Ch.136The Road to Belfort City (1)

“I humbly request your guidance, Sir Knight.”

“Very well.”

The merchant company Simon had inquired about was quite massive.

Though there were no automobiles, they had long, sturdy cargo wagons capable of carrying dozens of tons of goods, over 100 pack horses, and various adventurers and guards employed by the merchant company to escort them.

“We already had reliable protection, but now with a knight joining us, it’s truly the perfect finishing touch! We’ll be departing in a few hours, so please stay near the horses.”

“Understood. Is there anything else I should be mindful of?”

“Things to be mindful of…”

In truth, during a forced march lasting a month, even the smallest matters could become issues of concern.

Even well-coordinated parties experienced friction, so expecting guards and adventurers randomly thrown together by a company based on financial circumstances to work well together was a fool’s delusion.

“Do you see those ruffians over there?”

“Hmm?”

Ruffians.

The casual use of such a blunt term naturally caused the corners of my eyes to curve upward.

Looking where he pointed, there was indeed a group of men loitering about who perfectly embodied the word “ruffians.”

“Those fellows were sent down from the company headquarters for some reason, but I’m concerned because they have rough manners yet don’t appear particularly strong. If you could keep them in check, Sir, I would ask for nothing more.”

“Hmm.”

Something smells fishy.

These men who looked like street thugs given fancy weapons and called headquarters-dispatched guards.

Looking carefully, I couldn’t spot a single Aura user among them. It was extremely suspicious why they would unnecessarily assign so many thugs as supposed guards.

“We might have walked into a trap.”

“A trap?”

As I stared intently at the men spitting on the ground, Simon moved closer and whispered.

“You know… recommending strange projects to sink employees from different factions, or quietly assigning problematic personnel…”

“Ah…”

In simple terms, those men were deliberately sent to cause trouble.

Of course, the caravan hadn’t even started moving yet, and with other adventurers and guards present, they wouldn’t be able to act freely, but I couldn’t help tightening my grip on the two swords hanging at my waist.

“We can’t be certain yet, so let’s just keep an eye on them. No need to cause a commotion from our side.”

“I agree.”

With that, we gave one last glance at the noticeable street thugs before turning our horses around, and we shared what we’d discovered with our other party members.

As an aside, I’ve heard that quite a number of parties have fallen apart due to internal strife because they failed to share such basic information.

“Alright! It’s time to depart! Check that the cargo is secured! Make a final check of food and water supplies! Don’t come crying later that you forgot something important!”

And so, despite numerous suspicions, we finally began to leave Scofield Plains.

*

Clunk! Clunk!

Creak! Creak!

“The road is rough.”

“This road is notorious for being rough, but unfortunately, it’s the only path large caravans like ours can take.”

When I muttered this, a nearby guard responded with a casual tone.

“Haven’t the merchant companies ever tried to collaborate on paving the road?”

“Ah… it’s decent now because of the cold weather, but when the weather warms up, this road becomes a mud pit. Building a road that can withstand such extreme environmental changes would be…”

“Not cost-effective, I see.”

This kind of ground is extremely difficult to pave properly.

Whether concrete or steel, you need stable ground to support it, and if the ground itself becomes mushy, the road will only end up twisted and cracked.

“A month-long journey… that’s quite lengthy.”

“Well, the pay is good in exchange. It’s seasonal work, you see.”

“Haha. Seasonal work…”

There weren’t many things that could only be transported during specific seasons, but if transporting during certain times was simpler and cheaper, market principles naturally led to concentrated shipping during those periods.

And that meant guards could earn a good share too.

Unlike adventurers, guards could be completely controlled by the caravan supervisor, and a well-organized caravan with its guard unit could move with military-like precision.

“How long have you been doing this work?”

“Let’s see. It’s been so long… I started around when my son was born, so it must be over 30 years now.”

“A guard for 30 years. You’re truly a master of survival.”

“Ah~ Honestly, the one thing you learn working in this field is that humans are scarier than monsters. The creative lengths people will go to take over a merchant company…”

Usually, it was humans who targeted merchant companies.

Monsters had enough intelligence to fear large groups of people in caravans and wouldn’t recklessly attack them, but humans, sadly equipped with wisdom beyond mere intelligence, would commit robbery with the mindset that they only needed to look out for themselves.

Even I had life-or-death encounters with bandits early in my adventurer career, so bandits who deliberately set ambushes and launched surprise attacks were practically like grim reapers to caravans traveling between cities and villages.

“Well, you’ve survived this long, so that’s something, right?”

“Indeed. My children have all grown up and become independent, and I’ve even heard my pudgy grandchild call me grandfather…”

“Certainly. You could die without regrets.”

Human life is short.

Of course, averages are always skewed by extremes—deformed infants who die at birth and withered old people who look like twisted branches—but with well-managed urban medical infrastructure, humans can generally live healthily until about 80 years of age, and extend their lives to around 150 years.

Of course, with money being king, immortality is possible through mechanical body replacements or telomere extension enzyme injections, but not many people seek to extend their lives to that extent.

“How old are you?”

“48 years old.”

“Then you still have plenty of life ahead. Try to hear not just ‘grandfather’ but ‘great-grandfather’ before you’re done.”

“Haha! If the knight says so, I’ll certainly make the effort!”

Instead of answering, I concluded the conversation with a smile.

The journey was long, and we were only just basking in the morning sunlight.

As long as he remained alive, at least until the end of this journey, we would continue to converse.

*

“Hey! Who told you to take that out?”

“Why so fussy… we’re going to take everything out to eat anyway, so what’s the problem with eating now?”

“Stop talking nonsense and put it back where it belongs! I told you not to touch anything without the supervisor’s permission!”

“Damn… this is what happens when people keep letting things slide…”

And then at lunchtime.

Though only half a day had passed, the ruffians quickly showed their true colors.

Whether they were doing it deliberately or truly thought there was no problem, they tried to take food from the cargo hold on their own, which led to an altercation with the merchants who tried to stop them.

“You weaklings who can’t even swing a sword are raising your voices? This won’t do. Let me show you who’s really in charge here…”

“Stop.”

“…?”

As the thug loosened his hands to assault the merchant, I intervened, and he looked at me with an expression full of anger.

“What?”

“You’re a man of few words. Don’t you know you should show respect to a knight like me?”

“Knight? You?”

The thug laughed briefly in disbelief, then frowned deeply and rushed at me.

“You little brat, just because you’re wearing armor…”

Thwack.

Crack.

Riiip.

Thud.

Here, the sound ‘thwack’ meant I grabbed his head.

The sound ‘crack’ meant I crushed his head, and ‘riiip’ meant I tore him apart vertically, starting from his head down through his entire body.

And the final ‘thud’ was the sound of the thug’s body, now in two pieces, falling to the ground.

“Hmph.”

I cleaned my blood-covered hand by activating Cleanse, then pulled up the merchant who had collapsed to the ground with Tuta.

“Put the supplies this man illegally removed back in their proper place.”

“Y-yes! Right away!”

I handed the supply box to the merchant and sent him away, and only then did I realize that people hadn’t even lit fires yet because of me.

I looked around briefly, then folded my arms and said:

“I am a knight.”

“…”

“That means I could kill this entire caravan by myself if I wanted to.”

This was no empty threat.

“If you want to live, it would be wise to behave appropriately. Understood?”

There was no answer.

Only lowered heads remained, commoners submitting to a knight.