Chapter 27: Daneswald Territory

Mages were rare—that was something Hiro just realized. Marissa had given Rebecca, Nana, and Cecile a one-month break to travel to the capital to buy Rebecca a magic staff. Litmus was a relatively small country with only two cities and a capital. After examining the map, Marissa recommended that Rebecca visit Lithuaville, a town where the Daneswald estate was located. If she didn't find a staff she liked there, she could continue to the capital.

Cecile and Nana were also eager to find new weapons. Their stats had grown to the point where they broke Hiro's weapons every ten training sessions with the royal guards. After all, Hiro's weapons were only made of iron and wood.

Hiro had expected bandit or monster attacks along the way, but Litmus turned out to be a very safe country. Such incidents were rare, and even if they did happen, the caravans were well-guarded. Cecile, Nana, and Rebecca traveled by caravan rather than by horse. Horses were expensive, and even though Marissa had them and was more than willing to loan them to Cecile's group for free, they preferred not to use them for personal reasons. Plus, caravans were faster overall due to the stagecoach system, where they could exchange tired horses for fresh ones at local stables.

And so, they arrived in Lithuaville after a relatively uneventful journey. Hiro wasn't let out of his host due to security reasons. They wanted to keep the information that they hosted symbiote a secret. Nevertheless, through sense sharing, Hiro was able to take in the sights.

Hiro noticed that Litmus was full of plains and forests, with only a few hills scattered across the landscape. The terrain was relatively flat, making the journey smooth and the view was great for one can see as far as the horizon. Lithuaville itself was impressive, with tall white walls surrounding the city. A river ran through it, dividing it in two, like a knife cutting a pizza. Cecile and Nana were excited to see a new town.

"It's just a city. Horaine, where we were before Alex's death, had similar architecture, didn't it?" Rebecca scoffed, sounding unimpressed. However, through sense sharing, Hiro knew Rebecca was also excited. What a tsundere. Hiro had to agree about similarities in architecture, though. Latvin and Litmus were neighboring nations, and it was natural for their architecture and culture to share similarities—especially given their treaties and interactions.

Nevertheless, each city has something that makes it unique. This one, in particular, seemed to have a love for the color red, as many houses were painted in that color. Hiro wondered why red was so prevalent in this city, but when he remembered who the symbiote user here was, he went silent. That epitome of explosive power on their side would make everyone revere the red color for sure.

"Greetings, miss! Are you looking for a weapon?" a shopkeeper asked with a gentle smile as a torch lit up behind him.

"Why are you lighting a fire in broad daylight?" Rebecca asked, puzzled.

"Ah, are you new here? This city belongs to House Daneswald. Their symbiote user is a war hero who uses fire magic. That's why there's so much red around here. There was a particularly awful stampede ten years ago, with millions of goblins pouring out of the ground. Many people were grateful for what he did, so they turned the city red to honor his deeds. Oh, did you know? I heard he recently repelled foreign spies who were symbiote users. He's incredible, right?" The shopkeeper spoke enthusiastically about Seraphine before displaying his wares.

"Here's a replica of his sword. You look like a swordswoman, young miss."

"Erm… we're actually looking for a wand or a staff…" Cecile replied.

"It's okay, Cecile, if something suits you, maybe you should try the swords first," Rebecca said, turning to her friend.

"I usually use a one-handed sword. A longsword isn't really my style… moreover, Hiro might get jealous..." Cecile added. Hiro grinned at such a lovable girl.

"In that case, I have several options here. Are you a battle mage or an artillery mage?" the shopkeeper asked, changing his approach.

"I usually cast from long range. But do you have something suitable for mid-range? I'm not qualified as a full long-range mage yet," Rebecca replied.

"For a beginner? Here!" the shopkeeper presented a variety of wands, staves, staffs, and rings. Hiro guessed that rings and wands were for close-combat mages, staves were for mid-range, and staffs were for long-range. Since Rebecca's physical stats were really low, even with Hiro's growth enhancement, so she leaned towards a long staff. Hoping the enemy didn't approach her.

She asked the shopkeeper if there was a practice area, and once there, she practiced her spells. Fireballs flew toward the targets, followed by ice spears.

"Oh, dual elements? Impressive! Keep at it, and you might get recruited! You're level 13, right? You could be one of the talented ones," the shopkeeper nodded approvingly.

"Nah… I'm nothing special. I even failed my royal knight examinations…" Rebecca responded, her tone tinged with regret.

"Hahaha, not many pass that one! Don't let it get you down. You've got enough skill for a local mage knight, and you're an adventurer, so it won't even matter! Are you taking that staff? It's ten gold. And for the young lady over there—do you like the sword? That one has a fire enchantment and costs fifteen gold! And for the other one, are you looking for a spear?"

"I'm looking for a bow," Nana replied.

"Ah! Bows are in the shop right across the street," the shopkeeper said.

"I think I'll skip the sword," Cecile decided.

"I'll take the staff. Thank you, sir!" Rebecca said with a smile.

"You're welcome!"

"Let's give it a try!" Rebecca suggested as they all left the store. However, Nana still wanted to buy a bow. At the weapon vendor across the street, they were greeted by a craftswoman who was plump and muscular, her arms as thick as Rebecca's waist.

"Hello! Are you looking for armor?" she asked.

"Um… no. I heard from the man next door that you sell bows?" Nana replied, and the woman's eyes lit up.

"Ah, yes, I do. So, you're into archery? Hmm… I see. You look proficient. Are you looking for a shortbow or a longbow?"

"Longbow, please."

"Excellent! I recommend this 'Fireshooter.' It's a bow that can ignite arrows with fire. If you use this special arrow, you can even create explosions with it!"

"Eh? Aren't special arrows expensive? And you can only buy them here, right?" Nana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, if you compare it to your life, what's the value of five or ten gold coins? This arrow could even harm dragons, you know."

"Really?" Nana asked, intrigued.

"Well… it depends on your stats…" the shopkeeper tried to dodge the topic. Hiro could only wince as he listened to her sales pitch. On one hand, she seemed confident in her wares, but on the other, she didn't want to guarantee their effectiveness. In the end, it all depended on the user's skill.

"Hmm… I want to try," Nana said, holding out the bow. Even after tightening her chest guard as much as she could, it still almost got hit by the bowstring. Nevertheless, the training arrow hit dead center. However, with only five meters between her and the target, Hiro found it hard to judge her accuracy.

"So, do you like it?" the vendor asked.

"Yes. The grip is good, and the arrow flies straight. I think I can use this."

"Excellent! That will be five gold per arrow. You won't get it any cheaper anywhere else. By the way, how many arrows would you like to buy?"

Nana winced when she heard the price—five gold per arrow. If she bought a dozen, it would almost double the price of Rebecca's staff. Hiro suddenly thought of printer scams back on Earth: they'd sell the printer cheaply, but charge ridiculous prices for the ink. This vendor seemed to be using a similar tactic.

Nana decided to buy only three flaming arrows. She didn't plan to use them anytime soon. As the vendor had said, they were for emergencies.

"For this cute lady here, I could also offer fire bombs or smoke bombs," the vendor said, looking at Cecile. "Being a vanguard is tough, you know. Swords and shields might not always be enough. If you bite off more than you can chew, it's good to have these bombs ready for a retreat. Life is precious, don't you agree? It's only ten gold for two fire bombs and two smoke bombs."

Nana and Cecile exchanged wry smiles, remembering how they were almost killed by Jeremy just a week ago. Hiro sighed internally. The group couldn't help but think about how useful one of those bombs would have been during Jeremy's attack...

But Hiro quickly dismissed the thought. No matter how powerful those bombs were, they wouldn't have stood a chance against Jeremy. Jeremy had tanked literal cannon fire to the face. Hiro still remembered the fiery heat Seraphine had produced when trying to stop Jeremy. Even at over thirty meters away, the heat had singed Hiro's tentacle. He still wondered how Jeremy hadn't been reduced to ash after such an explosion.

Cecile didn't buy anything, so they moved on to test their new weapons. They went to the local adventurer's guild and picked up a quest.

The quest was to hunt several orcs in the meadow. Hiro chuckled as Nana one-shotted an orc with her new longbow. Cecile and Rebecca had improved as well. Cecile's weapon was still made by Hiro, so it was subpar compared to the new longbow, but Rebecca managed to kill an orc after two shots now. Using a cart they were somewhat familiar with for transporting the carcasses, the group returned to the city and completed the quest. Hiro wondered whether the Adventurer Guild had standards for these types of carts. They looked so much alike with the carts from Horaine's guild. The single gold coin they earned felt so few compared to their salary as Marissa's knights.

Hiro emerged from the girls and hunted an orc himself. After entwining it with his tentacles, he drained it. The orc was strong and almost managed to rip Hiro's tentacle to shreds, but with a combination of aphrodisiac and anesthesia, Hiro caused the orc to lose control of itself. Soon, the orc died while pathetically trying to massage itself, and Hiro managed to recover a decent amount of nutrients.

"We're definitely getting stronger! We couldn't even defeat an orc without Alex's help before. And now, we defeated it so easily," Nana said with a smile. Rebecca also looked at her staff and felt the power flowing through her.

"Yeah," Rebecca said, gripping her staff. "Let's go to the capital and get something nice for Cecile! We should spare no expense for her—she's our only vanguard, after all!"

With the sun beginning to set, their plan to reach the capital was delayed. They needed to find a caravan that could take them there. For now, they decided to stay in a local inn, indulging in the spirit of travel.

Hiro was too busy sightseeing to do his usual duties that night. They were in the spirit of travel, so no lewd thought haunted them. Nevertheless, Rebecca spoke with him in her room.

"Sorry for being weak. And thank you for everything you've done for me. I can feel myself getting stronger. You've always helped me, haven't you? I was just blind to it. It's not your fault that I was weak—it's mine. I kept comparing myself to Nana and Cecile. But now I know that you won't leave me, even if I fall behind." Rebecca hugged Hiro's tentacle as she drifted off to sleep.

Morning came, and they discussed among themselves whether they should visit the lord's mansion, but they decided against it. They were traveling not as Marissa's knights but as simple adventurers. Besides, they had no real reason to meet with the lord, so they went on their way toward the capital. They managed to schedule a ride with a caravan for the very next day. While waiting, they spent their time at a nearby restaurant and food stalls, enjoying some snacks.

The day passed peacefully, and soon, they were on their way to the capital in search of weapons for Cecile and travel. They wanted to love their new country.