The party was shocked by a revelation, and the inside of the wagon became temporarily chaotic.
The commotion was so great that one of the members on the driver’s seat of the carriage came to check what was happening.
Because of this, it quickly became known that Floria was Mia’s mother.
Naturally, those who heard the story reacted with surprise, and voices of disbelief could be heard from the driver’s seat.
Seeing their reactions, Floria’s expression became subtle.
“…I mean, I don’t know how to react to this, it’s hard to judge.”
She knew she was being seen as young, so she wouldn’t get angry, but being seen as too young felt inappropriate for her age, making her feel awkward.
Having changed species, her age was something she was subtly concerned about these days (?).
Seeing Floria with a complex expression, Yuget looked apologetic and said, “I’m sorry. I was so taken aback by what was said…”
“You don’t have to worry about it. You’ll be happy about it later anyway,” Mia replied, laughing as if she weren’t the one in question.
What she said wasn’t wrong, so Floria couldn’t argue. She knew that if she retorted, Mia would happily counter-attack, so she couldn’t press the issue.
Realizing she couldn’t counter-attack on her own matter, Floria decided to attack from a different angle.
“It’s fine. Besides, Mia, you can’t say anything about others, can you?” Floria said, adding in a whisper at the end, “Who was it that finally broke the big milestone?”
At the barely audible voice, Mia’s temple twitched.
Then, Lara, who had somehow sensed the situation from their exchange, sighed once and said, “I understand. That’s enough. If we talk about age, we’ll all take damage.”
At Lara’s words, the other two nodded vigorously. The momentum was so surprising that Nek, who had been petted by Yuget, instinctively raised its head from its lowered position.
However, the surprise regarding Floria and Mia’s ages, though momentarily felt, did not last long. In a world with various species and differing lifespans, they could understand that such things were possible. Instead, as compensation, Yuget, still surprised, offered a piece of advice.
“Setting aside the age, I’ve been curious for a while, but do you plan to hide your status?” Yuget asked without hesitation, and Floria shook her head from side to side.
“No. I don’t intend to say who I am specifically, but I don’t plan to hide the fact that I come from nobility.”
“Mother is always like this. If you try to hide it carelessly, it just becomes too out of place,” Mia added, shrugging her shoulders at Floria’s words.
While it wasn’t entirely unheard of for adventurers to use polite language like Mia, Mia had been an adventurer for a long time and could pass it off as a learned habit. Floria, however, knew from the start that she couldn’t do that. Therefore, she had decided beforehand not to hide her noble background. To be precise, she was of royal blood, but she had no intention of revealing that.
Perhaps sensing this, Yuget and the others did not pry for any further personal information. After that, Floria and Mia spent some time asking about recent information in the area, but the situation changed a few hours later.
The first to notice was Tais, who had taken over from Yuget and was petting Nek.
“Nek? What’s wrong?” Tais, who was directly stroking Nek’s body, noticed that Nek had tensed up.
Almost simultaneously, Floria and Mia heard Kuro’s voice, which was ahead of the carriage, reaching their ears.
Hearing Nek’s reaction and Kuro’s voice, Floria and Mia looked at each other and said to Yuget and the others, “It seems our leisurely time is over.”
“Yes. It looks like monsters have arrived.”
At their words, Yuget and the others showed an immediate reaction. Yuget quickly reported to the driver’s seat, while Tais, who had stopped the carriage, dismounted and went to inform the following carriages of the situation. By this time, Yuget and the others no longer doubted Floria and Mia. Although they hadn’t accurately assessed the full extent of their abilities, seeing the calm reactions of Kuro, Nek, Floria, and Mia when faced with two wolves, they judged that they were not lying. Furthermore, from their previous conversations, they knew Floria and Mia would not lie about such matters.
Tais, who had dismounted the carriage first and relayed the information to the following carriages, ensured that despite the sudden halt, the remaining carriages were able to stop without collision. By then, Floria and Mia had also spotted the approaching horde of monsters.
“Goblins, huh… There seem to be more than I expected.” Floria frowned slightly as she looked in that direction. She didn’t believe it was a flood since they were all of one species, but the number was abnormally high. At a rough estimate, there were over twenty goblins.
Goblins themselves were not particularly strong, so no one present panicked, but their sheer numbers were a problem.
“…Has a village sprung up somewhere?” Yuget muttered, but Mia, standing beside him, thought for a moment and shook her head.
“With just this, the information is too scarce. It would be best to report it when we reach the next town or village.”
“I agree,” Floria nodded in agreement with Mia’s words.
Not just Floria, but almost all the adventurers present agreed. After all, Floria and the others’ role at the moment was to escort the carriages, not to subjugate goblins. If there truly was a settlement, it was possible they could all be wiped out, so no one was eager to rush in recklessly.
In the end, the approaching goblins were dealt with without any further incident. Kuro and Nek, eager for a chance to fight, had already defeated more than half of them while the others were talking, which served as a small bit of amusement. The other adventurers on the rear carriages were surprised by this display. However, Yuget and the others, who had somewhat expected this outcome, merely gave a wry smile as they observed the result. Age over combat.
