“Alright, today’s business is successfully concluded.”

We saw off the last customer as a team. Today, we started selling the new product, insect repellent gel, and everything went smoothly.

As expected, the insect repellent gel didn’t cause a rush of customers, but it sold at a reasonable pace. While insects are annoying, they’re not unbearable, and in this town filled with rookie adventurers, not many have the luxury to spend money on such things.

“By the way, Fia, did you ask Rea about that matter?”

“Yeah. As I thought, Mom can’t take such a long break…”

“Well, that’s understandable…”

The matter in question was whether all of our shop’s employees could go to the royal capital together next week or the week after.

Since we received a large sum of money from the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild for helping with dungeon exploration, and they’ll be handling our products in the future, we decided to visit and greet them.

That means closing our shop for a while, so we thought it’d be nice if everyone could come along. We even invited Fia’s mother, Rea. The shop is doing well, and we got money from the Adventurer’s Guild, so, of course, the shop would cover the expenses.

Unfortunately, since Rea works at another store, she couldn’t take a long vacation.

“I’d love to go to the royal capital too, but I don’t think I can be away from home for too long…”

“I see… That’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”

The journey to the royal capital, including stops at several towns, takes about seven to eight days by carriage. If we stay in the royal capital for two or three days, that means we’d be away for over half a month.

Even though we have strong fighters like Lilia, Lange, and Dolph with us, there’s still some danger. Leaving young Fia without her mother for that long might be difficult.

“I’ll bring lots of souvenirs for you and Rea, Fia.”

“Yay! Thank you, Tetsuya!”

“Hey, Tetsuya, Lilia. Sorry for always bothering you.”

“Tetsuya, Lilia, thank you as always.”

“No problem. We should be the ones thanking you for your help with Angel’s stalker issue.”

In the end, the stalker went after me and Lilia and got arrested, but we had already asked Rizac and Patrice for help. When the guards took the stalker in, they testified that we had previously consulted them about the harassment.

Fortunately, Dolph didn’t go overboard when dealing with the stalker, so we avoided any trouble with the Adventurer’s Guild. That was a relief.

“I’m glad it all worked out in the end.”

“At least you both came out unscathed, but next time, rely on us more.”

“This time, we wanted to make him reveal his hand. If we had just gone to the Adventurer’s Guild, he wouldn’t have dared to make a move.”

Having someone stalk us for days was affecting business. Since he was alone, and we had Lilia, we provoked him into attacking us first.

“If Lilia was with you, then you were definitely safe. But still, I’m really glad no one was hurt.”

“Yeah, me too.”

It seems Rizac and Patrice were quite worried about us. We’re really grateful for that.

“By the way, we got a message from the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild. They’re looking forward to welcoming you. They also said they’d arrange a carriage and escorts.”

“They already responded?”

“Letters and messages can be sent much faster than traveling by carriage.”

“I see.”

As Lilia said, messages arrive far more quickly than a carriage. Maybe this world has some kind of express courier service, like fast horses or carrier pigeons.

“Having a carriage and escorts provided is a huge help.”

“Well, since you’re supplying them with compasses and water purifiers, they’re giving you the best treatment. Plus, they were really grateful for your help with the dungeon exploration in the capital.”

Come to think of it, Rizac mentioned that he knows the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild Master. I wonder what kind of person they are.

“By the way, Berna and Ferry volunteered to be your escorts. With them, you two can feel at ease, right?”

“Ah, if it’s those two, there’s no problem at all.”

“Yes! I’ve met Berna and Ferry many times, so I feel very safe with them!”

It seems Berna and Ferry will be escorting us to the royal capital. Since they’re both A-rank adventurers and we know them personally, we can fully trust them. Plus, this will be a good chance to practice using Ferry’s storage magic for transporting goods.

“Is leaving next week okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

We already checked everyone’s schedules. Aside from Fia and Rea, everyone can go.

“They should arrive a few days before departure, so be ready. By the way, those two can make the trip in just two or three days.”

“What?! That fast?!”

No way! That’s two or three times the speed of a normal carriage!

Now that I think about it, when they returned from the dungeon in the royal capital, they were incredibly fast. Do they have some kind of special travel method?

“Oh, right, Tetsuya doesn’t know yet. Well, just look forward to it.”

It seems Lilia already knows. If the journey only takes a few days and our escorts are A-rank adventurers, maybe Fia can come after all. I’ll check with her tomorrow.