by Funa
***
Four days later, the girls of the Crimson Vow stood in the hall of the Hunters’ Guild in Mafan, capital city of a fief in the frontier region of the Kingdom of Marlane.
“Hmm. Not really anything interesting here…” Reina muttered, but that was more or less the norm.
There weren’t a lot of “interesting,” well-paying jobs that a rookie hunter would find exciting in a remote place such as this, and if there were, they would be snatched from the board the moment they were posted.
The world was a harsh place, after all.
“Ah well. Wanna do some dailies or an escort job? If we do some daily requests, we can study the spread of plants and monsters in this area, and if we do a guard job we can familiarize ourselves with the local geography and get cozy with the other parties who come on the journey. Then, they can tell us more about how things work around here. And either way, we’ll be earning a bit of coin,” said Mavis.
Reina, who wished to earn a promotion as quickly as possible; Pauline, who wanted to save up money to support the dream of establishing her own company; and Mile, who just wanted to live a carefree life, all nodded enthusiastically.
“A round-trip guard duty, bound for Glademarl?”
The request slip Reina had come across mentioned an unfamiliar-sounding name. The fact that they had never heard of the place meant that it was probably located somewhere that they had not been yet, and that the job was a round trip meant that they would not have to travel unpaid for the return. Besides, most merchants were unlikely to turn around the moment they had arrived somewhere, so they would probably have a bit of time to explore this new town when they got there.
The real question was just how far this Glademarl or whatever was from Mafan.
At times like this, it was best to ask the clerk. The Crimson Vow walked up to the desk to see Leutessy, who was fast becoming a familiar face.
“Um, about this guard request, the job bound for Glademarl…”
“What?!”
Leutessy appeared shocked. “What is it with you all and wanting to take these jobs?”
“What?!”
This time, it was the members of the Crimson Vow’s turn to raise their voices in surprise. They had no idea what she meant.
Guarding a merchant caravan was a perfectly normal job for a group of C-rank hunters, no matter who they were—even bottom of the barrel, fresh off of a promotion from D-rank. Therefore, it was a natural choice for a party like the Crimson Vow, who had embarked on this journey specifically for the sake of self-improvement. In fact, they actively sought guard missions that would take them in the same direction they already wanted to travel, and even if the employer had already filled up their slots and was no longer taking applications from hunters, they would worm their way in somehow or other, offering reduced rates or the like.
They could choose to walk on foot, carrying all their own things, or ride in a wagon and get paid for the privilege. There was no hunter who would ever go on such a journey without taking guard jobs. As a result, they could not understand why Leutessy should doubt them.
“Ah, you all don’t know anything about that area, do you? Glademarl is about three days from here, each way. They’ll be staying for two days, which means that the trip will be eight days, seven nights. The village itself is a lovely place, peaceful and quiet.”
The four found themselves slightly surprised. The destination was not a town but a village. And it was not a peddler who was heading to this tiny village but a whole merchant caravan. This was unusual, to say the least—assuming there was not some exceptional reason.
“However, the route to the village traverses a rather steep mountain road, and there are a lot of monsters, as well as bandits.”
“Awesome!!!” the four cried.
“What?”
It was not every day that you heard a prospective guard cheer at the possibility of bandits.
But by now, Leutessy and the Crimson Vow were only exchanging interjections, and the conversation ground to a halt.
“A-anyway, merchants regularly travel between here and the dwarven village of Glademarl in order to sell daily necessities and purchase the metalwork they manufacture there, but this route is more dangerous than the others, so it’s not very popular. There aren’t a lot of bonuses given out, either. The veteran hunters usually take it half out of charity.”
“In that case, that’s the perfect job for us to take!”
“Huh?”
Reina’s unexpected reply set the clerk straight back to stammering.
“Well, I mean, we’re just overflowing with volunteer spirit!” Pauline continued with a grin.
At that, Leutessy resigned herself, no longer knowing what else to do.
“Fine, fine. I guess you should take it then.”
Meanwhile, Mile was practically vibrating with excitement.
Dwarves… Dwarves! I finally get to meet some dwarves!!!
Indeed, by now Mile had met almost all the races of this world: elves, beastfolk, faeries, demons, elder dragons, and more. The one race she had still yet to encounter, however, were dwarves. If she really put her mind to it, she probably could have found some in one of the royal capitals, but she had yet to chance across any. After all, back in the capital, they had spent most of their time either at home or working.
“Yes! Finally, a complete set!”
“Complete set???”
As usual, no one had any idea what she was talking about. The other three members of the Crimson Vow and Leutessy all stared at her silently.
***
“I think something like this ought to do it…”
The evening after they accepted the job, the Crimson Vow received word that their departure would be in two days, so the next day, each went about town individually, making her own preparations for their vacation-slash-journey. Though Mile had more than enough food for all of them already stored away, buying luxury items, books for entertainment, and changes of clothing was still important in preparation for such a lengthy sortie.
Normally, no one would bring expensive books on a journey where they were sure to end up tattered—and likewise, few would think to bring along any luxury goods, which would just be more for them to carry. However, the Crimson Vow had Mile, along with her absurd amount of storage space. With that in mind, the other three party members went about buying whatever they pleased, not caring a jot about transportation or storage.
That really was no good. Whatever happened to their vow that they would work harder, so that they could survive even without Mile? It was no good, no good at all…
Following Pauline’s lead, Mile decided that she would try her hand at a bit of commerce. Indeed, if there was one thing that she knew dwarves liked, it was booze! Or at least, that was common knowledge in all of the books she had read in her previous life.
“Say, little miss, is it really okay for you to be buying those? The alcohol’s pretty potent. And anyway, how’re you gonna carry them all?”
Yes, Mile had taken it upon herself to travel to all of the breweries in town and pick up the strongest spirits she could find. She had asked around with folks who had been to the dwarven village before. According to her investigation, while there were breweries around the village, their product did not compare to the high-class liquors sold in Mafan, and there were in fact many dwarves who enjoyed a stiff drink.
Then again, that wasn’t true only of dwarves. In a world such as this one, where amusements were few and delicious foodstuffs hard to come by, it was not at all bizarre that there were many folks who were fond of a good drink. In fact, even amongst humans, who were, after all, brethren to the dwarves, there was many a soul who was fond of the bottle, far more so than in modern day Japan.
That said, this did not change the fact that there were many dwarves who enjoyed drinking, so Mile’s assumption was not totally off the mark.
“I’ll be fine! Store!”
With that, all of the casks and
jugs that Mile had just purchased vanished in the blink of an eye.
“You’ve got storage skill, do ya?! And such a large amount—I’m jealous.”
After a momentary shock, the old shopkeeper looked upon her with deep envy. It was normal for any merchant to be covetous of such a skill, but for a brewer, being able to transport goods safely and securely was a gift all the more longed for. And that was the purpose for which Mile was using her skill right now.
The route they were going to travel was a mountain road, rarely maintained, and it was full of monsters and bandits. Would anyone ever risk transporting alcohol, which was stored in heavy, easily breakable containers, along this route? It wasn’t a daily necessity, and even the most rough, backwater villages produced their own booze. Factoring in the cost of transportation time and labor and hiring guards would cause the sales price to skyrocket. And then there was the fact that, no matter how high quality if was, if it didn’t knock you off your feet the way the local stuff could, it would never sell.
Therefore, there were few merchants who would bother transporting alcohol for sale, or so Mile judged.
***
The day of their departure, the Crimson Vow arrived bright and early in the square before the Merchants’ Guild. Other parties had been hired as well, and they couldn’t keep their employers waiting. It was only to be expected that a group of low-ranking rookie C-rank hunters should be the first to arrive at the meeting place. They waited for a short while, until finally…
“I-It’s you all!”
“So you’re the other party who took this job, huh?”
Two sets of familiar faces had appeared: the Devils’ Paradise and the Fellowship of Flame.
“That minx, Leutessy! She came all the way to our house to tell us, ‘Oh, this poor caravan, if they don’t hire more guards soon they won’t be able to leave on time!’ and we just had to take on the job.”
“She came to us, too…”
The two party leaders, Wulf and Vegas, began to grumble.
Oh dear… thought the members of the Crimson Vow. It was obvious that the clerk had once again acted on their behalf.
It was something of a mixed blessing for them, though surely, as far as the other two parties were concerned, there was nothing “blessed” about it.
“We’re sorry!”
Even though it was no fault of their own, the Crimson Vow felt compelled to bow their heads in apology.
“It’s fine—we know it’s not your fault. On the contrary, it feels bad to say it, but we’ll probably just be a burden on you.”
Despite Wulf’s words, as far as the members of the Crimson Vow were concerned, having all of these capable hunters present meant that no one would bother messing with their party; traveling with two such trustworthy-seeming parties at their side put them all a bit more at ease. Nothing ill would come of this trip.
“We’re looking forward to spending yet another mission alongside you all!” Mavis said cheerfully, and the two other parties nodded in reply.
***
They made their introductions to the merchants and drivers who had finally arrived, and the caravan set out soon after. They only planned on moving during the daylight hours, so they would have plenty of time for talking during breaks or at night. Only a fool would waste good travel time on chitchat.
The merchants were a bit wary upon seeing the Crimson Vow, an unfamiliar party comprised entirely of young women of questionable age. But once Wulf and Vegas, who sensed this, gave the party a ringing endorsement, the merchants, who were already acquainted with their two other parties, seemed a bit more at ease.
Of course, having them along was a blessing. Not only could they use attack and healing magic, but they could summon drinking water with magic as well. This meant that their chances of survival were greatly increased in the event of any unexpected incidents.
As important as water might be, there was no merchant alive who would dare cut into the amount of goods they needed to transport for sale just to bring along large stores of water. Most merchants carried only the minimal necessary amount, with only the slightest reserves. It was difficult to resupply water in the mountains, and horses required a lot of it. Thus, in the event of an emergency, having access to extra water supplies could mean the difference between life and death.
With that, the merchant caravan—which was rather small in the grand scheme of things, while simultaneously being rather large for a caravan that traveled only between a regional city and a small village—proceeded steadily into the mountains. There were seven wagons and fifteen guards, resulting in quite a high ratio of guards to wagons.
At the head wagon was the Devils’ Paradise. At the tail was the Fellowship of Flame. And with the very center wagon was the Crimson Vow. Reinforcements shored up the front and back, while the mages and the nimble-seeming fighter were at the middle, able to protect the caravan from attack on both sides, as well as quickly lend support to either end of the caravan. It was a formation that any of them might have come up with, which made it a logical layout to which no one had any objections.
In each of the parties, half of the hunters rode in the wagons, while the other half proceeded on foot. There were two reasons for this: First, having the guards make an active show of their presence would ward off bandits and well as intelligent monsters, and second, the more people there were riding in the wagons, the less space there was to carry goods.
The movement speed of a fully laden merchant wagon was much less than that of a stagecoach, both due to the weight and the need for caution—no merchant wanted to arrive at their destination with damaged goods. So walking alongside at a normal pace wasn’t taxing for a hunter. The fact that they changed shifts now and then made things even easier.
***
“All right, everyone! Let’s take a break! Time for lunch!”
The transport manager, who was the leader of the seven-wagon caravan, shouted to the wagons ahead of and behind him, just loud enough so as not to startle the horses. He was the mediator for the three merchants who were participating in this expedition, and the driver of the central wagon.
This merchant was of the ilk who would proudly decree, “Hiring a driver when I can drive the damn wagon myself’s nothing more than a waste of money! Sheer folly! What good’s a merchant who can’t drive his own cart?! Sure, you might be doin’ real well for yourself now, but what happens when your money all goes down the gutter and you’re left with nothing but yourself and a single wagon?! If you can’t make your own wagon move, then you’re gonna end up nothing but a peddler, carrying your little pack of wares on your own back!”
Perhaps because they had such a person in their midst, the other two merchants were each at the reins of a wagon as well. Thus, there were only three hired drivers, with a clerk from the leader’s shop at the reins of the final cart.
When it came to the caravan’s general operations, the transport manager was in charge, but if it came to a decision of whether to fight against, surrender to, or run away from any attacking bandits or monsters, the merchants would defer to Wulf, the combat leader. The merchants were more than welcome to refuse a recommendation by the combat leader that they should abandon their goods, but doing so would mean that running away was off the table, leaving the combat leader with only the option to surrender.
Such a scenario would likely conclude with the hunters turning over any money and weapons they had on hand, though there was also the possibility of the merchants being taken for ransom.
Most often, those who surrendered were not killed. To inflict such a thing on a group would mean that travelers in the area would begin to give up on the idea of surrendering, which would only serve to increase the losses that the bandits took. As such, there was no merit in putting together a large-scale subjugation force to hunt down bandits unless the problem got very serious.
They were not yet very far from town, so the highway itself was still fairly smooth. They pulled into a clearing a short
distance from the road and stopped so that the merchants could begin to prepare a simple lunch.
For such a job, it was the employers’ responsibility to provide food and libations while they were on the road. It would be a huge burden on the hunters for each of them to have to carry their own foodstuffs and water on their backs; to individually prepare their meals would be a greater burden still. So unless the conditions of a contract were particularly bad, or a merchant’s means particularly paltry, this was the normal course of things.
However, the meals provided were the sort in which hunters could expect to be treated to the Three Sacred Treasures: the familiar travel standbys of hardtack, dried meat, and reconstituted vegetable soup. Once in a while they might be treated to dried fruit, for a real treat.
As the merchants set about assembling a simple stove with which to boil water for their meal, the Devils’ Paradise and the Fellowship of Flame looked to the Crimson Vow expectantly.
“Ah, well, I think we should enjoy this meal that the merchants have provided for us, just for now. They’re working so hard to put it together for us, after all. I’ll put something together for dinner, though,” said Mile.
Everyone’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
***
The first day came to an end without incident. The caravan was still close to town, so they had not yet entered the region that was plagued with bandits and monsters.
“Why don’t we make camp here for the night?”
The merchants seemed to already have a predetermined set of locations for taking breaks and camping, having traveled this route many times before—assuming, of course, that there were no major changes of plan due to weather, wagon malfunctions, or attacks.
Once more, they pulled a short distance off the highway and made a circle enclosed by the wagons. In the event that any attacks came during the night, the wagons would serve as their shield. It was quite futile to try driving a wagon in the dead of night, and the merchants could not possibly bear to bring themselves to abandon their fully laden carts if they came under attack. Even abandoning the wagons themselves and riding away on the horses would prove difficult.