Volume 3 Chapter 2 The First Day of the Journey
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
To pick up Nier’s daughter, I set out by carriage from Grimm to Niver.
Though we ran into a few minor speedbumps on our first day, we managed to make excellent time without any real delays.
—
―― Evening.
”Wow, I can’t believe we’ve already made it this far!”
”Seriously… a distance like this usually takes at least three days by carriage…”
We pulled up to the outermost inn on the road from Grimm to Niver.
Beyond this point, civilization completely vanished—there are no houses, and no farms, literally nothing.
Apparently, we would be roughing it and camping under the stars for quite a while until we neared the outskirts of Niver.
After stalling the carriage in the inn’s stable, we stepped inside. The innkeeper and the landlady emerged from behind the front desk.
Glancing to my left, I could see a handful of patrons drinking in the first-floor tavern.
”We have a party of five. Do you have room for us?” I asked.
”Five of ya? Ha! We’re completely booked up. Beat it, beat it!” the innkeeper shouted.
”…It doesn’t exactly look packed to me,” I muttered.
”Well, dear, if they don’t mind sharing a communal room, I suppose we could find a spot for them,” the landlady suggested.
”A shared room, huh… Can we see it first?” I requested.
”If ya don’t like sharing, then hit the road! Course, if ya absolutely gotta stay, I can accommodate ya—for two silver coins a head!” the innkeeper sneered.
”That’s how it is, folks. What’ll it be?” the landlady asked.
”Are you out of your mind?!
Last time I was here, it was three copper coins a head!” John barked.
”Oh, stop your whining. I don’t care about how things used to be in the good old days,” the landlady dismissed.
While John was locked in a heated argument with the landlady, Nier leaned in and whispered in my ear.
”Goshujin-sama. Places like this often take advantage of stranded travelers to price-gouge them.”
”I figured as much. …Hey, John. Step back, I’ll handle the talking. Just keep an eye on the tavern crowd and make sure none of them try to wander over,” I commanded.
”Yeah, you got it,” John complied.
With John acting as a deterrent to keep the local drunks from intervening, I turned my attention back to the innkeeper.
”Hey, old man. You muttered something about silver coins just now, but I must have misheard you. Right?” I provoked.
”Huh? What the hell are you babbling about? If ya wanna stay, it’s three silver coins a head now!” the innkeeper yelled.
”Wow. You actually jacked the price up even higher? Don’t play games with me, you piece of trash. I’ll end you right here,” I threatened.
I unleashed a condensed blast of compressed air straight into the old man’s gut.
The old man doubled over, clutching his stomach as he violently vomited onto the floor.
Bleh! Splat, splat, splat, splat!
His breathing seemed painful, but since I had pulled my punch, he probably wasn’t going to die.
”Y-You… are you a sorcerer?! Do you have any idea what happens to people who mess with us?! The Zekt Group isn’t gonna take this lying down!” the landlady shrieked.
”Hmm? Reina. Have you ever heard of this Zekt Group?” I inquired.
”Yes. They’re a pathetic bunch of thugs who do dirty work for pocket change. They usually operate out of the slums on the outskirts of Grimm,” Reina explained.
”Got it,” I nodded.
I conjured a blazing ball of fire right in front of the landlady’s face.
”Listen up, you old hag. I’m waiting. Hurry up and call your precious Zekt Group out here,” I challenged.
”T-They aren’t here right now!
But I’m gonna tell them everything you did!” the landlady whimpered.
”Huh? They aren’t here? What kind of idiot logic is that? How is someone who’s about to be burned alive supposed to go run errands for a gang?” I countered.
As I spoke, I slowly drifted the fireball closer to the reception desk.
The wood caught instantly, beginning to burn with a loud, aggressive crackle.
”W-Wait, stop…” the landlady pleaded.
”Look, I’m not a monster. I’ll give you exactly one last chance to answer me properly. …Now, how much did you say a room costs here?” I demanded.
”…L-Lodging is… it’s free! We won’t charge you a thing!” the landlady cried out.
”Huh? Speak up. If you don’t hurry out with it, your entire inn is going to ash,” I pressured.
”O-Our inn is a filthy dump, but please, we beg of you, please stay the night! We implore you!” the landlady begged.
”You should have just said that from the start. Don’t make me waste my breath on unnecessary steps, you old hag,” I scoffed.
”W-We are deeply sorry…” the landlady lamented.
I extinguished the raging fire on the counter and signaled the landlady to lead us to the shared room.
The old man was still completely passed out on the floor.
When I opened the door to peer inside, the room was so cramped you couldn’t even find a place to step.
More than ten people were packed together like sardines, roughing it on the floor.
The place had become a breeding ground for foul-smelling parallel-worlders.
”God, the stench… Forget it, this is unlivable,” I grumbled.
This inn didn’t even offer private rooms; they only had these communal disaster zones for mass lodging.
On top of the blatant scam, it completely failed to meet the basic environmental standards required for me to sleep comfortably.
According to Nier, pretty much every establishment along the main highway was like this—communal floor-sleeping and checking out newcomers to see how badly they could rip them off.
Realizing it was a lost cause, I decided to give up on the inn entirely, and we walked out.
”Well, that felt like we just dropped in exclusively to terrorize the local hospitality industry,” I remarked.
”It was a well-deserved retribution, Goshujin-sama. A fitting punishment for anyone foolish enough to defy your will,” Nier comforted.
”Lord Ryuu… you were so incredibly cool!” Reina cheered.
”Wait, you went through all that trouble to extort a free room and we’re just leaving?!” John complained.
”I’m hungry~!” Helga whined.
Since Helga was starting to say things that sounded borderline feral, I pulled out some pig jerky and stuffed it into her mouth to keep her quiet.
After leaving the awful inn behind, we drove the carriage a short distance down the highway before veering off into the deep, rolling tall grass of the plains.
”This looks like a solid spot right here,” John announced.
John brought the carriage to a halt right in the middle of the meadow.
The visibility was excellent, which would make it easy to spot any incoming ambushers.
We decided to establish this as our campsite for the night.
I strolled around casually, watching everyone pitch in to set up camp.
As I observed Reina, she pulled a small wooden box from the pouch at her waist.
She extracted a piece of flint and some dried grass, deftly striking a spark to catch the tinder.
She nurtured the tiny flame expertly, transferring it to the firewood.
She was incredibly well-practiced at this.
I offered a bit of assistance using a localized fire spell halfway through, which earned me a bright smile.
Helga was busy tending to the horses, providing them with fresh water and fodder.
She was exceptionally meticulous, brushing out their coats with a currycomb until they gleamed, cleaning their hooves, and taking care of them with genuine devotion.
She had even taken it upon herself to give them cute names.
This girl possessed a surprisingly kind heart capable of showing true compassion to other living creatures.
John was pacing the perimeter, keeping a sharp eye out for danger.
As for him… well, he was doing his job, so whatever.
Nier was by the fire preparing dinner.
She was mixing in various seasonings while taste-testing the food she had pre-cooked back at the mansion, adjusting the flavors to perfection.
She began arranging the finished plates on top of several wooden stools we had brought along from the estate.
These stools were incredibly versatile; they functioned as tables to hold items, doubled as chairs, and their hollow interiors served as convenient storage units for cooking utensils and dinnerware.
”Goshujin-sama. Dinner is served.”
”Yeah, I’ll be right over,” I replied.
Answering Nier’s call, I made my way to the roaring campfire.
”Oh man, this is incredible! I swear, no matter how many times I eat Orc meat, it never gets old!” John exclaimed.
”Right~? Heh-hem! Don’t forget, I’m the one who got to taste it first!” Helga bragged.
Helga was boasting about something completely meaningless.
”I really love your cooking, Nier-san,” Reina complimented. “Hehe, thank you, Reina. Goshujin-sama, is it to your liking?” Nier asked.
”Yeah. Your cooking is genuinely phenomenal, Nier,” I smiled.
”Man, though… that old hag at the inn really had some nerve trying to…” John grumbled.
”Forget about her! Lord Ryuu’s actions at that time were just…” Reina swooned.
We gathered around the fire, laughing and talking as we ate.
The cold, crisp air that rushed in after sunset was instantly held at bay by the warmth of the dancing flames.
John and Reina had broken into the ale and seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits.
Looking up, a flawless tapestry of stars glistened across the infinite night sky.
I didn’t retain any astrological knowledge from my past life, so I couldn’t identify a single constellation.
The only thing I recognized was a moon floating in the night sky that looked remarkably similar to Earth’s.
Whenever I stared at it, a profound sense of unease crept over me.
I couldn’t remember the exact geographical layout of Earth’s moon, but looking at this one, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was fundamentally wrong with it.
As I was lost in thought staring at the sky, Reina suddenly shrieked.
”Lord Ryuu! Wolves!”
Snapped out of my daze, I whipped my head in the direction of her pointing finger.
Six glowing yellow eyes were hovering just on the edge of the darkness.
”Leave ’em to me!” John shouted.
John didn’t hesitate for a second, vaulting forward toward the threat.
Three massive wolves fanned out, flanking John from a distance.
The bright light of the campfire cast long, flickering shadows over John and the beasts.
I stood back silently, observing his combat prowess.
John raised his right hand above his shoulder, gripping the hilt of his massive two-handed sword.
Then, he wrapped his left hand firmly around the unsharpened base of the blade itself, leveling the tip diagonally downward in a low, aggressive stance.
One wolf lunged forward, closing into his striking zone.
With a movement as lightning-fast as a spear thrust, John drove the sword diagonally downward.
The tip pierced the wolf squarely in the face, causing it to let out a sharp, pitiful yelp as it rolled backward on the ground.
A second wolf rushed in from a lower angle, snapping its jaws in an attempt to bite his legs.
John instantly released his right hand from the hilt.
Using his left hand as a pivot point, he spun the weapon around fluidly and choked up on the center of the blade with his right hand.
In one fluid motion, he brought the heavy pommel crashing down onto the wolf’s skull like a hammer, simultaneously driving his right boot violently into the beast’s exposed underbelly.
The wolf let out a choked shriek.
The battered wolf turned tail and fled into the dark, and the remaining uninjured wolf quickly scrambled after it.
John shifted his grip back to a traditional high overhead stance, casually walking up to the first wolf that was still writhing and whimpering on the dirt.
With a heavy, authoritative downward cleave, the blade fell, and the wolf’s head went flying into the grass.
”Heh. Nothing to it. So, Reina… did that make your heart skip a beat?” John smirked.
”A-As if! Compared to a show-off like you, Lord Ryuu is infinitely more…” Reina huffed.
Having decisively repelled the wolves without breaking a sweat, John sported a wildly smug grin.
I honestly hadn’t expected him to grip the raw blade like that just to bludgeon a target with the crossguard and pommel.
It was a completely different style of swordsmanship than the idealized version in my head.
If someone tried half-swording like that with a Japanese katana, their fingers would be sliced clean off.
Intrigued, I questioned John about it.
He explained that for heavy close-quarters melee combat, adventurers deliberately keep the section of the blade near the guard unsharpened specifically so they can grasp it for leverage.
While we were chatting over the dead wolf, Helga ran up with a useful piece of information.
”Hey, Lord Ryuichi! If you turn that wolf carcass in to the Adventurer’s Guild, they’ll give you a bounty of one silver coin~!” Helga cheered.
”Oh? Why is there a bounty on them if they aren’t classified as magical monsters?” I asked.
”Hmm, apparently they cause a massive amount of damage to local livestock like sheep. The town council funds the bounties out of the public tax to encourage hunters to thin the packs,” Helga explained.
”Huh, interesting. Might as well take it with us then,” I decided.
Since there was money to be made, I activated my spatial magic and stored the wolf John had slaughtered inside my Interdimensional Space.
With the wildlife cleared out, dinner resumed.
I quietly watched the group chatting happily around the warmth of the fire.
But amidst the laughter, Nier remained unusually quiet, staring blankly into the flames with a visibly heavy, somber expression.
* * *
Once dinner was finished, it was time for me to shine.
I had grown incredibly proficient with my Interdimensional Magic.
When I first unlocked it, the dimensional rift was a measly thirty centimeters square.
Now, if I took my time to flatten and stretch the opening to its absolute structural limit, I could expand it to a massive five meters across.
I manifested the dimensional rift horizontally, suspending it slightly above the ground.
Reaching into the Interdimensional Space from underneath, I pulled out a fully functional toilet and a massive bathtub that I had brought along from our mansion, placing them firmly onto the grass.
Leaving John and Reina on guard duty, Nier, Helga, and I climbed into the steaming bath together.
I used a minor spell to temporarily erase the physical roof of the bathing unit, allowing us to soak while taking in the majestic, unobstructed view of the star-filled cosmos.
”Ahhh… this is pure heaven,” I sighed.
”It’s breathtaking… The night sky is so beautiful out here, isn’t it?” Nier cooed.
”Ugh… I’m so full, I can’t eat another bite…” Helga mumbled.
When the three of us were finished, we swapped out and let John and Reina take their turn in the bath.
Since they had both officially become my owned slaves, I made it a point to let them use the luxury bathing facilities daily.
When we first started traveling, Reina had literally wept tears of pure joy over it.
Back when she was just a hired mercenary guarding my estate’s outer gardens, she had been forced to look on from afar, desperately wishing she could experience the magical hot water.
While the two of them were relaxing in the steam, I got to work extracting the custom prefab lodging structure I had built and stored inside my Interdimensional Space beforehand.
A solid stone bunker featuring a spacious twelve-tatami room—hollowed out entirely from a single massive boulder—instantly materialized out of thin air in the middle of the meadow.
Because the walls were made of incredibly dense, reinforced rock plating, it wouldn’t so much as chip from a standard physical or magical assault.
”Goshujin-sama… W-With magic like this, we literally have absolutely no use for real inns anymore, do we…” Nier marveled.
As I used ‘Earth’ magic, I summoned a layer of incredibly soft, finely ground topsoil and scattered it evenly across the stone floor of the room.
Since soil generated directly through magic is entirely free of bugs, parasites, or moisture, it was pristine and sterile.
I laid out our clean bedding sheets directly over it.
When we woke up in the morning, all I had to do was dispel the dirt, and the sheets would remain perfectly spotless.
Next, I modulated the ambient temperature inside the structure, using ‘Warm’ magic to heat the air.
The bunker was entirely sealed with no windows or standard ventilation grates, but since I could infinitely generate fresh oxygen using magic, there was zero risk of suffocation.
Moving outside, I constructed an attached enclosed garage to house the carriage and a separate covered stable to let the horses rest safely.
For the equine quarters, I made sure to puncture several small, precise air ventilation holes through the stone so they could breathe easily.
I lined the floor with more of that soft, magical topsoil and left behind an abundant supply of fodder.
Finally, I stepped out and sealed the remaining entrance hole shut behind me, completely airtight.
It was perfect.
No wild beasts could ambush the horses, and no thieves could touch the carriage.
Once everyone was thoroughly clean and out of the bath, I ushered the entire party inside the secure lodging facility and blocked the main entrance with a final, thick slab of solid rock plate.
Inside the bunker, we slept with our clothes firmly on.
Stripping entirely naked was a luxury reserved exclusively for our private quarters back home.
I didn’t engage in any sexual activities here, nor did I permit them.
When roughing it in the wild, you had to keep your mind sharp and disciplined so you could instantly react to any emergency at a moment’s notice.
I extinguished the magical flame lights, plunging the room into darkness for bedtime.
I pulled Nier and Helga close, letting them rest on either side of me.
I offered Nier my arm as a pillow, planting a tender, lingering French kiss on her lips before we closed our eyes.
And just like that, our very first day on the long road to Niver drew to a peaceful close.
—
Summary:
Moving down the highway from Grimm to Niver, Ryuichi rejects an extortionist inn and establishes a camp out in the open plains. While John handily counters an ambush by a pack of wolves using distinct half-swording maneuvers, Ryuichi avoids infrastructure limitations entirely by manifesting a fortified, self-sustaining stone shelter directly out of his spatial storage. The first day of the journey draws to an end while Nier stares into the fire with a heavily preoccupied aura
—
Trivia:
- The innkeepers’ protection threats reference a local gang known as the Zekt Group stationed on the outskirts of Grimm
- John notes that melee fighters in this setting deliberately leave the blade ricasso unsharpened near the hilt to safely allow high-leverage grasping maneuver
—
Character Insight:
Nier shows visible emotional withdrawal and distraction during dinner, contrasting with the group’s celebration, indicating deep maternal anxiety regarding her daughter.
Notes:
• Grimm – The name of a large settlement and community located near the Forest of Magic. Grimm is a walled city featuring a bustling marketplace and diverse population, though it suffers from severe lack of sanitation and a legalized slave trade.
• Nier – A 27-year-old Japanese-esque beauty with long black hair, refined features, and large breasts, she is Ryuichi’s primary, devoted slave. Traumatized by the slave trade and separated from her daughter, she travels with him to find her child, managing domestic duties, cooking, and reading local script for him. Protective of other subordinates, she also explains world logistics and assists in his magic experiments.
• John – A twenty-year-old blond, large-built vanguard mercenary who grew up with Allen and Reina. Arrogant and gruff, he wears chainmail, a helm, and a wool coat, wielding a massive two-handed sword with advanced half-swording techniques alongside a heater shield. To protect his partner, he becomes Ryuichi’s combat slave and carriage driver, securing perimeters, looting foes, and taking route directions from Mila.
• Reina – A 19-year-old female archer, village hunter, and slave to Ryuichi, she has fair skin, a brown ponytail, a well-proportioned build, and wears a leather cuirass. Mobilizing with a shortbow and dagger, she serves as her party’s emotional heart alongside friends Allen and John. Highly competent in wilderness survival, she drives the carriage with John, vigilantly watching for ambushers or bandits, and holds immense, submissive respect for Ryuichi.
• Helga – A twelve-year-old former Adventurer’s Guild receptionist with waist-length blonde hair, silver eyes, a doll-like appearance, and a raspy voice. Bratty yet high-energy, she previously knew John and Reina and gave Ryuichi key info on world magic systems. After a conflict, she fell into slavery but is now Ryuichi’s doted-on companion. She wears a fluffy gown, loves meat snacks, and handles domestic tasks, horse care, and fetching fodder.
• Man – A roughneck wearing a hat who participated in a group assault. He suffers the loss of his right arm and later his left arm during an experiment by the protagonist before being stored.
• Ryuichi – Poison Snake is a 40-year-old, bearded Japanese corporate-minded adventurer who recently achieved Silver Class rank. Moving toward Niver in a levitated carriage, this pragmatic sorcerer utilizes spatial, earth, and advanced elements (fire, ice, wind, Cure All, Item Box) with clinical efficiency. To survive and return to his original family, he views his massive power—and his slaves Nier and Helga—as tools for his satisfaction and estate management, yet feels protective rage if they are threatened. He severely fears heights.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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