154-139 Return to Lafan

Welcome back. How'd it go?　It looks like you got a lot out of ......, huh?

The carriage we left behind was parked some distance away and the horses were unhitched from the carriage and taken to the side.

The carriage they had left behind was parked a short distance away, and the horse was unhooked from the carriage and tied to a tree on the side.

"Well. As you can see, there are five horses and two carriages. We had some money, so it wasn't a bad way to make money.

"I see. Well, that's the kind of benefit you want. You're killing people.

The way you say it bothers me a little, but I can't deny it.

Then there's the satisfaction of having helped people.

If it's only about money, it would be easier for us to kill demons.

"Well, for now, let's just be happy that we got the job done. Toya, can we leave now?

"As soon as the horses are hitched, yes. But first, I need to be cleansed, okay?

At Toya's request, Natsuki, who was standing beside him, quickly applied the purification and cleaned Toya from the sweat and dust.

Toya thanked her and quickly attached the horse to the carriage.

The carriage was to be driven by one person at a time. ...... Would it be all right if the horses were strapped to the back of the cart?

It will be fine. The horses are smart enough to follow us.

Well, let's do that. It's going to be a little bit of a long ride, but we'll do our best.

Right.

The working hours will be tripled, but it's not a big problem because it's not so easy being in the back of a truck.

In the beginning, Toya and Haruka took over the role of the guard, and we started to follow the road to Rafan.

I'm sure you'll agree with me.

The toilets that Haruka and his friends had made for us that night were excellent.

At least, it was better than the temporary toilets we had used in Japan.

The only drawback was that it was too big for an ordinary adventurer to carry, but we had magic bags and enough space in the grasslands, so that was not a problem.

We could set it up as long as we could find a flat area of half a tatami mat, so unless we were camping in a very strange place, it would not be impossible to use it.

But there are only two days left. It's going to be a bit sluggish, isn't it?

We've got more wagons than we know what to do with.

Well, yes.

We put up with the uncomfortable carriage and just go slowly.

If this was going to continue for two more days, I could understand Toya's feelings.

But we can't just leave the carriage we borrowed from the guild, and it would be a shame to throw away the one we got from the bandits.

I guess I'll just have to find something to pass the time and be patient.

Dinner's ready.

But I just took it out of my bag.

But it's fresh, so it's all right.

Our camping style is to sleep in the back of the wagon, without using a tent.

The only thing we did was to build a fire, but we just took out the cooked food from the magic bag and put it on the foldable table we took out from the magic bag.

When I feel like it, I boil tea in the fire, but I have several kinds of hot and cold tea in my Magic Bag, so I don't need it.

When I'm alone, I have no one to talk to, so I'm bored.

Well, the scenery doesn't look much different.

Since there are three carriages for five people, there are inevitably times when I ride alone in the carriage, depending on the rotation.

It didn't happen when I was in charge today, but it's true that you can't chat with people when you're alone.

What?　You mean when you're riding in the carriage?

"Yeah. You're not busy, are you?

I was chatting with Natsuki and the others. ......

I was practicing magic manipulation, I think.　Fortunately, or perhaps not, the carriage is not so uncomfortable that it makes you want to sleep.

This afternoon, Toya and Yuki were the only ones in charge of the Gosha.

Yuki had been spending her free time alone training. This could be said to be an advantage of the carriage, which requires almost no operation if you just let it walk along the road.

Even if you fall asleep at the wheel, you're not likely to hit anything.

Horses don't run into obstacles without thinking, nor do they dare to go off the road.

It is equipped with a collision avoidance system.

What would be more dangerous would be to fall asleep and fall off the platform, but I don't think any of us can sleep in this vibration, so we don't have to worry about that either.

I can't use magic. ......

"No, why don't you try?　Even if you can't use it as magic, it might make sense to use a magic weapon.

"I see. You have a point!　You can do things like [Strengthen Muscle], so it's certainly not pointless!

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

Okay. That way we can get home early.

I'm not sure what to say.

The remaining two days were not particularly noteworthy.

If I had to say something, I would say that even though it was training, we couldn't go on forever, and we had a lot of time on our hands during the trip.

On the other hand, taking care of the six horses was quite a challenge, but I can only think that it was a good experience. ......

However, there is no doubt that all of us lost a lot of motivation to keep horses. It's not as easy as owning a cat or a dog, so if you really want to own a horse, you need to be prepared.

Before entering Raffan, I put the things I had in my magic bag back on the carriage and headed straight for the guild.

We lined up the carriage at the carriage yard attached to the Adventurer's Guild, left Toya alone to watch over the carriage, and headed into the guild.

It was mid-morning when we arrived in Raffan, thanks to the smooth journey and the empty carriage. The guild was deserted.

What?　It's Halka and the others. It's been a while.

"Good morning, Diora.

As usual, it was Diora who greeted us.

There is no young receptionist as usual, but since we have been working here for a long time, we feel at ease when we are greeted by Ms. Diora.

I've come to ask you to handle a request I received in Kerg today. ......

Kerg?　...... Oh, you've been out of town, I see. Yes, I understand. I understand.

Diora frowned a little when she saw the request form that Haruka took from her.

It's a shame that you're a bandit and not an adventurer,....... So you've accomplished it successfully?

Yes. 12, unfortunately, all of them were adventurers. They had guild cards.

Diora checked the guild cards on the counter and sighed deeply.

They were all registered in Raffan. I guess things didn't work out for you after you moved to Kerg. ......

"I think you're just not serious enough.　I don't think so. Also, it's okay for us to take what we get from the bandits' hideout, right?

Yes, in principle.

Diora's words were somewhat unclear, and Haruka nodded her head.

I've heard that too, but are there any exceptions?

What about in principle?　Is there a problem?

"Legally, there is no problem. However, if the item is related to an influential merchant or nobleman, they may ask for it back. ......

I see. So even if there is no legal problem, there will be trouble.

Fortunately, I've never experienced an arrogant nobleman in my life, but the appearance of troublesome nobles and corrupt merchants is, in a sense, standard. In fiction.

"Yes. If you sell everything you find to the guild, they'll take care of everything else.

So it's safer for adventurers. But it will be cheaper for you?

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.

I'm not sure if I'd be able to do it on my own. If you have the ability to go it alone, you can dispose of it yourself. ...... It is quite troublesome.　It's a lot of work.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier. Perhaps he was speaking from that experience.

If that's the case with the backing of the guild, it would be very difficult for us, who are less experienced than Diora and have no backing, to handle it on our own.

If you ask me if what we got this time is worth the effort, I would say no. It's just a thing that can be bought with money, and we are not in such financial trouble that we need to spare a little profit.

I'm not happy to have a bad relationship with a strange place over such a thing.

We looked at each other and nodded, and decided to sell all our goods to the guild.

The reward for killing the bandits, the wagon, the horses, and the cargo. Because of the sheer volume of goods, it would naturally take some time to evaluate them all.

If you want to get into details, I should probably follow you around and ask you how much you're worth, but I'll trust you to do that. We decided to sit back and wait in the guild.

It wasn't until about an hour later that Mr. Diora arrived at our door with a heavy bag.

Thank you very much for your patience. It was more than I expected.

The sound of money jingled from the bag that Mr. Diora placed on the table.

I'm sorry for the victims, but fortunately, yes.

The merchant's resourcefulness includes whether or not to take the safe route and whether or not to hire an escort, so I don't think you need to worry about that. At the very least, Haruka and her team prevented any new victims from occurring.

As with adventurers, the idea in this world seems to be that you are responsible for your own actions.

If you want to travel safely, hire an escort at a reduced profit.

If you want to make more money, do business in dangerous areas or hire less guards.

It is your life that is bet on, and the world of merchants is quite serious.

Here are the rewards and the purchase price. Shall I explain to you the breakdown of ......?

"No need. I trust you.

Okay. Thank you very much. Okay, just the total. Round up to the nearest 1.68 million Reais.

"Oh.

You've been to ...... a lot, haven't you?

Yeah. The magic iron is the big one. The wrought metal mixed in with the other metals was also worth a good amount.

That's more than the price of our house.

But when you consider that it's about the same as our current equipment, adventurers have a very expensive business. You can't blame them for using the magic iron and wrought metal that they sold at a high price, and then adding the blacksmith's skills to it.

Haruka-san and the others, will you be staying here for a while?

Well, I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet, but I plan to. We're planning to do something else soon.

Oh, I heard you made a lot of money over the winter.　I would have been happy to go through the guild.

I'd have been happy to go through the guild, but now I've got a connection with Simon.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. --It's okay, though, because we're making a good amount of profit from the demons alone.

Normally, it's difficult for adventurers to sell wood in the market on their own, so guilds take over for them, but in our case, we had an acquaintance named Simon.

In our case, we had a friend named Simon. It may not be fun for the middleman, but it is very profitable for both parties. I can see no reason not to do it.

However, I felt that they might resent us a little, so I tried to keep them from knowing about us as much as possible. .......

What we did is pretty well known?

Natsuki must have been curious about that. She asked Diora, but Diora shook her head.

No, it's only known to a few people. I know that Natsuki-san and his friends are bringing in demons from the North Woods, and if wood from the North Woods is flowing at the same time, it would be obvious, right?

It's easy to figure out, isn't it?

No problem. The guild won't leak the information to anyone else. Well, don't worry too much, I don't think anyone would normally mess with us.　It's not safe for adventurers to be operating in the North Woods.

The way you say it, Diora, it sounds as if it's not "dangerous to mess with them" but "dangerous for us".

I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're a lot safer than a bad adventuring party.　As long as they don't do anything crazy.

Dangerous? ...... Well, if something happens, we'll fight back. We'll fight back. Like you'll never recover.

--Yuki's words subtly lost their credibility.

But, Diora, is it possible that you are dealing with someone out of the ordinary?

But, Diora, is it possible to have an unusual partner?" "There are foolish people everywhere. ...... Just as there are adventurers who fall into banditry. If it becomes too famous, there is a possibility that there will be fools who think that there is some kind of magic that allows them to operate in the northern forest?

Diora-san nodded her head with a troubled expression.

It's not Diora's fault, but it would be troublesome.

I'm just fighting demons as usual. As for transporting the wood, ...... well, that's the thing.

If they attack you, it's okay to do it, right?

I'd be grateful if you could take it easy on me, but ...... if you want to avoid trouble, it's best to do it quietly and unobtrusively.

"Oh, ......, thank you for the great advice?

There is no such thing as a "crystal that can easily reveal a crime", so if there are no witnesses, it's ok.

God is real, but he doesn't seem to be involved in it.

I got the impression from talking to Mr. Adversus that he doesn't intend to be so lenient.

Well, it is difficult to say whether God should decide what constitutes a crime, or whether it should be determined by the social contract. Even in the original world, there were countries that looked to religion as the standard for crime, and there were many countries where morality was based on religion, let alone law.

To some extent, people should be independent as human beings, and if they cross the boundary that is non-negotiable as a god, they will be punished by heaven.

It seems that if a person embezzles offerings, he or she will be punished by the gods, and perhaps the gods are strict about the acts of using them.

The Order of the Saints of Satomi seems to have no problems at the moment, but if they were to claim to be the saints of the real gods, they would be punished by the gods at once, wouldn't they?

The guild has high hopes for Haruka and the others. You'll have to be good at it, right?

"Uh-huh. I understand. ......

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