The day after arriving in Prada Village, we spent it delivering ordered goods and hunting monsters in the nearby forest, but the day after that, we left Prada Village.
As planned, half of the Orders were replaced by five people stationed in Prada Village, and those five would return to Feel with us.
Regarding the goods ordered from Prada Village, Flam had already paid for about half of them in advance, but this time, as an apology for not being able to come until now, we are selling them at a very low price.
Even with the Trader’s Master’s instructions, the total is said to be barely in the black.
When An appear, it is not uncommon for villages and small towns to be destroyed, so there is also a goal to alleviate feelings of stagnation and despair, and to stimulate feelings of security and purchasing desire.
In fact, traders visit Prada Village once every two weeks, and it seems that the Trader’s Guild’s aim is not mistaken, as there are quite a few orders for the next visit.
We are now about two hours away from Prada Village.
I needed to ride Jade and Fluorite for a bit, so I’m reattaching Jade to the Beast Carriage.
“When you said you were going to Feel at this time of year, I thought you were suicidal.”
“Are you talking about us?”
“Is there anyone else? It’s one thing if you just die, but if Feel were to be attacked, it would be a major problem. I seriously considered stopping you.”
This man who says such things is Lucas, one of the Orders dispatched to Prada Village, a Tigari.
It seems that becoming a B-rank Order is possible at level 31, but to become S-rank, one must evolve into High Class, so B-rank is considered a general Order and has the largest number of members.
Lucas is level 32, so he just became a B-rank Order.
He is also young, at 20 years old, and is said to be one of the promising Orders of the future.
“I understand how you feel. But Lucas, you don’t have to be so jealous, do you? Or rather, comparing us is wrong.”
“Hey, sis, just stay quiet!”
Mireina, an Ogre, is teasing her younger brother.
Mireina is married, and her husband is the owner of the Magic Silver Inn.
I had never met them at the Magic Silver Inn because she was dispatched to Prada Village, but I never imagined that the owner of the Magic Silver Inn and Mireina were married.
By the way, Mireina’s level is 34, slightly stronger than her brother.
Or rather, is he subtly implying that I’m not human?
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, nothing.”
“You’re bothered by Mireina’s remark, aren’t you? Besides, there’s an evaluation that if you’re over level 50, you’re no longer human, and you’ve evolved even further into an Ancient Human. So, ‘not human’ might not be enough.”
The one who unleashes this blunt remark is Lyra, a Harpy, who is of the same cohort as Meena, at level 38.
She is one of the Orders said to be able to evolve into High Class in the near future, and has high regard from Rex and Rosemary.
She was the most delighted when Meena was promoted to C-rank Order, but she was also the most surprised by our engagement.
Since she is Meena’s cohort and the same age as us, she is very frank with me, but I’ve also heard that she has a bad temper naturally.
“Who isn’t human! And by that logic, Prim isn’t human either!”
“Yeah, you’re a non-human couple. And I really didn’t expect you to defeat the An so easily.”
I can’t deny that.
The reason we are stopped here is because a Mad Boa appeared before us.
To be precise, it didn’t appear; we picked a fight with it.
A Mad Boa is an An of a Glass Boa, an S-I rank monster. However, Anomalous species are treated as one rank higher, making them equivalent to G-rank monsters.
This Mad Boa was found by Prim, who was out scouting on Fluorite, leisurely drinking water by the shore of Veil Lake.
The Mad Boa is said to have evolved from a Glass Boa, and it is also a monster that Retisencia’s agents used Crystallized Demon. Therefore, not only I and Prim, but also Rosemary, judged that it could not be left alone.
So we stopped, detached Jade from the Beast Carriage, and I and Prim headed out to subdue it. However, since Prim wanted to test out her completed Extreme Flame Wing, I didn’t intervene.
Prim confronted the Mad Boa head-on, and it seems that the completed Extreme Flame Wing can control not only fire but also wind.
Without the assistance of my Fly Wind, she was able to change direction and accelerate in mid-air, showing a three-dimensional fighting style without quite flying, which surprised me.
The Mad Boa, which was being fought by Prim, was repeatedly hit by Prim’s attacks imbued with the Extreme Flame Wing, and ended up losing its life without being able to counterattack properly.
Prim returned after storing it in her storage, and it only took about 10 minutes. Lyra, looking astonished, called us a non-human couple.
“How rude.”
I want to refute, but since Prim was the one who defeated the Mad Boa alone, my words lack power.
My level is higher than Prim’s, and I’ve evolved into an Ancient Human, so she seems to think I could have done it too.
“I understand Lyra’s and Lucas’s feelings. Defeating an An alone is said to be impossible even for a Grand Hunter’s Master. Well, perhaps a Goblin Prince or Princess of B-I rank might be possible.”
“Even so, it’s equivalent to S-rank, and normally it’s impossible, you know?”
Eliza, an elf with a crisp demeanor, is level 41 but has not evolved.
Her family is a Count’s family, but since she has an older brother, she has made a name for herself as an Order.
She is also a single mother and has a child in Feel.
Originally, she was not scheduled to be dispatched to Prada Village, but the Order who was supposed to go was severely injured while hunting monsters, so she volunteered to go to Prada Village.
By the way, her child is being looked after by a butler hired in Feel.
Jemina, a gentle Vampire, is level 28.
Jemina is the fourth daughter of a Viscount’s family and has even less chance of inheriting the family estate than Eliza.
Furthermore, her father’s Viscount’s family only has one small town and two villages outside of the capital town, so it is difficult for Jemina, who has one brother and three older sisters, to become a village magistrate.
In the first place, she herself has no intention of doing so, but she wishes to marry, so she is an eccentric person who registered with the Order’s Guild in search of a partner.
The Order’s Guild is not a place for men and women to meet, though.
She is currently 23 years old and looking for a boyfriend… Whoa!!
“That was dangerous! What are you doing!?”
Jemina suddenly swung her sword at me, but what was going on!?
“You were thinking something… sooo… incredibly… rude, weren’t you?”
“…That’s not true.”
“What’s with that pause?”
Eliza pointed it out, and it was a pause born of my fluster because she pinpointed it as if she had read my mind.
I would never say it out loud, though. Or rather, don’t suddenly swing a sword at me!
What if I get hurt!?
“My attack… can’t possibly… work on an Ancient Human like me…”
Jemina’s way of speaking is airy and drawn-out, which is relaxing, but she’s right.
Mana varies from person to person, and even at the same level, there are differences in the reinforcement of Physicallering and Manallering. However, those who have evolved into High Class generally do not let attacks from below level 20 pass through.
I am an Ancient Human, and my current level is 63. Linus and Rex have told me that if I hadn’t evolved into High Class, it’s unlikely any attack would be effective against me.
If my mana doesn’t run out or I’m not using reinforcement magic, I’ll take it normally, though.
“Let’s depart soon.”
Rosemary declared, completely ignoring our foolish exchange.
We weren’t taking a break, and couldn’t linger too long, so no one objected, and we boarded the Beast Carriage.
We have finally reached the vicinity of an intersection, which is about three hours away from Prada Village.
“This is the intersection with Emosion. There’s a chance we might encounter someone given the time. Everyone, be on guard just in case.”
One side of the intersection leads to Emosion, and the other to Feel.
It takes about five to six hours to reach either destination, but since there’s a possibility of camping on the road, most people choose to stay overnight in Prada Village.
Hunters in a hurry or those with no money often camp out.
However, it is said that using a Battle Horse can shorten the travel time by two hours, so if one departs Emosion early in the morning, they can reach Feel by evening. This does not apply to those who own a Battle Horse.
Therefore, even though it is before noon, there is a possibility of encountering people traveling to either Prada Village or Feel.
More importantly, I had heard this before going to Prada Village, so I buried water-attribute Magic Stones engraved with Sonar Wave and Dolphin Eye at the intersection and periodically checked them.
Both Dolphin Eye and Sonar Wave are classified as exploration-type Engraving Magic. Dolphin Eye can obtain visual information by using the water in the atmosphere as a medium, and Sonar Wave can detect people like radar.
Therefore, by sensing passersby with Sonar Wave and confirming them with Dolphin Eye, we are using them in a way that’s almost forbidden in this world where there’s no exploration or detection magic.
If I used this in Earth, I’d be caught by the police and charged a hefty fine.
After all, the characteristic of engraving is that once the initial mark is imbued and activated, the effect lasts until the mark runs out or is canceled. If you don’t notice, you can peek as much as you want.
Therefore, exploration-type skills are much more strictly restricted than even poorly made B-rank Engraving Magic, and in the worst-case scenario, you could be behind a wall for decades.
Fortunately, this is the different world of Helios Orb, so there’s no worry about being fined. Moreover, there’s no consciousness of being monitored.
So, if a magic stone is found, it’s not that unusual, so the owner can’t be identified. In the first place, Engraving Magic itself is not widely known, so there’s no fear of reverse tracking, allowing us to use it without hesitation.
Reverse tracking Engraving Magic requires someone with an aptitude for exploration-type skills and a special Engraving Tool.
There is a monster among the alumni of my high school who can do this easily, but she is an exception to the exception.
Something got caught by the Sonar Wave engraved on that Magic Stone.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something got caught by the Sonar Wave.”
“Again?”
Prim opened her mouth in exasperation.
Indeed, this is not the first time the Sonar Wave has reacted.
Since it’s a rapidly produced item, it reacts not only to people but also to monsters. Yesterday, I had to check several times with Dolphin Eye.
Since it was reacting even late at night, I’ve decided that collecting and disposing of it on the road is a must.
“And this time, is it Goblins?”
“Yesterday was Goblins too, wasn’t it?”
The Demi-humans in this area are Goblins and Orcs, but Orcs rarely appear on the road.
Therefore, it is almost safe to assume that any Demi-humans appearing on the road are Goblins, but there is still a possibility that it reacted to people, so we have to check.
While thinking this, I activated the Dolphin Eye engraving with a sigh, and saw a red-haired girl and a blue-haired girl with what looked like Dragonewt wings.
“They’re Dragonewt girls. They have the same face, so they must be sisters.”
“They seem to be guarding the Beast Carriage. That family crest… Could it be the Amister Royal Family!?”
Since the engraving projects images, Prim and Meena are also peeking from both sides.
This technology is cutting-edge and not yet in practical use.
The developer is a senior of my father and mother, and their daughter is my older brother’s lover, so through that connection, I was asked to test the new Engraving Tool and am using it experimentally.
Well, I didn’t expect it to be brought to another world.
Putting that aside for now, the girls who are attacking seem to be guarding a Beast Carriage that likely belongs to the Amister Royal Family.
Around them, Orders who appear to be guards are fallen, so they must be facing a considerable opponent.
“Let me see too. …I see, it is undoubtedly the Royal Family’s Beast Carriage. And yet, who could it be…”
Rosemary, who was on patrol around the area on a Battle Horse, confirmed it. The Beast Carriage shown is indeed that of the Amister Royal Family.
I heard it takes nearly ten days to travel from the Royal Capital to Feel.
I reported to the Royal Capital a few days ago, so even if they left immediately after receiving the report, they should still be less than halfway there. If they used air travel, they would have arrived by now.
I’ll think about the reason later, but the problem is the attackers.
“They are…! The attackers are Patriot Pride!”
So that’s Patriot Pride.
They were supposed to be escorting Saches to the Royal Capital, but attacking royalty here…
“If Patriot Pride is here, then Saches must be here too. I don’t know why they’re using the road instead of a Wyvern.”
“They might have sensed an ominous aura and escaped the Royal Capital, but had to abandon their Wyvern due to some trouble.”
“That’s possible. However, with Patriot Pride here, attacking the Royal Family’s Beast Carriage, this is a very dangerous situation.”
It’s highly probable they plan to take someone from the Royal Family hostage and then subjugate Feel to Retisencia.
“It’s annoying to let them have their way, so let’s catch them here.”
“Yes. Those Dragonewt girls will be witnesses, so we absolutely have to save them.”
From their perspective, they can’t let members of the Royal Family go to Feel.
Of course, they probably don’t think a princess has already been captured, but the fact that they are here without using a Wyvern means they definitely felt an unsettling atmosphere in the Royal Capital and fled. Yet, they are here, implying they intend to return to Feel.
However, no matter what tricks they use, we already have evidence, so they have nowhere to escape.
“We don’t have time to detach Jade from the Beast Carriage. I’ll use Fly Wind, but what about you, Prim?”
“I’m going. I don’t know who from the Royal Family it is, but I have a childhood friend from the Amister Royal Family.”
That’s also a possibility.
Prim apparently became good friends with a princess from the Amister Royal Family when she was a Duke’s daughter in Valentia.
That princess apparently longs to be a Hunter, so she said it’s unlikely she wouldn’t come out of the Beast Carriage even in this situation.
“Prim.”
“Thank you, I’ll use it.”
I handed Prim a wind Magic Stone engraved with Fly Wind.
Fluorite isn’t attached to the Beast Carriage, but a Hippogriff is quite conspicuous.
“Kwaa…”
“I’m sorry, Fluorite. You’re too conspicuous, so I can’t bring you this time. Let’s go for a walk in the sky together next time.”
“Kwaa…!”
“Mina, could you take care of Jade and Fluorite? I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
After soothing Fluorite, who wailed mournfully, and entrusting it to Mina, Prim and I activated Fly Wind and hurried towards the intersection.
My Fly Wind’s maximum speed is 50 kilometers per hour.
Prim is not yet used to it, but I can cover for her.
After all, we don’t have time to waste.
I’m going to fly at maximum speed!
