Chapter 88
*
They were attacked by monsters twice.
As is the custom for adventurers using a carriage as their means of travel, I was the first to jump out and fight in both instances.
What surprised me was that the primary goal of adventurers working as carriage guards isn't to defeat the monsters.
Once the monsters are driven off, the job is considered done.
While chasing a monster called Greatooth Wolf, which has "wolf" in its name but a face like a horse—a total scam—I was scolded to hurry back.
The priority is the progress of the trade caravan, apparently.
That's strange. In Faltarl, during the few guard missions I took, the basic rule was to annihilate the monsters.
Thinking so, I asked John, the leader of the guards, and he replied that in Faltarl, just driving monsters away would mean they'd keep stalking you, making things worse.
I've started to realize recently that the common sense in Faltarl isn't common sense elsewhere.
Suddenly, the face of the sister who calls people unreasonable, idiots, or Demonlands comes to mind.
I thought of myself as a worldly, sensible person despite being a noble and an adventurer, but it turns out Shara might actually be the sensible one.
I thought she was someone who got surprised a lot, but I guess I'm the unreasonable one after all.
"Hey, it's coming into view."
John deliberately said that for the sake of Edds and Pal, fellow outsider adventurers who, like me, were the first to leap out of the carriage.
Edds and Pal, exhausted from being tossed around by horse-faced wolves and cows that curl up like balls during this unfamiliar carriage journey, brighten up at the news.
The employer seems to be a decent person, as the carriage provided for the guards was surprisingly comfortable.
Even so, it's tiring if you're not used to it.
Seeing the two of them relieved that the short journey to the next town is ending safely, I can't help but smile under my masked face.
I had times like this too, didn't I...?
Hmm? Wait a sec.
No... I didn't, actually.
When your mentor carries you on their shoulder and covers a two-day carriage distance in a few hours, any carriage ride—whether it's your first or you're not used to it—feels like heaven.
Imagining a version of myself that might have had such a past through a vision, I felt unnecessarily down.
If my Longdagger household were a normal noble family, I could say that traveling by carriage was an everyday thing.
Unfortunately, my family is poor.
Even the old man walks to the castle for work.
The day I realized I had neither money nor common sense—two days after leaving the town of Hekatai, and two and a half days after parting with Erika.
I arrived at Noljuen, the second town of the Makikomarclow Frontier Marquis, south of Hekatai.
*
"Did you conserve your strength?"
The one who asked me that was John.
I answered the question with just a shrug.
It seems he noticed I was holding back even while driving off the monsters.
"Well, that's fine. You did your job properly. I've got no right to complain."
Besides, there's no other reason for someone like you to use a carriage.
I couldn't tell who John was referring to with that sarcastic tone.
Honestly, I'm not thinking of my mentor, okay?
I figured this guy was probably one of the victims too, but I didn't feel like confirming it.
If I found out, I'd feel like I had to apologize.
"Well then, see you around. If we meet again, I'll be counting on you."
After seeing off John's back as he walked away, I turned around.
Apologizing for the rudeness of making them wait despite being the one to call out, I handed over a letter I wrote in the carriage.
The person showing a suspicious face at the offered letter is a merchant employed by the head of this trade caravan.
In other words, a skilled person employed by an incredibly successful individual who owns multiple wagons made with unbelievably expensive refrigerated magic tools.
Looking at the crest displayed on the carriage, I figured out who that incredibly successful person was.
I didn't choose this caravan on purpose; it was just a lucky guess, and it turned out to be a jackpot.
"Please give this letter to Jenniferin Pantile. Also, tell her that Shin Longdagger apologizes."
She's probably furious, huh.
I didn't say anything—or rather, I couldn't.
Imagining my friend, who is likely hurling a storm of insults back in my hometown, I couldn't help but smile nostalgically.