Growburn Village – The Cart

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“Are you getting a fever or something?”

“I’m okay. I think it’s just the heat.”

I hastily made excuses to Boris, waving my hand to cool my face.

I can’t believe I’m flustered by something like this.

But I can’t help but feel like my cringeworthy past is a dark history.

‘If Boris is talking about a large-scale battle he might participate in…’

The battle against Legion Commander Abaddon comes to mind.

Thinking about the wave of Monsters pouring out of the mouth of that whale-like creature in the battle gives me chills for the first time in a while.

No matter how much we cut them down, they just kept filling the ranks.

Even Marcus and Cornelia’s large-scale magic only made them falter.

‘Seriously, is there no end to these bastards?’

‘Cornelia, instead of cursing, pull the string one more time!’

‘I am! Leo, don’t just stand there, go catch that whale!’

‘Can’t you see I’m trying to go? But I can’t even get close!’

Looking back, it was a truly chaotic situation.

We wouldn’t have won without the life-risking help of the armies and mercenaries from various countries.

“By the way, Jade is a Hero…. Doesn’t that mean I raised this generation’s Hero, even if it was just for a short time? That’s something to be proud of for the rest of my life.”

“Since it’s come to this, why don’t you quit the Adventurer Guild and go somewhere to teach swordsmanship?”

“Don’t say such scary things. I want to stop wielding a sword now.”

“That’s a shame. I think you’d be a huge success.”

I think we’ve reminisced enough, so is it time to get down to business?

It’s nice to catch up with Boris on the things we haven’t been able to talk about for the past week, but we have things to do.

“Please make three Adventurer’s Cards in our names. Silver Plates, if possible. Is that doable?”

Even though I’ve done a lot of Adventurer activities, I’ve been using my student ID, so I don’t have a separate Adventurer’s Card.

“Adventurer’s Cards? There’s usually a formal procedure, but you guys are special cases, so I can take care of it if you want. But are you trying to hide your identity as Heroes by issuing these?”

“You’re quick on the uptake as always.”

“Haha! I can tell just by looking. It’ll take some time, is that okay?”

“We have to go get a carriage anyway, so it’s not urgent. Oh, do you know any good businesses? It would be nice to find a place that can get us to our destination quickly.”

He knows a lot about this place. He might be able to recommend a good place.

“If you’re looking for a carriage, it’s best to use ‘Swift Carriage’ on the west side of the city.”

Wow… ‘Swift Carriage.’

What a great naming sense.

Boris smiled slightly, seeing my expression.

“The name is funny, but it will literally take you to your destination the fastest.”

“I’ll trust Uncle Boris. Then I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. I’ll get ready and wait.”

**

After rescuing the two who were trapped in a barrage of questions from the adventurers until the conversation with Boris ended, we headed west of the city together.

Arriving in the west, there were various carriage businesses, as if this place was made for the carriage industry.

“I’m looking for a carriage that goes to the Empire capital in one go!”

“If you ride with the carriage going to Rain now, I’ll give you a discount!”

“Is this price right? This is too expensive.”

The front was crowded with people looking for carriages and people trying to sell them.

‘So where is that Swift Carriage?’

There were more carriage businesses than I thought, so it wasn’t easy to find.

After looking around for a few minutes, the word ‘Swift Carriage’ written on a sign among the carriage businesses caught my eye.

The problem is-

-Creak, creeeak.

The sign was so old that it looked like it would fall off at any moment.

Can I trust Boris’s words?

“He recommended a place called ‘Swift Carriage’ over there…”

“Lena, is that the right place? It looks a little… rough.”

Annie has a very uneasy expression.

Looking at the shabby state of the business, I’m worried that the wheels might fall off while riding the carriage.

Even though other businesses seem to have quite a few customers visiting, no one was visiting that place at all.

“We can’t judge everything by its appearance, so let’s go there first.”

Jade, who is unbiased, took the lead and started walking towards the business.

**

“Should we go in?”

-Jingle jingle.

When Jade opened the door, the inside of the business was better than expected, unlike the exterior.

The furniture was clean without any dust, as if it was constantly being cleaned, and the horses that could be seen through the window were glossy, so the management seemed excellent.

-Thump!

A man who was dozing off in a chair inside the counter greeted us with a loud noise.

“Oh, welcome. This is Swift Carriage. You came because of the carriage, right?”

He was a short, old man.

“Yes. We are going to Grow―”

“Wait a minute. I think I need to check the condition of the carriage first? Then you can decide whether to use it.”

“Of course, that’s possible. The carriage is in the back of the store, so please follow me.”

The owner naturally responded to customers even with my slightly aggressive tone and led us to the carriage.

I guess I’m not the only customer like this.

Following the owner to the back of the business, there was a fairly large carriage parked.

“Here is our carriage. Please check it out.”

Looking at the carriage, the condition seemed better than other businesses.

It was clean without any broken parts on the wheels, as if it had been constantly maintained.

-Squeak.

Opening the door and checking the inside, the interior was well-equipped with cushions for a comfortable trip.

I guess Boris wasn’t lying.

“Lena, it looks good, right?”

Jade was very satisfied.

“Yeah. It does.”

However, looking at the condition of the business and the carriage, a reasonable question arises.

“By any chance… why does it seem like you don’t have any customers when your carriage is so good?”

“Ah, that’s simple. The cost is a bit expensive.”

‘It’s absurd but obvious.’

No matter how good it is, it would be burdensome to spend a lot of money on a carriage except for nobles or wealthy commoners.

In the first place, people use carriages to save money. If not, they would use the Warp system installed in each city.

It’s just that we can’t use Warp even if we want to.

“But I guarantee a fast speed and comfortable trip. The horses that pull the carriage are also better than others.”

“We are going to Growburn Village. How fast can you get us there?”

“Growburn Village… it usually takes about 8 days, but our carriage can do it in 4 days. Instead, the cost is about twice as much as other places.”

It’s expensive, but it’s not a bad deal.

The time it takes is halved as much as the money you pay more.

I poked Jade in the side.

“Lena, what’s wrong?”

“What do you want to do? I think it would be good for you to decide.”

The leader of the Hero Party is naturally the Hero. There will be many moments in the future when you have to choose something and give up something else. There will naturally be differences of opinion among the party members.

Since we have to build up from small experiences, I’m giving Jade the right to make the final decision.

“Okay. I need to get to the village as soon as possible, and then I can get to the Holy Kingdom faster…”

Jade hesitated for a moment and then grabbed the owner’s hand.

-Clap.

“Please take good care of us on this journey.”

“Oh my. Thank you. Please wait a moment.”

Then the owner called someone loudly.

“Carlson! Come out here quickly. We have work.”

-Clunk, squeak.

At the owner’s call, a small door in the corner slowly opened and a man walked out yawning.

“Haaam…. It’s been a while since we had a customer. I was going to quit if we didn’t have anyone until today.”

“Oh my, you sure know how to talk pretty. You should be grateful that I haven’t kicked you out until now.”

They seemed to have been working together for quite some time, as they cursed at each other but had trusting eyes.

‘Carlson…’

I slowly scanned the man called Carlson from top to bottom.

His blonde hair was disheveled as if he had just woken up, and he kept yawning.

His face was quite handsome, and he was wearing a necklace with a strangely shaped ornament around his neck.

Judging by the religious feel of the ornament, is he a devout person?

And most importantly, I scan his body.

I can’t feel any mana, but he has a fairly large build and a body with muscles that have been built up through physical labor.

And when I peek down below…

‘Not as big as Doran, but a decent size.’

This is not bad.

It would be boring to just sit still while heading to the village.

It would be best to enjoy myself with a Monster after a long time, but if it’s difficult to do so, I had to prepare an alternative.

“Anyway, take these people. The destination is Growburn Village.”

The owner stopped the trivial conversation with Carlson and patted him on the back.

“Growburn Village? That’s a place people don’t usually go to, you guys are unique.”

“Don’t question that. We go where the customer wants to go. This guy may look a bit ugly, but he’s a good guy. He’s good at both being a coachman and a porter.”

The owner rubbed his hands together and looked at us. He must be nervous that we might go somewhere else because of Carlson’s attitude.

“If you need him even after arriving at Growburn Village, you can hire him as a porter for a while. Carlson, quickly greet the customers.”

“Yes, yes. So, customers?”

Carlson, who answered perfunctorily, turned his head and looked at us carefully, and his eyes widened a little.

It was obvious that he was surprised by our appearance.

Because… after that, he kept glancing at my face and chest area for a long time.

In that moment, I pretended not to notice and slightly bent over, revealing my cleavage.

The fact that he likes women is a plus factor.

However, at this rate, he’s going to stare at me for hours, so I throw a prickly word at Carlson. It seems like the two next to me are about to get angry at Carlson too.

“Haa…. How long are you going to keep looking?”

“?!”

He was surprised and shook his head, then introduced himself.

“S, sorry. It’s because the customers are so pretty. A handsome man and two beautiful women. My name is Carlson. It’s an honor to serve you.”

Carlson came closer to me and reached out to take the luggage I was holding.

“I’ll load the luggage first. Give it to me.”

-Thud.

“We’ll just load it ourselves.”

But Jade blocked his hand.

Jade was frowning, and it was clear that she was uncomfortable with Carlson’s earlier behavior.

It’s very cute.

Even if Jade is the type of person who is oblivious, she must be uncomfortable with another man approaching so openly.

In fact, this is why I haven’t had a deep relationship with Jade yet.

Now that Jade has awakened as a Hero, it’s okay to enjoy myself as much as I want.

But if I spend a hot night and become completely connected with him, it will be difficult for me to enjoy myself as usual.

He’s the type of guy who would risk his life to save me even now.

If he thinks I’m completely his woman, he’ll be incredibly obsessed.

Right now, I can secretly enjoy myself without getting caught due to Jade’s oblivious and dull nature, but after we’re together, he’ll be incredibly interested and curious about every single one of my actions.

If I get caught enjoying myself with another man in that state, it probably won’t lead to good results.

The man I enjoyed myself with might be found dead the next day?

After Carlson and I exchanged names, the owner slowly approached us and rubbed his hands together.

“I have to do the calculation. The price is 50 Silver. I’m sorry, but I’m not accepting negotiations.”

50 Silver is a reasonable level. If he had ripped us off for over 1 Gold under the pretext of going fast, I would have left the store right away.

“That’s fine. Jade, you have the money, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jade took out the money pouch from her arms. It was the pouch that Sarah gave her yesterday.

And she counted out 50 Silver from it and gave it to the owner.

“Here’s 50 Silver.”

“Ten, twenty…. 50 Silver confirmed. Now you can tell Carlson to leave whenever you want. If your goal is to go quickly, it would be best to leave before it gets too dark.”

“Then we’ll be back in a bit. We have something to pick up.”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”

I can’t forget to pick up the Adventurer’s Cards I asked Boris for.

**

We returned to the Adventurer Guild and received the prepared Adventurer’s Cards.

After that, we said goodbye to Boris.

He kept trying to continue the conversation with us and tried to say a few more words.

He didn’t show it much, but he really seemed to be sad at the thought that it would be difficult to see us again.

I hadn’t known Boris for a long time, but he was a really good person.

It’s just a shame that I couldn’t spend a hot night with him.

‘But I have to protect his family.’

“It’s amazing to receive an Adventurer’s Card.”

-Flick, flick.

Annie flipped her Adventurer’s Card back and forth, touching it as if she was amazed by it.

It’s interesting that the current Adventurer’s Cards are in the form of cards.

The distinction between Adventurer ranks is Bronze Plate, Silver Plate, Gold Plate, and Jade Plate, but Adventurer’s Cards are cards.

In the past, the symbol of an adventurer was in the form of a Plate, so the tradition remains in the name to this day.

“This will be the first step as a Hero. Lena, Annie. Do you both have anything else to prepare?”

“I’m fine with leaving now. Let’s go right away.”

I was about to move my feet right away―

-Thud.

I stopped.

“Lena, did you forget something?”

I suddenly wondered if everyone had told their parents about this.

“Did you both send letters to your parents?”

“Ah, that’s right? I sent a simple message yesterday saying that I became a Hero. They might think I’m making a boring joke when they receive the letter, but…”

I wonder what Jade’s parents think about Jade’s fate.

Are they happy? Are they worried?

Anyway, the path Jade has to take has been decided.

“I told my parents in the Ordeen Territory that I was going on an adventure with my friends for a while.”

“Not a Hero Party, just an adventure?”

So Annie is planning to hide the fact that she participated in the Hero Party from her parents.

“Uh-huh…. I want to brag that I’m with the Hero, but I think it’s better to hide it. My parents would worry but support me, but if that news gets into my brother’s ears, he’ll run out of the Magic Tower and come to catch me…”

Her brother must cherish his younger sister quite a bit. Annie, who respected her brother, is saying this much.

Still, it’s a good thing for her.

Interest may be tiring, but it’s not bad to have someone who takes care of you and cherishes you so much.

I only realized how great that existence was after that person disappeared.

“It seems like everyone has contacted each other. Shall we really go now?”

“Wait a minute.”

Annie rummaged through her bag again as if she was worried.

I don’t have to worry because I have really important things in Hyperspace.

“The Wand Lena gave me is safe, and I packed my favorite clothes…”

She carefully checked the contents and then slung the bag over her shoulder again.

“Now I’m completely ready.”

“Then let’s get on the carriage right away and head to Growburn. The sooner we go, the better the situation will be.”

We quickly headed to Swift Carriage to take the reserved carriage.