The Time of Truth (2)
The leader’s gaze—the one that looked ready to kick the useless Buff Master out of the party—left me feeling thoroughly dampened. If this had truly been just a game, I would have done anything to stay in Lieutenant Polman’s good graces. But because the party consisted solely of users, there was no need to suck up in order to have my abilities acknowledged.
“The most basic combat formation has Lucas, our spearman, holding the shield at the front, with martial artist Aoyama and dual-wielder Sergeant John Low positioned on either side.”
Once the physical fighters held the line, the summoner’s monsters and the tamer’s eagle would attack from behind, supported by the archers and mages. After testing various combinations and formations, Lieutenant Polman’s eyes drifted away from me and settled on Bortas, the tamer from Greece. The active buffs I provided had noticeably improved everyone’s movements, so they had come to accept the value of a Buff Master. Bortas, however, could contribute almost nothing to either offense or defense. His only real asset was the eagle, and even that was limited beyond scouting.
“While traveling he can manage the horses, and if we encounter wolves or similar beasts he can tame them to bolster our strength. That’s why he didn’t bring any wolves with him to the capital, Hayden.”
“Then we’ll assign horse management during travel to Bortas. We’ve finished checking formations, so gather in front of the eastern gate tomorrow morning before it opens.”
I returned to the inn where I had been staying and agonized over how to pack. Until now I had carried everything in my inventory, but that no longer seemed wise. After watching the other users at the condo for several days, it was obvious none of them realized they could use their abilities in reality, let alone access their inventories.
I considered telling them to test their powers and try using their inventories, but if it only worked for me the situation would become even more complicated. For the time being, I decided to stay silent. I also needed to figure out why the ability was exclusive to me.
The journey to the Rotiple Kingdom, where the man who wielded the magic sword lived, would take more than twenty days. Gathering food and other supplies made my pack grow inevitably large, and simply loading it onto a horse seemed impractical. If Ilonan the Lycanthrope had still been with me, I would have made him carry the baggage, but he had returned to his tribe after the fortress battle. I had asked him to find me if I ever reached the northern Akran Mountains, yet there was no telling when that might happen.
“A mage riding a Lycanthrope would look incredibly stylish. Shame.”
While searching for a carriage to haul the load, I spotted a large cargo wagon fitted with an actual house-like structure. Since we were heading southwest anyway, I decided to buy goods that were easy to obtain here and sell them once we reached the Rotiple Kingdom. I purchased the carriage complete with two horses, loaded several crates of wine wrapped in straw, and stacked bolts of northern fabric and wool on top.
“Are you the mage Jinwoo from the Arean Continent?”
As I was inspecting the carriage and cargo, a boy approached me.
“I’m from the mercenary guild. The group you contracted with has arrived. Three coppers for the errand.”
It seemed the Chico Mercenary Group I had called before the orc war had finally shown up. When I arrived at the guild leading the carriage, eight mercenaries were waiting. The steady, heavy presence of their leader Chico and the loudmouthed, mischievous Joy were exactly as I remembered.
“Mage, sir. You summoned us before the orc war, but we’ve only just arrived.”
“Well, it couldn’t be helped. We’ll change the wartime guard contract to something else. First, let’s go to my room.”
“I’d like you to look into these people. The mercenary and thieves’ guilds claim they have no connection, but guilds in the same city usually have quite a few links, don’t they?”
“Yes, that’s true. Who exactly are the subjects, and why do you want their backgrounds dug up?”
“Don’t ask for reasons. Just investigate the pasts of the public official Patrick, the martial artist Aoyama, the tamer Bortas, and the spearman Lucas. This is the down payment.”
I deliberately left out the soldiers who seemed to have been hastily added after the pro gamers died.
“Understood. Where should we deliver the results?”
“Send a letter to me through the mercenary guild. Once the investigation is finished, send a copy to my fief in Count Shulman’s territory.”
“Y-you received a fief?”
Joy dropped the bread he had been eating.
“They granted it for my achievements in battle. Once everything is settled, you may stay at my fief.”
“Then will you hire us as territorial troops?”
“We can discuss that later. Focus on the information first.”
“Yessir.”
Ding! You have been connected for 7 hours and 41 minutes. Biometric signals and other readings are normal.
When I logged out, a staff member from Changing’s development team was waiting to assist with cleanup. The neighboring seats were already empty; everyone else had logged out and left the second floor.
After eating, showering, and lying down to sleep, the smell of something burning drifted in from somewhere. I looked out the window from my bed and saw white smoke. I quickly opened it and found Lucas on the next room’s balcony.
“Ah, so that’s the smell.”
Lucas saw me rush outside and held out what he was smoking. It didn’t look like an ordinary cigarette. The strong minty scent suggested it was marijuana.
“I don’t smoke.”
When I declined, Lucas took another deep drag, then stretched out on the balcony sunbed. He proceeded to chug a bottle of hard liquor. I wondered whether I should say anything. But in America, dealers operated on practically every busy street corner, and it was legal in several states, so there was little I could do.
I closed the balcony window, lay down, and fell asleep thinking that this must be the smell of America.
Early the next morning I drove the carriage to the eastern gate. The soldiers were just beginning to open it, and a familiar scent reached me.
The smell of burning grass… marijuana.
I traced the odor and found Lucas. Sergeant Hobbs the summoner was smoking beside him. When they noticed me they waved. I kept the carriage moving.
“I didn’t expect you to bring a whole carriage. What’s with all that luggage? Just store it in your inventory.”
“I have a habit of over-preparing. By the way, they have that stuff here too?”
“Of course. Marijuana is everywhere. People couldn’t survive without it, heh heh heh.”
Lucas and Sergeant Hobbs leaned against a wall, grinning at each other while they smoked. I wondered again whether this was something I should ignore. Yet when Lieutenant Polman and the others arrived shortly afterward and said nothing, it seemed they were willing to tolerate at least marijuana. Maybe they were thinking, It’s just a game, so who cares? Still, my instincts told me that a few of them already realized this world was not a game but reality.
“Everyone gather up. Briefing before departure. You two, put that out and get over here. You can smoke it, but make sure it doesn’t interfere with play. Understood?”
“Yessir, Captain!”
Lieutenant Polman could have been irritated by Sergeant Hobbs’s sloppy salute, but he quickly checked the roster and gathered everyone together.
“Before we set out, let’s reconfirm the mission. Our primary objective is to eliminate Arho, confirmed as a demon race individual wielding a magic sword. The secondary goal is to obtain the white orb known as the All-Purpose Stone or gather information on its materials.”
“The All-Purpose Stone?”
“Yes. Mr. Jinwoo, do you know where it might be?”
“Ah, I’ve only heard stories about it.”
I said I had only heard about it, but in truth I could create one. It was made by converting ether-element mana and compressing the energy. Still, I wondered why they needed it.
“It’s supposedly an item essential to game progression, so if we learn its location on the way to the Rotiple Kingdom we’ll handle that first. Let’s wait for the gates to open and then move out.”
As I listened to Polman, I remembered how stunned Cezanne had been when I produced an All-Purpose Stone during our elemental magic lessons. The fact that Changing treated it as a valuable item to be obtained suggested it was extremely precious. I decided to hand one over once I confirmed exactly what purpose it served inside Changing.
“Load this as well. Tamer Bortas, tie my horse to the front of the carriage and switch it to a three-horse team.”
As we prepared to depart, the Antarian priest moved the luggage from his horse onto the carriage and climbed into the seat beside me.
“It’s more comfortable than riding. Three horses should make it even easier, no?”
“W-well, yes.”
He was right, yet something about it still felt awkward.
“We can take turns driving, too. That way we can rest inside the cargo space. Quite convenient.”
As the priest suggested, we would be able to rotate rest periods. He took the wool he had bought for trade, worked it with a pair of tongs, and fashioned a wide cushion. The man clearly had skilled hands.
“A comfortable cushion is essential for any coachman on a long journey. Sit on this.”
When I settled onto the plush cushion, I realized it was an absolute necessity for carriages in a world without spring suspension.
Contrary to my first impression, the Antarian priest seems like a decent person.
“Move out!”
After leaving the capital Hayden, we followed the road for two uneventful days. On the third day the scenery began to change. The poverty of the continent’s greatest power, the Splain Empire, slowly became visible. With so many dead from the orc war and the enormous cost of the campaign, the lives of commoners and the lower classes had clearly grown even harsher.
“Two silver for one night?”
The small village had no proper inn, so I hoped we might stay at the village chief’s house. But perhaps we looked too rough; they refused. We lit a bonfire in the village square and camped with the local vigilantes. Aoyama was already pestering a village woman.
“Two silver not enough? How about three?”
He held up three silver coins and continued harassing every young woman who passed. The vigilante captain watched but said nothing. Realizing no one would stop him, Aoyama grew bolder. He openly flashed money at passing women and stated his price. When one finally agreed to one gold, she smiled at our group by the fire before disappearing with him.
“…”
I glanced at Polman, the party leader, but he remained silent. With the leader saying nothing, the marijuana duo of Sergeant Hobbs and Lucas also stepped forward with money in hand. They soon vanished into the darkness with their chosen companions.
“It’s individual freedom, isn’t it?”
Polman shrugged when he noticed me staring at him. True, prostitution was legal in certain U.S. states, so there was little ground to object. Yet as someone who had served in the military, I knew all too well that when such deviations accumulated, disaster inevitably followed.