Chapter 141
Chapter 141. The Return Journey - Lofty Ambitions
Jutel was a small town.
Smaller than Keril Village, but more developed than Ilsana Village, which had suffered devastating damage at the hands of a mercenary group.
Perhaps the sense of crampedness came from its origins as a fortress.
Like Reedwald, its history was ancient, dating back to the time when Alfas secluded himself in Selene. At the very least, it had been around for a hundred and fifty years.
Back then, it was a tiny fortress, but it underwent extensive renovations and had troops stationed there to keep Alfas's faction in check.
Once it became clear that Selene harbored no rebellious intentions, it developed as a key transit point and expanded into a town.
Even now, as a remnant of that era, the town is governed by imperial knights dispatched to the area.
Well, that much I learned from a lecture on general knowledge.
According to Verrot's supplementary explanation, the knights' terms are short, only three years, and their primary task seems to be maintaining the stability of the roads. As a result, the dispatched knights apparently have no interest in developing the town.
I can understand their feelings.
It's difficult to produce results in just three years, and even if they lay the groundwork, the credit will go to the next commander.
Unless they have a personal attachment to Jutel, they probably won't go out of their way to do anything extra.
Upon entering the town of Jutel, we headed to the adventurer's guild.
It was to dismantle the Meruga we had just retrieved.
Sekies showed his adventurer's card at the reception to borrow the dismantling area, while I handled the dismantling of the Meruga. Yabusho was in charge of gathering information and replenishing supplies, and Lambert and Felix observed the dismantling.
Splitting up wasn't ideal, but the guild was a place where attackers would hesitate to strike.
It was safer than wandering through crowds or waiting in a tavern.
"A magic bag, huh? A Terpes Bag carrier. Impressive for a C-rank."
As he hung the Meruga, the person in charge of the dismantling area glanced at my bag.
I'm also C-rank, but to avoid trouble, I told him it was Sekies's belongings.
And since we didn't plan to stay long, I didn't reveal my identity.
"What materials can you get from a Meruga?"
"Hide and fangs, and if you're lucky, a magic stone. The hide can be used for armor or small items, and the fangs can be made into short knives."
"What about the meat?"
At my question, Lambert, who had been idly standing by the wall, turned his head.
"The meat... You can eat it, but it's pretty tough."
"Does it have any value?"
"Almost none. It's not relevant to you, but transporting Meruga is a waste of energy and money. Most people dismantle it on the spot, take the hide, fangs, and magic stone, and discard the rest."
"I see. Then, please appraise it later."
"Sure. Call me when you're done."
With that, the person in charge left the dismantling area.
Once we were alone, Lambert approached.
"So it's tough. Different from that snake, huh?"
"Seems like it. It doesn't seem easy to consume, so let's keep a little and sell the rest."
"I'll leave it to you. Still—it's huge. I'm used to bipedal creatures, but monsters like this are a different story. I wonder if I could take one down alone."
"Felix is always with you, so you probably won't get the chance. But even if you did fight, its attacks are monotonous. You could win."
"Maybe against this one. But Kudolga is much stronger, right?"
Seeing Lambert's expression, I understood.
I wondered why he was so interested, but that must be the reason.
It's not rivalry, though.
"I did win, but it was a tough fight. My arms and legs were full of holes, and my whole body was a mess. Ask Sekies and the others."
Hearing my answer, Lambert grimaced.
"Even for a C-rank recommendation, it's that strong... I thought I'd been training desperately, but I've hardly ever fought life-or-death battles. I might need to rethink my training methods."
"Take it easy. If you go all out against something like that, you'll really die."
Once he seemed satisfied, I took out a dismantling knife from the magic Terpes Bag.
As I stuck it into the hide, I thought.
The tough fight was a lie.
The injuries were because I stubbornly stuck around to see spirit magic.
If I had intended to kill it right away, the fight would have ended quickly. Even for a B-rank recommendation.
If Lambert knew about my abilities, would his words have been different?
Suddenly, I felt a pang in my chest.
My father had forbidden me from revealing my skills.
Especially [Appraisal], which had high utility value. It was certain that people would try to recruit me if they knew. Winning a martial arts tournament was nothing in comparison.
No matter how much I trusted someone, it wasn't something I could reveal without a reason.
So I hadn't told not only Lambert but also Ted and the others.
Sharing secrets would burden the other person.
Only I would feel at ease.
The only one I had confided in was Elphimia, but her situation was different.
As a holder of [Basic Appraisal], she knew the dangers of appraisal-type skills.
Moreover, she had her reasons for coming to Selene.
Even though her grandmother might have been involved in wrongdoing, she had confided everything and asked for my cooperation.
If she had been a villain, my father's position would have been jeopardized, directly leading to her own denial.
As it turned out, she was a victim, but I think she had considerable resolve to confide in me.
Given those circumstances, I judged that I could share with her, but well, it might just be hindsight.
If the Iron Golem hadn't appeared, I wouldn't have shown that much.
In any case, I plan to consult with my father and make it public eventually.
At that time, how will Lambert and Ted react?
I should prepare myself for a complaint or two.
"What's wrong? Need help?"
I must have stopped moving, as Lambert looked at me suspiciously.
Smiling back at him, I simply replied, "Please."
After that, with the help of Lambert and Felix, we dismantled the Meruga.
As the person in charge had said, the meat looked tough.
I tried roasting a small piece with [Flint], but it was a struggle to chew.
"It's tough, but the taste isn't bad. It might be good if stewed."
After roasting and handing some to Lambert and the others, they gave similar impressions.
Once the dismantling was done, we called the person in charge and asked for an appraisal.
Unfortunately, there was no magic stone, and we were offered two gold coins, two silver coins, and six large copper coins.
Since Sekies had left it to me, I decided to accept that amount.
Divided equally, it came to about three silver coins per person.
I felt bad receiving a share since I had only watched, but they laughed and said, "It's not uncommon when multiple parties work together."
Basically, I usually work solo, so I wasn't familiar with such customs.
◇◇◇◇
Waiting at the tavern next to the guild, Sekies and the others returned.
Noticing my raised hand, they ordered simple drinks and sat down.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"I only just sat down. Don't worry about it."
"We also exchanged the Meruga for cash. There was no magic stone, so it's about three silver coins per person."
Handing over the prepared small bags, Sekies and the others thanked me and tucked them away.
"So, did you gather any information?"
"The roads around here are in terrible condition. With the snow melting, it might be worse than around Selene. We'll check in Silveck, but it's doubtful we can cross the mountains."
"If that's the case, we'll have to take a detour. We could force our way through, but—that depends on the information. Getting caught in an avalanche would be disastrous."
Lambert agreed and asked Sekies,
"What about lodging? I heard we were staying in Jutel."
"About that, we haven't arranged it yet. We were supposed to arrive yesterday evening. It's now the next day around noon. I thought about moving on, so we came back once."
"I see. It's too early to rest."
Looking at the drinks that had been brought over, Lambert nodded.
"Understood. Let's take a short break and then set out. It's not a rushed journey, but if we keep stopping at every opportunity, we'll never make it back. Especially if the roads are in terrible condition."
"Understood."
We nodded and soon left the town of Jutel.
Several roads extended from Jutel.
North to Selene, west to the territory of Marquis Filsatch, southwest to the town of Tazsen, and southeast to the town of Silveck.
We headed southeast on the road toward Silveck and immediately realized that Sekies's information was correct.
The road was in no condition to be walked properly.
The mud was terrible, with small puddles scattered everywhere.
Perhaps someone had forced their way through, as there were deep footprints and ruts.
If we stepped carelessly, we might get stuck, so we decided to walk along the grassland next to the road.
It was supposed to be a two-day journey to Silveck, but it looked like it would take longer.
After a while, the forest that had continued to the north rose up and turned into mountains.
It was the Frenas Mountain Range, which divided the central and southern parts of the empire.
On the other side of the ridge, the road we had taken on the way here should run parallel.
Were we still within Selene's territory?
As I gazed at the ridge while feeling the mountain wind, I overheard Sekies and Anbel's conversation.
"There are fewer people."
"Most of them were adventurers."
I had been detecting them with [Presence Detection], but I also looked around to confirm.
Compared to when we started walking, there were indeed fewer.
Merchants rarely left town except in the morning.
There were various reasons, but one of them was safety.
Since each person's travel distance wasn't that different, if everyone left at the same time, they would often camp in the same place.
And if merchants gathered, so would their guards.
They could repel minor monsters, and they wouldn't be attacked in the first place.
In contrast, adventurers were the opposite.
If you wanted to hunt monsters, it was best to have no competition.
The request board was updated early in the morning, but if the monster's habitat was nearby or if camping was expected, it didn't matter much when you left town.
I often wandered through the forest after lectures were over.
As time passed, the number of people decreased further, and the last adventurers changed their direction toward the Frenas Mountain Range.
Seeing them off, I looked around again.
The view was good, but I couldn't say it was advantageous.
The vast grassland was outside the range of [Presence Detection], and if someone hid in the distance, there was no way to find them.
I could detect an ambush, but shaking off pursuit would be difficult.
I didn't rely solely on [Presence Detection] and also kept a visual watch.
Perhaps it was the result of that.
Before long, I spotted a strange object in the distance and doubted my eyes.
Surely... it couldn't be an attacker, right?
"What's that?"
Following my gaze, Sekies nodded and said, "Ah."
"It's a Kackle."
"That's—quite the impressive appearance."
"It's hard to see from this distance, but it has two legs."
What was sprinting across the grassland was a large kiwi fruit.
It was too far to see clearly, but now that he mentioned it, I could see something that looked like legs.
I had heard that it was a monster resembling a headless ostrich, but seeing it in person was surreal.
According to Sekies, the front of its body was split wide open, forming a huge mouth.
Perhaps its head was buried inside.
"Isn't it a southern monster?"
"Its original habitat is further south, but as you can see, it runs around the grasslands. It's not surprising to find it anywhere."
As I watched, the Kackle ran off.
Perhaps it had spotted the adventurers who had split off earlier and went to attack them.
I silently wished those uncertain adventurers good luck.
After that, we only saw ordinary wild animals and didn't encounter any rare beasts.
We passed a few travelers, and when evening came, we camped in a suitable spot and safely welcomed the morning.
We continued our journey cautiously, but as expected, there were no attacks, and it was evening on the second day.
"It's about time to camp."
Looking at the western sky, Sekies spoke up.
In response, we looked around for a suitable campsite and almost simultaneously stopped.
Ahead in the direction we were heading, the flickering light of a campfire could be seen.
Standing next to the wary Sekies, I narrowed my eyes.
"It looks like a square, but is it a campsite?"
"It seems so."
Along the way, we had found squares set up alongside the road.
They seemed to be placed at just the right intervals for normal travel, but due to the bad road conditions, the timing hadn't worked out. This time, it seemed we had lucked out.
The first arrivals were a wagon and one man, along with four adventurers.
Were the adventurers guards?
As we approached cautiously, the adventurers noticed us.
The man, who seemed to be a merchant, moved to the wagon with an uneasy expression, and the adventurers became alert.
Well, that was understandable.
There were seven of us, which was two parties' worth of adventurers. They were at a clear disadvantage.
With the setting sun at our backs, we reached near the square, and Sekies stopped everyone and went forward alone.
The adventurers also remained alert, and one of them stepped forward.
"I'm Sekies of Yabusho. We'd like to use the other side."
"I'm Nate of Trigot. Feel free to use it—wait, C-rank?"
Seeing Sekies's adventurer card, the man hurriedly pulled out his own.
They were D-rank, it seemed.
Listening to their exchange, I looked around the square.
It was a good campsite, but there didn't seem to be much advantage in staying.
The lack of grass made the mud worse than elsewhere.
And more importantly, was it safe?—Were we okay?
From what I could tell with [Appraisal], there were no suspicious skills, titles, or equipment on the merchant or the others.
Their strength was also D-rank equivalent, so they seemed genuine.
While Sekies exchanged information, we moved to the edge of the square and set down our luggage.
After a while, Sekies returned.
"They're guards for the merchant."
At his first words, everyone subtly glanced at the wagon.
It seemed quite heavy, as the wheels were sinking into the ground.
"Returning from a purchase?"
"Seems so. They're transporting salt they bought in Fasden to Filsatch. But with the roads in this state, they're lamenting that it's not worth it."
Stepping through the mud, Sekies smiled sympathetically.
The empire had no sea, so salt meant rock salt.
Sea salt was imported from the Hazel Unified Kingdom in the north or the Cojess Union in the east, but it was rarely seen in Selene, and due to poor relations with the exporting countries, dependence on it was quite low.
In any case, if they had bought it in Fasden, it must have been from the Torpus Rock Salt Mine.
A famous rock salt production area.
Thinking about that, Lambert shot me a sharp look.
"What do you think?"
"Well..."
I looked again at the wagon and the road.
"The ruts are fresh, and the wheels' dirt hasn't dried yet. It's probably safe, but we should be cautious."
"I think so too."
Following Verrot, Sekies and the others agreed.
"Then we'll camp here. By the way, what did you tell them about us?"
"That we're a group of young adventurers from the same hometown, traveling around."
"Understood. Then let's watch our language. You too, especially Alter."
"Don't remind me. Don't you know how polite I am?"
"I don't."
Lambert bluntly dismissed him.
It was a very reluctant response.
After that, suppressing a chuckle, Yabusho and the others borrowed the campfire and began preparing dinner.
The firewood was provided by Trigot, so as a gesture of thanks, we offered a small amount of alcohol and Meruga soup.
Even the tough Meruga became easy to chew when finely sliced and stewed.
Thanks to the good flavor, even the snake meat was appreciated.
Well, the merchant didn't try it, though.
After finishing dinner, we all gathered around the campfire and chatted.
New adventurers like me and Lambert mostly listened, but Trigot was surprisingly sharp.
Perhaps he had noticed something from our equipment and demeanor, as I occasionally felt his probing gaze.
Adventurers had their circumstances, and there were requests that couldn't be made public.
It was understandable, and he didn't openly pry.
As the night deepened, the merchant said, "I'll turn in first," and retreated into the wagon.
Shortly after, as we were about to set up watches and go to sleep, [Presence Detection] picked up someone approaching.
Humans.
The atmosphere was that of an armed group. And a large one.
Verrot noticed my expression and, as the torchlight became visible, Trigot's scout also noticed.
I held up four fingers in a position where Trigot couldn't see and repeated the gesture.
Verrot acknowledged with a glance and turned his calm face southeast.
"There are quite a lot for adventurers."
"A lot?"
At Verrot's words, Trigot's scout squinted, relying on the starlight.
"Eight people. Quite a large group. Oh, I guess we can't talk, can we?"
Remembering that there were seven of us, Verrot smiled.
In contrast to his carefree words, Trigot tensed and reached for his weapon.
We also heightened our alertness, but we weren't too worried.
If they were attackers, they wouldn't approach so openly, and there were no others hiding nearby. It was unlikely they would attack with other adventurers around.
If they were to attack, they would probably be bandits. In that case, we could handle them.
Before long, eight men approached, led by a warrior holding a torch.
They stopped at a distance where the campfire's light reached, and the lead warrior glanced around the square.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment before finally turning to the wagon.
The uneasy atmosphere prompted Yabusho to shift to a combat stance, and Felix stepped in front of Lambert.
Perhaps sensing the change in mood, the warrior slowly spoke.
"I'm Rarg. Leader of the C-rank adventurer party, Brave Warriors. I want to ask you all. Have you seen any beastmen around here?"
"As you can see, it's all humans here."
At Sekies's response, the man who called himself Rarg turned his gaze back to the wagon.
"Seems like someone's inside. Let us check."
"W-wait!"
It was Trigot who panicked.
With his hand on the hilt of his weapon, he stood in front of the wagon.
"We just want to check inside."
"Can we trust you?"
Trigot didn't back down, and Rarg sighed ostentatiously.
"You're D-rank, right? Don't tell me you're E-rank. Either way, don't get in the way, you lowly bunch."
Glared at, Trigot froze.
Rarg instructed his comrades to inspect the wagon.
At the same time,
"Hey, flaunting your rank, are you?"
Sekies moved.
With a smile, he stood next to Trigot.
"I'm Sekies, C-rank. Leader of Yabusho. Want to try pushing past someone of the same rank?"
At Sekies's words, Rarg clicked his tongue.
Then, seeing Verrot with a dagger, Barner and Anbel also reaching for their weapons, he frowned further.
I could feel anger from the Brave Warriors, but Rarg was, after all, the leader of a C-rank party.
He didn't seem to want to fight someone of the same rank, so he lightly raised both hands and took a step back.
"Alright, alright, don't get worked up. We don't want to interfere with your request. We just want your cooperation with ours."
"That depends on the content."
Rarg hesitated for a moment but then shook his head in resignation.
"Beastman slaves escaped during transport. We're chasing them."
"...Runaway slaves?"
Sekies looked over, and Trigot vehemently denied, "There's no such person here!"
He didn't seem to be lying, but we hadn't checked inside.
Understanding that Rarg and his group had their reasons, Sekies scratched his head with a troubled expression.
Watching this, Lambert approached from behind.
"Are they there?"
"No. Just the merchant."
"Is that so? I thought they might be hiding them since they were resisting so much."
"They can't endanger their charge for no reason. They're doing well against a higher rank. Trigot's good adventurers."
Glancing behind me, Lambert looked unconvinced.
With a wry smile, I checked the wagon again.
Still no one.
If they were extremely weak or near death, their presence would be minimal, but no matter how I searched, it was just the merchant. If it were a corpse, it would be different, but they wouldn't sleep together.
In any case, if they came on strong, we would resist, but since they asked for "cooperation," Trigot had no reason to refuse, and we had to wake the merchant to clear the suspicion.
Just as one of them was about to call out and approach the wagon,
"Please, stop..."
The merchant, who had just woken up, looked around with sleepy eyes and gasped.
Trigot and Sekies, along with the armed men facing each other, were lined up.
Thinking it was a bandit night raid, the merchant's face quickly turned pale.
Rarg paid no attention to this and turned back.
Seeing his comrades shake their heads, he sighed again.
"We're in the way. If you catch them, bring them to the adventurer's guild. We'll reward you."
With that, the Brave Warriors disappeared into the darkness.
Their scout must have also realized there was only one person in the wagon.
Once they confirmed it was the merchant, there was no need to stay.
"W-what was that about?"
"They said some slaves escaped—"
Trigot explained to the merchant.
Turning his back, Sekies returned.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine, but..."
"That was reckless."
Lambert's words were vague, but unusually, Felix stepped forward.
His gaze, fixed on Sekies, held a hint of reproach.
"Your mission is to guard. You should avoid unnecessary trouble."
"But if we left them—"
"You should have left them. It has nothing to do with us."
Felix stated firmly, and Sekies fell silent.
He was right. Trigot and we were unrelated.
From Lambert's attitude, he mostly agreed.
If the client said so, there was no room for argument.
Still, I understood Sekies's feelings.
If we left them, there might have been a conflict between Trigot and the Brave Warriors.
Even if it didn't come to that, Trigot would—ah, so that's it.
Did Sekies act knowing that?
Quietly, I sent a glance and observed.
Hard to say. It seemed like he acted out of a sense of justice.
Maybe I should back him up.
Just as I was about to speak, "If I may," Verrot stepped forward.
And he began to explain to Lambert and the others.
If Sekies hadn't acted, Trigot would have been taken advantage of.
It might have even led to a fight, and if not, the dissatisfaction of Trigot, who had remained silent, would have turned toward us, the C-rank Yabusho.
There was no way we could camp in such a place.
On the other hand, the Brave Warriors were almost the same number as us, and there was no guarantee we could win.
Even if we did, the damage would be severe, and it would be a pointless fight.
That's why Sekies acted, and a conflict was avoided.
In fact, it should have been resolved amicably.
Roughly, that was the gist.
I had reached the same conclusion, but Verrot seemed to have seen it from the start.
When Sekies took action, the others also immediately shifted to a combat stance.
Showing our intent to fight had driven the Brave Warriors away, but the first to move was Verrot, who wasn't skilled in combat.
Felix apologized for lacking consideration.
Watching this, I was impressed.
What a man.
I knew he was smart, but this much?
Maybe Sekies also sensed that and stepped in to help.
But Verrot understood it through words. That difference was significant.
Seeing the merchant, now convinced, return to the wagon, Trigot approached.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. We're all adventurers. We have to help each other."
As Sekies responded, Trigot bowed his head with a smile and returned.
I averted my gaze and looked out into the night grassland.
The Brave Warriors were moving away, and there were no watchers around.
This didn't seem related to the attack.
Stretching lightly to ease the tension, I muttered.
"Brave Warriors, huh? A brave party name, but chasing runaway slaves..."
"We're adventurers. It's not all smooth sailing."
Hearing my mutter, Sekies responded.
Then, standing beside me, he gazed out at the grassland as if seeing through the darkness.
"People have their reasons, huh?"
Indeed, they do.
I was hiding my skills from everyone, and as a reincarnated person, I hadn't even told my family.
The atmosphere was getting strange, so I changed the subject with a light tone.
"By the way, what does Yabusho mean? If it's hard to answer, it's fine."
"It's not a big reason. If I was going to become an adventurer, I wanted to be strong enough to slay a dragon. That's the wish I put into it."
"Dragon slayer, huh? That's a lofty goal."
"Absolutely. I can't laugh at those guys."
Sekies laughed it off, but his expression darkened.
The topic hadn't changed, had it?
Regretting my slip, I looked down at the magic Terpes Bag at my waist.
A young dragon couldn't be called a dragon slayer.
Even if not an ancient dragon, slaying an adult dragon would make one a dragon slayer.
It's tough.
No matter how excellent Yabusho was, dragon species were in a league of their own.
Sekies's stability and Verrot's wisdom were powerless against absolute violence.
Even the more powerful Battle Axe of Destruction had only managed to take a single scale from an earth dragon.
"Let's rest."
"Yeah. Let's do that."
I turned on my heel and lay down on the fur spread over the grassland.
Leaving Sekies and Anbel on the first watch, Barner and Verrot also headed to their beds.
Watching them, I vaguely thought.
Dragon slayer—truly a lofty goal.
No matter how much they trained in the future, achieving it would be difficult.