Chapter 31

The rain, which had once stopped, started to drizzle again. The number of carriages and guards in the caravan was considerable, but it wasn't too many if they split the work among four people. Al walked around for a while, peering under the carriages carefully, but the only thing that reacted to his magical detection was something in the belt pouch of a guard who seemed skilled. It probably wouldn't be a problem if it was a warrior guard. He remembered that a female guard named Barbara once had a light magic tool. It was likely something similar.

On the way, he saw Cane working, but he was walking briskly behind a middle-aged man in expensive clothes who looked important, and there was no chance to call out to him. When Al returned to the original carriage, Reta and the others were already back. Reta stood stiffly, observing the surroundings intently. Marcus and Lucas were chatting and giggling together.

"Sir Reta, I'm back. There was nothing unusual."

"Understood."

Reta's tone was as stiff as ever. Her silver, almost straight hair, which she had cut short, was plastered to her head from the rain. Al stood beside her and looked in the direction she was observing. He could see a carriage with a crest that likely belonged to the Internal Affairs Bureau, and in front of it, the middle-aged man and Eric, Fitz were chatting. The middle-aged man might be the Baron Hawthorne that Cane mentioned.

"Have you been an apprentice for a long time, Sir Reta?"

"Let's avoid idle chatter."

Reta replied curtly to Al's question. Al shrugged and gave up on talking. He decided to pass the time by practicing magic, which had become a habit, while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

---

After a while, Eric and Fitz returned.

"There were no abnormalities with the caravan."

When Reta reported this, Eric nodded lightly. Watching them, it seemed like their usual interaction, but to Al, it looked like they were on high alert. It was clearly different from the capital. The frontier must be that harsh, he thought.

"Like usual, there will be many people following the caravan today. Reta, you and Al will do the confirmation, not me. This time, the guard unit is the 6th Squad, and the captain is Sir Jonas. You've met him before. Report the results directly to me without going through me. Marcus and Lucas can ride in the carriage."

Hearing Sir Jonas's name, Reta's expression darkened slightly, but no one else seemed to notice. After giving detailed instructions, Eric and Fitz put on their robes and got into the carriage. Marcus and Lucas did the same.

"Does that mean we can ride in the carriage too, since Marcus and Lucas are riding?"

Al asked Reta, who was left behind. Was it okay for the caravan guards to ride in the carriage?

"From the next rest stop, you can. Unlike other guards, we are mages."

"Hmm, really?"

Al muttered in surprise, and Reta glared at him.

"Are you saying that even though you are a mage?"

Did he say something wrong? Al was a bit flustered by her reaction.

"I am a mage, but I've always worked as a scout. I was just surprised, that's all."

Reta sighed lightly and nodded at Al's explanation.

"I understand. But please speak with more pride and think before you speak in the future."

Pride? Al tilted his head slightly but decided not to ask more, fearing another glare. Soon, the church's morning bell began to ring.

"We're about to depart. After the caravan leaves, there will be people who follow without hiring guards, pretending to be thieves. Al and I will confirm this. Please be careful."

Al smiled wryly at the term "thief-like." It was true that there was a possibility that thieves might infiltrate to lead an attack, but walking the road was free, and for those traveling alone, it was reassuring to follow a large caravan. He didn't think they needed to be so suspicious.

After the carriages from the Internal Affairs Bureau, Eric, and a few shops left, a few merchants and a couple of cargo carriages passed by. Al and Reta stood by the roadside, watching them pass without getting in the way. The merchants wore well-worn clothes and carried large bundles, and the cargo carriages were small, pulled by one or two donkeys, and looked used, with dirty stains here and there. They reminded Al of the cargo carriage Lippi, a porter, had used to transport a large lizard's corpse.

The confirmation process had been uneventful so far, but there was a reaction from the last cargo carriage. On the cargo bed, besides a little straw, there was a wooden box that reacted to Al's magical detection spell. The box was about 1 meter wide and 60 centimeters deep and high, with a hinged lid, and it looked quite old. It seemed to have some kind of magic on it, glowing faintly blue. The owner of the cargo carriage was an elderly man who sat leisurely on the driver's seat with a friendly smile.

"Sir Reta, that last cargo carriage..."

Al whispered to Reta. Reta looked at the cargo carriage intently but seemed puzzled and turned to Al.

"Is something wrong? It looks like an ordinary cargo carriage. Are you suspicious because it's empty? There are people like that. After defeating barbarians or monsters, guards receive rewards based on their contribution, but they can't take the corpses to the disposal site and have to bury them. These people pay a little money to take the corpses and make a profit by taking them to the disposal site."

Empty? It seemed she couldn't see the wooden box. Al looked at the box again and noticed it was slightly transparent. He canceled his magical detection spell, and the box disappeared. This meant that the box had a concealment spell on it. Was the owner of the cargo carriage a mage?

Al thought for a moment. He had experienced something similar during the recruitment test. Despite other mages not being able to detect it, he could. He had been thinking about the cause for a long time.

One hypothesis was that his proficiency in the magical detection spell was higher, allowing him to detect it. However, proficiency couldn't be measured, and it was unlikely that he was more proficient than Eric, his employer. Another hypothesis was that his enhanced perception spell increased his perception, compensating for his proficiency. He had thought this was the most likely explanation, but he had just realized another hypothesis.

It was the existence of the concealment spell. He had completed the training for the concealment spell and could cast it almost flawlessly. Could it be that because he had learned it, he could detect the effects of others' concealment spells? This would explain why Eric and the others suddenly saw the magical device after he unraveled the threads, breaking the concealment magic array on its surface. However, this was a problematic issue.

The concealment spell was a forbidden spell. Al had heard about a mage who reported to the Adventurer's Guild that he had learned the unlocking spell, hoping to get new jobs. However, he ended up losing work as a guard for major merchants. If he explained that he could use the concealment spell, the same thing could happen. He wanted to avoid such a situation.

It was also possible that the proficiency of the concealment spell on the box was low, and his proficiency in the magical detection spell was high, allowing him to see through it. This seemed more likely. However, now that he had realized the possibility that his ability to detect it was due to his knowledge of the concealment spell, he hesitated to make a fuss about it.

"That's interesting. I didn't know such a business existed."

He replied as if he had accepted Reta's explanation. Al decided not to mention the wooden box hidden by the concealment spell. Of course, it was almost certain that it was related to some kind of crime, so he couldn't just ignore it. However, he could observe for a while to see what they were up to.

"There were no abnormalities. We need to report to Sir Jonas. He's probably at the front of the caravan. Let's catch up quickly."

"Understood, Sir Reta."

Al and Reta ran toward the front of the caravan.

Thank you for reading.

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On July 7, 2023, I changed the reference to Jonas from "knight" to "Sir Jonas" in the narrative.