“Where in the world did you drag this piece-of-shit cart from?”
Inside the workshop, a dwarf with a bushy beard snorted.
—Well, among dwarves, one without a beard was rarer.
“Ha ha, Chief Engineer. Do not be like that. They are still guests of our village.”
The association head tried to soften the atmosphere, but even so, he could not refute those words.
Because it really was a piece of shit.
Father wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and glanced over at me.
“Ahem, our boy likes making things. He made it as a sort of game….”
Excuse me…? You are selling me out here?
This is our family's masterpiece.
I had no choice but to make use of sixteen-year-old Mikael again.
“……Ever since I was little, I liked hammering and sawing.”
“Is that so? Then you should not pick up a hammer or a saw.”
“Ha ha… Is that so?”
“More importantly, this cannot be fixed and used.”
“What?”
“Look here. The axle is crooked, is it not? The joints have opened up too.”
He snorted and pointed at the floor with his fingertip.
When his fingertip swept across the gap, the metal crumbled into powder and scattered.
“Both axles are shot. That one is fatigue failure, and this one has eccentricity. Every time the wheel turns, the load shifts to one side. If you roll it like this, the wheel will break first.”
He brushed off his hands and shook his head.
I did not understand it exactly, but two things were certain.
He was a fairly skilled technician, and our cart was such a mess that even that technician could do nothing about it.
“Gasp, then what do we do? We just signed a contract to supply wine to this village today…….”
“What? I heard alcohol came into the village yesterday. Was that you fellows?”
A look of bewilderment briefly crossed the Chief Engineer's face. Of course, we had to have this fixed before we could supply alcohol.
“Yes…… Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and looked back and forth between the association head and Father. I smiled as tactfully as I could, but inwardly, I was breaking into a cold sweat.
As if trying to help us, the association head placed a hand on the Chief Engineer's shoulder.
“If you have a spare cart, could you lend them just one?”
“Ahem…… Well… I can make one for them. But the materials are the problem. I do not have anything left over.”
“Hmm… Do we not have some pinewood and steel?”
The association head asked.
The Chief Engineer tilted his head with his arms folded.
“We do have those. But with wood like that, it will not last long. If two grown men ride it, the axle will be the first thing to creak.”
He thought for a moment, then lifted his hammer.
“Still, I will make one with the materials on hand for now, so you can put out the immediate fire. Instead, next time, bring cherrywood planks and place a proper order. Then I will make you a proper cart.”
“Wow! If it is a proper cart, we will be able to load much more, right?”
The Chief Engineer slowly shook his head.
“No, do not misunderstand. No matter how good the cart is, if the mule is in that state, it is meaningless. In the end, a cart can only be used as much as the strength pulling it allows.”
“Ah…… I see. Then where can we get cherrywood planks?”
“You should be able to get them if you go toward the Southern Kingdom. The wood there is hard, so it is perfect for cart flooring. Now, I am busy, so hurry up and leave.”
At the Chief Engineer's dismissal, Father, the association head, and I were driven out of the workshop. Since there was nothing we could do, we killed time and waited at the village hall.
About half a day later, two new carts stood in front of the workshop.
“Father… Is this why everyone makes such a fuss about dwarves?”
“It seems so….”
That was our first impression as we looked at the carts.
The joints between metal and wood fit together smoothly without a single gap, and the wheels turned gently when touched with a fingertip.
It was truly the work of an artisan.
“They will roll as soon as you connect them.”
Just as he said, the carts moved without the slightest trouble.
We hurriedly finished preparing to return to Heindel Village.
***
Grrrrrrr…… Kuuuuung!
The stone wall closed, and the sound of rock echoed through the valley.
Father and I left Oxhorn Pass together with the Silver Dove Mercenary Corps.
Under normal circumstances, we would have had to pay on the way back too, but the escort captain waved it off, saying he would repay his debt.
The gatekeeper atop the stone wall waved.
“Then see you in three months! Little one!”
“Yes! I look forward to it!”
I opened the ledger while riding on the mule.
∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿
✓ Profit This Time : 33 gold coins
⤷ Less than expected…….
✓ Items Acquired :
⤷ 1 blank certificate of credit (Arise). Later.
⤷ Exclusive wine sales rights for Oxhorn Pass
✓ Our Family's Entire Fortune :
⤷ 52 gold coins / 8 silver coins / a few copper coins
⤷ …Should I say I want to try doing business separately?
✓ Cargo : None (all sold)
✓ Transport : 2 mules + 2 new carts
⤷ Consider buying horses too
⤷ Cherrywood planks? Southern Kingdom?
∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿∿
Just looking at the ledger made my heart feel full.
Is this how rich people feel?
Being a merchant is secretly rather fun.
Of course, probably only when money is coming in.
Step, step.
Each time the mules' hooves stepped on gravel, a low scraping sound flowed out.
The sun tilted beyond the mountain ridge, and long shadows stretched across the valley.
“Mikael.”
“Yes, Father.”
“We should get down and walk soon.”
“What?”
“Mules are not good at walking downhill.”
“Ahh, I understand.”
Holding the reins in my hand, I slowly walked beside the mule.
The sun sank faster than expected.
Since we had spent half a day making the carts, perhaps that was only natural….
Whooooosh.
Wind flowed below the road, and the mountain shadow stretched out and swallowed my toes.
“…….”
Now that the deal had ended successfully, all sorts of thoughts mixed together.
What was the presence I had felt the day before yesterday, and again a little while ago in the workshop? It was not the presence of a magical beast or a monster like a lycanthrope. But it was also slightly different from the aura of the other races.
What on earth is it?
Lost in thought like that, I walked for a long while, staring only at the ground.
“Everyone, halt! We will camp here.”
The escort captain's voice echoed through the darkness.
As soon as those words fell, the mercenary corps members moved in perfect order.
They unloaded firewood, pitched tents, and brought embers to life.
I looked up at the sky for a moment.
Should I try standing guard last today?
If I changed the time slot, perhaps I might find a clue.
“Captain.”
“What is it?”
“Could I stand guard last today? I am too tired…….”
“You do not have some other intention, do you?”
“What? What do you—”
“Ah, no. Then stand the last watch with me.”
Hm…?
I preferred being alone, but this had become troublesome.
In that case, I would have to make another plan.
“I would be very grateful if you did! Understood.”
“Right. Then I will see you later.”
Chasing my energy sense any further was too exhausting, so I lay down under the tent first.
***
Gooooooooo—
Cuckoo, cuckoo.
Deep in the night after midnight.
Only the sound of cuckoos echoed through the quiet forest.
Flash.
My eyes opened naturally.
It was a little earlier than the scheduled time, but the plan had not gone greatly awry.
From the moment the escort captain suggested accompanying me on patrol—
I had already intended to move alone.
A familiar presence seeped through the air.
It was the same one. No doubt.
‘And it is nearby.’
I killed even the sound of my breathing and slowly rose. I carefully pushed aside the blanket and took my sword.
The sensation of a surprise attack, something I had repeated as often as eating back in the military, came alive again.
Rustle. Rustle—
Just as I was about to leave the tent,
“Keugh!”
“……!”
What was that sound?
I reflexively turned my head toward the noise.
“Drrrrrr… Keugh… Keugh!… Snore, snore.”
…It was Father.
It was the sound of him snoring from exhaustion.
I swept a hand over my chest and quietly left the campsite.
The hand gripping the scabbard at my waist tightened on its own.
Tap, tap, tap—
I moved my feet, following my energy sense.
The air trembled strangely.
It grew clearer and clearer.
‘……Ah, have I been caught?’
How long had I walked?
Around ten minutes later, all my senses cut off with a snap.
I quietly lowered myself behind a large rock.
“…….”
I held out without moving a muscle for about twenty minutes, but I had to admit I had failed to track them.
Should I go back?
My physical condition was not complete yet.
If they were a truly skilled person, avoiding them now would be the right thing to do.
I was still sixteen. I had not finished growing, and my amount of mana was still far too lacking.
Still, I am curious…….
Who are they?
The one who dealt with the lycanthrope?
Or simply someone who happened to pass by?
If they can travel this forest alone, they cannot be an ordinary expert.
……Are they even human in the first place?
My feet would not move easily.
It was then.
Click.
A loading sound?
Fuck, I am too late. I have to dodge, now.
I pulled my body back as far as possible and moved away from the rock.
And before my body had even fully escaped—
KABOOOOOOOM!
—the large rock before my eyes shattered.
The blast pressure surged in.
It felt as though my body had been thrown into the air.
Then my left ear rang as if it would tear apart.
My head was dizzy enough to split open.
My vision shook.
RIIIIIIIIING————
‘Did my eardrum burst?’
My consciousness slowly sank.
The last thing I saw was moonlight overturned in midair.
I lost consciousness on the spot.
***
“Haa… Haa….”
Black hair tinged with blue even in the darkness scattered softly with the wind.
She was a tall woman.
She was taller than most men, but her frame looked infinitely slender.
Skin as white and cold as perennial snow.
An unrealistically small face.
Beneath her long eyelashes, her gaze trembled.
No matter who saw her, they would think, “the eldest daughter of a prestigious noble house.”
Her beauty was so perfect that even those words were insufficient.
Her bare legs, lit by moonlight, gleamed coldly, and there was a strangely frigid sensuality in her appearance.
She was breathing hard while gripping a mana-charged gun.
“……He’s not dead, right ? ……Damn it. I think I really went insane.”
Her breath came out tangled.
Cold sweat ran from the hand holding the gun.
She was Hannah of the Empire's Magic Corps.
Only a few days ago, she had been carrying out a simple reconnaissance mission.
To uncover the truth behind the demon attack that had turned the farms of the western region into ruins, the Empire mobilized elite troops to reconnoiter the front.
The zone assigned to her was “Oxhorn Pass.”
Three days ago, when she subdued the lycanthrope, she had already consumed mana several times.
Just as she had barely subdued it and was about to return—
she felt it.
It had certainly been no more than an instant, but it was an intense and unstable vibration of mana.
‘An Awakened……?’
But questions continued one after another.
An aura Awakened? In a countryside place like this?
And…… mixed into a merchant company?
Instinctive curiosity arose.
Since she had also completed her mission early, she had some time to spare. She changed direction.
According to corps regulations, she was supposed to report it, but the mana she had felt had been too brief and faint.
She quietly followed behind them and carefully observed the mercenary corps attached to the merchant company, but no one stood out.
The escort captain seemed to have learned a fair bit of swordsmanship, but he was not someone who could use aura….
The merchants are ordinary too… Was I mistaken?
It was possible her senses had been dulled by the aftermath of the battle with the lycanthrope.
‘I will observe only until tonight, then return.’
On the night she was about to make that final observation—
a certain boy left the campsite and began approaching her.
‘……?!’
It was a distance an ordinary person could never sense.
She quickly cut off her energy sense.
Normally, this would be enough to lose anyone.
Even so, the boy did not change direction.
‘No way…… Is that boy the Awakened?’
Her heart beat quickly.
If he was an Awakened, he was subject to immediate reporting.
No, the bigger problem than that was—
‘At this rate, we are going to run into each other….’
The situation became troublesome.
The merchant company would make noise, saying, “The Imperial Magic Corps was following us in the middle of the night,” and her superiors would tell her to write a report asking, “Why did you not return after your mission was over?”
If he was an Awakened, that would actually be better.
Then at least there would be a reason.
But if he was an ordinary civilian?
And a boy, at that?
A mortifying scene flashed through her mind.
Both would be troublesome.
She could not drag out this ambiguous situation.
‘I will knock him away first and check.’
She took out her mana gun.
If she shot beside the rock and knocked him unconscious with the shock wave—
KABOOOOOOOM!
And so, in the end, after being tracked in reverse by some boy, she had even fired a mana bullet.
She hopped down from the tree and went to the unconscious boy's side.
‘What do I do? If he dies, I really…….’
Report it?
“I shot an Awakened, but I failed to control my strength, so he is in critical condition?”
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Before that, she was not even certain he was an Awakened.
‘I have to save him first.’
After comforting herself, she rummaged through her subspace pouch.
“Ha… Potion! Where are you? I definitely packed one…!”
Her hand trembled. As her fingers searched through the pouch, they touched the cold feel of glass.
But it was not a potion.
It was a top-grade elixir worth dozens of gold coins.
A precious item of which even the corps had only a few bottles, capable of restoring not only wounds, but mana damage and internal injuries as well.
“……I will just go get scolded.”
She placed the boy’s head on her lap.
With one hand, she opened his mouth, and with the other, she uncorked the elixir.
“Drink all of it without leaving a single drop. This is really expensive.”
The golden liquid slowly flowed between his lips.
Only after confirming that the boy had swallowed all of the elixir did she carefully lay him down.
She could feel a faint pulse at her fingertips.
Only then did she feel as though she could breathe a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to chant a protective spell—
“Mikael! Where are you!”
“Mikael! Stop joking and come out!”
Urgent voices came from far away.
“Mikael… Is that this kid's name?”
She lowered her gaze briefly and looked at the boy's face again.
‘Next time… should I come check?’
With complicated feelings, she left the forest.