Chapter 57

After staying overnight at a noble's mansion in another territory, Rain finished his greetings and left the mansion.

He was introduced to a daughter.

She was cute, but to be honest, he was already full.

Polygamy was fine, but he was afraid that the wives would end up holding the real power, which would be very scary.

He wanted them to consider it.

"Hey! She's a princess. I can clearly picture a scenario where my wives start a rebellion and I'm the only one who gets kicked out, feeling lonely."

What he really wanted was a friend.

He wished he had been introduced to a son.

As Rain was earnestly thinking these thoughts, the carriage came to an abrupt stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked, activating his Divine Eye to check for any enemies around, but found none. He then opened the door and stepped out.

"I'm sorry. It seems the person in front heard the sound of swords clashing, so we stopped. It appears that someone is fighting around the next corner," the guard explained.

Rain couldn't hear anything, and the Divine Eye's range didn't detect anyone.

"I can't hear anything," he said.

"The person in front, Aldo, has a skill that enhances his hearing. He can hear things we can't," the guard explained.

Using his Divine Eye, Rain saw Aldo with his hand to his ear, listening intently.

The skill to enhance hearing does exactly what it says—it enhances hearing. Rain saw that Aldo had a level 3 hearing enhancement skill.

They were currently traveling through a mountainous area. There were larger roads, but they would require a significant detour, adding an extra day to the journey.

The road they were on was wide enough, but it was flanked by dense forests, which naturally contained monsters. However, no monster would dare attack a group of over 50 knights, and even bandits wouldn't fight fully armed knights, according to Rain's judgment.

He had insisted on this route, pushing hard for it. He wanted to see Prim as soon as possible, and the journey in the enclosed carriage was unbearably tough. He wouldn't let them leave the carriage in open plains for safety reasons.

After a while, the scout returned.

It seemed that a caravan was surrounded by over 20 goblins and 5 orcs.

"What should we do?" the captain asked.

"Can we defeat them?" Rain asked.

The average level of the knights was over 30, so they shouldn't lose.

"Of course!" the captain replied confidently.

"Then, may I ask... or rather, can I let Skuna and the others watch the battle?"

It would be best to start by letting them observe the monsters.

"Sure, as long as they just watch from behind," the captain said.

"Understood, thank you. Skuna! Koumei! Aina!" Rain called the four and explained the situation.

Incidentally, when calling Koumei, he always called him with his name connected to the others.

"There are people fighting monsters around the next corner, so we're going to help them. Please go with them and learn about monster hunting. You can just watch from behind," he said, sending them off with 15 knights.

He wanted to go with them but knew it was impossible, so he gave up.

After a while, a signal was given, and the carriage moved forward.

There was a overturned carriage and two others that were blocked and stranded, along with merchants and what seemed to be their guard adventurers. The area was littered with rocks.

After confirming it was safe, Rain stepped out. He had been stopped once but pushed through. He could roughly understand the situation by looking around, but he was too nervous to greet anyone, so he left it to the fourth wife and headed towards Skuna and the others.

"Captain Land, what's the situation?"

"There are no casualties or injuries among the knights, but a few people from the caravan have died," the captain reported.

"I see, thank you for your hard work. Please stay on alert and guard the area," Rain said.

"Understood," the captain saluted and left.

"How was the real battle with the monsters?"

Skuna started by saying,

"Unlike simulated battles, real ones involve blood, so it's important to avoid being distracted by it and to move carefully."

(Tough! And that's not what I wanted to hear!)

He wanted to know if they could handle the fear of battle, not the battle tactics.

Skuna, a seasoned fighter, was different.

"How about Kou?"

"I learned the strength of fighting on horseback."

(That's what you focused on! Well, I guess it's a good point.)

"How about Mei?"

"I learned the strength of fighting on horseback."

(No, you should have said something different. I suspect you just copied your brother.)

"How about Aina?"

"It's simply wonderful. There are still many things to learn, such as detailed strategies to prevent the enemy from escaping during a charge."

(Yes, you're not even an adult yet, so it's understandable.)

"Everyone seems to have learned something, even if they have different things to say."

With that, he concluded and headed back to his carriage. On the way, he saw Rose talking to a merchant, who looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh! I messed up.

Rose..."

He should have known that leaving it to the usually quiet and unsmiling Rose would end up like this.

He decided to approach and greet the merchant.

~Rose and the Merchant~

"Thank you, noble sir! We are truly grateful for your help today!"

"…It's fine."

"Huh? Is, is that so?"

The merchant was flustered by her cold response, thinking he might have offended her.

"I didn't help them."

"Ah? But your knights did, right?"

If the knights' owner was present, the credit would go to the owner.

"No."

She answered immediately.

"Then, who is the owner of the knights?"

Rose pointed to the boy who had disappeared somewhere after getting out of the carriage.

"Th, that boy?"

The merchant, wondering what role Rose played, asked, and she nodded.

"I see. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

My name is Adre Ludow. Nice to meet you!"

Adre bowed.

"Rose."

That was all Rose said.

"Rose, a noble…? May I ask your noble name?"

"Orion."

At the mention of the most famous noble family in the country, the merchant almost screamed.

"The Orion Dukedom?"

Rose nodded.

"Goodness, I didn't expect the Duke of Orion to help us! I am truly grateful!"

The merchant's mind switched to business, seeing this as an opportunity to build connections. He wanted to be remembered at all costs.

"Indeed."

That was all Rose said.

(What a problem...)

Rose's brevity made the merchant wary of asking too many questions, as it might anger her. However, no merchant would let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away. If he offended her, his merchant life would be over. He didn't know how to approach her.

Just then, a light shone on the situation.

~Rose and the Merchant~

"Hello," Rain appeared, and the merchant seemed unusually happy, rubbing his hands together.

"Ah, young noble sir!

I am Adre Ludow, the leader of this caravan!

I am truly grateful for your help today!"

Adre bowed.

"No, it was just a coincidence.

I heard there were casualties in your caravan. I offer my condolences," Rain said, bowing slightly.

Adre bowed his head in sadness,

"Yes. They were adventurers we hired in the previous town. Even though they had seen many deaths in their profession, it's different when you know the person.

I never thought something like this would happen…"

"Something like this?"

"Yes. There was loose soil on the road, blocking the carriages. We decided to move it. While we were dividing the work to move the rocks, we were attacked by the monsters. The surprise attack made it difficult to respond, resulting in three deaths and the loss of one carriage."

(Loose soil… That must be a trap.

The problem is…)

"Do goblins have that much intelligence?"

(If goblins can set traps, they become much more dangerous…)

"No, from what I saw, there was one with a different color. It was likely a Command Goblin, a higher-level goblin.

I didn't expect to find a higher-level goblin here…"

In this world, almost all monsters can evolve, from lower to higher levels, and eventually to king and god levels.

The stronger and longer-lived they become, the higher their level. When higher-level monsters lead a group, the danger increases significantly, making them feared.

"I see. That's unfortunate. I don't think it's right to just say it was bad luck, but would you like to travel to the next town with us?"

If they could make it to the next town, the guild would help them. Rain offered to escort them, as they would be traveling the same route anyway.

"Thank you! I would be grateful!"

So, they decided to take the caravan to the next town.

"Recently, Badragia declared war on Luminion, which is quite a situation," Ludow said immediately.

Ludow was already in Rain's carriage, with Rain's permission. Rain was sitting between the fourth wife and the captain, gathering information.

However, Rain didn't initiate the conversation! He was shy.

He was relieved when Ludow started the conversation. He did get asked questions, but it was a bit awkward.

Taking the initiative is important in any situation, but Rain didn't know how to start. He preferred to let the conversation flow and ask what he wanted to know. What if he didn't get to ask his questions?

Well, he didn't have any specific questions. It was just information gathering. If he heard something important, that would be great.

"Yes, I agree. My father mentioned that Badragia has been acting suspiciously recently, but I didn't expect it to turn into a war."

The word "war" wasn't unusual in his previous life, but he didn't expect a war with the neighboring country. He didn't feel a significant change in his emotions, as he hadn't seen the situation firsthand.

However, the idea of a war in a neighboring country was frightening. The possibility of it affecting him personally was scary. The thought of being caught up in it was terrifying.

"It's been 10 years since the last war… I apologize, Rain-sama, but that was before you were born."

"That's fine. It's not unrelated to me.

This time is different from the last."

The general who led the army in the last war died in battle. He was an excellent general with valuable skills. It was unknown how this war would play out. Rain hadn't heard much about it.

"Since it's the Orion Dukedom…"

"Yes, I hope to go to war and protect this country one day!"

He said it enthusiastically. It felt good to have allies on both sides and fewer enemies.

"Ah, that's reassuring! As long as the Orion family is here, Pornezia is safe."

"Thank you."

He took it as a compliment.

"Still, war is a terrible thing."

He said it suddenly.

"Huh? Don't merchants profit during wars?"

It was a common belief.

"No, not all merchants profit from wars.

Do you know the term 'conscription'?"

"No, I don't."

"Conscription is when the government forcibly takes resources from the people during wars.

While it's not too strict to avoid alienating merchants, not many merchants actually profit."

And, he added,

"I deal with metals like iron.

During wars, the government controls the distribution of resources to prevent them from being taken out of the country or to ensure there are enough weapons. It's not profitable."

"I see."

"If I had a large trading company, I could stockpile and profit, but as a traveling merchant, it's tough."

"I understand.

So, the empire, Badragia, and Luminion also conscript resources from the people during wars?"

"Yes. Especially in Luminion, the people must be in chaos right now. I feel sorry for them.

Ah, by the way…"

He seemed to remember something.

"I believe the empire has been stockpiling wood for about five years."

"Wood? For forging weapons?"

Wood is needed for the fires to forge weapons, which is a common knowledge.

"No, it doesn't have to be five years. Without people to wield them, weapons are useless.

I heard they are building warships. The empire's merchants say that the ships often break due to pirate hunting."

"Ah, pirate hunting. Are the pirates that strong to break warships…?"

What a world. Pirates as strong as trained armies… They should work honestly.

"Um, I haven't been to the empire, so I'm not sure, but I've heard that warships sometimes return in bad condition or don't return at all, so it might be true."

"I see."

I see. I got more information than I expected.