Songstress of Schwarzwald: The Secret of Zoe, the Exiled Music Mage

Chapter 78 : Let’s Build a Little Cart!

I hitch the little rental cart to Noah, but right away, I can tell this is going to be a problem.

The streets of Raymond City are way too crowded to lead a horse and cart through. It’s just safer if I lead him by the reins.

“Well, this works fine, right?” I mutter, trying to convince myself.

The old man at the stables seemed to think I was the one who was supposed to be pulling the cart, which is ridiculous.

But then, as I was leaving the city, I saw an adventurer dragging a cart just like this out of the Great Forest. It was piled high with monster carcasses and firewood, and he was hauling it along like it was nothing.

So people really do pull them. That’s… surprising.

And definitely not something I have any interest in trying.

Once we’re inside the forest, I hop onto Noah’s back. He’s pulling the cart, but I still need to get better at riding him.

The problem is, it’s hard enough navigating the forest on horseback, but with a cart rattling along behind us—even a little one—it’s impossible.

We can’t go in a straight line with all the trees, roots, and rocks in the way.

“Ugh, what a pain,” I grumble.

After a quick look around to make sure no one’s watching, I teleport us to the clearing near the cottage.

Neeeigh!

As usual, Noah is not a fan.

“There, there,” I say, patting his neck to calm him down. “You need to get used to it. It’s so much easier, you know.”

I figure he could probably use some exercise. The only workout he’s had today was the trip from the forest edge to the Adventurers Guild and back.

That’s a long, boring walk for a person. But for a horse? It’s barely a warm-up.

“Wanna stretch your legs?”

He turns his head toward the paddock, so I unhitch the cart and take off his saddle and reins.

I could make it all vanish into my Storage in a flash, but that’s a trick I definitely can’t use in front of other people.

Noah starts munching happily on the grass in the paddock. I should probably pick up some clover and grass seed at the general store in Lang Village.

I take a closer look at the cart. “Huh. Even the axle is made of wood.”

The wheels look like a real pain to make, though. I wonder if I could bend the wood into a circle inside my Storage?

Probably not. I don’t even know how they’re built.

“Maybe I should just ask someone,” I think out loud. “The blacksmith would probably know.”

While I’m at it, I decide to head over to Lang Village and buy some nails.

“Is there anyone around who can make wheels for a cart?” I ask the blacksmith.

“How much are you offering?” he grunts.

“Around fifty pennies?”

He turns me down flat.

“Okay, how much would it take, then?” I press. “And if possible, I’d rather you just teach me how to make them.”

The blacksmith crosses his arms and thinks it over.

I decide a little gift might help.

“Here,” I say, offering him a wrapped parcel. “This is some Pyrebird meat. Please, have some.”

Pyrebirds are Selina’s favorite, but I have meat from two of them, so it’s fine.

“Whoa, this is a real treat!” his eyes light up. “All right. You bring me the materials, and I’ll teach you how for fifty pennies.”

Success.

First things first, I’m making wheels for my own cart.

“I’ll bring the wood tomorrow,” I tell him. “But first, I’ll buy those nails.”

With the nails bought and a design sketched out, the little rental cart’s job is officially done.

I teleport back to the cottage, coax a very happy and free-roaming Noah with a carrot, and hitch the cart up one last time.

I load it with pelts, meat, and magic stones from ten wolves, then teleport us back to the forest near Raymond City.

All I have to do now is cash everything in at the Guild and return the cart.

The next day, I realize I’ve made a mistake.

“How am I supposed to get the lumber to Lang Village?”

I got cheap and returned the cart to save on the rental fee.

Now I’m stuck.

“Okay, let’s see… I need wood for the cart bed, some planks, and some hardwood for the axles. Treant wood should work for that, right?”

We sometimes hunt Treants to collect tree sugar. The wood is only good for kindling once the sugar is extracted.

But every now and then, we hunt the wrong kind of Treant by mistake. Selina always scolds me—“You just need to Appraise it properly!”—but she’s made the same mistake herself.

Appraisal is a tricky skill. Selina can identify most things, but even she gets Treants wrong sometimes.

There’s another kind with leaves that look almost identical to the sugar-producing ones. Apparently, the wood from those accidental Treants makes for good lumber. 

Selina’s the one who sells it, so I have no idea what it’s worth.

Anyway, the wood from one of those accidental Treants.

It’s nice and hard, so it should be perfect for the axles. Since it’s so tough, I’ll use Air Cutter to whittle it down to the right thickness inside my Storage.

Two of those, plus a little wood for the wheels… Noah should be able to pull that much, right?

I teleport over to Lang Village.

“I know you don’t like pulling things or teleporting, Noah, but I’ve made it super light, so please just bear with me,” I plead, trying to soothe the grumpy horse as we make our way to the blacksmith’s shop.

I paid the blacksmith fifty pennies, and he taught me how to make wheels. He even made two for me while he was at it.

I never would have guessed you bend the wood into circles using steam. I also didn’t know the thin rods inside a wheel are called spokes.

“For a little cart this size, you could’ve just used solid discs for wheels, you know,” the blacksmith says.

I wish he’d told me that before we started. But then again, I was the one complaining about the used cart. This thing is so rickety!

It’s cruel to make a horse pull something like this, so I guess it’s good that I learned how to make proper wheels.

Honestly, Selina. She gets a fine riding horse but then pairs it with a beat-up old secondhand cart. She has the worst judgment sometimes.

When the blacksmith asked me what I planned on hauling, I answered, “Lumber?” which earned me an exasperated sigh.

“You can’t haul lumber with that horse, and you’ll need a much longer cart for it anyway.”

What a pain.

Still, I managed to build a cart. Now I can finally start selling off all the pelts and magic stones I have saved up in my Storage!