“Fu~ … I’m sorry for that. I’ve calmed down now.”
“Oh, great. So, what were you and Alexis doing? You weren’t really having a fight, were you?”
Alexis’s protesting voice came from behind her, “I wouldn’t get into a fight with this guy!” but she didn’t intend to respond to it. … It was a very wise decision.
“Ah, yes. In fact, I was wondering if I could be included in the hero’s party that I’ve been longing for, so I asked the hero to check my abilities.”
“Is that so? It’s true that if you can match Alexis, you’re strong. … Hmmーbut we’re not really worried about the strength of our party.”
Tia creased her brow and replied to my words. That reaction was to be expected. I didn’t panic and continued with my words.
“You are right. So――”
“But that’s okay! I have a feeling that Ed and I will get along just fine!”
“Porter … What?”
“Hey, Alexis! Can I have Ed as a friend?” (T/N: Y’know guys I am liking Tia)
“What!? What kind of selfish thing are you saying!? I’ve been explaining to you many times that if we add more people in our team now, we won’t be able to work together and we’ll become weaker!”
“I know that, but why don’t we train together!? You don’t mind, do you, Gonzo?”
“Yeah? Ah, I don’t mind. I don’t care how weak you are now, I’ll mold your body into a fine muscular one with my hands!”
“Two against one, then! I’m Ed’s friend, all right! Nice to meet you, Ed!”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. …?”
What just … happened? I was thinking of various strategies to join the hero’s party, but I realized that I had already joined the hero’s party. …?
“Eh? Are you really sure you want to do this?”
“I’m sure. Hey, Alexis?”
Puzzled, I asked, and Tia, smiling, turned around and called out to Alexis. However, it was extremely unusual for Alexis to have a bitter expression on his face, even though he was in a public place.
“Haa. I know there’s nothing I can say to you at a time like this. I don’t strongly disagree with you joining us, because you certainly seem to have a minimum level of ability, but … What are we going to do about the supply problem? Didn’t we discuss that it’s time to start thinking seriously about making expeditions away from our towns and bases?”
“Ah, I see. That’s there too …”
Alexis’ bitter words caused Tia to think about it. At this time of the year, Alexis and her team had completed most of the missions that could be accomplished in a day or a few days, and they were thinking of taking on smaller dungeons that would take a week or ten days to complete.
However, if they were to operate without supplies for that long, they would have to carry a reasonable amount of water and food, and they would need people to take care of that. Until now, each of them had been carrying their own food and water, but if they had to carry that much food and water on their own, it would interfere with the battle.
“U-Um! C-Can I carry your luggage?”
Then that was why I was here to step in. Or rather,I had been planning to do so from the beginning, so it was not surprising. But Alexis gave me a suspicious look at my proposal.
“You? You seem like a pretty good swordsman, but you’re not going to tell me that you can carry all of our stuff and still move as well as you did just now, are you?”
“No way! Actually, I have a useful magic tool. Here, this is it.”
I’d been using it since I was a miscellaneous mercenary, just like the iron sword, I put the hilt of my broken and useless iron sword in the bag…, Pretended, but actually stored it away in the [Stranger Box].
Then, of course, the sword, which was not supposed to be in the small bag, slipped away and disappeared into another space, and Alexis and the others’ eyes widened in astonishment.
“What!? Oi-kun, what the hell is that …?” (T/N: Forgot Mc’s Name and called him “Oi-Kun” ,Oi=hey)
“As you can see, it’s a strange bag that can hold a lot of stuff, despite its appearance. For some reason, if anyone other than me uses it, it seems to revert back to a normal bag, so I can’t sell it or give it away. … But if I use it, there’s plenty of room to fill it with all the supplies in town, right?”
If I had explained that it was a magic bag that could be used by anyone, he would have commandeered it with his heroic authority, but if it could only be used by me, it would not only be meaningless, but he would have lost a big opportunity to carry a tremendous amount of luggage.
Hehehe~, what are you going to do, hero? If you want this substandard cargo-carrying ability, bring me … into your party, though I’ve already joined.
“Wow! Ed, you have such a great magic tool! You did it, Alexis! Isn’t this the solution?”
“Gah-hah! That’s right. Carrying heavy loads is also a good way to grow muscles, but being able to carry a large number of adamantine pieces with you so that you can train anytime, anywhere is really appealing! I’ll have them brought over from home later, please, kid!”
“Ah, yes. As you please.”
Yeah, I’d never heard of it in the first round, but old man Gonzo had one of those? Sure, you could carry it because the weight of the contents became negligible, but … you still needed to exercise your muscles.
“… Ma, okay. It certainly seems to be an extremely useful magical tool. I’ll leave it to you to carry our bags. In the meantime, here’s … it.”
I caught the piece of metal with one hand as Alexis flicked it with a pang and sent it flying. Then I opened my hand and saw that there was silver … no, gold coins inside!?
“U-Um, Yuusha-sama!?”
“So, go buy as many supplies as you think we’ll need. You don’t have to return the excess.”
“What? But these are gold coins, right? Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
The average income of a commoner in this world was about 80 copper coins per day. 100 copper coins were equal to 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins equal to 1 gold coin. When it was my first time around here, I only received one silver coin.
Well, of course. You could not just suddenly hand over a large sum of money to someone you didn’t know. So, I thought it would be the same this time. … What is this?
“There is no mistake. But if you can carry as much as you want, it’s more efficient to buy in bulk than to buy little by little, right? There’s no such thing as the strongest swordsman in the world with me around, but if you’re … the best porter, show me what you’re capable of.”
“… I understand. I will do my best to live up to your expectations.”
I politely bowed and responded to Alexis, who snorted.
I see, so this was a test. How will I use this money, what will I buy, and how much will I buy? This was a test of my ability as a person who managed … supplies, and not simply as a porter.
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Fufu, okay. I accept your challenge! I haven’t carried a pack for a hundred years! I will make sure you are fully and completely prepared for your journey and make you squeal in comfort!
“Let’s go, then! See you later, you two!”
“… Yes?”
In a very casual way, Tia excitedly pulled my arm. It seemed that shopping was with two people … Why?