Reunited with Kir: Escort to the Steel Fortress
Not only Rikar, the top escort, but even during the dungeon breakthrough party with Kir, I'd been impressed by her skills, which seemed far beyond D-rank. In fact, Rikar had said that with just a bit more achievements, Kir could promote straight to C-rank. But I never imagined she'd actually make it to C-rank and end up taking the promotion exam with me.
"Even adventurers recognized for scouting skills and such have to take this kind of simple test...?"
"Huh? No, that's not it! My original promotion exam was supposed to be in the new dungeon that popped up. They were gonna evaluate me on finding traps and stuff, but something went wrong with the dungeon, so they switched to this test on short notice."
Kir, overly excited at unexpectedly running into someone she knew, grinned brightly as she explained how she'd ended up on this promotion exam quest. Apparently, as someone with a unique skill set that set her apart, she'd been slated for a special exam. But when the dungeon issue arose and it got postponed, they offered her the option of a standard adventurer promotion test instead—and she'd jumped at it.
"Yuseong! You heard, right? This caravan's heading to Steel Fortress! They say dwarves are short— is that true? Shorter than me?"
"...Kir. I get you're excited, but tone it down a bit."
I clamped a hand over Kir's noisy mouth and glanced around at the others. Then, one of the people already in the wagon gave a wry smile and approached.
"I heard the guild sent two adventurers on request. Looks like you two know each other."
"Yeah, something like that. So, what happened to leave a spot open in your crew?"
"You know about the dungeon that appeared in Rivil, right? While the caravan was staying there, some guys thought they'd make a quick buck diving in—ended up injured."
The man who'd struck up the conversation was named Joseph, leader of the caravan's guards.
Well, yeah. A caravan heading to another nation—especially the dwarves' homeland—isn't gonna skimp on proper security.
The quest I'd taken was to escort a trading caravan bound for the dwarven city of Steel Fortress. But naturally, a caravan this size wouldn't rely solely on adventurers for protection. Plenty of adventurers were thugs, and hiring them every trip would cost a fortune and complicate procedures.
That's why the caravan had only hired two from the guild: me and Kir. So, among everyone traveling with the caravan, the only guild adventurers were us—the rest were caravan staff.
Now I get why they said this quest was the easiest.
I peeked out at the guards rotating shifts outside, standing watch over the cargo wagons with ironclad discipline, and nodded. When I'd picked this quest, the Rivil sub-branch chief had called it the easiest in difficulty, which had puzzled me at the time. But seeing these guys, it was clear they could protect the caravan just fine without us.
If promotion exams are done on quests like this, any tom, dick, or harry could hit C-rank... Guess the sub-branch chief pulled some strings.
Even rare, competent rogues like Kir were taking their exam on this quest, so it seemed likely. If the guild was sweetening the deal for valued talents with easy exams, it made sense.
"You two are taking the C-rank promotion exam, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, give it your all. You probably won't see much combat action—we don't expect you to be frontline muscle. Just fill the gaps, stand watch, and you're golden."
Even Joseph, the guard leader, wasn't ordering us to the front; just to keep watch. No matter how I sliced it, this was one of the easiest quests I'd taken as an adventurer.
Were the other quests the sub-branch chief offered also handpicked easy ones? ...Nah. I wanted to see Steel Fortress anyway.
For a second, the thought of an easy ride made me slack off, but I lightly slapped my cheeks to snap out of it.
Doesn't mean I can get complacent. Screw up and cause trouble, and the promotion's toast.
If I slacked and burdened the caravan or damaged goods, the quest could fail. No room for total relaxation.
So...
"I get you're happy to see me, but quiet down, okay?"
"Tch..."
First things first: calm Kir's overflowing friendliness and keep her hushed. I was glad to see a familiar face over strangers, but chattering away on an escort gig drew side-eyes.
"Aw, don't be too hard on her. Young love's a sight for sore eyes."
"Pardon?"
Joseph watched with a pleased grin as I muffled Kir, who'd been nonstop talking since leaving Rivil. Not just him—the other guards were giving us warm, knowing looks.
"Heh, takes me back."
"Reminds me of my bunny wife back in the day..."
"Your wife's actually a rabbit beastkin?"
With my enhanced hearing, I caught their chatter. They seemed to have mistaken Kir and me for a couple. And with plenty of cozy family men among them, it only fueled it.
Can't blame 'em...
"Hey, Yuseong. Ever ridden in a wagon before? First time for me was leaving the Beastkin Union..."
I'd told her to pipe down, so now she was whispering right up close. Just like in the dungeon last time, but her personal space felt even tighter now.
She was always friendly and touchy, but...
Wasn't it worse lately? Unlike her gushy vibe with me and Rikar, she kept a polite distance from the caravan staff.
The type who pours on the affection once you're close, huh.
Too close, though—it looked like dating from afar. I'd thought about correcting their misunderstanding, but... nah. Their assumption made them lenient when we chatted.
"Heehee."
Why was she smiling so much...? I started to chide her, but her grin melted my resolve. Honestly, escort duty was boring with nothing to do, so her company was a welcome distraction.
"Orcs approaching from the front—about twenty!"
"Oho!"
Just as her closeness started feeling awkward, the lookouts banged on the wagon side, blaring the alert.
The cozy uncle-types who'd been beaming at us exploded into action, leaping out like lightning.
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Quest in hand, we had to perform diligently. I locked eyes with Kir and bolted out.
Sure enough, green silhouettes swarmed in the distance.
"Peter! Standard positions. With Hanson out, Kael, you take the shield...!"
Joseph, who'd seemed like a neighborhood dad moments ago, barked orders, forming a phalanx with practiced ease.
A bit embarrassed watching, I asked instead of charging in blindly.
"What should we do?"
"You two... hmm..."
Joseph paused, eyeing us thoughtfully, then hardened his resolve.
"Guild sent you, so you've got skills, but we haven't seen 'em yet. Ever fought orcs?"
"Yes."
"Me too! I mean, yes!"
"Good. Fight free-for-all then. Just don't damage the cargo—we need to gauge you."
He couldn't assign roles without seeing our style, so he gave us free rein. Fair, since we'd only described our swordplay and scouting specialties.
"No heroics, though. Guard the wagons, keep 'em off—that's enough."
"Got it."
Not just Joseph—the guards eyed us like show us what you got. I drew my black iron sword confidently.
"Kir. Like in the dungeon. Got it?"
"Yeah!"
We'd synced in the dungeon—no need for new positions. And since we were showing off...
Full throttle.
First real fight since the dungeon. Heart pounding at finally testing Karen's mana techniques in combat, I took a steady breath.
Rise.
Commanding the wriggling power inside, mana flowed smoothly through the circuits expanded by Gula.
It used to ignore me like a stubborn mule, but after nearly getting ripped out, it responded snappily now.
Tzzzz...!!
Mana pooled in my legs. Karen had taught basics—no complex stuff I'd fumble anyway.
And... body enhancement scales with your base physique.
Recalling her words and my pre-mana beastkin-level athleticism, I kicked off with mana-boosted legs.
KABOOM!!!
"What the!!"
Shocked gasps from the laid-back watchers.
Ignoring them, I closed on an orc in a flash and swung.
SPLOOSH!!!
The orc fumbling to block had its head explode on impact—instant death.
Orcs wavered at their kin's fall, but I clicked my tongue in dissatisfaction.
Still can't control it right.
Meant to slice clean, but brute force caved it instead. Self-chiding my unadapted swing, I kept moving.
"Yuseong's crazy fast...!!"
Kir, startled by my dungeon-times-faster speed, darted in agilely, stabbing vitals with her daggers.
No body enhancement like me, but her dungeon-rescued daggers cleaved orc hide like tofu.
Twitch!!
Her ears perked cutely—sensing mana flow. Fighting with enhanced senses, even mid-battle.
Impressive. Sensory boost is harder than basic strengthening, right?
I couldn't do it yet, but Kir instinctively wielded mana for it, untrained.
Slash!!
With leisure to observe her now, I finished the last orc and returned to Joseph, who gawked slack-jawed.
"All clear."
I nodded like that enough for proof? Joseph burst into hearty laughter.
"...Ha, damn. C-rank exam, huh? You're already better than most C-ranks."
Worth the show. Their warm gazes now held real trust—no longer doubting our escort value.
...
And that night.
...Did I earn too much goodwill?
Maybe from proving ourselves—they treated us even kinder.
"No need to stand on ceremony. Sleeping in sleeping bags in the cold wind? You'll catch your death."
"We had an extra tent. Here."
As night fell and camp time hit, they even loaned us a camping tent—instead of letting us huddle by the fire in bags.
Fine by me—grateful, even. My subspace pouch was stuffed with twin-headed ogre parts; no room for a big tent.
But...
"One's enough for you two, right?"
"......"
Handing just one to me and Kir? That was unexpected.