At dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the winding official road, filtering through sparse tree shadows onto a slowly advancing carriage. Its wheels creaked over the gravel road, and with the steady clip-clop of the horses, the carriage swayed gently.
Quintina frowned, lightly bracing herself against the window as she said impatiently, "Ang, I'm telling you, if only our North Wind Territory had a railcar line to River Bay City. This carriage is getting more uncomfortable by the day!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Puli, Isi, and the others sitting nearby nodded in agreement. The long carriage journey had been unbearably bumpy. Even though they had long been accustomed to crossing mountains and rivers by carriage, their backs and waists still ached.
Seeing their miserable expressions, Ang could not help but laugh. "It's fine within the North Wind Territory, since we have railcars. But once we leave the territory, carriages are still the main means of travel. As for the Empire's carriages, they're all magic vehicles. They're quite stable in every respect, so just bear with it."
Quintina folded her arms and snorted. "Then why don't you make some magic vehicles? That would make traveling much more convenient for us!"
Ang lightly tapped the carriage wall. "Magic vehicles are expensive to make, and the materials for their magical power cores are hard to find. We'll consider it after we return from the imperial capital."
Quintina muttered, "Return? If the road stays this bumpy for that long, I won't even want to go..."
At that moment, Isi asked, "My lord, are we departing directly from River Bay City?"
Ang nodded. "To reach the imperial capital, we first need to arrive at Tan'anster City. We'll take an airship from River Bay City, transfer to another airship in Tan'anster,