Ganendra left the adventurer guild, his eyes scanning the area for anything that might help him. Since he couldn't find what he was looking for, Ganendra headed toward the gates of Vividale. From a distance, he could see several people standing near horse-drawn carriages, waiting for their turn to board.
“Morning, sir! Where are you headed? I can take you if you'd like. As it happens, we're going to the kingdom's capital—Arendate—and my fare is cheap,” the coachman said, offering him a ride.
“Morning. But unfortunately, I don't want to go to Arendate.”
The coachman nodded in understanding. He immediately prepared to leave, tugging lightly on the reins and snapping them. Just as the wooden carriage wheels began to creak and turn, a loud cry came from behind. “Wait! Wait a second!”
The coachman flashed a wide smile. He quickly yanked hard on the reins, making the horses whinny briefly as their movement came to an abrupt halt. Turning his body around, the coachman said confidently, “Ah, what is it, sir? Changed your mind? Don't worry, we can negotiate the fare—”
“No, no, it's not like that,” Ganendra cut him off. “I haven't changed my mind. I just wanted to ask—which carriage, based on its markings or color, is likely headed toward Tidehaven?”
The smile on the coachman's face immediately faded, replaced by a resigned sigh as his guess proved wrong. “You can take the carriage over there. The light-blue one is headed toward Tidehaven.”
“Thank you very much. Sorry for delaying your departure.”
The coachman nodded again and tugged on his horses' reins, heading toward the capital, Arendate.
Ganendra walked toward the carriage bound for Tidehaven. But when he arrived directly in front of it, he saw that the carriage cabin was already full of passengers and their luggage. His gaze then shifted to the middle-aged man about to pull the reins.
“Excuse me, sir. Are there any seats left? I want to go to Tidehaven.”
“Come on, sir! You're going to the village of Tidehaven, right? There are still empty seats. Go ahead!” the coachman offered, patting the empty wooden bench beside him.
“Thank you,” Ganendra said as he climbed the small steps beside the coachman and sat down.
The journey to Tidehaven took quite a long time. The horse-drawn carriage raced through the dense forest. On the front bench, the coachman repeatedly glanced at the young man beside him—Ganendra, who had done nothing but lean back casually with his eyes closed. The coachman wondered whether he had made the wrong decision by allowing Ganendra to join him on such a long journey. There was a reason he'd agreed to take Ganendra along—he needed an adventurer to guard the trip—because the coachman didn't have enough money to hire a guard, or even an adventurer like Ganendra.
“Adventurer sir,” the coachman whispered, his voice trembling. “This forest is notorious for being dangerous. We'd better—”
Screeech! Crash!
A huge tree fell across the road ahead of them. The horses whinnied in panic as the coachman pulled the reins with all his strength. Five pockmarked men emerged from behind the bushes, surrounding them with machetes drawn. The people inside the carriage immediately began shouting in panic, since nearly all the passengers were merchants.
“Hand over all your valuables, or you'll die here!” the bandit leader threatened with a hearty laugh.
The coachman trembled violently, his face deathly pale. “A-Adventurer sir... what do we do?”
Ganendra, sitting beside the coachman, opened one eye. He glanced at the pocket watch in his hand, then yawned softly. “One minute. Please keep count, Coachman. If it takes longer than that, I'll pay double for this trip.”
“Huh?!” The coachman gaped.
Before the coachman could process what he'd said, Ganendra had already shot forward like a black shadow.
At the tenth second, a sharp metallic clang rang out. The bandit leader's machete snapped in two, followed by a blow from the hilt of Ganendra's sword that knocked him unconscious instantly.
At the thirtieth second, the two bandits on the left tried to attack at the same time, but Ganendra spun quickly, kicking one bandit in the chest and sending him crashing into a tree, then striking the other in the back of the neck.
At the forty-fifth second, the last two remaining bandits trembled as they watched their comrades fall one after another. They tried to flee, but Ganendra threw two small stones with pinpoint accuracy, striking the backs of their knees and sending both of them sprawling with pained groans.
As a finishing move, Ganendra swung his sword at the large tree trunk that had fallen across the road. The massive trunk was reduced to small pieces, like firewood.
Ganendra casually walked back to the carriage bench, leaped onto it, and closed his pocket watch with a sharp click.
“Fifty-seven seconds,” Ganendra said as he leaned back and closed his eyes again. “The road is clear, Coachman. We can leave now.”
The coachman could only blink, staring at the five bandits sprawled helplessly on the ground, then swallow with difficulty. He pulled the reins and snapped them.
Ganendra's five boring hours of travel had finally come to an end.
“How much do I owe you?” Ganendra asked the coachman after getting out of the carriage.
“No need to pay,” the coachman replied, waving both hands. “Consider it repayment for defeating those bandits earlier.”
Ganendra nodded. “Thank you.” Ganendra walked through the village. He planned to meet the village elder to confirm the mission he would be carrying out. As he passed a group of people, Ganendra stopped. He was interested in what they were discussing.
“...you won't be able to defeat it. Especially since you've never dealt with a monster before,” said a young mother carrying a small child.
“But if this keeps up, the villagers' income will continue to decline,” said a teenage boy. “I have to go defeat it!”
“Excuse me. May I ask you all something?” Ganendra asked.
“What do you want to ask?” replied the teenage boy, who was shorter than Ganendra.
“Where is the village elder's house?”
At Ganendra's question, the lively atmosphere fell silent.
“We don't have a village elder. And who are you? What are you doing here?” Once again, the teenage boy answered Ganendra's question. But this time, his tone sounded different. The boy seemed wary of Ganendra.
“I'm just an adventurer who wants to carry out a special mission. That's why I need the village chief's permission to go out to sea and borrow a ship.”
The boy fell silent in thought, then said, “Give me your adventurer card.”
Ganendra reached into his pocket and handed his adventurer card to the boy, who then read it. After remaining silent for several minutes, the boy finally decided to take Ganendra somewhere.