This time, it’s just a little bit more than usual.
The Rick who appears in this story is the same merchant as the one in Chapter 6, “Interlude: A Merchant’s Story.”
The Zasan is an adventurer who appears in Chapter 3, Episode 5, and Chapter 11, “Interlude: The Activities of Some Adventurers.”
Rick now belonged to the Merchant Division of Crown’s “Liralamamiya.”
He had transferred all of his previous trade routes to trustworthy individuals.
Although it was a big decision for Rick, he had no regrets.
A significant reason for this was that Schmidt, whom he knew through his connections as a traveling merchant, was in charge of the Merchant Division.
Schmidt had personally approached him with a proposition.
However, Rick was now on the brink of unemployment.
To be precise, the section he had been in charge of, related to food products, was to be integrated with the Six Marquises of Kenerusen, who had joined.
Rick had thought he would simply be reassigned to the corresponding department, but it seemed that was not the case.
While others were being assigned to new positions one after another, his orders never came.
With no other choice, he began estimating the prices of goods at the purchase counter.
This was, of course, to keep his appraisal skills sharp.
One day, while he was doing this, Rick finally received a summons.
He headed to the designated location.
That location, however, turned out to be Schmidt’s office.
The Merchant Division had become so well-organized since its inception that someone as low-ranking as Rick rarely had the opportunity to interact with Schmidt on official business.
He had only been called to Schmidt’s office a handful of times.
Of course, their personal interactions were separate.
Upon entering the office, Rick found two other people besides Schmidt.
One was Gazeran, the head of Crown’s Adventurer Division.
The other was Zasan, an adventurer whom Rick had become acquainted with since joining Crown.
While Gazeran was one thing, Zasan was a currently active adventurer.
Furthermore, he was supposed to be among the top-tier adventurers climbing the floors of the Tower.
Rick couldn’t understand why he was here, it wasn’t as if he was just wandering the town on vacation.
“Ah, Rick. Thank you for coming. I’ve asked you here because there’s a job I’d like you to take on.”
“A job? Does the presence of Zasan here have something to do with it?”
This was more of a confirmation than a question.
If it weren’t related, there would be no reason for him to be here.
“It’s no use asking me. I was dragged here by Gazeran too.”
Gazeran maintained an indifferent expression at his remark, and Schmidt gave a wry smile.
Judging by Schmidt’s expression, it seemed to be the truth.
“Yes. It’s a job request. Rather than explaining it verbally, I have compiled the details into a document, so please read it first.”
Schmidt handed one sheet of paper to both Rick and Zasan.
In this world, it was not uncommon for people to be unable to read, but both Rick and Zasan were literate.
As they read the document, Rick’s expression became serious, while Zasan’s face turned pale.
The document concerned a trade journey from one city to another.
While the content could indeed be called a trade journey, its scale far exceeded that of a typical one, reaching the magnitude of a merchant caravan.
To Rick’s knowledge, he had never heard of a merchant caravan being organized on such a scale.
“N-no way, this merchant caravan?”
“Yes. We would like you to lead it, Rick.”
Rick, who had instinctively started to say “Impossible,” swallowed his words halfway.
He reread the document, confirming with his merchant’s eye whether it was truly impossible.
Meanwhile, Zasan was asking Gazeran a similar question.
“Hey. I don’t want to believe it, but am I being called here…?”
“Yep. We want you to be the leader of the guards for this merchant caravan.”
Gazeran replied to Zasan with an expression that clearly conveyed “Of course.”
Seeing that expression, Zasan’s face contorted as if he had eaten something bitter.
Their reactions stemmed from the scale of the merchant caravan.
First, the number of wagons to transport the goods was extraordinary.
Over twenty vehicles.
It was unlikely that such a large merchant caravan existed, not only on the Central Continent, where the threat of monster attacks was constant, but also on other continents.
At least, Rick had never heard of one.
A large number of wagons naturally meant a large quantity of goods to transport.
Conversely, it also meant they would be more vulnerable to attack.
However, it seemed the matter had been thoroughly considered, as the scale of the escorting adventurers was unprecedented.
The route was from Kenerusen, in the northwestern part of the continent, to a northern town.
The number of wagons would not remain the same until the end; some cargo would be detached with their wagons at towns along the way.
After carefully reviewing the contents, Rick turned back to Schmidt.
“I won’t say it’s absolutely impossible, but isn’t this still an unreasonable undertaking?”
At Rick’s words, Schmidt’s smile deepened.
He thought Rick, who had made his living as a traveling merchant, was truly impressive.
“By normal standards, it is impossible. Even I wouldn’t consider going.”
At Schmidt’s answer, both Rick and Zasan tilted their heads.
Seeing their reactions, Schmidt took something from his desk.
Rick immediately recognized it as a magic tool, but couldn’t tell what kind it was.
“What is that?”
“It’s a magic tool that increases the speed of the wagons, apparently. Regarding wagon speed, on average, it can double the output.”
At Schmidt’s reply, Rick’s eyes widened.
If that were true, it would be a coveted item for any traveling merchant.
As if sensing Rick’s thoughts, Schmidt spoke before Rick could ask.
“It can’t be used by individual traveling merchants. Frankly, it’s not profitable.”
With those words alone, Rick understood what Schmidt was implying.
In other words, this scale of merchant caravan was necessary to make it profitable.
“I see.”
“Of course, it also serves as advertising for Crown, but you probably understand that without me saying it, right?”
“Well, yes… But, have you tried using that magic tool?”
If he were given an experimental item and it failed, it would be a disaster.
“Ah. You don’t need to worry about that. This merchant caravan also includes testing it.”
“The wagons are fine, but what about us?”
Zasan, having finished his initial questions, looked towards Gazeran.
“Don’t worry. Of course, you’ll ride along with a few others like in the usual escort missions, but we plan to prepare several wagons solely for guard duty. It’ll be like a small army.”
At Gazeran’s words, Rick’s eyes widened further.
“Whoa, whoa, can we afford it?”
The terms for this escort mission were far better than any individual traveling merchant could have asked for.
“Don’t worry. It’s all been calculated properly.”
It was Rick who answered.
He had thoroughly read and understood those details from the document.
He had even calculated how many days of delay would render the merchant caravan unprofitable.
Furthermore, those calculations were made with considerable leeway compared to a normal plan.
“However, if the speed doubles, won’t monster attacks become less frequent?”
Zasan cautioned Rick against his naive assumption.
“That’s too optimistic. Even swift horses can be attacked. Even at double the speed, for monsters, it would still be a prime food source, wouldn’t it?”
At Zasan’s words, Rick bowed his head.
“My apologies.”
Zasan felt favorably towards Rick’s attitude.
Many merchants, driven by profit, tended to disregard the words of adventurers, who were pros at dealing with monsters.
In that sense, Rick was a good counterpart.
“So? Will you accept this assignment?”
“Certainly.”
“Oh. This looks like it’s going to be interesting.”
With Rick and Zasan’s answers, Schmidt finally looked relieved.
“If this succeeds, we will have merchant caravans operating in eight directions. We are really counting on its success.”
“Eight directions, you say? Don’t tell me…”
At Schmidt’s words, Rick immediately envisioned the routes.
Centering around the town with the teleport gate, expeditions in each direction would lead to encounters with merchant caravans coming from other towns in the east, west, north, and south.
If those routes were successful, a considerable profit could be expected.
“I believe it’s as you imagine. We do hope it succeeds. If this merchant caravan is successful, we plan to have you take on a leadership role for those caravans.”
At Schmidt’s words, Rick felt an even greater surge of determination.
This single merchant caravan alone promised significant profit.
If there were eight branches, the profit would be something he couldn’t have even imagined when he was a solo traveling merchant.
To be able to lead such a caravan was, in a way, one of his dreams as a traveling merchant.
In the end, both Rick and Zasan accepted the request.
The result was a great success.
Though they were attacked by monsters several times, they managed to deliver most of their cargo to its destination without significant loss.
With this success, Crown commenced large-scale merchant caravan transports in eight directions from the town with the teleport gate, as planned.
Rick, as declared by Schmidt, took on the role of overseeing these large merchant caravans, thus fulfilling one of his dreams.
Meanwhile, Zasan would become involved in training adventurers specializing in escort missions within Crown.
The magic tool mentioned in the story was made by Isunani, not Kousuke.
It is a magic tool, not a divine tool, for the sake of versatility.
Currently, mass production is difficult due to material constraints. It uses materials from monsters hunted in the upper floors of the tower.
