"That's quite fast, isn't it?"
"But of course. We went to the trouble of preparing all of this precisely for that reason. It would be troubling if we ended up slower than walking."
Vihera muttered as she gazed out the carriage window at their surroundings, and Gimekara offered a smile in reply.
Gimekara, who could perhaps be called an agent of the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, was currently traveling together with Rei and his group.
This arrangement stemmed from his desire to use the Zorgeh Merchant Guild's influence to benefit Rei's group whenever possible, and to secure even slightly preferential treatment once they reached Gilm.
Originally, Gimekara had not intended to travel alongside them.
However, he had likely developed an intense sense of crisis after his exchange with Daskar through the Paired Orb the previous night.
For that reason, he acted to benefit Rei's group wherever possible, keeping in mind that he might need to borrow their help should anything arise in Gilm.
Gimekara's choice was by no means wrong.
After all, the influence Rei's group wielded in Gilm was on an entirely different level from that of ordinary adventurers.
"Still... I never imagined it would take this long just to depart."
The one who muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction was Elena.
Until now, their journey had involved leading the women and Resistance members who had escaped from Mejougo.
That travel speed had been by no means fast, yet Elena had never complained about it. But now that they were traveling by carriage, her nature as a military figure bearing the alias of Princess General apparently surfaced.
And as the Princess General, the clumsiness with which everyone boarded their respective carriages before departure did not sit well with her.
"Come on, if they were soldiers, that'd be one thing. But most of them are just ordinary people who've never had any training. Don't ask for the impossible."
"But, Rei..."
Even after hearing Rei's words, Elena could not entirely hide her displeasure. She likely judged that pressing the point any further would be pointless.
Brushing up her golden hair, she fell silent.
"A-ahaha. As expected of someone bearing the alias of Princess General, it seems your standards are quite high."
Gimekara, who had been watching the exchange, spoke up as if to lighten the mood.
The first to react to his words was, quite unexpectedly for Rei, Vihera.
"Well, it's the first day, so it can't be helped. We still have quite a lot of time before we reach Gilm, so if we keep going like this, they'll get used to it."
"Besides, if we keep moving like this, the numbers will thin out at least a little. When that happens, things should get a bit easier to manage."
As Marina had noted, when they departed from the outskirts of Dolgana that morning, a little over ten people had split off from the group.
Those individuals had their various reasons, but they were the ones who had chosen to settle in Dolgana from here on.
Given that Dolgana was a relatively large city within Reblurina, many probably found it an appealing place to live.
Among them were some who had used their feminine wiles to ingratiate themselves with a reasonably wealthy individual, but that was not something the people remaining in the group needed to concern themselves with.
(Staying in Reblurina given its current state feels tantamount to suicide... Well, they made their own judgment and decided for themselves, so I don't need to say anything.)
Gazing out the carriage window, Rei mused to himself.
At the end of his line of sight, he could see Set running at a distance from the carriages.
The horses pulling the carriages prepared by the Zorgeh Merchant Guild were not military horses that had undergone rigorous training.
If they had been the horses pulling Elena's carriage, they would not have panicked at the sight of Set even on a first encounter, but horses trained that thoroughly were naturally extremely expensive.
The ones the Zorgeh Merchant Guild had provided were ordinary horses, so it was only natural they would cower in Set's presence.
That was precisely why Set was running at a distance from Rei and the others.
The fact that Rei could still see Set was because the carriage he rode in was traveling at the head of the group.
"It looks like the guards Gimekara prepared are getting along with the Resistance members too."
From what Rei had observed before departure, there had been a slight tension between the guards and the Resistance members, though it was nothing hostile.
If anything, the more accurate description would be that neither side knew how to gauge their distance from the other.
For some reason, Ryutas had meddled in the situation, and ultimately things had worked themselves out naturally.
"Indeed. I went through quite a lot of trouble selecting them, so I'm glad to see it pay off. Though in terms of combat skill, they're certainly not exceptional."
"Don't worry about that. Even if something happens, with numbers on our side, we can handle most opponents. And in the worst case, we'll just step in ourselves."
"True, but then various problems would arise after Rei-san and your group are gone... As I thought, I do need to gather a few skilled guards."
The fact that Rei's group would not be traveling with this assembly forever had been stated in advance, and above all, Daskar had firmly reiterated it during their conversation the previous day.
Given that, from Gimekara's position, there was no question that he needed people capable of handling situations when they arose.
If it became known that the guards were all unskilled, this group would be nothing but perfect prey for bandits.
(In that regard, the villages we'll stop at along the way won't have anyone particularly skilled, so we'll have no choice but to search in a city. Ideally, we could find someone within Reblurina's borders.)
Within Reblurina, there was at least a possibility of using the Zorgeh Merchant Guild's influence to hire strong adventurers.
But once they left the country, that would no longer be an option.
Of course, if asked whether all influence would vanish entirely, the answer would be no.
"For that, you really have no choice but to find capable personnel somewhere. Though finding someone like that in the first place will be difficult."
"That's... true, isn't it. Skilled individuals with no personality issues are, naturally, in extremely high demand."
Gimekara spoke with a regretful tone, but that was only natural.
An adventurer with both skill and a clean reputation was a reliable asset for anyone.
It would not be surprising at all if they were in constant demand for work from all manner of places.
"However, it's not as though such adventurers can absolutely never be hired. After all, this group is headed for Gilm."
"So there are people like that out there. If they can set out on a journey at this time of year, they'll reach Gilm before winter. Besides, this year, even if they haven't saved up enough money to get through the winter, it won't be that much of a problem."
"That's right. I hear the expansion construction will continue through winter as long as the snow isn't too severe, so for this year, next year, and probably the year after, even those who haven't saved up enough winter funds won't need to go monster hunting during the cold months."
Working on expansion construction in sub-zero temperatures with snow falling was a job Rei wanted to avoid as much as possible, but even so, it was certainly more profitable and far safer than going monster hunting in winter.
If adventurers from this area headed to Gilm now and such work was available, even those without much financial leeway should be able to earn considerably more easily than in a typical year.
(In my case, I have Set, so I don't have trouble finding monsters even in winter, and getting around is easy. But ordinary adventurers have to trek through the snow.)
Rei thought about his winter life since coming to Elgin, though in reality, Set sometimes went out alone from Gilm during winter to hunt, partly to burn off excess energy during the off-season.
Originally, Gilm was frontier territory, and many of the monsters that appeared in the surrounding areas were high-ranked.
What's more, in winter, there were even monsters that only appeared during that season.
...But even against such monsters, Set could easily defeat them single-handedly.
For an ordinary adventurer, Set's combat prowess and mobility would be a source of intense envy.
Also, Set occasionally brought back meat from defeated monsters as a souvenir, so in that sense as well, Rei was the object of envy.
Under normal circumstances, one would never—could never—let Set out alone, let alone allow a returning Set to wander straight back into the city.
However, that only applied under normal circumstances, and Set possessed a level of fame that could not be called ordinary.
Set, an existence that could be described as Gilm's mascot, was so well-known that anyone unaware of it would be told they must have been living under a rock.
"Rei-san, what should we do? A group that appears to be a merchant caravan is approaching from the opposite direction."
At the coachman's voice, Rei opened the door leading to the driver's seat and looked ahead.
The midsummer sunlight beat down, and the heated grassy scent drifting from the meadows along the highway stimulated Rei's nose.
Intense direct sunlight was also pouring down, but the driver's seat had a proper roof—and more importantly, Rei was wearing the Dragon Robe, so he showed no particular concern about such things.
Under those conditions, Rei's gaze landed on the figures of several carriages heading their way.
The reason those carriages appeared somewhat hesitant was undoubtedly because Rei's group was extraordinarily large.
A normal merchant caravan might consist of anywhere from a few to a dozen people for a small one, and at most around a hundred or so for a large one.
But Rei's group numbered nearly a thousand.
With that many people on the move, they were naturally not proceeding in a single file line. They were making maximum use of the highway, and where that was insufficient, they were spilling off the road itself.
In such a situation, passing a group coming from the opposite direction—as in this case—naturally required various precautions.
"For now, give a signal to open up a gap. I'll go over and offer a quick greeting—"
"No, wait, Rei-san. I'll handle this."
Gimekara cut in before Rei could finish. He explained that since the other party was a merchant caravan and they were still in Reblurina, it would be better for him to show his face. Rei hesitated briefly but ultimately left it to him.
Since they were in Reblurina, the Zorgeh Merchant Guild's name would carry sufficient weight. More than that, Rei figured he wanted to let Gimekara earn at least a little credit of his own.
Strictly speaking, there was no need to be this considerate toward Gimekara, but given that the man had prepared a massive amount of supplies including carriages, Rei judged it wouldn't hurt to accommodate him beyond merely introducing him to Daskar.
Whether he understood Rei's reasoning or not, Gimekara called over one of the mounted guards, had them let him ride along, and headed toward the approaching caravan.
"Will he be okay?"
Gazing at Gimekara's retreating figure, Vihera muttered.
But considering Gimekara's agreeable personality and the brand value of the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, Rei's guess was that there would likely be no problem.
"Probably fine. If they operate in Reblurina, they'll have to respond appropriately when they hear the Zorgeh Merchant Guild's name."
Vihera turned a questioning gaze on him, as if asking, Really?
But sure enough, Rei could see Gimekara on the guard's horse, speaking amicably with a stout figure who appeared to be the caravan's representative.
Seeing that, anyone—not just Rei—would have understood that things were likely fine.
After a few minutes of conversation, Gimekara eventually returned toward Rei's carriage.
He wore his usual calm smile.
It was a smile that made it hard to believe the discussion with the caravan had ended on anything but good terms.
"Everything is fine. The greetings went smoothly. The other side apparently feels it would be dangerous to move carelessly given the current situation, so they'll wait for us to pass through."
"I see. That helps."
"Not at all."
Smiling at Rei's words, Gimekara returned from the horse to the carriage.
Just as before, the way he leaped from the horse onto the driver's seat was not the movement of an ordinary merchant, but the bearing of someone who possessed at least some degree of physical skill.
(Well, he's the one representing the Zorgeh Merchant Guild in approaching us. He's no ordinary merchant.)
Gazing at Gimekara once more, Rei thought to himself as the carriage continued onward toward Gilm.