The farewell with Rob and Millianna came faster than expected.
The old man just waved his hand, signaling them to be safe on the road. His calm and composed demeanor convinced Shane that he had his own ways to make money and would definitely not starve.
Millianna hugged the new hair clip Erza gave her, her eyes a bit red, but she still obediently said goodbye.
When the two arrived at the blacksmith shop, the goods were being loaded onto a cart. The owner of the blacksmith shop, a middle-aged man with arms thicker than Shane's thighs, frowned deeply looking at Shane and Erza arriving together.
He was somewhat familiar with Shane, but the age of these two half-grown kids made him uneasy about their identity as "Mages." If not for his apprentice's strong recommendation, he would have preferred to spend more money to commission a formal guild.
"Um... young Shane, it's not that I don't trust you, but this road..." The owner rubbed his hands, his tone hesitant.
Shane didn't explain much. He just smiled slightly, and with a thought, the crimson longbow appeared out of thin air in his hand.
He turned sideways, drew the bow, and nocked an arrow.
With a soft thrum, a stream of crimson light shot from the string, tracing a parabola and flying toward the distant sea surface.
BOOM!
With a muffled sound, a considerable splash of white water exploded on the sea surface, startling several seabirds.
His training during this period hadn't been in vain. Although he hadn't released his True Name, the power of his arrows had increased again.
The blacksmith shop owner gaped, looking at the now-calm sea surface, then enviously at the dissipating magic bow in Shane's hand. The worry on his face was instantly replaced by amazement.
"Good! Good! No problem!" The owner nodded repeatedly, having no more doubts, and readily signed the commission contract.
Taking advantage of the last bit of loading time, Shane pulled Erza and ran back to the inn. In his room, his pile of weirdly shaped "works" was still piled in the corner.
"We have to bring all these?" Erza looked at the pile of weapons, a bit troubled.
"Of course, they're all my treasures. Maybe I'll use them someday." As Shane spoke, he found a few pieces of thick cloth and hurriedly packed them into a heavy bundle.
He weighed it and sighed, "Carrying it like this is too troublesome. I wonder if there's magic that can store items. I must learn it in the future."
Erza agreed. Her magic allowed her to use weapons freely, so she would inevitably deal with a lot of equipment in the future.
Checking out and carrying the bundle back to the blacksmith shop, the carriage was just ready. The owner let his apprentice Noel go along too, "To broaden his horizons, and also help Mr. Shane with odd jobs."
The road was flat, and the carriage creaked forward. Shane leaned against the carriage, watching the familiar scenery gradually recede outside the window, feeling somewhat regretful.
Having stayed here for so many days, the [Trial: Initiation] was still not completed. Shane pondered that he ate on time and didn't stay out all night usually.
Was this not stable enough?
His eyelid suddenly twitched. Don't tell me "stable" requires buying a house? How long would I have to save for that?
According to Murphy's Law, he dared not think further, afraid that thinking about it would make it come true. Becoming a mortgage slave after traveling to another world was ridiculous enough to wake him up in the middle of the night.
The road conditions were good, but the carriage was a bit stuffy.
Shane and Erza exchanged glances and tacitly climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
The wind blew through the tips of their hair, and their vision suddenly opened up. There were quite a few other convoys traveling with them, a mighty and magnificent sight. However, they just happened to be going the same way and weren't under Shane's protection.
Looking at this busy traffic, Shane muttered in his heart that the technology tree of this world was really strange. There was magic, there were Magic Trains that could travel fast, yet these primitive carriages were still widely popular.
Erza held her sword on the roof, carefully maintaining her balance, conducting her "special training."
She looked at the continuous convoy and asked curiously, "Why are so many carriages going to Shirotsume Town?"
Noel, sitting on the carriage shaft, poked his head out and answered eagerly, "I heard from my master that Shirotsume Town is a famous hot spring resort! With so many people, they must all be going to soak in the hot springs!"
Shane felt something was a bit off.
A hot spring town... is the attraction that great? And it's close by, people can come anytime, there's no need to flock together. Tourists from afar would more likely choose direct transportation.
However, this doubt was thrown to the back of his mind in a blink of an eye, as it didn't concern them much.
The journey was peaceful, and not even a shadow of the anticipated danger appeared. Noel, who was originally nervously holding his sword, also relaxed completely, even feeling his master had made a mountain out of a molehill.
Hiring a Mage guard? Look at these surrounding convoys, not everyone hired guards, and aren't they safe and sound? But being able to help Mr. Shane like this feels pretty good.
Night fell, and there was still half a day's journey to the destination. Most convoys chose to gather in a relatively open flat area, light bonfires, rest temporarily, and set off again at dawn.
The bonfire crackled. Shane poked the fire aimlessly with a branch, sparks flying up and down with his movements.
Erza beside him seemed unusually excited, her eyes shining, constantly scanning the flickering bonfires and figures in the surrounding darkness.
"It's normal to be excited for the first mission as a Mage." Shane understood inwardly. He wasn't sleeping either; besides duty, he more or less felt similarly.
But after a long while, seeing that Erza's excitement hadn't subsided and instead seemed to be growing, Shane said helplessly, "Save some energy. Something might happen in the second half of the night."
"Why?" Erza was puzzled.
"If there really are highwaymen, they will mostly choose to strike late at night when people are most sleepy. Our target is big, and we aren't a unified group. Even if some convoys hired guards, they can't cover everyone. It's a good opportunity to strike—grab and run."
Erza blinked. "Then... they won't necessarily choose our side, right?"
Shane reached out and gently tapped her forehead.
"Ouch!" Erza covered her head, glaring at him dissatisfied.
"Who told us to look the easiest to bully?" Shane withdrew his hand. "Two half-grown kids acting as guards, guarding a cart full of goods... If we aren't the fat sheep, who is?"
After this explanation, instead of being afraid, the light in Erza's eyes became even brighter. She constantly swung the sword Shane manifested for her at empty air, almost expressing her anticipation of "come rob us quickly" with her whole body.
Shane rolled his eyes. If not for the duty of the commission, he really wanted to dump this night watch job entirely on this idiot and go back to sleep in the carriage.
The two chatted idly. The night grew deeper, and the surrounding noise slowly faded, leaving only the crackling of the bonfires and faint snoring from the distance.
Near midnight, Shane's hand poking the fire suddenly paused. A feeling of being watched crawled up his spine. He gently tugged Erza's sleeve and lowered his voice:
"Here they come."
Erza stood up abruptly, about to shout a warning subconsciously, but was stopped by Shane's look. She reacted immediately and hurriedly covered her mouth.
But the excitement in her body couldn't be concealed no matter what; her hand gripping the hilt turned slightly white from the force.
The two hunched over, using the cover of the vehicles and the night to sneak silently toward the perimeter.
Sure enough, in the shadows at the edge of the camp, they saw a dozen people dressed in dark clothes with their faces covered by cloth, sneakily spreading out, holding gleaming swords and knives, creeping toward this side.