It seemed I still hadn't fully grasped the city of Baim.
Preparations that should have taken several days before departure were completed in just one day.
As we loaded our luggage onto the porter, we once again came to understand the true capabilities of Baim, the city known as the City of Adventurers.
Miranda, while checking the luggage.
"Two weeks' worth of food, and water for about the same? I understand we managed to get a contract period of almost a month, but aren't we taking too much time?"
We hadn't purchased supplies with room to spare.
We had some food before entering Baim, but it wasn't enough on its own.
I checked the luggage while looking over the weapons and armor we'd purchased.
"We don't know how many Grey Wolves there are, and above all, I've decided not to go all out."
Whether Miranda found that amusing, she was looking at me with a grin.
"Oh? And why's that?"
I said with a laugh.
"Because there's no need to let them know our full capabilities."
That was all.
"It's a test, right?"
Miranda seemed to have figured it out, but she was enjoying our conversation all the same. I didn't mind, so I continued.
"Because it's a test. If we go all out and the Guild accurately assesses our movement speed and capabilities, that'd be trouble. I don't intend to be used up."
Whether that was a satisfactory answer, Miranda leaned her upper body against the wooden crates packed into the porter, looking at me with a smile.
"What?"
When I asked that.
"It's nothing. I just thought Laiel was a terrible person. Oh, but I mean that in a good way — I actually prefer that side of you."
Miranda despised actions that brought her no benefit. Or rather, she didn't so much despise them as firmly believe there was always an ulterior motive.
Back when I first met her in Aramsass, she'd been such a genuinely caring older sister — so how did she end up like this? As I thought that, I snuck a glance at Shannon, who was loading cargo onto the porter nearby.
(Shannon definitely brought this on herself, but looking back, which outcome would she have actually preferred?)
"Did Shannon do something wrong?"
I'd only let my gaze drift toward Shannon for a split second, but Miranda picked up on it immediately.
From inside the Jewel, the Third Generation's voice rang out.
"How scary. A love so heavy she won't miss a single one of Laiel's glances!"
As I thought to myself that this guy was absolutely enjoying this—
"She's working hard, she said. Well, it's not like things have been kind to her up till now."
Shannon came trembling, hefting cargo and carrying it over to the porter. Once she finished, as if she'd been holding it in until then, she let out a great heaving breath.
Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.
"That the last of it?"
When I spoke, she glared right back at me.
"Carrying heavy stuff is a man's job, you know!"
I slapped my palm to my forehead, then deliberately put on a show of exasperation.
"That stuff's actually light inside, though?"
Shannon's body shook as she seemed about to fire back with something. But in the end, she gave up.
The next morning, I headed out with Novem to submit the departure paperwork.
I wrote the planned duration as approximately two weeks and submitted the paperwork, but since Tahnia wasn't the one at the reception desk, I wasn't questioned too deeply about it.
After submitting the documents, I stuffed Porter into the Seventh Generation's Skill [Box] and headed outside, then took it out a few hours later and climbed aboard.
Porter had been reborn in Central. Its height exceeded two meters, and its width was about the same.
Even at a total length of six meters, Porter's head was still firmly mounted on the front-right section.
The lantern-hanging type had been replaced with one embedded into the front armor plate. The armor plates on both sides could be deployed, and this time arms were attached as well, allowing free articulation.
And above all else, the wheels were the main attraction of this upgrade.
Air-filled rubber tires—wide and large—firmly supported Porter's weight.
"This is my power! Did you see that, you Chicken?!"
Monica stood atop Porter with both arms spread wide, cackling triumphantly.
Her skirt fluttered in the wind, and she looked down at me in a state where it seemed like I could see something but couldn't quite.
(What does this girl even want?)
Before even getting to that, I wanted to confront whoever had built this thing and demand what they were thinking.
She wouldn't take off the maid outfit. On top of that, it was clearly strange that it came equipped with mechanical construction functions unnecessary for a maid.
Monica could even handle combat—was this the result of her being broken, or was this simply her default state before she broke in the first place...?
The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.
"Well, I've seen it before. Actually, you were riding around in it before we even came to Baim, weren't you?"
In terms of size, Porter would need significant modifications to be usable inside a Dungeon.
However, we currently had no need to transport Porter into a Dungeon for movement.
I could use the Seventh Generation's Skill, Box, and its storage capacity had expanded enormously on top of the usage restrictions having been almost entirely eliminated thanks to the increase in my mana.
"Porter, next time I'll add arms for you too!"
Monica gently stroked Porter's head, already scheming to add arms to it.
When Clara heard this—
"Any more weight would be too much. Actually, I wouldn't even be able to operate it anymore, so could you please hold off?"
She looked apologetic about it, but the fact that Clara could operate a Golem like Porter in its current state using her Golem magic made her truly exceptional.
And so did I.
"Isn't Porter fine as-is? If you want something extra, just make a separate one. Oh right, I need to prep the Mini Porter too."
The Mini Porter.
It was a miniaturized version of Porter that I'd sold off back in Aramsass.
Its primary design priority was carrying luggage and moving around inside Dungeons, so it was built small.
Aria looked exasperated as she turned to me with a question.
"That can wait, but what's the plan? Does everyone pile in like last time? Or do we proceed on guard?"
I gave the order for everyone to board.
"No, I want everyone inside. It'll take about five days to travel there, and we'll handle the request in the village over three to four days. The return trip will also take around five days, and that'll wrap up the request."
Aria didn't seem satisfied—she looked displeased.
"Why would adventurers in a village leave Grey Wolves alone when they could handle them? The village wouldn't even need to pay anyone to deal with it."
Aria's point was perfectly valid, but I was thinking that there had to be mutual benefit between the village and the Guild.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to submit a request in the first place.
"Well, we can think about that during the trip. Come on, get on already."
I hurried Aria along, and once our companions had all boarded Porter, I surveyed the surroundings.
The Fifth Generation said a single word.
"Around Baim it's one thing, but once you get a bit farther out, there are a lot of Monsters."
I was comparing the map in my head against the rough one in my hand, confirming our destination.
In theory, three days on horseback.
But that was only in theory. If there were mountains, we'd have to detour, and if there was dense forest, Porter might not be able to pass through.
There would be moments to rest, and places where we'd be better off stopping.
I sighed as I traced out the route to our destination.
(The commission itself is simple enough, so why does everything have to be this inconvenient?)
I climbed up to Porter's roof, manipulated it directly, and activated a Skill.
The Fourth Generation's Skill, Speed, was one that increased movement speed.
Once Porter started moving, I sat down on the roof and steered it toward our destination.
(At my current level, if I pushed it, I could probably get there in a solid day.)
Porter didn't need rest breaks the way a horse did.
According to Monica, it required maintenance, but it was undeniably tough.
In other words, as long as my mana held out and I could keep controlling it, Porter could run indefinitely.
(Well, no need to push it, so I won't.)
With that thought, I kept Porter moving while scanning our surroundings.
That was what happened on the second day.
Clara had taken over piloting Porter, and I was content to just watch.
It was after we'd finished lunch and had some pointless chatter among the group.
A section of the roof could be opened up, and I climbed out through it, shouting directions down to Clara.
"Clara, can you push it faster?"
"Huh? Did something happen?"
The map floating in my head showed numerous red dots. There were quite a few of them, but they were Grey Wolves.
They weren't unbeatable — in fact, they were just annoying, so I'd wanted to take them out here.
They'd been making movements like they were tailing us, so we could have just waited them out, but...
(A blue response? And yet it's chasing us... at that speed...)
From behind the red dots that had been chasing us, something was approaching — insanely fast. Faster than us.
And it was wiping out the red dots one after another.
The Fifth Generation sent instructions to me through the Jewel.
'That blue response is bothering me. But even Laiel might not be able to catch it. Take up a defensive position.'
I didn't want to just sit there when I didn't even know what we were dealing with, but I had Porter stop and issued orders to everyone.
"...Clara, stop Porter and hold position. Deploy the armored panels. Something's coming from behind. Everyone, grab your weapons and get outside. Something's chasing us."
From inside Porter, Aria's voice came.
"Something? Like what?"
"Just do it, now!"
Clara brought Porter to a halt, spun it a hundred and eighty degrees, and deployed the armored panels.
I jumped down from Porter's roof, moved out in front, and drew my Saber.
Looking at the map, the pack of Grey Wolves had noticed they were being chased and started scattering.
But the red dots that had been in positions far from the blue dot were vanishing one after another.
The Fifth Generation.
"What? What's going on?"
The Third Generation said distastefully.
"Maybe some kind of monster like Ceres? Lyle, you didn't draw it here, did you?"
I wanted to believe it wasn't my fault.
But then, a bright light erupted in the distance, followed by a faint tremor.
"Magic? The enemy's response... it's all gone?"
I heightened my guard. The target's response was still blue, but it seemed to be scanning its surroundings. All the red light points had vanished, and a blue light point was drawing closer.
As I took my stance, everyone except Shannon, who was aboard the Porter, had their weapons drawn and ready.
Dimension.
Using the Fifth Generation's Skill—the ability to perceive the map in three dimensions—I looked up toward the sky.
"The sky?"
Tilting my head up slightly, I could see something like a small dot approaching us.
The creature, which had no wings or anything of the sort, bore a horn on its head.
As its form gradually became clearer, I could make out white scales and a golden mane.
A horse. A unicorn.
That was my first thought upon seeing the horn, but the creature was far more than that.
Clara murmured, and Eva grew excited.
"This is my first time seeing one. I'd recommend lowering your weapons."
"A Kirin? For real!? Amazing, that's just amazing!"
The divine beast galloped through the sky like a horse, its hooves glittering with light. Every time the Kirin stepped on the empty air, the light would shatter, as though it were running along an invisible path laid out across the sky.
Since it looked like it was coming close to us, we put away our weapons and waited for it to pass.
As I looked up at the Kirin, Novem approached me.
"Lord Laiel, it's heading this way."
Now that she mentioned it, the Kirin was slowing down and descending toward the ground. Or rather, from its perspective, maybe it was landing.
I watched the divine beast slow its pace and come to stand before us.
(Fifth Generation had a connection with Kirin too, didn't he? More importantly, is this really going to be okay?)
The creature's demeanor remained calm, and I made a show of having no intention to resist.
However, the Kirin drew its massive body closer and looked down at me.
Sixth Generation spoke.
"I never expected such a magnificent Kirin… It's nothing like the ones we used to keep back in the day, Fifth Generation. …Fifth Generation?"
Fifth Generation, who had been addressed, said nothing.
The Kirin, easily one or two sizes larger than a horse, bore scales that glowed white.
It brought its face close to mine, tucking back the horn that extended from its forehead, and stared at me with its blue eyes. Seeing my own reflection in those blue eyes, I held my breath.
Then the Kirin turned its gaze to Novem, who stood beside me.
It tilted its head slightly, then moved as though trying to approach, heading underneath Novem.
That was when I noticed a wound on the left side of the Kirin's neck, near the base. It had healed completely, but it looked old.
As I studied it, Fifth Generation, inside the Jewel, spoke up.
"There's no mistake. You… what are you doing in a place like this?"
At the sound of Fifth Generation's voice, the Kirin turned its head toward us.
It stared wide-eyed at my face.
"Huh, no way… but it's been nearly eighty years since then."
The moment the words slipped from my mouth, the Kirin tilted its head.
Fifth Generation spoke from inside the Jewel.
"May… you… you remembered the promise?"
The Kirin's gaze shifted to the Jewel hanging around my neck. Then it fixed its glare directly on me.
Horns jutted from its forehead, and the color shifted from yellow to red as hostility radiated from its body.
I immediately leaped backward, and a column of blue light crashed down where I'd been standing.
"What did you do?!"
Aria shouted, but I denied it outright.
"How should I know! I didn't do anything!"
Novem sprang in front of me and raised her staff, conjuring a magical barrier. The Kirin's cry was nothing like a horse's — it sounded more like a dragon's roar, and the sheer pressure of it washed over us. Then, from within the Jewel, I heard a scream.
"That's enough! May, Lyle is not an enemy!"
The Kirin heard the voice and kicked off the ground, still glaring at us. Its colors flickered back and forth between red and yellow, and cold sweat ran down my back.
The Kirin glared at Novem for a moment longer, then broke into a furious gallop and ascended into the sky.
Everyone let out a deep sigh, and exhaustion hit me all at once.
Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
Novem spoke first.
"Lyle, what exactly did you do? The Kirin won't react like that unless it perceives a threat."
Then Eva.
"Hey, you seriously didn't do anything, right? I don't want some Kirin hunting me down."
Clara.
"Judging by appearance, they've barely reached adulthood, or may not even be fully grown yet. If they had been, that first attack might have sent everyone flying."
In fact, a massive number of Grey Wolves had been blown away in an instant.
I gripped the Jewel.
(Was it because of this that it held back? No way... did it actually hear my voice?)
While I was still puzzling over it, Aria looked at me.
"So? Anything come to mind?"
Everyone shot me suspicious looks, so I pushed back.
"I stowed my weapon. Did it look like I was attacking? Look, I'm not that stupid, and I'm not some battle-crazy lunatic who picks fights for fun! I'd like to know why it attacked just as much as you do."
I did have a hunch, but explaining it would take time.
It might be about time I told them the truth, but the timing just never seemed right...
Shannon looked at me.
"So the Kirin rejected you. Serves you right. By the way, why did that Kirin react when your Jewel started glowing? And it only reacted to a specific kind of light, too."
Miranda glanced at Shannon, then turned to me.
The Fourth Generation spoke from within the Jewel.
"Ah, so she could see it after all."
The Sixth Generation as well.
"It might be about time we told them, but this situation is hardly ideal..."
When Shannon mentioned it had "reacted again" and I confirmed it, Miranda seemed convinced I wasn't lying.
"You'll tell us, won't you, Lyle?"
I was surrounded by everyone, and as I slowly retreated, Monica circled around behind me.
"Did you know, Chicken... maids love secrets. Now, why don't you talk and put yourself at ease?"
Monica grabbed both my shoulders so I couldn't escape, and she was smiling.
"Y-you guys... did you honestly think I was hiding something? Can't you trust me just a little more?"
I tried to slip away with a vague smile, but cornered by my companions, I had nowhere to run.
Then, Novem spoke up.
"Well, we do have some time, so why don't we talk inside the portal, Lord Lyle?"
Novem's smile was as beautiful as ever today. The reason it struck me as slightly terrifying was because I had something to hide.
(Damn it, talking should make me feel better, yet for some reason I really don't want to)
The thought that they would learn I always had a guardian chaperone was a little embarrassing.
Part of why I couldn't come clean was that small pride of mine. Still, the most important reason was —
"It's really not a good time right now. With the Ceres situation, Jewel might get suspicious. And it'd be a real problem if they misunderstood that Lyle had been taken over. Yeah... let's just get through this by explaining Lyle's new Skill. That one's got some real impact to it."
The Third Generation was suggesting that to me, but I was hesitant about explaining my own Skill, Connection.
(...I really do need to explain it, don't I? But the timing is terrible, and the only way through this is to redirect with the Skill topic... but still)
I pondered how to get through this situation.