Magic Warrior Chapter 79 (Patreon)

To Mineina

If you rent Reda-san's house, the guild is a little far away.

I guess I feel this way because when I was staying at the inn, it was right around the corner.

"I think I'll prioritize gathering requests today if I can."

"Then I'll be free to do whatever I want."

"Then let's look for requests in that direction."

While looking for gathering requests on the bulletin board, I found one called 'Solge Crystal Mining'.

Solge Crystal is a mineral that can be found in large quantities at Sergeplant and is used as a material for magic machines. It seems to be found in the shallow levels of the mine in the town of Mineina. It takes two days to get to the town of Mineina, but even if you complete the request, it shouldn't take more than a week to get there and back.

The amount of ore to be collected is high, but the reward is also four large silver coins, which is an amount that you would barely see in a D-rank request.

But why is the mining request being issued in Gardia Town, rather than the guild in Mineina Town? 

The delivery destination is the guild in Gardia within one week of receiving the order, so it's not clear who placed the request.

"There are various patterns, but I think it's probably because the client can't go to Mineina in person and wants a large quantity for sure. Sometimes, people from Valecorina come to Gardia to place orders. It's known that Solge Crystal is better suited to parts for magical machines than other crystals."

When I asked about it at the reception desk, it didn't seem like such a strange story.

It seems that suspicious requests are rejected when they are received by the guild, so it doesn't seem like there is anything fishy about them.

If you take it to Gardia, it will take about four days to get there and back, even if you hurry, and you'll have to carry the heavy crystal, so even if the reward is good, it seems to be a request that adventurers tend to avoid.

We have a Magic Bag, so that part is easy.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah, all the other gathering requests are just for medicinal herbs."

"It's not very different."

I've been collecting many medicinal herbs while I've been at home, and I'd like to go to other towns soon. I guess I can't deliver them to the guild as a request, though, since Rilfana has already processed them.

We still have two weeks before we have to return home, so we should be able to make it back to Gardia.

"Mining equipment is available for rent at Mineina's guild. I think it would be better to ask them for more details."

I decided to leave the town after having my request processed.

And I haven't used it before, but I always keep my tent set ready to use.

◇

To get to Mineina, just leave the east gate of Gardia and follow the main road. There are no forks in the road, so there's no need to worry about getting lost.

The east road is also the road that I took when I left Feld Village heading north. I only saw as far as the end of the forest, though, because I turned back immediately at that time.

"There seems to be places for camping along the main road, so we'll move there today."

"Whereabouts is it?"

"To get to the town, you have to go all the way east along the road through the forest, then turn north. It seems like the halfway point is around the area where you turn north."

"I see."

"If we leave early in the morning and hurry, we can apparently still make it there in one day, but it sounds like it'll be tough."

I hear it's a pretty tough journey to make in just one day.

"Are there any horse-drawn carriages?"

"It seems to leave from the north gate, but it goes via the royal capital, so adventurers don't seem to use it. Even if you change trains quickly, it'll probably take almost five days, won't it?"

"It's quite a long way around, isn't it?"

There are also carriages as a means of transport, but from Gardia they seemed to be of little use except for going to the royal capital in the north or the town of Alzine in the west. There are also carriages that go to the neighboring country of Valecorina, but they only seem to run about once every two weeks. It seems that apart from adventurers and merchants, there are very few people who travel to other countries.

Also, surprisingly, carriages are not suited to long journeys, and walking for a few days, seems to be no different.

It shouldn't take more than six hours to get to the encampment, which is two bells' distance, so if we leave town before lunchtime, we should be able to arrive in the early evening.

We'll have lunch in the square, buy some well-preserved food at the guild, kill a bit of time, and then leave town. I avoided the cheapest preserved food because it made me feel sad.

The east gate is the same as the other gates, and there is no change.

◇

The road through the forest is just right for a leisurely walk. Despite the rain yesterday, the path was already dry. I wonder if it drains well.

We finished lunch quickly and the three of us walked along the path, occasionally hearing the sound of birdsong.

We crossed the first bridge. This river is one of the rivers that flows into Feld Village.

After walking for a while, we came to a place that looked familiar.

"This area is where the spider appeared, right? Sis."

"That's right, there are also stone pillars to ward off monsters, so I remember this place."

"If we go straight south from here, we'll reach Feld Village."

"I wonder what Dad and Mom are doing?"

"At this time of day, they might be preparing dinner."

We took a short break and then set off again. As expected, we didn't come under attack by any demon spiders.

As we crossed the bridge over the second river flowing into the village, the number of trees in the forest gradually decreased. Did we get out of the forest? 

If we go a little further east, we'll reach the sea, but we're going to take the road that heads north.

"It smells like the sea."

"It's the sea breeze."

With the forest gone, the salty sea breeze seemed to be blowing in from the east, clinging to our bodies. To the north, we could see mountains.

Sergeplant Mineina is a town located at the southern end of the Nebi Montagna, the foggy mountain range that stretches from the eastern edge of the Nebi Montagna, which lies east-west across the northern part of the country.

After walking a little further, we came to an empty space with two buildings with walls on the back and one side only, standing on a well-trodden square near a stone pillar to ward off monsters. This must be the campsite we'd heard about.

It's still early, so someone might come along soon, but for now, it seems like we're the only ones here.

The rules for the campsite were written in the book 'Living in the Outdoors - Adventurers' Guide'.

There are no strict rules, but it is generally better to avoid buildings with roofs if you don't have a tent or if you are in an emergency situation. If you arrive late, and it is empty, or if it is raining heavily, it appears that there is no problem using it, so in the end it depends on the time and the situation.

You should only say hello to other users of the campsite and then leave them alone. However, if you are in trouble, you should help each other out as much as possible.

There are no problems with cooking, but anything that makes a loud noise or smells is prohibited. You should also be careful not to let the light from your campfire shine outside. There are also some unspoken rules that apply to the area.

We set up our tents near a building with a roof and prepared dinner.

We had some bread that we had bought, and some preserved food that you just boil in hot water to make egg soup.

When it was dry, it was hard and crunchy, like instant soup. Sergeplant's food preservation techniques seem to be advanced, so perhaps this is the result.

As we were eating our slightly early dinner, three knights who were probably on patrol dismounted from their horses. Judging by their direction, it seemed they had come from Mineina.

As two of the knights began to prepare their meal, one of them approached us.

"Good evening. I was planning to rest here today, but are you three the only girls here?"

"Yes, we're on our way to the town of Mineina on a request. Is there something wrong?"

"Hmm, you're adventurers, I see. My apologies."

It appears that they have become separated from their guardians, or that they are waiting for them.

Rilfana is the same height as a child, and neither Clare nor I are particularly tall, so I guess we look like children. Well, Clare is a minor, but...

They told me that the knights would be doing the night watch.

I informed them that I would be awake as well, as I am still not used to camping and it would be good practice.

After chatting for a while, it appears that it is also the job of the knights to use the campsite to check that it is well maintained.

They had removed their helmets, but they were still wearing their plate armor, so it looked like it would be hard for them.

When we practiced encamping, the guards took turns for three hours at a time, with a nine-hour break in between. Since we didn't know the exact time, we had to estimate it based on the position of the moon.

Those who stand guard for three hours at the beginning and end of the day will get six hours sleep, while those who stand guard for three hours in the middle will get three hours each.

The person in the middle might find it a bit tough because their sleep time is in chunks, but with three people, this is the only way to do it.

After trying out a few different divisions, it was decided that I would be first, Rilfana would be in the middle, and Clare would be last.

When deciding, Rilfana said she was used to sleeping for short periods, so I left it to her.

My watch period. These three hours are spare time.

Even though I'm on watch, I'm not constantly on edge, but just enough to be able to wake the other two up quickly if anything suspicious happens.

"Rilfana, it's your turn to take over."

"Um... I understand."

When nothing in particular happens, I wake Rilfana up inside the tent when the moon comes up overhead. When she wakes up, she sits down in the place where I was sitting a moment ago.

Rilfana wakes up easily, so it's easy for me.

It was my turn, so I went into the tent and fell asleep.

◇

The next morning.

"We're heading back to Gardia. There were no particular incidents on the way, but be careful."

"Thank you."

After breakfast, we parted with the knights. With the familiar sea breeze blowing, we set off on our way to Mineina.