Ch.173The Road to Amarantin (1)

After completing our regrettable yet fantastic pilgrimage through Maximus Gorge, we now had to leave the Miriam continent for the Meridia continent. But before that, we agreed to recruit the dwarf brothers.

“According to the information Felicia gave us, the dwarves are in Amaranthine,” I said.

“Amaranthine? Isn’t that the city famous for swords?” Simon asked.

“That’s right. One of the sword-wearing customs originated there.”

The Amaranthine style refers to wearing a longsword on the left hip and a medium sword or dagger behind the waist with the handle facing left.

Who would have thought I’d be able to use information I learned from Parcival’s forge employee? People should always keep learning.

“But it’s strange. Why would dwarves who love flames and explosions be in Amaranthine…?” Simon tilted his head, wondering why the dwarves had headed to Amaranthine.

“They probably got imprisoned for trying to spread flames and explosions in the city of swords. You’re a swordsman, so you should know—sword users might tolerate insults to themselves, but never to their swords.”

“Ah… now I understand…”

There were quite a few people like that—those who couldn’t leave others with different ideas alone and tried to indoctrinate them with their own ideology.

And such people usually didn’t meet good ends.

I know this well because I’ve made it happen.

Every weapon has its strengths and weaknesses.

A skilled practitioner with a sword might cut through or deflect bullets and arrows, but that’s because the user is strong, not because the weapon itself is superior.

In some ways, the sword could be considered the weakest among weapons.

It loses in cutting power to the axe, in length to the spear, in convenience to hands and feet, in durability to blunt weapons, in training convenience to guns, and in lethality to magic or bombs.

Yet it’s the weapon chosen by most people simply for aesthetic reasons—it’s beautiful. You could say it’s a weapon that compensates for its lacking specs with superior appearance.

“Well… they’re said to be imprisoned now, so let’s go see. Artillery specialists who entered a city of swordsmen probably won’t have a good time even after they’re released from prison.”

“Damn it. Why the hell did they go to Amaranthine? Were they kidnapped or something?”

Honestly, I don’t know either!

Why would they deliberately go to a place known as the city of swords? And what did they do there to end up in prison? We’ll have to go see for ourselves.

“Sigh… there’s no point in us speculating. Let’s all stop by the market and purchase supplies.”

I distributed money pouches to everyone and dismissed them.

If we were a mercenary group or army, there would be someone responsible for supplies, but we’re adventurers. Everyone needs to take care of their own food.

“You elves—if you only buy alcohol and mooch off Simon again, expect your heads to get cracked open.”

“Ugh! We get it!”

*

“Here it is, my lord.”

“Well done. Take this. A reward for your obedience.”

“Hehe…! I’m honored!”

I paid a passing commoner to buy what I needed.

The power and authority to command others at will… this was everything I had desired.

Swoosh…

Like water being sucked down a drain, numerous meats, vegetables, grains, tea leaves, and bottles of alcohol slid into my spatial storage.

I sometimes wonder what it would feel like to enter this spatial storage.

Would it feel like floating in water? Or like being vacuum-sealed?

Since living things can’t enter spatial storage, it was just idle speculation, but imagination is always enjoyable.

As I was thinking about this, I saw the other party members slowly approaching from a distance.

“Did you get everything?”

“Yes, I did. But party leader, I found something interesting…”

“Hmm?”

When I showed interest, Simon stroked his beard and handed me a torn letter.

The letter was not only torn but also singed, as if someone had tried to burn it after tearing it up, leaving only fragments.

And on the remaining piece of the letter, it read:

-Airship crashed at Besvelt Coast. Confirmed to be a high-grade model capable of intercontinental flight.

-Not too large, so salvage and repairs possible with minimal manpower.

-Will send the dwarf brothers to Besvelt Coast. Only takes 2 weeks if they go via Amaranthine.

“…”

Dwarf brothers… via Amaranthine…

“Could this be…?”

“I told you it was ‘interesting.’ Found it on a corpse at the outskirts. It was burning, so I quickly salvaged it.”

“We can’t be sure these are the dwarf brothers we’re looking for… Dwarves aren’t exactly a minority, and they typically move around in family groups.”

“But the circumstantial evidence is sufficient, isn’t it? Besides, if we could get our hands on an airship, our mobility and safety would greatly improve. With the dwarves, maintenance wouldn’t be an issue either.”

“…But an airship is fundamentally a large object. Even a small one can easily accommodate 100 people. There’s no way we could operate such a thing efficiently.”

“We can always increase our numbers. They don’t have to be adventurers. We can hire people who can operate the airship or servants to handle the menial tasks.”

“Hmm…”

It’s not an unreasonable idea.

Moreover, an airship is basically a giant flying vessel that floats in the sky. Naturally, it’s much faster than a carriage and can easily transport hundreds to thousands of tons of goods, making it a good choice as a means of making money.

“Besides… you said you wanted to become a ruler, right?”

“I did… but why bring that up?”

“Think about it. The people aboard an airship amount to just a few hundred. But a ruler must govern at least tens of thousands to hundreds of millions, or even billions of people. The know-how gained from operating an airship would be immensely helpful in managing a territory or country.”

“Urgh…”

“Oh, I see you’re coming around.”

With such persuasive arguments… I couldn’t find any more grounds for objection.

What could an orphaned knight say against a sage who only spoke reasonable truths?

Besides, someone who aims to be a ruler but can’t control a single airship would only invite ridicule.

“…Alright. Let’s find those dwarf brothers in Amaranthine. We should move quickly. There are others who might be after them.”

“No need to waste breath. Let’s depart now.”

And so, we reached a dramatic agreement.

Of course, all of this was predicated on the airship still being there. If another faction claimed it before us, it would all be for nothing. But considering that the person who had this information died in flames, I had a feeling the airship might still be there.

Perhaps it was time for me to move beyond a small elite group and command more people.

“Let’s go! We’re heading to Amaranthine!”

And to claim that airship, we first needed to get our hands on the dwarves.

So now we’re heading to Amaranthine.

To rescue the brothers of flame and explosion from the spiritual home of swordsmen.

“If those dwarves are also alcoholics, I’ll redirect the alcohol money from you elves to them, just so you know.”

“Why?!”

“Ask your liver and pancreas.”

The screams of Lucia and Casia were carried away by the wind as Bruiser snorted and charged forward.

If we get an airship only to find the cargo hold filled with boxes of alcohol, I might explode and make Molotov cocktails to burn the airship down.

If all the alcohol those women have consumed had gone to their chests, they’d probably be large enough to cover an entire continent by now.

And if they were to burn, they’d surely blaze brighter than the sun.

“Don’t be too hard on the elves. The effects of alcohol on the brain are stark. One cannot place the intellectually disabled on the same level as the non-disabled.”

“Hey! Old man! Are you saying I’m disabled?!”

“Keep drinking like that, and sooner or later your brain will be damaged. You’re already practically disabled. Soon you’ll start showing symptoms of delirium and lose your ability to walk upright…”

“Hey!!!!”

“What’s that? I can’t hear you well over the smell of alcohol…”

“Grrrr…!”

“Bear with it, sister. You’ll lose your head again if you don’t.”

“Seriously! I’m holding back because my head is precious! Got it?!”

Hearing the bickering behind us, Raisha giggled.

Even if my hand were to crack Lucia’s head open again, I wouldn’t need to wash it.

With that alcohol concentration, no bacteria could possibly survive!