Walking in Another World

of quests they have.

Unlike the capital, this town is small, so there aren’t many quests.
There are only a few hunting quests and quests to do errands around town.
That’s probably why I don’t see many adventurers either.

The next day, we set out as the sun rises.

“From this point on, there are a few spots where we will be passing close to the forest.
This is the type of place where monsters and bandits appear, so be careful.”

Warns Siphon, the leader of Goblin’s Grief, just before we leave.
That’s directed mostly at me and the D rank party that’s doing their first escorting quest.

I climb to the top of the canopy, and look around with my Presence Detection active.

It will be three days until we arrive at the first spots, but that’s no reason to let my guard down.

There are other merchants and wagons coming from the opposite direction, and I feel nervous for the first time since we started this escorting quest.

Our wagons move to the side of the road and stop for the three wagons coming the other way to pass.

There are two people in the driver’s seat, who look like they’re adventurers.
I don’t see merchants, so are they inside?

In this world it’s not uncommon for bandits to pretend to be merchants to get closer and do a sneak attack, so unless there are known faces in the other group, people can’t let their guard down when another group of merchants passes by them.

Wagons are especially dangerous, because they could be packed with people instead of goods.

Everyone raises their guard, but I’m less nervous.
I can tell what’s inside the wagons via my Presence Detection, but I can’t say it, so I just pretend to be as wary as everyone else.

As the sun starts to go down, we leave the main road and get ready to set up camp.

I help the merchants tend to the horses by giving them food and water, casting purifying magic on them, and brushing them.
This way, they’ll keep doing their best for us tomorrow.

I want to take care of horses in preparation for when I use horses to move around.
They let me do it mostly because I can use Basic Daily Life Magic.

Rurika and Chris are preparing the food.
This is in part because they’re the best cooks among the adventurers here, but also because even in a different world, people want to eat girls’ cooking.
There are two other female adventurers with them, and they’re having fun talking while they cook.
Mostly just Rurika.

Everyone else is either patrolling around or setting up tents with crisp movements.
Everyone knows the sooner they’re done, the sooner they get to rest.

When it’s time to eat, we all split into groups.
We mostly eat with the merchants that shared wagons with us, but there’s some rotation too.

Merchants talk about their troubles while we eat, the towns they’ve been to, and their dreams for the future.
I get to hear all sorts of things I didn’t know, so it’s fun for me.

When that’s over, it’s time to keep watch in shifts.

I look up and see the stars.
It’s cliche, but I can only describe this feeling as drowning in a sea of stars.
This feeling doesn’t go away no matter how many times I see this sight.

I hope tomorrow is as peaceful as today, I think as I rest in my tent until it’s my turn to keep watch.