Chapter 19: Water Deal (The Taste of Helping Others)
I finally arrived at the roads, but which way should I go from here?
The road continues from north to south. Harula was supposed to be towards the east, so I wasn’t sure which way I was suppose to go.
Both directions led to a fork in the path, so if I just chose a way and ended up being wrong I would have to come back. What should I do?
I looked around and saw a small forest on the left. There was some space between the road and the forest, so it seems the clearing could be used as a simple campground.
It was a bit of a gamble, but perhaps I should stop here for today? Maybe someone would pass by.
If someone did pass by, then I could ask them for directions. Alright, let’s go with that.
As such, I moved towards the clearing. I checked around for any people, but it seems there wasn’t anyone around.
I didn’t have the courage to sleep in a place that was completely visible from the road, so I decided to make camp after going into the forest. I had a lot of firewood in Storage. So preparing a campfire was easy. I also installed a simple self-made tent. I wasn’t about to do anything conspicuous like bring my house out here. Having peace was the best.
I took out a small pot and bowl and began meal preparations. I had a lot of orc meat, so I decided to use it to make soup.
While I was preparing the meal, a large carriage came by and stopped in the clearing.
A few men came out from inside the carriage and briefly looked over the area before starting to set up camp.
What should I do, should I call out to them?
I was still wearing my cloak and my hood was still on. How would they react to a suspicious looking person who kept their face hidden with a hood? If it were me……I wouldn’t be so sure. I glanced behind me, Norn was currently eating together with Bell. My eyes met Norn’s eyes. It seems she was telling me not be worried.
If it came down to it, Norn would be there. But it would be troublesome if things were to proceed that way, so I decided to wait and observe for a bit.
It’s not because I’m bad at interacting with people, or anything.
Thus I decided to ignore them for now and continue with meal preparations. But before that, let’s put on a small disguise. And done!
Fake glasses!
I had made these glasses using Creation Magic during the last few days of travel.
While I call them fake glasses, in truth they weren’t actually just glasses. If you wear these glasses, you also become able to use the Appraisal skill!
But the effect was only equivalent to LV2. In addition, it would cost 10 MP for each use. So it wasn’t really usable.
But I made these so I could deceive others about my Appraisal skill, thus it wasn’t a problem. Rather, I purposely set the MP cost to be that high. My Appraisal Skill was currently LV9, so it would be bad if other people found out.
Also, when you wear glasses, the impression of how other people perceive your face completely changes. As such, it would be perfect for a disguise, I had made them with that in mind.
After I finished making the glasses, I also obtained the skills [Magic Conferment] and [Skill Conferment]. I kept track of the time.
And I resumed cooking after putting on the glasses. After a while the small pot begins to boil. And a good smell wafts forth. Yep, looks delicious.
“Hello, it looks like you’re also taking a break here.”
They’re here–!
“Ah, yes.”
He appears to be a merchant, perhaps somewhere in his twenties? I also saw several people preparing food towards the back. One, two……so a total of four people?
“Are you alone?”
“No, I’m with others.”
When he noticed Norn behind me, he became a little surprised. Norn was much bigger than the average wolf.
“Hm, a wolf? Excuse me, but are you a tamer?”
“Well, yes.”
That was a lie. She’s actually my friend.
Tamers are adventurers who tame monsters or demons and use them to fight battles. I’ve heard before that there were some tamers who use dogs or wolves, so it wouldn’t be suspicious even if I said yes.
“It’s rather big, is it perhaps a great wolf?”
“Well, it’s similar.”
I tried glossing it over by being ambiguous. Apologies, she’s actually a Fenrir. The two monsters were completely different from each other. Greater wolves were higher-class species within demonized wolves. Demonized wolves were bigger than normal wolves, and Greater Wolves were even larger. Since Norn was also quite large it was possible to mislead him. On a side note, the smaller ones are called wild wolf or lesser wolf.
“I see, I saw a young girl all alone by herself, so I was wondering if everything was alright…..but it looks like I was just worrying too much.”
“Not at all, I appreciate the concern. Are you perhaps a merchant?”
“Yes, I’m on my way back from Oneill. And I’m currently heading towards Harula.”
Harula! That saves me the trouble of asking! I was actually troubled on how to bring that up. I see, Oneill, huh. I wonder if everyone was doing alright?
……Oneill is the town with the orphanage I grew up in.
“Where is little miss from?”
“Ah, I’m from a village located in the forest.”
Obviously, I couldn’t tell him the truth so I made up something. I’ve been lying non-stop since a while ago, it was a bit unpleasant.
“Father, the food is ready!”
A little girl called out to the man. Good, there’s a child with them. Then there’s a total of five people. That aside, I also get the feeling that the two escorts have been looking towards my direction since a while ago.
“Ah, is that so? In that case, I’ll take my leave little miss.”
“Alright, see you then.”
The merchant began heading back towards the carriage.
After I finished eating my meal I immediately went to bed. During the middle of the night, I had this sensation that I was being observed, but nothing happened. Well, even if something were to happen, Norn would solve it without any problems.
My daily routine? As if I’ll do that in the middle of traveling! Eh? Would I be alright? I can endure it!
I woke up the next morning to the sound of loud voices. Ughh, I want to sleep for a bit longer……
As I listened, I heard the voices of the merchant and his escorts yelling at each other.
……It seems they’re arguing about something.
“Did something happen?”
“Ah, little miss.”
……After asking about the situation, it seems they might run out of water.
Apparently, the merchant had stored the usual amount of water he used for traveling. But the adventurers he would usually ask for escort weren’t available this time around, so he had temporarily hired some other adventurers. However, the two adventurers who were hired this time drank more water than expected, thus there was a possibility they might run out of water before reaching a campsite where they would be able to replenish their supplies.
When he informed the escorts about the situation, it seems they got angry and blame him for not properly preparing.
Well, to be frank, from what I heard both sides had faults.
I didn’t really want to get involved in this troublesome matter…….but there was also a little girl with them.
“Would you like me to share my water supplies with you?”
“Eh? Is it really alright? That is…it doesn’t seem like you are carrying much supplies with you…..”
Right, that’s what it looks like.
I was only carrying a medium-sized leather bag on me. Although, this bag was actually just a dummy bag with a blanket rolled up inside. All my possessions were stored in Storage.
“Ah, I can use water magic.”
“That is…but you look rather young, are you sure you’ll be alright with sharing with us?”
He had a surprised expression on his face. The amount of water needed for a person traveling alone and five people was completely different. Naturally, water created using water magic would consume MP. Thus, it wouldn’t be possible to produce that amount of water without sufficient MP. I was wearing a cloak with a hood, but I was still very short. As such, it probably appeared like I was a child. He probably though I didn’t have enough mana to produce enough water for five people.
“Yes, I’ll be alright. Water magic is also my speciality.”
My water magic was currently LV6.
And so he was grateful that I shared water with them and thanked me by giving me 10 silver coins.
Furthermore, after finding out that we were heading to the same destination, he even offered to take me there with them.
Thus, I helped them and was helped in return. Lucky!
However, the looks the escorts were giving me made me feel anxious.1