Chapter 67: The First Shared Carriage
“Let’s shake it off and ride in the carriage from here.”
After selling our catch at the Adventurer’s Guild and recovering some of our losses, I turned to Rio. She was always surprised when I pulled out our spoils from the Dimensional Box, but she was starting to get used to it.
“Yay!”
Perhaps because she hadn’t been able to ride in a carriage while in the kingdom, Rio’s excitement was palpable. I had to admit, I was a little excited too.
As we arrived at the shared carriage area, it was bustling with people. Being a border town, carriages headed east, west, and south were all departing from here.
According to the information we gathered at the Guild, heading south was indeed the quickest way to reach the sea. The next village was famous for its mushrooms, but beyond that, it was just a road with no attractions. Our destination was the sea, but we weren’t in a hurry. If we were thinking about sightseeing, we could go anywhere but south, but those mushrooms were intriguing. I mean, what exactly is the Heavenly Wolf Mushroom in the village of Fenrir? I couldn’t quite grasp the connection between wolves and mushrooms, but we had to check it out.
“Just two more people! We’ll depart once we’re full!”
“Two, please.”
I informed the coachman of our number and paid the fare. It was 200 Fron for the two of us.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Startled by the coachman’s sudden loud voice, we climbed into the carriage. Inside, there were seats arranged for five people facing each other. A mother and daughter pair sat across from us, along with a party of four Beastman adventurers, and at the back sat a merchant-looking man with two bodyguards.
All eyes turned toward us, but the number of stares was far less than what we experienced when we entered the Adventurer’s Guild.
“It’s more spacious than I thought.”
We took our seats in the two empty spots at the front and exchanged light greetings with the mother-daughter duo and the adventurers beside us.
“My rear’s going to hurt a bit.”
As I confirmed the firmness of the seats, the carriage began to move slowly. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the two men sitting at the back had cushions laid on their seats.
Feigning to grab something from my backpack, I pulled out a cushion to use as a pillow and placed it on our seat.
“When do we arrive at the next town?”
“Tomorrow evening, you fool.”
“At least keep the schedule in mind.”
“Come on, get it together, Leader.”
I could hear the conversation from the adventurer party beside us. It seemed their leader was being scolded, but I couldn’t say much myself. After all, we were only here for the mushrooms.
“So, we’re camping for the night, huh?”
“Looks like it. It’s about a day and a half to the next town. If we walked, it would take around three days, right?”
“That sounds about right.”
“Still, I wonder how camping in a shared carriage will work…”
I whispered to Rio while glancing at the mother-daughter pair in front of us, who didn’t seem to have any camping gear.
“Ahaha, are you guys camping for the first time in a shared carriage?”
It seemed the mother had caught on to our unspoken concerns and spoke up.
“Ah, haha, actually, yes.”
I returned a nervous smile, feeling a bit awkward.
“Don’t worry, big brother! If you move the chairs, there will be plenty of space to sleep!”
For a moment, I was confused by her words, but she meant that if we moved the chairs in the carriage, there would be enough room to sleep comfortably.
“So, you don’t have to worry about where to sleep!”
Being advised by a little girl left me at a loss for words.
“Is that so? Thanks for letting us know!”
Despite the situation, Rio maintained eye contact with the girl and responded cheerfully.
“Hahaha, so you really are beginners! Our party will set up a tent outside, so feel free to use the carriage!”
The leader, who had been scolded earlier, noticed our exchange and chimed in.
“Really!? Thank you, mister!”
“Uh, mister…!”
“Ahahaha!”
The leader stumbled over his words when the little girl called him “mister,” and for some reason, he shot a glare in our direction. I hoped he wouldn’t blame me for it.
He was a young man in his late twenties with a handsome face. With bear-like ears atop his head and spiky hair, he might indeed seem like an “uncle” to a little girl.
In any case, the two female members of his party found it hilarious.
“Give it up. No matter how you look at it, the leader is older.”
“Our leader might have a bit of a scary look, but don’t worry about it.”
“Ugh…”
I had no idea how to respond, so only vague words came out.
“Tch…”
Ignoring the leader, who clicked his tongue and turned away, one of the adventurer women leaned forward to engage us. She was a Catfolk with short orange hair, dressed in light gear that suggested she was a scout.
“Could it be that you’ve never camped before… or something like that?”
“If that’s the case, you’ll be fine.”
She asked with a worried expression, but Rio responded with a smile. Perhaps she was concerned about our lack of supplies.
“Ah, we don’t use the carriage to sleep either, so everyone else can use it freely.”
We didn’t have a tent, but I usually used Earth Magic to create a shelter. Even if the four adventurers slept in a tent, it would be a bit cramped for the remaining six of us to sleep in the carriage. We wanted to rest comfortably.
“Oh…”
The one who reacted to my words was another male member of the adventurer party. He was a quiet, dog-like Beastman swordsman who looked pretty cool. However, he didn’t say anything further.
“That’s good to hear! Since you’re not beginners, please cooperate if any trouble arises.”
“Ah, yes, of course, we will.”
And so, with a friendly atmosphere, the shared carriage rolled out of the town.