The next day arrived in no time.
Looking out through the window, Senna slipped on his jacket as he viewed the dim light of the morning sun.
Kyllian City—the biggest one in the southern region of Helena Kingdom—was bathed in the golden ray of dawn. Even in such early hours, many of the residents were already active on the streets.
"It's time, Sen. Let's go already," urged Cybele as she paced back and forth around the bedroom.
"Yeah, yeah… I'll prepare my things."
Just like yesterday, he slung the Bumper Sword over his shoulder and hung the Steering Chakram beside his hip. Senna wondered if perhaps he was over-geared for a simple tour of the city.
"…Nah, better to have them than not."
Lastly, he picked up the robber's knife from the cupboard. "This is the only thing I felt confident swinging around with…"
The driver and the dog left the room afterward, descending the staircases to the ground floor.
"Ah."
"Oh, good morning." As Senna climbed down the last step, they ran into Lenna coming out of the kitchen. "Heading out, Mr. Farron?"
"Yeah, didn't get the chance to take a look around the city yesterday." After passing through the gate, he had only traversed the main avenue, after all. "You seem like you're about to leave as well."
Senna noticed what looked like a shopping bag she was carrying around. "Yes. We had to restock our ingredients every day. It's been a bit busy lately."
"That's good business, isn't it?"
"Hehe, I guess so. Oh, how about leaving together, Mr. Farron? You must still have no clue about the places in the city you want to go yet, right?"
Her offer was tantalizing. "You don't mind? I mean, me taking your time for this?"
"It's fine. The inn only gets restless when it's close to sunset. Dad can take care of it by himself at least until the afternoon," she reassured.
Senna wasn't about to refuse when she said it like that. "Then I'll gladly take your offer, Lenna. You're right about that point, I have no idea where is which."
"I'll make sure you will know by the day's end, Mr. Farron." Smiling at each other, they began to leave. Walking by her side as they both approached the door, Senna requested, "Please just call me Senna or Sen or something. You don't have to be so formal."
"But you're our customer…"
"Hey, I work in a service job too. I'd say it's fine to be chill." He was rather insistent on this appeal. "All your other customers seemed to like the laid-back types too."
The old scholarly man, Chrom, was the most professional-looking person he saw last night in this dining hall. The rest of them looked more like hooligans than a hotel patrons.
"They are our regulars for a long time. It's only natural that I treated them differently…"
"Well, being treated differently sounds cold…" Senna pretended to be disheartened. "Look, even my dog immediately called me Sen hours after we first met."
"Woof!" Cybele barked in response. Or at least, that was what Lenna heard from the dog. 'Sen is just way easier to say, is all!' was what she had really said.
Exiting Nightshine, they were greeted by a relatively quiet main street of Kyllian City. A few pedestrians strolled the cobblestone pavement, ready for another hard day of work. There were still no carriages or any horse-drawn vehicles in sight.
"Alright, Sen. How about this?" Lenna changed the way she spoke with him.
"A lot better. Good, so where do we start?"
"My plan is to go to the morning market first. Do you mind that? I want to get the freshest ingredients first."
"Oh, totally. I'll leave it all to you." Something about the words she said nagged Senna's mind. 'Hm? Fresh? Do they have refrigeration in this world?'
"Yes! Then follow me and we'll walk west over this street to the next intersection. That's the direction the market's in." As Lenna was about to start her stride, Senna stopped her. "Wait."
"Hm?"
"Is it far?"
"Umm… It takes around ten to twenty minutes to get there…"
"But the market's not the only destination for today, is it?"
"No?" The moment he heard her confirmation, Senna's mind raced.
'Twenty-something Mana got me a mountain bike… Right now my tank is full, at 80, should I try for one?'
It was time for the great Sis to help him out.
«It is possible for a new category of Divine Vessels to be manifested with your current mana count. Including the still not used PPs in reserve, you are capable of summoning a motorized vehicle.»
"Geh?!" The bizarre exclamation escaped his mouth. He wished she would tell him that information before he slept.
Senna purposefully kept the 10 PPs in reserve for emergency upgrades. But if he had known that engine-powered vehicles were already within reach, he would have poured those bad boys into his Magical without any hesitation.
He had lost a night's opportunity to recover 50 worth of mana due to the late information.
«It is in my prerogative to defend against any attempted blaming due to you not asking the specific question.»
She even had an excuse ready, what a wiseass. "Sen? What is it?"
"…Ah, is there an enclosed space somewhere in the inn?"
*****
"I'm not sure I follow…"
"Well, I'm not sure about this either as it's my first time trying this too…"
Beside the Nightshine building in an empty alleyway, the two of them huddled near the wall. Senna concentrated hard on the sensation he had felt before.
He closed his eyes, conceiving the image to form inside his mind.
"Right… Vehicular Manifestation."
That familiar light appeared in front of them. "Ah, something glowing," reacted Lenna as she observed the phenomenon.
«Successful. Divine Vessel: Rickshaw manifested.»
The light converged to form the materialized object. The three-wheeler pedaling cycle, with a driver seat in front of a small cart for multiple passengers. It was popular in Asian countries as a low-cost taxi alternative for short-distance travel.
Senna considered going straight for a motorized bike, but considering the location, time, and circumstances, he decided it would be too risky. It was early morning, and if the sleepy people were to hear the foreign hum of a gas engine, they might panic.
"This is…"
"Today's ride. Here, hope on," he instructed while leading her by the hand. "Sit in this coach, and I'm gonna be on this one. I'll pedal."
Lenna was unfamiliar with the vehicle, but she recognized that it functioned similarly to a horse carriage. Well, except for the fact the one pulling wasn't a horse, but a pedaling human.
"Hup!" Cybele also jumped on, placing herself beside her and sitting in an orderly manner. "New type eh, Sen? I like this one too."
"You have strange ability… Is this your magic?" Lenna inquired.
"Something like that. Just tell me the direction and I'll take us there."
"U-Understood?"
With that response, Senna promptly cycled out of the alleyway into the street.
"Sen, this is…"
"Efficient, right? There won't be any burden for baggage too."
"Ahaha, yes, that's true." At first, she was bewildered, but soon enough, Lenna began to enjoy herself in the backseat. "The people are staring…"
"…Yeah. Actually, this is a bit embarrassing…" The pedestrians they passed by all gave them strange looks. Senna predicted this, but experiencing it first-hand was hardly comforting.
'They'll get used to me soon enough… I hope.'
In that early morning, the bizarre new sight of the horseless carriage trodded along through the wide Kyllian streets.