Chapter 115
Yak awoke from a nightmare and was greeted by a new day amidst the jolting of the carriage.
He sat on the sheepskin rug for a long, long time without moving, and then slowly sighed.
It must be because of the steam oven; it's so noisy. That's why I'm having nightmares.
He thought this as he looked into the steel cage he was in.
Their new carriage was completed a week after the monster was defeated, and they also acquired the necessary goods: metal and witchcraft potions. In the end, they bought a large quantity of black flower because it was so cheap.
Metal is heavy, so they were forced to choose a relatively safer route. Since the spiderlings emerged from their cocoons, the environment in that forbidden zone had eased slightly, allowing them to leave safely.
Metal should fetch a good price in the next city, since the church still controls the metal trade. While private metal transactions are possible, they are rationed. There will always be those who need large quantities of metal. However, gold and silver are controlled, so to avoid trouble, he only uses gemstones and commonly used metals as commodities.
The exception was that Deedris received a new set of armor.
After the original armor was completely dismantled, the core materials were extracted. These were then combined with metal to create steam armor. It's the kind worn by guards, but a size smaller overall.
Because Deedris herself can generate steam from her body. This steam, which would otherwise have been abandoned, has now become one of her power sources. Therefore, her armor is much smaller than the standard design.
In addition, there are these carriages.
There were a total of seven carriages. Yak couldn't remember when he had ever been so glorious, able to lead a large convoy of seven carriages.
Putting everything else aside, we can't even afford to keep horses.
But now these vehicles are all powered by steam, and once you've learned how to use them, they're much easier to deal with than those intelligent creatures.
Moreover, Lady can basically run the business on her own.
She underwent the most significant changes, aside from becoming a demon. The puppets were also linked together through alchemy and some magic.
Simply put, Lady took twenty dolls from that city, naming them using numbers from one to twenty. Including herself, there are a total of twenty-one Lady's, all under her complete control.
This was the easiest time Ark had ever been out, as he didn't have to worry about protecting the cargo, keeping watch, patrolling, or looting. Even the most basic task of driving the carriage was entirely handled by Lady.
All you have to do is sit and wait.
The real body was now sitting right in front of him, slicing a meat patty. Although food was scarce in this world, Ark could still find places to buy food. In fact, most of his expenses came from this. Among the food supplies on the carriage, this meat patty made from minced meat was clearly a delicious treat.
She seemed to have cooked two portions of the dish, placing one in front of herself and the other in front of Ark. The carriage had a fairly spacious interior, and because there was so much space, a table for dining could be placed inside.
Lady wore her hair in a high ponytail; she had taken great care of herself ever since that night. She had changed into a formal dress and long skirt, and was wearing exquisite wooden clogs. Her flawless face was almost translucent in the light streaming through the window.
Yak pinched the bridge of his nose. This guy insisted on being in the same carriage as him. That way, he could learn a lot.
Ark really couldn't refute it. He had indeed promised to teach her about business. It wasn't that he was deceiving an innocent girl; he simply wanted an excuse to help her overcome her despair.
Who knew it would turn out like this, making it a bit difficult for me to handle.
In fact, Ark still had a hard time dealing with the girls, after all, it was really difficult to fully understand these guys whose way of thinking was different from his own.
So he had no choice but to accept the option of Lady staying near him. He felt a little helpless, but it wasn't a big problem. After all, it didn't seem safe here, and Lady's mental state wasn't ideal right now. It was good for her to be close to him.
"Good morning," Lady said to Ark, her voice soft and gentle.
"Good morning." Yak looked at her, then sat down opposite her to prepare for breakfast.
I slept very soundly this time; it used to be so hard to get a good night's sleep. After all, I used to have to worry about almost everything, so suddenly having so much free time made it really difficult to fall asleep.
I guess I'm just destined to be a hard worker. Thinking about it that way is really sad.
The food was perfect as always, and like everything else, there was nothing to worry about. Ark slowly closed his eyes, hesitated for a long time, and then asked:
"You used your ability, didn't you?"
"Um."
“I remember saying this before, or rather, I’ve been emphasizing it recently. You’re a demon, just like Lori now. You need to hide that, or it’ll cause a lot of trouble.” Ark sighed helplessly. “I hope you can make yourself a little less conspicuous. We’re being observed now; the Church observes everything in the world through the sun wheel.”
"It doesn't matter. If the church really comes looking for me, I'll face them alone. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble," Lady said casually, seemingly completely unconcerned.
Looking at her nonchalant expression, Yak didn't know how to express his concern.
Demons are a thorn in the side of the Church, and they have no intention of allowing any demon to live freely. Letting them live would violate their principles.
Even if Ark could get Benny to handle public relations, it would be a huge problem. Because once the Demon is classified as dangerous, a Saint clearly cannot protect her with his own power.
However, Ark wasn't actually that worried. As for the reason? Ark could only smile knowingly; for Lady at this moment, it was best not to say.
The ground suddenly shook, and Ark adjusted the angle of his wrist to catch the flying steak.
"A calamity-level monster has appeared about a hundred meters to the right. I didn't see it because it was hiding in the ground!" Deedri's voice from the roof of the car made Ark's ears hurt.
Clearly, breakfast was not going to be a leisurely affair. Yak put a piece of meat in his mouth, then took a spear from the wall, held it in his hand, and rushed out of the carriage.
Then he gasped, thinking how strange the world really was. A rock serpent, about a kilometer long, crawled across the ground; it was a monster made entirely of stone but capable of movement, and he wondered how long it had been following the carriage.
Now suddenly exposed, it no longer bothered to hide its movements, completely circling the carriages to surround them.
It seems this guy wants to use the toughness of his body to forcibly wipe them out.
However, this snake was overestimating itself. Ark flipped its wrist and threw the spear in its hand. The spear, which was just made of metal, was filled with magic power and exploded with wind pressure the moment it was thrown.
Then it moved forward at lightning speed. At the same time, the rock serpent seemed to sense danger and tried to dodge. But it was too late. In the instant it was struck, the rock serpent was severed. The mark didn't look like it had been hit by a spear the size of a toothpick to it; it looked more like it had been wounded by a huge sword blade.
Dedeline, now clad in brand-new steam-powered metal armor, leaped beside Ark. The impact even caused the carriage to sag, and Ark, arms outstretched, caught the spear that had bounced back.
It's still not fully penetrated; it's only half complete.
Ark frowned, somewhat dissatisfied with the outcome. In the past, he shouldn't have felt so powerless. Even if it weren't for instant annihilation, it should at least have severed the connection.
But that was enough. The rock snake twitched its body, trying to dodge, realizing that something extraordinary was on the vehicle. Because just as it twisted its body, Didry stepped on it.
She dragged her Dragon Fang Greatsword along, which was still incredibly sharp. Just dragging it around on her body was enough to create huge wounds.
With a divine spell, Judgment Cross, Karl emerged from the carriage. With a slight flick of his wrist, four crosses instantly descended from the sky. These were no small objects; they were enormous crosses, standing on the ground like towering towers.
Ark hurled his spear again, and this time he finally located the magic core. With a loud bang, the enormous monster writhed its mangled body on the ground.
The fact that this matter was completely resolved was marked by Didry's return with his magic core. This was a valuable item for wizards and alchemists, and even wizards were willing to pay a high price for it. Therefore, collecting it was naturally the best option.
It's great that this was resolved so quickly. It didn't bother many people; some just glanced at it and saw the outcome. The whole thing was resolved in under three minutes, so there was no need to do anything unnecessary.
But another depressing thing happened. After the rock snake died, its body weathered away at a visible rate, and it was surrounded by huge sand dunes.
This is troublesome. The carriage stopped, and Yak looked at the dunes, covering his face in resignation.
Calling it a sand dune isn't quite right, because it has cliffs tens of meters high. If you get too close and move around, you could be buried by the dunes, leading to even more tragic consequences.
“It seems we have to stop today,” Didri said, looking at Yak. “We need some time today to get the carriage sorted out. It’s been running for too long; there might be something wrong with it.”
Yak really couldn't understand steam machinery. Originally, the only steam machinery on the carriage was Denos's lighter. Now, after so little time, almost all the traditional things have disappeared.
However, I still understand that things need maintenance after prolonged use. After all, the carriage had been running continuously for several days; even horses need to be stopped and fed. Steam machinery should also undergo some maintenance to be reliable.
"Has anything been going wrong lately?" Didry asked the Yark Calamity.
“Acid rain will start in four hours,” Acton paused and said. “The closest thing to us is a 30-minute storm, which looks like it’s going to turn into a sandstorm.”
“Then surround the carriage and set up a barrier.” Ark paused, then turned to look at Lady behind him. She said this with certainty, and looked at Ark’s surprised expression with some confusion: “Isn’t that what you did back then?”
“Indeed.” Yak rubbed his temples. “You’re absolutely right.”
Then it saw the group of dolls, all modeled after Lady, and each one looked similar. They weren't usually all used to save energy, but now that help was needed, they all came out from the back and busied themselves around the carriage.
Lady stood at the front of the carriage, directing them like a captain.
"Isn't this great?" As Ark sat down, Denos suddenly pulled him into his arms. "How relaxing!"
“I haven’t shown any negative emotions,” Yak said. Indeed, he had a classic poker face; even a frown was considered a display of emotion.
"Don't try to fool me. I've been following you for so long, I can tell your emotions pretty well." Denost paused and said, "When you're unhappy, you avoid people's gaze and lower your head slightly. Although you might look a little tired, it's always because you're in a bad mood."
"I never expected you to be so observant of me. To be honest, I didn't guess that." Yak used this combination of words to express his surprise: "How are you? You haven't been doing anything these past few days, just lying here all day?"
“At least I’ve been helping with our cargo. There are a few metals that are prone to rust, and I need to keep them dry,” Denos said, looking at Ark. “You, on the other hand, have been quite relaxed lately.”
"There will be acid rain later, so make sure the metal doesn't come into contact with it."
“Please don’t change the subject.” Denos pulled Leak’s neck. “How was it being alone in a carriage with a pretty girl?”
"Stop messing with me," Yak said with a pained expression. "That has nothing to do with me."
"Irrelevant? Don't say that, I think it's very relevant." Denos looked at Ark and said, "Did Lady tell you? She came to me all night to ask about you. I was really thinking a lot about her coming to see me alone late at night, but we talked about you all night."
Yak sighed helplessly. This time, the guy didn't want to say anything anymore, so keeping silent was actually a good choice.
Denos probably realized that what he had said was indeed meaningless, and looked at Ark, saying, "Seriously, what do you think of her?"
This time, the joking around was gone; the guy became serious and was asking about serious matters.
Ark has never been wrong in his judgment of people. There are plenty of people in the world who seem good but are actually bad, and some are really hard to tell apart. Fortunately, Denos has Ark as his yardstick. As long as he says there's nothing wrong with someone, they're mostly right.
"It's alright," it could only say softly. "I don't understand it either."
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