CH 42

Then we had a lot of preparations to make before we headed to the meeting place with the client.

First, Mel went to her house to report that she was going to be out of town for a long time, and then we went around to the stores to prepare for our campsite. I was the only one who needed to buy stuff, though, since everyone else seemed to have the basic camping gear and we just needed to buy some extra food for emergencies.

When I think about it, I’ve only ever gone out on day trips as an adventurer. I’ve never thought about preparing for camping because I’ve always been back in the village before the sun went down, but Dan and the others have all their camping gear, so I guess camping is a common part of being an adventurer. I need to be prepared for it.

While thinking so, I arrived at the general store.

“The first thing you need is a hood or cloak. Without it, you’ll be sleeping on the ground. And a cup or pot. Also, you need a…… you have a water bottle and a knife, right? Hmmm…… Oh, you might want to buy a spoon if you need one. If you don’t have a spoon, you can make one from a tree branch or something. There’s a lot of other stuff, but you’ll be fine without it for now.” (Dan)

I decide based on Dan’s advice.

First of all, a hood or a cloak.

There are many uses for this. For example, you can wrap yourself up in it to keep out the cold, rain, and wind, lay it on the ground to keep your body temperature from dropping, or shade yourself from the sun.

Materials include leather, fur, cloth, etc., with or without sleeves, and in various lengths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Aside from the performance of the material itself, fur is simply the best in terms of performance. It has cushioning, the fur repels mild rain, and it is warm and windproof. However, fur is basically like a fur coat, so it’s hot in the summer and bulky when you take it off, so it gets in the way.

So adventurers who have a base of operations use them differently depending on the season. All the adventurers in my party left their fur cloaks at their families’ homes, and they use them in winter. Dan told me that even if they don’t normally use their cloth cloaks, they always carry them in their backpacks.

Hearing this, I decided to buy a cloth cloak too. It was longer than knee length, had sleeves, and was dark green in color. The material was like canvas, thick and durable. The material is thick and hard, and I heard that the fabric is made to absorb grass juice that has an insect repellent effect.

That’s why it’s green.

Regarding winter, I’ll think about it at that time.

Fortunately, it is the warm season now, and there is still time before it gets cold. And since it doesn’t snow much in this area even in winter and the climate is relatively mild, I don’t think there will be any big problem if I put it off.

Next is a cup or pot.

This is simply a container for food.

This time, the client will provide us with food during the escort, but even so, they usually don’t provide us with a container. I don’t know what will be served for the meal, but if it’s a deep-bottomed container, I should be able to handle whatever is served.

In some cases, an escort request may not include a meal. In that case, the adventurers will prepare the food themselves, and a pot would come in handy. Of course, if you’re willing to put up with dried meat and other dried food, you don’t need a pot.

After thinking about it, I decided to use a wooden bowl and a spoon this time.

I don’t think I need a pot right now, plus it is light.

I left the general store, joined Mel, and hurried to the east gate.

When I arrived in front of the east gate, I saw a carriage and Gilm-san.

As Dan approached and spoke to us, Gilm-san, who saw us, said, “Oh, nice to meet you again.”

Then the carriage departs for the Forest Village.

I heard the sound of the wheels of the carriage turning.

Naturally, there was a carriage right beside me, and it was moving.

Our formation is the same as before, with Dan in front of me, and Mel and Rocky on the other side of the carriage.

By the way, I heard that escorts generally don’t ride in carriages.

The merchant’s carriage is for carrying goods, and the merchant’s way of thinking is to increase the number of goods they have to carry rather than having guards on board.

In the first place, horses may have an image of running fast like in horse racing, but basically, horses don’t run either. Because if a horse runs, it gets tired. If you want to travel long distances, it is better to let it walk.

Besides, even if you make a horse while pulling a heavy carriage full of cargo, it does not have much speed, and the strong vibration can adversely affect the products.

So the escorts would walk around the carriage and the carriage would move along with them, which is the usual way of escorting a carriage.

It’s been about two or three hours since we left. When we started, the mountains and forests were far away, and the nearby area was a meadow dotted with rugged rocks, but as we proceeded, the forests were getting closer and started to cover the left and right sides of the road, and now there was a forest about five meters ahead on both sides of the road. The forest was not very well managed, and there was a lot of undergrowth, so visibility was not good. If it was a short creature, it would be hidden in the underbrush and would be missed.

As I walked while gazing at the woods, I heard a rustling sound in the undergrowth about 10 meters ahead of me in the forest on my left.

“Left side! There is something!” (Dan)

Dan notices and yells before I could say anything.

Seeing Dan pull out his shield and sword, I also hurriedly remove the cover on the tip of the spear.

When Gilm-san stopped the carriage, Mel and Rocky came running from the front and back of the carriage, something jumped out from the underbrush.

“Forest Wolves! Don’t let the horses get killed! I’ll take care of this myself!” (Dan)

Dan shouted as he thrust his sword into the Forest Wolf that leaped.

Rocky who heard him moved back a little and moved to a position where he could see the forest just on the other side where the forest wolf had come out.

It seems that he is wary of being flanked from the other side.

The one that jumped at Dan was a green wolf-like monster, about the size of a medium-sized dog. One of them took Dan’s sword in the chest and rolled on the ground, bleeding and twitching.

My mind hadn’t yet switched over to the battle that had suddenly started.

But I remembered my old training and forced myself to focus.

Then I pulled back my right foot and held the spear in the middle.

Then my body remembered my training, and my head cooled down a little. I tried to think with that mind.

Earlier, Dan said that he would deal with it himself. Dan shouldn’t say unreasonable things that everyone else can’t do. Perhaps Forest Wolf is a monster of a level that everyone can deal with if it is one-on-one. And maybe it’s a monster that acts as a group. Considering that it is a wolf-type, it is highly possible.

With that in mind, the undergrowth in the depths of the forest shook, and a Forest Wolf jumped at me.

“Ha!”

Together, I took a step back, away from where the Forest Wolf was about to land, shifting my timing, twisting my hips, and swiftly stabbed the spear into the Forest Wolf.

“Gann!” (Forest Wolf)

The Forest Wolf itself jumped into the spear, skewered mid-air, killed by its momentum, and fell to the ground.

And the sensation remains in my hands.

It feels like tearing through flesh.

For a moment, I almost thought of something else, but I shook my head and brushed it off.

“Well, I’ve bashed a lot of goblins to death, it’s a little late to think about it.”

With that said, I thrust my spear back into the writhing Forest Wolf.