Meanwhile, in the town of Ismar, located in the southwestern reaches of the Shouro Empire.
It was the morning of November 24th—the same day Jin developed the Jet Thruster.
"Oh, so this is your horse, Mr. John!"
The merchant Oliver and his newly hired magi engineer, John Dini, were preparing to depart.
For the ten days since signing their contract, John had supposedly been occupied with building this Golem horse. In reality, Jin had created it, and Laojun had added programming to suppress its performance. Should the need arise, however, it could immediately unleash its original power.
"It's quite convenient, as you can store cargo inside here," John said, opening the storage compartment built into the torso. Oliver was deeply impressed.
"Ho ho, you really are a talented magi engineer, Mr. John! I'm certainly glad we met."
"No, no, I still have much to learn."
While exchanging such pleasantries, Oliver loaded his goods onto the horses.
It appeared this journey would be undertaken by only the two of them. Oliver had mentioned that he preferred not to involve outsiders. Instead, Oliver had prepared two live horses: one for himself to ride, and another to carry cargo.
Most of that cargo consisted of trade goods. John speculated that these were intended for bartering; since their destination involved foreign tribes, it stood to reason that the common currency of the Allied Kingdoms would be useless.
The rest of their supplies included four days' worth of food and water. However, water could apparently be replenished along the way, so they only carried a single day's supply. Of course, as an automata, John required neither food nor drink.
The trade goods consisted of salt, a handful of magi-crystals, several small magi-lamps, and roughly fifty kilograms of wheat. For a private transaction, it was a modest but standard load.
"Well then, let us head out."
Wearing deep-brimmed hats to shield themselves from the sun, the two set off at 8:00 AM. They began their trek by skirting the southern edge of the Harihari Desert.
The sight didn't seem to draw any special attention; John surmised that such travel attire was likely commonplace in this town.
(Though it doesn't exactly look like the authorities are just 'turning a blind eye' to trade with foreign tribes, either...)
John decided to stop guessing with such limited information, figuring the situation would become clear once they arrived.
The Harihari Desert reached its southern limit near Ismar. Further south, the terrain rose into a series of highlands. Between the desert and the mountains lay a stretch of flatland, across which the two horses and the single Golem horse now traveled.
"The ground is quite rocky around here," John remarked, glancing at the desolate landscape to their right.
While people often imagined deserts as endless dunes of sand, many were actually "hamada," or rocky deserts. The classic sea of sand was a "sand desert," which characterized the central regions of the Harihari Desert. Here at the southern edge, the terrain was dominated by stones and gravel.
Being relatively close to the Tropic of Cancer, this area was nearer to the sea than the central desert, resulting in slightly more rainfall. However, it wasn't enough to support lush vegetation; only cactus-like plants and succulents dotted the landscape.
"We've already crossed the border," Oliver noted.
Since there were no physical markers or fences, John concluded that the ridgeline of the southern mountains likely served as the official border.
Before 4:00 PM, a structure resembling a rest house made of piled stones came into view.
"That's our lodging for the night," Oliver announced from the lead, glancing back.
As they drew closer, John saw that the structure was more sturdily built than it first appeared. The stones weren't simply heaped together; they were uniform in size and laid with an understanding of structural weight, suggesting the work of a master craftsman.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Oliver asked as he tethered the horses. Then he added something even more intriguing. "Apparently, this place has been here since ancient times."
John inspected the stonework. Judging by the degree of weathering on the surface, it was certainly over five hundred years old—perhaps even closer to a millennium. The structure was large enough to bring the horses inside as well.
"There's a spring further in. It's only a trickle, though."
John was surprised by that. Looking at the surrounding topography, it didn't seem like the kind of place where water would naturally surface. Wondering if it was a man-made well, John approached the watering hole.
"This is..."
As he watched Oliver let the horses drink, John discreetly used Sonar to scan the area. He discovered that the source was unmistakably a "water conduit." It was choked with moss and debris, which hindered the flow, but it was undeniably an artificial aqueduct.
(A thousand-year-old water system...?)
John Dini—or more accurately, Laojun—formulated a hypothesis: perhaps the ancient foreign tribes had built this infrastructure to facilitate an invasion of the east. This route was far more traversable than cutting through the heart of the desert. And if a reliable water supply had been established...
"Come now, Mr. John, let's eat."
Oliver's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. John set aside his theories and focused on playing his part—pretending to be a human and sitting down for a meal.
They departed at dawn the following day.
"We should reach our destination by evening," Oliver promised.
John felt a flicker of excitement. If all went well, he would be able to provide a highly productive report to his master, Jin.
As they traveled, the scenery began to shift. The Harihari Desert receded into the distance, and the patches of green grew more frequent. Overall, the land was still arid, but the climate was transitioning from desert to steppe.
"In the spring and summer, this all turns into a green meadow," Oliver explained. His description confirmed John's assessment of the steppe-like environment.
During their breaks, the horses literally ate grass by the wayside while John and Oliver drank from their water skins.
Then, just as the short late-autumn sun began to dip toward the horizon, a small settlement appeared.
"That's the place."
John saw several houses built of stone and clay. A few people noticed Oliver and waved. However, at a glance, they looked no different from Oliver's own race; they didn't seem like "foreign tribes" at all.
Sensing John's confusion, Oliver offered an explanation.
"This is the Kari settlement. It's not actually where the foreign tribes live. It's a village founded by people who were cast out of the Allied Kingdoms, or the descendants of fugitives."
Because they weren't technically foreign tribes, Oliver claimed that trading with them wasn't a crime—a convenient loophole, to be sure.
"Oliver!"
A young woman called out to them. Looking at her dark complexion, Laojun realized that her skin wasn't merely tanned from the sun; it was the same shade as the servant race he had seen in the demon territory. It was highly likely that her grandparents or other ancestors had belonged to the foreign tribes.
"Hey there, Maya."
The woman Oliver addressed as Maya appeared to be in her early twenties. She had tawny skin, dark brown hair, and bright brown eyes. She was of average height and possessed a lithe, healthy figure.
"I brought a magi engineer with me, just like I said."
"Right on schedule. You're a lifesaver," she replied. Her speech carried a distinct regional lilt. Laojun recorded the dialect through John's ears, cataloging every detail.
"Pleasure to meet you. I am John Dini."
"I'm Maya. Good to meet ya."
"The pleasure is mine."
Once the greetings were out of the way, Oliver turned to the woman. "Maya, let's get right to it. Is there work for him?"
"Yeah, plenty. Aside from the usual stuff, we've got some things from way back... Tenkunhan, was it? There were a few things that fella just couldn't get workin'."
John—or rather, Laojun—recognized that name.
(If I recall, during My Lord's journey to the Shouro Empire...)
It was the name of the magi engineer who had created those bizarre, avant-garde bronze sculptures Jin had found in the town of Hatata.
"I see. Are there specific items that need repairing?" John asked amiably.
"I've got 'em all gathered in one spot. Just fix whatever you're able to."
Maya led John toward one of the storage sheds.
"The tools in here are all broken or actin' up. If you can fix 'em, just line 'em up on this side, alright?"
"Understood."
"Oh, and take your time. Tomorrow evening is soon enough."
"I see. Thank you."
Even if the actual work wouldn't start until the next day, John was eager to see what he'd be working on. Daily tools were, after all, an excellent barometer for a culture's technical level.
(I see... A pot with no bottom, a frying pan with a broken handle, and a kettle full of holes.)
This was likely the "usual stuff" Maya had mentioned. It seemed the village lacked a proper tinker, and the damage was likely too extensive for a layman to patch. Various other small household goods were scattered about.
(And then there's the stuff in the back... Wait, what?!)
Sitting in the shadows at the back of the shed were two objects that, by any definition, could only be described as bicycles.