Volume 4 - CH 3

We left Erlandt, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Vernia, for Spagna, the royal capital of the neighboring country of Grandsword.

The trip is scheduled for five days, but I've made arrangements with Nick, the coachman, to allow for a delay of two days. He was introduced to me by Merlot, a merchant I trust, so I'm sure he's the right guy.

"We'll be following the regular carriage, so please wait a little longer."

Charter carriage that are in a hurry can leave at any time they want, but if they have enough time, they can follow the regular carriage.

This way, if we are attacked by bandits or monsters, we can count on the escort of the regular carriage. In addition, you can use them as a decoy. The same conditions apply to the regular carriage, so it is customary for them to be accompanied by such a carriage.

"Hey, I'm an escort badge hired by the regular carriage. Are you adventurers?"

A strong-looking warrior appeared at the back of the carriage.

"Ah, that's right."

"Oh, yeah. Are you going to load the luggage now?"

"No. We're the luggage."

"Hmm?"

"Badge-san, this carriage is only for Alec-san use."

Nick explained.

"Oh, I see, so it's the carriage of the rich man's party. I envy you your private carriage."

Badge squinted at me and smiled.

I appraised Badge's level and found that he was level 22. He was weaker than us, but he would be a good enough guard for the monsters around here.

He was wearing an iron breastplate and a broadsword. His breastplate was rusty and reddish brown in places, and his sword had a spilled blade, but I guess that's what normal adventurers do.

"So, we're going to Spagna, right? I'm counting on you, brother."

I have no use for the bastard, but I don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so I raise my hand and return the greeting.

"Hey, Mom, the seats are all empty in this carriage."

This time, a boy a little younger than Billy peered into the carriage.

"No, this is not. Come here. You're in the wrong carriage."

"Eehh?"

"I feel sorry for him."

Serina feels sorry for him, so I'll tell her.

"No, not at all."

"What?"

"Think about it. If we hadn't been there, they would have left in that carriage without a second thought. If there had been a nobleman's boxcar beside us, they would have felt sorry for us."

"It's... well, I'm fine with this even if there's a nobleman's carriage beside us."

Maybe in the future I'll travel in a more elegant vehicle, but for now, this will have to suffice.

A whistle beeped, which I guess was the signal. The carriage in front of us departed.

"Then we will depart as well."

"Yeah, I leave it to you."

The carriage starts moving.

I was laying down, but I sat back down in my chair again. As expected, the ride is not as comfortable as modern cars. The vibration of the wheels rattling and rattling came directly to my ass.

It was a good thing I took Welbard-sensei advice and bought a seat cushion.

"As expected, It's still vibrating. I wonder if they ever invented suspension."

"Maybe so."

Serina said, but worrying about it wasn't going to make the seat any more comfortable.

I decided to turn my attention to the new country, the Grandsword.

If the first king of the country was a swordsman, then it must be a country that values swordsmanship. Even if he wasn't, a swordsman would probably want to visit the country at least once.

If so, it might be profitable to run a weapon shop there. Well, it would be the opposite if everyone thought that way and weapon shops were popping up all over the place.

Taking a break along the way, the carriage group arrived at a small village before dark. The village seemed to have become an inn town, which was unexpectedly good news for us, as we were prepared to stay in the open.

"Well, then I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

I offered to pay for Nick's lodging, but he refused. He said he was going to sleep in the carriage, which might be safer for security reasons, so I decided to leave that to the professionals.

"We're lucky to have hot soup and stir-fried vegetables."

Serina was in a good mood at the dinner table. Three more nights. I hear we'll be staying in the field.

We decided not to have sex tonight, considering that there were monsters in the field and we would have to fight in the middle of the night.

Traveling in the past must have been life-threatening, and I didn't want to sell my life cheaply.

With Meena as my pillow, I decided to stay in bed and wait for dawn.

"Good morning, everyone."

I finished my breakfast and went to the carriage, where Nick greeted us with a smile. I was curious about his food, but the carriage also had his backpack, so he would have at least that.

We started to move, sticking again to the regular carriage.

"It's a monster!"

We heard such a shout from the carriage ahead of us, so we nodded to each other and quickly jumped off the carriage.

"Damn it! It's an army-ant. How the hell did they get here!"

Badge shouted in surprise.

A huge gray ant, maybe two meters long. Monsters that are bigger than humans are intimidating, aren't they?

Badge was slashing at the ant with his sword, but it was bounced off the shell of the opponent.

"Belly. Go for the belly."

I say, looking at it. There were two army ants, and one of them was attacking the regular carriage, but the guardian managed to keep it in check by waving his sword.

"Hyaahh!"

Serina thrust at the ant attacking the carriage from behind.

"KYSHIII！！！"

The ant went into a messy rage under the attack, and the swinging buttocks hit Serina's body.

"Kyaa!"

"Serina!"

I cringed as she collapsed. Her 40 HP was taken away, but it's not a big deal since the maximum HP of Serina is over 300 points.

Still, it's a much stronger monster than before. Except for that boss, the Mad Orc.

I guess I'm appraising here.

【Name】　Army Ant A

【 L ｖ】　32

【 H P 】　103/163

【Status】　Normal

【Description】

A gray ant with a body length two meters long.

They are covered with a hard shell and have a high level of defense.

They have an aggressive personality, and are active against everything.

They attack with a powerful bite.

It has a weakness in its stomach.

Ice and fire spells are also effective, but half-hearted flames are dangerous because they can make them rage.

Be careful, they will call their friends.

"Be careful not to get bitten. Let's get this over with."

The ants' HP was already down, so it was not impossible to defeat them, but it would be bad if they called their friends.

"Yes, Master! Eii!"

Meena slashed at the ants from the side, and Ione followed up with more attacks, turning the ants into gray smoke.

We attacked the remaining one, surrounded it, and quickly cleared it.

"Clear!"

Ione declared that there were no enemies left in the surrounding area.

"Okay, you're all not hurt right."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

The drop was two small pieces of magic stone, and the experience value was a meager 35. which is terrible.

If it were a game, I'd have my friends call on me endlessly to earn experience, but I don't feel like doing that in a field where I'm likely to be surrounded.

I also have a carriage with me.

"Wow, you guys are strong! Thanks for the help."

Badge said, but it would have taken longer if it was just him.

"What do we do now, Badge-san? If we're going to turn back, it's now or never. ......"

The coachman of the regular carriage spoke with a grim face.

"It's all right. Alec, you're going to Spagna, aren't you? If Alec's party is there, we'll be fine."

I nodded my head, though I felt it was wrong for him to be beating his chest and bragging about it.

The carriage departed again, but this would have been fine even if I had gone alone on the chartered carriage. Well, I'm not in a hurry, so I'll leave it at that.

From then on, we didn't encounter any particularly strong monsters, and the trip went smoothly, and we stayed in the wild.

"Alec, leave half the lookout to me."

Badge says, but I'm not sure I want to leave it to someone who isn't one of us.

"All right."

I nodded in agreement and said after he had gone over there.

"We'll take the watch in this order: me, Meena, Serina and Ione. Badge don't count."

"""Got it."""

Badge and Lily gathered wood for the fire, and we had only roasted bread and cheese for dinner. It wasn't a long trip, so we had plenty to eat.

If we were going on a long trip, it would be better to carry at least a pot with us.

"Yes, I've been to Spagna many times."

We sat around the fire and talked with Nick, the coachman, who told us that Spagna was a much larger castle town than Erland.

I heard that there are a lot of weapons stores, so I guess everyone thinks the same way.

"Is there any spots you recommend?"

Serina said, 　It's not like we're going sightseeing, though.

"Well, if you're an adventurer, I'd recommend the 『Labyrinth of No Return』. It's the biggest labyrinth in the area, and I've heard that adventurers come here from faraway lands in search of treasure. I've never been in one, though."

"『The Labyrinth of No Return』? ...... Does that mean that once you enter it, you can't return because you're lost or dead?"

"No, I've heard that even a novice adventurer can get through the lower levels. However, I've heard that anything below the fifth level is dangerous, even for experienced adventurers. It's said that only the party of the first king of Grandsword could reach the ninth level. It is true that many people have died, but ...... that is not the point."

Then Nick became quiet for a moment with a mysterious look on his face, and looked around at everyone. Then he gave a quick, friendly smile and added the punchline to the story.

"I've heard that some adventurers buy a house near the labyrinth and live there for the rest of their lives because of the gorgeous treasure."

"Aahh, that's why they live there and never come back."

"Yeah, that's true."

Nick didn't seem to know anything more than that, so he should gather information from the local adventurers.

The passengers on the regular carriage were listening to Nick's story with great interest.

Maybe it didn't matter what the story was about, but listening to an adventure story under the night sky by the fire is something that attracts people's attention.

And so our night went on.