Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: In the End, the Most Important Thing is 'That'
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Kaf was a merchant who owned a carriage.
He bought large quantities of local specialties in one city and traveled to another city that needed them to sell his goods.
Along the way, he gathered information, sold it, and wandered all over the kingdom as such a carriage merchant.
"Hmm, definitely six people. Their skills are guaranteed, right?"
"Of course. You won't have to worry about monsters while we're traveling with you."
Waiting for nightfall while camping at the agreed meeting spot, six men and women cloaked in mantles arrived.
These were his clients this time.
People often wanted to ride along in his carriage for an easier trip like this.
He charged a reasonable fee to let them ride, but these customers were even cheaper.
After all, they were students from Dredis Academy, so their skills were basically guaranteed.
The blue-haired female student who came to hire him had even demonstrated her abilities personally.
With that level of magic power, she alone would be more than enough to guard the carriage.
For Kaf, who always had to protect his goods from monsters or bandits, having them along was worth paying for.
Yet he was getting paid a little on top of that.
It was pure profit.
'...But this guy, ...is he the baggage carrier?'
The chubby man who approached him first and greeted him.
His face looked innocent, but he somehow seemed dull and lacking any masculine appeal.
Compared to the two men behind him, he was the epitome of an ugly guy.
Kaf didn't judge people by their looks, but he had once been a baggage carrier in a party just like this man.
He knew exactly how poorly such ugly baggage carriers were treated.
'...Poor guy.'
He didn't know why he was traveling, but...
The three women behind him.
Their beauty was top-tier among all the women Kaf had seen while traveling the kingdom.
And the two men beside them.
A sharp-eyed, black-haired masculine guy and a blonde man with a sly smile and an air of nobility.
No matter how you looked at it, those women were probably sharing affections with those men.
A fat, mediocre ugly guy stuck in the middle.
How could you not pity him?
He probably plugged his ears every night, shed tears of sorrow, and fell asleep.
"Please take good care of us!"
The chubby man introduced himself as Ken.
Ken smiled brightly.
'He's enduring it tough, but living on steadfastly.'
Surely, someday he'd meet a woman who would love him, and he'd manage somehow.
And so, the short journey of the six academy students and the traveling merchant Kaf began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The day broke, and Kaf's carriage set off toward its destination.
"You have the Item Creation skill?"
"Yes. So if you need any repairs or anything, just let me know."
'He has a really rare skill.'
Kaf's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation from the guy he'd thought was a nobody.
Item Creation was a rare skill even among production-type skills.
If you had it, you'd never have to worry about making money.
That's why people with Item Creation were envied among commoners.
It was one of the skills Kaf the merchant had once coveted himself.
If you developed the skill well, you were guaranteed to become a craftsman.
A maxed-out Item Creator could become a master artisan sought after even by high nobles.
'So that's why those people keep him around.'
Kaf glanced back at the baggage area.
Ken was closest to him.
Behind him were two handsome men and three beautiful women.
The black-haired man sat still, either sleeping with his eyes closed or meditating.
The blonde man was somehow reading a book despite the shaking carriage.
The three women were chatting amiably together.
No one would think those five matched with Ken.
The reason they used him as baggage carrier was obvious.
His Item Creation skill was genuinely helpful.
Otherwise, why would they travel with him?
From Ken's perspective, silently tagging along beside lovey-dovey couples must be tough.
He must be getting paid handsomely for it.
Kaf nodded in understanding.
"Um, Ken..."
Then the red-haired female student closest to Ken spoke to him.
'Hmm, was our chatting too loud and annoying her? Sorry about that.'
Kaf had asked the rare student travelers all sorts of questions, so their small talk had dragged on.
He figured it was probably a scolding.
"The carriage is making me dizzy..."
"Oh, really? Hold on... medicine..."
"No, I just need to lie down for a bit. Ken, lend me your lap."
"Uh? Sure."
"Haa~ This feels nice."
But at the unexpected conversation, Kaf turned around in disbelief, doubting his ears.
In the shaded baggage area under the canopy.
There, the red-haired girl who had been talking just moments ago was now lying with her head on Ken's lap.
"Ken, if you stroke my hair too, it'll feel even better."
"H-Hey, Rafne! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Your intentions are obvious. I feel sick too."
"Hmph! You two can lie on each other then. First come, first served!"
At the red-haired girl named Rafne's actions, the other two girls protested loudly.
'...This isn't what I expected.'
The girl smiling brightly as she lay on Ken's lap, and the two glaring at her.
'...Sh-She's got plenty of cushion, so it must feel nice to lie on.'
Kaf awkwardly convinced himself amid the strange scene.
He was an ugly guy like Ken too.
Not fat, but far from handsome.
He'd once been a baggage carrier in a party.
He often fantasized back then.
Imagining the women in the party fawning over his ugly self while the other male members grew jealous.
But Kaf knew it was a pipe dream.
He was mature enough now.
So he wouldn't indulge in such fantasies seeing this rare sight.
With that mindset, he convinced himself.
That plush thighs must feel good to lie on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ken, how about we visit this city next time? Just the two of us."
"H-Hey, Mary! I'm in the middle of magic practice with Ken right now!"
"Then practice from the side. Ken doesn't need to focus on you, right?"
"Urghhh."
"Kooo..."
On the first night traveling with the six.
When the sun set too much to continue, they stopped the carriage and prepared camp.
Kaf found the awkward scene by the campfire quite bothersome.
Ken smiling awkwardly as if troubled.
To his left, blue-haired girl Mary holding a map.
To his right, blonde girl Emily casting healing magic.
And on his lap, red-haired girl Rafne sleeping soundly.
"Y-You seem to get along well with your companions."
A little later.
While asking him to repair various tools thanks to his crafting ability, Kaf commented.
The boisterous girls had gone to the nearby stream, leaving only the men at the campsite.
"Ahaha... They're all just really friendly."
Ken scratched his head with a crafting hammer and laughed it off evasively.
But Kaf wasn't fooled.
"What's your secret anyway?"
"...P-Pardon?"
"Your secret. There has to be something."
Kaf whispered softly so the other male companions wouldn't hear.
Ken looked confused for a moment at the question, then smiled with an "Ah!" and held up his hammer.
"If you mean crafting, the skill helps a lot, but it's not really a secret..."
"N-No, that's not what I meant...!"
At Kaf's hushed shout, Ken tilted his head as if truly clueless.
'He really looks like he has no idea.'
But there had to be something.
Kaf wasn't an idiot; he'd seen during the day how those three women were after Ken.
The problem was this chubby Ken in front of him seemed either innocently oblivious or just plain stupid.
'I'll uncover it... Why those women are so clingy to him...'
It definitely wasn't his looks.
If it was looks, the other two male students were far handsomer.
So, ability then?
Had they fallen for his Item Creation skills?
Plausible.
Having tested his repairs, Kaf confirmed his skills were solid. A skilled crafter.
And while traveling, Kaf had often seen women fall for men's talents.
'No, but still...'
Even so, he couldn't understand three beauties of that level falling head over heels for this guy.
One would be a miracle.
Three? No way.
'......Something, ...something else...'
━Flash!
Something flashed through Kaf's mind.
"H-Hey, Ken. Want to go to the bathroom together?"
"Pardon? B-Bathroom?"
"Yeah, going alone in this dark is dangerous—you could run into a monster. On trips like this, it's always two-man teams."
"W-Well, if that's the case..."
Ken followed along readily, though flustered by the sudden request.
'Definitely, ...definitely that's it.'
A common story.
The 'thing' that drove women crazy.
Confirming that would solve his mystery.
No, Kaf was already half-convinced.
Other abilities were abilities, but if that one was amazing, three women would be no problem.
They left the campsite and entered the forest.
Finding a suitable spot, they took turns relieving themselves.
Kaf first. Then Ken unleashed his stream.
'See? I knew it...'
Pretending to keep watch, Kaf sneaked a glance to check the target.
'That's impressive..., no, the shape is amazing too...'
He swallowed hard.
Not excitement, but awe as a man.
His guess was right.
With something like that, he could captivate not three, but five women easily.
"U-Um, Mr. Kaf?"
"Y-Yeah? Oh, haha! Sorry, got lost in thought. ...I often check the men's health on travels like this. Habit."
When Ken noticed his gaze and gave him a weird look, Kaf hurriedly made excuses.
Anyway, he'd solved his mystery.
A perfectly convincing reason.
'Jealous. If I had one like that, even I could land one, if not three...'
As he lamented his own unlucky love life and prepared to head back...
"...Grrrrrr."
A guttural growl that made his hair stand on end echoed through the forest.
"Th-This is...!"
"What was that sound just now?"
Ken was fixing his pants and looking around curiously, but Kaf knew it.
"Elemental Bear...!"
Elemental Bear.
A bear-shaped monster with elemental attributes.
Rank: B+
Among regular beast-type monsters, its elemental properties troubled even seasoned adventurers.
This nocturnal beast had wandered nearby and spotted them.
"R-R-Run...! W-We gotta run!"
"Ah, an Elemental Bear, huh."
Unlike Kaf, trembling in fear and whipping his head around, Ken seemed calm.
If he hadn't just peed, Kaf would've soiled himself by now.
Did this guy have no sense of danger, or was he an idiot? He was nonchalant.
"Y-You idiot!! Don't just stand there—run!! If it growled, it's already close...!!"
That was when it happened.
"Grrrrrr."
A clear growl rang out.
Gleaming eyes appeared in the darkness, revealing its form under the moonlight.
A massive bear four times a grown man's height slowly approached.
Drool dripping meant it had marked them as prey.
"W-We... we're done for."
Calling the others now was pointless.
By the time they arrived, one would be bisected, the other half-eaten.
But even facing such a monster, Ken remained unfazed.
"Hmm, rocks embedded in the hide mean earth attribute."
Then he turned to Kaf with a bright smile.
"Mr. Kaf, if I take it down, can I have some of the food as a share?"
"......Wh-What?"
Kaf, already collapsed on the ground trembling in terror, didn't properly hear him.
But Ken strode forward without waiting for a reply.
"Y-You fool!! Don't throw your life away...!!"
In that instant.
Kaf mistook Ken's moonlit figure for an illusion.
His chubby body shrank in seconds.
Transforming into a sleek, sturdy-looking man.
And what followed was even more unbelievable.
━KABOOOM!!
"Mm, as expected, even an Elemental Bear takes more than one hit."
His figure vanished instantly, reappearing above the Elemental Bear's head.
He stomped down.
"Earth attribute should be weak to impacts, but... Ah, don't worry. I have a sword too."
Then he drew a bone-like sword from his pocket.
There hadn't been any bag or sheath moments ago.
'A-A sub-space pouch...!'
That's why their baggage was so light.
A dream item for merchants. Ken calmly drew his sword from the sub-space pouch.
━Slash!
With a light swing, he severed the Elemental Bear's neck.
Thus, the B+ rank monster died easily.
"Alright, shall we head back? Gotta eat some late-night snacks."
The boy smiled brightly under the moonlight and extended a hand to the stunned Kaf.
Grabbing that hand, Kaf looked at the boy's face and thought.
'...What the hell. In the end, he's the handsomest one.'
Kaf realized all the reasons boiled down to his face.
'Of course...'