Ch.220Fair winds and full sails, preparations complete.

After safely returning to Moon Lake with Iris, we spent several days in a whirlwind of activity.

Iris, who had been denied entry at the city gates, was escorted directly to the sheriff’s office and spent the next day in a holding cell. Through a summary trial, she was sentenced to five years of slavery and officially became my slave.

For reference, Iris’s charges included being the leader of a dark elf group who commanded attacks on adventurers, and causing our party approximately 10,000 gold worth of financial damage.

In a way, her position was similar to being the boss of the Desperado gang, yet she received only a five-year sentence—merely a quarter of Calliope’s punishment—due to her excessively submissive attitude and lack of physical evidence.

This outcome was far better than being branded a violent criminal and immediately executed, so we had no reason to object to the verdict.

Meanwhile, at Moon Lake’s Pioneer Bureau branch, we received 1,000 gold as compensation for the magic core we had submitted for appraisal earlier.

Unfortunately, the magic core possessed by the outlaws had deteriorated severely from prolonged use, making it unusable even for barrier towers in small outposts, let alone western cities.

As a result, we were only acknowledged for the minimal contribution of retrieving the core, which didn’t lead to anyone’s license grade being raised. But since we hadn’t expected much to begin with, we weren’t particularly disappointed.

Since Mina’s Ant Walker and cargo wagon were once again denied entry to the city, she set up a tent outside the city walls and began constructing a camping wagon.

Basically, Seti stayed with Mina, taking turns entering the city to purify the black mana. When Mina needed magical knowledge, Jessica would visit the tent to help, and when she needed design knowledge for the camping car, I would go assist with the work.

Of course, we surrounded the workspace with cloth to maintain minimal security, as we didn’t want this process to be openly exposed to Moon Lake’s citizens.

Once the wagon construction was on track and Iris officially became a slave and joined us at the lodging, politicians and businessmen from the city began visiting me at our quarters.

Their purpose: to purchase Iris, the dark elf slave.

Since we had no reason to accept such requests even for vast sums of money, we left a message at the front desk stating that we would not entertain any proposals related to slave trading, thus blocking their attempts to make contact.

Time passed, and finally, on June 9th, the Day of Water.

At last, our new wagon was completed.

“Ta-da~!”

“Woooow~”

Unlike a covered wagon with a wooden base and cloth covering, this was a large rectangular wagon made primarily of metal, coated with special paint and waterproofed.

Its appearance was closer to a modern camping caravan attached to a car than to a western frontier passenger wagon.

The metal wheels were covered with slime material, and improved suspension and shock-absorbing defensive formulas maximized ride comfort for off-road travel.

Inside the wagon, like a covered wagon, long seats were installed on both sides, with an improved mana supply and a safe box with locks installed in the corner near the driver’s seat.

Storage spaces were also prepared under the seat cushions and above the ceiling, allowing for ample transport capacity while maintaining spacious interiors. Medium-sized windows on both sides and small windows around the front and rear doors ensured ventilation and openness.

Of course, these windows could be shuttered from the inside to completely seal the wagon, and all doors and shutters were equipped with locks, providing peace of mind when leaving belongings in the wagon while away.

Naturally, if someone were determined to damage the wagon, they could break the shutters or tear off the doors to steal the cargo… but such individuals would immediately be “dealt with” by the Ancestor in human form, so there was no problem.

“I thought this while working on it, but this is truly an amazing wagon. Even Director General Geronimo probably never rode in a wagon like this.”

“Heh-heh~ What you’ve seen so far is just a taste! The truly amazing part of this wagon starts now.”

“Oh? Are you going to do that? Here?”

“Why not? We’ve put screens around us, and this is something that will become rumored eventually anyway.”

Saying that, Mina gave a thumbs up and moved a lever installed near the driver’s seat in the opposite direction.

Immediately, four auxiliary legs extended from the bottom of the wagon in an X-shape, firmly securing it to the ground, and with a series of clicking sounds, the square box-shaped space began to expand sideways.

This was the masterpiece created by combining my modern knowledge with Mina’s technical skills, using artifacts as precious materials.

A “expandable camping caravan”—something easily found in 21st century Earth.

“Wooow…”

“The interior has become enormously spacious.”

“Could this be… using an artifact like the Ancestor’s?”

“Correct! Will said rich people in his homeland drive around in things like this, so I recreated it using the butler doll’s circuit.”

Jessica, Seti, and Phyllis were amazed at the interior space that had instantly expanded to nearly three times its original size.

As for Iris, she stood frozen in place with her mouth wide open.

We hadn’t yet told her that I came from another world, so she must have experienced a much greater culture shock than the others.

“With this size, we won’t need to carry tents anymore. We can all just sleep together in the wagon.”

“That’s exactly what I made it for. There’s a large mattress in the ceiling storage space, so when camping, you just need to take it out and lay it on the wagon floor.”

“I never imagined such an amazing wagon could exist.”

“Of course not. In fact, until yesterday, such a wagon didn’t exist anywhere in this world. This one Mina made is the first in Grantis.”

“My goodness… I’ve ended up serving truly remarkable people as my masters.”

Iris looked at me with eyes full of respect as she said this.

For reference, her polite speech pattern isn’t because we’re her masters or saviors of her life, but apparently a habit she’s had since coming of age.

Perhaps Phyllis’s polite speech when her true personality emerges is also a habit acquired from living with her sister.

“I’d love to take the wagon on a long journey right away, but it’s already past 3 PM, so it’s a bit ambiguous to depart now.”

“Just wait one more day. Now that the wagon is like this, we no longer need to carry a large tent, and we need to replenish food supplies and get clothes for Iris to wear.”

“Going so far as to buy clothes for a slave like me…”

“Iris, as I’ve told you several times, you’re only disguising yourself as a slave to legally travel with us as Phyllis’s sister. I won’t stop you from acting somewhat polite to deceive others, but being too subservient will only make Will and Phyllis uncomfortable.”

“…I understand. But please allow me to call Will ‘master.'”

“That’s fine. From what I saw last time, Will seems to quite enjoy that sort of thing.”

Wait a minute, what about my opinion?

Of course, considering how I behaved when Jessica provided service in a maid outfit at the atelier, such a conclusion is natural, but…

Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the opportunity to object, and we went around Moon Lake’s shopping district, selling the now-useless large tent and purchasing various items needed for travel.

And in the midst of this, an unexpected incident occurred.

“Ah, Iris 036!?”

We ran right into Calliope, who was coming out of a vegetable shop with baskets full of vegetables in both hands.

Calliope was greatly surprised to see Iris in such a place, and when she recognized the collar around her neck, her expression became as if she had lost everything.

“Th-that’s a collar of subjugation… How could this be? I thought you had finally awakened, but you’ve been captured by the pioneers and turned into a slave.”

“You are certainly Calliope… what number was it?”

“…Calliope 218. A woman of the warrior class, insignificant compared to you, 036.”

“I see… Master, may I speak with this woman for a moment?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Go ahead.”

“Thank you for your generous permission.”

Iris elegantly held her skirt hem and curtseyed like some princess, then approached the dejected Calliope and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Calliope 218, I can imagine what you’re thinking. But I am serving these people who awakened me from my long slumber by my own will.”

“How can that be… why!?”

“This may be difficult for someone of the warrior class to understand. But this is my destiny, and the appropriate action for one who must live looking hundreds of years into the future.”

“You mean a fate that only you, with the divine realm of 036, could comprehend…”

“That’s right. So you too should avoid causing unnecessary commotion and remain faithful to your current situation.”

“…I understand. If that is the will of the Great Mother.”

Calliope left with just those words, bowing respectfully to Iris before disappearing into an alley.

And after confirming that Calliope had completely vanished from sight, Iris returned to my side with a sigh of relief.

“Phew… I think that went well somehow.”

“What was the meaning of that conversation?”

“It meant nothing. I barely remembered her name was Calliope from my memories of being kidnapped at the Willow Sanctuary, and the rest of what I said was just vague content that could be interpreted in any way. She doesn’t seem to have noticed that I’ve returned to my senses.”

“…You scared me. I thought meeting Calliope had reawakened your dark elf consciousness.”

“How could that be? I just knew that the dark elves regarded me as someone very important, so I thought if I spoke like that, she wouldn’t cause a disturbance in the pioneers’ city. Was it unnecessary?”

“No, I think it was an excellent response. Couldn’t have been better.”

Not only was her composure impressive—acting as a high-ranking dark elf without any knowledge—but Iris’s implication that her enslavement was “a higher-dimensional arrangement beyond Calliope’s understanding” was a masterstroke.

When we interrogated Calliope at Gerald Fork’s mansion, she desperately tried to conceal the location where Iris and the other dark elves were hiding.

She not only resisted the immense pain inflicted by the collar of subjugation but also pleaded that if she accidentally revealed it, she would have to kill everyone involved, including her master Gerald.

In such a situation, witnessing Iris wearing a collar of subjugation and accompanying us, she might have concluded that her slight information leak had led to the annihilation of her kind and Iris’s capture, potentially driving her to “annihilation” actions.

Without even realizing it, Iris had suppressed this danger from Calliope and preserved the peace of Moon Lake.

‘Seeing her like this, she truly seems worthy of succeeding as an Elder.’

It was a moment when my evaluation of Iris was somewhat… no, quite significantly upgraded.