Hmm...
"Ugh... are we there yet?"
Seeing
She seemed better than before, but she clearly wasn't ready for any more high-speed rides.
"We're at the cabin now!"
Raphtalia swayed unsteadily, looking nauseous.
"Well then, let's haul the lumber."
I loaded the lumber onto the wagon together with a lumberjack who came out of the cabin. I also joined him for some logging work. Thanks to my skills, the quality of the wood improved.
In any case, Raphtalia's vehicle training continued for a while. Along the way, I noticed the lumber reacting, so I let the shields absorb it.
The conditions for the Greenwood Shield have been unlocked.
The conditions for the Larch Shield have been unlocked.
Greenwood Shield Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Woodcraft Skill 1 Larch Shield Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Beginner Woodcraft Recipe These were derivatives of the Wood Shield. Apparently, these two types of wood were common in this world. The Greenwood was a fragrant tree similar to Japanese cypress from my world, while the Larch resembled cedar but had a strange quality where the grain changed depending on where you cut it.
Oh well, not really important.
A few days later.
Clang, clang, clang.
I was hard at work with a wooden mallet in hand, converting the wagon into a proper horse-drawn carriage.
I figured the Woodcraft Skill 1 I'd gained the other day would help improve the performance somewhat.
I added a frame structure on top of the wagon, then covered it with a thick cloth and secured it in place.
Ryuto Village's reconstruction was progressing smoothly—they no longer really needed our help.
The villagers saw me converting the wagon into a carriage and pitched in to assist.
"Alright, that should about do it."
"It's finished!"
Several villagers and I completed the carriage and celebrated.
A carriage pulled by a Filolial... well, whatever.
"I appreciate all the help."
"Not at all! The Hero has done so much for us already. We're sorry we could only help this much."
The villagers wore bright smiles as they lent me a hand.
Even if they considered me the savior of their lives, I couldn't afford to get complacent. But I could honestly feel grateful.
"I'm glad to hear that."
"So, you'll be going peddling?"
"More like a general store on the road—carrying goods from village to village, town to town, selling merchandise and transporting people."
"Ah, I see..."
Even the villagers didn't seem to fully grasp it.
Well, coming from Motoyasu's antics, it was true that this wasn't exactly typical Hero behavior.
I didn't have a clear path to success myself either. But with Filo around, it would be a waste not to use her.
"Huh? Whoa... the wagon turned into a carriage!"
Filo, who had been playing around in her human form until a moment ago, stared in surprise at the dramatically transformed wagon.
"I get to pull this?!"
Filo asked with her eyes sparkling.
"Yep, that's right. From now on, you'll pull this carriage and run across the entire kingdom."
"Really?!"
Filo cried out in delight.
As for me, it sounded like backbreaking work I'd probably lose enthusiasm for pretty quickly...
"So you're really going through with this," Raphtalia muttered with a gloomy look.
Having never fully conquered her motion sickness, Raphtalia was clearly not enthusiastic about traveling by carriage.
"You'll get used to it eventually. Just bear with it until then."
"Okay."
I turned to Filo and checked again, several times over.
"Filo, what's your job?"
"Um, Filo's job is to pull the carriage and go wherever Master tells me to go."
"Right."
"And then kick that person with the spear if I find them!"
"That's correct."
"That second part is wrong! What even is that?!"
Raphtalia objected as if something were seriously amiss.
"What do you mean, 'what is that'? That look on your face like I'm the crazy one here..."
If we ran into Motoyasu, we'd kick him. What was wrong with that?
If I indulged every complaint, we'd never get anywhere.
"Alright then, let's set off on our first day of peddling. I'll hide inside the carriage, Raphtalia. When we reach the first village or town, you handle the sales."
"Understood..."
My reputation was still terrible everywhere outside the immediate vicinity of Ryuto Village. If I went out to negotiate, even things that would sell wouldn't sell.
So Raphtalia was put in charge of sales and negotiations.
Besides, Raphtalia was easy on the eyes. She wasn't the shy type either, so she was well-suited for customer-facing work.
"Then let's depart."
Once preparations were complete, we loaded the goods onto the carriage and had Filo pull it.
"Oh, Hero!"
"Hmm? What is it?"
The entire population of Ryuto Village had gathered to see us off. Among them, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes pushed through the crowd and approached me.
"I am the lord entrusted with governing this Ryuto Village. Shield Hero, I want to thank you for everything you've done."
"Don't mention it. This village just happened to be in a convenient location for a base."
"...Please take this."
The lord handed me a piece of parchment.
"What's this?"
"It's a Commercial Transit Pass. It will come in handy for your peddling."
"A Commercial Transit Pass?"
"Yes. In this kingdom, when you go peddling, you're required to pay a certain fee to the lord of each village or town you stop in."
...So that was how it worked. Hmm. I could wield the Hero's authority to get around it, but my bad reputation might backfire and cause more trouble.
"That's where this Commercial Transit Pass with my seal comes in. As long as you have it, you won't need to pay fees as a general rule. Please, let it be of use to you."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Of course. I wouldn't be able to face my villagers if I didn't provide some form of repayment for what the Hero has done for us."
Come to think of it, this was a farming village near the border of
The villagers had watched me minimize the damage during the Wave firsthand. Even though my infamy was so bad that even the King had it out for me, I'd shouldered the painful decision for their sake—or at least that's what it looked like, given how cheerful I'd been about it.
"...This is to make sure your bad reputation doesn't get in the way of your business." He was taking it at face value in the most charitable way possible. So I accepted with genuine gratitude.
"Thank you. I'll put it to good use."
"Safe travels."
"...Yeah, I'm off."
"We'll do whatever we can to support the Hero's work."
"Just don't push yourselves beyond what you can handle."
"Yes!"
And so we set out on the road as a general store.
Our first order of business was selling medicine.
The selection was small, but we priced things a bit below market rate.
The star products were Healing Potions and Nutrient Potions. These were higher-grade potions compared to the basic ones, so they fetched a decent price.
We also bought medicinal herbs we recognized at each village we visited, and I prepared potions during our travels.
Filo's legs were fast enough that we could typically reach the next village within a single day, but occasionally we ended up sleeping outdoors.
On those nights, we'd stop the carriage, build a campfire, and have a meal.
"Master! Come sleep next to Filo! There's room! Let's sleep together!"
Filo patted the ground beside her, sitting in her Filolial form and pleading for company.
"Next to you is way too hot..."
For some reason, Filo always wanted to sleep with me. I'd told her not to shift into her monster form at inns, so she was even more insistent when we camped outside.
Well, as long as we weren't bothering anyone else, it was fine on occasion...
"Filo really does love you, Sir Naofumi."
"Mm-hm! I won't lose to Big Sister Raphtalia!"
"How does that even follow?!"
Sometimes Raphtalia and Filo would get into these odd spats—half-rivalry, half-friendly.
Filo was basically a child, so what was there to get worked up about?
Oh right, Raphtalia was essentially a child too. They were about the same mental age.
"Alright, alright. Go to sleep, you two. I'll wake you when it's your turn."
"Awww, Filo's being treated like a kid again!"
"Exactly! Stop treating us like children!"
"Right, right. Raphtalia and Filo are both all grown up~"
"You absolutely don't believe that!"
"Mm-hm! Master, you're so mean!"
As we carried on with our stupid banter, our journey of peddling continued.