Departure
The merchants had decided to stay in Malešov for a while.
It was because Auger had bought every last one of their goods and requested that they remain.
“Having only injured soldiers is one thing, but having a few more people around would be better. Thanks to that, we’ve spent most of the money we had.”
As Auger had said, the arrival of new people stirred fresh energy into the soldiers.
The hope that their bodies would heal thanks to the priests’ healing magic had also taken root.
Thanks to that, the merchants who had been bewildered by the situation in Malešov sold all their wares and began smiling brightly as though nothing had ever happened.
It would take time, but Malešov would eventually be restored.
Having sold everything and established a relationship with the noble Auger, it was the best outcome possible for any merchant.
Joseph also considered whether he might obtain detailed information about the Favidia region from these traders.
Joseph was heading to the Favidia region after all.
‘Now I need a place to settle down.’
However, the merchants were mostly those who traveled between small villages within the Valois territory.
As for the Favidia region, they possessed nothing beyond superficial rumors—‘a quiet little village in the south.’
In any case, from that moment onward Joseph began preparing to depart in earnest.
The request from Folmers had been fulfilled, and the soldiers had all recovered.
Moreover, they had secured the shaman’s spoils, so there was no longer any reason to remain here.
As Joseph and his soldiers began preparing to leave, Auger and the soldiers helped select and repair one of the remaining carriages.
“The carriage you originally rode in was destroyed beyond repair.”
Auger spoke with obvious regret, yet Joseph felt nothing but relief.
He would soon be traveling with three young soldiers, and Zalier’s carriage had been far too conspicuous.
Now he had no desire to display himself in such a manner.
If he could not perfectly protect himself, the wisest course was to travel as quietly as possible.
He purchased one of the horses the merchants were bringing.
Originally the price would have been steep, but with Auger’s wealth and influence he acquired it almost for free.
He loaded the cart with goods enough to fill an entire carriage.
The quantity was substantial, and he wondered whether it might lead to people starving in the village, but it seemed Auger had already considered that.
“There are fields to the east of the village. Harvest season is approaching, so this should suffice.”
Auger had originally been from a landed family.
He would know the details of cultivating fields and paddies.
“Some day, come visit my territory.”
“Yes, I will definitely go.”
Joseph embraced Auger and climbed into the carriage.
They had shared many experiences together during this time.
Auk and Derik immediately positioned themselves beside the carriage, while Jiren climbed up to the driver’s seat.
While the two were recovering, it had been thanks to the order to teach Jiren how to drive.
As the carriage began to move, Auger and the soldiers watched it quietly.
Then, before long, the conscript soldiers came running and waving their arms.
Joseph wondered whether he had been so close to them, but it turned out they had simply come to greet the soldiers.
“Auk! Take care!”
“Jiren! Keep your head straight!”
“Derik, you idiot!”
The soldiers burst into laughter at Derik’s insult.
There was not the slightest trace of malice.
When they had lived in the village they had scarcely spoken to one another, yet having survived together with their lives on the line, affection had clearly taken root.
With that, they left the Valois territory and the carriage moved south.
***
Several days had passed since leaving Malešov.
The carriage had now left the forest path and was crossing the winding plains.
At first the soldiers had scanned their surroundings with wide, alert eyes, but after some time they grew bored.
It was almost harvest season.
That meant even those who had turned to banditry would be focusing on their fields.
Of course, even if bandits appeared, a single spell would reduce them to ash…
In the end, they were simply plodding along the road without incident.
“Hmm…”
Unlike the bored soldiers, Joseph remained absorbed in artifact research the entire day from inside the carriage.
It was not merely because he was a mage growing in skill.
He took pride in his current level of combat ability.
The reason he was devoting himself to artifact research now was purely for money.
Originally Joseph had planned to find a suitable place to settle in the Favidia region.
It was not simply a desire for some remote corner of a rural village that no one would visit.
He wanted a leisurely life that did not pale in comparison to modern civilization.
And for that, several things were necessary.
The first and foremost was money.
Joseph looked up at the soldiers walking dully along the road.
Money was required to employ and feed these three young soldiers.
Their loyalty ultimately came from Joseph’s pocket.
Right now, with the generous compensation from Folmers, it was manageable, but as time passed money would inevitably run out.
Above all, Joseph was already considering increasing the number of soldiers as much as possible.
Although he had grown somewhat as a mage, there were limits to what he could accomplish alone.
Joseph wanted faithful subordinates who would become his arms and legs and take on every task.
From Valois Castle until now, someone had constantly supported him.
After experiencing that, it no longer seemed possible to return to being alone.
It was like a man who had moved into a grand house without hesitation finding it difficult to return to a one-room apartment.
‘Fixed income is absolutely necessary.’
He had briefly considered becoming a mercenary, but it did not seem like a wise choice.
Mercenaries had no work in peaceful places.
To earn money as a mercenary, one would have to throw oneself into yet another danger.
That was the farthest thing from the life Joseph desired.
A method to obtain steady, fixed income as a mage without difficulty.
In the end, after much circling, he arrived at the idea of producing and selling artifacts.
Whoosh—
Joseph waved his hand to summon a mana orb.
Then he picked up a marble-sized stone.
It was something he had stockpiled a little from the quarry before leaving Malešov.
“Iceberg, apply.”
The mana orb was instantly sucked into the stone.
“…”
Soon cold air began to emanate from the surface of the stone.
“This won’t do…”
Joseph clicked his tongue and hurled the stone out of the carriage.
Before it could touch the ground, it shattered and transformed into a palm-sized lump of ice.
Crash!
The ice made a loud sound as it struck the ground, but the soldiers merely glanced at Joseph’s face and said nothing.
It was only natural, since they had repeated this trick dozens of times.
‘How many failures is this…’
Joseph sighed as though the ground might swallow him.
All the materials loaded in the carriage had been experimented with.
Yet he still could not find a suitable container for Iceberg.
He could understand why Zalier had been so anxious.
Even such a simple spell required dozens of experiments.
‘If successful, the money-making is certain!’
Iceberg was an extremely simple magic that summoned ice blocks, yet its value was not low at all.
In a world where even ice was difficult to obtain in summer, let alone air conditioners.
Being able to summon ice anywhere in this place was nothing short of a scam.
People would certainly line up.
‘I wish that box had been intact…’
Joseph recalled the insulation artifact he had received from Folmers.
It had been a box-shaped artifact that perfectly protected the ice, but it had shattered along with the carriage when struck by the troll.
If it had not been destroyed, he might have been able to research and even produce that insulation artifact himself.
‘Nothing is ever easy…’
Joseph sighed again and looked around.
The same scenery continued, and the shadow of any village was still not in sight.
“Originally this region has no villages at all?”
“We don’t know either.”
When Joseph asked, Derik and Auger shook their heads.
They had lived their entire lives in Doran Village, so they knew even less about the outside world than Joseph.
In fact, Joseph had not asked because he wanted an answer.
But Jiren suddenly explained the region fluently.
“From Malešov, the next village is said to take about a week. When the long plains end and forests appear again, that is where we arrive.”
“…”
“…”
The three stared at Jiren with astonished faces.
“Wait, what? How do you know that?”
“I heard it from refugees in the village.”
Jiren answered while glancing at Joseph.
“Then why didn’t you say anything until now?”
“Because you didn’t ask.”
“…”
‘Who is this guy?’
Joseph felt his head throbbing a little at the answer.
He realized anew how S-class soldier Refn had been who had supported him all this time.
‘He’s diligent… but no sense of tact.’
He felt like a typical second-rate soldier.
‘Well, being diligent is one thing.’
There are many second-rate soldiers who do not work hard.
Coolly, the stress he was feeling now was because his expectations were so high.
If he did not have expectations, there would be no headache.
These guys were greenhorns.
It would change as experience accumulated.
“Have you heard anything about villages in the south as well?”
“Yes, but it is not that accurate. The person who told us originally said he had never been there himself…”
“It doesn’t matter. Explain it.”
He explained what he knew, stumbling a bit.
“Th-that… if you go a bit south, there is a village called Shirofon. The land is wide, so they grow wheat, but… the peculiar thing is that that is all.”
There was nothing special in Jiren’s explanation.
But Joseph could tell that this was different from the ‘unremarkable region’ he had thought before.
This place meant not merely ‘quiet,’ but ‘lacking in daily conveniences and difficult to find a fixed source of income.’
It seemed he would have to worry about eating before he could grow his power.
‘Oh no…’
“Any other content?”
“Um… if you go further south, it says there is a sea.”
“What?! Sea?”
Joseph’s eyes sparkled.
Sea! Sea!
That was not a simple meaning.
“Then, is there a port city?”
“Yes, that is what was said. I don’t know the name, but it is a large port city mainly used by merchants… It says that without nobles, the merchants rule the city.”
“What? Merchants?”
Joseph’s face showed some confusion at Jiren’s words, then slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.
‘Well, does it matter.’
A city with sea and port, and a developed commercial area where merchants rule.
‘Perhaps that could be the foundation for the leisurely life I am looking for.’
In Joseph’s mind, a hopeful image was drawn: living a prosperous life with little labor by obtaining materials in the port city and making and selling artifacts.
“That… wouldn’t that be okay?”