It had already been a week since we set out with the merchant caravan. I had gotten used to sleeping outdoors, but I was starting to miss lying down on a soft bed. Of course, I was even using a simple mattress with the [Hermes Backpack]... but it was still a hard travel mattress. I wanted to experience a real bed again, that was all. Hmm, maybe I should go ask how long it would be until the next city.
"My goddess."
"What is it?"
"I will go speak with the caravan master for a moment."
"Go ahead."
"Yes."
Since I was traveling as an escort for the Otto Merchant Company, which operated directly in Orario—the caravan master was apparently named Otto Swen... surely not?—I kept my words and interactions with them to a minimum. Before I knew it, I had ended up committing to the silent knight persona.
Anyway, I quickened my pace slightly from where I had been walking alongside the wagon carrying my goddess—probably one transporting magic tools intended for export—and headed toward the wagon where the caravan master was riding.
Normally, he stayed inside his wagon handling paperwork whenever possible, but perhaps he had nearly finished his work today, because he was outside and riding a horse himself.
"Caravan master?"
"Eek?! Wh-what is it, Lord Talos?!"
He seemed like a... rather unfortunate person, but he was a good man at heart. He was just overly afraid of me. More precisely, afraid of the image I was presenting...
Well... I was wearing sharp-looking armor, clad head to toe in black, and casually wielding one-handed a warhammer that even a sturdy grown man would struggle to lift with both hands. Even I would probably have found that frightening in my previous life...
"When will we arrive at a city where we can find food and lodging?"
"Um... I expect we will arrive sometime after lunch today...! I-if you would prefer to eat lunch in the city, I will increase the caravan's pace...!"
"There is no particular need for that... but I will ask my goddess if she wishes it."
"Y-yes!"
Hmm... Did I really look that scary?
"Of course you do."
"Is that so?"
"It is frightening that you never take off that armor while we travel, and your voice echoes through that helmet, which makes it even scarier. Considering the rumors about adventurers outside Orario and that monstrous strength you showed on the first day, those people probably think you are at least Level 5 already."
"I see."
"...Be honest. You are enjoying this silent knight persona, aren't you?"
"...No comment."
"Good grief... honestly."
As for what happened on the first day... not long after the caravan left Orario, we found an enormous tree fallen across the road. It looked as though it had been knocked down by the powerful winds that had swept through recently.
The caravan workers and even the caravan's dedicated guards, everyone except me, rushed over and tried to move it. But when it would not budge in the slightest and people began to think we would have to take a detour, one of the guards came over and asked us for a favor.
"Uh... mister adventurer? Could you take care of that thing for us?"
I looked to my goddess for permission first. When she nodded, I nodded as well, indicating that I would help.
"That is a relief. We will finally get to see the strength of an Orario adventurer. Outside the city, people go on and on about Orario adventurers this and Orario adventurers that, saying how incredible they are, but I have never actually seen one use that kind of strength inside Orario."
"...Could you tell everyone near the tree to move away? It would be better coming from you than from me."
Honestly, I deliberately lowered my voice a little here to set the mood. It was supposed to be like, Watch the might of an Orario adventurer!
"Everyone, move back! Our adventurer here is about to put some strength into it!"
Once the guard shouted and everyone backed away from the tree, I slung the [Black Knight Shield] I had been holding onto my back, gripped Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter with both hands, and slowly approached it. Then, nothing special happened. I merely swung down with all my strength.
"Hup...!"
However, Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter's shockwave effect was apparently rather powerful...
Crack!
With that sound, the section struck by Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter was pulverized completely, and the tree—which looked to be around ninety centimeters in diameter—split cleanly in two.
To explain Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter's shockwave effect, it is basically similar in nature to the internal-force strikes from martial arts novels. Normally, when we block an attack, the impact passes through the armor and muscles of the arm, reaches the bones, and finally travels to the internal organs. But Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter's shockwave lands the initial blow normally, then carries that same blow straight through to the internal organs. The same impact is inflicted upon the armor, muscles, bones, and internal organs.
They had struggled so desperately to move that tree, only to see it snap in half like a wafer cookie. Perhaps they were too speechless to say anything; they just stood there blankly. After glancing at the caravan workers, I thought that since I was doing this anyway, I might as well finish it. I propped Ghal Maraz, Skull-Splitter up to one side, lifted the root end, and threw it beside the road. Even with my Level 2 strength, it was heavy enough to feel burdensome. It had been this heavy even after being split in half; if it had been whole, I probably would not have been able to lift it.
It was a good thing I had not tried to lift it first and embarrass myself...
After tossing aside the roots, I went to grab the upper half and move it too, but this time everyone rushed in, insisting that they would handle it themselves. Perhaps because it had been split in two, they could at least push it off the road when they all worked together.
"G-good work, Lord Talos! Please get some rest now!"
Even the caravan master, who had spoken reasonably normally when we first met, went pale after witnessing that overwhelming strength and addressed me while trembling. I had intended to make an impression to some extent... but perhaps I had overdone it. I wanted to demonstrate overwhelming strength so they would not underestimate me or the goddess I served, but I had gone beyond preventing them from looking down on us and made them genuinely afraid.
I wondered whether the guards, who made their living by the sword, might react differently, so I looked their way. But their gazes were instead a mixture of admiration, awe, and fear... It made me uncomfortable, so I quickly looked away.
.
.
.
.
.
Something like that had happened.
"So, are you enjoying the trip?"
"Out of nowhere? You are changing the subject because you have nothing to say, aren't you?"
"...So, are you enjoying the trip?"
"Sigh... I suppose I should let you have this one. It is nice. This is the first trip I have taken in decades. Even when I took a break in Orario, at most I would rest in Orario itself or visit a village nearby. When I first descended to the Lower World, it would have been stranger for me to settle in one place than to wander everywhere... But once I had things to bear on my shoulders, I could no longer travel freely just to rest. So it feels nice to come out like this."
"I am glad to hear it."
Snort.
"Then that is good. I acquired a Familia member useful enough to serve as an escort on a trip like this, so I would say it has been more than successful."
"...They say we will reach a city where we can find food and lodging sometime after lunch. They can increase the pace if you wish. What would you like to do?"
"There is no need to make everyone else work harder. We can arrive after lunch."
"Understood."
After eating the meal handed out by the caravan—it was meat soup, and both my goddess's bowl and mine had an overwhelmingly large amount of meat in them—we walked for roughly another two hours. Just as the sun was at its hottest, the city walls came into view.
"We will rest in this city for one day and leave tomorrow morning at nine! Drink in moderation! And naturally, refrain from getting into fights while drunk as well!"
It looked like we would all be sleeping in the same place.
"My goddess, what would you like to do about our lodging? Shall we stay in the same place as the caravan workers?"
"Hmm... If the lodging is in poor condition, we can change places then."
"Yes."
The caravan master happened to be curious about that as well and came over to ask me. When I said it would depend on the condition of the inn, his face brightened. The lodging he had reserved must be quite good. If a capable person stayed at the same inn, the chances of having their goods stolen went down, while the chances of recovering them went up. It would provide some peace of mind as well.
I wonder how this city will differ from Orario...