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Chapter 319 – First Escort Request, to the East
I want the size of the caravan to be equivalent, even if it takes a little more time.
In return, I’ll cover the costs needed to achieve that size.
Since we had been proceeding according to this agreement, I understood that Quad-san, who had nearly lost everything, would need time to prepare.
However, nearly a month has passed since I handed over the preparation funds.
The mapping of Ortran is mostly complete, and I’ve delivered the maps to Wadle-san of the Commercial Guild.
At this rate, my Transparency skill should reach level 5 in about ten days. Then, which country should I head to next?
Shouldn’t I gather some intel soon?
Feeling anxious, I visited Quad-san’s shop. Today, the place looked different.
The interior was still devoid of merchandise, but several rough-looking men were now lounging around in the empty shop and the increasingly cluttered back storage room.
For a moment, I wondered if this was an ambush. But half of them were sitting on the floor, leisurely eating their meals. Among them, I could see Quad-san doing the same.
“Huh? Quad-san, what’s going on here?”
“Ah, Loki-san! Finally! We finally got enough people together!”
“O-oh!”
Quad-san, with scratches all over his face, showed his first smile.
I’d heard that gathering people for the coachmen and the guards had been a major stumbling block.
I’d requested that he at least gather enough people to make up the numbers for the guards, even if they lacked the necessary skills. Had he finally managed to gather that many?
“Quite a few people, huh? About 20 total?”
“Eight coachmen and ten guards—eighteen people in total! I had to buy some people from the ‘Slave Trading House,’ but I finally got everyone together!”
“…Huh? What—Slave Trading House?”
His cheerful, matter-of-fact reply left me flustered, and I couldn’t find the words to respond.
I knew that many countries had legalized it and that nobles and merchants were the main buyers. I had learned that much from books about slave-trading houses.
But I never imagined that my proposal would lead to buying actual slaves.
I did say the manpower problem could be solved with money, but slaves were definitely not part of the plan.
You could call it a difference in values, but was it really okay to just go ahead with this?
Just as that feeling started to rise, the big guy eating beside him spoke up.
“Hey, hey, you ain’t got it all wrong, do you?”
“?”
“Just so you know, we’re grateful to Quad-san.”
“That’s right. We’re finally free from that cramped, filthy pigsty.”
“And that stinky, disgusting food!”
The former slaves’ words poured out one after another.
There was no trace of resentment, only gratitude for their “liberation.”
“They’re all debt slaves. But, you know, without something special, it often takes a long time to find a buyer.”
“Ah, I see…”
Quad-san’s words were vague, but that “something” was likely “ability”—meaning skills.
Looking around at the people in sight, there weren’t any exceptionally developed skills, and aside from one person, their abilities were all rather ordinary.
“Even after reaching out everywhere and offering five times the going rate, not a single one raised their hand. So buying them was cheaper, since their debts weren’t that huge anyway. Besides—”
As he spoke, Quad-san went behind the counter, crouched down, and handed me a wooden tablet.
Written on it was:
“If they’re slaves, there won’t be any traitors.”
I found myself silently agreeing as I read it—it made sense.
The reason the trading company vanished remains unknown.
If there was a possibility of betrayal by insiders or hired hands, then hiring slaves from the start would have reduced that risk more than reaching out to acquaintances or connected people.
I feel sorry for them, but if they had been “unsold” for a long time, the likelihood that they were infiltrators under orders from the Kius Trading Company would be even slimmer. Also, signing them to a non-renegotiable slave contract would eliminate one reason for their disappearance.
Whether by chance or design, Quad-san looks like a cute dog, but he might actually be quite the mastermind.
“Understood. I’ve grasped the details, so shall we proceed as planned?”
“Before that, just one confirmation.”
It wasn’t Quad-san who spoke, but rather the large man beside him. He was the only one among the slaves with Animal Training level 2.
“I hear this cargo transport involves serious risks. Are you really the only escort?”
“Um, we have night shift replacements prepared, but basically, yes.”
“Seriously… I know I’m not in a position to complain. You don’t look like you have S-rank strength. But if something really happens, can you protect Quad-san and us?”
“Hey, Begg-san! Loki-san is footing the entire bill here, you know!”
“Haha… I understand how you feel, so don’t worry. Of course I intend to protect you, but proving it is difficult.”
There’s no point in showing off my strength to Begg.
We don’t know what’s waiting for us, so there’s no way I can prove my capability right now.
“Even so…”
“W-well, since Loki-san is here, too, we’ll just do the final confirmation. We cut the slave contract period short to keep costs down, so we don’t have any extra time to waste!”
“Huh? Contract period?”
“It’s the period during which the slave dealer registers you as a proxy master. The longer it is, the more it costs. This time, we got it down to 15 days. Can’t waste money.”
“Ah, I see. Sorry to interrupt. Got it.”
The book on slave-trading houses didn’t cover this kind of information, so this is really educational…
Given the limited costs, it’s only natural to set a deadline for the slave contract period after the sale.
This shows how lax and generous the slave contracts I’ve been handling in Guiniere are.
After that, Quad-san confirmed the travel plans and wrote them down on a wooden tablet.
The journey between Domia and Sanur takes about 13 to 14 days by regular carriage, assuming there are no problems.
After leaving Domia, the caravan heads east through several towns. It’s likely that all four missing caravans stopped in Schraika, a town located about eight days before the Orial Mountain Pass.
Therefore, the problem must lie beyond the Orial Mountain Pass, which takes about three days to traverse from Schraika. Within the pass, the forested section closer to the west is by far the most likely point of disappearance.
Conversely, after exiting the pass, as the Sanur receptionist mentioned, the terrain is open with good visibility. Furthermore, none of the towns beyond the Orial Pass has ever been visited by a Quad Trading Company caravan. Therefore, the likelihood of anything happening after exiting the pass is extremely low.
“Quad-san. So, we can assume there’s basically nothing to worry about until then?”
“Yeah, it should be fine. It’s been like that so far. Before the mountain path, there are just endless fields and farms. There’s nowhere for people to hide properly.”
So, we only need to be on guard for about two days after entering the mountain path.”
“That’s right. Who’s making our caravan disappear, and how? We’ll find out without anyone dying!”
“””Ooh!”””
Even though it wasn’t official, this was my first real escort job since coming to this world.
I listened with admiration as he explained the route without a map, confirming waypoints, water refill spots, and mandatory camping sections.
The next morning, as if to announce our departure, eight horse-drawn carriages boldly set off from Domia, heading east.
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