Ch.11Chapter 11: Quest Complete.

From the caravan leader’s perspective, he absolutely had to capture this barbarian prince.

He didn’t know why a barbarian prince had entered this caravan, but if he let Valt escape now, the caravan’s failure would be a foregone conclusion.

There was still a long way to go.

With this, the initiative had passed to Valt.

The caravan leader now had reason to grant whatever Valt wanted.

“Is that so? I’ll decide after hearing what you have to say.”

“But having everyone else hear might be a bit… Ah! It’s not that I don’t want to speak. It’s just that there are some things in this world that are better left unheard!”

The caravan leader had a point.

Rumors spreading would do no good.

And as they say, ignorance is bliss—ordinary people could put their lives at risk by knowing such things.

“Alright, let’s move over there.”

After changing locations, the caravan leader began to speak.

“T-the truth is, we’re transporting an artifact.”

Valt pretended to be surprised, as if he hadn’t known.

“Hmm? An artifact? Something so valuable in a mere caravan like this?”

“Th-they offered a large sum, so I accepted. There are probably five other caravans moving with the same cargo.”

“What kind of artifact is it?”

“I-I don’t know much about that! I didn’t dare check it myself!”

Valt knew a lot about artifacts.

Curious, Valt said to the caravan leader:

“Can you show it to me?”

As the saying goes, “seeing creates desire”—the caravan leader made a troubled expression, not because he didn’t trust Valt.

“Th-that’s a bit…”

Valt understood this much.

He had asked out of curiosity, but if they took out the artifact now, someone might take interest in it.

“I understand that. But as you know, if there really is an artifact, this caravan is far too dangerous. There’s no guarantee those guys won’t come back again.”

When Valt said this with an expressionless face, the caravan leader prostrated himself before Valt and cried out:

“P-please. I beg you. I’ll pay you 10 times—no, 20 times the fee! Moreover, when we return to the guild, the guild master will surely give you a great reward. No, it’s certain! I’ll take responsibility and promise you that.”

The guild master’s reward was already confirmed in the quest details.

But since the quest wasn’t complete yet, it seemed they needed to protect this artifact all the way to the guild.

In other words, Valt’s choice was already determined.

The important thing was that Valt didn’t actually know the geography of this place.

But depending on who held the initiative, the results could be this different.

The original compensation was already decent enough to use teleportation to the Academy.

But 20 times? This was as much as he could hope to extract.

While the artifact was tempting, if it was something Valt couldn’t use, it would only increase the likelihood of trouble.

At this point, it would be excessive greed. Besides, if Valt took it, that person called Duke Illuin would surely become enraged and come looking for him.

Thinking he had negotiated well, Valt asked one more thing:

“What about compensation for the others?”

“I-I’ll pay the rest five times their original fee.”

A reasonable proposal.

Honestly, Valt alone was bearing the risk.

The others were just riding on Valt’s back, doing the same job as before, but receiving five times the pay would make it worth the risk.

Besides, having seen Valt defeat all those skilled fighters from the fourth floor, people probably wouldn’t think it was that dangerous.

There was no obligation to look after the others, but they were helpful in various ways.

If only Valt received a raise, some people would surely desert.

To keep everyone until the end, it was better to increase their compensation too.

“Inform the others and get their permission.”

At Valt’s approval, the caravan leader’s expression brightened.

“Yes! Yes! I-I understand!!”

And so the caravan resumed.

Now Valt took the lead and began guiding the caravan.

***

“Failed?”

A masked man prostrated before a man with a pipe and spoke.

“Y-yes. Kwan’s son was there! Even fourth-floor auras had no effect!”

The man with the pipe pondered.

‘So it’s him.’

The one who interfered when they tried to kidnap Lady Valentine.

He had coincidentally interfered with the operation to seize the artifact he was targeting.

But he didn’t know he was Kwan’s son.

The fact that Kwan’s son was heading to the Imperial Academy was known to all high nobles.

But who would have thought he’d come to the Empire following a caravan?

“Hmm… this is troublesome… we can’t kill him either…”

Kwan’s son was attacked and killed during his journey? By highly skilled fighters?

If such a situation arose, Kwan’s fury would surely be directed at the Central Continent.

That would give him justification. One could guess Kwan’s intentions by sending his youngest son alone without escorts.

They say he’s a merciless slaughterer, but he even uses his own son as bait. That’s quite commendable for a barbarian.

Of course, the Central Continent wouldn’t lose to such barbarians, but it would certainly cause trouble.

A unified barbarian force was undeniably threatening.

Moreover, he couldn’t break the 10-year peace treaty with the barbarians that all nations of the Central Continent had agreed upon.

Especially since he was the one who had promoted it.

Decisively, his pride wouldn’t allow him to fall for such an obvious ploy.

“Hmm… Kwan’s son. There’s no choice, we’ll give up on the artifact. Retreat.”

“Yes!”

After taking a deep drag from his pipe, the man muttered:

“Huff… I’ll consider twice a coincidence… but the third time…”

***

The caravan journey was peaceful.

The masked men never appeared again, and they urged everyone to hurry along the path.

After 5 days of this…

Lisa, who was at the very front, shouted as she discovered something:

“Ahhh!! We’ve arrived!! Valt!! There! It’s the capital of the Duron Kingdom!!”

“Hmm, so it is.”

Siduron, the capital of the Duron Kingdom.

After a journey of 30 days, the caravan was finally able to reach its destination.

There were no attacks, but people were in terrible shape from trying to save 2 days of travel time.

Lisa looked at these people and said:

“Everyone, hang in there! Just a little further!”

At Lisa’s spirited encouragement, people began to gather strength.

“Yes! Let’s go, miss! We’ve come this far, we can’t give up now!”

Lisa had somehow become everyone’s darling.

With her unique lightness and sociability, she got along well with everyone.

People who didn’t know she was a noble treated Lisa very kindly.

Plus, she was the only woman in the caravan, which might have been a factor.

Lisa was thrilled.

Her first adventure had come to a successful conclusion.

Her first adventure with Valt would be memorable for a lifetime.

A caravan secretly transporting a precious treasure, though she didn’t know what it was, and mysterious forces targeting it!

A barbarian prince hiding his identity to protect the treasure and a noble lady from the Valentine family!

It was a bit embellished, but not too far from the truth.

It was only a 30-day journey, but laughing, chatting, hunting, eating meals, and all those trivial things had become precious memories for Lisa.

A sigh-mixed word came from Lisa’s mouth:

“Ah~ It’s a shame…”

Hearing that, Valt said:

“That’s dangerous talk if someone hears you.”

Indeed, Lisa might be the only one here who wished this caravan journey wouldn’t end so quickly.

Lisa urgently checked if anyone had heard and approached Valt to whisper.

She was too short to reach his ear, so she jumped up and dangled from Valt’s shoulder.

“Th-that’s not it! It was dangerous, but… it was a really exciting adventure.”

Valt understood Lisa’s feelings.

When playing it as a game, it might have just been a tedious quest, but experiencing it in reality, there was no adventure more thrilling.

Not just the battles, but the interactions with people in the game world and the journey they created together was truly enjoyable.

Because of this, this place felt more real to Valt.

In response to Lisa’s whisper, Valt smiled and replied:

“Hehe, I agree.”

With Valt’s agreement, Lisa once again took energetic steps toward Siduron with an excited expression.

[Ramrepo Guild]

This was the name of the guild to which the caravan leader transporting the artifact belonged.

Upon arriving at the guild, everyone finally put down their tired bodies and rested.

“Oh my!! I’m dying!! But we made it safely!!”

“That’s right! And it’s all thanks to Lord Valt!?”

People approached the massive Valt and each expressed their gratitude.

“Thank you, Lord Valt! We arrived safely thanks to you!”

“If it weren’t for Lord Valt, we would all be dead. Thank you so much, Lord Valt!”

Seeing the grateful people, Valt didn’t feel too bad.

“I’m glad everyone is safe.”

After he said that, people bowed their heads and returned to their places, each talking about Valt.

“Phew… Lord Valt is really cool. Not just those muscles, but that calm attitude. Isn’t he like a mountain?”

“Yeah! I thought barbarians—no, Barbarians—were just strong, but he’s a real man in character too!”

“My perception of Barbarians has completely changed! From now on, if there’s a Barbarian in a caravan, I’ll definitely join!”

While people were conversing…

A fat man who appeared to be the guild master came running in a hurry.

“Oh my! Everyone, thank you for your hard work. How you managed such a difficult journey!! There’s no need for long speeches! Come one by one and receive your compensation! I’ve added a bit more than the five times the caravan leader mentioned!”

He was a merchant with good business sense.

It’s natural that if you’re stingy with money, bad rumors will spread, and it’s clean to spend money decisively when needed.

The caravan members who quickly received their payment shouted to Valt:

“Lord Valt! I hope to see you again! Stay healthy!”

“Hmm.”

As the mercenaries and caravan members left, the guild master approached Valt and greeted him:

“Oh my! Keeping such an esteemed guest standing for so long! Please, come inside for a moment!”

At that moment, a system notification that only Valt could hear sounded:

Ding!

【Quest Complete!】

I’ll give you a reward for completing the quest splendidly!

Reward: Bonus Points 5p, Guild Master’s Gift (selectable).

Finally, it was time to receive the reward.

‘Oh!? Selectable!? This is exciting!’