it seems there was no need to worry.

"I apologize for calling you at so late in the evening. But I'm happy to be able to meet you."

"Don't worry about it, Greed-san. Since it seems Midu~~ritto is in your care everyday I'm grateful to you."

It was frail but even then he spoke in a firm voice.
There's a lot of common points between the Dyurou language Dyurorisshu and the Ragudariosu language {Common.Language} so I can understand what he's saying.
Though when I asked about it afterwards it wasn't the Dyurou language Dyurourisshu but just the way they speak the {Common.Language} in Lail Kingdom.

Now then..
Ah..I'm getting nervous.

"I'm sure it will affect your body so I'll get right to the point in saying it. Chizumagurol-san please give your little sister, Midu~ritto-san to me. I'll definitely make her happy. The reason I came today was to ask for permission from Chizumagurol-san."

It seemed that her older brother couldn't grasp the meaning for a moment but soon after made a surprised face.
I guess it was unexpected.

"Miduchi"!’%$#’)"?

It seems he started saying something to Miduchi.
Miduchi started replying something with a serious face.
Her uncle and aunt who were standing to the side partic.i.p.ated as well.

..In my previous life, when I first went to greet Miki's parents I felt like this.
Even on the second time I can't get used to it.

If I were to speak honestly I don't really want to go the trouble of doing greetings as stressful as this.
Of course even on Orth it's considered important to obtain permission from your partners family to get married.
Particularly when it involves the successor of n.o.bles.
Even in the case of commoners and Free People living in the same town or village it's the same.

However, there's countless people who can't do it even if they wanted to.
When it comes to purchased slaves let alone when getting married it's common to not even know where they are after all.
After the next child after the second leaves a n.o.ble or commoners household then they usually cut off contact there as well.
Until they die, no, even after they die it's not uncommon for them to next meet again.

Even if you know their location it's common to be unable to go and greet them because of the physical distance away and more-so Miduchi is a member of the dangerous warrior cla.s.s.
It's not a joke but completely serious to think that this might be the last time they meet in this lifetime when leaving Erurehei.

That's why Miduchi said there wouldn't be a problem even reporting about it to him afterwards.
Particularly when it happens between two adults it's not uncommon to report it to their families long after they're married.

But, I think it's something that's necessary.
It couldn't be helped if it was absolutely impossible but even if we didn't have the {Breeze.Horseshoes} it wasn't impossible to come and greet them.
In that case I just need to do what I wanted to do.
Also, it's only human to want to get to know the family of your partner right.
I think this is something in common whether it's Orth or Earth.

And, they've sure been talking for quite a while...
Could it be, they're against it?

"Greed-san. Please take good care of my little sister."

...
A.

"Thank you very much! Brother-in-law-san!"

I only heard about it afterwards but it seems they were against it at first.
It seems since Miduchi's reputation in Erurehei went up quite a bit there were quite a bit marriage proposals for her.
Entrusted with a mission from her majesty the Queen and her position is equal to an elder. And then since almost all of her need to worry about money has disappeared she was proposed to by a man from a considerably good family.
Rather than some random foreigner from who knows where even more-so of a different race it's obvious that as her older brother he felt marrying someone of the same race would be better.
I can understand why he would be against it.

But, in the end I was able to receive permission so I guess we could say the outcome was alright.

..............................................

Year 7448, Month 1, Day 11

In the end we weren't able to get permission to enter Erurehei but I was able to talk with Fantodu and Zagurocchi, two of the elders. Also, I had the chance to talk with the head warrior Zagerforu again.

I think it was thanks to Tukerin making good reports about me that I was safely able to discuss what I wanted to and proceed with negotiations.
Of course, there's also the supply of baldoggie through Tukerin and the investigation into the Dirt Plains which were all a plus for Lail Kingdom, so I think that helped as well.

Also, they were very pleased with the gift of baldoggies that we brought along.
Since we brought along an a.s.sortment of various flavors rather than the plain ones they always eat they were especially surprised and welcomed us.
Miduchi's cousins were also full of smiles as they came to thank me for the baldoggie.

Furthermore, it's of note that the medicine for brother-in-law was completed and he started taking it so there's no more need to worry about pa.s.sing away early.

Being seen off by the several dozen people that are related to Miduchi we departed Erurehei early this morning.

....................................

"How nice~ Miduchi-san... My father and mother aren't around anymore after all.."

On our trip back Gwine said.

"It was my ideal for my father to reject the person I wanted to marry once. Even then they would continue to beg and finally get permission. Doesn't something like that sound so dreamy.."

And started saying something like that.
Something like that, isn't it a nightmare from the guys point of view.