Ch.209The adventure continues until you return home.

I returned to the campsite ahead of the others to purify the black mana and formally announced to Jessica, Seti, and Phyllis that Mina and I had officially started dating.

To summarize their reactions: “We knew this would happen eventually, so what took you so long?”

Everyone had already noticed the romantic feelings budding between Mina and me, and it had become all but public knowledge after the Spiritus incident. Decisively, they apparently noticed Mina had made some kind of resolution when I deliberately sent Jessica back first during this mining expedition to secure time alone with Mina.

The night passed with a barrage of mischievous questions like “How far did you go?” and “What did you say when you confessed?” Then, at 5 PM on the 27th, the next day.

Finally, a large steel ant spewing steam arrived at the campsite pulling a massive cargo wagon. Its six wheeled legs skillfully adapted to the terrain’s varying heights while keeping the body moving horizontally—much more stable than the smaller prototype we had made. Test runs with both the covered wagon and large cargo vehicle connected proved it could perform to specifications without any issues. This was despite the cargo vehicle containing not only the leftover ingots but also the disassembled Ancestor.

On our last night at the campsite before returning, we enjoyed a festive atmosphere with pizza, pasta, and orange juice. The excited Jessica, Seti, and Phyllis kept chanting “Kiss! Kiss!” to Mina and me, and Mina, with a bright red face, rushed over to me for a deep, passionate kiss with intertwined tongues. However, following Mina’s wish to wait until she was mentally more prepared for intimacy, we didn’t progress any further and went to bed quietly.

And then came a new morning, May 28th, the Day of Wind.

“Did you pack everything? Nothing left behind?”

“Yes, Jessica and I double-checked. Everything’s loaded in the carriage and cargo vehicle.”

“Great, then Mina, please take care of the engine compartment.”

“Leave it to me!”

Mina positioned herself at the rear of the ant-shaped steam vehicle, Jessica and I sat at the driver’s seat, and Phyllis and Seti were in the carriage’s cargo area. After confirming everyone was in their assigned positions, I signaled to Mina, who then turned the valve handle attached to the brass pipe.

“Chiiiiiiik~!!”

“Six-legged Steam Locomotive Ant Walker, departing~!”

“Departing~~~!!”

“Whiiing~ Click, Whiiiiing~”

White steam gushed from the brass exhaust pipe extending from the top of the vehicle, and as the steel wheels installed on the six legs began to rotate slowly, our entire three-carriage train started to move gradually.

The return to Moon Lake.

The glorious journey had finally begun.

“Chick-chick-chick-chick…”

“Whiing~ Click, Whiing~~~”

“Clatter-clatter…”

“…I guess there’s no helping the noise.”

“I reduced it as much as possible, but this is the limit.”

“It’s fine. As long as we can safely return to Moon Lake, we can tolerate a bit of noise.”

Once the “Ant Walker” gained momentum, it began to gradually increase speed while freely emitting the characteristic exhaust sounds of a steam engine and the operational noise of its mechanical devices.

The maximum speed of the Ant Walker while pulling the covered wagon and cargo vehicle was about 30 km/h. However, it could only reach that full speed on flat terrain after leaving the forest. Once we hit bumpy off-road conditions, maintaining even 20 km/h would become difficult. No matter how excellent the Ant Walker’s stability was, the suspension of the covered wagon and cargo vehicle had its limits, and if the body bounced or received a major impact, it could require significant time for maintenance and repairs.

After traveling for two hours, we would stop once to inspect the Ant Walker and replenish its water, then travel for another two hours, repeating this cycle three times. The day’s march would end when we reached six hours of pure travel time.

Some might think we’re being too cautious with this rare steam locomotive, but if you calculate an hour each for intermediate inspections and lunch, it adds up to a 9-hour journey. Even if we departed at 8 AM, the march would end at 5 PM, and continuing beyond that would mean considering a night march.

No matter how good Phyllis’s night vision might be, there’s no comparison in operational difficulty between the nearly autonomous Ancestor and the fully manual Ant Walker. The protruding legs on both sides already narrowed the lateral field of vision, and the steam engine’s noise made auditory detection difficult. Considering Mina’s burden of having to inspect the vehicle in darkness, it was right to refrain from night marches unless in an emergency.

*Thud*

“Haaaa~ I’m exhausted~”

After completing the day’s final vehicle inspection, Mina flopped down onto the campsite’s grass.

“Good work, Mina. If we can keep moving like today, we might reach Moon Lake by tomorrow night.”

“We’ve covered roughly 130-140km today.”

“Hmm~ Speaking of which, do we really need to stop at Moon Lake? Wouldn’t it be better to head straight to where we’re meeting Anastasia?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

If there were essential reasons to visit the western city, they would be black mana purification and supply replenishment, but coincidentally, neither is a problem for us right now. If so, it might not be a bad choice to skip Moon Lake and meet Anastasia as quickly as possible to resolve the issues with the Ancestor and Iris… but Jessica seems to have a different opinion.

“To head directly to the Grand Sage’s villa, we’d have to either cut through Ogre Hill southeast of Moon Lake or take the southern bypass route from Westpoint. The former is too rough for carriages, and the latter would attract too much attention.”

“If the Ant Walker attracting attention is the issue, that’s unavoidable. We’ll draw attention even just approaching Moon Lake.”

“The problem isn’t the Ant Walker, it’s us. We’re adventurers who’ve returned safely after being out of contact for over ten days.”

Jessica began to explain our party’s current situation with a serious expression.

For human adventurers who’ve been outdoors for over ten days to return alive is absolutely impossible without purifying black mana somewhere. And the most likely means for “purifying black mana somewhere” is a counterfeit barrier tower—a magical tool designated as a Class 1 prohibited item by the New Continent Development Headquarters.

“Of course, it’s not a crime for legal citizens in life-threatening danger to use a counterfeit barrier tower to survive.”

“Like us right now?”

“Exactly. But if we bypass Moon Lake and head straight to the Grand Sage’s villa, only to be spotted by people around Westpoint Trading Post or Hope Mill Farm, that’s a different story.”

“…Ah, I see. I understand.”

Accidents during expeditions that prevent timely returns can happen to any adventurer in Grantis. In such situations, it’s fortunate to discover an outlaw group with a counterfeit barrier tower, defeat them, and seize it. Using that counterfeit barrier tower to survive black mana is permitted.

However, if there’s a city or base nearby that could be visited, yet one deliberately relies on a counterfeit barrier tower to continue outdoor activities, that’s different. At this point, they would be withholding the counterfeit barrier tower and mana core for private use, not for survival but for some other purpose.

“If we don’t want trouble later, we have no choice but to return to Moon Lake and submit the counterfeit barrier tower.”

“Right. And with such a conspicuous carriage, we can’t sneak around anyway.”

“Then as we discussed before, can I take apart the counterfeit barrier tower?”

“Just be patient a little longer. I’ll let you disassemble it after we activate it one last time, when we’re close enough to walk back to Moon Lake.”

“Okay~hehehe.”

Mina, delighted like a child promised a birthday present, scurried to the carriage and returned with her crafting tablet and Victory Toast.

“Now that that’s decided, let’s eat dinner! Make something delicious!”

“You’re certainly honest about your desires… Let’s see what I can make with the ingredients we have left.”

With the expectant gazes of the women fixed on me, I rolled up my sleeves to showcase a new repertoire.