章 238: On the Road Again~

Leaning out of the back of the cart, I glanced over at Prixisia, who was slithering beside us at the same speed, her orangish skin and scales glittering in the bright light of the sun.

"Are you doing alright, Prixisia?"

The Lamia looked over at me in surprise, her slitted eyes finding mine as she said "Yes, Mistress. This much isn't a problem for me!"

I nodded, before looking back towards the diminishing walls of Tusk City, the road between us and it only lengthening as our Geri pulled the cart further and further.

Before I placed the other cart down, I wanted to get some more distance between us and the city, so that less people would be around to see the sudden appearance of the cart; in fact, I had Rhefia taking us off the paved road and onto one of the smaller dirt roads so that we'd be further away from any prying eyes.

Heila and Prixisia were a bit confused when we shifted from the paved cobbles of the main road to the dirt road of one of the smaller villages a couple miles out from Tusk, but it was something that I told them they'd understand when we got far enough away.

I had discussed this earlier with my daughters, and Aethisia had agreed to drive the other carriage behind - or beside - ours, while Yiksa could take over for whoever needed a break for a bit.

Camara wasn't too interested in it, especially not when her belly had started to bulge out some more, her and Aethisia's child steadily growing larger by the day, while Kalia was also not too interested in it, preferring to spend her time practicing her magics - if possible - or helping me as we took care of the family's urges during breaks.

Heila couldn't as she was far too weak to manage two Geri - the amount we thought we'd need to pull the reinforced cart as well as Prixisia - and I hadn't felt like taking the time to create an entirely custom cart that Prixisia could drive on her own, though that would certainly be something I should do...

I could drive, but just like Kalia I was more interested in spending my time relieving any of my family's urges, so Yiksa was the only one available...

When we reached a good, shaded spot on the side of the dirt road, I got out of the cart and stretched, enjoying this moment of freedom before making my way over towards some available space, eying out the dimensions of the new cart as I found a spot to place it down.

"Now, Heila, Prixisia, I do just want to ask that you never speak of this to anyone, alright? This is... well, this is something I'd rather keep to just our family, hmm~?"

I grinned at the two of them, and the Doe shuddered, huddling closer to Rhefia, while Prixisia frowned, her eyes both curious and cautious.

Looking back towards the clearing, I opened my inventory and selected the cart, summoning it out and watching as it materialized in front of me, seemingly appearing from thin air.

Heila gasped, while Prixisia's frown deepened, which made me smirk as I walked over and grabbed three of the six Geri, hooking them up to the reinforced cart.

To start with, that was the plan - they were monsters after all, so I was expecting them to be able to pull this cart.

The new cart was made from thicker wood and studded with metal bolts and thin sheets of metal, all of which came together to form the chassis of the cart.

Each wheel was thicker than the normal carts, and the axels had been made from stronger wood to support the increased weight.

It was shorter in length and the same height, as it was meant to house just Prixisia and maybe another person or two, but that was it; I didn't make it gigantic, as for the moment we didn't have much power to pull larger carts.

"Wait... is that..? You just... Was that crafting magic? Is that how you did that? No, because crafting magic needs the materials to be laid out... right?"

Prixisia slithered to my side, inspecting the bulky cart before looking back towards me, confusion flooding her eyes.

I chuckled as I shrugged my shoulders, peering over my shoulder towards Heila as I said "Something like that. See why I need the two of you to keep hush about this? Besides, this is just... the beginning of the things I can do. Alright? Let's all get along and have a great time together~?"

My fingers stroked the choker that Prixisia wore, which made the Lamia shiver slightly before she nodded, while Heila nodded profusely, huddling even closer to Rhefia, who just smiled back at me, understanding that I was taking some enjoyment from this.

Of course, she also understood full well just how important this was to drive into the new additions of our family, to make them understand the full weight behind what I was capable of doing.

My desires for nothing but a harmonious family and to explore the world were the same as always, and I didn't want to be bogged down by politics or have to live constantly looking over my shoulder as I ran from someone strong because I happened to have potent abilities.

I would do whatever it took to maintain this peace and serenity that surrounded our family, even if that meant 'bullying' and 'threatening' whoever happened to join us.

This - my family - was not something I would ever negotiate over, and that would just need to understand that as soon as possible, lest something happened to them...

Taking a deep breath, I gestured to the cart and said "Climb in, Prixisia; let me know if it is comfortable enough."

The Lamia looked at me for a few moments more before nodding and hoisting herself into the cart, her long serpent tail coiling up as she wound herself into a 'ball' of scales.

"Mm... it could be worse. The height is a problem; I have to crane my neck a bit, but I could 'lie down' in here... As for the stability of the chassis itself..."

She bounced around and wiggled, before nodding again as she said "There doesn't seem to be any problems in that regard. Stable enough..."

"Good~! Alright, let's get back onto the road again~! Aethisia dear, you can start off; go back to the main road before stopping, alright? I want to see if there's any problems with the cart before we go further..."