Chapter 121: Cheeky

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No problem.”

“Thanks…”

I apologized once again to Sophie and Shana at the meeting place on the day of the quest. I’m sure they don’t want to have to deal with this kind of hassle, even though we’re getting paid three times more than normal.

“Good morning.”

“I’ve heard about the situation from the guild leader to some extent. I’m looking forward to working with you for a little while.”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.”

After a while, two carriages arrived. Of course, they were my client’s carriages. The client was a dandy uncle. He was the only one who came down and greeted me, but it seemed that his family was also in the carriage. When I spoke with him, he told me that he had asked the Adventurer’s Guild to escort him many times. He’s what we call a client. What surprised me was that all the money for our quest came out of the guild leader’s pocket.

“I’m sorry We’re late!”

About fifteen minutes late from the meeting time, three girls came running in. And the ones walking instead of running in the back are the guy and girl who complained to me.

“Isn’t it because the protagonist basically appears late?”

What are you talking about? I was wondering what they were talking about, but I ignored them because actually saying it would delay the time even more.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s go.”

The uncle said and the carriage went on its way. As we walked, I asked the boy if he wanted the front or the back of the carriage. He answered immediately, “The front!” So we left the front to him and went to the back.

“They’re…  really bad”

“That’s right.”

“Nn.”

The guys in the front were just talking to each other and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to their surroundings. It’s more reasonable to say that they were having a picnic than being escorts.

“We’d better be careful…”

“I honestly don’t care.”

“Me neither.”

Sophie and Shana were apathetic but were generally uninterested in other people. However, the guild leader paid us a commission that includes taking care of these guys, so it’s better not to leave them out.

“I’ll go tell him.”

“Have fun.”

“Good luck.”

“Huh…”

No one wanted to go and since I was the leader of the group and it was my fault they had to take this request, I had no choice but to go and warn them. 

“Hey…”

“Ahh.”

“I’m not saying don’t talk at all, but you should be a little more wary of your surroundings.”

“What are you talking about? Of course I am.”

“What do you mean?”

It’s been three hours since we started moving, but he doesn’t seem to be on alert.

“If you want to complain, why don’t you come to the front and I’ll go to the back?”

“……”

He grinned and said something like that. I decided to go back to the back because I felt like I’d pull out my sword if I talked to this guy any longer. I could have answered but decided not to.

“…Zero-niisama, I’ll go next.”

“No, don’t do that.”

She stopped moving forward as if she sensed something when she saw me. If I let Sophie go, it’ll likely be a bloodbath. Seeing that Sophie was more irritated than me, I was able to calm down.

“Hmm… I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“What about me?”

“You two stay here in case something happens.”

I used my stealth to go past the carriage. What I wanted to do was go find a place to set up camp. After taking the request to the receptionist, I asked the guild leader to give me a few minutes of his time to give me an idea of what I should do in an escort quest. One of the tips was to find a place to camp before it got dark. I thought about telling the guys in front of me, but no matter what I said, it would be a hassle, so it would be easier for me to do it secretly.

“I found a spot where we could camp a little further on. Let’s call it a day. I’ll let the coachman know and take him to the spot.”

“Understood.”

After informing the two of them that he had found the point, he knocked on the carriage window and informed his client.  I also informed the coachman about it and guided him there.

“What are you doing here this time?”

“…To show my client where the camp will be…”

“I’ll take care of that, you go to the back.”

“Do you know of any place where we can camp?”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Huh…”

Searching while guiding a carriage… How long do you think it will take? It will take at least until dark. We’re on a paved road now, but we can’t camp out on it and if it’s in plain view of the road, it’s like asking criminals to target us if they pass by. So we need a place in the woods where we can’t be seen clearly from the road, but wide enough to have a good view of the surroundings. That’s what the guild leader told me.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

“………”

I can’t take care of them anymore, so I ignore them with impunity. He looks like he’s about to pull out his sword, but if he does, I’ll pull out mine. I don’t think the people around him who allow him to have this attitude are any better. The woman complaining with him is out of the question, but why don’t the two apologetic people and the mute woman pay attention to him?

“Then we’ll get ready  to camp.”

When we arrived at the encampment, we began to prepare the camp.

 Unfortunately, he didn’t pull out his sword after all. To be honest, I don’t expect anything from them anymore, so I quickly set up the camp with just the three of us. I thought about teaching them how to do it together, but it would be too much trouble, so I decided not to. If they had any motivation, they would have said they would help us. What we had to do was not so different from when the three of us were camping, so we could do it at a good pace. Incidentally, it seems that the client and his family sleep in the carriage and those who are hired, like the coachman and us, sleep in the tent. However, those who are hired exclusively, such as the coachman, are said to rent tents from the client. The tents were set up by themselves. After we finished preparing the camp, we made two tents.

“Why are you setting up tents?”

“To sleep in.”

“You’re a fool! We have a carriage, so why don’t we sleep in the carriage? Can’t you even think of that?”

“You’re the idiot, one of the carriages is occupied by the clients and the other one is filled with their luggage.”

I heard that when we were talking in the morning. Or rather, the quest form says that only food will be provided, so you can tell that you can’t stay in the carriage.

“Then where are we going to sleep?”

“I don’t know.”

Don’t tell me you didn’t bring a tent? I wondered. But judging from his reaction, he probably hadn’t. 

“How many tents do you guys have?”

“Three.”

Thanks to Sophie’s magic ring, we had more storage capacity, so we bought another tent as a spare. Of course, I didn’t buy it to lend to these guys.

“Then give it to us.”

“…You’re getting carried away.”

As expected, I lost my temper. He’s too cocky for his own good. I decided to let out all the complaints I had accumulated. Well, even if I didn’t get angry, Sophie would.

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