CH 75

Chapter 75 - From the east gate to the southeast mountain path

On their way to the east gate, Souya and Mia bought enough food for four meals at a general store and headed for the stop by the east gate. There was still plenty of time to meet, but since Merylou and Aisha has already headed to the east gate, they decided that it would be better to arrive early.

At the stop in the distance, the client, Peryton, and the three adventurers who had accepted the request, Merylou, Tat, and Aisha, seemed to be already there.

“Oh, Souya-niichan is here!”

The Grasswalker Thief Tat jumped up and waved.

Souya and Mia were hurried by Tat’s voice, and walked a little faster to the station.

“…… Sorry about this, Peryton-san. It seems that we were the last to leave.”

“No, no. …… It’s only 9:40. We still have about 20 minutes until our meeting time of 10:00 …… Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get an early start, shall we?”

Peryton checked the time on his pocket watch and suggested that we leave earlier than the scheduled time. Since everyone was already prepared, there would definitely be more time to spare if we left earlier. There was no one to oppose this proposal.

“Before we leave, I’d like to introduce myself to the two people who came just now. I am Rams, the coachman, and she’s Anastasia, our packhorse.”

Rams, a well-dressed old man with short gray hair, got out of the front seat of the wagon and bowed to Souya and Mia. The two of them followed suit and greeted each other.

“I’m Souya, Ramus-san. She’s Mia. I would like to thank you for your cooperation. And Anastasia …… A mare, perhaps.”

“Yes. She is a healthy horse with a very calm temperament. We will have her do her best again this time …… I would appreciate your help in escorting me along the way.”

After greeting the two of them, Rams climbed back into the front seat of the wagon.

The wagon was a small, one-horse, four-wheeled, simple wooden structure with a white canopy to protect it from the sun and rain, and it seemed to be adequate for transporting wine. And because it was small, it was easy for a small group of people to surround it, making it easy to escort.

“…… Peryton-san, I need to ask you something. Do you know any self-defense techniques?　I’ll try not to make you, my client, fight, of course.”

“I’m a traveler by trade. I’ve trained with a sword at the dojo and have been involved in several attacks along the way. I’ve even slayed a goblin …… Well, I can’t say I’m very good at it. I don’t want you to get your hopes up about that.”

Peryton showed Souya the scabbard of his rapier, a slender sword he carried at his waist. If it’s a weak monster, he’s at least capable of defending himself, but judging by his unsure tone, he’s not very good at it. 

“I’m relieved to hear that. Of course, if there is a battle, we will take care of it. If you can keep yourself safe, Peryton-san.”

Even though it was not his forte, it was reassuring to know that he had at least some knowledge of combat. If the client panics when an attack occurs, there is a possibility that he will act unpredictably. If he had experience in being attacked, he seemed to have nothing to worry about in that regard.

“I understand. Then, let’s depart for the city of Lingen …… Today, let’s aim for the lodge on the way to the mountain.”

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After passing through the east gate of Ilstadt, Peryton and his party of adventurers walked toward the city of Lingen, located in the southeast mountains, surrounding the wagon driven by Ramus, the coachman.

All of them were on foot, except for Rams, the coachman of the party, and Merylou stood at the head of the wagon. She is a natural danger spotter and can intercept with her bow and spirit art, so she is well suited for the job. The two sides of the cart were Tat and Aisha, with the client Peryton at the back and Mia and Souya at the rear.

“So Peryton-san is also walking with a lot of luggage on his back. “

After walking for about two hours, Souya called out to Peryton as they approached the mountain road from the flat road. He thought he would be riding in the wagon, or at least leaving his pack with us, but instead, he was carrying his pack on his back, just like the adventurers that were guarding them, and walking with them.

“Haha, I don’t want to put any extra burden on Anastasia,. She has an important role to play on the way back …… Well, to put it dryly, it’s expendable …… It’s important to walk, you know. If you don’t, a glutton like me will get fat very quickly.”

The reason why he was so small and fat was because he eats a lot. He usually carries a lot of luggage on his back, and with the way he looks, he must be very gluttonous.

“I know how important it is to walk …… However, it’s been a while since I hiked in the mountains. Are you used to hiking in the mountains, Mia-kun?”

“Yes, I don’t go to the mountains personally, but I have been on request. There are some medicinal herbs that can only be collected in the mountains, after all.”

Mia often looked at the wild plants along the roadside. If it were a private matter, she might have wanted to collect wildflowers.

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We took a short break for lunch in an open area of the mountain road, and started walking for a few more hours. We were not particularly attacked on the way, and the beautiful setting sun was beginning to turn the almost cloudless sky red.

Souya was beginning to feel a little tired as the mountain road became steeper, but he still had a lot of energy left. The mountain roads are much different from the flatlands, but it was still a good decision to keep up with the daily walking exercises to build up his strength.

“…… Aisha-oneechan, are you okay?”

In front of me, Aisha was gasping for breath and had stopped in her tracks. Over the wagon, Tat was calling out to her, looking worried.

“…… Yeah. Tat. I’m fine …… Haah …… Haah ……”

Aisha replied to Tat, but the reply “I’m fine” itself looked painful. The two bunches of brown braids swayed in time with her loud breathing as she thrust the cleric staff with magic stones in both hands. And at any moment, she would not be able to keep up with the speed of the wagon and would be left behind.

“…… Aisha-san, you’re looking a little tired.”

Mia murmured with concern. As for her, she was used to traveling and didn’t seem tired at all, not even out of breath. As expected of the cleric of the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela, she is probably accustomed to working outdoors too.

“…… How far is it to the mountain lodge, Peryton-san?”

“Less than an hour away, sir. We should be able to get there before the sun goes down.”

“Then we have plenty of time to spare since we left early. Why don’t we take a short break?”

In response to Souya’s suggestion, Peryton looked at Aisha, who was about to lag behind the carriage and nodded slowly.

“Hmm. If that’s what Souya-san says. Let’s take a twenty-minute break …… But is it okay? The journey has only just begun, after all.”

Peryton muttered uneasily and ran to the side of Rams, who was the coachman and gave the order to stop the wagon.

When Aisha heard the order to stop, she slumped to the ground as if she had lost her strength. From the looks of it, she must have been nearing her limit. Souya remembered that in the morning, she had mumbled to herself, stopping halfway.

(She prayed to the god of knowledge, Luster, in the morning. Practicing magic in the afternoon. At night, study and education …… Then. Do the devout followers of the god of knowledge, Luster, have time to cultivate the physical strength necessary for adventure?)

When Souya looked up at the sky while thinking about this, he saw that the madder red-colored sky had somehow begun to fill with thick, suspicious clouds.

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