Dalien
Just as the peddler suggested, we hitched a carriage from a city to the capital.
The road was well maintained, and the coupled carriage was pulled by a total of six horses. The ride wasn’t bad, but getting a lift all the way to the Capital cost quite a pretty penny, it seems.
A sum of five silver coins a piece.
With me and Novem together, it was a total equal to a whole gold coin.
I sat and observed the scenery as I stared out the carriage.
Perhaps she was tired, but Novem was sound asleep. She was leaning on me, and breathing peacefully.
(Has she been pushing herself?)
I may be worthless by myself, but it was because Novem was with me that I could get all the way here. Otherwise, I would have probably gotten there eventually, but some time along the way, I would have ended up on foot.
Having never camped out before, travelling alone was completely out of the question, according to my ancestors. I had the vague notion that I would be alright, but it seems they were all fed up with the naivety of my thought process.
Even the Seventh Generation, my grandfather, didn’t stick up for me on that one.
In order not to wake Novem, I kept my eyes on the outside.
As I was doing that, I heard the Second’s voice.
Today is his day to look after me, apparently.
I don’t know the criterion, but while travelling, the first and second, and occasionally the fourth would start up a conversation with me.
There was the problem of my Mana, so having two talk to me at once was tiring. For that reason, they call out to me alone.
『You’ve sure got some convenient things around these days. We didn’t have this coupling system in my day.』
In a small voice, I answered.
“Is that how it was?”
『It’s because that was almost two hundred years ago. Magic Tools, was it? We never had anything that convenient.』
Magic Tools were something built to replace gems. They were a much simpler way to bestow skills unto people. However, perhaps because gems were the stronger of the two, it was impossible for one to use multiple Magic Tools at once.
It’s always either one or two.
But there was the problem with my Mana, so right now, I can’t use a Magic Tool. The Ancestors’ Skills included, the current me is bearing quite a load.
And the majority of them are ones I can’t even use.
Or should I say… the Seventh Generation’s skill was too much for me, myself to handle, so I couldn’t use it. The Second’s was one that interacted with and affected other skills.
About the First Generation’s, because he didn’t recognize me, he didn’t want to let me use it.
The other Skills were similar. Saying my body couldn’t handle it, they refused to give permission to use them.
(I’m in a state where I can’t use any of them, aren’t I?)
“But even if they’ll supply somewhere to stay along the way, is five silver that expensive?”
Apparently, my sense of money is clearly worse than I thought. Fifth generation onward, in order to live their lives as full nobles, had abandoned the sense of money of commoners.
That was apparent when I was choosing a weapon.
Fifth onwards said the more expensive ones would last for an exponentially longer time, and had a good cost-performance-ratio as they recommended a high-priced sword.
But taking the money I had on hand into consideration, that proved impossible. While I was able to afford it, it would make the travels afterwards difficult, so the Second and Third vetoed the decision.