CH 197

Novice adventurers

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Luckily, we were only stranded in Slakka for one day.

Since the Bakkenheim side apologized to the Marburg side and promised to respond to their request for compensation, the checkpoint was reopened.

As the Volzard Family's carriage passed through the checkpoint, we were saluted not only by the Bakkenheim garrison members, but also by the soldiers of Marburg.

"It seems that Kent's success was reported to Marburg as well."

"Ehh, is that so?"

"Since it's the Volzard Family's carriage, the person in charge of the checkpoint will salute you when you pass through, but everyone stationed at the checkpoint won't be lined up and saluting like today."

"However, Augusto-san also contributed to the suppression of the riot, so it's not just me."

"Right, then, let's leave it like that."

When Augusto-san went to stop the riot, Basten, Tsuo, and Kame were properly guarding him from the shadows.

Before leaving the inn, Augusto-san called out to them and had a meeting with the escorts beforehand.

That kind of quick wit must have been inherited from his father, Klaus-san.

On this day, clouds covered the sky already in the morning, and although it didn't rain, the sun didn't reach us, and it was getting colder.

The coachman's stand was set at a high position so that you could see the front and back of the carriage.

The view was nice, but there was nothing to block the wind, so your body temperature was steadily lowered.

I took out a blanket from the shadow storage and wrapped it in a way to avoid the wind, but it still took away my body heat.

As a last resort, I wrapped myself in the blanket and summoned Murt between my legs while being careful not to be noticed by the horse.

The fluffy Murt blocked the wind from my stomach, which was a big help.

Even so, my exposed face was starting to hurt.

I wondered if I should exchange places with Takayama.

Although the temperature was low, the carriage progressed without incident.

The Dukas Company carriage was waiting for departure when we left Slakka, but I wondered if they hired a good escort.

"Is the Dukas Company a big store?"

"I think it's a middle-ranked upper-class in Marburg. However, in terms of scale, it should be larger than the Orlando Store in Volzard."

According to Johannes-san, the Dukas Company was a store that mainly dealt in ore, and it didn't have a long history, but the current chairman seemed to be very talented and had achieved rapid growth in the last five years.

It seemed that if the current momentum could be maintained, it was certain that the company would join the ranks of the major companies.

"If it's a company that deals in ore, isn't that a business enemy for Volzard?"

"In the dungeon of Volzard, you can mine ores that are not found in the mines of Marburg, and conversely, there are ores that are only found in Marburg, so it doesn't feel like a business enemy. It's not a bad thing to have a connection with a promising firm."

The dungeon in Volzard produced gold, silver, gems, as well as ores such as copper and iron, but it was not possible to obtain a staple amount of them.

Marburg was a mine, not a dungeon, so the amount of ore that could be produced was limited, but as long as the ore veins didn't run out, a stable amount of mining was possible.

"What is the main ore mined in Marburg?"

"The most mainstream is iron ore."

"Ehh, so the main products of the Dukas Company are also iron ore?"

"That's right. I hear they've unearthed a new vein."

"Uwaa, then, it will be a big business enemy."

"Ehh, why is that? You can't get much iron ore in the dungeon of Volzard."

"Ah, I see, Johannes-san was in Bakkenheim, so you haven't heard about the iron I brought here ..."

"Kent brought in iron ... What do you mean by that?"

Johannes-san seemed to understand when I told him that it was possible to travel back and forth to my original world, and that the iron in Japan was much more pure than the iron here.

"I see, bringing in a large amount of such high-purity iron would change Volzard's position from a buyer to a seller, and it should have a considerable impact on our relationship with Marburg."

Volzard, who had been on the buying side until now, would suddenly shift to the selling side, so it must be a surprise to those who had been supplying iron.

Usually, when making ironware, it seemed that you could start by extracting iron from iron ore purchased from places such as Marburg by combining blacksmithing technology and earth-attribute magic.

This was the so-called refining work, but this work took time and effort, so if you could get high-purity iron from the beginning, the blacksmith would be able to save a lot of trouble.

Then, the question was whether to sell the high-purity iron I brought in at a high price, or to make the conventional iron cheaper.

"Well, if it's Klaus-sama, I think he'll be able to find a common ground where it won't cause too much offense, but, that's only if Marburg can maintain its current costs. If production decreases or workers demand higher wages, they will probably lose their superiority in terms of cost, so I wonder if confrontation is inevitable."

I thought that if I could get paid with iron, which was relatively more valuable than in Japan, the burden on the Japanese government would be reduced, and it would also be profitable for Volzard, but I guess things weren't going to be that simple after all.

This time, the purpose of my trip to Bakkenheim was to train with Lau-san on the way, but it was also a preliminary preparation for transporting iron from Volzard using shadow movement.

I didn't know how much iron was circulated in this world, but Bakkenheim was a big customer for Marburg, so if Volzard were to steal that business, it would naturally cause conflict.

"Hmm ... I guess it's better not to bring too many things from Japan ..."

"Wouldn't it be better to leave it to Klaus-sama and Augusto-sama to take care of that? Kent, who is not familiar with this situation, will be limited by what one person can think about by themselves."

"That's right. I'll find an opportunity and talk to Klaus-san."

Most travelers traveling through the Irosun Great Forest used carriages.

It went without saying that the speed of movement was fast, and the carriage was always accompanied by an escort, so even if they were attacked by monsters or wild animals, they would be protected.

However, there were a few people who travel on foot.

Many of them were adventurers who were confident in their skills and wanted to save money on travel.

For example, let's say you were contracted to escort from Marburg to Bakkenheim.

Depending on the contents of the contract, there may be cases where the remuneration included return travel expenses, and there were requests where only one-way remuneration was given.

That was because even those who made requests would spend money on escorts if they were transporting important people or important items, and if they were transporting cheap items, they would like to save the fee if possible.

For adventurers who undertook the job as escorts, skilled people would be hired for important items, while the natural trend would be to hire fledgling adventurers for requests that wanted to save money.

In other words, those who were trying to pass through the forest on foot were either adventurers who were just starting out after completing a one-way escort, or adventurers who didn't have enough money.

Horse-drawn carriages on the highway rang bells to alert pedestrians of their approach.

It was customary for pedestrians who heard the sound of the bell to move out of the way to avoid obstructing the passage of the carriage.

That was because the people riding the carriages were of higher status and were richer.

The Volzard Family's carriage also overtook some adventurer-like youngsters, ringing the bell from time to time.

The headwind was strong today, so the adventurers being overtaken were watching the carriage with envious faces.

"I was thinking that the coachman's stand was abundantly cold, but compared to people who travel on foot, it's much more enjoyable."

"Certainly, although that's true, but being cold is being cold. I want to get to the village where we're taking a lunch break quickly and have some warm soup. I'll leave the care of the horses to Shuichi."

"That's right. I totally agree."

Johannes-san and I decided, while laughing, to let Takayama take care of the horses during the day, since he was comfortably relaxing in the cabin.

After the afternoon's rest, the carriage once again ran through the Irosun Great Forest.

Due to the severe cold, the horses weren't exhausted from the heat, so things up to this point were going well.

According to our schedule, we should be able to reach the exit of the Irosun Great Forest this evening.

The Volzard Family's carriage was progressing smoothly in the afternoon, but Irt, who had been scouting ahead, returned and reported.(TN:Apparently there wasn't just Art with the base ones, AIUEO + ruto. Only Art was referenced from that batch up until just now.)

"Wau, Goshujin-sama, there are adventurers being attacked by wolves ahead."

"Wolves?"

"Kent, it's probably Forest Wolves. They sometimes attack people in groups, but they're not monsters, they're wild animals. If you keep approaching them in a carriage, they'll run away, so we'll be fine."

"Understood."

After passing through a place surrounded by trees, I could see the shadows of about three people surrounded by green-furred wolves.

When Johannes-san rang the bell announcing the approach of the carriage, the Forest Wolves turned around and disappeared into the forest.

The Forest Wolf was said to be a fairly intelligent wolf, and usually hunted deer and other animals for a living, but it seemed that it would attack adventurers walking along the road if they saw them looking weak.

In the Republic of Landshelt, 'Adventurer attacked by a wolf' was a slang term for an adventurer who was beaten by even a wolf.

So, the novice adventurers this time seemed to be a party with two men and one woman, and were a little older than me.

A slightly overweight boy, a tall and macho looking girl, and a small boy with a thin figure seemed to be bitten here and there by wolves.

"That's why, I told you we should just ride a carriage here."

"What, are you saying it's my fault?"

"But, wasn't it Sousa who said let's go on foot?"

"It can't be helped, because if we don't save our travel expenses, we won't make any money."

"That's because Sousa and Brau eat too much."

"What are you talking about? It's not that we eat too much, Sumit eats too little."

Seeing the girl who seemed to be called Sousa, arguing with the petit Sumit, the slightly overweight Brau was flustered.

"Umm ... Are you okay?"

When I called out to them from the driver's seat of the carriage parked by the roadside, Sousa turned around and looked appreciatively at the Volzard Family's carriage before answering.

"Thank you very much. Just, it looked like these guys got beaten, but there's no problem."

"What are you talking about, Sousa. You should ask them to give us a ride."

"Shut up. It's no good if this kind of person looks down on you. We need to convince the other side to invite us on board ..."

"Isn't that an unreasonable decision, we're just E-ranks."

"Idiot, why are you disclosing our ranks. You just have to make them think that you're about C-rank."

"Isn't that a scam."

"It's fine, it's only a scam if you actually call yourself a C-rank, but if you just make them think so, it's not a scam or anything."

No, no, they may be trying to hide their voices, but I can hear them.

"Johannes-san, what should we do?"

"No, if they can't ride, it looks like they'll be beaten by Forest Wolves again ... But, where would they get on ..."

"That's right ... It can't be helped, someone should escort them to the next village ..."

When Johannes-san and I started talking, they looked at us with hopeful eyes, wondering if they could get on board, but we couldn't let those unknown people get on board.

"Johannes-san, could you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you soon. Murt, stay here."

When I got off and the carriage started moving again, the three of them were clearly disappointed.

Perhaps on behalf of the three, Sousa spoke to me while scratching her head.

"So, what are you going to do by getting off alone?"

"I thought I'd escort you and send you to the next village."

"Haa? You, our escort? Won't it just be increasing the food for the Forest Wolves. Look, what are you going to do!"

As the Volzard Family's carriage receded, the pack of Forest Wolves that had hidden themselves in the forest returned.

Perhaps because they were wary of the increase that was me, they didn't attack at once and were watching the situation from afar.

The number increased from one to two, crossing the highway from a distant place, and gradually narrowing the circle of siege.

"Hee ... They look really smart."

"Wait, you. If you take it easy, you'll really be eaten. We don't have the luxury to protect you."

Sousa was holding a large knife, the small Sumit was holding a bow, and the obese Brau was holding a spear with a tense expression.

"Wait, you should prepare too. You're seriously going to get hurt!"

Little by little, the Forest Wolves narrowed the surrounding circle and waited for the right moment to leap.

"The green coat, huh ... It's pretty good, but it's not a monster, so I guess it's impossible to make it a genus. Zeta ... Come out!"

WIth a confident expression, Zeta jumped out in front of the group of Forest Wolves that were about to jump and roared.

"Uwaa!"

"Giyan ... Kiyain!"

Surprised by the sudden appearance of Zeta, the Forest Wolves jumped back and disappeared into the forest with a fierce dash.

"Yup, yup, that's fine, Zeta, that's perfect ..."

"Thank you, Nushi-dono. However, this is ..."

The Forest Wolves were driven away, but the trio were all sitting on the ground together.

"Ah, aaahh ... D, don't eat ..."

Sousa looked strong, but her eyes were wide open and she was trembling.

"This kid is my genus Zeta. Don't worry, she won't harm you."

When I petted her behind her ears, she wagged her fluffy tail and narrowed her eyes.

"As you just saw, Zeta can move freely in the shadows, so don't worry, she'll watch over you from the shadows until you reach the next village. Please, Zeta."

"Leave it to me, Nushi-dono."

"The Gigawolf spoke ..."

"She'll keep an eye on you until the next village, but she won't take care of you after that. Think and act on your own. If I didn't help you because you were pretending to be strong, wouldn't you have been eaten? You should ask for help even if it's unsightly, since it goes without saying which is more important, profit, or life."

I was talking big, but I've done a lot of unreasonable things too.

However, I was able to do that because everyone in my genus was there, and they should be more careful since they were the only ones there.

"Then, I have work as an escort, so please excuse me."

When I tapped Zeta's shoulder and tried to dive into the shield of darkness, I was stopped by the petit Sumit.

"W, wait! Umm ... Thank you very much. Could you tell me your name?"

"Me? I'm Kent, an adventurer from Volzard. Then ..."

"Umm! Rank ... What's your rank?"

"S-rank."

Leaving the three of them with expressions of disbelief, I went into the shadows with Zeta.

I asked Zeta to watch over the three of them, and I returned to the carriage using Murt as a landmark.

"I'm back, Johannes-san."

"Ou, even if I know about it, it's surprising if you suddenly appear. What happened with the three of them?"

"When the carriage left, the Forest Wolves approached again, so I drew them in and summoned the Gigawolf Zeta to drive them away. I told Zeta to watch over the three of them from the shadows until they reach the next village."

"That too ... It's a big service, isn't it?"

"When I called Zeta, all three of them were timid ... I think they learned a little ..."

"Well, adventurers of that age tend to be unreasonable ..."

Johannes-san also had an expression that seemed to have some circumstances behind it.

"Once we've passed through the Irosun Great Forest, the only difficult place left is the Rivarre Pass, but it should be okay because we exterminated the bandits the other day. For Johannes-san, isn't this the first time in a while that you've been to Volzard?"

"That's right. It's been half a year ... I hope the number of graves I visit doesn't increase ..."

It seemed that four years ago, Johannes-san began staying in Bakkenheim with the Volzard brothers, and in the beginning, every time he went home, he was informed of the death of a classmate who had become an adventurer.

"Every time I returned to my hometown, it was quite painful to hear that a childhood friend had died. Recently, the topic of finally getting married or having a child has increased."

"Didn't you want to become an adventurer, Johannes-san?"

"I had two older brothers, my second brother became an adventurer, but he died recklessly when he was just starting out, so my parents were against it, and I didn't have strong magic, so I gave up."

"Is that so ..."

"Well, I didn't become an adventurer, but I was blessed with the opportunity to go outside Volzard, and I'm not dissatisfied with my current job. No, far from being dissatisfied, I feel greatly rewarded."

"You're the butler of the Volzard Family, aren't you? Eventually, I'm sure you'll manage Volzard as Augusto-san's right-hand man."

"Well, I wonder about that ... Augusto-sama is excellent, and Baldini-sama is also here, so I guess I'll only be working on things within the Volzard Family. Besides, in terms of being Augusto-sama's right hand, wouldn't Kent carry a bigger responsibility than me?

"Me, is it? I ... rather than work that uses my head, I specialize in rough work involving monsters."

"Maybe so, but considering the nature of the place called Volzard, it's an important job."

"That's right. But, Volzard is a city that is important to me, so it's only natural to protect it."

"What a reliable guy. One day, Volzard may be called 'The safest city in Landshelt' instead of 'The farthest city'."

"That's right, I will do my best to make it so."

Under the still cloudy sky, the Volzard Family's carriage continued to run lightly, and passed through the Irosun Great Forest before evening as planned.