Chapter 5: The Stagecoach

“Oh, there are so many carriages! Could that be the boarding area?”

As the two of us continued chatting, a place that looked like the station came into view.

There were many large horses hitched to the wagons. Families carrying luggage that looked like travel bags and even some people wielding swords—who seemed to be guards (?)—filled the area with a lively buzz.

“Yep. That big one over there is the carriage we’re taking.”

Since it was my first time riding in a stagecoach, I couldn’t help but feel excited. In modern Japan, the only times I see a horse are at a racetrack or when I eat horse sashimi.

We paid the staff and climbed aboard the carriage.

Inside, three people were already seated—an elderly couple and a girl with a gyaru vibe.

“Nice to meet you all!”

I greeted the other passengers, thinking that we’d be spending an entire week together. I just hoped they weren’t weird.

They all nodded and replied in their own ways:

“Hmm.”
“Stay diligent.”
“Heyyy.”

……………………

Those were, respectively, the words of the old man, the old woman, and the gyaru.

What do you mean, “stay diligent”? I was just saying hello! I didn’t come here to meet some ascetic master.

This old couple—could it be that they’re both completely socially awkward?

And that gyaru has entirely given up on proper communication. “Heyyy”—what is she, a hermit crab from her past life?

“Come on, Ao. If you don’t sit down already, I won’t be able to sit down.”

Liluria, however, didn’t seem to care about the odd exchange. She urged me to sit quickly, dismissing all the pleasantries.

Ugh… can I really spend a whole week with these people?

An hour passed since our departure.

The view from inside the canopy had long turned into an endless, unchanging plain. With nothing new in the landscape, even watching outside had grown tiresome.

Man, I’m so bored.

Just then, the coachman suddenly shouted in a loud voice.

“Monster horde! A group of monsters is coming!!”

Those words sent me and the elderly couple into a panic.

“Hey, is this okay? Are we gonna be alright?”

“It’s fine. Carriages like these always have adventurers on board as guards.”

Adventurers?

Huh, so this world actually has a profession called “adventurer,” just like in a game. I definitely have no desire to take up such a job.

“Ugh, seriously? I can’t believe my time has finally come!”

The gyaru stood up with dramatic flair.

Wait, could it be that you’re the adventurer?

“Tch, guess I gotta go. Y’all sit tight, okay?”

With that, the gyaru leaped out of the carriage.

She wasn’t even carrying a weapon. Is she really going to be okay?

“Hmm.”
“Stay diligent.”

The elderly couple watched her leave with concern.

…Do they even know any other way to speak?

“Ao, why don’t you go too? You’re kinda strong, aren’t you?”

“Nope, I’m kinda weak.”

I had no idea what kind of monsters were out there, but I was sure there wasn’t a single one in existence that I could defeat.

Even the weakest, most infamous Slime might be beyond my capabilities.

“Liluria, you can use magic, right? You go take care of it.”

“Hah?! There’s no way I’d do something as barbaric as monster hunting! I was born and raised in comfort—I’m a sheltered noble lady!”

A sheltered noble lady…? Right. Except when we met, you were locked up in a dimly lit prison. …Wait, was the box you grew up in actually a jail cell?

As we talked, the gyaru returned to the carriage.

“Fuuu, good thing it was just a bunch of small fries. Hey, old man driver, we’re all good now.”

…That was fast.

She’d only been gone a few minutes, right?

Was she just absurdly strong despite her appearance? Or were the monsters really that weak?

Either way, at least it meant the carriage was safe.

With this gyaru around, we weren’t about to get wiped out by some monster ambush.

I wasn’t going to die or even get injured, but watching everyone else die would be a major emotional gut punch.

Please, let there be no more monsters!

Three hours had passed since we set off.

And for the last while, we had been getting attacked by monster hordes every ten minutes, leaving the carriage completely stalled.

“Is it normal to run into this many monsters? This frequency is insane.”

The gyaru hadn’t even bothered coming back inside.

Instead, she was running alongside the carriage, slaughtering monsters left and right.

She’s crazy strong!

“Usually, it’s… a bit safer… maybe?”

“‘Maybe’?! What do you mean ‘maybe’?”

So, this was an unusual situation.

Makes sense—if things were always this bad, no one would ever leave town.

“Actually~, there’s something I want to tell you, Master~.”

Liluria suddenly leaned in close, whispering like she was about to share some deep secret.

And now she’s calling me Master and acting all submissive? Yeah, I’ve got a real bad feeling about this.

“I have… really bad luck.”

Luck?

That… doesn’t sound nearly as bad as I was expecting.

I sighed in relief.

“That’s all? My luck’s bad too.”

I mean, I was just riding the train to school and somehow ended up dead.

Doesn’t get much unluckier than that.

“No, no, mine is on a whole different level.”

“Oh yeah? How bad are we talking?”

Liluria kept acting vague about it, so I pressed her for specifics.

“Well… The day I was born, a dragon attacked the country. I’ve been kidnapped over ten times. The ground collapses under me when I walk. I love cats, but I’m allergic to them.”

…

I stared at her in silence.

Ten-plus kidnappings?!

At that point, even the city guards must’ve been like, Oh, it’s her again. Just another Tuesday.

“Actually, the reason I was in that prison was to keep myself from dragging others down with my bad luck.”

So that’s why she was able to leave so easily.

“I followed you, Ao, because I figured that, as a hero, you might be able to do something about my luck—”