As the sun began to set, Mair and the others entered the forest by the road and started preparing for camping.
No one camps in an open area where they can be seen by thieves or other travelers, and the forest becomes dark quickly without the light of the stars. It would be too late to set up camp after the sun has completely set.
Under the experienced Reina's direction, the members of the "Red Oath" efficiently prepared their sleeping area, campfire, and dinner.
And then, the one who arrived was...
"Hey, everyone, good evening!"
A plump middle-aged man with a smile on his face appeared with two guards. He was probably the parasitic merchant they had heard about.
Although he had only two guards for two carriages, it seemed he had hired them as a precaution. It was likely that these were his personal guards rather than guards for the cargo. If he lost the cargo, he could quickly accumulate money again with dirty tricks, but his life was not so easily replaceable.
There was probably a driver as well, but he seemed to have stayed behind at the campsite.
"Nice to meet you. I am a merchant in the capital, Dubeley. I was preparing to camp over there when I saw your campfire, so I came to greet you..."
Indeed, he was the parasitic merchant they had heard about.
His words were insincere, but there was no point in complaining.
"Yes, thank you for your courtesy. We are C-rank hunters of the 'Red Oath,' and I am the leader, Meavis."
Usually, Reina, who had the most hunting experience in the party, took charge, but external negotiations were handled by the official leader, Meavis. Reina was aware that her manner of speaking could be off-putting and that her appearance left a certain impression.
However, Reina had a slightly bitter expression.
This was a sign of her dissatisfaction with Meavis's mistake of revealing their C-rank status to a stranger whose intentions were unknown. Meavis, however, seemed unaware of this.
"How about it, as a sign of friendship, would you like to join us for dinner?"
The merchant said this with a smile, but he undoubtedly had some ulterior motive. A merchant who would share his food with someone just because their campsites were close would not succeed in business. He was either trying to take advantage of them, thinking they were inexperienced, or had some ulterior motive involving the young women.
In any case, Reina judged that there would be no benefit in accepting his invitation and secretly signaled the others. It was one of the hand signals the party had agreed upon, meaning "show them the difference in strength and drive them away." The others agreed with Reina's judgment to avoid being pestered.
"From what I can see, you don't seem to have any food. If you come to our camp, we can share some of our portable rations, though it may not be sufficient."
"No, we have enough food, thank you. If you don't have enough, please share it among yourselves."
With that, Reina firmly rejected the merchant's invitation.
"Huh? But from what I can see, you don't have anything..."
"Maile, please bring out the ingredients!"
"Sure thing!"
Interrupting the merchant, Reina instructed Maile to take out various ingredients from the item box.
Meat, vegetables, fruits, and other items.
The meat, which was kept cool with magic (or so they claimed, but it was actually in the item box), was fresh, not dried.
"Wha...?"
The merchant and his two guards were speechless and frozen in place.
"Storage magic, huh..."
"So, C-rank, huh..."
Ignoring the shocked merchant and guards, Meavis quickly cut the ingredients with a dagger, Reina cooked the meat over the campfire (not using magic), and Pauline used magic to fill a pot with water. Seeing this, Maile was reminded of outdoor practice.
Meanwhile, the nanomachines secretly shed tears over the fact that Meavis's debut with the dagger was as a kitchen knife.
Incidentally, Reina used the campfire instead of fire magic to cook the meat because she realized that cooking with fire magic would burn the outside and leave the inside raw, while cooking over a regular fire was much better. Reina was a good learner.
"So, please don't worry."
With Reina's final words, the merchant and his group reluctantly left.
"What do you think?"
While eating the cooked meat, Meavis asked Reina, who responded with a twisted smile.
"Well, they won't try to force us into anything. At most, if we're attacked by monsters or thieves, they'll try to push us into it."
"...That's unpleasant, isn't it? If we found a merchant in trouble and helped them, that would be one thing, but to be used by someone who is trying to save money by involving unrelated people..."
This would mean that hunters who could have earned money would lose out, and unrelated hunters would be forced to work for free. It was not a pleasant situation. Pauline also looked uncomfortable.
"Then, let's be unrelated!"
"Wha...?"
Maile's sudden words surprised the other three.
"We're not hired by them, and we're not traveling with them, right? We're just heading in the same direction. And even if we say that, it's hard to ignore someone being attacked by monsters or thieves right in front of us.
So, we just don't see it. If people we don't know are in trouble somewhere we don't know, it's not our problem, right?"
With that, Maile smiled.
"Attack! A group of orcs is coming! I can't tell how many!"
In the middle of the night, the guard on watch shouted, waking the sleeping merchant, the other guard who had just taken over the watch, and the two drivers.
"Damn, we don't usually get attacked around here! No choice, let's follow the usual plan!"
"Got it!"
The guards were in charge of dealing with such situations. The merchant followed their instructions as he listened to their conversation.
The plan was to lure the attackers to the "Red Oath" and push the problem onto them.
These inexperienced-looking girls were C-rank, and they had a valuable storage user, so they should be able to handle it to some extent. Young and naive, they would not easily abandon strangers. It was a foolish plan, but very convenient for them.
This time, since it was a party of young women, the merchant had approached them.
Unfortunately, they did not camp together, but at least they were now "acquaintances" rather than "strangers." They would not abandon them.
The cargo on the wagons was not food, and the horses were tied to trees. So, the orcs would first attack the people who could run. The plan was to lure the girls to their campsite and push the problem onto them. This would force them into a fight.
Experienced hunters would demand money afterward, but these girls might be easy to manipulate and might not ask for payment. Of course, that would only happen if the girls survived and they met again.
The plan was to say something like "flank the enemy" and circle around the orcs to return to the wagons and escape. They would only need to fend off the orcs that pursued them.
This time, it was fortunate that the attackers were orcs and the targets were a party of young women.
(But why did they come to us first, even though the smell of grilled meat and the presence of women should have attracted them to the girls' camp? Could it be that the girls have already been attacked...?
No, they are C-rank, so it's impossible for them to be completely wiped out without making a sound...)
The guards continued to run, thinking this.
Finally, the guard leading the merchant and the drivers reached the girls' campsite before being surrounded by orcs. What he saw was a campsite that had been completely cleaned up, with the campfire buried.
"They escaped...?"
Orcs are particularly attracted to female prey.
With four young women, they should have lured most of the orcs. The plan was to return to the wagons and escape during this time, but now...
The guard heard the approaching shouts of the orcs, which brought him back to reality.
The four members of the "Red Oath" walking on the road at night under the starlight.
For the four of them, walking on the road with nothing but starlight was not much of a hindrance.
"Reina, are goblins and orcs carnivores?"
"Omnivores. Didn't you learn that at the training school?"
"Did I...?"
Maile, who had been a bit concerned, scratched her head at Reina's reminder.
"Then, why did you suddenly ask that?"
"Well, we grilled a lot of meat there, and I thought the smell might attract monsters."
"What are you talking about..."
Reina looked exasperated, and Maile shrank.
"Of course it would attract them."
"Wha...?"
Pauline, surprised, added, "What? Maile, you knew that, right? I thought you planned the barbecue on purpose..."
"Wha...?"
"Wha...?"
"......"
The four of them were speechless.
"Well, it doesn't really matter. If monsters were close enough to smell the barbecue, they would have noticed the horses, human voices, and other noises anyway. The possibility that they wouldn't have noticed without the smell of the barbecue is almost zero. Whether you grill meat or not, you will be attacked if it's your time, and you won't be attacked if it's not. It's a matter of luck. Of course, we are no longer part of their 'luck.'
Besides, they knew this too. They prioritized parasitizing us over changing their campsite, so it's not our problem. We just finished our big break for dinner and are moving again. That's all."
Reina added this to comfort Maile, who had a slightly awkward expression.
Thanks to this, Maile felt a bit more at ease.
"Still, Reina, you know a lot. It's hard to believe you were just an E-rank when you entered the training school!"
"......You just don't know enough."
Reina suddenly became expressionless and said this in a flat voice, then fell silent.
(Ah, I must have hit a nerve...)
Maile, who was usually perceptive, noticed her obvious displeasure.
Reina's bad mood continued until they found a new campsite far enough away from the parasitic merchants.