Chapter 93

Day broke, and the journey resumed.

Perhaps because she had taken the final watch, Alice was currently fast asleep inside the carriage. I was genuinely impressed that anyone could sleep through such violent swaying.

Gen sat with his arms folded, seemingly in the middle of contacting someone. He appeared to be speaking to someone using a tool similar to the one Alice used. I hoped he wasn’t talking about me. I had no intention of meeting Thea right now; it was obvious it would only lead to trouble. At the very least, I couldn’t afford to see her unless Ril and the others were hidden away.

Four days had passed since I began mulling over the scenario of meeting Thea, and we had finally reached the halfway point to Dowal Crown. The area we were in now was a rocky wasteland. The visibility was poor, and the terrain was rugged, littered with small stones.

“Man, this is taking forever. We’re only halfway there?”

“It certainly is a long trip,” Alice agreed.

My whole body was aching from being cooped up in the carriage for so long. Every joint was screaming in protest.

“If speed were the only consideration, it would indeed be faster to cut through the Great Forest,” Aoi remarked.

“Aoi, if we did that, I’d definitely end up being eaten somewhere along the way,” Alice replied.

“I guess I shouldn’t have said I’d take you along then,” I added.

“Ryu! Don’t say that! I’d be so lonely if I were left behind!”

Alice looked so dejected that I offered a rebuttal.

“Well, should I train you then?”

“How long would it take to reach your level, Ryu?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll find you’ve grown quite strong after wandering the border between life and death a few times.”

“I have no desire to do anything that dangerous!”

I figured as much. Most people wouldn’t want that. But that’s how I got strong, and I could certainly guarantee the results.

“Training that made Ryu this strong… I’m actually a bit interested,” Gen mused.

“Captain, this is Ryu’s training we’re talking about! Do you want us—whose only talent is hiding—to die!?”

Since that day, Alice had started calling Gen “Captain” naturally. She had outed his identity the very next day, though he only asked that she keep it a secret while they were in town.

“By the way, what’s the training like?” Gen asked.

“Hmm… let’s see. I’d want to gauge your ability first, so I’d have you hunt a Cockatrice solo.”

“…Isn’t that a bit too hardcore for a start?”

“You think? But I only survived because I managed to clear that.”

I couldn’t talk about Grandfather and the others, but sharing this much was fine.

“…Were you really a Tamer from the very beginning?”

“I’ve been a Tamer through and through, past and present.”

“Typical Ryu. You really are an outlier,” Alice sighed, while Mark just laughed.

Well, if they couldn’t handle a Cockatrice, there were plenty of other monsters, so it wasn’t a problem.

“After that, it’s just about pure survival. Hunting monsters to eat, running away, and sleeping. Something like that.”

“And where exactly does this training take place?”

“In the Great Forest, of course. There’s plenty of food there.”

“…”

“Captain, this is Ryu for you. We must never imitate him.”

“I think ‘we *can’t* imitate him’ is more accurate than ‘must never,’” Gen added.

Alice and Gen shared a dry laugh. Yeah, I guess it was pretty reckless. Even I couldn’t settle down unless I was sleeping against Ril’s belly back then.

“Don’t worry, I’d at least secure a place for you to sleep. Once you get used to living there, you can eat your fill of delicious meat.”

“Let’s just stick to hunting monsters safely as a group,” Alice replied, completely uninterested. She had a point, though.

“Alright everyone, we’re heading out. Also, Ryu, please be careful—bandits appear in this area more often than monsters.”

“Got it. Well, they’re probably just small fry compared to monsters, so it’ll be fine.”

Mark gave a light chuckle at my words, and even Alice and the others started laughing.

As we chatted while being jolted by the carriage, I sensed a presence. Judging by the feeling, it was a group of humans… maybe twenty at most. Their eyes weren’t on the cargo; they were targeting the horses.

“Ryu, here they come.”

“Oh, you noticed. Mark, bandits are likely approaching. About twenty of them. It’s dangerous, so please get inside the wagon. Aoi, can you drive the carriage?”

“Horsemanship is a lady’s requirement.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Also, they’ll likely target the horses first, so I’ll cast some magic on them.”

I cast defensive reinforcement magic on the horses. This would protect them from blowgun needles and arrows. I added magic defense as well. Watching this, Gen spoke up.

“Hey now, it’s rare for bandits to have mages. Besides, what kind of spells did you just cast?”

“Just two: the physical defense spell ‘Castle Armor’ and the magic defense spell ‘Anti-Magic Armor.’”

“No, that’s more than enough. You know what we’re about to fight, right? That’s overkill no matter how you look at it.”

“Just in case, just in case. If you don’t know your opponent well, it’s better to overdo it a little.”

He muttered, “I don’t agree, but fine,” and left it at that.

A short while after Aoi and Mark took over the driving, arrows came flying toward the horses. They were aimed at the horses’ torsos, but my magic successfully blocked them. However, the horses panicked, and Aoi desperately worked the reins to calm them down. In the meantime, a crowd of men armed with daggers and swords swarmed out.

Gen and I had already hopped down from the wagon and were ready to intercept.

“By the way, Gen, what’s your experience with interpersonal combat?”

“Mostly just assassinations. I don’t often fight head-on, but this lot shouldn’t be a problem.”

Gen readied his daggers and eyed the enemies. As expected of a member of the Hero’s party, he wasn’t intimidated by these numbers at all.

“Then I guess I’ll show a bit of my true self too. If I don’t hunt once in a while, my skills will get rusty.”

I didn’t take a stance. I just stood there lazily with my hands in my pockets. The enemies seemed intent on surrounding us before attacking, so they hadn’t made a move yet. Then, a burly middle-aged man stepped forward.

“Do it!”

The bandits attacked all at once. I decided to try wiping them out with the magic I had recently learned. Let’s start with basic offensive magic.

“『Fireball』. 『Ice Lance』.”

The Fireball roasted one man, and the Ice Lance pierced through two bandits in a straight line. The bandits all stared at me at once, but I ignored them and moved to the next step.

“『Ice Field』.”

Ice Field is a wide-range spell that freezes the ground under the opponent’s feet. Thanks to my Magic Perception, I wouldn’t accidentally freeze Gen’s feet, but it’s normally a finicky spell that freezes friend and foe alike. I personally think it’s quite convenient if used correctly.

“Hey, Ryu! Don’t get cocky—hurry up and take them down!”

For some reason, I got a scolding from Gen. Even though he was the one having an easier time finishing them off now that they couldn’t move.

“Yeah, yeah! I’m doing it!”

In that case, I’ll show you some wide-range offensive magic.

“Kill that mage!”

The enemies intended to target me, but it was already too late.

“『Ice Grave』.”

Blades of ice erupted from the ground as if growing from it, impaling all the remaining bandits. This spell can’t be activated unless the ground is frozen, but since I had used Ice Field earlier, all I had to do was trigger it, which made it very easy.

“Alright, all done. You okay, Gen?”

“I thought I was going to be killed by that spell just now! Ice suddenly shot up from under my feet!”

“Sorry, I didn’t have time to say anything.”

I laughed, awkwardly averting my eyes. After defeating the bandits, we continued on our way.