It had already been a week since I left Gunjo City but....

''Funny, we should be able to see the village in the middle by now...''

　I got lost.

　I definitely felt like I was going too slowly since I left the city. But if I've been following the map correctly, I should be halfway through by now! And they should be following a village halfway between Gunjo City and Dungeon City!

　This past week was filled with stops in the woods along the way, food supplies at the river, and Shiroumar getting lost.
　As for Shiroumaru, there was an unfortunate side to him (he got swept away by the river and lost his scent, so we went searching for him and picked him up), but we were averaging more than 20km a day, albeit slowly, and we were supposed to be in the village by the end of the day.
　But it was almost nightfall time. We had to stop the carriage somewhere to settle down and get ready for camping.

　When I say camp, all I have to do is set up a simple ward around the carriage and prepare a meal.
　The carriage we're riding in now is the same one we used to go boa hunting (slaying bandits) with Lily and the others before, but with significant modifications.

　Firstly, the main body of the carriage was converted into a box carriage, and an iron plate with a strengthening spell was incorporated into the entire body.
　It's not just a boxcarriage, it's a boxcarriage with a strengthened iron plate throughout.
　This modification cost about 300,000 Gs. Mainly for the steel.
　It's not only that, but it's also necessary to replenish a certain amount of magic power every day to the strengthening and weight-reducing magicians that are everywhere in the carriage, so it's a carriage for wizards only. Of course, I've registered as a contractor exclusively for me.

　Well, thanks to making life easier for me, it's much easier to live there than staying at a strange inn.
　I'm thinking about building a bathroom in the corner of the house.

　While I was thinking about this, I was looking for a place to stay.

Thieves!

　I heard such a voice.
　I used a search in the direction the voice came from and found a response on the other side of the hill about 100 meters away. It seemed that a group of sixteen people were being attacked by twenty bandits.

''Is this dangerous?''

　The sixteen men seemed to have been taken by surprise and were completely surrounded by bandits.
　I put my wagon away and ordered Shiroumaru to take off his collar and turn against me to attack.
　Then I myself directed Tanikaze to head up the hill.

　From the top of the hill, I looked out into the night and saw that the sixteen were still outnumbered.
　Apparently the one being attacked only had six adventurers as combatants, the others seemed to be three merchant-like men who looked like hired hands and seven slaves.

　As I was observing this, I heard Shiroumaru's howl from the other side. As if to answer it, I launched a fireball into the sky.

''What's going on!''

　One of the bandits shouted and looked around to be on guard, but

Gah!
"Wolf demon, goblin.　
You're a big boy, Gabe.　

　Faster than that, Shiroumaru attacked from the other side.

　I let Tanikazee rush in to put a stop to the confused bandits.

'Join us! You guys stay on the defensive!

　The bandits weren't the only ones who were confused, but they still listened to my words and honestly went on the defensive.

'Also, the wolves are on our side! If you don't want to die, don't touch me!

　I would add that. Otherwise, Shiroumaru would not be able to distinguish between friend and foe. If any of the adventurers attacked Shiroumaru, they would definitely be killed by Shiroumaru.

　The bandits who were taken by surprise were killed by me (+Tanikaze) and Shiroumaru in the blink of an eye.

'Wow! Who the hell is that guy!
You can't snoop later! We have to believe we're on the same side now, and stick to our defenses!
But there are about three more bandits... or maybe they're all dead.

　The bandits seemed to be working well together there, but they didn't seem to be expecting a surprise attack, so they were easily dispatched.

''Alright, come back, Shiroumaru!

　At my words, Shiroumaru ran up to me, wagging his tail. I was stroking Shiroumaru's head like that.

I appreciate the help, but are you on our side?

　One of the adventurers called out to me from a little distance.

'That's up to you guys. If you guys want to antagonize me, I won't relent.

　At the murderous words, the adventurers flinched, dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

''As you can see, there is no animosity between us. In fact, we are grateful.

All right. I'll take your word for it.

　With that, he got Shiroumaru down and approached the men.

'I'm pretty sure these guys are bandits. The ones we took down...or rather all of them. I'll take it.

'That's just as well. These are all things that you and that wolf defeated.　

　After hearing those words, I instructed Shiroumaru to collect the bandit's corpses. I told Shiroumaru beforehand not to dismember the bandits unless it was too much, so most of the corpses were connected to each other in part somewhere.

　As I was putting the bodies in my bag.

"Thank you for the danger.

　And then a merchant-like man came in.

'I'm a slaver, Jayman, I'm a slaver.

His name is Jayman.
Age...43.
Race... human race.
Title: Slaver.

　He scowled at me at the mention of slavers.

'There is no need to be alarmed. I don't know if it's proof, but here it is.

　With that, the man took out a sheet of paper.
　The paper was labeled 'Slave Trading Exemption', with the man's name after a few notes and contracts, and at the end, it said that the Duke of Arsus von Sangha acknowledges this.

'I don't know if it's genuine or not, but since I've given you the Duke's name, I'll trust you to a certain extent.

'Well, thank you for that. And you can call me Jayman, that's fine. And ... if you could, would you take off your mask (...) and show me your true face?

　That being said, I remembered that I had to cover my mouth in a change of disguise. When I took off my mask, Jayman and the other adventurers were all surprised.

'You were that young!

　Those words made me wary, but

'I am sorry to have startled you. As a matter of fact, I handled Guise as a slave, and in doing so, I was told by the Duke about the character of Mr. Temma.　

　Saying that, Jayman began to ramble on about what he and Duke Sangha had talked about.
　That included the deal between me and Duke Sanga, so I decided to let my guard down for a moment.

''So, Temma-san, why are you here.........Thankfully for us, we heard that our destination is Dungeon City. This place is not the same direction as a dungeon city, you know?

　I showed him the hand-drawn map he gave me.

I followed this map, but I think I took a wrong turn...

　I was told the shocking truth from Jayman's mouth as he took a glance at the map.



Hah!

　I see, no matter how far you go, you shouldn't be able to see the village.

''Ah, but the direction itself is similar, so if you take the proper road out of here, you'll reach your destination... or rather, that relay village is our destination.''

　With those words, I knew what he was trying to say.

''I require information to accompany you to your destination and provide you with information on the road to the dungeon city. In return, we will join the rescue and escort you to the village as described earlier. Would you like that?

We have a deal! It's nice to meet you.

　I shook Jayman's hand and signed the contract.

'We'll only be a few hours away from here. As far as we're concerned, we'd like to get there today if that's okay with you?

'No problem. But I believe your adventurer has an injured person?　

　I asked the man who was standing behind Jayman.

He's wounded, but fortunately he's alone and his wounds are superficial, and he'll be fine with light recovery magic and potions.

　So I inspected the carriage and since there seemed to be no problems, I decided to leave as soon as possible.
　I straddled Tanikaze without the carriage and let Shiroumaru get ahead of me as far as my voice could reach, giving him the role of scout and avoiding weak demons.

　The adventurers were surprised by Tanikaze, but Jayman didn't show much surprise. If you ask him, he had heard about Shiroumaru and Tanikaze from Duke Sanga. But as for Shiroumaru, he was stained with blood when we first met, and I had him waiting a bit farther away, so he was slow to notice.

　Just as Jayman had said, we arrived at the village in about three to four hours. There were a few demons along the way, but they were all hunted by Shiroumaru, so we arrived without any problems.

We've arrived. Thanks to you, we arrived safely.

　The adventurers who had been hired by Jayman's words had a complicated look on their faces, but they seemed to be prepared for what was to be said this time.

''I'm sorry, Jayman, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you in such danger...''

　The man leading the adventurers apologizes, but

'No, I'm in denial about this one. You and your men hinted at the danger before you left, but it was I who did not listen. I will put some color on the reward.

　Then he apologized for the opposite.

'I need to thank you again for your help, too. It really helped me. I appreciate it.

　There was a slight rasp in his voice, but he seemed to mean it, so

No, that's okay. You guys would have managed without my help. Besides, I've got a lot to gain from it.

　Speaking so lightly.

'Haha, we might have managed, sure, but some of us would have died for sure. All of them were safe, and that's still thanks to you.

　He laughed as I spoke.

'Temma-san, please join us at the inn where we are staying today. It's not safe to leave now, and I'll have the rest of your reward ready by noon tomorrow.

All right. Thanks for your help.　

　Having said that, I put Tanikaze in my bag and followed Jayman.

　The inn is not as flattering as the Manpuku-ji, but the inside was rather clean and well-cleaned.
　Jayman persuaded me to take a room for one person.

　The next day was a rainy day. I was looking out of my room at the light rain when I heard a knock on the door.

'Come in,'

　It was Jayman who walked in, saying, "Excuse me.

''Temma-san, I've prepared a map with directions from this village to the dungeon city.

　He unfolded a rolled up piece of paper in his hand and showed it to me.
　He finished explaining to me as he looked at the map.

Please bring this map.

　He gave me a map, much smaller than the one I had just seen, saying, "Can I have it?

'Can I have it?'

Yes, that's fine. This is not an exact copy of what I just wrote, but I'm still trying to make it as similar as possible, so I don't think there's any problem.

Thank you.

　Then he tucked it away in his bag.

'If you still get lost, there are two stars that shine brightest right after dark, and if you proceed in that direction, you'll find a dungeon city.

Oh, I see... okay.

'The skies are unfortunately bleak today, how do you want to leave? If you'd like, we'll pay for your accommodations while we're here in the village, as long as we're under contract.

　I thought about it for a minute.

'Thanks, but with this rain, it should be fine. We'll leave around noon.

　According to the map they gave me, it looks like it's mostly grassland from here. If that's the case, as long as you're inside the carriage, there won't be any problems.

''I see, just in case you can use this room until this evening, please let me know if you change your mind.

　Jayman said and left the room.
　After having a light meal, I asked the innkeeper for the location of the guild, borrowed an umbrella and went outside.

　The guild was about 15 minutes' walk from the inn, but as expected, it was a smaller building than the one in Gunjo City and other places.

''I killed the bandits, but I want to make sure the bounty hunter is there.

　After briefly stating only the requirements to the receptionist sitting at the counter, the man in charge appeared and took me to the back of the building.

'There are twenty people in the building and the bodies are in a bag. Can you get them out here, please?

　I put the body out in the designated area. The man didn't seem particularly bothered by the body.

"Well, these guys have been bountyed recently. This guy got 50,000 G, this guy and this guy got 20,000 G, and the rest are gone. However, since all the people who were reported have been killed, we have a request to take out these guys just in time, so we'll consider that request accomplished as well.

　After saying that, he transferred it to the guild's magic bag and went to the reception desk again to hand over the rewards.

''The total amount of money for defeating the bandits is 260,000 g, and the reward for the request is 150,000 g, for a total of 410,000 g. Please confirm.

　I checked the amount of money that was given to me and put it in my bag. Asking for the location of the grocery store at its reception, we decided to go to see if there are things you're after.

　Arriving at the grocery store, I immediately look for the thing you want, but I did not find it anywhere.
　So I asked the clerk about the things I wanted.

What, a big keg?

　The first thing he brought with him was a barrel about 50 cm long.

I think this should be enough to store them.

'Oh, it's too small. I'd like something about twice as big as this.

　When he said that, the clerk was thinking about it.

Speaking of which, there was one!

　Then he took me outside to the warehouse.

'Here. This is this sake barrel. I think this one is the perfect size!

　He pointed to an empty liquor barrel that was about 1.2 meters high and had a maximum diameter of about one meter.

'Oh, it's just the right size. How much is this one?

This was originally supposed to be a disposal, so I'll just take the wood portion.

　He said he was willing to pay 500g for it.

　I paid, put the keg in my bag and left the store in a good mood.
　A former Japanese necessity, a bath tub (substitute), I got it!

　By the time we arrived at the inn, the rain had almost stopped.

'Alright, let's get going!

　I went to Jayman's room and told him we were leaving.

''I see. I often go to Dungeon City for business, so I might be able to meet Temma-san again. I'll look forward to seeing you then.''

　Jayman and I shook hands and promised to meet again. At first I was defensive when I heard that he was a slaver, but once I got used to it, it didn't really bother me.
　Well, I just had a bigger feeling that it was strange to care about it now that I had sent Guise and others into slavery.

　Anyway, I left the village with the determination to not get lost this time around.



Plus... my first barrel bath and stylistic version.

　This may be the biggest takeaway from this trip, the barrel bath. The time had come to use it for the first time.

Okay, let's get to it.

　To prepare the bath, he put the barrel out to the back of the carriage and opened the lid.

'Ugh, dammit what's that smell!

　The stench spread as soon as I opened the lid. I hurriedly closed the lid and put it away in my bag to ventilate the carriage.

'I screwed up... with a moment's thought, I should have realized that the inside was rotten...'

　For a moment, the thought flashed through my mind that I should give up on this barrel and hold out until we reached the city.
　But I was ready to take a bath, and my former Japanese instincts, my former Japanese instincts, did not allow me to do so.

　I first placed the barrel away from the carriage, opened the lid and moved away quickly. Then I took out one of the golems and let them wash it from a distance. However, the golem isn't very good at fine force, so it's like I'm directly pouring magic power into it and remotely controlling it.

　First, I discard the remaining wine inside.
　Next, I use water magic to rinse the inside of the barrel. After rinsing it several times, the water became clear.
　Then, I put soap on the rags from the bag and polish the inside of the barrel.
　Finally, I fill the barrel with boiling water to disinfect it. I let it disinfect for an hour or so, changing the boiling water, just to be sure.
　Now, how did it all turn out!

'Yes! I hardly care!

　It works! Now the longed-for bath will be installed in the carriage.

　I immediately put it in the carriage and filled it with hot water.


'Ha~, paradise, paradise.'

　I'm shoulder-deep in the slightly hot water, enjoying my first bath in a long time.

　I was dressed in a towel around my waist to cool off the heat of my body.
　I could have gone completely naked, but I'm going to have some fun after the bath, so I'm dressed accordingly.

'When I say after a bath, this is what I mean.

　As I said this, I pulled out a bottle of chilled milk from my bag.

"Here we go!

　With a shout, I put my hands on my hips, stretch my chest and drink the milk.

'Gulp, gulp, gulp, puh-hah! That's the best!

　Most people might prefer beer, but I've always preferred milk to beer to drink after a bath. I'd drink beer if I had it, but I can't get too drunk in this body (due to my abnormal tolerance), and most importantly, knowing what beer tasted like in my previous life, the biggest problem is that beer in this world is bad.
　Or, more accurately, it's not my cup of tea, which is probably a better way of putting it. Instead, I think milk is better than it was in my previous life. The reason for this is that it's not weirdly heat-pasteurized.

　In the previous life, most of the milk commonly sold was pasteurized by rapidly raising the temperature to 130°C and the smell of the paper carton spoiled the flavor of the milk, but in this world, it tastes better and is less dangerous because it is magically purified (only germs are eliminated). (Reminds me of a certain agricultural cartoon where unpasteurized milk was considered to be better.)

　I know I'm off topic, but that's why milk is a staple after the bath for me, anyway!　

　However, I've been running low on milk lately.
　We must hurry, to Dungeon City! We must protect, the fun after the bath!

　The night passed with such nonsense in mind.