With Nir’s introduction complete, we set off once again toward the commercial city.

Alyssa and her party of three were part of a group called "Crimson Sword," which primarily operated in the commercial city. They often took on escort jobs, and this time was no different—they had been searching for work on their way back from Raven after completing an escort mission.

“Still, you guys are D-rank adventurers, huh?”

“We just got promoted recently,” I replied.

“Thought so. And now you’ve taken on your first escort mission.”

It wasn’t exactly my decision, but I did think it was a good opportunity.

“By the way, I heard we’d be traveling by carriage, so I got a horse ready. What about you guys?”

Just as we were about to leave the city, the three of them led their horses from the stables, tilting their heads in confusion. We had been told the trip to the commercial city would take two days, but that was assuming we used a carriage. If we ran, we’d have no trouble keeping up, and if we flew, we could probably get there in a few hours. So honestly, I hadn’t put much thought into our mode of travel.

“Oh, right. We originally planned to have you ride in our carriage,” Fleur said.

“Oh, I see.”

Her words brought a small sense of relief. Admitting that I hadn’t considered any of this would make us seem unreliable as escorts.

“Hmm…”

Alyssa seemed to be pondering something. After a moment, she spoke again.

“Well, since we’re here and this area is relatively safe, I suppose it’s fine… So, you guys can go ahead and ride in the carriage as planned. Normally, I wouldn’t allow it, but we’ll make an exception this time.”

Apparently, part of an escort’s job was to serve as a deterrent. The best way to ensure safety was to prevent attacks from happening in the first place, and a group without visible escorts would appear vulnerable.

That made perfect sense.

“Besides, you guys look like kids. Even if you stood guard outside, bandits would probably just see you as easy targets,” Mel said.

W-What…?

I glanced around at our group. I was shorter than Rio, but when I compared myself to Fleur, Lambert, and the three female adventurers, none of them were shorter than me.

“So, you’re saying no client would trust us to protect them?”

Rio voiced her concern, and Alyssa nodded seriously.

“At first glance, probably not. But you guys have tamed beasts, right? It all depends on how the client perceives that.”

“I see…”

“Anyway, let’s get going. I’ll explain more during our next break.”

“Understood.”

With some advice given before departure, we climbed onto Fleur’s carriage and set off toward the commercial city.

After our second break, I found myself riding a horse for some reason. Naturally, since I had never ridden before, I was sharing a mount. And that’s right—I was sitting in front of Alyssa.

On the other side of the carriage, Rio was also riding in front of Mel, receiving some instructions.

“Man, Rio’s face was priceless when I said I’d teach you while riding double,” came a deep voice from behind me.

Of course, I was wearing leather armor, so I couldn’t feel Alyssa’s soft presence against my back. If I didn’t turn around, I could almost pretend there was a man behind me.

“Ahaha.”

When it became clear I’d be riding with Alyssa, Rio’s expression had relaxed slightly. Frelis, being a robed mage, had an aura of mature elegance that made me hesitant to ride with her. But saying that Alyssa felt like the easier choice out loud would be asking for trouble.

Besides, we had a duty—to learn about escorting. Refusing wasn’t an option.

“Tell her I’m not going to bite, so she doesn’t have to worry,” Alyssa joked.

“Haha…”

If she actually did, that’d be a serious problem. I’d have to resist with everything I had… But if Frelis made a move, would I even stand a chance? Wait, what am I thinking? Get it together, me. I’m devoted to Rio.

“Alright, let’s get serious and go over the basics of escorting.”

“…Oh, right.”

Snapping back to reality at Alyssa’s voice, I listened attentively as she explained the essentials of escort work while we continued our journey north.

Though I couldn’t say for sure, I felt like I was starting to develop some horseback riding skills.

Without any particular trouble, we arrived at our campsite for the night. Since we were escorting for the first time, our pace had been slow, and we arrived later than expected. Several other parties had already set up camp, so we secured an open spot at the edge. Nir’s presence startled a few people, but no one made a fuss, which was a relief.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong? Even if this is your first escort job, you’ve camped out before, right?”

As I debated whether to set up the portable house, Alyssa called out to me.

“Well, yeah…”

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. But from a client’s perspective, having their escorts lock themselves away in a big house might seem unprofessional. First, we needed to make dinner. I could discuss the house situation with Rio afterward.

“Ufufu, let’s start preparing dinner. We don’t have much time, so let’s keep it simple.”

“Good idea.”

Keeping it simple, huh…? That meant deciding on a meal.

“Some escort requests include meals provided by the client. We handle our own, but make sure to confirm the details beforehand,” Alyssa advised.

“Got it.”

With that, the three of them went to tend to their horses.

Speaking of which, how was I supposed to take care of Nir? I fed him and cleaned him daily, but did he need brushing? I’d have to think about that later.

As for dinner, our group was responsible for providing it this time. The idea was to showcase different recipes, but with the limited time, there might not be much variety.

“We’ve got fresh ingredients, but we might be short on time,” Rio said.

“Yeah.”

Without a solid meal plan, I started constructing a stove with earth magic.