The next day, it was 7am.
In front of the inn, I hugged Nimi and kissed her.
"Have a good trip... Reid-san."
"Nimi, I'm going now."
I kissed Nimi again as she smiled gently, then left Suzuya and headed towards the castle gate leading out of the royal capital.
My destination is the castle gate on 7th Street, from where I plan to take a carriage and head south.
About three days' carriage ride south is a town called Santeny.
It is said to be the second largest city after the royal capital, and is a place where the three Divas often do business.
As I walk, I glance down at the document the adventurer gave me yesterday.
There were two things I was asking for. First, about the noble who was in charge of managing the church.
Erica had previously told me that Baron Abonano was in charge of managing it, but there were even some bad rumors about it in the adventurer's documents.
The second story is about the Diva's patron.
Since they knew that I was the patron of Baron Tegagusa, they were able to narrow down the investigation to bad rumors and trends.
The reason why I asked an adventurer to do it is simple.
Rumors often spread among adventurers; you could call it an information network, as each adventurer has their own information network.
From hunting grounds and escort requests in other towns, to talk about items, clothes, and even bad rumors.
Their jobs depend on their lives, so they generally stay away from dangerous requests or clients.
Among the bad rumors in this information network are mentions of Baron Abonano and Baron Tegagusa.
I sighed and put the documents away in my magic bag as the castle gate came into view.
There are quite a lot of adventurers and merchants who use carriages in the morning.
Because of this, there are a few more people around, so I search for an empty carriage.
You have to target carriages other than those that have been requested to be escorted by the guild, but surprisingly, these are often empty.
The reasons given are that it was prepared in a hurry for a sudden business negotiation, or that a commoner has to suddenly go to another land.
In other small cities, reservations are required, but in this large royal capital, you can find it without a reservation.
Among them, I saw a familiar adventurer waving at me and froze up.
Standing in front of a carriage that looked like it could comfortably seat six people in the back, smiling and waving vigorously was Minty.
...No, I just have a bad feeling about this.
As Minty was waving, I could see Satur and Roll around her.
That means there must be someone... a client.
Minty shouted something towards the back of the truck, and then Erica appeared from the back.
Erika, dressed as a traveler, confirmed where Minty was pointing and moved her mouth with an intimidating smile.
(It's so cute)
"Ah, maybe it's scary after a long time."
I couldn't help but say it out loud.
Why does a woman's smile make me feel scared?
...Well, I understand why she gets angry.
I let out a sigh and walked towards Erika and the others.
A few minutes after leaving the royal capital, Erika and the others picked me up and set off immediately.
Roll was driving the cart, with Satur sitting next to her, and the two of them took turns driving the cart.
Erika was sitting on a wooden box in the truck, legs crossed, arms folded, a scary smile plastered on her face.
I sat on a wooden box opposite her, waiting for Erika to speak.
Minty was keeping an eye on what was behind her, but she was also watching us with a wry smile.
"Isn't there something you want to say?"
"...Ah, but I told you, right?"
"Oh...? I heard that if we leave the capital for a bit... through Meline?"
"Well, you see... I couldn't meet her, and Erika has school too."
And even if Croana exempted her, it wouldn't change the fact that she would fall behind in her studies.
Erika recrossed her legs, sighed lightly, and continued in a shocked tone.
"If it was a personal matter for Mr. Reid, I would have stayed. But this time I'm acting for the sake of the divas, right? For the sake of the divas who their current patron is me, right?"
"...I understand, I'm sorry. But the truth is, I wanted you to work hard at your studies."
Erika sighed deeply again at my response, then finally smiled and shook her head.
Minty, who was quietly watching her back, also smiled when she saw Erika's condition.
"Reid-san, a patron basically provides financial support and travel to the provinces. However, if you can show the Divas a favor in this case, your trust will be strengthened. they are not just acting to help, they also have a dark side, you know?"
"...I'll say that once I've learned to hide my emotions a bit more."
My words made Erika's face turn red and she looked embarrassed and angry.
Minty laughed happily at my words, and laughter could be heard from the driver's seat.
Listening to the three divas and with a worried expression on her face, what is this woman saying, who has finalized the content in a day?
I muttered to myself again what I had thought when I first met Erika.
...If this is fooling me, then I'll praise you instead.
It was noon, probably around 2 p.m.
We are preparing lunch in a plain.
Generally speaking, monsters don't appear in places where people pass by frequently, but conversely, if you go a little off-beat, they will appear immediately.
Stopping the carriage to get food, resting the horses, and hunting monsters are the basic movements of adventurers and travelers.
However, what you need to be careful of here is what happens if you draw a bad monster.
Basically, adventurers aim for boar-type monsters or wolves.
However, occasionally you'll get a bad encounter and encounter a bear-like grizzly.
If you come across anything red or green there, you'd better be prepared to risk your life.
One would normally think that they could escape, but they follow you by scent and end up right where the carriage is parked.
Well, that's down to adventurers and travelers who aren't used to sensing presences or magical powers.
The three adventurers accompanying me seem to have been trained by Silver Wolf on my mountain, as they are able to hunt monsters with ease.
Moreover, it has been easily drained of blood and dissected...
Then I took out a simple magic stove and started grilling meat in a frying pan.
Minty was nearby, watching me grill the meat with delight, while keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.
"Instructor's cooking~, hehe, it's been a while~♪"
"...Eh, it's travel cuisine, right?"
"The instructor's cooking is delicious."
Erica tilts her head at Minty's words, but Roll, who has just returned from guarding the surrounding area, interjects.
With a wry smile at what the three of them said, he placed the grilled meat on a plate on the makeshift table.
When it comes to food for travel in this world, it's basically either seasoned with salt or grilled as is.
If they enter a city or village they can eat delicious food, but it's fine if they can eat the food the adventurers eat, or if it fills their stomachs.
Of course, if you don't feel motivated, you won't feel any joy in eating.
Looking back, the most tragic time was during the war.
I often got into arguments with my colleagues about why we didn't season the food even though we had the condiments available.
Once everyone's share of meat was cooked, including my own, I called everyone over.
Then each person stabs it with a fork and eats it heartily.
...That's strange, I thought I baked the three adventurer girls' ones big.
The meat of the three girls was quickly disappearing from the plate.
Erika elegantly cut it into small pieces with a knife, took a bite, and then it hardened.
"...Erika? The meat will get tough if it cools down, so hurry up, okay?"
"Eh... yes. Huh? This... what?"
I chuckle as I watch Erika eat with questions flying all over her head.
By the way, the three adventurer girls have already finished eating and are returning to their surroundings.
I don't know when they did it, but the dishes they used were washed with water and left there.
Maybe they used a magic tool... but when did they use it?
It can't be helped that Erika tilts her head.
Although this world has its own salt and pepper, there is no blend like the ones I was familiar with in my previous life.
Yes, there is no salt pepper, and since they are usually sold separately, you would think there would be a blend.
This really doesn't exist.
I searched seriously and even went to a store that sells seasonings and asked the owner.
I had no choice but to mix the salt and pepper myself, tasting each as I went.
If you put it in small jars, you can just pour it over when baking, which makes it easy.
Come to think of it, the first time I served it to adventurers in the mountains, there was a fight over it...
Therefore, every adventurer who frequents Suzuya carries my blend of salt and pepper.
...I'm not good at cooking, and there are a very few people who don't have it.
I explained this to Erika after she finished eating, and she was surprised.
When I asked if she wanted to try selling it, she looked off into the distance, so I changed the topic.