Chapter 106: A Suspicious Presence
The next day, we continued our journey along the highway with great vigor. Since we were learning various aspects of escorting from the Crimson Sword party, we decided to depart from our campsite early.
By early afternoon, we had been overtaken by others who had camped nearby, and there were no other travelers on the road.
As for us, we were running alongside the carriage, one on each side. Normally, one would ride a horse to keep watch over the surroundings, but as long as we could keep up with the carriage, running was perfectly fine.
“If we get ambushed and end up too exhausted to move, that would be quite the disaster!” Alissa teased from atop her horse, but I certainly wouldn’t make such a blunder.
“I’m fine!” I replied confidently.
When I first encountered a horde of Great Dragons in the Forest of Enchantment, I had to run for over half a day at full speed. Compared to that, running at a brisk pace now was nothing—I could manage that for over twenty-four hours without issue.
“Hmm?”
Extending my Presence Detection forward, I sensed multiple presences a few kilometers ahead.
“Stop!” I called out, urging everyone to halt.
“What’s wrong?” Alissa asked as we all gathered around the center of the carriage after coming to a complete stop.
“I feel a presence ahead that seems like an ambush,” I explained.
“Hmm,” Alissa and Meru focused their gazes ahead, concentrating.
“…I can’t make heads or tails of it,” Meru admitted after a while, turning back in defeat.
“How far ahead is it? I can’t sense anything at all,” she continued.
“About five kilometers, I think. There are three or four presences at four different locations. In total, fourteen people,” I replied.
“…That formation definitely suggests an ambush. The Commercial City is nearby, and there shouldn’t be anyone heading this way at this hour,” Alissa noted.
“Oh dear, but jumping to conclusions isn’t wise,” Fleur chimed in.
“Still, that formation is pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Alissa countered.
The three of them were deep in discussion about the presences ahead. Perhaps because I had detected the presence of animals by the roadside yesterday, there was no doubt cast on my current findings.
“I tried to keep the items for the auction as hidden as possible, but I wonder if something leaked out…” Fleur frowned, but I believed that information tends to slip out when it does.
“Ah, now that you mention it, the auction is happening around this time… This could very well be an ambush,” Alissa murmured, glancing at the emblem of the Rashiyu Trading Company attached to the carriage. The Rashiyu Trading Company is one of the Six Great Trading Companies representing the commercial nation. Even if we were traveling with a single carriage to avoid drawing attention, if they suspected we were transporting rare items, they might be inclined to target us.
“Should we set up a Force Field and make a bold push through?” I suggested.
“Huh?”
“…A Force Field?”
It was an advanced spell capable of blocking both physical and magical attacks.
“Oh dear, that’s an advanced spell, isn’t it? I can use it, but it only lasts about a minute, and I can’t spread it wide enough to cover everyone,” Fleur replied.
“Don’t worry. I can maintain it for over thirty minutes while covering everyone,” Rio chimed in casually.
“Even if advanced magic comes our way, we’ll be safe. We can move while maintaining the field,” I added.
When Rio spoke so nonchalantly, I continued, “Wait, no, advanced magic is impossible, right?”
“Also, moving while maintaining it… I don’t quite understand how that works…” Meru said, looking puzzled.
“…If you two are confident, then let’s go with that plan,” Alissa said.
“““Huh?””” The members of the Crimson Sword looked bewildered, but Fleur’s interjection drew their attention.
“I trust in your strength, so I’m sure it will be fine,” she reassured them.
“Shall we give it a try?” I proposed.
The three exchanged glances, contemplating.
“Sure. No matter how much we hear about your excellence from the Guild, we can’t trust it without seeing it for ourselves,” Alissa said.
“Understood. I’m ready whenever,” Rio replied.
As she stepped back slightly, she extended her left hand and conjured the Force Field.
“…Go ahead,” she said.
I encouraged the three who remained still, “Come on, don’t be shy!”
“Eh?”
“What about the incantation?” Fleur asked, her surprise evident as she dropped her usual airy demeanor. Oh right, normally an incantation is required. She hadn’t even spoken the Command Word, so perhaps she hadn’t realized it was already active. When she created a stove using Earth Magic during our camping, she had done it without an incantation too, but maybe they hadn’t noticed that.
“The Force Field is already active,” I clarified.
“Really?”
With a questioning tone, Alissa approached, extending her hand forward. When she bumped into the invisible wall, she clenched her fist and struck it with force.
“Whoa!? …It’s hard!” she exclaimed.
“Let me see… Hah!” Meru readied her shield and struck the Force Field with a battle cry. Yet, the Force Field didn’t budge an inch.
“Oh dear…” Fleur merely sighed in exasperation, seemingly unwilling to test it herself. Perhaps she thought it was a waste of Magic Power.
“Wafuu!”
Watching us, Nil lazily stood up and lunged at Rio, swinging his front paws. A loud crack echoed as something broke, but visually, nothing seemed to change.
“Ahaha, I guess even Nil’s strike can’t break through!” Rio laughed, fluffing Nil’s neck while Alissa stared at the creature that had shattered the Force Field in awe.
“I didn’t think it would break so easily…” Alissa murmured.
“That tamed monster is incredible…” Meru added.
“Oh dear…”
The members of the Crimson Sword displayed a variety of reactions, but having been convinced of the Force Field’s strength, they decided to proceed with the plan to push through using it. However, simply charging in while maintaining the field wouldn’t constitute a proper strategy. The plan was for the Crimson Sword party to surround the carriage, with Rio casting the field from inside, while Nil and I would flank the enemy from behind.