Chapter 67: A Long Journey Begins in the Home Garden – Part 5

“Hihi~n!”

The horse galloped proudly, its hooves striking the ground with a rhythmic thrum.

I matched its pace, nudging the little mobile garden along as we sped forward.

“What’s with that carriage…?”

“Isn’t it too fast for a single horse…?”

“That horse is incredible.”

“It’s like it’s pulling nothing at all…”

Voices of astonishment floated from the townspeople we passed along the way, their eyes wide as they watched the speeding horse.

“Hihin!”

I chuckled at the sound. Honestly, the horse seemed completely oblivious—it was acting as though it weren’t pulling a carriage at all, proudly snorting with its head held high.

“Fuaaah… at this pace, we’ll probably get there way earlier than expected,” Sena murmured, sprawled lazily in the carriage. She stifled a yawn as she leaned back, gazing casually at the scenery rushing past.

Normally, at this speed, no one could possibly rest, yet my mobile garden barely shook, making it a surprisingly smooth ride.

“Looks like the slower monsters are giving up and running off…”

“And that means we can conserve our energy too.”

“Shifa, if you get thirsty, just say so. I can harvest some water for you.”

“That helps a lot.”

Ahead, a small town began to emerge on the horizon.

“Geo, we’re here.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yep. That’s Zari. Today’s destination.”

Shifa pulled on the reins, and the horse gradually slowed. I adjusted the garden’s pace to match, easing the rhythm.

“The closest adventurers’ guild to the client’s village, Moria, is in Zari. We need to stop by first.”

Apparently, this request had initially been brought to that guild. But it had proven too difficult for the small-town guild to handle alone, so a call for reinforcement had been sent all the way to our guild in Arcel.

We couldn’t just barrel into the town at this speed, so I left the mobile garden waiting just outside and let the horse pull the carriage at a normal pace.

“Hihin!?”

The horse turned its head toward us, eyes wide in surprise at the sudden extra weight.

“Here, I’ve got some carrots for you—just a little more effort, okay?”

“Hihi~n!”

“Wait, you don’t need to run anymore!”

We finally arrived at the Zari Adventurers’ Guild.

It was a single-story building, probably about the same size as Merlin’s shop. Compared to Arcel’s guild, it felt cozy, almost quaint.

Inside, I walked alongside Shifa and the others, feeling a little like I had become an adventurer myself.

At the entrance was a reception counter. Beyond it, a few adventurers perused a bulletin board plastered with various requests. That seemed to be the extent of the space open to clients and adventurers alike.

“Pretty small,” I murmured.

“Arcel’s guild is massive in comparison. Even considering the size of the town, that’s mainly because of the dungeon,” Shifa noted.

“…I guess we won’t be seeing any impressive muscles around here…” Sarassa added with a wry smile.

Arcel’s guild had eight reception windows, but here there was only one. The receptionist was attractive, but trying a little too hard to look youthful. She seemed around thirty.

“Adventurers? I don’t recognize you here.”

“We came from Arcel as reinforcements.”

“Oh… so that’s you? You arrived sooner than I expected.”

She eyed us critically, sizing us up.

“But… not all of you are young girls. I thought we requested B-rank or higher.”

“I am Shifa, a B-rank adventurer,” Shifa replied calmly, presenting her guild certificate without the slightest hint of irritation.

“B-rank? At that age? Well… as long as you can complete the request, it doesn’t matter.”

Hmm. That was a little rude, considering we had come all this way. Shifa didn’t seem bothered, and neither did Sena, who probably wasn’t even listening. But Anii’s annoyance was palpable.

Thud!

Wait, why did she step on my foot?! I wanted to tell her not to take her irritation out on someone else.

Anyway, after finishing the necessary procedures, we left the guild.

“Hey, where are you all from?”

“Is this your first time in town? I can show you around if you like.”

Almost immediately, we were approached by a group of young men in their early twenties, looking a little flashy. Judging by their gear, they were adventurers too.

“We can teach you all sorts of things.”

“We’re fine, thanks.”

Shifa declined firmly, but the young men weren’t about to give up.

“You’re newbies, right? Better listen to advice from those who’ve been around longer.”

“Yeah, guild info only tells you so much. Learning from someone who’s been in the field is the best.”

Apparently, they assumed we were inexperienced. Perhaps, in part, they genuinely wanted to help… but the truth was, their motives were definitely mixed with something else.

Anii, still in a sour mood, cut straight to the point.

“And, by the way, what ranks are you senior adventurers?”

“Huh? Us? We’re all D-rank.”

Wait… adventurer ranks go F, E, D, C, B, and A, right? So they were proudly claiming D-rank as if it were impressive. Probably just a false sense of bravado.

“Huh?”

Anii snorted derisively and said, dripping with sarcasm,

“We’ve got two B-ranks here… so I doubt we’re going to learn anything from someone lower than us.”

Though, of course, Anii herself was only C-rank.

“B… B-rank…?”

“You’ve got to be joking…”

Seeing them falter, we quickly left the scene, slipping away before they could recover their bravado.