14xx/06/05 Johannes Calendar

35 days since arrival…

Man, this fucking sucks.

The captain wanted to take the scenic route, so instead of us being teleported by a Harpy Feather, we ended up on horseback on a leisurely pace, enjoying the day with little fear of our own lives. Honestly, it's pretty boring. Aside from the final match of the fight club yesterday, there isn't much to do but read in the university's public library.

Yesterday match is pretty exciting to say the least. Now that every horny bastard has been eliminated in the preliminary, what's left is the few serious fighters who really wanted to test their might. And guess what? It's actually fucking fun seeing them have a go at each other. You know those choreographed videos of two karate black belt duking out on each other? The one where the choreography is so fucking superb that it makes me make noises that a human being shouldn't be able to make? It was exactly like that, except they hit for real.

My god, my hype was through the roof, and my opponent that night actually fucking delivers. She was a blonde dark elf with yellow eyes and an absolutely gorgeous 360 kick. And she knows capoeira, or whatever the closest thing to capoeira. Honestly, it's just a big wall of kicks coming right at me relentlessly.

It's an absolute shame that they all have absolutely shit pain endurance. A single dodge, then a punching combo, then she's out like a light. I was just about to have fun. What a bummer.

But the fight is very educational to me. It makes it very clear on how much the standard Monster Girls rely on magic, even for something simple as throwing a jab. If I can find a consistent way of preventing magic usage in every fight, everything will be much easier for me to do.

But in the end, I left the arena with heavier pockets and bloodier fists.

The day after that, we left the port at sunrise on horseback. We weren't making much progress really, what with the captain's snail pace and insistence on checking out the countryside. Its only human to appreciate the little things, as he always insisted. I didn't care, as long as I get my ass on the ship.

To be honest, the pace also gave me a new appreciation on my personal guide Latina. If it wasn't for her, my adventure would've probably taken me weeks, even months on end. After some calculation, I just realised how much time was saved due to a bountiful supply of Harpy feathers and her expertise. Couple that with her ability to carry my extra shit and being my second eyes and ears, she really is very useful to me.

I asked Kael if there's a way to temporarily change Latina's form into human for at least 30 minutes. He looked at me oddly, then gave me a very creepy smile as he produced a bottle from his knapsack. Told me that a spoonful is enough for ten minutes. And of course, he made me pay premium for that bottle, not the recipe itself. Smart bastard.

Well…At least I got an extra option.

All and all, there's not much things to say, as we just know each other for a day or two. But as night approaches us, I am more than happy to know that my comrade is not lying in their portfolio. Oskar is a great healer and saved us premiums in Ilias herbs. I've no idea how she did it, but Natsuki found like a full-grown deer for us to eat. What's left of it was smoked and preserved by Kael and his magic.

The captain…well, he's well-spoken and well-read. I learned a lot from him, especially about this world's literature. Problem is, most of the literature in this world is merely a reskin of our own fairy tale back home, except far more erotic. Like imagine the tale of Snow White, but instead of the 7 Dwarfs, she got the 7 Nigerian Tribesman.

The captain actually has more piece than I expected. The snub-nosed revolver I saw at his jacket was actually modern. Looking at it closer, it's actually a Smith and Wesson Model 10 with 2-inch barrel and blued finish, and loaded in .38 Special. He told me that one of his friends at San Ilia gave him the gun for his birthday.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much ammo for it, and he doesn't want to risk using standard cap and ball on a shooter like this. I told him that he did good by not using it at all, as black powder is notorious for their ability to gunk up any modern shooters, regardless of type. I told him I can teach him how to make more, and he has that massive smile on his face like a grandpa who saw his grandson for the first time.

Other than that modern piece, he carried 2 actual black powder revolvers. Further studies make them appear to be a passable replica of the Colt Navy revolvers. Hell, he even has a belt full of paper cartridges the revolver was known for. He told me that it takes them many decades to figure out how any of the equipment they found worked, and many more years to figure out how to replicate them. But he told me with a large grin on his face, that it was well worth it in the end.

So, I was actually getting somewhere with the captain. This is good. It's great to have friends at high places.

If only we could pick up the pace….