The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 106
Currently, the story released by the Holy Church about the Holy Beast of the Silver Moon is gradually spreading like wildfire in Selkram, the Royal Capital. Therefore, there is a risk of confusion among the citizens if they see us leaving the capital.
So I asked Glen to prepare two covered carriages that would hide us from prying eyes. These carriages will also be used as transportation for the abducted people when we rescue them.
And so we loitered by the gatehouse in the castle’s inner ward…
“Wafuu, waouaaann.” (Wafuu, the weather is so nice~)
Ax happily takes in the warm sunlight and squints as he looks up at the sun… It seems like he’s planning to stand there for a long time.
Meanwhile, Blazer is drawn in by Ax who was full of openings and began to creep up on him… but a spear swung down and kept him from launching a light surprise attack.
“Gauh, kuruaou woruan.” (Geez, leave him alone.)
“…Waou garuo aooon.” (…I just wanted a bit of fun.)
Scratching his head, Blazer backed away and Ax was unknowingly saved some trouble, but… my sister Dagger mercilessly ruined everything.
“Wauh♪ ” (Eii♪ )
“Fuah!?”
A bewildered Ax loses his balance as Dagger suddenly grabs and pulls his tail from behind.
“Kuoofuh!” (What do you think you’re doing!?)
“Kuu~, guuon?” (Hnn~, did I find your weak spot?)
While watching Ax and my sister who cutely tilted her head and twitched her fox ears, I analyzed the information we have of the Merchants’ case so far…
(First of all we need to find out where they’re going…)
Spreading out the map of Riastize that I borrowed from Glen, I followed the flow of the river from the outskirts of the Royal Capital Selkram up to the Wilm territory as was my practice.
Since the Merchants use horses, it is safe to assume that they are tied to taking a route closer to a water source. After all, horses drink about 20 to 40 liters of water a day, so the only realistic way to get there is to follow a river, a lake, or some other water source.
As I closely traced the riverpath on the map with my finger, I discovered that it crosses the Wilm territory and ends up in the neighboring country which was known as the League of Free Cities.
“Yes, that’s what I suspected too. It’s difficult to try them for the crime they committed once they cross this territory’s borders, after all…”
“Garuau.” [Figures.]
Wallace nodded in agreement.
Even within the same Kingdom, jurisdiction and authority to maintain public safety is granted to each territory’s Lord, so they cannot just interfere in matters outside their territory without consulting with the other rulers unless there are special circumstances. It would be especially troublesome if the Merchant caravan were to reach the League of Free Cities’ sphere of influence…
Now that I have a general idea of where the Merchants are heading to, I think of a way to catch up to them next.
(It depends on how they’re moving and how fast they’re going, though…)
Basically, the covered wagons used by the Merchant caravan are meant to protect their merchandise from the wind and rains to keep them from deteriorating. For example, if the carriage was exposed to the rain while carrying salt, then the salt will absorb the rain water and melt away. If the product is poorly handled, then the salt will not be sold.
In order to avoid such a situation, almost all of their goods are loaded into the horse-drawn carriages while the people walk alongside it. If that is the case, then it is safe to assume that the speed at which they travel will not exceed the speed of walking, even if they go at the fastest possible pace.
The “fastest”, huh… If there are fewer horses pulling the wagon in relation to the volume of the load, then the speed of travel will be reduced by the number of horses pulling the wagon. This is because the horses will be more tired and they will need more time to rest.
“Woafu, gyaugaoru worufaoon?” [Wallace, what was the composition of the Merchants’ caravan?]
“When I saw them in Lucua village, I think there were three covered four-wheeled wagons with two horses, and the rest were four riding horses for some of the Merchants.”
“Kuaaagu vano…” [Three carriages, huh…]
I don’t see how the weight of their cargo would slow them down if they are using a carriage drawn by two horses.
Considering that they are peddling and decreasing their inventory while carrying the abductees as replacement for that load, then the loading capacity shouldn’t be that extreme…
If that’s the case, then the speed of the Merchant caravan would be about the same if they were going on foot. If they were illegal slave traders, then they would have thoroughly thought that part through.
However, because of the length of the journey, the individuals they abduct will increase, so the speed at which they travel on foot will be considerably slower… it would be safe to assume that they are going at a speed of about 4km per hour.
(So if you consider the distance they’ve travelled between their departure at sundown yesterday and at sundown today, then that’s approximately… 56 to 60km?)
Since our luggage is limited and all of us are occupying the two carriages, then we can cover approximately 40km in 4 hours if we rush the horses.
Furthermore, if we get off the exhausted horses and use our legs to cover the remaining 16 to 20km while conserving our energy in anticipation of battle…
(We could catch up to them by midnight, just as the day changes… we might even be able to do a night raid.)
Of course they would have people to stand guard, but there would be fewer people to deal with at once. It’s even possible to take care of the guards one by one before the resting group could grasp the situation and fight.
Unsurprisingly, this kind of situation is something that would make Blazer happy, isn’t it…?
Additionally, if we refer to this map while traveling, then we will be able to intersect the Merchant caravan on their way to Kelp, a city in the Wilm territory. Unlike Ernesta and the others who are under the direct command of the Royal Family, we kobolds are unconcerned about things like jurisdiction or politics.
“Uruoooaaaan.” [We can do anything we want!]
“HIHIIIIIINN!!”
Just as I figured it out, we hear the neighing of the horses heading to our direction and see Ernesta and Glen each driving the covered carriages which stop in front of us.
Translator’s Notes:
Gatehouse
The original indicated 馬出し/umadashi, which is a unique structure in Japanese castles that is used as a defensive barrier. Unfortunately, this does not have an English equivalent, and the closest one would be the gatehouse. Source
