The Carriage Escort
The Zairan Forest was no place for humans to live, teeming as it was with monsters. Yet even in the Zairan Forest, civilization existed—not human, but a village of other races.
The heteromorphic races of the Zairan Forest stored food until autumn, gathered firewood, and checked the village fences to survive the harsh winter. That was why the sudden cold snap had frozen everything in its tracks. The stored provisions, the firewood, the unmaintained fences—none of it had been properly prepared for winter.
If there was one place suffering the most from the extreme cold, it was undoubtedly the heteromorphic village in the Zairan Forest. The “Red Tooth” village of Lizardmen, formed in the swampy region of the forest, was exactly that.
Eventually, daily life in Red Tooth had ground to a near standstill, forcing them to send an expedition to De Meca to request aid.
“You want me to take this request with you?”
Bagan read the request form Natalie had brought and fell into thought.
“...I thought you might be interested, Bagan-nim.”
To Natalie, Bagan was another victim of the cold, just like the Red Tooth villagers.
“I’m relieved you’re safe, but since you lived in the Zairan Forest… I figured you’d feel the most pity for the Red Tooth village.”
At Natalie’s words, Bagan sank deeper into thought. It was true—if the Lizardmen were in that kind of situation, he was interested. Moreover, since the extreme cold was partly his responsibility, he felt a personal desire to resolve its root cause.
The caster is dead, yet it still hasn’t ended.
He suspected there was another factor at work.
But accepting the request wasn’t as simple as that.
“I’m fine with it, but it says here it can’t be taken without a party?”
The form Natalie brought clearly stated that only parties could accept it. In other words, Bagan lacked the qualifications unless he formed one, even if only temporarily.
“To make a party I’d need members, but I don’t want to fill it with strangers, and I’m not really looking to create one right now.”
A solo party was possible, but unfortunately he would need to be Titanium rank—two full stages above his current Gold rank—to qualify.
I’m not used to parties anyway.
Even back when he played games, Bagan had rarely formed parties. Going solo gave him more freedom, and weak companions usually became liabilities rather than assets.
Faced with Bagan’s not-quite-refusal, Natalie scrambled to use every ounce of wit she possessed and answered quickly.
“Y-you don’t have to form a new party. What if you… temporarily joined under the name of Dawn’s Wolf? H-how about that?”
Her voice grew so small her cat ears folded flat against her head. She clearly thought it was impossible. Still, curious about his reaction, she twisted her body nervously while peeking up at him.
In that moment, Bagan was thinking:
Not a bad idea. But I don’t really need to investigate through an official request.
His goal wasn’t just escorting the supply carriages to the Lizardman village. Ultimately, he wanted to find the source of the cold that showed no signs of disappearing. He planned to head for the center where the chill was strongest, but joining an official request would likely restrict his individual movements.
On the other hand, there were clear benefits to traveling under the request. The first was convenience. The Zairan Forest was completely covered in snow. While Bagan could travel alone, he didn’t know the exact location and didn’t want to waste time on something that might deviate from his expectations.
I might discover something while escorting the carriages.
Encountering it on the road would be the ideal scenario, though the odds were nearly zero. Still, simply being able to reach the vicinity made it a decent option.
The second reason was simpler: money. He needed funds to live, and after accounting for the inn room he had rented, he was left with only one gold and five silver from his original two gold.
Bagan’s thoughts deepened. The longer he remained silent, the more Natalie’s expression grew dejected.
“I guess… it won’t work after all…”
“Let’s do it.”
“Reina made some mistakes with you, and…”
“Include me in the party too.”
“You must be so disappointed in our party… Huh? What did you just say?”
“I’ll go. Under the name of Dawn’s Wolf.”
“Really?”
“But ask the others first. If Paul and Reina agree, then I’ll join. I can’t just butt in without permission.”
Rather than simply borrowing the name, Bagan wanted to treat it as genuinely being on the same team while the request lasted. Connections were connections, after all. He would look after them a little more than strangers.
“That should be fine, of course…”
“It might be different from what you’re thinking, Natalie.”
When Bagan spoke seriously, Natalie nodded firmly.
“I understand. I’ll get their permission no matter what it takes.”
Seeing her burning with determination, Bagan let out a small chuckle and watched her leave the inn.
***
“If Bagan-nim is joining us, I’m fully in favor. There shouldn’t be any major dangers, but it feels like we’ve gained a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.”
Natalie had gone to persuade the other two and returned with them to the inn where Bagan was resting. Paul showered him with every positive adjective imaginable, calling it an honor for Bagan to work under Dawn’s Wolf’s name, and immediately agreed.
However, Bagan had decided to cleanly abandon the idea if even one person objected. So he waited for Reina’s answer.
When Paul finished, Reina—feeling the weight of all three gazes—spoke with obvious discomfort.
“Well… it’s not bad for me either. I’ve seen your skills, and from a safety standpoint, accepting you is only natural. But don’t misunderstand. I’m only lending the name.”
After spitting out those words, she crossed her arms like a sulky girl, turned her head away, and closed her eyes. As silence fell, her cheeks flushed a faint red.
Watching her, Bagan thought, Is she a tsundere? He couldn’t say it aloud, but it seemed almost certain.
“Reina, you could just say you like it,” Paul scolded.
“Shut up! Hmph!”
Reina left the inn first. Paul turned to Bagan.
“The request leaves tomorrow morning, so we need to register at the guild. I’ll head out first.”
“Yeah.”
Paul hurried after Reina. Watching them go, Bagan thought again, I should give more thought to forming a real party. The weight a leader carried seemed heavier than he’d expected.
He then noticed Natalie, who still hadn’t left. Her cheeks were bright red, as if she were feverish.
“Natalie, are you okay?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
“We leave tomorrow, so shouldn’t you get going too?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I have preparations to make for tomorrow as well…”
“Bagan-nim!”
She suddenly called his name in an unusually excited tone.
“Uh, yeah?”
“Thank you.”
The abrupt gratitude caught him off guard.
“For what?”
“Even though Reina acts like that, she’s a really good friend. To me especially, she’s irreplaceable…”
“I know. And I don’t have any special feelings toward Reina. The casual speech was my idea first, anyway.”
“...Bagan-nim really is…”
In that moment, Natalie’s affection for him grew even deeper.
“Really?”
“Never mind. I’m just so happy you’re joining us. See you tomorrow in front of the carriages!”
With that, Natalie waved goodbye as she left the inn. Bagan waved back, but his eyes were drawn more to her excitedly swishing tail.
“Hmm. You’re excited, aren’t you? Yeah, you’re definitely excited.”
Muttering to himself to smooth over the moment, Bagan headed back to his rented room.
***
Thanks to Natalie’s request-not-quite-a-request, Bagan had accepted the mission to support Red Tooth and joined the large caravan departing early the next morning.
Among the procession heading to Red Tooth village, the only people he knew were the members of Dawn’s Wolf and Clorsus’s party—the human who had previously acted arrogantly toward him and gotten thoroughly beaten for it. Even then, Clorsus was more of a bad connection than an acquaintance.
It feels lonely.
He was thinking exactly that when—
“Please listen carefully, adventurers!”
The middle-aged man speaking from the front was Roman Acrey, leader of the Acrey Merchant Group that had posted this escort request with the guild.
His company hadn’t done well in De Seiran, the capital of Seiros Kingdom, but after shifting their focus to De Meca and selling the weapons and potions they handled best, they had begun turning a profit. By order of De Meca’s lord, they had been tasked with aiding the Lizardman village in the Zairan Forest, which held a treaty with the Seiros Kingdom.
If this went smoothly, they could become a state-affiliated merchant group—a significant step forward. It wasn’t a bad deal.
But he’s being too greedy.
Helping the Lizardman village was good, yet instead of rushing to put out the immediate fire, he had prepared this massive caravan. The result would be slower travel and more Lizardmen dying in the meantime. It seemed like an attempt to make a big name for himself, but his lack of frequent field experience was showing.
“Therefore, please help clear any roads that aren’t yet passable. With so many carriages, narrow paths will be impossible to traverse.”
The Zairan Forest wasn’t without roads. Frequently used paths were wide enough for carriages, and soldiers from De Meca even maintained the entrances. However, the heavy snow had undoubtedly ruined them.
“We will now depart!”
At the merchant leader’s command, the coachmen cracked their reins.
Crack!Neigh!
The carriages began moving one after another. The sound of wheels crunching through un-melted snow filled the air from every direction. Despite the request’s description, it felt like this would be a long journey.
Bagan was positioned at the rear of the procession, so he watched every carriage slowly exit the gates. Once the final wagon had passed through De Meca’s castle gate, the entire line headed toward Red Tooth village in the Zairan Forest. Soon the gates closed firmly behind them, and towering walls rose at their backs.
Bagan was returning to the Zairan Forest once again.
***
Several hours after setting out with the carriages, the procession halted briefly to rest the exhausted adventurers and the horses struggling through the snow.
“Go talk to him.”
“Why should I? If you want to so badly, you do it!”
Bagan was resting like everyone else, but there were always people who disturbed the peace. He endured the whispers aimed in his direction with growing irritation.
“They say he even treated Rina—the guild’s famous receptionist—harshly.”
“And Clorsus of Iron Fist lost to him, right?”
The hottest topic among the adventurers was a certain newcomer who had passed the Special Promotion Test and jumped straight to Gold rank—an unknown figure named Bagan.
“He seems to travel alone like Elizabeth-nim. Should we ask him?”
Bagan finally heard something welcome among the chatter. The mention of a familiar name brightened his mood. Elizabeth was an elf, beautiful even by elven standards, and her strength was beyond question. As an archer who wielded her clan’s secret techniques, she was an object of admiration for many adventurers.
It was then that an unpleasant voice shattered his pleasant thoughts.
“What the hell did those trash just babble?”
Without turning his head, Bagan used his sharp hearing to pinpoint the source and looked directly toward the disturbance.
“C-Clorsus!”
This was exactly why one shouldn’t badmouth others behind their backs. The adventurers gossiping about Bagan had forgotten that Clorsus had also accepted the same request. From Clorsus’s perspective, it was far from pleasant news. Simply mentioning that he had lost was enough to count as slander.
His face burned with visible rage.
“Say it again. What exactly did I do?”
Clorsus boasted an enormous frame befitting a martial artist. The injuries he had suffered from Bagan had healed completely, proving his “Iron Fist” nickname was well-earned. At the threatening sight, the faces of the previously chatty adventurers paled.
Of course, not everyone enjoyed such confrontations.
“Clorsus, that’s enough,” Paul said.
He had stepped in to mediate before the situation escalated. He really likes inserting himself into things, Bagan noted.
Clorsus glared at Paul as if he could no longer hold back.
“Now even dogs and cats are acting up. Just because I lost to that guy once by mistake, you think my party ranking will drop?”
Clorsus looked triumphant. Paul’s expression darkened instantly. Currently, Iron Fist held twelfth place in the party rankings while Dawn’s Wolf sat at thirteenth. Party rank spoke volumes about an adventurer’s level, so it was a moment where Clorsus could puff out his chest.
But Dawn’s Wolf had once reached seventh place. An adventurer who knew this spoke words that should never have been uttered.
“You only climbed that high by luck!”
It was the adventurer being pressured by Clorsus. Emboldened, he poured out his pent-up frustration.
“You’ve achieved nothing except hitting on Rina, and your dirty deeds are heard even outside De Meca! You filthy bastard!”
Bang!
The sound was far too heavy to come from a mere fist. Clorsus had struck the adventurer’s chest as if done speaking with words.
He wasn’t serious last time, then? To Bagan, that was the level of the blow.
“Oh no!”
Paul realized his mistake. He had only meant to prevent Clorsus from harming anyone, never expecting the adventurer to hide behind him and spew abuse.
Clorsus ignored the man who had been sent flying and now lay motionless, surrounded by his companions. Instead, he declared loudly for all to hear:
“Now you understand what happens when you insult me? Kaaah! Ptui! Trash like that don’t belong on this request. So if you don’t want to die, keep your mouths shut!”
The incident hadn’t started with direct insults, and it had escalated due to overreaction. Still, badmouthing someone behind their back when it wasn’t even their business was clearly wrong. Even Bagan couldn’t raise an objection. Deciding the man had his own circumstances, he lost interest.
Then Roman Acrey came waddling over, late to the scene.
“A-adventurers! You mustn’t fight here!”
“I don’t know anything! That guy slandered me! I did nothing wrong.”
Clorsus stubbornly insisted on his innocence, but Acrey was no pushover.
“Since this occurred while I was absent, I won’t assign blame this time. However, if it happens again, the Iron Fist party will be removed from the request. Understood?”
“Tsk. If you’re going that far, I’ll be careful.”
Clorsus finally backed down. Acrey returned to the lead carriage, and the situation seemed resolved. Clorsus and Paul returned to their positions.
But one person still hadn’t found his place—the adventurer who had been punched. He remained unable to stand and was being carried on a comrade’s back. In the end, his party had no choice but to withdraw from the caravan and return to De Meca.
“Now, we will depart again!”
Acrey’s signal came from the front. Slowly, the wheels of the leading carriages began to turn once more.