After finishing dinner, Kousuke was relaxing on the wagon bed, petting Nana, when Colette approached him.
“Kousuke, this might be a bit of a problem.”
Kousuke immediately jumped up.
Peach, also on the same wagon, adopted a serious expression at Colette’s words.
“What’s wrong?”
“It seems Peach’s premonition was right. We might be in trouble if we don’t act.”
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
Colette nodded once and explained the situation in detail to them.
Hearing her story, Kousuke and Peach became serious.
“That’s definitely not good. It’s not the time to be fussy about preferences.”
“Indeed~”
“Let’s go immediately.”
With that, Kousuke stood up and led the two towards the center of the merchant caravan.
There should be a tent where the leader of this large-scale caravan was supposed to be in discussion with their respective representatives.
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Carl, the leader of the merchant caravan, frowned as he listened to Bart, the leader of the guard.
The other members wore bewildered expressions.
Besides Bart, only the merchants managing the caravan’s goods were present.
The only adventurers there were Bart and his companion, Layla.
Therefore, they didn’t know how to interpret Bart’s words.
It was understandable.
Being told “I have a bad feeling” during a nightly briefing would naturally be confusing.
If there were other adventurers present, they might have taken it more seriously.
However, Carl didn’t dismiss Bart’s words outright.
In his experience, he had been saved by an adventurer’s “gut feeling” before.
“Are you saying there might be another attack?”
Bart also frowned at Carl, who had become cautious.
The “discomfort” that Bart and Layla felt was not something that could be easily put into words.
“I don’t know. But I have a feeling something is going to happen.”
“Hmm…”
Carl, with his arms crossed, pondered what to do.
If they had a scout who found something, they could immediately take defensive measures or wait for reinforcements.
Again, Carl himself had no intention of mocking an adventurer’s “intuition.”
However, as the leader of the caravan, it was natural that he couldn’t halt the caravan’s movement based solely on a “feeling.”
Facing Carl, who was in turmoil, Bart also struggled with how to convey his current sensations.
However, it was a feeling that had developed from his considerable experience as an adventurer, making it difficult to articulate.
The surrounding merchants wore similar expressions.
Merchants who had experience traveling would have encountered such situations to some degree.
And many of them knew from experience that ignoring adventurers in such moments rarely ended well.
Their predicament was resolved by a happening.
“Excuse me.”
An adventurer guarding their tent entered.
“What is it?”
The adventurer’s expression became subtle as Carl inquired.
“Well, there are adventurers from the guard outside right now, and they insisted that I deliver this to you.”
As he spoke, he showed them a sealed letter he was holding.
Carl, though suspicious, took it.
After opening the letter and reading its contents, Carl’s expression changed instantly, and he looked at the adventurer before him.
“W-who were the ones who handed this over!?”
The onlookers, who had been watching Carl’s reaction, were surprised by the drastic change.
Of course, the adventurer who delivered the letter was also surprised.
“Huh? Well, they’re waiting outside?”
“Bring them here immediately!”
“Y-yes!”
The adventurer, flustered by Carl’s uncharacteristic outburst, hurried outside.
Bart and the others wanted to ask what was going on, but they couldn’t.
This was because the adventurer who went outside quickly returned with Kousuke and the others.
“You…!”
Bart was surprised to see Peach, who had entered with them.
Since she had reported the previous two attacks beforehand, they were already acquainted.
It would be hard to forget her even if he wanted to.
Suppressing Bart, who looked like he wanted to ask what was happening, Carl addressed Kousuke and the others.
“Who is Kou?”
“That would be me.”
As Kousuke stepped forward, Carl nodded once.
“You remained silent until now and only identified yourself now. Has something happened?”
These words were spoken with the assumption that Kousuke wouldn’t have contacted him like this if nothing were wrong.
Hearing Carl’s words, Kousuke glanced at Bart.
“As expected… did the leader notice something?”
Kousuke asked, guessing the reason for Carl’s suspicion.
“Yes. He said he had a bad feeling.”
Hearing this, Kousuke let out an impressed sigh.
He truly admired seasoned adventurers.
They could sense the current anomaly not by seeing it directly, like Peach with her blessings or Colette with her spirit powers, but through years of accumulated experience.
He even thought of that as a skill in itself as an adventurer.
“I see. And you were struggling with whether or not to act on that intuition?”
The question was asked, understanding that even with an adventurer’s intuition, it was difficult for a caravan leader to make decisions solely based on it.
“That is correct.”
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Bart and the others watched Kousuke and Carl’s conversation with slightly bewildered expressions.
Kousuke and his group were currently just one adventurer team.
Yet, Carl, who was entrusted with leading this large merchant caravan, was speaking to Kousuke with a deferential attitude, as if talking to someone of higher standing.
No one present found this odd.
One of the merchants cautiously confirmed with Carl, “Um… who is that?”
“Hmm…?”
Carl, asked this, hesitated on how to answer.
In fact, the document Carl had received only mentioned the names of the two Crown Division Heads, Schmidt and Gazeran, along with the instruction: “If you are reading this document, it means an unusual situation has occurred, so please follow Lord Kou’s instructions.”
Carl himself didn’t know Kousuke’s exact position.
Kousuke offered a helping hand to Carl.
“I am Kousuke, an adventurer. Actually, Division Head Gazeran asked me to audit the guard team.”
This was not a lie.
When it was decided that Kousuke’s group would accompany this merchant caravan, Gazeran had indeed told him this.
However, it wasn’t a thorough audit, more of a request to be informed if anything unusual was noticed.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s words, the merchants, who had looked surprised, turned their gazes to Carl.
“…Well, yes, that’s right. Don’t misunderstand. I only just found out myself.”
He ostentatiously presented the document. Even without seeing its contents, it significantly increased its credibility.
Although Schmidt’s name was also written on it, Carl had no intention of revealing that. This was because he couldn’t determine whether Kousuke was also in charge of auditing the merchants.
“So, what about this supposed audit?”
Bart asked, his expression somewhat stern.
It was unlikely anyone would be happy to learn they were being audited.
“Please don’t misunderstand. This matter is separate from the audit. The audit itself was supposed to be concluded without revealing my identity.”
“Then what is it?”
“Bart, please change your confrontational attitude. Let’s listen to Lord Kou first, shall we?”
Carl intervened, and Bart reluctantly backed down.
By the way, not all large merchant caravans are audited, but some are indeed infiltrated for investigation.
Of course, this applies not only to adventurers but also to merchants.
