153-138 Find Ajito! (2)

"Phew!

Hey, guys. Something happened to ......, didn't it?

Yeah. Just this one. What about you?

Better than I expected, I should say. One of the wagons was loaded with metal, like magic iron.

Or should I say "luck of the draw"?

For us. I feel sorry for the merchant who may have been the victim.

Well, even though the bandits had it, it was originally taken from the merchant.

It's a pity, but if it weren't for that kind of perk, most adventurers wouldn't take on the task of killing bandits.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you. ...... Oh, Nao, thank you for your help.

Nao, I'm sorry?　I'm sorry, it's just some groceries and a few sundries.

In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find it on the web.

I was not expecting much, and I think we did pretty well with the magic iron.　Now all we need is this box: ...... Natsuki, can you open it?

"Wait a minute. --This is the first time that the [unlocking] skill is useful. It's ...... open.

That's fast.

Either the lock is crappy or Natsuki's skill is amazing.

It only took about 10 seconds for the lock to open after taking out the tool.

I thought I might smash it if it didn't open, but it seems I didn't need to worry about that.

But it's not as useful as you might think, isn't it, the [Unlock] skill? In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at the following tips to make sure you're getting the most out of your time.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to get the best out of it.　--Oh, no, it was a bit irreverent to say "useful".

No, it wasn't. I'm glad. Thank you very much.

No, not at all. ......

I felt a little embarrassed by her happy smile and looked away.

"Well, well, well...?　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

Good vibes, no. ......

That's right.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

I'm not sure.　I'm sure you'll agree.　I'm not sure if it's the first skill, but I'm the one with the problem.

I guess so.

Right.

Right.

What the hell?　That's terrible!　Wasn't that the part where you were supposed to follow me?　Wasn't it?

No, you weren't.

"No.

Haruka and I nodded our heads in agreement. Natsuki, the only one who didn't agree, only smiled.

"I've been betrayed! I'm not sure what to make of that.

You've been messed around with by [Skill Copy] so much.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who has a problem with this.

It's good!　I'm good!　I'm going to open this box!　Now let's see what's in it!

Yuki, who didn't get any follow-up from anyone, regained her composure and opened the lid of the crate that Natsuki had unlocked.

Looking over Yuki's shoulder, I peered into it.

...... gold coins, I see. There are also a few large gold coins.

Or should I say, in order. Inside the box was money.

When I took it out and counted it, there were a dozen large gold coins and a few dozen gold coins.

It was a lot of money, but it was nothing more than a lot of money.

During the winter, we earned more than this in a day.

Not a bad reward when you combine it with the iron. The commission itself is not very promising.

Haruka said as she repacked the gold coins from the crate into a bag and stored it in her magic bag.

This time, the commission will be paid based on the number of guild cards collected and their rank, but an adventurer with the rank of bandit can not expect such a high reward.

The reward is based on the number of cards you can collect, so to a certain extent it is unavoidable, but if you don't get anything good, it's not worth it.

What are we going to do with this hut?

Let's burn it. We don't want it to become a home for bandits or demons.

Disinfect the filth, you know?

......, something like that.

Haruka nodded her head with a bit of a dumbfounded look on her face at the way Yuki said it.

Well, it sure was dirty in there. The people who complained about the filth have already turned to ash. No problem.

So let's get the horses on the wagon and get them moving.

Before we do that, let's put the wagon in a magic bag. Before that, let's put the baggage in the magic bag. Especially since the magic iron is heavy.

That's true. It looks like the carriage is made up of ......2 one horse and one horse. What did they do with the carriage that the other two horses were pulling?

You're right, there are two horses left.

The harnesses used to pull the wagon were placed on the back of the wagon, but there were only three of them.

You mean they rode horses?

Did they have saddles then?

...... No, I don't think so.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a saddle in the shed.

I'm not going to go in there again. ...... No, there was no saddle.

I'm sure you'll be glad to know that.

You don't ride bareback on a ...... horse, do you?

It's a shame, because we do have saddles and stirrups in this world. ...... That's a shame. I've always wanted to ride a horse.

No, even with a saddle, isn't it dangerous for an amateur to ride without supervision?

I think he's physically capable of it.　The horses here are more sturdy and sturdy than thoroughbreds.

I'm not sure if Yuki wanted to try it, but she said something in agreement with Haruka.

It's true that the horses used here are not like the ones you see in horse races, with thick legs and slightly smaller body size. If anything, they are closer to the image of Hokkaido-bred horses.

With his current body, even if he were to be knocked off, he is unlikely to be seriously injured. ...... There is no such thing as a bareback horse.

I'm not sure if you've ever ridden a horse before, by the way.

I'm sure you have. I'm not sure if I've ever ridden a horse, but I've ridden a well trained horse in a controlled environment. So it's not something I can say with pride that I can ride. ......

Oh, that's rich.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you've heard of it.

Except for tourist farms. --I've never ridden a horse, but I've ridden a camel. At the Tottori Sand Dunes.

It's a useless experience.

But now that I think about it, the Tottori Sand Dunes are sandy beaches, and have nothing to do with camels in the hot desert, right?

It's a bit easy to think that camels are camels because of the sand, isn't it?

I'm sure you'll be able to get a saddle before you ride one. But whether or not we should keep them ourselves is a ...... question, I don't know.

I think adventurers should have a carriage, but it's not very practical.

That's true. We have magic bags to carry our stuff, and we can move faster if we run by ourselves.

If we take it easy, there's a slight advantage in terms of fatigue, but it's not a very comfortable ride, is it, a horse-drawn carriage?

More than you think. It has zero suspension.

So far, we've spent half a day riding around in a carriage rented from the guild, and the ride has been uncomfortable to say the least.

There was no suspension between the wheels and the back of the cart, and when I sat down, the unevenness of the ground echoed directly on my buttocks.

I had no choice but to sit on a blanket that I had in my magic bag, but it was more comfortable to stand. I wish they would introduce a strap.

If a horse-drawn carriage is to be introduced, it should at least be equipped with plate springs, otherwise I cannot bring myself to use it.

"Considering the maintenance cost, isn't it ...... worth it?

We don't go far in the first place, do we?

...... Yeah. We'll figure it out when we need it.

The problem of the carriage was shelved when the fundamental problem was encountered.

Horses are too big to be kept as mere pets.

"So, Nao, can you tie them up a little further away?

Okay.

I had enough reins and hammers for the horses, so I attached them to the two horses that were not going to be used for the carriage, and took them out of the fence and tied them to a tree some distance away.

Thanks to the course I had taken at the guild yesterday, I could do this even though I had never ridden a horse before.

In the meantime, Haruka and the others attached the horses to the carriage, and then helped me put the luggage in the magic bag. Then I moved the lightened carriage to the place where I had tied the horses.

Let's do it then.

"Yes!

The three of us, except for Natsuki, threw the fireball into the hut, which opened its door, and with a bang, the hut immediately burst into flames.

Oh, it's burning well.

Yes, it is.

The house was drying out quite nicely, and the shape of the house was collapsing as fast as it could.

Don't look at me, you two. Let's take down the fence.

Oh, yes.

The fence that used to hold the horses was also kicked down and thrown into the wreckage of the hut.

I also threw in a moderate amount of "fireballs," and within half an hour, the fire had burned down to the point where only a few coals remained. There must have been an urn in the hut, but it must have been shattered when the fireball was thrown in, and there was no trace of it.

That should be enough. Now put it out. ...... "Extinguish Fire". Yeah, there's no need to worry about fires now.

The fire was extinguished in an instant, and Haruka looked at it with satisfaction.

"That magic is really useful, isn't it?

That's true. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I can do it. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

In the case of "fire extinguishing," the fire will be extinguished within the designated area, but when you use water magic to extinguish a fire, what you are doing is the same as spraying water with a fire engine.

In actual fires, even if the fire has been extinguished, there are still sparks that may ignite later, just as if you were spraying water very carefully, but there is no need to worry about that with 'extinguishing'.

Let's go back, then. We've kept Toya waiting too long.

Yeah. I think he's bored out of his mind.

No, I think he's training, isn't he?

It's possible.

Yes.

He's more serious than you think, you know.

We took more time to get back to Toya than it had taken us to get here, struggling a bit to maneuver in the unfamiliar forest.