In the morning of the next day after breakfast, Zarba and the other three could be seen standing around in front of a large creature in the middle of the camp, which was a white African war elephant with a black ornate armor saddle, two ornate armor plates on its front legs, and golden chain anklets on both of its hind legs, that Zarba just summoned into the campsite to see what the new mount would look like.
The other three, Xin, Nadia, and Mormon, were also quite curious as they came to observe the towering elephant with interest up close since in this world the elephant doesn't exist, as well as most animals from Earth.
The fact that camels also don't exist here in this world saddened Zarba the most when he was a child, as he had never ridden one before, and when he realized he was reincarnated as the prince of an empire with a similar culture to the Middle Eastern people, he was hoping to ride one but ended up disappointed.
Around the four of them, the Pro-Maids and Zar-Bros could be seen busy breaking up the camp and preparing for travel, and the bathtub had already been turned back to just a pile of earth by Xin earlier after everyone took a bath in the morning.
"Minimally equipped, huh?" After he looked around the war elephant, Zarba was a little disappointed that the elephant was not equipped with more armor or had a platform for archers to get on top like he saw in the movie. There's also no proper seat to sit on or additional weapons like javelins or something for the rider to use.
"Even though I want to put the Zar-Bros on top to make it a heavy cavalry archer unit..." Zarba sighed as he patted the elephant's leg while the new summoned mount just standing still like a statue.
"Well, you shouldn't be complaining, my husband; it's not like this large creature is not useful." Xin gives her husband a side-eye as she hears him being ridiculous. Even without more armor, just with its size alone, there won't be any normal human that can possibly block its path.
It's also a pretty powerful war machine that Zarba could summon endlessly, and just imagine the herd of these creatures bulldozing through their enemies with no regard for their well-being; it's enough to make Xin smile with appreciation.
"Mmm~ I have never seen this thing before... I wonder what this actual creature is like..." Mormon, who is very curious, is mumbling to herself as she grabs the elephant's trunk before she peeks in the two nostrils with confusion. "Huh, is this its nose??"
"What a strange creature..." Mormon played with the trunk for a while before she lost interest and skipped to the side of the elephant, where there's a long rope ladder hanging down for a rider to climb up to its back. The goblin girl then climbed the ladder agilely before seating herself on the elephant's back and looking down on the people below like a curious little monkey.
"This guy looks pretty strong. I'm going to enjoy riding one into battle myself." Nadia hummed with a satisfied look as she looked up from Xin's side at the elephant and Mormon, who was now walking with great balance on top of the elephant's back.
"Well, it can't be helped if it's not exactly what I expected. I'm just going to use it as a formation breaker and beast of burden then." Zarba said while patting his hands together before he dismissed the elephant as its large frame immediately disappeared before Mormon fell down from the air with a surprised yelp.
"Hey there!" Zarba immediately caught the falling goblin girl with ease, who was now giving him a glare, making him give her an apologetic look. And then he turned to the two women after lowering the huffing Mormon to the ground. "Let's continue our journey; we should arrive at the next town to resupply before dark today."
"Yes, yes, thanks to a certain goblin, our wine is running very low..." Xin gives the goblin girl a look before she walks towards the carriage, while Mormon just whistles and acts like she didn't hear anything.
"I'll be riding in front then." Nadia hums as she walks towards the available golem warhorse. She wonders if they are going to run into some monster or something to fight before they reach the next town.
Meanwhile, Mormon looks down at her small feet, kicking a pebble away absentmindedly as she ponders something. Then, she glances up at Zarba, who is adjusting his shirt collar and belt while he looks at his summons finishing up their tasks, before she hesitantly raises her hand toward him with fingers spread slightly like a child silently asking to hold her parent's hand while on a walk.
"Let's hold hands so you don't get lost," Mormon muttered, avoiding Zarba's curious gaze while looking away with faux nonchalance. The way her big ears twitched tells another story, though, as her embarrassment was obvious to see.
"Haha, I suppose it'll be terrible if one of us is lost, huh?" Zarba chuckled but didn't tease the goblin girl much. Instead, he engulfed her small hand in his, feeling her slightly sweaty palm in his hand as the goblin girl looked down shyly.
"You better hold tight, though," he said, swinging their clasped hands lightly as they walked toward the carriage together while still looking at Mormon with a smirk. "Wouldn't want your prince to wander off on his own, right?"
"Heh, I'll be clinging to you with all my might...!" Mormon's cheeks flushed pink as she said with a grin, her grip tightened on Zarba's hand and her fingertips pressing into his knuckles firmly, the hidden meaning in his words not lost on her.
Ahead, Xin glanced back at them, one eyebrow arched as she opened the carriage door.
'Oh my, is my husband planning to put his naughty hands on such a small goblin girl?' Xin sends her thoughts telepathically to Zarba as she wonders if he likes them young. It won't surprise her since she feels like Zarba is not a picky type with the mindset that if they are not ugly, he would.
'Hey, hey, I can feel the slandering from here...' Zarba replied as he looked at Xin with a wry smile. It's not like he's planning to play inappropriately with Mormon since she looks too young.
'But when she grows up or changes her body, then maybe?' Zarba thought while he heard Xin snort in his mind.
'I know you would say that since your lust has grown stronger after you tasted another woman, you might even begin to neglect your number one slave-wife in flavor of a new woman at this rate...' Xin sighed dramatically as she walked inside the carriage while giving him a mocking, sorrowful look.
'Nah, I won't dare ignore my beloved slave-wife for even a second.' Zarba chuckled as he shook his head before he followed Xin inside the carriage together with Mormon, who was holding his hand as the goblin girl was watching him with a pout since she felt like Zarba wasn't paying attention to her anymore.
Not long after that, the carriage began to move once again as Zarba's group resumed traveling to the town of Tartaro, where they would resupply for the long crossing of the Paramatta bridge over the Little Root River.
÷×÷×÷
Half a day later, Zarba's carriage wheels and the obsidian skeleton horses kicked up dust on the road as the landscape blurred past outside the carriage's windows.
Inside, Mormon and Xin are discussing some spell in the grimoire page animatedly over the table while Zarba leans back on the seat with his hand stroking Nadia's shaggy black hair, as the muscular woman is resting her head against his lap sideways with her eyes closed.
After not seeing any enemies showing up for so long, Nadia could only begrudgingly come inside the carriage, and Zarba just pulled her down to rest on his lap and spoiled her a bit.
The rhythmic sway of the carriage and the faint sound of the skeleton horse's hooves lulled them all into a comfortable atmosphere of peaceful travel through the day, which Zarba and Xin greatly appreciated.
Then the landscape and scenery started to change as the carriage traveled further west. The grassy plains of Zenobia gradually gave way to the rocky foothills leading toward Tartaro, where the town nestled between the short forested valley and the riverbank.
As the carriage descended a winding path of the valley, the scent of pine resin and damp earth start to seeped through the windows inside the carriage—a sharp contrast to the dry plains they left behind.
And to the north of the town in the distance, a faint silhouette of the great bridge of Parramatta loomed over the great river, as its silhouette spanned the Little Root River like a titanic serpent.
The carriage wheels slowed against the dirt road before reaching close to the town as Tartaro's wooden palisades came into view—its gates propped open, guards drowsy under the late afternoon sun. The scent of fish and mud drifted from the river docks, mingling with the earthy dampness of wet laundry hung between houses and alleys.
Zarba immediately mentally commanded his summons to stop the carriage before they got too close to Tartaro, as he felt the shift in Nadia's posture before she opened her purple eyes and got off his lap.
"We have arrived, it seems." Feeling the carriage stop, Xin snapped the grimoire shut with a small smile on her pink lips without lipstick while Mormon was walking towards the window as she put her head outside to see the town, her big blue eyes observing Tartaro with curiosity. Even from a distance she could see the merchants haggling. Children playing near the docks and riverbank.
"Well then, who wants to go buying supplies with me?" Zarba finally asked as he got up from the seat. Then the women looked at each other before they nodded their heads, as they all seemed to want to go with him...