"Everyone, thank you for accepting this request despite the poor conditions."
The next morning, the meeting of the caravan members was held in the central square.
There were six carriages participating. Each carriage had one driver, and there were a total of four merchants. The merchants seemed to be old acquaintances, and the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the hunters who would serve as guards. While it wasn't necessary for the merchants to become too close with the guards, the guards needed to understand each other's strengths and special skills to coordinate and assign roles effectively. If it could increase the probability of a safe nine-day journey, it was worth taking a bit of time here.
"Since some of you were not present when the request was accepted, I will briefly explain the details of this request again."
It seemed that in other parties, only the representatives had negotiated with the client, and there were some who had not received a direct explanation, including Reina.
The client continued:
"The destination this time is Amros, which is a four-day journey one way, and eight days round trip. You will have one day of free time there.
And as you may have noticed, the reward for this escort mission is 1.5 times the usual. The reason, as you may have heard from your companions, is that there is a somewhat large-scale bandit group operating in this area."
The caravan leader, who was the client, looked around at the guards, but no one was surprised. Reina had already been briefed the night before.
"However, that's not all. This caravan is carrying not expensive luxuries but essential items like medicines and special tools for craftsmen, and other things that are 'not too expensive but absolutely necessary.' Delivering these important items is a significant mission, but there is another important purpose. That is... "
The client looked around at the guards again.
"The elimination of the bandits."
That was the true purpose of this caravan, which Reina had heard from the client the day before.
"It will take some time for the lord or the country to take action. If we wait, trade with Amros will be completely cut off. Therefore, we will move with a caravan that assumes bandit attacks. If nothing happens, we will proceed with the trade, and if we are attacked, we will fight with the aim of eliminating the enemy.
It is estimated that there are more than twenty bandits, though unconfirmed. With one B-rank and eleven C-rank hunters, including a mage, I am confident that we can defeat them.
I understand that the reward is low given this purpose. However, we could not prepare any more. Please bear with us.
By the way, in the battle, you do not need to protect us merchants. We will barricade ourselves in the carriages and hold swords on the platforms. From a positional advantage, we can stab bandits trying to climb onto the platform, and there won't be many trying to climb while you are fighting. Once you defeat them, we can deal with the situation later.
So, please focus solely on eliminating the enemy. If we are taken hostage, please ignore us. Even if we surrender, we will be killed anyway.
Do you have any questions?"
The guards were taken aback by the client's final words. It seemed that even those who had negotiated had not heard this before.
"... Why go to such lengths?"
One of the three young men in their early twenties, who had accepted the guard duty, asked.
"Well, if you ask why... I suppose it's because we are merchants, and Amros has been a long-time customer."
"... You're an idiot! There are idiots around!"
The leader of another party, consisting of three men and two women in their early thirties, burst out laughing, but was interrupted by a woman standing next to him.
"Then, why did you accept such a request?"
"Obviously, because I'm a 'big idiot'!"
The five members of the party laughed foolishly. It seemed to be a common occurrence.
"Then, let's move on to introductions. I'm Bart, the leader of 'Dragon Breath.' I'm a B-rank swordsman. There are no other B-ranks here, and our party is the largest, so I would like to take charge of the overall guard plan and command during battles. Is there any objection?"
After a moment of laughter, the leader returned to a serious tone. Everyone nodded, so Bart continued.
"Our members are: Calem, a swordsman; Fergus, a spearman; Vera, an archer and dagger user; and Jini, a mage. Jini is skilled in combat magic, but don't expect much in healing."
Next, the three young men in their early twenties introduced themselves.
"I'm Brett, the leader of 'Flame Wolf.' I'm a swordsman, along with Chuck. Daryl is a spearman."
"......"
Several people gasped. It was no wonder. The balance was too poor.
While larger parties can be found among B-rank and above, the ideal number for F to C-rank parties is around 5 to 7.
A party of four can handle low-level monsters or be skilled enough to manage.
If there are more than eight, it usually means they are training younger members or should split into two parties and add new members. A party is dangerous with too few members and prone to conflicts over money and relationships with too many. In this case, the more members, the less the reward per person.
More importantly, balance is crucial.
A party of four with a swordsman, spearman, archer, and mage is much more likely to succeed than a party of four swordsmen. Given this, 'Flame Wolf' was terribly unbalanced, and with only three members, it was questionable.
"... I know about the numbers and balance! Until a few months ago, we had two girls, an archer and a mage!"
"What happened to them?"
Miles asked without thinking. The others made faces of "Oops," but it was too late.
"They were recruited by a cool all-male party of four and quickly switched over. They came back recently and asked to team up again, but I refused. We don't want to bring pregnant women to battle or raise other men's children."
"O-Oh, I see..."
Silence fell, but Mavis, who could read the room, spoke up.
"I'm Mavis, the leader of 'Red Oath,' a swordsman. This is Reina, a mage, Pauline, another mage, and Miles, a magic swordsman."
"Magic swordsman?"
The three members of 'Flame Wolf' asked in surprise. It seemed that the members of 'Dragon Breath' had seen the graduation exam, but 'Flame Wolf' had not.
That's why they hadn't said, "Can a little girl like this handle this request?" The client had also seen the exam, or they would have hesitated to give this request to 'Red Oath,' who looked like minors.
"I can use magic and swords decently. You won't have to worry about water on the journey!"
Seeing the slightly worried faces of 'Flame Wolf,' the members of 'Dragon Breath' chuckled. They probably thought, "Don't worry, we're stronger than you!"
"Reina is skilled in attack magic, Pauline in healing and support magic, and can handle attack magic at a normal level. She's a versatile type..."
"What? That's a relief! I thought you'd be a burden with all young girls, but you seem useful."
The spearman of 'Flame Wolf' said this and was nudged by the leader.
Mavis just smiled. She was aware of how they were perceived by others.
After exchanging information about their specialties, they set off.
The guards would all ride in the carriages to increase travel speed and avoid being tired if attacked. Normally, guards would be visible to deter attacks, but not this time.
Three members of 'Dragon Breath' were in the lead carriage, the other two in the second. The three members of 'Flame Wolf' were in the last carriage, and 'Red Oath' was in the fourth carriage.
This position allowed them to respond quickly to attacks from the sides and provide support from the front or back.
The front and back positions couldn't immediately respond to attacks from the opposite side, as bandits often attacked from both sides to take advantage of the concentration of forces.
Placing 'Red Oath' there was likely Bart's consideration to keep the girls in the safest central area. Even if he thought they were probably stronger than 'Flame Wolf,' it was a man's instinct to keep underage girls safe.
The members of 'Flame Wolf,' being adult males, didn't complain.
On the first day, still close to the capital, there were no bandits or monsters, and they set up camp safely.
The merchants slept in the narrow spaces of their carriages, which was better than sleeping outside.
The drivers and guard hunters slept outside with a blanket, and under a carriage or a large tree if it rained.
However, for Miles and the others...
"Hey, what's that...?"
"It's just a regular tent, cushions, and blankets..."
"Where did you store all that?"
It was understandable that the young members of 'Flame Wolf' were curious. The carriages were packed with cargo, and the merchants could only sleep inside because the others slept outside. There was no room for personal items.
After setting up their beds while it was still light, they finally had dinner.
The client provided the food during the journey, but the options were limited to preserved, light, and cheap items. Hard bread, a piece of dried meat, and soup made from dried vegetables were the usual fare, and the portions were far from filling.
Miles and the others, being frugal, took everything offered. They gave the hard bread and dried meat to Miles, who put them in the item box. Miles then disappeared and returned with four horn rabbits.
Mavis, using a knife Miles had produced from nowhere, prepared the rabbits, and Reina grilled them over a fire. The delicious smell spread...
"Would anyone like some?"
At Miles' invitation, the guards, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over.
Incidentally, Mavis started using a knife instead of a dagger for cooking because Miles found it creepy when she used a dagger for cooking and heard mysterious sobbing.
The rabbit meat ran out due to everyone's voracious appetite, and Miles took out some of the charred rock lizard and orc meat from the item box.
"Storage...?"
This surprised not only 'Flame Wolf' but also 'Dragon Breath.' It was rare to see someone with storage, and it hadn't been shown during the graduation exam.
Even the merchants, who had not taken meat out of pride, finally couldn't resist and gathered around.
"Storage user! That's amazing..."
The merchants sounded genuinely envious. Indeed, it was a coveted ability for merchants.
"Can we have some meat...?"
One merchant finally asked, and the others quickly joined in, gnawing on the meat.
This time, to prevent monsters from being attracted by the smell, Miles used a magic to gather the scent particles and informed everyone to put them at ease.
He also offered a warm shower service to those who wanted it.
The two women from 'Dragon Breath,' Vera and Jini, naturally jumped at the chance.
And Bart, who had already used the phrase many times, muttered: