After a brief moment of excitement around the defeated bear, the question became what to do with the corpse.

It was nearly three meters from head to toe, and surely weighed accordingly.

We had three horses, and just dragging it might be possible, but doing so would cripple our mobility.

If I were left alone and monsters happened to attack, I might not be able to handle it…

“Should I head to town and call for backup…?”

There were beasts in the forest on either side of the road, seemingly watching us, but likely wary of the armed knights, they made no move to approach.

If it’s just me, I could get to the capital quickly, and it wouldn’t even take thirty minutes to return with help.

“Yeah, maybe that’s for the best… Hm? Wait.”

The knights began to nod at my suggestion, but then glanced south along the road. They halted my takeoff and instead rode their horses in that direction.

Wondering what was going on, I looked as well, and saw a wagon drawn by two horses approaching.

It had armed adventurer escorts—likely a merchant.

The knight approached the merchant and began negotiating, using gestures and animated expressions.

“Think it’ll work?”

I asked one of the knights standing by.

They probably intended to have the merchant haul the bear corpse for us, but would he accept?

If the merchant were traveling alone, having knights for escort would be a great benefit—but he already had guards, and besides, the capital was close by.

There was still time before sunset, but he probably wouldn’t want to take on such a troublesome task.

“Yeah, I think it’ll be fine.”

He answered nonchalantly, brushing off my concern.

“Huh?”

Could it be that he plans to throw around his knightly authority?

Our superiors would definitely be furious if he did that…

“Sure, it’s heavy, and it’ll slow us down a bit, but with us alongside him, he’ll get priority through the checkpoint at the city gates. It counts as a contribution to the Knight Order, too. Honestly, he gains more than he loses.”

“Oh ho…”

At the capital gates, there was a checkpoint that everyone had to pass through for inspection.

Nobles could pass freely, but commoners had to line up and wait. During busy seasons like this, the lines could be long, and the wait even longer.

Unlike other territories, we didn’t have inns outside the city walls. While there was an official closing time for the gates, we didn’t abandon people outside waiting for inspection.

Still, just getting into the city wasn’t the end of it.

Unless you’d arranged accommodations in advance, you’d have to find your own place to stay.

I think our city’s relatively safe, but even then, no one wants to camp outdoors.

That’s why everyone tries to arrive as early as possible.

Considering that, maybe that merchant was a little late.

Yeah… there’s definitely enough benefit in agreeing to the deal.

Anyway, while we were talking about all this—

“Looks like it’s settled.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

Apparently, the negotiation went well, and the returning knight had a smile on his face.

◇

That night, after slaying the bear in the southern forest.

After dinner, we were lazing around in Seriana’s room as usual…

“Sera.”

Seriana pointed toward the door.

“Alright, alright.”

I replied and went to open it.

“Thank you very much.”

The one who entered was Teresa, carrying a small wooden box.

A servant had mentioned earlier that a package had arrived, so I’d gone to fetch it. I didn’t know what was inside, but it seemed like it was something to be used here.

She walked into the room and placed it on the table.

It was a plain, simple box, but very well made.

It was secured tightly with a leather belt.

What could it be?

Seriana seemed curious too—she set down her book and looked at Teresa.

“When I went to Mesaria Kingdom’s capital the other day, I placed an order, but it arrived much sooner than expected… Please give me a moment.”

Teresa seemed unbothered by our gazes and calmly unfastened the belt at her own pace.

Once done, she opened the lid.

Inside the box were numerous colorful rings… What the heck?

The interior of the box was lined with thick cloth, and several layers of fabric were packed inside as padding.

Not just the fastening—the whole thing was treated with great care… but it didn’t look that expensive?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Seriana seemed to realize what it was and spoke.

“Ah… These are for Sera, right?”

“Yes. I thought they’d take longer since they’re from the royal capital, but apparently they had some in stock and sent those over.”

Teresa replied to Seriana, then pulled out one of the cloths used for cushioning and spread it on the table.

She then began transferring the rings onto it.

Some were simple hoops, others were coiled chains, but they all had minimalist designs.

Are these… bracelets?

“Hm?”

Wait, are these for me?

I feel like I’ve been in a similar situation before…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Blessing of Mira】【Wind’s Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・4 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・39 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards