episode_0023

I woke up three hours later.

Creak, creak.

“Ugh….”

I let out a faint groan and slowly opened my eyes.

My head swayed back and forth. The sensation of the overturned helmet pressing against my soft flesh with each jolt of the carriage wheels was peculiar.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Beyond the blurred vision obscured by the visor, I met Amy’s gaze as she had been propping up a knee pillow for me.

In her brown eyes looking down at me, weariness and curiosity intertwined.

“…Uh.”

As the fog of drowsiness lifted like mist, I finally realized what was going on.

‘Did I collapse as soon as I got on the carriage…’

It seemed that, worn out from repeated battles and relentless sprinting, I had simply dozed off without a second thought as soon as the tension eased.

…I was truly exhausted.

Honestly, it was a bit unsettling.

Even though they were my party members, we had only just met for this mission, and to fall into such a vulnerable sleep in front of them was careless beyond measure.

There was no room for such carelessness.

If they had harbored ill intentions, killing me while I slept would have been as simple as twisting a child’s wrist.

Not that there was any reason for them to do such a thing now.

“Ah, sorry. My legs are getting numb.”

Anyway, I immediately sat up straight.

Even lying down for a few hours on a regular knee pillow would likely make my legs numb, let alone wearing a helmet on top of that.

For Amy, it was akin to running non-stop for several hours with a steel weight placed on her thighs on an unpaved road.

Her legs were probably not just numb but devoid of sensation altogether.

Causing such trouble, I couldn’t help but feel utterly embarrassed.

“You can lie down a little longer if you want.”

Although Amy herself sounded somewhat regretful…

“No, I can’t do that.”

Well, I had to show some consideration so that I wouldn’t burden her, didn’t I? It was a kind of white lie.

“Hmm….”

Seeming to understand, Amy slightly raised the corners of her mouth and then pointed at my thigh with her finger.

“Can I take a break too?”

“Huh? What?”

Before I could respond, something hefty pressed against my thigh. It was Amy’s head.

“Wait, are you trying to sleep like this?”

Startled by the sudden weight and warmth, I looked down at my thigh, my shoulders tensing up.

Bright red hair cascaded over the snug black pants, freckles adorned her cheeks, and mischievous brown eyes met mine, tracing gentle curves.

“I need a favor. I’m pretty exhausted too…”

…There was no way I could refuse.

Wasn’t I just lying on her lap, enjoying a peaceful slumber not long ago? For a good three hours, no less.

She had lent me her knee for three whole hours, enduring the weight and pressure of my helmet. And now, she was asking for a brief rest due to exhaustion. How could I firmly deny that?

It was simply impossible on moral grounds.

Of course, if some random guy had clung to me like this, I would have had to forcefully detach him, morals be damned…

“Ugh…”

An eighteen-year-old girl whimpering about being so sleepy—what could I possibly say in response to that?

It would seem rather callous to tell her to sit up and endure the discomfort.

“Sigh.”

So, in the end, I found myself sighing and offering my thigh to her.

An hour later, our relentless carriage finally reached the walls of Vesperian, without a moment’s rest.

…Amy had a habit of groping for a pillow.

◆◆

“Miss Investigator? Could you wake the others, please?”

The coachman who had brought us to the gates of Vesperian turned towards us and spoke. The rest of the group slept soundly, oblivious, like pricked princesses on spinning wheels.

“Amy, wake up. Bolton and Kikel too. We’re here.”

I lightly shook Amy’s shoulder and called out for Bolton and Kikel to wake up.

“Mmm…”

“Oh… we fell asleep. Are we in Vesperian…?”

As Amy stretched and sat up, and Bolton, who had been leaning against the carriage wall with his head bowed, suddenly jolted upright.

“Aaaah…”

Kikel also woke up, stretching with a wide yawn or a growl, exhaling an uncertain breath.

After bidding farewell to the guide who had brought us this far, we discussed our remaining tasks while loosening our stiff bodies.

“You’ve all worked hard. Now, after reporting to the guild and disposing of the loot, we can disband.”

“Then that’s settled. Amy, are you going straight back to the tower?”

Bolton turned to Amy and inquired.

“I suppose so. I need to show the ‘Commander’s Scroll’ to the examiner waiting for me.”

Amy replied, tapping the backpack on her back. She mentioned that although she hadn’t fully explored the dungeon, she had obtained a spellbook, which she believed would qualify her as an official mage.

“After verification, I’ll burn it immediately, as promised.”

“Would it be alright if I accompany you? It’s a spellbook containing command spells. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep properly until I see it burn.”

He slept soundly in the carriage. You wouldn’t even notice if someone carried him away.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at their conversation.

“If you promise not to have a fit.”

“A fit? That’s like a pure act of faith…”

Bolton kept making excuses that were far from pure. Rolling his eyes, twitching his muscles, and even screaming – how is that pure faith?

If that’s pure, then a courtesan’s smile must be pure love. It’s not purity, it’s pretense.

“Girl—no, Hilde. I have a question!”

Kikel turned his head towards me.

“What is it?”

“I need a shield, to buy. Cheap and good. Where is it? You have good armor. So you should know!”

It seemed like he was asking for a recommendation for a cheap and good-quality blacksmith. The question itself proved Kikel was still an inexperienced novice adventurer.

Cheap and good-quality blacksmith? Ha.

“There’s no such thing. It doesn’t exist.”

I declared firmly.

A conscientious shop with both low prices and quality? Would such a place even exist? Traders form associations and collude on prices, creating a world where they fix prices under the guise of guilds and whatnot.

A conscientious merchant was like a parent to the orphanage children. Once, they might have existed, but now they were nowhere to be found.

“None?”

“No, there isn’t. So, it’s just behind the guild building, right? When you turn left into the alley, it’s the first… no.”

So I tried to introduce a store that at least didn’t scam people, but then I realized there was no need to explain it in words.

“I’ll go with you for a bit. Since we had to stop by once anyway, it seems like we can just go see it right after finishing the report.”

“Thank you! You’re so kind!”

“Don’t mention it.”

I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders. It wasn’t kindness, just basic courtesy. That’s all.

If we were going to be together briefly and never see each other again, there was no need to be courteous, but if not, showing some kindness wouldn’t hurt.

In my view, if Kikel built up his career, he could become a decent warrior. With the lizardman’s unique physical specs and combat sense, and reasonably good instincts, except for dealing with the cold, once that was sorted, the two of them would easily handle their share as average adventurers. The lizardman in front of me was that capable.

So, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to form a party and move together from now on.

Despite his fierce appearance, his personality was quite decent, and most importantly, he didn’t seem likely to attack me as a marauder.

As long as he didn’t engage in such behavior, he was a reliable talent, representing the top 30% of adventurers from my perspective.

Of course, he had the disadvantage of being difficult to understand and having a somewhat pitiful mind… well, that was something I could cover adequately.

So, there was no problem.

◆◆

“It looks like things went well this time, Mr. Hilde. Seeing the three of you return together.”

After three days… no, was it four? Anyway, the receptionist girl, whom I met after a long time, greeted me warmly with a big smile.

More accurately, she seemed to be welcoming the fact that the other three party members were in one piece. Judging by her eyes busily scanning behind me.

“You did well with the job. But there are still some issues remaining.”

“Issues…?”

“Oh, wait. It’s better for me to explain that.”

Amy, who had been standing behind us, suddenly interjected into our conversation and lowered her backpack in front of the receptionist.

“So, here… Can you see this book? The request for exploring the magic book has been completed. So, first, please make sure to pay the reward I left for them.”

“Yes, I’ve confirmed it. Please wait a moment,” the receptionist said, calling another staff member to bring Amy’s reward.

The reward had to be received through the guild without exception, even if the client was hiring adventurers for escort missions.

That was the principle.

If the client were to directly pay the reward without going through the guild, there would be a problem in that the guild wouldn’t be able to ascertain how much money had actually changed hands… not to mention, “If the client carries too much money, the escort might turn into robbers.”

In a situation where a money pouch is visibly hanging, why bother going through the trouble of being an escort over several days?

It would be easier to just stab the client and run off with the money pouch.

Therefore, when taking on an escort request, it was a rational choice to either choose individuals whose credibility had been thoroughly verified or leave the money pouch elsewhere and move empty-handed.