There were several reasons why I openly revealed that I was a mage.
The most important one was that a mage didn't need any separate proof of identity.
Ordinary porters and mercenaries had to go through quite a troublesome process because there were so many riffraff and swindlers among them.
Made sense.
If you took in just anyone, not only might they run away in the middle of the journey, you could also end up with people who stole goods or harbored even worse intentions.
A mage, however, was solid proof of identity in and of themselves.
Using magic meant that not only were you born with mana sensitivity recognized by the Magic Tower, you had also formally studied magic at the Magic Tower.
Regardless of one's current skill level, at least in terms of trust, a minimum guarantee existed.
Well, as for other advantages, I could travel with the caravan much more comfortably, and the pay was quite generous too.
"...Good heavens, no wonder you looked a bit out of place when you walked in. May I ask your name?"
"Kael."
The broker didn't doubt me. In the first place, a caravan brokerage where porters and mercenaries came and went was an ill-fitting place for a mage. He seemed to accept my slightly awkward demeanor in that light, figuring it was my first time gaining real-world experience.
"I see. Master Mage Kael."
Nodding at the name I had made up on the spot, the broker wore a somewhat puzzled expression.
"Though why would a mage...?"
It was a fair enough question. A big city might be another story, but high-level talent like a mage didn't suit a caravan in a country village like this.
I chose my words for a moment. Just as I was quickly picking out a plausible excuse—
"...Hmm. Asking about the details of your circumstances would be rude of me, wouldn't it? Very well."
The man nodded readily. He didn't seem to want to rub a mage the wrong way.
A special class really is convenient.
"..."
Glancing back at the wooden target that had been blown to pieces despite being reinforced with several layers, the broker swallowed dryly.
"Do I need to compensate you for it? It's hard to control my strength."
Looking at him, I spoke casually with a calm face.
"...Not at all. I was just about to replace it anyway. Haha."
The broker looked at me with a forced smile. Meeting the man's eyes, I nodded as if relieved.
***
Of course, fear wasn't the only reason the broker accepted my request.
"Now, everyone, may I have your attention please!"
The pay for a mercenary escorting a caravan was several times that of a porter. Even among mercenaries, of course, pay was scaled according to individual rank or skill.
Naturally, then, the pay for a special class like a mage was at a considerably high level.
And when my pay went up, the commission the broker received naturally rose right along with it.
From the man's perspective, a windfall had practically rolled right into his lap.
Guiding me with the utmost politeness, the broker approached the merchants chatting with one another in the waiting room to the side. Then, with practiced skill, he began introducing me.
"Ah, Mr. Heaton! Didn't you say you were worried about having too few mercenaries when you have to cross the Herta Plateau? As it happens, a skilled mage is right here..."
"Ms. Berta. Earlier, you asked me for the highest-rank mercenaries possible, didn't you? Better yet, this mage right here..."
His bored demeanor from when I first saw him was gone, replaced by sparkling eyes as the broker chattered away. Standing a little behind him, I watched him work. Probably thanks to the commission coming his way, he was quite enthusiastic.
The effect showed right away.
Interested at the mention of a mage, merchants began rising from their seats one by one.
No surprise there. High-level talent like a mage wasn't easy to come by, after all.
"...A mage? How surprising. I thought they were only found at brokerages in the big cities."
"Haha! Of course! Now, please feel free to talk it over. This is Master Mage Kael!"
Gazes flew toward me in an instant. The broker smoothly steered the situation.
"I can vouch for his skill myself. I just finished verifying it a moment ago!"
"Ah. So that loud blast we heard a moment ago was..."
As if to check with their own eyes, a few merchants stepped out to the backyard briefly and came back. Before long, the surroundings grew noisy.
"Come with me, Master Kael. I will make sure you are generously compensated."
"Tsk, tsk. Trying to quietly lowball him later again, are you? I'll state my offer clearly right now. Fifty silvers a day. How does that sound?"
"Then I'll offer sixty silvers a day—"
The price shot up rapidly. Considering that hiring an ordinary Bronze-Plate Mercenary for a day cost roughly ten silver coins, it was a considerably high starting point.
Listening to the merchants' offers coming from all around, I carried my thoughts forward.
The money I currently had left was eight silver coins and three copper coins. It wasn't a small sum in the countryside, but considering the distance to the big city and the prices there, it was an absurdly insufficient amount.
What's more, after finishing full preparations in the city, I also had to set out to obtain the next rune or artifact.
'It'd be best to earn as much as I can while I have the chance.'
I glanced over the merchants.
Right now, they probably thought of me as being around the level of an apprentice mage. For someone who looked to have just entered his twenties, that was the norm.
I didn't want to inflate it any further than that. Either way, there was only one kind of spell I could use right now.
Even just that much, however, made me high-level talent incomparable to ordinary mercenaries. Especially in the countryside like this.
The price skyrocketed in no time. As the daily rate neared one gold, several merchants showed signs of reluctance.
"...That's too expensive. I'm out."
It was an understandable decision.
The reason a merchant hired mercenaries was to prepare for attacks by bandits or monsters. But plenty of caravans traveled back and forth between cities, and in fact, many of them arrived at their destinations without any particular danger.
A full gold coin a day. If nothing happened all the way to the destination, that expensive hiring fee would clearly feel like a waste.
Basically, it was a kind of insurance.
Still, among them, there were merchants determined to hire me no matter what.
Because so much was riding on this caravan, they seemed to want to secure their safety even if it meant paying a high sum.
"...Hmm. How about one gold and forty silvers?"
The highest price reached after several raises. Judging anything beyond this to be a clear loss, the other merchants sighed or shook their heads and left the building.
A sum reached after fierce competition among the merchants. There was no reason to refuse.
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
At my answer, the merchant breathed a sigh of relief. I shook hands with him.
"We depart in five hours. Our destination is Cailen."
The merchant's name was Bernard. His caravan consisted of ten wagons in total.
The number of porters and mercenaries was close to thirty as well. I didn't know the exact details, but he seemed to have pulled together a lot to invest in this trip.
After filling out the contract brought over by the broker, I signed my name at the bottom.
The pay was one gold and forty silvers a day. Two meals a day. The duration was roughly two weeks.
Skimming over the contract, which was drawn up quite meticulously regarding various unexpected situations and payment methods, I nodded in satisfaction.
Starting out as a mage really changes the way you're treated.
"I look forward to working with you, then."
"Haha. Likewise."
After exchanging brief pleasantries with Bernard, I left the grinning broker—who seemed to have pocketed a hefty brokerage fee—behind and walked out of the building.
Now it was time to set out in earnest.
***
Joining the caravan was a pretty wise call.
No matter how much infinite mana I had, in a reality where fast travel obviously didn't exist, traveling a distance that took several weeks all by myself carried a considerable risk.
Regular meals, plus traveling alongside reliable mercenaries who knew the way, would probably be several times more comfortable.
Along with generous pay, of course.
"All right, move out!"
As soon as the porters, who had started preparing and loading cargo onto the wagons two hours before departure, finished their work, Bernard's shout rang out right away.
As befitted a merchant skilled in calculation, he didn't allow even the slightest waste of time.
The spot where I sat was at the front of a cargo wagon. With cargo piled up all over, it was cramped and jolted terribly, but considering that the porters were following along on foot, it was a pretty comfortable ride.
Bernard, the owner of the caravan, was riding in the exact same spot on the front cargo wagon too.
Leaning back against a pile of sacks that seemed to hold grain, I listened to the chatter of the mercenaries perched precariously on top of or beside the wagons.
"Seems like our departure was delayed by about thirty minutes. Did something happen?"
"Well, get this. They say some lunatic cut down a tree and toppled it right across the middle of the forest path."
"Ah, I saw that too. Looking at the size of the tree, there's no way one person did that alone."
Their voices drifted over.
"..."
Keeping my gaze fixed straight ahead, I listened to a conversation that made me feel a bit guilty.
"Well, thanks to that, the village won't have to worry about firewood for the time being."
"It wasn't a size a bear or wild boar could knock down. Damn it, could it be a monster?"
"No. Looking at the cross-section, it was clearly man-made."
"Yeah, I saw it too. Though they weren't axe marks. It was closer to a spear or a fist..."
The mercenaries chatted away, seemingly unable to imagine in their wildest dreams that the mage right in front of their eyes had done it to test out rune magic.
Clearing my throat, I turned my gaze forward.
As we left the village, open fields came into view.
Our destination was Cailen. A big city located quite far from here.
'Since this is near the upper reaches of the Levain River...'
In my head, I pictured the map of the continent—and within it, the Kingdom of Antalic where I currently was.
Then, retracing the quests and side stories I knew, I calculated the unexpected events that might occur along the caravan route.
For a veteran like me who had repeated the game hundreds of times, it wasn't a very difficult process.
When about two or three hours had passed since our departure like that—
"Halt!"
A loud shout rang out from up ahead.