Having finished their business in the northern town, Kousuke began to move using the self-propelled wagon… or rather, he was traveling in a different carriage.
The reason was simple: he was aboard a carriage requiring a guard to fulfill a request he had received in the northern town.
The next destination for Kousuke and his party was the town of Ryusen in the northeastern part of the continent, and since there was a guard request available, they decided to tag along.
The self-propelled wagon, built for quickly traversing the continent, was intended to be used by themselves, but the original plan also included taking on any notable requests they found along the way, as it would be a shame to end the journey solely on their own.
Incidentally, this was more of a request from the women who were looking forward to the journey, rather than Kousuke’s personal desire.
Kousuke also felt it would be a waste to travel with only the usual members, so he didn’t object.
In various ways, Kousuke felt the same way about wanting to enjoy the journey.
Thus, the escort request found in the northern town was opportune in both timing and content, leading Kousuke to be aboard a different carriage.
The request Kousuke and his party accepted in the northern town was for the escort of pilgrims.
More precisely, they would be escorting two carriages carrying pilgrims.
The road from the northern town to Mikusen is particularly famous for the large number of pilgrims traveling it, and as a result, more requests of this nature are available compared to elsewhere.
However, given that the original purpose is pilgrimage, the escort request itself does not yield much profit.
Therefore, it is a request that adventurers tend to avoid.
“…. Nonetheless, to think you would actually accept such a request.”
Perhaps because he understood the background well, Zento, the man driving the carriage and sitting next to Kousuke, said with emotion.
“Is it really such a big deal?”
As Kousuke asked, tilting his head, Zento nodded broadly.
“It wasn’t quite like this before. Now, with the rates for other requests having gone up, it’s difficult to gather guards for the pilgrimage group’s fees.”
As Zento spoke with a sigh, Kousuke decided to ask for more details.
It is said that for about twenty years before the establishment of Crown and Razek Amamiya, requests from pilgrimage groups, which provided a stable income, were quite popular.
However, with the advent of Crown, or rather, the establishment of Teleport Gates in major towns, it became possible to reach Mikusen easily, and the number of pilgrims using the pilgrimage groups dwindled.
Consequently, the fees for escort requests could not be significantly increased.
Furthermore, after the organization known as Crown was formed and fees for other requests were revised, adventurers’ earnings improved relatively, leading more adventurers to choose options other than escorting pilgrimage groups.
“… I heard that Adventurer Parties with strong faith used to take these requests, didn’t you?”
Silvia, who was listening to Zento’s story next to Kousuke, asked as she tilted her head.
Silvia herself often accepted escort requests for pilgrimage groups when she was adventuring with Colette.
Not just Silvia’s party, but Adventurer Parties with Clerics tended to escort pilgrimage groups more frequently.
By the way, Silvia rephrased her question because she thought no one would believe her if she said it was over twenty years ago that they were accepting requests.
Zento, who thought Silvia might have been a pilgrim herself before, nodded once and replied.
“Ah. That hasn’t changed even now, but you can’t just rely on escort requests for everything anymore.”
This was also an effect of Crown’s revised ranking system.
A single genre, such as escort requests, allows one to increase their rank by continuously accepting only escort requests.
However, unlike before, performing a variety of requests is now evaluated more highly.
This regulation was put in place due to the emergence of parties known as “material gatherers,” who would stay solely within dungeons and focus only on subjugation.
“… Therefore, the higher the rank of an adventurer, the more they can’t just keep accepting one type of request.”
Of course, continuously accepting requests in the same genre doesn’t necessarily lower one’s evaluation, but it is considered less desirable.
As a result of various factors intertwining, pilgrimage groups are currently struggling to recruit escort adventurers.
“That sounds tough.”
Kousuke, after hearing Zento’s explanation, let out a sigh.
It was a typical example of how a necessary reform for Crown could also have negative consequences in certain cases.
To Kousuke’s remark, Zento responded with a small laugh.
“It is indeed tough, but it’s also part of the training, so no one complains.”
The “luggage” carried by the pilgrimage group are the Clerics on their pilgrimage.
The idea is that if one cannot wait a reasonable amount of time for escorts to gather, they are not suited for training in the first place.
Furthermore, there is also the option of using Teleport Gates and traveling without using the pilgrimage carriages.
In terms of increased options, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing for the pilgrims.
Zento, having concluded the discussion about the pilgrimage group, looked at another carriage running ahead of their own and sighed with longing.
“Still, a self-propelled wagon, you say? That’s nice.”
Ahead of Kousuke’s party, the self-propelled wagon carrying Shurein and the others was moving.
For Zento, who usually handles horses while traveling, a carriage that doesn’t require horses would undoubtedly be an object of envy.
The reason Kousuke and his party stopped hiding the existence of the self-propelled wagon, which could attract trouble, was not only because it was bothersome to keep hiding it for the rest of their journey but also for another reason.
That reason was the production cost.
“Yes. We had it made as a custom order. … It cost quite a bit, though.”
Kousuke deliberately spoke vaguely, but Zento quickly understood what he meant.
“Well, I can imagine. For such an advanced Magic Tool, it’s clear that it wouldn’t be accessible to ordinary people. Truly, an A-rank feat.”
Zento had confirmed Kousuke’s A-rank status when they accepted the request.
Therefore, he also knew that Kousuke had a considerable income.
“Whether we’re conquering towers or adventuring across the continent, a wagon is essential. We spared no expense as necessary operational costs.”
“Hahaha. Just being able to do that is enviable.”
While Zento knew the self-propelled wagon running before him was built at an exorbitant price, he didn’t understand the extent to which it surpassed ordinary costs.
He didn’t realize that it wasn’t just rare but also something that ordinary people couldn’t even operate.
Of course, Kousuke and his party had no intention of revealing such details to Zento.
The purpose of revealing the existence of the self-propelled wagon to Zento was also to make their future travels easier.
They were hoping that rumors would spread through the Clerics in the pilgrimage group, including Zento.
Even if the self-propelled wagon could travel faster than a regular carriage, it was impossible to catch up to the speed at which rumors spread through Teleport Gates.
This might attract some “idiots,” but they decided not to worry about it, as it could be handled.
They prioritized enjoying the journey over dealing with such things.
Ultimately, Kousuke and his party decided to make the self-propelled wagon visible.
The main reason was that they wanted to enjoy their journey rather than travel in secret.
Additionally, since their next destination was the Central Continent, there was less risk of unexpected outcomes in case of trouble.
