As I made my way out of the Count's wagon, I felt like dreaming. 50 gold coins! Whatever the sum looks like to someone like the Count, I had learned enough to know that it was a small fortune.

My plans included the idea of starting a business as means to get the required money to travel the land and to serve as a cover while I try and think how to preach about Sepyre's divinity.

Logically, having neither money nor connections to start one, I had decided to get a job and slowly search for the latter while gathering the former. But with such money, I would not need that. Buying a small house somewhere in one of the cities should cost about 7-8 gold coins, at least from Zakhar's words back at Churg. And the rest could sustain me (and the girls!) while allowing me to create some of the products I had in mind.

Speaking of products, I should probably begin to talk with Reuben. The few glimpses I stole at the open ledgers in the two guild offices that I visited allowed me to more or less understand what did the Guild traded. Judging from that, I would probably be able to interest them in a few of the products I had in mind.

_______

Thinking of the business ventures made my gratitude for Sepyre overflow. Especially for turning me into an apostle, not just randomly sending me here. Worded more precisely, I was very thankful for the gift of perfect memory.

Having been a fan of every possible isekai, pseudo-history, and other similar genres stuff, I had always imagined what could I bring into such a setting. And since a few years ago, when by some reason I decided that I will be definitively sent to another world, something that reeked of craziness but turned true, I started my preparation.

I read hundreds of articles, both from wikis and relevant magazines. A few books on basic engineering and construction stuff also caught my interest for some time. Not to mention a whole load of random data from my hobby, like making brandy or soap, creating new tools, and so on, were investigated by me just because I felt they lacked realism.

And thanks to Sepyre's gift, I could recall all of them!

Obviously, I had no delusions about being able to create a rocket or something like that just because of some studying. But at the same time, I felt that creating something simpler, like a basic compass or cheapening something existing like glass, should be possible.

Magic world or not, from what I have noticed most of the technological level is around the lower middle ages of Earth. Adding to the point that most of the people I have seen have no talent for magic, there was a market for things that made life easier!

Magic items did exist, like the illumination orbs that Gris and the Count had used. But they were expensive, as from Azar's words, even the simplest orb like that cost over a gold coin! Not that it was strange if one considered that it had to be made from a mana gathering and storing material, as well that a mage had to infuse it with the spell.

_______

Occupied with my thoughts, I did not even notice how I had walked up to the food wagon. But it was good, as I did want to speak with the girls.

But although the wagon's door was unlocked, I saw no signs of the girls. Thinking of where they could be, I noticed Wilfred who was searching for something in the other wagon just some meters to the side.

After greeting him with a couple of questions about how everything is going and receiving a brief rundown that the caravan and its people are ready to move out tomorrow, I asked about the girls.

"Hmm? I can swear I saw them just around the wagon when I arrived" Hearing that I was looking for the girls, he was probably even more surprised than me to not see them near the wagon.

"Any ideas?" I did not think that something had happened to them but having the girls walking alone now that we had like 40 new arrivals did not appear to me as a good idea. Especially when it was getting dark.

"Well, there are not many places. They either went to one of the camps or towards the animals. Angelique was very interested in the battle breeds that the Knights use, you know?" He motioned towards the west, where the animals and the open-wagons with our cargo were located.

"And what about the well? I know that most ate an early dinner or breakfast, or whatever meal it was for them already, but knowing Kierra, she should be thinking of cooking something anyway"

"The well? I doubt they did go there" For some reason he grew agitated when saying that, so I asked right away about it.

Hearing that the soldiers had set camp around the well made me tense. And having a slightly bad feeling, I decided to go and check by myself.

***

I did not even make a few steps when I heard Kierra's voice and then saw her coming from the well's direction. But she did not sound as calm as always, and her voice seemed husky.

"I did not know that you had gotten up" Her words were also slightly strange.

So in place of responding right away, I approached her and looked into her eyes before asking "What happened?"

She did not respond, and I felt that my bad feeling was right, except that it seemed it came late.

After asking again, I added that she should tell me. And that if I can do something, I would do so for sure.

"There is no need to do anything, Gris already did" Hearing her response made me feel a pang of guilt, feeling that I had not been present when they needed me.

"But what happened? And where is Angelique? Kierra, c'mon, please tell me" I tried insisting again, and this time she did explain.

With each of her words, I felt a sense of fury rising inside. Even Wilfried, who was just a few meters to the side and so heard her, was half-growling by the end.

It turned out that when the soldiers arrived, most of the caravan people had gone to help them accommodate the horses, and so on. As for the Guild guards, Gris took them to meet the knights before showing them to the Count.

After it was made clear that there was no danger at the moment, and that the caravan would only move on the next day, it was decided that the soldiers would camp near the well. Both as a protection measure, with the attackers having used that route, as well for the sake of simpleness.

Kierra and Angelique were busy cooking, and so they missed most of the talks, only noticing the soldiers' temporary camp when both of them went to get some water.

There was a local saying that even in a basket of perfect apples there would be a bad one, and it proved true. The girls had not expected anything bad, but... They were harassed by some of the soldiers. And in a very low way, with insinuations of 'keeping them company' and so on.

Thankfully, if I can even think like that, two knights had gone there to establish patrols. And hearing Angelique's angry shouting and seeing the almost crying Kierra, well, they stepped in.

And then, the news got to Gris, who was now dealing with the three bastards who harassed the girls.

"I see, but why did you return alone? Where's Angelique?"

"I... just could not deal with them, but Angelique said that she will personally get their asses handed down and stayed" She slightly chuckled at the end, and I almost followed suit. Stopping myself because I did not want it to affect her.

"I see. I will go and bring her, don't worry. Wilfried, can I bother you with..?" I did not know what to say to her, so I kinda weaseled myself out by saying that.

As for Wilfried, I wanted him to keep her company for a few minutes. He understood me perfectly even without me saying it, and nodded while motioning for me to go.

***

"You damn pieces of shit, you think that just because you serve a Baron you are nobles yourselves?! That you can harass and try to touch people of the Guild?!" I heard the angry tirade even before I saw Gris, which prompted me to break into a half-run.

The sun had already set down, and most of the illumination around the well came from a couple of campfires and the torch in the hands of the scarred knight that I had seen first.

Gris was standing in the front, while the knight and Angelique took her sides. In front of them, there were three men, all dressed in chainmail and looking as if they had just eaten shit.

Not that I could not understand them, Gris was scary when angry. But they deserved that, and truly, far worse.

As I approached, I called out to Angelique, and she immediately turned around. A brief, anger-filled explanation later, this time with all of the epithets the bastards had used, made my slightly calmed down fury resurface with new strength.

Probably Gris felt something, as she half turned towards me and shook her head as I began walking towards the three soldiers.

"Please step aside Gris. Since the girls are traveling under my care, I have to see that such a thing does not happen. But it did, so now I have to make sure it doesn't happen again" Not my best line, but it was what I truly felt, and I had the idea of how to make my words true.

"Stay back, let me deal with it. Even if they are pieces of shit, they are still troops of a Baron. If you do something to them, you will face consequences" She raised her hand, blocking my way, and before I objected she continued "The girls are temporarily part of the Guild, but they also serve the Count of Zeln during this travel. They will be punished by the law"

I probably would still ignore her and do something crazy, but Angelique took my hand and as I turned, nodded while looking into my eyes.

"...Fine, but if it happens again and there is no one around" I turned back to Gris and then to the three bastards before intoning "Flint"

A flame not smaller than the one on the torch appeared, and I just motioned with it, pointing towards their crotches. "Understood?"

***

Probably that was enough of a scare for them, but after we returned to the wagon, and I spent a little time with the girls distracting them, Gris arrived and told us that she had done what she had to and they should not worry about anything of the sort anymore.

Which I found later meant a dozen of hits with the pole of a spear, and a small lecture on what soldiers should be not brought before the eyes of a Count for their 'boss', Lady Ariane.

Speaking of distracting the girls, I took the chance to pass them the instructions that I received from the Count, namely to not reveal anything about the incident. It would be covered as a small bandit attack, and with Egon's mysterious disappearance before the Soldiers arrived (seems it happened while I was sleeping), there were only a few trusted people that knew.

Gris joined the conversation around that point and added that Reuben, the Guards, Azar, and she were sworn to secrecy.

I also learned that a small backstory about why the Count even talks with a commoner like me had been fed to Lady Ariane. It turns out that I was the only person who knew about the Count, and so had been serving him in secret. Oh, now I find out! The Count could have told me something about it, couldn't he? And no wonder why she ignored me. I mean, even if I am an untrained mage, I am still just a servant in her eyes!

***

The girls had been up for half the night and then most of the day. So as soon as I noticed that they had calmed down, I suggested they sleep early. Hopefully, the incident would not affect them much, although it will be better for someone other than me to check on that.

I was probably the only one who had rested, as the guild people, including Gris, had been up since midnight as well. But surprisingly, I did notice them appear tired. At least they looked far better than the soldiers from the fortress. As I found from Gris, they had rushed since Megvuroz in less than a full day.

This bit of information also allowed me to find out that the Count had requested reinforcements right as the incident started. Leading me to an almost rhetorical question, how sure was he that we would be alive for the moment they arrived?

But Gris pointed out that I was mistaken when I voiced the question.

"It isn't a matter of the if. His Excellency would not be killed in any case. Kidnapped? That's more likely. So, the knights would have arrived either to escort him from here or to start searching and then rescuing him. In the worst case, they would have ransomed him" She spoke of it calmly, but I slightly shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to us.

"And probably they would have also captured most of us, in an attempt to ransom us as well" As if she knew what did I think of, she added right away.

"I see. So the Guild would pay a ransom for their workers? Even the temporal ones?" Color me surprised, I did not expect such generosity in this world.

"Well, they do so quite often. In some cases, one would have to return or work to repay part of the sum, but the Guild usually tries to avoid that. It's bad for the business if no one wants to work for you after all" She responded with a shrug.

"Quite often? Interesting manner of saying that Guild workers and traders get kidnapped for ransom a lot" It was a half-joke but she took it for a question, and so explained some more.

In short, the Kingdom was more or less safe, with practically no big bandit groups. Still, people who preferred easy money always existed, and their best target would be the merchants. Ransomed or not, caravans always had money, and other valuables, so it was a very profitable enterprise.

Considering that they could kill their workers and thus lead the Guild to not find enough people to man their caravans out of fear, it was declared that even the caravan hands would be ransomed for an acceptable sum. Not that the Guild enjoyed doing it, or even truly wanted to, but they did.

To my question of why the Kingdom did not try to combat the bandits, I got pretty much one word in response - Money.

The Kingdom had only a hundred years of history, of which only the last decade had been peaceful. Incidents, rebellions, big projects, they all required money. And not to mention the two aggressive neighbors to keep tabs on. The Kingdom basically could not pay an army big enough to patrol all the roads.

The Knight orders and most nobles were also supposed to patrol their respective territories. But again, they lacked the money to have anything more than a couple of patrols and run the odd cleaning campaign.

By now, even the Guild was employing guards, soldiers, and mercenaries to help the situation. Sometimes going so far as to fund some of the bandit hunting expeditions of the Kingdom. But the improvement was pretty slow.

"And that are just the bandits. Don't get me started on the slavers, monster packs, or even the odd monster tide" She concluded with a wry grin.

"Oh, speaking of slavers. As you know, my knowledge is a bit lacking" She interrupted me with a "Just a bit?" before I finished asking about slavery in general.

"Well, as you probably know, the Empire is pretty much an enormous slave market, and so, even after the Kingdom gained its independence, it hasn't been rooted out. By now, the official position is that human slavery, except for the criminal slaves, is outlawed in the entire Kingdom" She explained, and seeing that I did not fully understand, added some more.

Criminal slavery was something akin to an alternative to prison. And any criminal except the ones that deserved death could opt for it. "The food and treatment are usually better for a slave than a prisoner" Even though she meant it as a joke, I found it slightly cruel. Not that I consider it wrong, especially as prisons cost money to maintain, while slaves, in turn, generate some from their work.

What did feel crueler was the fact that non-humans, basically beastmen, intelligent beasts, and even half-humans were a market commodity. Although the Guild avoided that business, Gris mentioned a group dedicated to that formed by some unaffiliated traders.

"Wait, so human trade is outlawed, right?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" She sharply turned toward me.

"Did the girls tell you about how did I meet them?"

"Only that you saved them from some thugs" She shook her head slightly and urged me to explain with a motion.

I did not retell the story but almost directly went to the words I overheard that time.

"You mean they were intending to kidnap them and sell them?" She angrily asked.

"Yes, and like I overheard they had a place that would buy them in mind. So, that's why I am asking, if it's outlawed, who should I pass this to? And how to make sure that it's dealt with?" I had not thought much about the words previously, and in truth, I did not even think about slavery. But now that I was aware, it was definitively something I should do.

"You could try to inform the guards at any city, and they will send a report to Chubu. But if your words are true, and there is a place that deals with human slaves there, most probably they have connections with the guards as well" She went so far as to spit, showing her thoughts about such guards. She then shrugged and added "But if you do want it to be resolved, then you should go to the Hounds"

"The Hounds?" It was my second time hearing that term, so I was interested in knowing more.

"The Hounds are... The King's manner of solving issues. A pretty new group that only responds to him and acts in ways that could be said to be far from lawful. Usually, it's better to avoid them if you can. But they will definitively get rid of the place and deal with all of the people involved if your words are true" She explained.

After that, we spoke for a bit more, but after using 'Status Screen' and noticing that her stamina was down to one-fifth, I stopped asking questions. A few minutes later, we wished each other a good sleep, and she retired into the supplies wagon, where the girls were already sleeping.

As for me, I was feeling pretty energetic but decided that I should also try to get some sleep. We would be resuming our travel tomorrow, and judging from the Count's words, I had to act normally. This also meant returning to my work as an overseer.

Except that this time the caravan will lack three pairs of hands, and I would have to be in charge of all of the wagons. Let's just hope it does end well.