Chapter 103: The City of Randall

“I’ve been thinking…”

I spoke hesitantly as I moved our little home garden along to keep pace with Caro.

“We don’t actually need to pretend we’re traveling by carriage, do we?”

Everyone turned to look at me with a mix of surprise and confusion, their expressions clearly asking, “What did you just say?”

“We could just use the garden concealment skill to hide it entirely,” I continued.

If we did that, the garden would be completely invisible from the outside. No one would bat an eye even if it were moving. And now that I’d learned a new skill, the garden barrier, it would be easy to see out from the inside, too.

Before, with walls or fences, it was hard to see what was on the other side. But a barrier was transparent. Whatever lay ahead would be immediately visible, so there was no risk of accidentally running into someone.

“You should have said that sooner…”

Anii muttered, exasperated, her face a mix of disbelief and irritation.

“So there was no need for a horse at all. We even went and bought one for nothing!”

“Hiiin!?”

Caro panicked instantly. She clung desperately to Anii, as if afraid she might be sold off. Probably because if she were sold, she wouldn’t be able to eat my precious carrots anymore.

“I-I’m fine… I’m not going to sell you… I promise…”

We decided to put my idea to the test. Caro stepped inside the garden, and I wrapped the entire area in a protective barrier.

“Alright, let’s go.”

There was no need to stay on the main road. I guided the garden slightly off the beaten path and started moving.

…Flying above would have been fastest, of course. But some people aren’t comfortable with heights, so we had to compromise.

With this method, the roughness of the terrain didn’t matter, and there were no passersby to worry about, unlike on the main road. I could safely pick up speed.

I pressed forward, accelerating more and more.

“Yay! This is fun!”

“Yeah, this feels amazing!”

“W-wait! Isn’t this way too fast?!”

“I-I’m scared of this speed too…”

Sena and Shifa-san were enjoying themselves, their voices full of delight. But Sarassa-san’s face was strained, and Anii-san was turning blue as she clung desperately to the carriage.

“Onii-chan, faster, faster!”

“I’m about at my limit… I can’t go any further…”

Sena and Sarassa-san were completely at odds, leaving me to glance at Shifa-san and Anii-san.

“I’m fine.”

“I can’t take it anymore! Slow it down, seriously!”

“Alright, I’ll speed up a bit more.”

“Whaaaat!?”

Well… if it’s between Anii-san and Shifa-san, it’s obvious whose preference comes first. Right?

Still, I couldn’t just ignore Anii, who was now yelling while tears and snot streamed down her face. Reluctantly, I slowed the speed a little.

“Hiiin…”

Meanwhile, Caro, completely sidelined, drooped her little shoulders in sadness.

“Cheer up… I’ll give you a carrot.”

For now, our target destination was the kingdom’s capital.

But since it was quite a distance from Arcel, we planned to stop at several towns along the way, taking on requests before eventually reaching the capital.

Because we didn’t need inns, we completely bypassed small roadside towns and villages that ordinary adventurers would normally stop at. Combined with our speed, we moved far faster than a typical traveler.

Eventually, we arrived at a city called Randall.

It was a slightly larger city than Arcel. Shifa and the others planned to make a brief stop at the Adventurer’s Guild there.

I decided to go along—it seemed like a good opportunity. Caro and the carriage were left safely at the first home garden.

“Huh? This is it?”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

“It’s smaller than I expected.”

As Sena had said, the Randall Adventurer’s Guild was noticeably smaller than Arcel’s. Considering the city’s size, it felt a bit odd.

“That’s because there aren’t any nearby dungeons,” Sarassa explained.

“Ah, I see.”

I nodded in understanding. Arcel had one of the five most notable dungeons in the kingdom, which naturally attracted adventurers from all over.

With that context, we entered the guild building. Shifa and the others went straight to the reception desk and inquired politely.

“We’re looking for a quest. If there’s anything suitable, please let us know.”

Shifa’s calm, measured tone accompanied the display of her guild identification. The receptionist’s eyes widened in surprise.

“B-rank!?”

“Yes. Two B-rank and two C-rank adventurers, a party of four.”

“P-please wait a moment!”

She hurried off toward the back, and after a short wait, returned.

“Thank you for waiting! There just happens to be a perfect quest available. May I guide you to it?”

We nodded, and for some reason, we were led into a room inside the guild. Several people—apparently adventurers—were gathered there, in what seemed like a meeting.

“What’s this?”

“Perfect timing. Are you Shifa-san?”

The first to speak was a man in his thirties. His manner was gentle, and even to Shifa, who was younger, he spoke politely.

“We need to organize a raid against a certain monster, which requires multiple parties. But we’ve struggled to find a party with the right level of skill.”

“I see…”

They were in the middle of strategizing, and Shifa-san’s arrival had been perfect timing. The man had called us into the meeting without hesitation.

…but apparently, not everyone was pleased.

“Wait just a minute!”

A young female adventurer, around twenty, suddenly shouted, her voice sharp.

“A party should be limited to three at most! This would make four! …No way…”

“Yes, I’m afraid your party will have to step aside for this operation.”

…And just like that, an argument had erupted out of nowhere.