From the fork in the road that the old coachman mentioned, entering the main road, Sean finally understood what he meant by the carriages from the surrounding towns. It felt like he had stepped into a bustling thoroughfare. Besides the five carriages from the small town, there were many vehicles ahead and behind, and the animals pulling them came in various breeds... One type, a sturdy, long-haired ox, particularly piqued Sean's curiosity. Even their drivers looked quite different from him and the people around him. Their skin was a brownish tint, and their hair was black. The key thing was their exaggerated proportions—thick legs, wide hips, and chests that were astonishingly prominent. If he sat next to one of them, he figured that person's arm alone could be as thick as his thigh! As Sean watched, the driver of the ox-drawn cart was level with his own carriage. For a moment, she turned her head and glanced over. Probably due to the dust, she wore a gauze scarf covering her face, so he couldn't make out her features. But her eyes were striking—very large—and the outline of half her face was prominent. Yet, just as quickly, she turned away...
"Who are those people? They seem different from us," Sean asked the old coachman beside him. The man glanced over briefly. "Adaks... Strange, I rarely see Adak drivers in Koga City, and a woman at that," the old coachman muttered to himself. "I wonder how they ended up in Koga City? Adak is far from Zambutar!" Sean wasn't well-versed in world geography. He had never seen a world map, and he'd heard that drawing a complete, accurate map was a hassle, so most locals only had maps of their own regions. He figured other countries wouldn't let you send people to survey their land, let alone draw maps. So, many well-traveled people only roughly knew where places were, but if you asked how far... they'd just say "not far" or "very far!" There was no concept of distance; at most, someone who had been there would tell you it usually took a few days' journey, and even that was just a rough average.
"So, that place is very far from Zambutar?" Sean asked. He was familiar with the name Zambutar—Luke and Lucille had mentioned it before. It was the continent, or landmass, where the Basha Empire, his country, was located. It was essentially a broad continental term, with many countries in the region, and the people were probably similar. But the girl on the ox cart next to him, with her exaggerated physique, was clearly a different race...
"It's very far. Adak is northeast of Zambutar, and they say it's a desert. I've never been there myself, so I can't say for sure. But if you go north, you'll hear people talk about it often. The people there look like her... And she's a girl. If it were a man, he'd be tall enough to block the sun for you!" The old coachman had a knack for dropping such dry jokes out of nowhere, casually tossing one in. "Is it really that exaggerated? That would be like a walking wall." "Pretty much. If you're lucky enough to see it one day, you'll understand!" Just then, the Adak girl's ox cart pulled ahead of them...
"But it's strange, though. Koga City is in the southernmost part of Zambutar. For them to come all this way from so far... it would probably take two or three years just for the round trip." Thinking about travel time and distance, Sean remembered a question that had been bothering him. This world was probably about the same size as the Earth he once knew. How long would it take to travel from east to west? At the pace of these carriages, it would take years just to reach a distant place.
"By the way, old man. If someone wanted to go outside Zambutar, what's the fastest way?" "You want to go outside Zambutar?" The man didn't answer immediately but turned to ask curiously. "Just curious." "Oh... I thought you really meant to go there. People from other regions might not like us, and some even hate us because of various wars. If there's no special reason, it's best not to leave Zambutar. But if you really want to go, the fastest way is to take an airship from one of the developed northern cities." So there was such a mode of transportation! Technological development truly was the pioneer of progress.
"There are a few airships in Koga City too. You'll see them when we get closer to the city... But I hear they're too small to travel that far, and they're very expensive—mostly used by nobles and merchants." "Just out of curiosity, how expensive is it?" The old coachman suddenly raised one finger and widened his eyes. "A thousand gold coins for a single trip!" A thousand gold... His annual state subsidy was just over ten thousand gold coins. At that rate, he couldn't afford many trips. It was indeed very expensive.
The convoy traveled from morning to evening, stopping briefly at a rest point to let the horses catch their breath, giving everyone time for lunch. It was truly a road near a big city—rest stops and food stalls were everywhere along the way, including many places specifically for merchant caravans and travelers. Since the caravan had come from the small town's trade market, they would load up new vegetables and goods in Koga City before heading back to Taylormian Town. The schedule was set, so they planned to keep going until dark to save some time. The caravan was in the transport business, so they knew what they were doing... They only stopped to rest when it was almost too dark to see the road.
"This is it! Our usual stop. This place has good food, and a lot of caravans hang around here. It's the best spot to catch the latest news from the city." Sean looked at this roadside inn. He could tell the old coachman was intentionally teaching him some survival tips for life on the road. Caravans traveled between cities, and when they gathered here, they could exchange local information... Watching the old coachman walk in with practiced ease, the air around him suddenly felt warmer. The small tavern was packed with people, both men and women. Sean glanced around and noticed the Adak woman from before. Her tall figure stood out in the crowd, easy to spot at a glance.
"Isn't this Old Griffin? Haven't seen you lately... I thought you'd gone north." Just then, a man in his forties spotted the old coachman and walked over warmly... "No way. I've joined the Taylormian caravan recently, handling deliveries for the town!" The two seemed to be old friends, chatting enthusiastically. "Taylormian? That mountain town? Isn't it pretty isolated, with rough roads?" the man said. "Can't be helped. I'm getting old. Can't compete with the young folks for business, so I have to take the less-traveled routes to make a living!" the old coachman replied with a laugh. "Hey, it's not your fault... If you ask me, it's the local lord's fault for keeping his territory so closed off. Otherwise, it wouldn't have ended up like this." Uh...