“K-kent-san?”
Kent woke up to Caroline’s angry voice in the morning.
“Good morning, Caro-san.”
“Were you having fun with Al-chan last night?”
“Huh?”
Caroline’s words made Kent realize he wasn’t wearing any clothes, and beside him, Al was sleeping soundly, naked.
“That shouldn’t be the case…”
Kent tried to recall last night, but he had no memory of such an act.
“Sniff sniff… It doesn’t seem like you did anything of that sort, as I don’t smell anything.”
Caroline said with certainty after sniffing.
“As expected of Caro-sama. To calmly assess this situation, you are truly remarkable.”
Al, who had woken up at some point, said.
“I understand that nothing happened, but why are we in this situation?”
Caroline’s words made him realize. They were in a position as if they were hugging each other, facing Al.
“It’s fine. Haven’t you been having fun with Master since you came here? Can’t you give a little? I tried my best with various things, you know?”
“Ugh, when you put it like that…”
Caroline was cornered and didn’t know how to respond.
“Fine. Fine, I get it. Do as you please.”
“Yay!”
When Caroline said it with a hint of resignation, Al happily hugged Kent. Al smelled like grass, which was pleasant and calming, and Kent couldn’t help but sniff him deeper.
“He does have a pleasant scent, like returning to nature,”
Caroline said, now sitting beside Kent, stroking Al’s head, and smelling him as well.
“That tickles!”
Although Al said he didn’t like it, his expression showed he was pleased. They spent some leisurely time together for a while before starting to prepare to leave. The summer vacation was ending today, and school would start the next day. If they had their own carriage, they could depart whenever they wished, but the stagecoach to Tiol only had one departure in the afternoon. Missing it would mean they couldn’t go to school the next day.
In the end, their preparations were finished just before noon.
“Thank you for everything.”
“No, rather, I apologize for not being able to accommodate you properly.”
Kent, representing the mayor’s family, offered his thanks. The mayor, aware of the situation, said with an apologetic expression.
“Kent, Caro… ahem. Caro, Al, come visit again when you have free time.”
Berna seemed to recall yesterday’s events and kept a slight distance from Caroline.
“Caro-san is like that when she drinks, so don’t worry about it. But it was good that you apologized to the other children your age. And it’s reassuring that you were able to talk with adults too.”
“I-I didn’t ask you to do it… but thank you.”
Berna seemed surprised that adults were talking to her after that incident, but she quickly warmed up to them. However, her haughty attitude towards children her age had backfired, leaving her unable to initiate conversations. It was then that a drunken Caroline, with a burst of energy, made her apologize to everyone, improving their relationship.
“Did I do something?”
“You really don’t remember, do you?”
Caroline asked Kent, as if she didn’t remember. When Kent told her about yesterday, Caroline’s face turned bright red in embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did something like that.”
“It’s alright. Thank you too, Caro.”
Caroline apologized, but Berna seemed grateful rather than concerned.
“Well then, see you.”
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Later!”
They each said their goodbyes and left the lord’s villa. Al was the one who said “Later!” and he even gave a polite thumbs-up.
Carrying their bags, Kent and his companions headed for the stagecoach station. On the way, they were stopped by townspeople who greeted them, which took longer than expected.
“Kent-san, we’re cutting it close on time.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry a bit.”
Kent and his companions hurried slightly as they arrived at the stagecoach station.
“Excuse me, sir, three tickets to Sumput, please…”
“Sorry about that. It’s already full today. You’ll have to stay here tonight and come a little earlier tomorrow.”
Including the escort, three carriages were prepared, but they were all fully booked. They then departed for Tiol.
“Kent-san… what should we do?”
“What should we do? Stay another night and go back on tomorrow’s flight?”
“No, I want to go back somehow, as school starts tomorrow.”
“I see…”
Caroline really wanted to return. Kent, wanting to fulfill Caroline’s wish, thought of a way to help.
“Let’s just leave the town for now.”
“Understood.”
As Kent said that, he walked towards the gate, and Caroline and Al followed without a word.
As they were about to leave the town, they were stopped by the guards at the gate.
“Deputy Lord yourself, and Lady Caroline. You’re not thinking of walking back, are you?”
“School starts tomorrow, so we need to return. However, the stagecoach was full and we couldn’t get on.”
“Since the beginning of this month, the number of people entering and leaving the town has suddenly increased. There’s even talk of adding more stagecoach services… But that’s besides the point. You have escorts with you as well… yes, you do. Certainly, if you walk, you’ll arrive late at night, but are you really intending to walk back?”
The guard glanced at Al. Even with an escort, walking long distances would be quite a burden.
“As the guardian of this gate, I cannot overlook this. I will report to the captain of the guard and arrange for a carriage…”
“There’s no need for that. We’ll have someone pick us up on the way, so it’s fine. We can’t exactly bring a noble’s carriage into the town, can we? It would defeat the purpose of hiding our status.”
Kent spoke up to reassure the guard before he could finish. By the way, the mention of an escort was a lie just to calm the guard.
“Is that so… Understood. Please be careful on your journey.”
The guard gave a salute and saw them off.
“As expected of Kent-san. You had arranged for a carriage.”
“No, I just said that to put the guard at ease. I think he believed me because Al is here as an escort.”
The three began their walk towards the town of Tiol. After walking for a bit and moving away from the town, Kent confirmed that there was no one around.
“We should be fine now that we’re this far. The road isn’t paved, but it’s not too bumpy, and carriages can normally pass, so I think it’ll be okay… It’s just a matter of how far we can get in an hour…”
Kent was confident that even if they couldn’t reach Tiol, this method would get them quite close. He calculated that they could manage the remaining distance by walking.
Kent took out his terminal and displayed a certain item. That item was…
[Complimentary Light Truck Rental for Customers (60 minutes)]
Until now, due to people watching, he had noticed the option but had never selected it. He hadn’t tested what would happen after 60 minutes had passed, so he felt a little uneasy, but he intuitively felt this was their only option this time.
“Caro-san, Al, please step a little further away.”
“Yes.”
After confirming Caroline and Al had moved away, Kent selected the light truck rental from the terminal. A white light truck appeared before him.
“Wow, this is nostalgic. It even has the logo.”
The body had the logo of the Home Center where Kent had worked in his previous world. Below it, it was carefully written, “For customer rental.”
“Caro-san, please load the luggage onto the truck bed and sit here.”
“Yes.”
Kent and Caroline loaded their luggage onto the truck bed and secured it with ropes. Caroline sat in the passenger seat.
“This feeling is so familiar. Is this a cart made of iron?”
Caroline said with a nostalgic tone. Though she had become accustomed to it now, she had been very surprised by this ability when she first met Kent. However, since this was something she was seeing for the first time, she felt that way.
“Caro-san, I’m sorry. Could you hold Al on your lap?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Kent placed Al on Caroline’s lap and got into the driver’s seat.
“The key is here… Alright, let’s start the engine.”
He turned the key… The indicator lights on the meter lit up, but the engine wouldn’t start.
“Ah, this is a manual transmission.”
He tried again, this time pressing the clutch and brake while turning the ignition key. The engine started.
“Alright, looks like we can go. Let’s turn on the air conditioning while we’re at it.”
“Kent-san, are we going back in this vehicle? Is it okay even without horses?”
“This has an engine, so it doesn’t need horses. It can run on its own.”
“Really?”
“I don’t like the smell of the smoke coming from the back…”
Unlike Caroline, who listened with keen interest, Al didn’t seem too enthusiastic. The smoke from the back was probably referring to the exhaust. Kent understood that it wasn’t something good to inhale, and he figured Al was particularly sensitive to it.
The fuel gauge displayed numbers instead of a needle. While they were talking, the number 60 became 59.
“Is this the remaining time? Well, we shouldn’t waste any more time, let’s depart.”
“Yes.”
Kent shifted into gear, released the clutch, and pressed the accelerator, starting the light truck. Operating the clutch of a light truck is delicate, and it’s difficult to engage it without stalling. However, he handled it with familiarity, efficiently shifting gears and increasing speed.
“This is surprisingly fast! And it’s cool inside even though it’s hot outside.”
“Amazing, amazing!”
Caroline and Al were delighted by the speed, something they had never experienced before.
“Be careful not to bite your tongue, it’s bumpy.”
As they drove on the unpaved road, the ride was quite bumpy. With time also a limiting factor, Kent maintained a speed that was the limit for stable driving, heading towards the town of Tiol.
Please always wear a seatbelt when riding in a light truck. Kent, Caroline, and Al were riding in it, but in this world, it would be subject to penalties, so please refrain from letting children ride with you holding them. When transporting small children, always use a child seat or booster seat appropriate for their age.
By the way, according to the interpretation at the time of writing, in the case of a light truck, it is possible to carry people in the cargo area under the guise of “cargo watch.” Therefore, to ride legally, Kent would be in the driver’s seat, Al in the passenger seat with a junior seat, and Caroline as the “cargo watcher” in the cargo area would be the correct seating arrangement. Well, since it’s another world, there are no such laws… (sweat)
