Chapter 39

"――――It's a carriage."

I turned around and gave the obvious reply. No, it’s not an ordinary carriage, even I can tell that much. From the absorbers, tires, and the interior finish, I can feel the quality of modern Japan. But I can’t just admit that.

"……To have such a magnificent carriage, could you be a noble from the kingdom……"

I shook my head to deny it, seeing the puzzled look on Char’s face.

"……Just an adventurer. I did ask you not to spread it around, didn’t I?"

"Ah, yes… I understand. I won’t pry further."

"That’s good. Let’s prepare breakfast. I’m sorry, but it’s going to be soup and bread again."

"Even just having a warm meal is something to be grateful for."

With that, I started setting the table with the food.

However, Al seemed even more eager to ask something.

"Is something the matter…?"

When I asked, Al’s eyes lit up and he spoke.

"Um… isn’t that horse a Jet Horse…?"

"Indeed, it is… my partner…"

"Really!? For a knight, riding a Jet Horse is a dream—ah, I mean, it’s a common dream for knights in our country."

Honestly, I can see right through his attempt to cover it up. Even though he’s currently in casual clothes without his armor, he still looks like a knight, and he did call himself a “guard” yesterday. I chuckled and let it slide, nodding along.

We sat down to eat, but the questions from the two of them didn’t stop.

"Still, Mr. Touya, you seem so composed despite being around our age."

"I thought the same. But after seeing you fight the orcs—"

Al’s cheeks flushed again, remembering yesterday’s battle. I can’t talk about myself. Explaining that I’m well past thirty wouldn’t make any sense.

"Maybe it’s because I’ve been living as an adventurer on my own. A lot has happened to me…"

Seeming to understand, Al changed the subject.

"Still, Mr. Touya, you must be at a very high level. You handled that many orcs and soldiers without any trouble, so you must be a famous warrior."

"Al, Mr. Touya is a mage. He used wind magic when he saved you."

Al and Char looked at each other, confused by the conflicting opinions.

"No, I’m a healer."

"“Huh!?”"

My words left them in disbelief. I took out a card from my pocket and placed it on the table. They picked it up and their expressions of surprise grew even more.

"Really a healer… and you’re already level 17!?"

"Ah, I leveled up during yesterday’s battle."

"Unbelievable… lower than me… and yet you fought yesterday…"

"To protect us, you faced so many orcs at that level… I can’t express my gratitude enough, Mr. Touya."

They must have been surprised by how low my level was. Al was stunned, and Char was humbled. I put the card back in my pocket and shook my head.

"No problem, I’ve always fought alone… It was my first time fighting people, though…"

I thought I would be more affected by my first kill, but after a good night’s sleep, I accepted it. If I continue as an adventurer, I might face similar situations again. It was a big step to accept it now.

After finishing the meal and packing up, we prepared to leave. I asked Al to stay in his current clothes. Wearing silver armor with the empire’s emblem could cause problems when entering the city. Al understood and handed over his armor, which I stored in my dimensional storage. I told them to get in the carriage.

"We should arrive in the city in half a day. Please bear with it until then."

When they got in, they were impressed by the ride.

"The ride in this carriage is better than a noble’s, maybe even a royal’s…"

"Really, it is…"

Relieved by their words, I harnessed Kokuyou to the carriage.

"Kokuyou, I’m counting on you to get us to the city."

He neighed in agreement, and I climbed onto the driver’s seat, signaling Kokuyou to start. The carriage moved forward at a steady pace, faster than a regular carriage, perhaps because it was pulling a carriage or carrying passengers.

On the driver’s seat, I opened my status.

◇───────────────────────────────────────◇

【Name】Touya Kisaragi

【Race】Human

【Gender】Male

【Age】16

【Occupation】Sage (Healer, Mage)

【Title】Summoned One

【Level】17

【Special Skills】Divine Eye, All Elemental Magic, All Skill Acquisition, Dimensional Storage

【Skills】Elemental Magic, Special Magic, Swordsmanship, Martial Arts, No Incantation

◇───────────────────────────────────────◇

I sighed, looking at my status. When I maxed out my Mage skill to level 100 and mastered it, I expected to see a job change screen, thinking I could become a warrior. Instead, the job that appeared was the highest-level magic job in the game, on par with the Berserker.

With no choice, I accepted the Sage class. However, after becoming a Sage, the 100x experience item in my dimensional storage became unusable and just sat there as fertilizer. The adventurer card detects my magic power and displays my level, but the job remains as it was registered.

No one knows that job changes are possible, and it’s uncertain if anyone can even reach level 100. I realized again that I can’t show my status to anyone.

…Can I become a warrior?

With that thought, the carriage continued on its way.

After about three hours, the city of Fendy came into view.

Thank you as always.

Finally, as the title suggests, I’ve become a Sage.