Chapter 14

Thinking of a subtitle has become quite a challenge.

Hmm, hmm, and then something strange...

That day, it all started with Ailene visiting the inn.

"Kena-sama, would you like to go to the northern country?"

"Hmm, the northern country, huh?"

Kena, who seemed somewhat unenthusiastic, munched on a red oval fruit called Rushu while considering whether to leave this place. After a moment of thought, Ailene played his trump card.

"First, we'll stop by a border village?"

"I'll go! ...Wait, ah."

Reacting to the word she just heard, she agreed without hesitation. The dog-person's expression was hard to read, but she glared at the merchant who was secretly smirking.

"Ugh, that's so unfair."

"What are you saying? I just mentioned the village we'll stop by on the way."

"Still, Ailene-san is so smooth... Oh, and wasn't it four silver coins to the village?"

Recalling the fare she paid for the ride to the capital, she asked Ailene how much more it would cost to extend the journey. However, he frowned and shook his head.

"No, I can treat you as a guest up to the village, but I'd like you to accompany me as a guard after that..."

"Huh? Is the northern country that dangerous?"

Kena thought it might be dangerous if they were to annex the Black Country (also known as the Demon Country). But then, Ailene began to explain the recent trade situation.

He opened a map and roughly traced the main trade routes with his finger.

"First, the outer trade route that circles the continent. Next, the inner trade route that runs horizontally across the country's borders, which in this country are two routes north and south of the great river. Finally, the main artery that connects the capitals of the countries."

It reminded her of trains running between cities, but she nodded without saying anything. Ailene tapped the western border and continued.

"Currently, the main artery connecting the capital of Feluskeiro and the capital of the northern country of Helshper is closed. So, this time we'll take the inner trade route to the east, cross the great river, and then head for the capital via the inner trade route of the other country."

"Closed? Was there a landslide or something?"

"No, bandits."

Kena felt a slight tension in the response and held her breath. Ailene pointed to a spot slightly above the western border.

"There's an old fortress here, and it seems that a bandit gang has recently made it their base and started extending their reach."

"Ah..."

"Apparently, the leader of the bandit gang is very powerful. The knights can't do anything about it, and the situation is at a stalemate."

Kena was about to say, "There are still such strong people in this world..." when she suddenly noticed Arbiter.

"Ah, Arbiter-san! When did you get here?"

"Um, since 'no'?"

"Where were you!?"

...

"Really! Mother, you're leaving this country!?"

"Stop saying it like you're running away, Maimai. It's work, work, guarding a caravan."

The next day, they planned to leave the capital, and when she visited Scalgo to report, he was out on business. Not wanting to worry the children, she went to the royal academy to inform Maimai.

Incidentally, the church and the academy are places where the children have free access.

The nun at the church said that the high priest had calmed down since the other day. Still, when seen from a distance, he still sparkles, hums, and roars, with roses blooming wildly, making it hard to understand.

"Well, if you're going to Helshper, it's perfect. Mother, can I ask you to deliver a letter?"

"A letter? Is there a friend in that country?"

"Hehehe~. I was thinking of introducing you to someone. It's a good timing, isn't it?"

The mother, sensing that her daughter was up to something, was on high alert. Maimai, knowing this, acted as if nothing was wrong.

...

The next day, Maimai and Kattatsu saw off the caravan, which consisted of two box wagons and three covered wagons. The younger brother looked worried, while the older sister remained calm, waving until they were out of sight.

"Hmm, Mom as a guard... This is probably the safest group in the world..."

"Rather, with Mom, she could probably destroy the bandits' base in one hit, right?"

"Well, Mom is an adventurer now. She won't move unless there's a benefit, right?"

"Yeah, that's how it is."

"More importantly, when you mentioned the letter, were they the ones you were talking about?"

"Right, hehehe. Mother will be surprised, won't she~"

"No, I think Mom will faint..."

...

"Hey, girl. What did the older sister give you just now?"

Just before departure, Maimai, accompanied by Kattatsu, came to see them off and entrusted Kena with a sealed letter.

"Is it a love letter? Kena-sama, your charm is popular even among women?"

"No, what are you two talking about! It's a letter! She said she has an acquaintance in the capital and asked me to deliver the mail. There's nothing suspicious about it."

"Hmm, well, I'll take your word for it."

"There's nothing to take my word for. It would be strange to date my own daughter, right!?"

"Eh? Is that your daughter? Then who was the dwarf with you?"

"That's my youngest son."

Answering another merchant's question honestly, a cold wind swept through the entire caravan.

Afterward, she had to improvise a story about how the dwarf became her son, which is a side note. Secretly, she wished she had the skill to talk her way out of things.

The journey to the border village, which took ten days last time, took only eight days this time because Kena experimentally used the magic [March Speed Increase]. This magic, which usually increases the marching speed of an entire army by 20% during wartime and lasts about five minutes when cast on 300-400 people, lasted over an hour when used on 14 horses, 11 members of the Flame Spear Mercenary Group, and Kena. Enjoying it so much, she used it happily, shortening the entire journey by several days. Ailene was surprised and seriously tried to recruit her for the caravan.

It had been about fifty days since Kena left this village, but the village had changed a bit. A single-story house had been built where the carriage stand used to be at the village entrance, looking like an open workshop. The sound of heavy work, "totekan, totekankan," echoed from inside. Smoke from cooking rose from a house that had been abandoned and uninhabited in the back of the village.

Despite it being evening, the villagers who came out to welcome the caravan immediately spotted Kena and greeted her one after another. She was quickly surrounded and taken to the inn, which Ailene and Arbiter watched with a wry smile.

"Kena! It's been so long! How have you been?"

"Hello, Malle and Ritt."

Warmly welcomed by Malle and Ritt, Kena sighed in relief, feeling like she had returned to a place where she could relax. They brought out bread and stew without her ordering, and she smiled at the familiar taste, then hurriedly took out money, which made the two of them laugh.

That night, the inn was lively with talk of the days spent in the capital, the mission, and the children.

The next morning, Kena flew to the Silver Tower before dawn and informed the mural guardian that she had reactivated Tower No. 9, then asked again about what had happened 200 years ago.

"I only know what the other guardians told me, but it seems that the Master basically said goodbye."

The result was the same as before. This area was at the edge of the White Country, and beyond the east was an uncharted area without a map. Apart from players who came to take the Silver Tower's trial, there were no memories of seeing any. The guild members had discussed whether the eastern area might become a new area in a future update, but it was unclear if that had actually happened.

After restocking items, she left the tower and returned to the village. While having breakfast at the inn, an unfamiliar face approached. Three dwarves and a tall, thin woman with glasses. They introduced themselves as technicians from Helshper and asked about the water-drawing machine for the well.

"I heard you made it. How did you do it?"

"Well, I just followed the recipe using [Crafting Skill]."

"Ah, there's a crafting skill! Then, I'd like you to teach me the manufacturing method."

"Even if I teach you, there are various prerequisites needed."

Taking out a log about the size of a human arm from her item box, Kena performed [Crafting Skill: Processing: Buddha Statue] on the spot. A small green tornado enveloped the log in her hand, and after a short time, a wooden statue of Kannon Bodhisattva about 20 centimeters tall was completed. It was a skill she had learned as a prerequisite but rarely used. The quest was to offer a doll to the lake's master instead of a human sacrifice, and for some reason, it randomly created traditional Japanese Buddha statues.

"You can't use it unless you can do at least this much, even if I teach you."

Winking and trying to look cool, Kena saw the four of them trembling in fear. She could hear them muttering, "This is an ancient technique!" and "That's a legendary one!?" and understood the situation. She remembered why Kattatsu used apprentices and craftsmen to build boats without using [Skill].

(Come to think of it, Maimai said something about skills becoming obsolete or degenerating, didn't she?)

While thinking about this, Kena noticed Ritt tugging at her skirt.

"What's wrong, Ritt?"

"What's that, Onee-chan?"

Ritt was pointing at the wooden statue of Kannon Bodhisattva in Kena's hand. Thinking it was fine since it was just a demonstration, Kena handed it to Ritt, saying, "Here, you can have it." Of course, Malle noticed it too.

"It looks like it has intricate designs. Is it okay to give it away?"

"It's fine. I don't have any particular use for it."

Ritt placed it on the table with sparkling eyes and gazed at it in awe. Since it was breakfast time, the caravan members and the Flame Spear Mercenary Group members also noticed and persistently asked what it was. When she said it was a goddess of compassion from her homeland, they naturally assumed it was the goddess revered by the High Elves, but she let them misunderstand without correcting them. In the end, Ailene declared, "This will sell," and statues of Yakushi Buddha, Asura, Miroku Bodhisattva, and Jizo were lined up on the table. Afterward, Kena drew a diagram on the ground to explain the gear mechanism to the technicians, but it was unclear if they understood it properly.

The next day, they left the village without an excessive send-off. After two days, they reached the main stream of the Edged River. Although several tributaries would join downstream, it was not as wide as the river near the capital. Still, it was about 200-300 meters to the opposite bank.

"How are we going to cross this?"

"Until about half a year ago, there was a bridge made of logs tied together..."

"It was washed away by a flood."

"Ah..."

"Actually, this is the main reason I hired Kena-sama."

"I'll take care of it."

"Huh?"

Kena was momentarily taken aback. Gradually understanding their intention, she put her hand on her forehead to suppress a headache.

"Are you just going to leave it all to me?"

"Kena-sama, as a great mage, this shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"Hmm..."

Although not particularly fast, the vast amount of water was a concern for Kena. Arbiter's hand patted her shoulder.

"Just try it lightly. If it's impossible, the boss understands."

"Having come this far, that's not an option, is it?"

Muttering, Kena crossed her arms and stared at the river, which made Arbiter chuckle.

---

First option: Build a bridge.

"Can you build it!?"

"What!?"

How ridiculous. Among the surprised group, only Kena, who came up with the idea, frowned and looked extremely reluctant. Sensing this, Ailene immediately rejected it, much to Kena's relief. The reason was obvious: they would need to cut down dozens of trees.

"Can't you freeze it or something?"

"I can, but it would form a dam, and eventually, everything might be washed away..."

"I'm surprised you can even do that..."

Kena was just stating the obvious, but the listeners could only laugh at the extraordinary nature of it.

---

Second option: Use magic to [Attract] or [Walk on Water].

"What is this [Attract]?"

"It pulls individuals within sight to your hand. It's used for climbing cliffs and such."

She had obtained it from a quest with a similar theme. However, Arbiter noticed a point of concern.

"Individuals?"

"Yes, I've never used it on anything other than people. If I use it on a carriage, will only the carriage come, or will the contents be safe?"

Ailene showed disapproval. Ignoring the goods would be a disgrace to a merchant.

"Then, we'll have to use [Walk on Water]."

[Flight] only worked on herself, and using [Summon Magic: Level 9: Dragon] to transport them would be too conspicuous and complicated to explain if they were spotted, especially since the Helshper checkpoint was just a day away.

The advantage of [Walk on Water] was that once cast, the effect lasted indefinitely on water. The disadvantage was that it only worked on flat surfaces and would end if you stepped on anything other than water. Seeing the puzzled looks, Kena gave an example.

"In other words, if you cast this spell, you can lie down and ride the current to the capital. But if you step on a rock or a log, you'll drown."

Hearing this, Arbiter decided the guard assignments for his group. One person would lead each carriage and another would watch for anything coming from upstream. Arbiter and Kena would first cross to the opposite bank to ensure safety and set up a safe space.

"Or, did you just want to be the first to cross, Arbiter?"

"No, this is amazing. The girl has every kind of magic."

Arbiter cautiously stepped onto the water, and the others exclaimed, "Oh!" He checked for anything in the water while moving to the opposite bank. The water wasn't very clear, so he could only observe. Upon reaching the opposite bank, he looked around for any dangers but found nothing particularly threatening, so he stayed behind. Just in case, he ordered [Summon Magic: Water Spirit] to protect him.

"Thinking I'll be protected by this makes me feel useless..."

The water spirit was about the size of a hand, and Arbiter watched it hop around him suspiciously.

"If danger approaches, the water spirit will protect you by throwing itself in front of you."

"Ha, that's a joke. It would be a disgrace to my name."

Ailene led the first box wagon, and the magic was cast on three horses, the wagon, and two group members. Kena followed behind for safety. Everyone watched anxiously as they crossed without any problems. Arbiter, wrapped in a water funnel, said that noise would scare away wild animals, so the rest crossed in pairs. They couldn't keep the guarded items separated for too long, so they quickly crossed.

After the box wagons and covered wagons crossed, the magic was cast on the remaining two covered wagons and the group members, with Kena again at the rear. Just before they reached the opposite bank, about ten meters away, the horse connected to the fifth wagon suddenly reared up and stood still. Faster than the group members or Kena could react, an arm-like object emerged from the water, grabbed the neck of the horse on the downstream side, and dragged it underwater. Naturally, the wagon, still attached by the harness, tilted, and the other horse went wild. From the opposite bank, Arbiter shouted, "Cut the ropes!" The confused group member quickly cut the rope on the side of the sinking horse. Kena, who had caught up, used [Beast Tamer] to calm the wild horse and quickly led it to shore.

"I... I was so scared..."

Kena, unaccustomed to sudden situations, sat on the ground as the tension eased. She had several active skills for pre-emptive alerts, but since they weren't directly threatening her, they were mostly ineffective. However, the group members praised her for her good response and thanked her for her help.

Arbiter, who had scolded the group member for the slow response, looked at the water, which had changed color slightly due to the blood, with a bitter expression.

"What was that just now?"

"Probably a dragonfly nymph."

The shadow visible in the water was even larger than a horse. It disappeared into the depths, making Kena shudder.

"That's scary..."

"Even if we had made a fuss, it probably wouldn't have helped. Sorry, boss, I underestimated the situation."

"Fortunately, there was no loss of life or goods. Considering the result, it was excellent. Thanks to Kena-sama."

After checking the goods in the wagon, Ailene praised Arbiter, who had bowed his head.

The problem was the lost horse and the other horse that had limped due to the struggle.

"Kena-sama, can you heal it?"

"Yes, I can!"

[Skill: Single Recovery Level 1: Ready Set]

The light in Kena's hand gl