Hime and Yuu-chan finally came out of the barrier, wiping their still-wet hair with towels.
Well, I can say that this horse carriage is very complete with all kinds of equipment for surviving or living in a remote place.
I had glanced at the pile of boxes inside, and according to Luke, those were food supplies given by Charles-san.
But he didn't know what was inside, because he didn't want to open them yet.
"Fwah~ So refreshing," said Yuu-chan.
Luke and I immediately got off the carriage while holding our towels.
"If you two want to stay inside, it's fine. Just keep an eye on things so no one tries to steal this carriage," said Luke.
"Don't worry, I won't let anyone take our carriage," said Hime.
I didn't need to worry; if Hime said that, then I could trust her.
—
Luke and I went into the barrier he had created, and of course, we brought buckets to fetch water.
It seemed that Hime and Yuu-chan had also used these buckets earlier.
…It reminded me of the first time Yuu-chan got her human form. I was pretty happy at that time.
Well, even though there are still things I don't know, like where Anna-chan disappeared to, and why, when I woke up, I saw Yuu-chan crying.
But I don't want to ask her about it, because I feel it might hurt her heart again.
If I had to guess, maybe Anna-chan said goodbye and parted ways with Yuu-chan, and that's why she cried.
Srak.
Luke and I took off our clothes and placed them inside the bucket sitting on top of the rocks at the riverside.
"Yukito, your body's pretty good, huh?" said Luke while looking at me.
"This? Compared to me…" I muttered as I looked at his physique.
He had very well-defined muscles, even though he looked quite skinny when he wore his clothes.
His body was also quite muscular, and it was definitely bigger than mine.
My body wasn't that big, so whoever saw me for the first time would probably think I maintained my figure, even though I didn't.
Compared to mine, obviously… Luke was better.
As I stared at his body earlier, I could see his abs were neatly and strongly formed.
"Oh, you mean this? Well, I can't deny that my body is like this," he said while laughing softly and scratching the back of his head.
"Do you train often?" I asked.
"Charles-san said I need to be able to fight physically, so when my Mana runs out, I can still fight," he replied.
"Hmm…" I muttered.
"By the way, yours is not small either, you know. Are you tense or something?" I asked.
How could I not ask? It was clearly something that caught my attention.
In fact, I could tell it was bigger than mine.
"Nope, this is how it usually is," said Luke.
I could only fall silent at his answer, and slowly, I dipped myself into the river until almost my entire body was underwater.
This time, I felt defeated by him, and I wouldn't win if I tried to compete with mine against his.
This was also my first time seeing one that big, even though he wasn't even tense, so how could he have something like that?
——
After that, the two of us left the barrier, and Luke immediately dispelled the magic he used to create it.
It was as if nothing had happened, and the river remained the same as before.
We both got into the front seat, and just like earlier, Hime and Yuu-chan were inside.
They would take turns with us once night came.
"All done, right?" asked Luke.
I looked inside through the window, and Hime and Yuu-chan were already sitting on the sofa.
"Yeah, they're ready too," I said.
"Oh yeah, do you want to try pulling the horses?" asked Luke.
This carriage was different from most carriages, and it was bigger.
It wasn't pulled by one horse, but by two, and Luke had been pulling it all this time.
It wasn't that I didn't want to help him so he wouldn't be too tired, but…
"I've never done something like this before… is it not difficult?" I asked.
He gave me a small smile, and from his expression, he clearly looked like someone who was used to handling horses. Well, this was his carriage after all.
He handed me one of the reins attached to the horses, while he held the other.
"Here, basically you just follow my movements. You'll get used to it eventually," said Luke.
I nodded, meaning I agreed.
He lifted his rein slightly, then slashed it downward with a decent amount of force.
I immediately followed his movement, and slowly, the carriage began to move again.
"Easy, right? If you want to increase the speed, just do what we did earlier, but a few more times," said Luke.
Now I understood how to pull and lead a carriage with horses.
Back in my previous world, I had never even seen a horse in person, so I was a total beginner at things like this.
"But for now, we shouldn't go too fast. It's almost night, so it's better if we pull it more slowly," said Luke.
"Alright, I get it," I said.
—
Night finally came, and along this road there were only a few street lamps, which looked like lanterns attached to wooden poles.
There were maybe five or six lanterns along one kilometer.
Well, it made sense, since there were no big cities nearby—only grasslands and empty fields.
There was a small village not far from here, and our plan was to rest there for a while, because it wouldn't be safe to rest casually on the main road.
"Have you been to this village before?" I asked when the carriage passed through a wooden gate of the village.
Before we could even reach the houses, several people blocked the carriage, forcing us to stop.
"Who are you?!" shouted one of them suspiciously.
Hime immediately stepped out from inside the cabin and stood in front of them.
"What is she doing—" Luke looked slightly panicked and tried to get down to stand beside her.
But seeing him, I stopped him immediately.
"Relax. Let's trust her," I said.
Hime handed them her adventurer card, and I was sure she succeeded.
"S-sorry, Fuu-san, we thought your group was trying to sneak into the village and kidnap our food supplies," said one of them.
"It's fine. If possible, we'd like to stay in this village for one night. We'll leave tomorrow morning," said Hime.
"In that case, I'll lead you to the empty lot that fits the size of your carriage," said the man.
—
Hime and I got back on the carriage and followed the group until we arrived at the place.
"The house beside you belongs to the village elder. If anything happens, just knock on his door," the man said before walking away.
"Alright, do you guys want to start a campfire first?" asked Luke.