Chapter 13 - Exploration (2)
The three days until the start of the expedition passed by busily.
First, I wrote up contracts with the other members, just as I had with Etiang.
If we were to operate as a team, we would have a common fund, and each person would receive a share of the profits from the expedition.
However, since this expedition was structured with Dorn and me as the main parties and clients hiring Bob and Kevin as mercenaries, we had to sign mercenary contracts.
‘Because I absolutely must take the results of this expedition for myself.’
Besides that, we still lacked the track record and conditions to operate as a regular team.
‘Our skills are lacking too.’
Kevin was one thing, but Bob needed to improve his skills.
A lot.
‘And as for the Porter…….’
The reason I only hired a magician from the office and not a separate Porter.
I entered a caravan shop in the market district and asked Dorn.
“Ms. Dorn, have you ever ridden in a caravan?”
“A caravaaan!?”
Dorn looked at me, her sparkling eyes wide open.
What is a caravan?
Isn't it the dream mode of transport that runs semi-permanently on mana stones as fuel?
The dream of driving a large caravan and traveling the vast continent.
That was the romance of an expedition.
“Since we need a lot of food, let's buy one with as much loading space as possible.
We'll sleep outdoors like before.”
“Great! A ca… caravan!”
Dorn clenched her two fists in excitement.
It seemed her heart was pounding at the thought of a new adventure beginning.
‘So fresh. The Dorn of this period.’
I bought a small-sized used caravan for a whopping 600 gold.
After looking at numerous caravans, I finally found one suitable for us and signed the contract on the spot.
The front of the caravan had five seats, including the driver's seat, and behind it was a wide, flat loading space.
The exterior was finished in sleek white and silver, giving it a clean look.
Its long, oval shape was aerodynamically designed to minimize wind resistance.
Small windows were lined up on the side, allowing natural light to filter softly into the interior.
Each window had a curtain.
And…….
It's really expensive.
Maybe I should have just walked.
No, then it would be impossible to finish the expedition in three weeks.
“Woooooow! A caravan!”
And above all, Dorn is this happy.
Yeah, that's what matters.
“I'll buy this caravan!”
Huh?
It seemed Dorn had gotten too excited.
“Ms. Dorn, are you going to part ways with me after a few expeditions?”
“N-no!”
“If that's the case, we need to be precise with these gold transactions. That's how we can maintain a healthy relationship for a long time.”
“……A long time? How long?”
“A lifetime?”
Dorn thought deeply about something for a moment, then spoke again.
“Okay! Let's split it!”
In the end, Dorn and I split the payment exactly in half.
Dorn earned a lot of gold from the last expedition, and she had a lot of gold to begin with, so this much probably feels like nothing to her.
Dorn will earn even more gold in the future.
From now on, I had to gradually educate our gentle soul so she wouldn't get ripped off in the future.
‘As time goes by and the clan grows into a guild, there will be times when we can't go on expeditions together.’
As I was thinking that, Dorn spoke to me as if a serious problem had arisen.
“By the way, do you know how to drive a caravan, Mr. Savior?”
“Of course. Absolutely.”
I immediately had Dorn get into the passenger seat and started the caravan.
As the mana stone battery supplied mana to the engine, it started with a loud noise.
Vroooom.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Yeees!”
We spent that day going around the market district, purchasing necessary expedition supplies, and returned to the inn.
Fortunately, the inn Dorn was staying at was of a fairly high standard and had a space to park the caravan.
“Since its body is silver, I think we should name it Silver Kaiser.”
“Silver Kaiser?”
Dorn said with a more serious face than ever before during dinner.
“Yes, Silver Kaiser. The Silver Emperor. What do you think? It's cool, right?”
“Is that perhaps a nickname for our caravan?”
“Of course. I've been thinking about it all day, but I don't think there's a better name than this.”
“I… I see.”
I smiled awkwardly and continued my meal.
***
The Forest of Vanity is vast.
It is so vast that in the thousand-year history of the Dainas Kingdom, not a single person has claimed to have seen its end.
‘And in reality, it has no end.’
It is a fact that will be revealed in the distant future, when the followers of the evil god and the Mad Dragon begin their full-scale invasion of humanity.
The Forest of Vanity is a place where a ‘dimensional overlap phenomenon’ occurs.
The evil god has been planning and slowly executing an invasion plan from the very distant past to expand its own dimension.
And of those plans, I know two.
One was the brainwashing of the dragons, who could be called the strongest in the Goddess Moirai's dimension, and the other was that the evil god was attempting to ‘overlap’ its own dimension with this Moirai dimension.
A plan like a bridgehead, connecting a part of the evil god's dimension to the Moirai dimension for its creations to cross over and occupy humanity.
And the place where this ‘dimensional overlap’ was carried out is right here, the Forest of Vanity.
‘If one were to reach the end of the Forest of Vanity, that place would be the evil god's dimension.’
If one could reach it, that is.
The forest is still expanding endlessly today.
Also, if one goes deep into the forest, phenomena such as space getting mixed up or dimensions getting mixed up occur as a side effect of the dimensional overlap phenomenon.
‘The ruins that the Dainas royal family called an ancient civilization and claimed ownership of are all byproducts of civilizations conquered by the evil god.’
This is also the reason why ruins and relics endlessly appear in the Forest of Vanity.
The caravan I was riding in let out a screech as it sped down the forest path.
Machines like the caravan were also things that could be made with technology discovered in ruins.
They say that in the world before the dimensional overlap occurred, such knowledge and technology didn't even exist.
‘I wonder if the Goddess is doing well.’
The Goddess, in her own way, tried to stop the evil god's invasion for a long time.
However, the domain the Goddess presides over is ‘Fate’.
She was bound to be no match for the attacks of Gamelom, the evil god who presides over destruction and plunder.
‘I will definitely see you again with a smile. I will make a new leaf sprout in the spring you gave me…….’
I was driving the caravan, lost in such thoughts.
“Wow! We've already arrived at the last expedition site! In just half a day! Before, it took a whole week just to travel. Our Silver Kaiser is amazing, isn't it?”
“But Dorn, are you really going to call this caravan Silver Kaiser? Should this Big Brother Bob give it a cooler name?”
“No, it's Silver Kaiser. Mr. Savior and I bought it and named it together with one heart. This is a name of friendship and l… love!”
“Alright, I get it. I just thought a name like Silver Dragonfly would be better. It looks like a dragonfly's head, and the caravan is literally our sleeping place, isn't it? Cool, right? This is what you call hiigh-level wordplay.”
“D-don't insult our Silver Kaiser. Or are you doing this on purpose to insult me? You're so crude, Mr. Bob.”
“What? Crude? Cruuude? Then is that childish name high-class?”
“Childish? The word high-class is also really not funny.”
…….
Let's just leave that comedy duo alone.
There's no way I can get my hands dirty by getting involved in that bloody fight, nope.
“You're planning to have a meal here before we go, right?”
Excellent situational judgment.
I felt truly glad that Kevin was on this expedition team.
The desire to quit everything, including saving humanity, melted away like snow at Kevin's single remark.
“Yes, according to Ms. Dorn, we need to compare the map here to know our destination.
We'll have to stay here until Dorn draws a new map.”
“Yes, I understand. By the way, your navigating skills are truly outstanding. To find the last ruin directly without getting lost once while driving a caravan.”
“Hahaha. I have a bit of a good sense of direction.”
“It's more than just a bit. I also consider myself a fairly skilled navigator, but finding the way while driving a caravan is a very difficult task. Especially in a forest like this.”
“Please don't praise me so much. I'm still lacking. Ah, by the way, I'm a bit tired since I was driving. Could I ask you to prepare a meal with Bob? I think I need to have Dorn draw the map to the next ruin.”
“Yes, of course. Leave it to us.”
Kevin immediately went to Bob, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and dragged him over.
Then he took out food ingredients from the caravan and began cooking a full-fledged field meal.
Dorn also spread out a large table and began to seriously figure out the direction to the next ruin.
I could have subtly told her the destination, but if I did that, Dorn's expedition skills would remain stagnant.
Even if it means going through trial and error, I have to keep giving Dorn full authority over the expedition's direction.
While everyone was doing their own thing, Etiang, who was sitting in the back seat of the caravan and staring blankly at us, caught my eye.
“How is it? Have you gotten a little closer to everyone?”
“……Um, Mr. Savior. Is this expedition team really okay? I'm a magician, you know. If the front line isn't set up properly, I can't do anything.”
So this was the reason she had been silent since we departed.
Kevin, who seemed to be the main tanker, was said to be an E-rank mercenary, and Bob was even an F-rank mercenary, just holding a small sword stopper as his equipment.
Even I, who was a D-rank, wasn't exactly well-equipped.
From Etiang's perspective, who had to stand in the rear and chant spells, it was an undeniably unreliable front line.
On top of that, Bob and Dorn were just doing their comedy routine the whole time.
“To put it nicely, it's free-spirited, but……. Isn't there too little discipline here? We don't know when a monster might appear, yet no one is even on guard.”
“I don't know about other things, but you don't have to worry about being on guard.”
I picked up a stone from the ground.
Then I imbued the stone with mana and threw it with all my might.
Swish.
Thwack.
The stone flew like a ray of light and hit something, making a dull sound.
“Because I haven't rested for a single moment since we departed.”
I went into the forest where the dull sound had come from and came out holding a rabbit that had been instantly killed by the stone I had just thrown.
Perhaps because it was a rabbit living in the monster-infested Forest of Vanity, it looked to be twice the size of a normal rabbit.
“Wow, it's a rabbit meat party today.”
Kevin took the rabbit with a happy look, drained its blood, and began to prepare it.
Dorn drooled as she stared intently at the scene.
No, you're supposed to be looking for the dungeon.
Ah, her eyes have already glazed over.
Alright, do as you please.
“You don't have to worry about the front line either. Kevin is a much more excellent tanker than you think, Ms. Etiang. And I'm right next to him.”
“Hmm…… alright. It's my first time on a small-scale expedition team, and on top of that, it's not a regular team. I guess I'm just not used to this kind of atmosphere.”
Etiang said like a haughty cat.
Well, she is a magician.
A magician is an explorer in a somewhat special position.
They have abundant academic knowledge about ruins like archaeologists or historians, but at the same time, they are a resource that has a great impact in combat situations.
The epithet for magicians is 'seekers of truth'.
Those who perform miracles in the world by exploring the actions and principles of mana.
Their greed is directed toward knowledge, and as that knowledge accumulates, their martial power grows stronger.
Naturally, they are treated as extremely high-class personnel.
Even the lowest-grade magician operates from a basic team-unit regular expedition team.
Etiang, a 3rd Circle magician, would have been treated well wherever she went and conducted her expeditions.
‘But that won't fly here.’
Because the one in a tight spot here is Etiang.
“Yes, but I can't help feeling anxious.”
Etiang, who had replied so, pouted her lips.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
Really, she's not a bad kid.
In the first place, her intention to research the Heart of Eden is a good-hearted one.
But her pride is too strong.
After concluding our conversation like that, we ate the dinner Kevin prepared and went to sleep.
And the next day.
“I found iiiit!”
Our expedition resumed with Dorn's vigorous shout.