Chapter 36

"No... I feel quite fortunate to be able to ride in the divine bird's carriage."

"Divine bird?"

That day, a merchant who wanted to go to the next town asked to be taken along, so I let him ride.

"Didn't you know? Uh, aren't you the owner of the carriage?"

The merchant was making small talk, but he pointed at me, not Raphatalia, who was pretending to be the carriage owner while I pretended to be the alchemist.

"Yes... but..."

"It's famous in the streets. They say the carriage pulled by the divine bird brings miracles while doing business in various places."

In the swaying carriage, I turned my gaze to Filo.

She's being seen quite highly. She's just a glutton and a bit spoiled.

However, I don't really understand what they mean by 'miracles.'

Huh?

"Kweeeeeee!"

Filo suddenly let out a strange cry and started running wildly.

"Whoa!"

Raphatalia, the merchant, and I, who were inside the carriage, clung to the handrails to avoid falling over.

"---Gyaahhhhhh..."

"---Master Yasu, aaaaaahhhhh..."

Rattle, rattle, rattle! The sound of the wheels made it hard to hear what was happening outside.

Filo sometimes does this kind of wild run.

It's the fourth time since we started our peddling. She's quite whimsical.

"Be careful, it's not just us."

"Ha, not... Kwe!"

We spoke in low voices so the merchant wouldn't hear.

Talking to a talking monster draws attention and could invite unnecessary trouble.

...Though, I feel like we're already attracting attention.

The merchant looked at me in surprise.

"To understand human language is impressive, I heard, but this is amazing."

"I think so too."

Thinking about it, understanding human language is good, but being able to speak... how high-spec is that?

The potential of monsters might be high. In that sense, it might be quite rare.

"We're just doing ordinary peddling and odd jobs, like being a carriage for hire."

The merchant replied to my question.

"There's a rumor that a saint in the carriage gives special medicine to people suffering from illness and saves them."

"Really..."

That medicine, while a bit expensive, is still within reach for civilians.

Depending on the symptoms, the herbs can be changed.

The first medicine I made was a universal type, but the quality was low. It was slightly more effective for respiratory issues.

Now, with a variety of herbs available, I make them according to their uses.

For fevers, lung diseases, digestive issues, and skin diseases, the herbs used change the effects. They are all categorized as medicine.

The intermediate recipe book had detailed descriptions of this. The skill displayed on the shield also shows the type of herb used.

"It's just medicine, you know?"

I showed the merchant the medicine from the product box.

"Is this the miraculous medicine?"

The merchant opened the lid of the medicine and sniffed it.

"Indeed... it smells the same as the medicine I took in the past."

"...You can tell?"

Is he a pharmacist too?

When I asked, the merchant shook his head.

"No, just a hunch."

You can't tell at all!

Well, I guess it's better not to press the issue.

"So, what kind of merchant are you?"

"I'm a jeweler."

Jeweler, huh. They exist in this world too.

Most likely, they deal in accessories for nobles.

"Jeweler... a merchant catering to the rich, huh?"

If a wealthy merchant is doing business, they should have appropriate guards. Yet, he's traveling alone, which is a bit suspicious.

"You hit a sore spot."

The merchant laughed lightly and replied.

"There are all kinds. To be precise, I should be called an accessory merchant."

"What's the difference?"

"Would you like to see my merchandise?"

The accessory merchant showed me his bag.

Inside were brooches, necklaces, and bracelets.

However, the metals used were mostly iron and copper. The gems embedded in them... well, they looked a bit cloudy, almost not worthy of being called gems.

"This time, I only have cheap items."

"Ah... did you fail in business?"

"No, this time I'm dealing with low-earning adventurer accessories."

"Ah..."

According to the accessory merchant, accessories can be enchanted to enhance abilities.

"By the way, how much do you sell them for?"

"Let's see... this iron bracelet that increases attack power is about 30 silver coins."

"Uh... that's quite expensive. My medicine can't be sold that high even as a treatment."

"If enchanted with magic, it would go for 100 silver coins each."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Hmm... I need to think about this.

The sales of medicine are currently at a plateau. While we get a near-sellout response, buying herbs doesn't yield much profit.

Gathering them myself doesn't keep up with the demand.

It might have been fine before we started peddling, but gathering and making them is inefficient.

"Can you make them with craftsmanship?"

"Yes... making the shape is good, but I will enchant them with magic, so it might be considered craftsmanship."

...I see, the accessories are made in shape and enchanted with magic to function.

Enchanting with magic... that's the tricky part.

It has a bad ring to it. What is it? It's a word that sometimes comes up in potion-making.

It's heavily involved in making magic water and soul healing water.

This means it can't be done without magic.

"Quite enlightening. Thank you."

"No, no, it's my pleasure."

"Master, something's coming."

Filo stopped and warned me with a slightly tense voice.

Raphatalia and I quickly checked the outside from the stopped carriage.

Then, figures appeared from deep in the forest.

Each of them held weapons and approached us with a hostile attitude, far from a friendly welcome.

Their attire was quite ragged, but they wore armor and looked barbaric. They seemed to be bandits or something similar.

"Bandits!"

The accessory merchant shouted in panic.

"Hehehe... leave your valuables behind."

A cliché line that made me half-sigh.

This is what, right? Isn't the point of an ambush to attack silently?

Ah, Filo noticed first, so they attacked.

They look like they think they can win.

"I know! There's a jeweler on this carriage!"

The bandits shouted at us.

I turned to the accessory merchant in the carriage.

"Didn't you say you don't have anything valuable?"

"Yes... but this time, it's not for sale..."

Tentatively, the accessory merchant reached into his pocket and held something important.

"I have accessories that are traded for high prices."

"I see... that's what they're after."

I've taken on a troublesome passenger.

"I thought, since I only deal in cheap items and for personal reasons, I could save on guard fees."

"You're an idiot, huh? Sigh..."

I could only sigh.

"I'll charge you for the trouble later."

"...Understood."

The accessory merchant nodded reluctantly.

"Raphatalia, Filo, they're enemies."

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

Following my command, Raphatalia jumped out of the carriage and got into a battle stance.

I followed, dragging the accessory merchant along.

"Don't leave my side."

"Y-Yes!"

I changed my shield from its ability release form to a combat shield.

"Are you a shield user?"

"Yes..."

The accessory merchant was surprised to learn that the owner of the divine bird's carriage was the infamous Shield Hero.

"What? Are you going to fight us?"

"Yes, I can't let a fire that falls on me go unextinguished."

I glared at the bandits and replied.

The key in this battle is to prevent them from achieving their goal.

That is, to prevent the accessory merchant's possessions from being stolen.

"Raphatalia, Filo, can you handle it?"

"Yes, we must fight or be fought."

"I was getting bored anyway."

"Alright, then... Go!"

As I gave the order, the bandits also raised their weapons and attacked.

There were about 15 of them, a considerable number.

"Air Shield!"

I showed a shield in the air as the bandits ran towards us. Then, I activated the next skill.

"Change Shield!"

Change Shield is a skill that changes the shields created by Air Shield and Shield Prison into shields I know.

I instructed it to change to Bee Needle Shield.

The special effect of Bee Needle Shield is a small needle shield and bee venom (paralysis).

"Wh-What, a shield suddenly! Gah—"

One of the running bandits hit his face on the suddenly appearing shield, fell, and convulsed from paralysis. It was a relief that the special effect worked properly.

"Shield Prison!"

"What the—"

I trapped another bandit in a shield cage.

Each has a time limit. The cooldown for Change Shield is 30 seconds, making it difficult to use consecutively.

However, it reduces the number of enemies, so it's quite effective.

Three bandits approached me. They must have thought I was a fool with only a shield for protection.

I stood in front of the merchant, ready to defend.

Sparks flew as the bandits' attacks were deflected by the metal sound. It seems their attack power wasn't enough to overcome my defense.

The shield I was using was the Chimera Viper Shield.

Its special effect is medium snake fangs and hooks.

The snake carvings on the shield came to life and bit the bandits who attacked me. The snake fangs are a poison attack that retaliates against enemies who attack me.

"Guahh!"

"K-K-This much... Gah!"

"K-K-Feels..."

The snake fangs poisoned the attackers. The effect is weaker on those with resistance.

The poison effect is strong, though I haven't tested it on humans, it seems quite powerful. The fatal flaw is that it's not a decisive blow.

I instructed the shield to use the hook. The snake decoration on the shield bound one of the bandits.

This hook effect has no attack power but a range of 2 meters, useful for hooking things or climbing cliffs.

The bandits' movements worsened, and some fell.

"Th-This is the Shield Hero!"

The bandits tensed up.

They must have just realized they encountered a famous hero in this country.

However, it's too late now. Moreover, they immediately understood that this realization put them at a disadvantage.

"Take this!"

"Haah!"

Raphatalia used her sword to slash at a bandit who showed an opening. Though the bandit blocked with armor, Raphatalia's slash was strong, and he flew back, hitting his head and falling.

Filo moved at high speed, kicking one bandit after another with her powerful legs. Each time, the bandits flew 20 meters and rolled.

...Did they die?

The number of bandits quickly decreased, and only six were left standing.

"Tch! Retreat!"

"Not a chance!"

I trapped the bandit leader with Shield Prison, and Raphatalia on Filo captured the fleeing bandits.

They were weaker than expected, thanks to Raphatalia and Filo.

"Well..."

I looked at the bound bandits.

"Would we get a reward if we handed these guys over to a town's vigilante group?"

"The current situation... I doubt they'd pay that much..."

Raphatalia replied with a troubled expression.

"Do you know anything?"

I asked the accessory merchant, but he shook his head.

"But, I think we should hand them over to a vigilante group."

"Hmm... but..."

The bandit leader was looking at me with a grin.

I could guess what scenario he was thinking of.

"'We were attacked by the Shield Hero. We're just adventurers.'"

The leader's face twisted in disgust.

"Right! The vigilante group will believe us over the infamous Shield Hero."

"Well, that's a possibility..."

Why is my bad reputation so widespread... Thinking about it, it doesn't make sense.

It's because of that damn princess and king that I can't be trusted even when I do the right thing.

Sigh...

"Can't help it. Should I just kill them?"

The bandits' faces turned pale at the thought of this option.

Some were desperately trying to untie themselves but were quickly kicked and writhing in pain by Filo.

"Letting my dangerous monster taste human flesh might be good..."

I whispered to the bandits with a threatening voice.

"Dinner?"

Filo drooled as she stared at the bandits.

"H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H