Chapter 13
The first assignment I took on after becoming a courier for the Sagong Courier Agency was to transport household goods to another village. To be precise, a wealthy man residing in the royal capital had bought a house in another village, seemingly for his son to move into. My job was to escort the transport of household goods to ensure no petty thieves interfered.
“Piece of cake.”
I’d done many escort missions over the past few decades, so I left without any tension, comfortably starting the journey with the cargo. This time, there were a total of three couriers, and no official escort came along. This was because the cargo wasn’t that valuable, and bandits were rare in these parts.
A few hours after setting off, the transport cart took a brief rest. The horses seemed a bit tired, so the stop was intended to give them a break in the shade. The couriers and laborers also took the opportunity to sit, snack, and rest.
“Why did you become a courier?”
One of the couriers, who appeared to be in his early thirties and was a typical lower-ranked courier, asked me. Like me, he had probably joined the courier industry to make a living and had been at it for over a decade. I looked at his utterly unremarkable face and replied,
“There’s no other way for me to make a living.”
“You’re skilled enough in martial arts to try for a position in the military,” he said, a hint of pity in his voice.
He had a point. With my martial skills, I could have tried taking the martial arts exam or participated in the annual martial arts tournament hosted by the royal family. There would be strong competitors, but failing wasn’t likely. Perhaps being a courier was indeed a waste of my skills.