Ch.390A Small Adventure for Women Only

Seti, Mina, Phyllis, Iris, and Anastasia.

Their journey toward the Grand Workshop of Paracelsus, leaving behind Will and Jessica who had caught colds, couldn’t have been smoother.

After passing through the island of the Third Eye tribe, where the banishment spell had been lifted, they emerged from the dungeon in the south of Westend Sevens.

From there, heading east-northeast for about 25km would bring them to the Wellord Mine they had saved.

From there, going east for another 120km would take them through rugged hills and Ogre Hill to reach Hopmill Farm.

Going east yet again for about 85km would bring them to their destination, the Grand Workshop of Paracelsus.

“So we’ve essentially skipped 70km from the planned site of the 8th Western City to Westend Sevens.”

“It would have been better if we could have teleported directly to the magic tower with the Book of Adventure.”

“Since I’ve moved to my tower before, it might be possible once, but it’s not a method I’d recommend.”

“Why not?”

“Adventurers starting from the west still have a long way to go, but those who were active near the swamp area might not be so far away.”

Phyllis and Iris nodded in agreement.

The disappearance of the central swamp and the discovery of the Great Sage’s magic tower was currently the hottest topic throughout Grantis.

Moreover, now that the swamp had disappeared and turned into rocky terrain, it had become very comfortable for carriages to travel on.

By now, the Great Sage’s magic tower would be bustling with investigators from the New Continent Development Headquarters and adventurers from nearby cities.

“If we carelessly open a direct gate, there’s a high probability someone will witness it.”

“The ability of the Book of Adventure is not only our party’s secret weapon but also an important secret related to the Demon King and taboos. We should avoid exposing it to third parties as much as possible.”

So this was the limit of how far they could skip this time.

The remaining 230km would have to be traveled honestly.

“If we had started from the planned site of the 8th Western City, it would have been over 400km. We should be grateful that it’s been reduced by almost half.”

“Speaking of which, I actually have some good news.”

“Good news? What is it?”

“After defeating the Demon King of Deadly Poison and absorbing his power, the Book of Adventure’s abilities have improved, allowing me to increase the size of the transfer gate to about three times its original size.”

“That means…!”

What was previously impossible—passing through the transfer gate with the camping carriage—has now become possible.

In other words, as soon as they arrive at the Grand Workshop of Paracelsus and receive the camping carriage, they can instantly return to their previous “starting point” near the planned site of the 8th Western City.

“Even if we travel at a leisurely pace, we should be able to return to those two before the end of the year.”

“Let’s surprise Will and Jessica since we haven’t told them about this.”

“They’re probably expecting it to take at least a week. Hehe.”

Having received this unexpected good news, the group immediately took action.

Phyllis, Iris, and Anastasia entered the stone house, while Seti, Mina, and the Box of Stopped Time were secured on Ancestor’s back.

They began galloping eastward.

“Hold tight. The road is a bit rough, but it won’t take even an hour.”

“Hmph! Don’t underestimate a dwarf’s grip strength!”

If they were determined to run, they could cover the 230km to the Grand Workshop of Paracelsus in just one day.

Seti would carry Mina during the day, and Phyllis would take over at night.

But that would put too much strain on Mina, and night marches in the dead of winter were inadvisable due to the cold.

So today they would slightly detour around the hills to reach the Great Sage’s villa.

After spending a safe and warm night, they planned to arrive at the Grand Workshop of Paracelsus tomorrow and return with the carriage.

The staff managing the villa?

With Anastasia’s hypnosis, deceiving them would be no challenge at all.

Having decided this, they were running hard when it happened.

Seti’s red eyes caught something glittering.

“?”

“Neeeigh~!!”

Seti slowed Ancestor down while looking back to the left.

Wondering what was happening, Mina followed Seti’s gaze.

“What is it?”

“There was something. Just a moment.”

Ancestor came to a complete stop, and Seti jumped off the saddle, heading about 20 meters behind them.

Seti picked up something from the ground mixed with soil and gravel.

When she returned to Ancestor’s side, Mina’s eyes widened at the identity of the object.

“Huh!? What’s that? Why would something like that be lying on the ground?”

“I don’t know. Someone’s lost item?”

The dirt-covered object in Seti’s hand was a beautiful necklace adorned with gold and jewels.

Although severely soiled by dirt and dust, Mina was certain it would be worth a considerable amount even taking that into account.

“Whoever dropped it, we’ve lucked out.”

“What about finding the owner…”

“Come on~ that’s impossible. Unless there’s a request posted at some adventurer’s guild somewhere.”

Nodding in agreement, Seti handed the necklace to Mina.

It was best to entrust precious metals and jewels to Mina.

“Giddyup.”

“Neigh~!”

Ancestor started galloping east again.

If this had been all, it could have been dismissed as a happy incident during their journey, but…

“Found another one.”

“What’s going on…? Something must have happened around here.”

Five minutes after setting off, they found a platinum bracelet.

And three minutes later, an elaborately decorated jeweled brooch.

Even for an unexpected windfall, this was becoming unsettling.

“Let’s stop for a moment. We should tell everyone.”

“Alright.”

Seti and Mina called out the three waiting in the stone house, showed them the items they had found during their journey, and explained what had happened.

Sure enough.

Although the three had initially exclaimed in admiration at the discovery of gold items, they couldn’t help but be suspicious when told this had happened three times in succession.

“Hmm, such expensive accessories just lying around on the ground.”

“This is definitely… not a normal situation.”

Losing valuables while traveling? Of course, it happens.

Being killed by outlaws or monsters? This too is entirely plausible.

But if it were the former, continuously dropping items like this seemed unnatural, and if it were the latter, other items or traces should have been found nearby.

It was hard to imagine how expensive jewelry would end up abandoned like this.

“To begin with, I’ve heard this area sees extremely little traffic. I can’t imagine people adorned with such flashy gold items passing through here, unless they were adventurers.”

“The bracelet might be one thing, but the brooch and necklace are clearly designs that noblewomen would wear.”

“That means they might be stolen goods or perhaps items that were excavated from somewhere.”

“Excavated…!”

Seti’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Though she usually didn’t show much emotion, she was still an adventurer with a keen sense of curiosity.

Words like ‘excavation’ or ‘discovery’ couldn’t fail to excite her.

“We might have ignored it if we hadn’t noticed, but now that we know, we can’t help but investigate, right?”

“Hmm… with Will and Jessica absent, I think we should avoid getting involved in dangerous situations as much as possible.”

Though Phyllis initially advocated caution in response to Mina’s enthusiastic opinion…

“Well, if things go south, we can just open a transfer gate and escape, can’t we? If we’re dealing with monsters, showing them the transfer gate wouldn’t be problematic.”

“But what if it’s not monsters but outlaws?”

“♪”

In response to Iris’s question, Anastasia answered not with words but by clenching and unclenching her right hand.

As if crushing something in her grip.

No one present failed to understand what that gesture meant.

“…Well, having discovered such things along our route, it would be unsettling to ignore them.”

“So we’ve decided to do it?”

“Yes. From now on, everyone should maintain formation and move cautiously.”

“I’ll take the lead, with Phyllis and Mina on either side. Iris, please cover the rear.”

“And I’ll be scouting the surroundings with Aquila? Leave it to me.”

Anastasia spoke confidently as she mounted Ancestor…

but there was one fact she hadn’t considered.

The goggles that shared Aquila’s vision were essentially like a VR headset.

There was a world of difference between wearing them inside a camping carriage with excellent suspension,

and wearing them while sitting on the back of a galloping horse.

Anastasia came to fully appreciate this fact about an hour later,

“Bleeeeegh~~~”

As she ended up providing fresh fertilizer to the dry soil of Ogre Hill.