Chapter 22

"From here, it's about a three-day carriage ride to the west to reach the town of Dambler. Your job is to escort the merchant's carriage to that town. Of course, I can't let you do it alone, so I'll assign other adventurers to go with you. Got it?"

In the reference room, I had been looking at a map of the country, and I had a good grasp of it. I knew about that town, so I nodded.

After confirming my nod, Ebrand continued his explanation.

"Two more groups of adventurers are scheduled to join Toya. On the way, you'll need to pass through a forest, where monsters or bandits might appear. The request is to escort the merchant and the carriage to that town. You'll stay there for about two days and then return to this town as an escort. The departure is in three days. The escort fee is 400,000 gil. Be prepared, okay?"

400,000 gil for eight days of work... Honestly, it doesn't seem very appealing. I could earn several times that by hunting in the forest.

Ebrand immediately noticed my slightly dissatisfied expression.

"To be honest, Toya, you don't need to do escort jobs to earn a living. However, as an adventurer, it's necessary to gain various experiences. That's why I'm taking the time to do this."

"---Understood. I'll prepare."

"That's good. Still, Toya, you seem so calm that it's hard to believe you're only sixteen..."

Well... I'm actually thirty-five.

I couldn't say that, of course. After receiving the request form from Miria, I left the guild and headed into the forest.

The reason was to practice elemental magic and the magic the young girl had been thinking about.

'Exploration'

I spread the magic power I felt within myself thinly and widely. Even though my level had dropped after changing jobs, I had still brought my healing magic to level 100. The magic power stored in my body was above average.

"About 200 meters..."

I gauged the distance I could sense and ventured deeper into the forest. I detected a few reactions and headed in that direction, where I found a pig-like monster, a Forest Boar. Its meat was delicious, and they were happy to take it whole. It seemed to be engrossed in eating, so I cast a spell at the Forest Boar, which hadn't noticed me yet.

'Vacuum Wave'

The semi-circular spell released from my right hand headed towards the Forest Boar. By the time it noticed, it was already too late, and it was split in two.

"Even a basic spell has this much power... I need to be careful. If it hits a person..."

I stored the Forest Boar in a dimensional storage while imagining the gruesome scene. The 'Exploration' spell, even when used continuously, consumed very little magic power and lasted for an hour once cast. I continued to search for more reactions and found a few clustered ones, so I headed in that direction. I stopped at an open area surrounded by trees.

There, I saw four adventurers fighting several goblins. After watching the battle for about five minutes, it ended, and the adventurers split into those who kept watch and those who stripped the materials.

Seeing this, I turned and left.

"A party... Maybe that's a good idea..."

The smile on my face quickly turned serious. I continued to head towards the locations where I detected reactions and eliminated the monsters.

◇◇◇

The day of the scheduled escort arrived soon. Satisfied with my elemental magic, I gathered the items I would need during the escort and stored them all in dimensional storage.

The hardest part of the escort was explaining it to Ferris. I told her on the first day, and she immediately became upset, disappeared, and didn't come out even when called. It wasn't until the day of departure that she finally showed up.

"Ferris, I'm going. I plan to be back in eight days, or at the latest, ten days. I'm leaving the house to you."

"---Toya... Please come back..."

"Of course, I'll come back as soon as possible. I'm off."

Despite her sad expression, Ferris saw me off. I headed to the guild, the meeting place, with Kokuyou. There were several cargo carriages prepared, and I could see merchants and what appeared to be adventurers getting ready.

As I approached, the merchants backed away from Kokuyou's imposing presence. The adventurers' gazes were also directed at Kokuyou rather than me.

"I'm Toya, a C-rank adventurer, who has accepted the escort request. Nice to meet you. This is my familiar, Kokuyou."

Ebrand had advised me to mention my rank when introducing myself. The guild's rank also signifies trust. A C-rank is considered a veteran and is trusted by merchants.

"Hmm. To be a C-rank at your age, you must be quite promising. This should be no problem."

Unlike the smiling merchant, the four adventurers tightened their focus and stepped forward. Upon closer inspection, they were the same party I had seen fighting goblins in the forest a few days ago. One of them stepped forward, wearing leather armor and carrying a one-handed sword, looking like a typical warrior. He was a bit older than me, and there was a hint of hostility in his eyes.

"I'm Dai. The ones behind me are members of our party, 'Grassland Fangs.' The one with the bow is Kaito, the thief is Milka, and the one with the staff is Akina. We're all D-rank."

A well-balanced party of a warrior, archer, thief, and mage. Healers are rare, and many join the church, so it's valuable to have one as an adventurer. Healers, being unable to attack on their own, usually join a party, but I can use a two-handed sword, so I can operate alone.

"I'm Toya, a C-rank—Healer. Nice to meet you."

I could have said I was a mage, but with so many people in the escort, I wouldn't have much to do. It would be better to say I can use healing magic, so I answered that way.

However, Dai frowned upon hearing I was a healer. Some people think healers are parasites.

"Tch... A C-rank parasite..."

Dai muttered and returned to his party. I thought, "I'm solo, though," but didn't say it out loud.

"Alright, it seems everyone is ready. I'm Lumina, the leader of this escort. I'm B-rank. Nice to meet you."

Another group of adventurers arrived. It was just one person, like me.

I'm sure it's a warrior. Yes—definitely.

A female warrior in a mysterious outfit, a bikini armor, that made you wonder how she protected herself. Her figure was so good that everyone was captivated, and her sun-kissed skin and red hair flowing in the wind added to her allure. And... her two melons were so captivating that they drew everyone's eyes. It seemed Dai and the others had the same reaction, as Akina, the one with the staff, hit the two men on the head.

After everyone introduced themselves and discussed the formation, the signal to depart was given.

"Alright, let's go!"

With Lumina's command, the carriages started moving.