Ch.305Harem Gunman and the Eighty-Seven Dwarves

After finishing our vacation at Moon Lake and returning to Westend Seventh, we encountered a familiar face in front of the Adventurer’s Guild building.

It was Morgan, the leader of the dwarves who had joined us in exploring Technopolis.

“Oh.”

“Ohhh!? If it isn’t Mr. Will and company. Have you been well?”

“Ah, more or less. Are you here to submit a designated request?”

“That’s right. I thought it might take several days until we could get in touch, but the timing seems perfect.”

The dwarves of the underground city Technopolis, originally from the Grandorn Mine, lost their homeland due to some incident and split into three groups.

There were Mina’s maternal ancestors who headed east and built the Eisenheim mine, the dwarves of Nidavellir who relocated to the Korkas mountain range and established a new hideout.

And finally, the dwarves of Grandorn Zwei who inherited the name of Grandorn and the AI construct that managed Technopolis, continuing their lineage to this day.

After much searching, we were able to contact the dwarves of Grandorn Zwei about a month ago, discovering the mysterious Technopolis and successfully reviving its core system.

Some of the dwarf expedition members who accompanied us stayed behind at Technopolis to prepare for accepting immigrants, while the residents of Grandorn Zwei decided to spend a month preparing for a complete relocation to Technopolis.

They were supposed to submit a designated request to the Adventurer’s Guild once preparations were complete, and by chance, we met them with perfect timing right here.

“How many people are relocating?”

“48 adult men, 35 adult women, and 4 teenagers, for a total of 87 people. That’s the entire population of Grandorn Zwei.”

“If everyone is moving… does that mean you’re closing the Grandorn Zwei mine?”

“We’ve arranged to sell it to this city’s development bureau. We’ve already purchased horses, wagons, and sufficient provisions with the down payment, and completed moving preparations two days ago.”

Hmm, things have progressed that far already.

Then all that remains is to escort the dwarf immigrants safely to Technopolis.

The issue is the time it takes to get from here to Technopolis…

“Even departing from Westend Seventh, it’s about 140km, so we’ll need to travel about 45-50km per day.”

“Yes, especially since we want to secure enough time to return here.”

It would be ideal if we could successfully modify the bio-converter as soon as we arrive at Technopolis, but if we plan the schedule assuming that and things go wrong, Jessica, Phyllis, and I would be as good as dead.

Three days to Technopolis, and one day back to Westend Seventh.

Even this is cutting it close if we consider possible delays from monster encounters.

“Alright, then today let’s take Morgan to Grandorn Zwei in our wagon. We’ll set a meeting time with the residents for tomorrow morning, get a good night’s rest, and depart early in the morning. How does that sound?”

“I agree. Since we met with such good timing, there’s no need to drag things out.”

“I concur, but wouldn’t it be difficult for just us to escort nearly 90 people?”

“Don’t worry about that. The adults are capable of defending themselves, and if Miss Jessica casts enhancement magic, we shouldn’t have much trouble with average monsters.”

If that’s what he says, I’ll have to trust him.

At this point, with Technopolis being three days away, other adventurers besides us are out of the question.

Asking the Aquatic King’s tribe from Beckya for an escort wouldn’t work either since they have their own concerns, and more importantly, we can’t carelessly share Technopolis’s location with other races.

After making that decision, we acted swiftly.

Taking Morgan to Grandorn Zwei fell to Seti and me.

Jessica, Mina, Phyllis, and Iris remained in Westend Seventh to secure lodging.

When we arrived near the rocky mountain where the entrance to Grandorn Zwei was located, we saw 20 covered wagons lined up next to an enormous wooden stable.

The surrounding area was protected by double iron wire barricades, two temporary guard posts, and barrier magic deployed at the entrance between them, apparently to protect the horses and wagons from approaching wild animals and monsters.

The cost of the magic stones needed to maintain the barrier magic 24 hours a day since purchasing the horses and wagons must have been considerable.

After exchanging brief reunion greetings with the familiar dwarves guarding the post, we promised to return at 7 AM tomorrow and headed back to Westend Seventh.

After rejoining Jessica’s group waiting at the lodging, we purchased plenty of emergency provisions like flour and corn and stored them in the “Box of Stopped Time” just in case.

We plan to hand these provisions over to Morgan upon safely reaching Technopolis and get reimbursed for the purchase cost.

Since we needed to wake up early, I passed on a passionate night with the women.

With the help of the Repellation Field, we woke up at 6 AM, quickly ate breakfast, and left through the western gate of Westend Seventh before the sun had fully risen.

“We’re here. See that large stable over there?”

“Twenty covered wagons… this will be a grand caravan exceeding even the Grand Caravan.”

Although we arrived about 15 minutes before the appointed time of 7 AM, the dwarf residents of Grandorn Zwei had already hitched the horses to the wagons and completed preparations for departure.

Each covered wagon pulled by two horses carried about 4-5 passengers.

Looking closely, I noticed they had reinforced the inside frame of the tents with thick wire to create something like a wire fence.

While not visually appealing, it was a decent choice for protecting passengers and cargo from monster attacks.

“Then, I entrust our escort to Technopolis to you.”

“Yes. We’ll maintain aerial reconnaissance during the journey, but everyone should remain cautious since we never know what might happen.”

The caravan formation had our wagon at the very front, followed by the dwarves’ covered wagons in two columns.

Phyllis was responsible for rear security from the last wagon, while Jessica rode in a middle wagon, ready to use enhancement magic in both directions if an attack occurred.

Seti and I naturally took the driver’s seat, while Mina and Iris took turns handling aerial reconnaissance with Aquila.

“Is everyone ready? Let’s depart!”

“First row, departing!”

“Fifth row, departing!”

“Tenth row, departure OK!”

The dwarves driving the wagons in rows 1, 5, and 10 repeated the departure signal in booming voices, and the 20 covered wagons slowly began to move, following our wagon.

Although the dwarves of Grandorn Zwei weren’t accustomed to driving wagons, they apparently had undergone intensive training over the past month.

Even though the extreme heat of summer had passed, the summer weather continued, and except for the camping wagon, none of the vehicles could be described as comfortable even as a polite fiction. We had to take about 10 minutes of rest after each hour of travel…

Thanks to having checked for good routes during our return from the previous expedition, the wagon train steadily advanced toward Technopolis, maintaining an average speed of 8-9 km/h.

“Will~ There’s a pack of coyotes approaching from the 2 o’clock direction. They’re about 200 meters away, eight in total.”

“Got it. Eight coyotes at 2 o’clock! Temporary halt and prepare for battle!”

“First row, halt and prepare for battle!”

“Fifth row, halt and prepare for battle!”

“Tenth row, halt and prepare for battle OK!”

As the 21 wagons slowly came to a stop, the dwarves on the driver’s seats took out axes and hammers, preparing for the approaching coyote pack’s attack.

Eight wild animals, not even monsters, could be handled sufficiently without Jessica’s enhancement magic.

However, perhaps due to our overwhelming numbers.

When the coyote pack finally appeared and saw our caravan, they hesitated and stopped, then immediately turned tail and fled in the opposite direction.

“…Master, the coyote pack has completely retreated. There’s no sign of them approaching again.”

“Well, no matter how carnivorous they are, they wouldn’t dare challenge this many people… Combat situation ended! Resume movement!”

“First row, resuming movement!”

“Fifth row, resuming movement!”

“Tenth row, resuming movement OK!”

The encounter with the coyote pack ended without even a battle.

I didn’t particularly feel disappointed.

After all, no matter how physically fit the dwarves are, they’re still a group of non-combatants, so arriving at Technopolis without incident would be the best outcome.

‘If we travel 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon, considering rest breaks, we could cover at least 65km… maybe even more than 70km if things go well.’

Unfortunately, my optimistic prediction didn’t come true.

As lunchtime approached, some dwarves began experiencing motion sickness from the unfamiliar wagon travel, and in the afternoon, we were attacked twice by a group of kobolds and large avian monsters.

Fortunately, no one in our party or among the dwarf immigrants was injured, but as a result, today’s wagon journey had to conclude about 55km from Grandorn Zwei.

Distance remaining to Technopolis: approximately 95km.

So far, the progress of the large-scale relocation plan could be considered smooth.