261-234 A little rest, and...

After we returned from fishing, we spent our days at leisure, doing no particular work until the scheduled date for the escort request came.

We spent our days doing our daily training, hobbies and practical activities such as cooking, alchemy, magic, and so on.

I spent my days doing such things.

Mitya, who looks up to me like a big brother, and Mary, who works hard at her training, are cute, and the vegetable garden, where the fruits of my labors show up smoothly, is interesting.

I've been here for almost a year now, and I don't think I've ever had a more peaceful day.

I'm not sure what to say. ...... Yes, when your pocket is warm, you feel peaceful, don't you?

I'm sure you'll agree that it's a great idea.

Red Strike Ox is the best.

Well, the days of peace and quiet will come to an end at some point.

--It's time to get to work.

This time, I'll be traveling to Pining with Mary and the others, so I'll have a little extra time to spare.

We'll still be running on our feet, but unlike last time, both Mary and Mitya will be running by themselves.

In Japan, letting a child of this age run for dozens of kilometers is usually considered abusive, but in this world, common sense and race are different.

As you can imagine, she can't run at the same speed as us, but judging from her daily jogging, she can run without any problems if she slows down.

That's why I came to pick up the milk of Red Strike Ox to be transported to the Adventurer's Guild, less than a week before the scheduled departure of the escort.

"We've been waiting for you!　I mean, are you going to make it?

"Yeah, no problem, no problem. We've got a few days to spare.

When we showed up at the guild, Diora came out of the counter in a hurry, as if she was in a hurry.

If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can always ask for help.

Well, actually, if we run as fast as we can, we can reach Pining from here in a day.

This time, we were planning to stay overnight in Kerg to visit the grave of Mary's father, and stop by the temple there, but it was still a two-day journey.

Even if Mitya gets sick on the way, there will be enough time for him to recover.

I hope so. ....... I'm going to give you a bottle of Red Strike Ox milk.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

They are basically the same as the ones we delivered, but if you look closely, you can see that the lids of the bottles have been sealed tightly with wax and a seal has been stamped on them.

Is this a sign of unopened package?

"Mr. Diora, what is this?

It's a guild stamp. It's a kind of quality assurance. If there is a problem, it should not be the responsibility of the person who collected it.

That's very nice.

If it's a common material like demon meat, but if it's something as rare as Red Strike Ox's milk, it's easy to find out who collected it.

In the unlikely event that it was poisoned, they could say, "It was in there all along! The guild's guarantee is only for the buyer.

The guild's guarantee provides peace of mind to the purchaser, while at the same time protecting the adventurer.

It is as if they charge a fee.

It's a different kind of security than direct sales.

If you think of it as insurance, the fee charged by the guild is a small price to pay.

Incidentally, it is said that the sealed product can be stored at room temperature for a certain period of time.

I wonder if it is sterilized and sealed like long-life milk in Japan, or if it is handled in some other way. Since there are magic and alchemy, it seems to be possible to do something if you want to.

Even though they can be stored, they taste better fresh, so please don't take them out of the magic bag, okay?　If it does break, please report to the pinning guild.

I have a spare one at ....... I wonder if the guild over there will take care of this?

We delivered 115 bottles to the guild this time.

The amount we collected was much more than that, and at least now we have no use for them, so they're just sitting in our magic bags.

Yes. But it usually takes a day or so, so be careful.

Okay. Well, I don't plan to take it out of the bag until I hand it over, so I think it will be fine.

The milk should be given directly to the client, the person in charge of the Viscount family. If you want to request an escort, please show this letter of introduction to the gatekeeper and he will take care of it.

Next, Diora handed me a certificate of delivery for the milk and a letter of introduction to request an escort.

After showing this to the Viscount, we should follow his instructions.

Basically, since the escort is only for the journey to and from the place, they are allowed to act freely after arriving there, but there is a possibility that the client may ask them to do something, so they are told to be flexible.

As for Ms. Diora, if she is asked to do something, she would like to accept it as much as possible.

However, depending on the nature of the request, she may charge extra.

If it is difficult for us to negotiate, Diora will negotiate with us after we return.

That's very thoughtful.

That's very generous support.

It depends on the request, but it's quite common for noblemen.

Sounds like a lot of work.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but if you don't do it, it's a lot more work later on. ......

Diora's eyes fell down and a melancholy expression appeared on her face.

What is floating in the distance of her gaze?

I'm sure it's not a pleasant memory, at least.

Oh, but you're all safe!　I'm very grateful to you all for being so polite.

...... You can't be polite to a nobleman, let alone a normal person.

That's fine!　It's fine! Use that "normal"!　There are a lot of adventurers who can't be normal. ...... No, most of them can't.

You can't blame them, considering where adventurers come from.

You never go to school, you come to town as an adult or not, and you live among adventurers of low character.

There is no chance for them to learn manners in such a situation.

On the other hand, the adventurers from the orphanage in the temple seem to be relatively well educated by Ishka and her friends, and they seem to have a good reputation, whether they are strong or not.

It's not unusual for an adventurer to demand the courtesy of a nobleman. If they did, they would certainly be branded as fools in noble society. If you need such a person, you should use your own knight. If you can't do that, you're out of luck.

That's quite comforting for us to hear.

"Yes, please go ahead and take it easy. As long as the target of the escort is safe, we don't care about the rest!

No, I'm not going that far. But I'll do my best.

Yes, sir. I'll do my best.

The next morning we had an early breakfast.

The next morning we had an early breakfast and set off for Kerg.

The next morning, we had an early breakfast and set off for Kergu. It was already late summer, but we were going to run, so the cooler the better.

Toya was in the lead as a pacemaker, with Mitya and Mary behind her. The rest of us run around her.

As long as we're running on the street, we're unlikely to be attacked, but it's a precaution.

This time, we can run too!

Easy, easy!

It's a little slower than moving on our own, but still fast enough.

While running at such a speed, Mary and Mitya were smiling.

When they first came to Laffan, they had just recovered from their burns and had physical problems, so we had to carry them on our backs.

This time, however, they were able to move around on their own feet, and I guess they were happy about that.

Mary and Mitya have been training hard for the past few months, haven't they?

Yes!　Yes, they did!

At least they never skipped training when we were at home, and they probably continued training even when we were not there.

Otherwise, no matter how much of a beastman they are, we can't expect them to gain this much strength.

The only question now is how long they can keep it up. .......

A few hours later, we were eating lunch in Kerg, despite my concerns.

It would take us about one and a half times as long to get there as it would have without Mary and the others. That's within our expectations.

But the recovery is going better than I thought, isn't it?

Well, at least the collapsed and burned houses have been cleared. There's still a lot of vacant lots.

And the soldiers. There's still a lot of them. I didn't see many of them when I first came here before the uprising.

I've seen soldiers patrolling several times before we got to the mess hall.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

Is there something else to worry about? "It might be something related to the nobles. I've heard of some noblemen who have lost their wages to it, and some who have been involved in fraud.

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

Well, I guess there are some things that are different from our common sense.

I wonder if there is such a thing as Japan, where the rights of workers are protected more than necessary, and civil servants who cheat are not easily fired.

It seems unlikely under normal circumstances, but considering the fact that there is a lot of nepotistic hiring, it may be difficult to get a job depending on the referrals.

But it's safe to say that there are no security problems. Viscount Nenus, various?

"Yes, sir. I didn't see any street people.

Maybe it was just that I didn't see any, but at least it was definitely better than the situation where a child was left lying on the street with severe burns.

"Do you want to get a place to stay after this, the temple?

I said, but Mary and the others shook their heads in reticence.

We're fine with that.　We don't need to stop at the temple.

"No. We go to the temple of Lord Adversus to pray.

Is that what ...... is for?

I'm not sure if it's because the common people don't make individual graves or because they don't have the sense of visiting graves that we do.

The remains of the two fathers are supposed to be buried in this temple, but it seems that they pray in the temple (or anywhere else) if they need to.

Their mother was also supposed to be dead, but they didn't even know where her remains were.

Well, since you're here, why don't you stop by? It would be good to donate a little. This orphanage must be in trouble.

"Oh, I see. Okay, then.

Do you understand?

They nodded at Toya's words, and after lunch we went to the temple to pray and make a small donation.

We had planned to pay the donation together, but both of them, perhaps because they were concerned about the orphanage or because their father was buried there, insisted on paying from their own pocket money and threw it into the money box.

I don't know what the orphanage is like now, but at least I didn't hear any shouting as we left the temple, so I'd like to think it's improved.

After leaving the temple, we took lodgings and went to bed early, considering the fatigue of Mary and the others.

The next day, we woke up early and left Kergu in the morning to continue our run.

Thanks to the two of them, who showed no signs of fatigue from the previous day, the journey went smoothly, and we passed through the gates of Pining on schedule that day.