Chapter 30

Three days after being instructed, the rain continued to fall intermittently, and the roads were muddy. Early in the morning, Al arrived at the South Gate as instructed. This was where the Fourth Ring Road intersected with South Avenue, and it was lined with guard posts for the city's southern defenses and processing facilities for the corpses of monsters and barbarians. Many carriages, merchants, and their guards had already gathered.

"Hey, Alfred, it's been a while."

As Al was looking around for Eric, a familiar face called out to him. It was Kain, whom he had attended middle school with. Kain was supposed to be an intern in the internal affairs office of this frontier city, Lester, but what was he doing here so early in the morning?

"Good morning, Kain. Should I call you Kain-sama?"

Kain shook his head hurriedly.

"No, no, I'm still just an intern in the internal affairs office. I haven't been appointed to any position, so there's no need for the 'sama.' But maybe it's time we stopped calling each other 'kun.' Just call me Kain. I'll call you Alfred too."

"Alright, then I'll call you Kain. Just call me Al."

"Okay, let's do that. By the way, what brings you here today? Are you going on a hunt?"

Al explained that he had been hired by Eric to guard a caravan. Kain was surprised and revealed that he was also part of the same caravan. Al didn't know, but the caravan they were guarding was under the orders of the Lester Frontier Lord, who governed the entire frontier region. The person in charge was Baron Hawthorne, an internal affairs officer and Kain's superior.

"Originally, the purpose was to inspect the frontier development villages. Baron Hawthorne, who is in charge of development, used to lead a team of internal affairs officers and guards to check on the conditions of the development villages every three months. Over time, some merchants started to include their own carriages, and it grew to its current size. The request for Eric to guard the caravan also came from the internal affairs bureau."

Al nodded. Normally, merchants would drive their carriages independently to maximize profit, but it must be that dangerous. When he asked about this, Kain nodded, tilting his head slightly.

"It's my first time accompanying the caravan, but I've heard that barbarians often appear at night. They frequently attack and sneak into carriages to steal goods. With small caravans, even a few goblins can be a threat. They have good night vision. The damage has been reduced by having a mage cast a light spell to illuminate the entire camp at night. Ah, a new carriage is coming, but it's not from the internal affairs bureau."

Kain pointed to a carriage approaching on South Avenue. It was a grand four-wheeled carriage pulled by two horses, and a woman, who was indeed called Reta, sat next to the driver. The carriage seemed to be heading towards where they were.

"That's Eric's carriage. Well, Kain, see you later."

Al waved goodbye to Kain and headed towards Eric's carriage.

---

"Good morning, Reta."

Al greeted Reta, who was sitting in the driver's seat, energetically. Reta bowed politely without saying a word. The carriage stopped, and Eric, Fitz, and the two men who had been in the garden with Reta a few days ago got out. Al greeted them one by one. Fitz nodded calmly in response.

"You're right on time. Excellent. Eric and I will go and greet Baron Hawthorne and the other important people. You should ask Reta about your duties as an intern."

The two of them walked quickly towards the other carriages. Reta, Al, and the two men were left behind. All three were taller than Al and looked a bit older.

"Good morning, Al. We met during the exam the other day. My name is Reta. I manage the magic apprentices under Eric. Although your magic skills may be better than mine, I will continue to manage them as per Fitz's instructions. You will need to follow my instructions while working as an apprentice. Please call me Reta-sama."

Reta's voice was slightly trembling, and she seemed quite nervous. Al, who was being paid, had no objections and nodded sincerely.

"I'm Marcus," "I'm Lucas."

The men standing next to Reta pointed to themselves. They looked like brothers.

"We're also your seniors, so follow our instructions too."

"Sure, nice to meet you."

Al smiled and replied. The two men seemed a bit reluctant but didn't say anything more, influenced by Al's demeanor.

"Alright, let's talk about our duties..."

According to Reta, the apprentices' duties included taking care of Eric and Fitz's daily needs, casting light spells to illuminate the camp at night, and using magic detection spells to check for any problematic magical items. They would take turns keeping watch at night in case the light spell's duration expired. Al's turn was first.

"Understood. By the way, what kind of work do Eric and Fitz do?"

Al was curious about the role of mages in the caravan.

"Assisting in combat is the most important, but they also use the floating eye spell to keep watch from the sky regularly. In the past, Fitz would join us for night watch while observing us, but this time, with four apprentices, he won't be participating."

The floating eye spell allows the caster to send a viewpoint to a specific location and see from that perspective. It's useful for secretly investigating enemy hideouts and can also be used to monitor the surroundings of the caravan from above. It's indeed convenient for guard duty. As Al nodded in agreement, Reta instructed him to load his luggage at the back of the carriage.

"Right away, we'll use magic detection spells to check if anyone in the caravan is carrying anything suspicious. Not all magical items are prohibited, but some thieves might plant listening devices or location-tracking devices in the carriages to find the caravan's location. If you find anything suspicious, report it to me quietly. It will take about 30 minutes. Meet back here when you're done."

Reta gave detailed instructions to each of them, and the other two nodded in understanding. However, their spell success rates were low, and they had to recast several times. Al, watching them, used both the magic detection spell and the perception enhancement spell to check the area he was assigned.

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