Ch.170Chapter 170 – The Inn is Always Chaotic

The journey to the capital of the Liu Empire by carriage was… much more comfortable than I had expected.

‘It feels like we’re traveling on a well-paved concrete road, even if it’s not asphalt.’

In the Gelebrio Empire, I relied more on magical transportation methods like teleport stations rather than carriages.

So I was actually quite worried when I heard we’d be traveling by carriage.

The empire maintained its vast territory and had an excellent road network connecting major cities to facilitate the smooth transportation of taxes from each region.

Moreover, these weren’t common unpaved roads but properly paved ones with flat stones carefully shaped to be level with the ground.

This made carriages on main roads truly comfortable means of transportation, but venturing even slightly off these main roads onto unpaved paths only provided terrible memories.

Others might be accustomed to unpaved roads, but I come from a world with well-laid asphalt roads.

Naturally, my backside is optimized for paved roads, not unpaved ones!

‘But the Liu Empire’s roads are just as well-constructed as the Gelebrio Empire’s.’

I had wondered about the quality of the road network since the Liu Empire’s setting was a mishmash of various historical periods, but experiencing it firsthand in the carriage was surprising.

If the Gelebrio Empire’s roads were like concrete, the Liu Empire’s were like asphalt.

Though I was clearly riding in a carriage, the vibrations transmitted to my backside were incredibly smooth, as if I were in a luxury sedan.

“……”

“……”

Yet this awkwardness between us refused to dissipate.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have offered to fix Baek Yuwol’s hand.

She seemed to want her hand fixed, but was I too hasty?

‘Damn, this could disrupt my plan to gain Yuwol’s favor and make her an ally.’

So far, only Sister Regina and Eterna had definitively joined as allies.

Aisen… was still far from joining, and Mina and Elena had a long way to go before becoming combat-ready members.

Moreover, among the numerous heroines, I’d only met four so far: Mina from Glesius Academy, Shreka from Alpenrium, Baek Yuwol from the Liu Empire, and Eterna from the Sun Order.

Just four people.

Considering that the number of heroines in this game exceeds the hundreds, the heroines I’ve met so far don’t even amount to 5% of the total.

Almost all the heroines in Erasto Chronicle were ability users.

Among them, some had exceptional abilities like Eterna, while others like Mina possessed remarkable skills despite not being ability users.

Anyway, my point is that I need to meet more heroines and make them allies.

That’s why I willingly chose to go to the Liu Empire.

I’ll eventually meet the heroines of the Western Continent as I become more famous.

However, the chances of meeting Eastern Continent heroines are extremely slim unless I travel there myself.

Therefore, during my stay in the Eastern Continent, I needed to meet as many heroines as possible, build relationships with them, and make them allies who could provide significant help in the future battle against the Demon Cult.

That’s not to say I’m only trying to make heroines my allies…

I also plan to recruit people who aren’t heroines in Erasto Chronicle but possess sufficient strength and skill, like the dependable Sister Regina.

Especially since men might be easier to persuade than female heroines.

You know, there’s a certain understanding between men.

Sometimes, men communicate not through explanations but through gestures and eye contact.

‘The problem is that I haven’t met such people yet.’

Well, I suppose time will solve this issue too?

Anyway, with the uncertainty of when the Demon Cult might resume its activities, all I can do is gather as many allies as possible.

And develop my abilities along the way.

“I see an inn ahead. We’ll take a short break.”

The carriage stopped as the driver announced the presence of an inn.

For safety, Baek Yuwol exited the carriage first, followed by me.

The inn was quite large.

It had the atmosphere of a mountain lodge you might find in a valley, with a sizeable wooden building.

“We’ll have a simple meal here, then buy packed lunches to continue our journey. I’ll do my utmost to ensure your journey to the capital is comfortable.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I expressed my gratitude to Administrative Officer Kang, who had been riding in another carriage.

I was actually glad to stop at the inn as I was starting to get hungry.

After finding our seats in the inn, food began to arrive promptly.

“Here you go! Our inn’s specialties: noodles and dongpo pork! We also have stir-fried peppers and flower buns if you’d like to order more!”

I never expected to encounter the staples of wuxia novels—noodles and dongpo pork—along with the unexpected stir-fried peppers and flower buns.

While I wasn’t familiar with the former as I rarely had the chance to eat them, I at least knew what the latter were.

They were side dishes that occasionally appeared during my school lunch days.

“…You eat quite well. I heard people from the Western Continent struggle with our food.”

Seeing me devour the food, Baek Yuwol showed a curious reaction.

“I may have come from the Western Continent, but my bloodline is from the Eastern Continent, isn’t it?”

“Many who go to the Western Continent can’t stomach our food after just a year away.”

“Hmm.”

Is that so? I wouldn’t know. I’ve always eaten Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian food without discrimination.

Charitably put, I’m not a picky eater; less charitably, I have the palate of a mutt.

“Hmm?”

“Is something happening?”

As we were eating enthusiastically, a commotion broke out at the inn’s entrance.

I turned my head mid-bite to see what was causing the disturbance…

—CRASH!

“Oh my!”

Suddenly, someone came flying in and knocked over the table with our food.

Worse yet, the food on the table was the stir-fried peppers we had ordered again.

“……”

Even dogs don’t disturb people during meals, yet someone dared to interrupt my dining time.

I turned my head to see who had disrupted my meal.

“Huh? What’s this? Watch where you’re looking, punk! Do you know who we are?”

When I turned, I saw large, rough-looking men—bandits, by the look of them—threatening people.

Looking around, I noticed Golden Lion Brigade members disguised as civilians, ready to draw their weapons if the situation deteriorated.

“Lady Baek Yuwol.”

“Yes?”

“Who are these men?”

“Common forest brigands. In other words, bandits.”

Bandits, huh. I thought they looked like bandits from the start.

“Are they strong?”

“Some have learned martial arts poorly… but I could easily sweep them away by myself.”

I was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of bandits, but if Baek Yuwol could subdue them alone, they couldn’t be that strong.

“May I handle this?”

“Hmm.”

When Baek Yuwol asked if she could deal with them, a thought occurred to me.

“What’s the usual punishment for captured bandits?”

“In minor cases, they’re sentenced to labor, but most bandits don’t hesitate to kill, so they’re typically executed.”

Oh, they were worse than I thought.

I had actually wanted to rehabilitate them to benefit society, but at this level, it seemed better to eliminate them.

“Looking at them, they seem to be making a living by plundering people in this area. We should have cleared them out earlier, but this works out well.”

With that, Baek Yuwol stood up.

In her hand was a broken chair leg.

Grabbing the chair leg that had broken to a size convenient for wielding, Baek Yuwol appeared before the bandits in the blink of an eye…

“Huh? You… could it be!”

“You’ve caused trouble while I’m escorting an important guest of the imperial family. You know the price for that without me having to say it.”

As Baek Yuwol’s hand moved, the bandits received dozens of blows in just one second, spewing blood as they collapsed to the floor.

So this is the power of a fifteenth-rank master.

Witnessing a scene straight out of a wuxia novel, I couldn’t help but applaud.

“……”

Hearing my applause, Baek Yuwol’s face turned curiously red.

She seemed to get embarrassed when praised by others.

With the innkeeper’s apology, fresh food was served, and only after filling our stomachs could we resume our journey.

After traveling on the main road for about a week, we finally arrived at the Liu Empire’s capital.

The Yellow Dragon Fortress.