Chapter 132 - The Sleeping Mizuki and Marmie's Reconciliation Plan
We were waiting at the entrance of Longhorn Trail for Maira and the others to return. Much like the one in Richelle, this dungeon's entrance was located inside a shrine. The stone building bustled with adventurers—some about to depart, others just returning from their explorations. Like us, some were heavily injured. The group sizes varied widely, from solo adventurers to parties of six. Some parties were even teaming up to form new groups. The fact that we rarely saw other adventurers inside the dungeon meant it had to be vast. There were stalls set up for them, selling preserved food, maps, weapons, and other supplies. I remembered the dog-eared man I'd met on Longhorn Street. He said his party was called 'Lightning'. I wondered if he was exploring the dungeon, too. We found an empty spot along the wall and settled in. The healing potion had stopped the numbness in my right leg, but now the wound itself was throbbing with intense pain. Mizuki was still asleep. A sense of anxiety and impatience was growing within me. I just wanted Maira and Aira to get back quickly. I noticed other adventurers stealing glances at Marmie. An elven adventurer must be a rare sight.
"Marmie, I have a favor to ask you, too."
"...What is it?"
"I want to make up with Wake. I was just trying to look cool in front of Cecily at the time, but I regret it now. I don't want someone who has the absolute trust of a powerful family's daughter holding a grudge against me."
"...Understood. I'll order him."
"No, that's not what I mean…"
I had hoped she would just arrange a chance for us to talk, but her solution was much simpler. From her position, though, it wasn't something she needed to ask for. Wake would certainly obey her command, but the thought of not knowing what he was truly thinking was terrifying.
"...I know. But there's no point in just smoothing things over on the surface. The root of the problem is that Wake doubts your abilities."
"Is fighting him to prove myself the only way…"
"...You don't need to do that. Leave it to me."
Marmie's words, "Leave it to me," overlapped with Mizuki's. I reached out and touched her cheek. It felt a little cold. Just then, Maira and the others emerged from the black circle in the center of the room.
Maira was healing Mizuki. Meanwhile, Aira was treating my injuries.
"I'd be lost if you weren't here, Aira. I want you to stay with us forever."
I said to her.
"I keep telling you. Don't let go of Cecily. I think you're fine for me, Mash. Even if she recommends another new guy, I'm just not interested."
"Stop calling the guys Cecily likes 'recommendations.' And if I'm interpreting that correctly, it means you like me, right?"
"What are you talking about now? Besides, I don't like you, Mash."
"Which is it?!"
"You're so reckless, yet you grasp our abilities more accurately than anyone and make decisions based on that. I can't stand that you entrusted the severely injured Mizuki to Maira."
I had indeed thought Maira was better suited to treat Mizuki, but I never imagined Aira would be bothered by it. I patted her on the head.
"Don't do that. I told you I don't like you!"
Her gaze fell to the wound on my thigh.
"Do you think Cecily should go to a magic academy? What do you think, Aira?"
She'd probably stay with the party while we were in Migul, but taking her to the Demon Kingdom would likely be impossible.
"Cecily has been struggling ever since she joined Levante."
"She has? About what?"
"I already gave you a hint."
She lightly slapped my right thigh. It didn't hurt.
Aira moved over to Mizuki's side to help Maira. My clothes were torn, but the wound on my body had vanished. I could stand without any pain. It was truly miraculous. As I was testing the feeling in my leg, Marmie approached me.
"...Mash. I have something to discuss."
"What is it?"
"...Actually, the city of Migul and the city of Heilong have decided to cooperate to counter the Demon Kingdom. To that end, they've decided to establish a means of communication between the two cities."
"Hey, is it really okay to talk about something like that here?"
"...It's fine. I just heard it as a rumor."
"What kind of rumor is that?!"
She already stood out just by being here, but I reconsidered—no one would ever imagine a daughter from one of Migul's Four Ruling Families would be in a place like this. Marmie glanced over at Wake.
"...So, we're thinking of building a road and creating station houses."
A station house was a facility equipped for lodging messengers, as well as for swapping out or resting their horses.
"You plan to use horses for communication?"
Marmie nodded slowly. The two cities were on the front lines against the Demon Kingdom. The most direct route between them would naturally be more susceptible to the Demon Kingdom's influence. Even if they built the road and station houses, they'd be vulnerable to destruction or sabotage, making them unreliable when it mattered most.
"Hasn't there been anything until now?"
"...There is. The Emperor maintains one, but it's not very dependable."
Improving and reinforcing the existing infrastructure seemed like a simple enough solution.
"What about carrier pigeons?"
"...We plan to use them. But the amount of information is limited."
"Are there any races in this world that can fly?"
"...There are the Winged People and the Bat People."
"Oh, so they exist! Then you should just ask them."
"...The Winged People are a bit unusual; they have the legs of birds. They used to live around here, but after a conflict with the Demon Kingdom, they created a society for themselves and went into seclusion. Now they live in their own kingdom in a forest far to the north. I think the country was called something like Nekoganaconda."
"Nekoganaconda?! What kind of name is that? Is that a pun?!"
Having bird legs probably meant they weren't well-suited for life in a city.
"...I believe they've been ruled by a queen for generations. They live in massive trees, and the largest one is 333 meters tall."
My head was filling up with seemingly useless information. I almost retorted, "So, the Tokyo Tower?" but she wouldn't get the reference, so I kept my mouth shut. Still, if it really existed, that was one unbelievably tall tree.
"Is that so? I'd like to visit someday."
"...You said you came from Richelle, Mash, but it's much farther than the distance between Richelle and Migul. And there are no roads part of the way. If you're going, I want to go too," Marmie replied.
"Then what about the Bat People? They're not the Giant Bats from the fifth floor of the dungeon, are they?"
"...They're not monsters. The Bat People, like elves, are few in number. Most of them live in the Demon Kingdom. Their flight time is short, so they're not suited for long-distance travel."
"Then running is the only option."
"...Running?"
"Marmie, who do you think is faster, a human or a horse?"
"...A horse, I think. But since you're asking, it must be a human."
"That's right, but over short distances, a horse is faster. But what about over ten, fifty, or a hundred kilometers?"
"...I'm not sure. But if both are trained equally, wouldn't the horse still be faster?"
"Actually, no. During their evolution, when humans came down from the trees and started living on the ground, they began to walk on two legs. That created a huge difference between them and other creatures."
"...Humans lived in trees?"
Marmie asked. I recalled the myth of this world, where the human race was first created by a god. And it was the proliferation of the human race that incurred the god's wrath. Evolution was a denied concept in this world.
"Maybe it's different in this world. In our world, the prevailing theory is that humans evolved from apes."
"...Is that so?"
Marmie looked surprised.
"Yeah. Anyway, back to the topic. The advantages of walking on two legs are that the balance of gravity allows for a larger head, and thus a larger brain; it freed up the hands for use; and finally, it enabled us to run farther."
"...Why does walking on two legs let you run farther?"
The advantage of walking on four legs is the ability to generate explosive propulsion using the entire body's strength. The expansion and contraction of the body while running also acts as a pump for the lungs, meaning their breathing is linked to their movement. That's why they're suited for running fast over short distances, but not for running long distances over extended periods. Oxygen is necessary to move the body, but too much of it can become toxic. With bipedalism, running and lung movement aren't linked. That's why it's not suited for sprinting, but it is suited for long-distance running. With training, a human can run over a hundred kilometers in half a day. Bipedalism was humanity's survival strategy, allowing us to endure climate change and expand our habitat across the entire globe. Plus, it allows for more flexible responses to obstacles, rough terrain, or even flooding rivers. You can even rehydrate while running. And if you have water magic, all the better. I explained all of this to Marmie.
"Well, to be able to run long distances, it would take about half a year to a year of training for fifty kilometers, and two to three years for a hundred. There are also individual differences."
"...I see. It might be better than using horses, so I'll consider it."
"If you have the money, it's always better to have multiple means of communication."
Marmie nodded.
"...Is there an easy way to train people like that?"
"Do you know what a marathon is? You have people compete in martial arts at the arena, right? Instead of fighting, you have them compete by running. If you hold regular athletic festivals and give rewards not just to the winner but to as many participants as possible, they'll train themselves."
"...I see. Back when the Old Empire existed, a festival called Olympia was held every four years in a southern city."
"Really?"
I looked at Marmie, a little surprised. She nodded slowly.
"Master, this is an old story, but during the era when the Old Empire ruled the world, there was a man known as the Dog-Eared Emperor. That emperor had a prime minister who was a transfer student."
"Don't tell me that man was Okita Soji?"
Fam shook her head.
"He used a pseudonym, but he called himself Richelieu. It was on his advice that a festival of sports, gathering people from all over the world, came to be held."
If he was named after the politician from my world, he had a terrible naming sense, I thought. But Fam seemed to have more to say, so I stayed quiet.
"He left behind many words, but he was known to have said, 'Humans create with their minds, build with their hands, and connect with their feet.'"
"Is that so. That means there might be a lot of transfer students who've said similar things to what I have."
Marmie might have predicted I'd say something like that. I felt a little embarrassed. When I looked at her, she had a refreshed, satisfied expression, as if she'd just completed a major task. She then glanced proudly at Wake. Was she thinking that my little speech would make Wake see me in a new light? I looked at him and saw he was staring back at me with a genuinely awkward expression. I felt incredibly uncomfortable.
"So… uh. My bad. I shouldn't have been criticizing another person's party."
Wake apologized. It probably wasn't from the heart, but Marmie was implicitly pressuring him to make up with me. This was no different from being ordered to do it; it was just a slightly roundabout way.
"No, it's fine. Fam, Mizuki, and I have only been adventurers for a little over a month. We don't know anything about fighting…"
"A month? Even with Lady Marmie, you reached C-rank in that time?"
His expression was one of shock. So that was what surprised him.
"That's how it is. Let's get along from now on."
I held out my hand, and he shook it. Marmie nodded, looking satisfied.
"Making running popular is a good idea, but what about shoes? We don't have high-performance ones like in our world."
"That's a matter of running form. Even the sandals in this world are good enough to run in, and it's not like we're competing for speed. What's important is delivering the information reliably, no matter the situation."
I suddenly realized that the person asking questions had changed to Mizuki. She was awake. Her face was a little pale, but she seemed to be okay. I wrapped her in a hug.
"Hey, this is embarrassing!"
Even as she said that, she wrapped her arms around my back. My eyes started to feel hot. But our embrace was broken apart by Maira and Aira.
"How cruel! I'm the one who healed her. You should praise me first!"
Maira puffed out her cheeks. I turned and hugged her instead.
"Hyaa! P-Preferably when we're alone…"
Maira squirmed shyly, but she didn't try to escape. In fact, she pressed her body closer, her large breasts flush against me. I happened to meet the gaze of Aira, who was staring at us.
"Alright, you get a hug too!"
I let go of Maira and went to hug Aira.
"I don't need one! I told you, no!"
Aira shoved me away. When I looked around, I saw Marmie waiting with her arms wide open.
"...My reward for helping today. I haven't received it yet."
I opened my arms to go hug her, but Fam stepped in between us and stopped me.
"Marmie, the Master is mine!"
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, or rated this story, your support is a great encouragement. Thank you always for pointing out typos.