55. Encounter with a Caravan

At the southern tip of the raised plateau of the Great Tree Sea, a waterfall. Descend the collapsed section. The cliff height is 100 meters. Normally, that’d make your legs go weak, but here, you can conjure footholds with earth magic, turn barriers into stepping stones—no problem at all.

After descending for about two hours, they reached the bottom. Continuing south for another 200 kilometers, Shiro and the others finally entered the Hainzworth Kingdom. As soon as they crossed the border, they found the main road. The town of Sotohaim, their destination, lay another 200 kilometers west.

After walking a while along the road, Shiro called out to the group.

"There’s a group being attacked by a pack of giant boars about 1,500 meters ahead," he said.

"Wait—go help them?" Aria asked.

"Of course. Let’s move!" Shiro replied.

During their journey through the Great Tree Sea, all three had grown significantly stronger. With their aura fields and mana fields now reasonably under control, sprinting two kilometers was nothing.

They charged toward the attack site with full speed. Thirteen giant boars. Two wagons. Three figures in armor resembling adventurers, guarding the wagons. Another three adventurers crouched on the ground, groaning. Luckily, they weren’t dead. The merchants sat on the driver’s platform, barely keeping the wagons under control.

Eight giant boars were concentrated at the front of the wagons. Five more were positioned to the front-left.

The adventurers were holding their ground, but barely. One was fighting with a sword. The other two were casting fireballs—but for some reason, the unusually fast giant boars dodged every one.

Shiro and the others closed in, shouting, "We'll help—stay sharp!"

"O-oh, yeah, thank god!" the man replied.

Confirmed, Shiro immediately deployed a barrier between the carriage and the giant boars. Shiro and Mitoka surged forward, straight ahead; Aria and Albert charged left, forward. Shestia remained in the rear—her role was to treat the wounded.

Just before engaging the giant boars, Shiro activated 【Multi-Homing Lightning】, striking all of them with lightning—paralyzing their movements.

In the next instant, Shiro and Mitoka impaled the boars with their poles; Aria and Albert severed them with their swords. The entire herd was wiped out in seconds.

『Shiro, three of these giant boars were aberrant. Abnormally high miasma detected inside their bodies. Their strength, their strange behavior—might be due to that.』

Mitoka whispered the warning into Shiro’s mind.

(Noted... miasma concentration inside... something’s off. But for now—back to the present.)

The merchants and adventurers watching the fight stared, slack-jawed, at Shiro’s group effortlessly exterminating the entire boar herd.

Once combat ended, Shiro’s party deactivated the barrier and approached the merchants.

Shiro checked on three adventurers huddled on the ground. Shestia had already cast 【Heal】—their conditions improved. Shiro then applied another 【Heal】 over the most severely injured, reinforcing the cure.

"Ah? Isn’t that Nagato-san?" Aria said, stepping forward.

"Oh—Lady Aria, and Shestia-sama and Albert-sama too! To meet you all here like this! I’m beyond grateful for saving my life!"

"Ah, Nagato-san, who are these people?" asked one of the adventurers, likely a guard.

"Oh, this is Larry-san—these young ones are the children of merchants I do business with in Sotohaim. And that's the famous Rank A adventuring party, 'Black Icewind'."

"Oh—*that* famous one. I’ve heard the name and the rumors. First time meeting you. We’re Rank B, 'Flame Sword'. Thanks for the rescue."

Larry introduced his group, offering his thanks.

"I’m Larry. This one here’s my party member..."

"Hello. Thank you for the backup. I’m Elza, a mage."

"Hi, I’m Sil. Glad to be saved. I’m a magic-user too."

"Thanks for the healing. We’re all good now. These three are members of a Rank C party..." The rescued adventurers introduced themselves in turn.

"I’m Nagato, a merchant. Just passing through on my way from the Elven Kingdom to the capital," Nagato explained, eyeing the unfamiliar Shiro and Mitoka.

"I’m Matthew," said another merchant-like figure who stepped down from the carriage.

"Ah, everyone’s safe. I’m Aria. And..."

"I’m Shestia."

"I’m Albert."

"Uh, I’m Shiro."

"Mitoka."

"Uh, why’s there a maid?" Elza muttered under her breath.

"I’m Shiro’s maid," Mitoka declared abruptly.

"Hey, Mitoka, what are you talking about... uh, she just really likes maid outfits," Shiro stammered in explanation.

"Shiro, Nagato-san is a merchant who runs a guild in Sotohaim," Aria explained.

Nagato was from the commercial city-state of Feliorin, and conducted business in Sotohaim. She continued, this was one of the largest trading houses in Sotohaim, vying for first place. They also had business dealings with Shestia and her family.

"Then, are you all heading to Sotohaim too?" Nagato asked.

"Yes, that's right," Aria replied.

Nagato asked again.

"I'm actually asking for a favor—if it's not too much trouble, could you escort us all the way to Sotohaim? Of course, I'll pay a proper escort fee. I'll handle the Guild formalities later..."

"Alright, let me check with the others," Aria said, and they all discussed it together.

"I don't mind at all. Honestly, if there’s an escort fee, that’d be a relief. I’ve got no money in this country," Shiro said. Mitoka nodded in agreement.

"Same here. I’m fine with it," Albert said.

"I don’t mind either," Shestia said.

"Then there’s no issue, I suppose," Aria summarized.

Aria relayed her agreement to Nagato, who thanked her gratefully.

Then Lary spoke up.

"Having you all join would really help. Guild intel says monster numbers have been rising sharply around here lately—kind of bad news. You didn’t know?"

"No, I didn’t. We’ve been out of town, just returning to the city now. When exactly did it start?" Aria asked.

"Hmm, about a month ago, maybe? Seems like the monsters are coming from the Demonwood Forest," Lary explained.

"Right… Well, we’re not helpless either. Let’s stay alert and head toward Sotohaim," Aria concluded.

After that, they encountered monsters several times along the way, but with the increased number of guards, there were no particular issues, and the group arrived safely in town.

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