CH 21

Chapter 21: On the Way to the Capital

We continued on the horse carriage without running into any trouble.

We smoothly crossed two towns and we’re getting close to Northerntier.

Well, there was one issue though.

Cyril: “I’m~ so~ bor~ed…”

Henry: “Gah, you’ve been saying that all day. You’re one of the adults in the group. Look at Teo and Lana who haven’t complained at all.”

Cyril: “You say that but there’s nothing to do inside the carriage…”

It’s this. Cyril’s not used to long travels and started complaining.

And it’s likely that other than the driver, Will, and I, everyone else is feeling pretty bored too. I mean, there really is nothing to do.

It was hard playing cards when the carriage shakes and rocks. We tried word games, but got tired of it after 2 days.

The best thing to try is to buy books in the towns we stop by to kill time, but you’ll get motion sick if you’re not used to it.

Cyril: *sigh… “Oh, do you think we’ll encounter any demonic creatures on the road?”

Henry: “The corruption in this area is mild, and the soldiers patrol this area regularly, so it’s unlikely that we’ll run into anything.”

It’s not like I WANT demonic creatures to spawn, but if they do, it’ll help pass the time and give us a chance to move our bodies.

I did run into a pack of Wild Bears on my way to Flowtier, but incidents like that are really rare.

Henry: “Why not run beside the horse carriage? It’ll help develop the endurance you’re lacking.”

Whenever I get cramped in my seat, that’s what I do.

Cyril: “Uh…. it’s not that I don’t have endurance. It’s that you guys have way too much.”

Henry: “Well, yeah. Jend and I have lots of stamina, but just because you’re a sorceress doesn’t mean you can completely ignore physical training.”

Some will emphatically tell you that the job of the adventurer is to run.

Henry: “Here, I’ll run with you, so let’s go.”

Cyril: “Umm…! Ummm…!”

Teo: “If that’s the case, I’ll join you all.”

Cyril: “Teo too?! Wait, we’re supposed to be guarding Lana! We shouldn’t do something that will wear us out while we’re on a mission!”

Ugh, she’s using Lana as a shield. But if you get worn out from a little running, you’re not going to last long in this line of business.

Lana: “Hahaha. Don’t worry! I trust everyone here. You’ll be just fine from a little exercise, correct?”

Cyril: “Uggggghhhhh….”

With Lana saying that with a smile, Cyril ran out of excuses.

Alright, let’s run about 10 km (6 miles).

As I was thinking that, Jend pokes his head from the carriage seat.

Jend: “He~y, it’s a little early, but we found a nice river running beside the road. I thought we could do lunch there.”

Cyril: “OHH!! That sounds great! I was just feeling really hungry!!”

Ah, dangit. Bad timing.

Jend: ? “What’s wrong?”

Cyril: “Oh, it’s nothing. Okay everyone, let’s get ready for lunch~”

Ah well, I’ll make her run after we eat.

<<<<>>>>

I stare at the water flowing through the river.

This river near the main road had a lot of fish swimming in it. I found a large, nice one in the group, and I wait patiently for it to swim nearer.

…..now!

Henry: “There!”

I stab the water with my spear, and twist it as I bring it up.

I scoop out the fish out of the water, and throw it towards the bank.

Henry: “We got a good haul.”

The fish danced on the shore, and I put it in a basket I weaved with some plants, and check out my results.

I got 12 fish. That’s about 2 per person, so that should be good.

I take the fish basket and make it back to the carriage.

Henry: “I got some fish~”

A little distance from the carriage, the group was in the middle of setting up the campfire.

Cyril, Teo, and Lana are busy preparing the stew we’ll have for lunch.

Jend is on watch.

Will was feeding the horses with feed and water.

Jend: “Welcome back. I was watching you from here, but why are you fishing with the spear? You shouldn’t be using your weapon that way.”

Henry: “But it’s faster fishing this way than using a line and hook…”

If I was just doing this for recreation, I can lazily use a fishing rod, but if we’re trying to eat as soon as possible, spearing is faster.

Will: “Haha, wow, that’s amazing! Jend, can you do that too?!”

Jend: “Of course not. How are you supposed to do that with a large broad sword?”

Henry: “I know someone who can.”

Jend: “What kind of weird people do you know?!”

Weird? At the frontlines, knowing someone like this is absolutely normal.

Henry: “But in your case, you just never tried. You definitely have the skills to pull it off.”

Jend: “I didn’t train this hard just so I could go fishing with my sword.”

Henry: “Of course not. I didn’t train either so I can fish with my spear, but it’s useful if you can use your weapon in many different ways.”

Jend, you have to think more flexibly. You’re going to be facing many situations where your equipped weapons and skill alone will not be enough to find an obvious solution.

That’s when you have to think outside of the box, and use whatever you have in more creative ways and solve problems. That kind of critical thinking skill will be necessary going forward.

But, of course, it WOULD be better if you can just plan ahead, prepare, and take care of problems that way.

Will: “Haha… whoa, do you need more water? I’ll get some more from the river, so wait here.”

Jend: “Here, let me help.”

The horses cry out, and Will takes a bucket to the river. Jend takes the other bucket and walks besides him.

They get along so well.

Oh, if they needed water, I could have used my [WATER] Eedle…

Ah well. I walk towards the girls cooking.

Henry: “Here Teo. Here’s the fish I caught.”

Teo: “Thank you.”

I call to Teo and hand her the fish.

Cyril: “Wow, you caught some magnificent ones! They all look delicious!”

Henry: “Yeah, all the fish in that river were looking really good.”

Teo: “Then I’ll just cook them over the fire with salt.”

Ah, that sounds good. The smell of salted fish over a campfire always gets my appetite going.

Oh, Jend went to go get water, so I should be on the lookout.

<<<<>>>>

Will: “Thank you so much for the food! I never would have thought my meals would be this luxurious during a carriage trip. I’m really thankful for you sharing the meals with me.”

Will laughs and smiles while eating the fish I caught and was cooked and prepared by Lana in a Bear’s Keg Inn style stew.

During the trip, we stop for lunch and cook a simple meal over a fire. We are the customers, but it wouldn’t be right to leave Will out, so he’s been sitting with us during meals.

Because Lana, who works at an Inn, is with us, our meals have been much more high quality than our usual campouts.

Cyril: “Oh, but what do you usually eat during these trips then?”

At Will’s comment, it caught Cyril’s curiosity, and she follows up with a question.

Will: “Usually, I’ll be nibbling on dry rations. Other than that, if my customers are much more well adept to outdoor living, I’ll occasionally share a warm meal with them.”

Henry: “But if you don’t prepare and cook the meals quickly and efficiently, you’ll eat up too much time and cause delays to the next city.”

Will: “Haha, yes, you’re absolutely right, Mr. Henry.”

Well, our party does not have that issue. The group has gotten used to these campouts, and Teo is able to carry around all of our equipment.

Jend: “Will, how much longer till the next town?”

Will: “To Arkas, it’s about 4 more hours. We’ll have to take one more break before we arrive.”

About 4 hours, huh…

Henry: “That’s perfect. Cyril, we’ll all run to the next town.”

Cyril: “Wha~~~... you were still thinking about that?!”

Henry: “Of course I remember. The carriage runs at the speed of a slow jog, so you should be able to make it to the next town with no problems.”

If it was just adventurers, we would most likely be running instead of taking a carriage.

People use carriages to minimize fatigue, carry large shipments, or like this round, help regular folks travel long distance.

Sometimes there are quests that ask you to deliver letters, so it’s good to get a feel for the distance between cities as well.

Henry: “Don’t worry. Unlike the forest floor, running on a road is much less tiring.”

Cyril: “...really?”

Henry: “Yeah, really. Have I ever lied to you?”

Cyril: “Have you NOT lied to me before?”

Henry: “I don’t lie to you about any principles I teach as an adventurer.”

I mean, yeah, I tease and joke, but otherwise, you should be able to trust me.

Teo: “Cyril, like I said before, I’ll run with you too.”

Jend: “Oh what? Everyone’s running? Then I’ll join too. I haven’t been able to train during the trip.”

Jend looks pumped too. I know the feeling. It’s easy to be lazy during long trips.

So with all the peer pressure from the entire party, Cyril finally surrendered and ran with the group.

Will: “Well well. I am technically being paid to carry all 5 of you…”

Jend: “I know you gave us a significant discount since the request came from me. Don’t worry about that.”

Will: “You know that my family would jump at the opportunity to make a connection with the Carousel Merchant Association, so don’t worry about that discount either.”

The Carousel Merchants, huh.

I’ve been to shop at their stores a few times, but it really is a large organization. Their store was 5 stories tall and each floor had different products and all with the most recent trends.

They had 3 stores in Flowtier, and a few stores in the larger town nearby. This is one of the largest merchant groups north of the Alvenia Kingdom.

They serve as the top of all the business groups and are the private sellers to the Lord of Flowtier, so you can say they are the top dog in that city.

Now that I think about it, why is the second son of the association living as an adventurer?

Jend: “Just because I was your customer doesn’t create a connection with my brother or father though.”

Will: “No worries. If you just mention once that ‘Will is a carriage driver,’ and they keep that information at the back of their mind, then that’s all I can ask for.”

Jend: “...You really think we have that much influence? We can’t even delve into the Four Corner Cities’ markets.”

Yeah, you’d have to be a huge business group to compete in that market as a newcomer.

You’ll have to be sponsored by certain territories, and even have the notoriety and fame equal to that of a Hero of Legend to push through by force.

I don’t know much about business, but I’m sure it takes a lot to become a merchant group in the Capital areas.

Will: “Haha, well, even so, my family does business in the Flowtier area, so we cannot simply ignore your family.”

Jend: “It’s like that, huh…”

We chat on different topics like that and finish our meal.

Alright, let’s clean up and head out.

<<<<>>>>

And Cyril made it to the next city completely out of breath.

Cyril: “....Wh-----why…..are…..*breathe….you 3….not….out of….breath?”

Henry: “Difference in our daily training.”

Teo: “Cyril, you should probably train more.”

Jend: “You want to join me and Henry in our training sessions? You could get more experience with close-range combat.”

With concerns raised from every party member, we made Cyril promise to do more fitness training when we get back to Flowtier.