199 - - a business trip to a neighboring town

The street was quite busy in the late afternoon.

Fast horses galloping in the wind and wagons leisurely keeping their own speed.

A rare white carriage with four horses can be seen.

Many people are on foot.

Farmers with large sacks on their backs and travelers in frayed cloaks.

The men in leather armor may be guards or fellow travelers.

All of them are moving freely on the road with familiar footsteps.

All that can be heard is the light thud of hooves on the ground and the occasional chirp of a bird.

Feeling the monotonous vibrations from under her hips, Sola seems completely at ease and stretches out her arms to the sky.

Mo, sitting alongside her, is also sitting with his mouth open, his golden curls sticking out of his hat, letting the wind play with his hair.

Following the scenery with her eyes, the girl muttered to herself.

"Just because the sky is blue, it feels so good, doesn't it?

"Oh, you're a full-fledged adventurer now, aren't you, miss Sora?"

"What, did I just sound like that?"

"When you've been going to all these places you're not supposed to go, it's nice to just see normal weather."

As Garudo nodded his head while holding the reins, Sola laughed happily and poked Moe senseless on the cheek.

The poked child put all his strength into his cheek and popped the girl's finger back.

"Mu. Moo-chan is different today, isn't she?

"Hmm."

"Here you go, Mr. Garoud."

"What?　I can poke him in the cheek. Oh, this one's hard."

The child, poked on the cheeks from both sides and proudly lifting his nose, shows no signs of having sunk into the depths of despair before his departure.

When Moo started humming a little tune, Sora and Garudo began to sing along with him.

The carriage with its joyful singing is headed for the border town of Bossalia, located north of the road.

The horses, which had just returned from the swamp and were exhausted, were in good shape thanks to the B-rank privilege they had been given to switch horses.

The forest of kobolds that had already spread out in the blackness to the right of our field of vision had disappeared into thin air.

It is about a day's ride from Dadan to Bossaria by horse-drawn wagon, but at this pace we will make it in time for the closing of the gates at sunset.

"And what was your request, Mr. Sacco?"

Inside the carriage.

Ulil asks calmly, sitting on a high pile of cushions.

Thor, sitting across from him and looking out of the narrow window, exhales lightly and turns to look at him.

"It seems that the dungeon was unexpectedly large due to the miasma, and I'm here to help you search for it. Also, the number of monsters in the backcountry has increased to such an extent that it has become a swarm, so I have two requests for their elimination."

The request was made through Siecka by Sacco, the former deputy director of the Dadaan Adventurers Bureau and the current mayor of Bossalia.

Thor and Straccia had also been approached to head the neighboring towns, but both had turned them down, so the opportunity was given to the retired hero.

To begin with, the recapture of Bossalia itself was an operation led by Sacco.

It is said that there was a lot of pressure from the home country because Bossaria, the hero after whom the city was named, was a member of the Red Tail tribe.

There is a strong view that this time, he was appointed to take up the responsibility.

Being the head of a border town is an enviable position because of the considerable honor and power it confers.

However, as for Bossaria, it was a clear and obvious poor choice.

Currently, with Thor's help, the border town of Bossaria has regained a reasonable shape, but the number of the important residents has not increased much.

However, this is not surprising.

The miasma that has been leaking from the great miasma pit has made the monsters in the area more vicious, and there is no telling when another outbreak will occur.

Many adventurers and ex-guardians from the border town of Dadan have migrated to the area, but most of them have been fired from the guard force due to personnel cutbacks, and the quality of their work has deteriorated.

It seems that it will be some time before the manpower shortage in Bossalia is resolved.

"So that's why you were asked to join us, Mr. Thor."

"I guess it's hard to call on people in the vigor and silver classes."

Ulille's mouth fell open at the mention of Thor, who had inadvertently forgotten his own grade.

"But he really knows how to see the opportunity, doesn't he?"

There are many reasons for adventurers to retire from the business.

But the most common reason is only one.

--Fear.

Adventurers are risk-takers, but being human, their minds are limited.

We become accustomed to the daily dangers and gradually become numb to them, but not all hunts are safe.

It is only when we almost die that we suddenly come to our senses.

And the witch was a strong reminder of that feeling.

They probably thought that it would affect Sora or Mu, who had not been adventurers for a long time and were still mentally inexperienced.

That is why they made the request at the right time when Thor and the others saw the witch and came to the archives to investigate.

This request by Sacco had a great advantage for Thor and his group.

The swamp of ghosts is often stranded due to the noxious fog, and it is difficult to move freely because of the campsites rented from other places.

Worse still, the dreaded witch was constantly in the back of their minds.

But while the area around Bossaria is dangerous, it is also rich in prey.

It is the perfect place to regain lost confidence.

Moreover, the swamp is a perfect opportunity to try out the things we have been hiding.

I am not sure if he had that much insight, but there was no doubt that Sacco's request was a godsend.

"Thor, look, look!　There's a field!"

Suddenly, a small window opens and Sola's voice comes in.

I looked out and saw a lush green field spreading out to my left before I knew it.　

A fence had been erected, and a few figures that appeared to be adventurers could be seen walking in front of the fence.

"That must be a bean field. Bossalia is famous for its beans."

"Heh. What are those people doing?"

"The right side of the road is a noxious gas area, so they say monsters sometimes wander into the area. I guess they are guarding them."

"Oh, he's wearing a green adventurer's tag."

"In Dadan, it was the green oak class, but here it's the mung bean class.

"Oh, you know a lot, Mr. Garudo."

"Well, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.

It was actually Garudo, the owner of the Gosha-dai, who proudly explained the situation to the participants.

Thor, deprived of his usual role, shrugged his shoulders and immediately asked a question.

"If you can see the field, does that mean it's about time?

"We've got about two hours to go. We'll make it just in time.

"Well, I'm sorry to rush you."

True to Garudo's word, the carriage arrived at the walled city just before the bells rang at dusk.

The walls, which until a few weeks ago had been badly damaged by ants, now had a semblance of a facade.

After leaving the carriage with the gatekeeper, Thor and his friends slowly walk through the large plaza where the magic stone lamps are beginning to glow faintly.

It seems that the Adventurers' Bureau is already closed for business, although they are still accepting applications for the assessment of the defeat.

We leave the greetings for the next day and turn the corner in front of the inner gate and continue on our way for a while.

Perhaps because Thor has carefully this area, there is no sign of having been occupied by monsters for a long time.

Eventually, the group arrives at a prime, sunny spot near the outer wall.

There, they found a two-story mansion surrounded by a sturdy wall.

This house was the reward for Thor and his friends' liberation of Bossaria.