When we walked back away from the little downtown area towards where I had my little accident and came screaming into this little fantasy world, I smiled. The carriage was back upright and the farmers that helped even yoked Betsy back to it.

  I looked it over and put the hands in the pockets of the outer robe I was wearing, still grinning. It might not have been quite the same as a semi truck like I was used to, but it was still mine. I was still out here doing my own thing, or I would be, once I got going officially. I wasn’t really sure what sort of carriages they were used to using in these lands or in Japan back on Earth, but this carriage looked like it was something out of an old western.

  It was a basic box shaped thing on a platform made from wood. There was a bench in the front for the driver to sit and then everything was covered with some canvas cloth that tented over in a rounded shape to keep things inside the carriage dry and out of the sun. The only thing that was different was the length of it. From what I knew, carriages weren’t really that long since they had to travel and be able to turn down dirt roads and such. They couldn’t bend and pivot like modern day trucks did to get around turns. This carriage, from what I could tell, was about double the length of any carriages I had seen in movies or in old west tourist trap ghost towns.

  I was mentally trying to figure out ways to make the design a little better, but not really lose any of the cargo capacity. I was wondering about possibly making a trailer separate from the driver’s bench? Maybe make a little bunk type area and then a hitch or something to the, well, what we’ll call the trailer. Though, it’d just be a separate covered cart, maybe even the current carriage, so I would just need to make the new little bunk, somehow. Then maybe I could do a double situation? It would be like the trucks I saw running up and down 90, pulling double trailers. That would depend on how much Betsy could actually pull.

  I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, I scolded myself. I still had a lot I needed to figure out.

  “Did you just get it?” Hiragana asked and pulled me from my thoughts.

  I looked over at the old farmer, who just grinned at me while he crossed his arms against his chest. With a nod, I said. “Yeah, not too long ago.”

  “Yeah, I could tell the way you were looking at it. Still with such pride and love. It hasn’t broken enough for you to be angry with it, and you’re still too new to not be jaded yet,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s nice to see. It’s not work yet for you, it’s more of an adventure.”

  I lowered my head and grinned before I gave the man a nod. He did not know how much of a new adventure this all really was for me. Or I gave him the side eye. Maybe he knew? He couldn’t really know, but I had the very distinct feeling this guy knew more than he was really letting on.

  “Anyway, this is Toshi. He’s one of my farmers and was one of the ones who helped turn your carriage right side up. He’s been watching over it for you,” Hiragana gestured to a small older man that stood hunched over. He was dressed the same as Hiragana, a simple cloth robe with nothing but a probable loincloth underneath. I assumed it was pretty hot working in the sun all day. Toshi gave me a big toothless grin, and I bowed softly to the old man. “Thank you very much, sir,” I said to him when I looked back at him. “It means a lot that you took the time from your day to look after my cart and Betsy. Hopefully, she didn’t give you any trouble.”

  The ox gave a bellow at that and looked at me with what I could feel like was narrowed eyes. The man just gave a hearty laugh and slapped Betsy on the rear a bit. “It was no problem! No problem at all! Glad to give me a bit of a break, and nah your ox didn’t give me any trouble. Boy, she do be a hungry one though! She hasn’t stopped grazing since you’ve left here.

  It wasn’t any trouble turning the cart since it was empty. Though we weren’t sure where you wanted all your books and manuals and such so we just left them in the front part of the carriage. Never seen a carriage driver that’s also a cultivator and had so many manuals, but what do I know, you know?” He continued and gave another one of those large toothless smiles from under his conical straw hat.

  Manuals? What manuals? I thought to myself; I was sure I didn’t even have any books in my truck since I let my old dispatcher borrow my copy of the Tao Te Ching and never got it back. Before I could say anything else, though, the old man launched into more of the story. I stood there and listened, still kind of confused by everything, while Hiragana just smiled and listened and nodded his head to everything.

  “By the way, Erana came back by. She told us they were cultivation manuals and that we really shouldn’t be looking through them. That’s when the rest of the guys left and I stayed to make sure no one else messed with your stuff. Oh, she also said that her master has everything ready for you to pick up the stuff they need you to take. Which….”

  Hiragana interrupted Toshi then. “Thank you, Toshi, my friend,” the man said as I watched him move closer to the old man. He put a hand on his back and extended a hand to his. I saw Hiragana holding something and handed it to the old man.

  Money? I was sure they looked like coins of some kind, from what I could tell. Great, I’m gonna be into this guy for even more money. I sighed to myself and shook my head, shrugging it away. If this was going to be part of my start-up costs, so be it. He was helping me a lot, and honestly, I figured I owed him more than just the money he was spending on the robes and everything.

  Speaking of which, these robes were amazing. They were light and breathed easily. There was plenty of room to move around in them. They were so light, comfortable, and roomy, it almost felt like I was walking around naked. I supposed the test would be when it came to sleeping on the chillier nights and how durable they actually were. Coming from a creature with the name ‘spirit worm’, though I figured they’d be extra tough. This was all going off my cultivation stories, though. Who knew they’d actually be in real life?

  I almost snorted to myself when I thought of that. How was this real life? I was dealing with alchemists, and apparently was a cultivator with actual cultivation manuals in my carriage. I shook my head and shook those thoughts away. This was real life now. That lightning bolt and storm changed everything I knew about real life.

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  “Alright then, hop on up and take us down the road back to Moritoshi’s shop.” Hiragana pulled me from my thoughts once more.

  Toshi and I exchanged one last bow before the man left to go do whatever else he was supposed to be doing. I hopped up onto the driver’s bench. I climbed up on the left side of the carriage since that’s where the drivers sat. Hiragana gave me kind of funny look, but then walked over to the other side and climbed up to sit next to me. I just gave him a dumb smile.

  Wait, do they drive on the opposite side of the road in Japan like in England? I thought back to watching that race movie where the blond guy drove the Japanese import car and he most definitely sat on the right side. I supposed it didn’t matter since my new patron apparently eventually climbed up to sit next to me. It would just be one of those things.

  “Alright, come on Betsy, we’re gonna have to go backwards a little to make this turn…” I called and gave a slight slap with the reins. Thank god for old western movies and cowboy video games.

  Betsy gave a bellow, and I felt like I could see a woman project herself into my mind. The woman gave me an eye roll and I could swear I heard ‘duh’ before Betsy moved backwards a few feet. Once we seemed like we’d be able to make the turn, I gave one more clap of the reins.

  “Alright Betsy, let’s roll out. Off to the alchemist’s shop,” I called. I didn’t get the projection this time, and last time I did it happened so fast I got nothing more than the briefest of impressions, so now I wasn’t even sure if it actually happened. It didn’t take us long to get to the alchemist shop, since the town proper was so small. What took longer was listening to Moritoshi complain we hadn’t come quick enough. Honestly, the guy was a pain in the butt. I was just about ready to argue with the guy that he had been the one to put us off when Hiragana put a hand on my arm to calm me.

  “We came as soon as we got everything sorted out. Maikeru needed some robes so he could fit in a little more here in the empire,” Hiragana explained as he climbed down from the carriage to help move the stuff they needed transported. I climbed over the bench and into the back of the wagon in order to help situate the things.

  I walked carefully over the books and random personal items that were apparently mine and stashed them as close to the bench as I could. I’d have to go through everything once I was actually on the road and away from here so I could figure out what everything was. At first glance, aside from the books, I found a couple of pillows, a bedroll, and there was even a long curved pillow which just had to be this world’s version of the pregnancy pillow I slept with in the truck.

  All the alchemists needed transported were four simple looking crates. I stashed them two by two far enough away from the bench, so I thought I’d have enough room to lie out and sleep inside the wagon.

  “You need to be very careful with all of this. Erana packed it all in hay, but there are some glass jars and other breakable things in them,” Moritoshi instructed.

  I nodded my head and looked around inside the wagon until I found some rope. I had always kept some extra load straps in my side-box in the truck, so this must be as close as the world could approximate to them. I used the rope and secured the crates to some notches in the wagon's sidewall that I assumed were for this very purpose. After I tightened and secured everything as well as I could to make sure the crates wouldn’t get too disturbed.

  Once done, I jumped out of the back of the wagon and looked at Erana and Moritoshi. I tried to ignore the master alchemist and smiled at Erana before I gave her a soft bow. “Hi there,” I said simply. I couldn’t help but stare.

  “Well, you seem to be better suited for this work than I thought you were originally,” Moritoshi said and stepped in between me and Erana.

  I frowned and nodded my head. “Thank you.”

  He frowned back and sniffed. “Inside this envelope are instructions on where to deliver the crates and another envelope for you to give to who you’re delivering them to. He has instructions to pay you once the product is delivered. You’ll end up with about fifty enbukin, but prices always fluctuate at the markets.”

  I nodded my head and said my thanks before he left and finally left me and Erana together. Thankfully, Hiragana was also gone for the time being, which left me alone with the woman for the first time. She was back in her heavy leather work apron and she smiled at me.

  “Your new robes look nice. They look much nicer than the clothes you were wearing before. Those were strange,” she offered to start some sort of conversation.

  I gave her a small laugh and nodded my head. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t really get anything new when I first came here,” I said and motioned around everywhere. “It’s all so beautiful here…” I said before I looked back into those beautiful tri-colored eyes of hers.

  “Yes, I love sitting out in the countryside when I actually have the time,” she said with a nod. “Getting away from the farmland is quite nice. I’m pretty jealous of you and your job, getting to go out and see more of the empire.”

  I smirked and nodded my head. I wasn’t entirely sure how it’d be here, of course, but back on Earth, people often envied truck drivers because they got to see more of the country. Truth was, they saw little outside of traffic, the interstate systems, or whatever random warehouse they had to deliver to or pick up from.

  “Yeah, it’ll be nice. Especially since I’m new here,” I said with another nod. “I can’t wait, I’m pretty excited myself,” I told her just as another wagon rolled up to where I was sitting.

  When I looked over, Hiragana was speaking with the driver and he approached us slowly, trying to figure out if it was a good time or not. I nodded my head at him and he smiled.

  “While you were getting fit for your robes, I arranged for my tea leaves to come here. No need for you to make two stops and get loaded up when I had them on a wagon already, so why not? I’m sure you’re eager to get on the road before nightfall,” he said as the driver maneuvered the cart as close as he could to the back of mine.

  One other man hopped out from the back and he and the driver set about moving the large sacks from the small carriage to my much longer one. The pair worked quickly and quietly and had the job done in almost no time.

  I smiled and stared at Erana. “Will it be okay if I write to you? While I’m gone?” Was mail even a thing here?

  I saw Hiragana got wide eyed and shoo’d his workers away while he retreated as well. I tried to ignore them as I stared nervously at Erana.

  She blushed softly and lowered her head before she nodded and looked at me. “Yes, that would be nice.”

  The next moments were a blur to me, but the next thing I knew I was on the driver’s bench telling Betsy to get rolling and waving goodbye to Erana and Hiragana. They returned the gesture while they stood next to each other and watched me roll away.

  I’m sure they didn’t think I could hear them, and I probably normally couldn’t, but I heard Hiragana ask her if she thought I’d be alright and if I’d actually make it with the goods to Meguro.

  “I think he’ll do just fine,” she said, assuring him.

  With that, I smiled and lowered my head before I gave the reins one more slap. “C’mon Betsy, let’s lay some tracks before it gets dark.”

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  Hiroshi, Tale of a Sumotori

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