ch18

“Um… is it possible to continue this trading journey to the end?”

“Remil!”

“Ahem.”

Kyle shouted, seemingly flustered, and Deador reprimanded him with a stern voice.

For them, this trading journey was already ruined.

The carts carrying the goods were all broken, a significant portion of the merchandise was damaged and unusable, and the survivors, not to mention the dead, were all carrying major and minor injuries.

Like this wolf incident, this world still requires humans to risk their lives just to wander outside.

Carrying luggage without carts, and with injuries, to resume the original trading journey would be an impossible task even with two lives.

“That’s… when we started this trading journey, we took on some debt and pushed ourselves a bit too hard… If we liquidate what’s left now, we can at least break even, even if we don’t make a profit…”

As he said that, he glanced at my face, which was turning red, and then turned his head away.

And for good reason.

The words of Remil, the one with weasel eyes, were spoken with a premise.

From their perspective, I was someone who had suddenly appeared and driven away the wolf pack with my mere presence.

They must have judged that I could guarantee their safety, no matter what means I used.

However, after chasing away the wolves, providing treatment, and even finding some of the lost luggage, it was like asking for an escort like a bodyguard.

Like asking for your belongings back after being rescued from the water.

Even the most thick-skinned merchant would have their face flush.

“…You owe your lives for being saved from a deadly situation, and for being able to return to Pohlen safely. Don’t embarrass us any further.”

“Ahem, ahem…”

The other merchants turned their heads away, clearing their throats awkwardly.

Even Deador, who said that, seemed to have been subtly expecting such a proposal, as he had been subtly watching my reaction.

“Deador. How far is it from here to your original destination?”

“…If we walk diligently, it’s about two weeks away, but with Barron like this…”

“Then, how far is it to Pohlen from here?”

“Roughly the same, but Pohlen is a bit shorter.”

The first humans I’ve encountered.

They risked their lives to engage in trade, but ultimately couldn’t avoid misfortune.

Fortunately, they survived thanks to my help, but their assets were now less than before they left Pohlen, so Remil and the other merchants were desperate.

And since I plan to operate in the human world, having a helper is essential for smooth results.

Remil and the other humans… aren’t the type to expect a great reward for the favor, but Deador has been cooperative even before I helped with the trading journey, so it wouldn’t hurt to add more to his debt of gratitude.

If I decide to help Deador, I’ll end up helping the others as well.

If there’s no urgent need to head to Pohlen, it wouldn’t be a big problem to take a detour for about a month to observe the current situation of the humans.

“Well… it’s not like I can’t accompany you for that long.”

At those words, the gazes of the merchants, who had been feigning disinterest, focused on my face, but they seemed to think it was too obvious, so they blushed and turned their heads away.

“Really? Would that be alright?”

“Hmm. I don’t have anything urgent to do. I want to see how the human race lives in various ways anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to help you out along the way.”

“…Thank you.”

I turned to Barron and said,

“I did manage to deal with that guy, but he won’t be able to walk for a while. Elf ointment works well, but I’m not sure if it will work as well on humans, and his injuries are quite severe.”

“We need to make a stretcher anyway, so we can attach small, carved wheels to a flat board underneath to drag him along. We might not be able to make a large cart, but we can carve and make something small like that.”

The merchants had certainly experienced a terrible night they would never forget, but they quickly became enthusiastic about the discussion, perhaps because they had seen hope amidst the misfortune.

As I watched the merchants making plans for what to do tomorrow, I slowly turned my gaze towards the fire.

It was a lively night after a long time.

◈        ◈        ◈

Kyle woke up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and looked around.

His companions, who had been talking around the campfire for a long time last night, were sprawled out haphazardly near the dying embers, covered only with old blankets, as the terrible night’s experience had added to their fatigue, causing them to burn all the firewood they had stored.

A deer lowered its body and yawned as if bored, so he waved his hand at it, but it watched him for a moment, yawned again, and then drooped its neck.

…It felt like it was looking down on him.

“Ugh…”

As morning arrived after the night, the scene of yesterday’s tragedy filled his eyes.

Unlike the night’s vision, which relied on moonlight, the campsite revealed by the sun was gruesome.

The ground was stained black with clotted blood.

And when he saw the black, hardened, bloody flesh with yellow fat, a sign of resistance, he felt like he was going to throw up.

The parts that he hadn’t been able to fully grasp due to the fear of the night before now hit him hard.

He couldn’t bear to keep looking at it, so he roughly overturned the ground with his feet to erase the traces, and he couldn’t bring himself to touch the remains of the bodies, so he pushed them together with broken wooden planks and covered them with dirt.

As he was doing that, he felt annoyed at his companions who were lying down and sleeping so comfortably.

And because of the torn clothes here and there, their appearances were a mess, but he headed to the water to wash up, only to find that someone was already there.

“You’re awake?”

It was the Elf who had introduced herself as El-Araya from the west yesterday.

She had caught two weasels sometime and was removing their insides and preparing them.

While the meat was soaking in the water to remove the blood, she was removing the fat from the skin she had peeled off with a knife.

‘…Long eyelashes.’

Her appearance under the moonlight or by the campfire had been dreamlike, but her appearance under the sunlight was unreal.

Straight eyebrows and emerald-like eyes.

A straight, well-defined nose. Fruit-like lips.

And golden hair that reflected light as if molten gold had been poured over it, reaching down to her waist.

Unfamiliar green attire.

A manner of speaking that didn’t match her appearance.

The sight of her, a small figure who looked younger than his own sister he had left at home, handling two beasts with such ease shattered Kyle’s sense of reality and made him feel like he was floating on clouds.

‘Huh…?’

Something was throbbing in his chest.

Was his body damaged from the shock of the wolf attack yesterday or the death of his companion that they had been talking about throughout the trading journey?

“What are you standing there blankly for? If you’re going to wash up, hurry up and come.”

Araya, who had finished all the preparations, was passing by with the meat and skin.

Kyle, who had been staring blankly at her retreating figure, started washing his face to clear his dazed mind.

The cold water hit his face, cooling down his flushed face and clearing his head a little.

“Let’s get a grip.”

The identity of the mysterious Elf who had chased away the wolf pack had joined them, but trading journeys were always a matter of life and death.

What’s more, they had lost half of their companions and had to carry the injured with them.

Kyle felt the texture of the salt pouch in his chest with his right hand and returned to the campsite.

◈       ◈       ◈

However, contrary to Kyle’s determination from about two weeks ago, the remaining trading journey went smoothly.

There wasn’t even a hint of beasts or monsters lurking nearby along the way.

Moreover, the newly joined companion was also a skilled hunter.

She periodically brought small animals, mushrooms, and wild vegetables, which was better than what he ate in the city for Kyle, who used to chew on raw onions to satisfy his hunger during trading journeys.

And she carefully smoked and dried the skinned hides of the hunted animals, then made strings from long leaves to tie them together and manage them.

Considering that they were each carrying their own loads on their backs because they didn’t have carts, it was much more pleasant than when the trading caravan was intact.

In fact, Kyle didn’t have enough luggage to carry on his back, so he was even able to carry Araya’s bundle of hides for her.

During the journey, Kyle was able to learn a lot about Araya.

He had thought that she might actually be older than she looked due to racial differences, given her old-mannish attitude, but she was actually 10 years old as she appeared. (For some reason, Kyle was disappointed.)

She had survived meeting giants while coming from the west, where human hands couldn’t reach. (She said she had taken that giant as her disciple, but it sounded like a lie.)

And she was born from the bud of a giant tree called the World Tree, the Mother Earth. (He thought it was ridiculous, but when he looked at Araya, he somehow understood.)

The trading journey with the capable and unique Elf companion arrived at the target village without difficulty.

Once they arrived at the village, it was time for the merchants to shine.

The companions, who had been lamenting their fate whenever they became emotional while looking at the campfire, had now become merchants.

The villagers were worried about their disheveled appearance, but they tried to take advantage of their weakness and lower the prices as much as possible, but the merchants, who had become fierce after surviving a life-threatening situation, were also formidable.

After numerous arguments, they were able to liquidate their goods a little better than expected.

The decisive factor was Deador’s strong mention of the wolf pack.

“We encountered a wolf pack on our way here, and half of our companions died and we lost a lot of goods! If you don’t give us a fair price, we won’t be coming back to this village! Can you handle it if the merchants who visit this village disappear?”

Since the small village couldn’t procure all the necessities, Deador’s threat worked strongly.

The person in charge of trade in the village groaned and eventually surrendered.

They all stayed together and had a hard time, but they celebrated the trading journey that had ultimately brought successful results to each of them at the inn.

In Kyle’s case, he exchanged two gold coins worth of salt for 70 silver coins, a bundle of processed hides that could be sold for 40 silver coins in Pohlen, and dried medicinal herbs.

His wealth had nearly doubled in one trading journey.

Kyle felt emotional for a moment as he held the weight of the pouch full of silver coins in his hand.

He took out five silver coins from the pouch, approached Araya, and placed them on the table.

As the other merchants who were watching this also took out silver coins and placed them on the table, only Remil slyly placed three silver coins, but after being stared at intently by Deador and Kyle, he sweated profusely and took out two more silver coins and placed them on the table.

Including Deador’s silver coins, which included Barron’s share, there were 30 coins.

Araya, who had been chuckling at the pile of silver coins in front of her, took a pouch and put the silver coins in it.

“An unexpected income. I’ll use it gratefully.”

“As for the trip to Pohlen, Barron and I will stay here for a while to recover from our injuries. It seems like Barron won’t be able to endure a month-long journey with his injuries. We might be a bit late, but we’ll definitely return and repay the favor I mentioned earlier.”

“I don’t mind, but will you be alright? Without me, you’ll be exposed to the threat of beasts like wolves.”

“I’m planning to hire the hunters from this village as escorts. It’s almost winter, and the hunters don’t have much to do. It’s a side job, so to speak.”