The request was to escort a cargo wagon, so we decided to carpool with a merchant’s wagon until we reached the capital.
This time, the party would be quite large, consisting of three merchants including the client, Kousuke and his companions, and ten additional adventurers.
With so many members and a significant amount of goods to transport, there were five wagons in total.
One of those wagons was exclusively for the adventurers and trailed behind the merchant caravan.
“My, oh my. I’ve been a traveling merchant for many years, but this is the first time I’ve handled a journey with such a large group. I’m truly glad you accepted this request.”
Renee, the representative of this merchant caravan, was in the wagon with Kousuke.
The wagon Kousuke and the others were in wasn’t carrying an excessive amount of merchandise.
Even so, she mentioned that if this wagon alone could reach the capital, the trading venture wouldn’t end in a deficit.
He had essentially been entrusted with the main wagon.
Naturally, Renee, the supervisor, was with him, and Kousuke considered it perfectly reasonable.
“It just happened that our destinations aligned. Besides, it was nice not having to prepare our own wagon.”
“I’m glad our timings matched.”
Renee, saying this with a smile, met Kousuke’s gaze.
Initially, she had been glancing at Kouhi and Mitsuki, but once she realized Kousuke was the center of the party, she focused entirely on conversing with him.
It was evident that as a merchant, she wished to establish connections with a high-rank adventurer.
This approach was far more admirable than forgetting her duties while captivated by Kouhi and Mitsuki.
Renee herself was a merchant who had just passed her mid-twenties, yet she exuded an aura of competence.
Even during the long journey, their conversation never ran dry, and it was clear she had traveled extensively.
Renee’s stories also served as a valuable source of information for Kousuke and his companions.
Hearing firsthand accounts of experiences, rather than information from books and documents, offered new discoveries.
Renee, perhaps sensing that Kousuke and his group were eager to hear such stories, spoke with great enjoyment. It seemed she enjoyed talking not just as a merchant, but also due to her innate personality.
It was the third day of our journey to the capital.
Renee was in the middle of recounting a story about how she had defended the requested item from a monster attack while transporting it, when Nana, who was at Kousuke’s feet, twitched.
Kousuke and Renee were nestled in the gaps between the densely packed goods in the wagon.
Kouhi and Mitsuki were driving the wagons.
Noticing Nana’s reaction, Kousuke raised his right hand, interrupting Renee’s story.
Renee, having already experienced similar situations a few times, immediately understood and stopped talking.
“Mitsuki, did you notice?”
Kousuke asked, speaking to Mitsuki, who was not holding the reins at the moment.
“Hmm… It’s not within range yet. Just as expected of Nana, I suppose.”
Mitsuki surveyed their surroundings for a moment, then shook her head in response.
It seemed the monster was in a location beyond Mitsuki’s current detection range.
“I see. In that case, it might pass by without noticing us. Still, remain vigilant, just in case.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Nana’s ability to detect monsters was far superior to that of ordinary monsters, covering a much wider area.
Because of this, it was common for monsters to pass by without noticing them.
Renee watched their exchange without suspicion.
Of course, this was partly due to her trust in Kousuke’s group’s abilities, but for Renee, whether their conversation was true or false didn’t matter as long as the goods remained safe.
If monsters didn’t attack, that was also perfectly fine.
Up to this point, there had been no monster attacks.
Even on a relatively safe road to the capital, this was an unusual situation, logically speaking.
Kousuke and his group had done enough to make such a judgment possible.
And this time was no different.
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“Kou, it doesn’t look good. It’s noticed us. It’s coming this way.”
About five minutes after Nana’s initial reaction, Mitsuki called out from the driver’s seat.
“Is that so? Hmm. I guess it can’t be helped. …Nana, you can go.”
Kousuke called out to Nana at his feet, and Nana, full of enthusiasm, leaped from the cargo wagon.
The wagon was still moving, but she landed on the ground lightly, as if unaffected, and quickly headed towards her target.
Normally, just deterring the monster with Nana’s presence would be enough to make most monsters retreat.
However, doing so would render the horses pulling the wagon unusable for a while.
That would be counterproductive, so they had Nana specifically go to defeat it.
Moreover, Nana seemed cramped in the confined space of the wagon, so she eagerly went out as soon as she was given instructions to subjugate the monster.
The wagon following behind also seemed to understand that Nana was doing something, and they didn’t impede her as she leaped off.
Nana had been deployed several times before, and thanks to her, this merchant caravan had yet to be attacked by monsters.
Even after Nana disappeared, the wagons continued to move without concern.
There was no need to stop specifically, as Nana could catch up quickly.
This time too, Nana returned after successfully taking down the monster.
…And she had a trophy in her mouth.
Furthermore, the blood had been drained, something wild beasts wouldn’t normally bother with.
Previously, she had brought back prey without draining the blood, and the management layer had cautioned her, leading her to learn how to drain the blood.
Thanks to this, the cargo wagons didn’t end up smelling of blood.
When Renee first saw this, she exclaimed in astonishment, “How intelligent is this familiar?”
Kousuke, unable to say she was a divine beast, simply smiled vaguely, which Renee accepted. She no longer saw Kousuke’s group as mere adventurers of high rank, so she let it slide.
The fact that this journey had been so comfortable was undoubtedly thanks to Renee.
“Oh my. The spoils of war this time are a Mitla bird. You’ve taken down a fine specimen.”
Seeing Nana happily chomping on a bird, Renee remarked.
“Is it famous?”
“Yes. It’s a swift and intelligent bird, quite difficult to take down. Its meat can be sold for a considerable price. It’s a delicacy.”
“Is that so? …Nana. You don’t need to get upset, I’m not going to take it away.”
Kousuke said to Nana, who turned to him after hearing their conversation.
Hearing this, Renee also responded with a smile.
“That’s right. We wouldn’t treat our guardian deity who protects this caravan in such a manner.”
Although she smiled, there was sincerity in her voice.
To Renee, Nana might indeed feel like a guardian deity.
Reassured by Kousuke and Renee’s words, Nana began to peck at the Mitla bird again.
She wasn’t eating it with gusto, but rather slowly savoring it, clearly enjoying the texture of the bird.
Watching Nana’s behavior, Kousuke and Renee resumed their lively conversation within the cargo wagon.
What a remarkably peaceful journey it was, lol.
By the way, if Nana were to enlarge, she could easily pull a cargo wagon.
Kousuke just doesn’t allow her to, though.
This time, we’ve depicted horses pulling the cargo wagons, but we sometimes use tamed monsters for that purpose.
However, even if monsters were used, it’s unclear whether any creature could withstand Nana’s intimidation.
