I’m Not Good at Offensive Magic, but I’ll Do My Best With Support Magic!

「It’s a carriage, a carriage! So this is what the view is like」

「Is this your first time in a carriage, Jō-chan?」

I was so excited to be riding in a carriage for the first time that a skinny lady, Luida-san, curiously called out to me.

「That’s right. I’ve never had the chance to ride one before」

It’s an opportunity to ride, though, to be exact.

Horse-drawn carriages and walking…… If you ask me which saves more money, in my case it’s walking.

The price of a carriage is said to be between 1 and 3 silver coins, depending on the distance. Of course, if you’re going to take a dangerous road to get to your destination, you’ll have to hire adventurers, so the price will go up.

However, there are ways to get a free ride.

Such is this case.

Adventurers can be escorts in exchange for a ride in a carriage that also provides transportation. The guild may take this as an escort request. Most of the time, multiple people are recruited, so it’s not like I’m alone among them… It made me feel a little sad.

So, as a soloist, this was my first time to ride in a carriage.

「It’s faster than walking and you can enjoy the flowing scenery」

「Is that right…… ?」

Rikū-san replied to my impressions with a grunt. When I looked at his face, he was pale and looked sick.

「Is something wrong?」

「You don’t seem to have a problem with it, but I can’t handle the shaking… I feel drunk」

「I’m having a little bit of a hard time with all this shaking in my bottom too」

Rikū-san got drunk from the shaking, and Marina’s bottom hurt.

「That sounds painful…… Treatment!」

I cast a spell to cure Rikū-san of a simple condition. This magic can remove mild poisons and paralysis, but it is also effective against intoxication.

「That helped. It’s a lot easier now」

After the magic is cast, his pale face changes to a life-like complexion.

「If it starts to be difficult for you, please let me know anytime. This is for you, Marina-san」

I gave her a cushion stuffed with Wolf fur and bird feathers from the storage magic. It may be a little hot, but it’s better than painful.

「Thank you…… That makes all the difference」

「No, no, If you need water or anything, just let me know」

「How convenient」

It seems to have been worth the effort to prepare to be useful in more than just combat.

「But…… All this shaking is making me sleepy」

「Isn’t it a little hard to sleep with all the shaking?」

The roads are well maintained, but sometimes pebbles are stepped on and the carriage shakes like it’s bouncing, but still, I’m fine.

「If I don’t have to work as an escort, I’ll get plenty of sleep」

「Then you can go to sleep, okay? We’ll be on alert for a while」

「But……」

「Jō-chan, we don’t mind as long as you discuss it between the escorts and give us a proper escort. Because we’d rather not have fatigue hinder us from fighting」

「That’s what Luida-san says, and you should get some rest. And we can take turns resting, too」

「If that’s the case……」

With everyone’s approval, I went to sleep in the carriage.

Thanks to my life in the orphanage, I have the skills to sleep anywhere. It’s a much more comfortable space than sleeping on a snowy day with a draft or in the heat of summer with no breeze!

Squeezing myself into the space between the luggage, I fell into a sea of sleep as the carriage thudded and rocked.

「We’ll be able to reach the village by noon tomorrow, and we’ll camp here today, is that correct?」

「Yeah, we’ll do whatever the employer wants」

「I don’t think there are any dangerous monsters around here, so I think it’s a good idea」

I hear a conversation going on in the background. But it’s hard to resist the lure of sleep rather than thinking about who they are.

「…… an, …… Yuan」

Who is it that’s disturbing my sleep?

「Wake up」

I was being shaken.

「We’re good for another 30 minutes」

「It’s not okay!」

「That hurts!」

I think I got hit on the head. There is no actual pain, but there are times when we say things out of reflex.

「You’re finally awake. We’re gonna set up camp, so help us get ready」

「I understand」

I replied, stifling a yawn, and got out of the carriage.

The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark.

「Sorry…… I’ve slept too much」

I bowed to Rikū-san and the merchants who were preparing for the encampment.

「It’s a simple encampment, no problem. It’s not safe to go out after dark, so if you can get some rest and prepare for the night, that would be great」

I couldn’t fulfill my job as an escort, and he could have been angry with me, but Zack-san laughed and told me he was counting on me.

「Yes, I’ll work hard at night to make up for the rest I got」

「Please do. We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so let’s get some food and rest in preparation for that」

Meals were to be prepared by each person as it was a short trip.

「I hadn’t checked with Yuan-san, but is your meal okay?」

「Yes, no problem」

This is one of the reasons why it is cheaper to walk.

There is a lot of food in my storage magic.

So even if it takes me a long time to get there on foot, I have food and water, so there is no unnecessary expense for me. Of course, I can prepare water on my own.

「Then I am relieved. We’ve built a fire, so you can have dinner there if you like」

While I slept, the carriage seemed to have moved slightly off the road to a place with better visibility.

A fire was already lit to prepare for the night, and Nano-san, who had not yet spoken unlike Luida-san, who was in the carriage with us, was relaxing nearby.

「Don’t let your guard down, no matter how good your prospects are」

「Yes, I’ll keep an eye on the sky」

「After that, it’s time for a bonfire. We’ll have to keep it up until morning」

We sat around the fire as we reviewed precautions for our work and had a light discussion.

There was no signal for the beginning of the meal, and each person started eating what they had prepared themselves.

The merchants also ate sandwiches and soft breads that Rikū-san and the others would have prepared for the evening meal, all food that would not last long.

This is not the case when it comes to long journeys.

First, priority is given to water. This is necessary not only for humans, but also for the horses that pull the carriages.

And then there’s food. These include crusty breads that are made to last a relatively long time and dried meats that are soggy.

High-ranked adventurers can also hunt and locally procure Orcs and wild boars, which are considered delicious. However, in that case, you need to think about where to camp and how to use your arms because you may attract monsters by drawing blood.

I currently have two Orcs in my storage magic, but they haven’t been bled out yet, and I don’t want to attract any monsters or Wolves to them, so we talked about it and decided to forgo them… It’s a shame, though.

But I have tons of food too, so it’s not a problem. Moreover, it is cheap enough that even I can have a lot of it, and it is an excellent food that can be stored for a long time.

「Itadakimasu」

I poured hot water into a cup and soak the food in the water. The only problem is that it takes a long time to prepare the food, but I don’t mind waiting because I’m grateful to have a meal.

「Hey, Yuan…… What are you doing?」

Perhaps wondering what I was doing, Rikū-san came over to me to look at the cup.

「I’m preparing a meal? This way, the water will soak up the flavor and the meat will become tender, so you can kill two birds with one stone!」

You can also soak the bread in it to soften it and give the bread some flavor. It’s not just killing two birds with one stone, it might be killing four birds with one stone.

「I’ve never seen this meat before…… is it good?」

Never been seen before.

Perhaps in response to his words, I drew a lot of attention from Zack-san and the others.

5 pair of eyes are on the cup I’m holding.

Honestly, it’s hard to eat.

「Whether it tastes good or not may vary from person to person, but I can usually eat it」

Biting into the tender meat…… Yeah, it’s the same as always.

「Hey, can I have a bite?」

「I don’t really give them to anyone, it’s special, you know?」

I offered the cup to Marina-san, who stabbed it with her fork.

「It’s pretty hard……」

Hesitantly, she brought the fork to her mouth and took a bite of the meat.

「blech!!!!」

「My meat!?」

With unladylike force, Marina-san spat out the meat and coughed violently.

「Marina, are you okay!?」

「Geho…… My mouth stinks! The bitterness won’t go away!」

「Yuan! What did you do to Marina!」

「What……」

What I did…… I just shared some of my food as you can see.

「Could it be… Poison!」

「T-That’s not true! I would never do that! T-Treatment!」

The light envelops Marina-san.

「No…… No, it’s not going away」

「Idiot!」

「For now, let’s have some soup to wash it down」

I handed the soup to Marina-san, who took it in her mouth and at the same time blew it out in a big gush.

「Bitter, spicy, bad! G-Give me some water!」

Rikū-san hurriedly offered Marina-san a jug of water, and without hesitation, Marina dipped her mouth into the jug, rinsed her mouth, and gargled.

She repeated it several times… No, dozens of times. After Marina finally let out a long, deep breath, she finally calmed down.

「I thought I was going to die. I’m not exaggerating, I’m being serious」

It’s very disheartening.

「W-Was it poison?」

「No…… I think it’s just incredibly…… bad food」

「T-That’s terrible!」

「It’s Yuan who’s terrible!…… ·So, what in the world did you feed me!?」

It is finally time for me to explain excellent food.

I couldn’t help but sniffle proudly.

「That, you see, is actually Goblin meat. For some reason, Goblin meat doesn’t seem to be popular, and they sell it for almost free. The meat is dried, using herbs and other ingredients from the forest to remove the smell.

Dipping it in the soup will soak up the herbs, tenderize the meat, and best of all, it will last a long time!」

It’s a secret recipe that I’ve bragged about, so I have to remember to tell everyone that it’s a secret.

Apparently, I hadn’t thought of this, and everyone’s mouths dropped open in shock and astonishment.

「It’s a traveling companion」

I brought the soaked meat to my mouth, blanching the bread that I could no longer eat without scraping it with a knife.

Maa, I can’t say it’s delicious, but I’m constantly grateful for the fact that I can eat in peace when I travel.

「That meat… How much more of this do you have?」

「It should last for another 5 years. I won’t give away any more of this than I have to, though」

Before I left the orphanage, I spent most of the money I had saved when I was still at G-Rank. This is non-negotiable, even if you ask me to do it.

「Yuan……」

「Jō-chan……」

Rikū-san and Zack-san look very sad.

「What’s the matter? As I said before, I can’t give it to you, alright?」

「No, eat this too if you want」

With that, Rikū-san offered me a sandwich. Zack-san nodded at Rikū-san ‘s words and offered me some bread.

The same goes for Luida-san and Nano-san.

Could it be an exchange? Then maybe a little bit……

「I didn’t know you wanted to eat the meat that much…… Okay, I’ll make the exchange……」

「「「I don’t want it!!!」」」

They said it out loud.

「But I can’t take it for free」

「No, I heard about the secret recipe, don’t worry, as a merchant I am paid for my services. Of course, we must not spread this to the world…… But since it’s not up to me to spread the word, I’ll swear not to tell anyone in the name of Zack Shōten」

「「We’ll swear to it」」

They nodded in agreement with Zack-san’s words.

「Thank you very much. Then I’ll take it as compensation for the recipe…… But, Rikū-san ……」

I looked at Rikū-san and shivered. I don’t know why I’m sweating so much, is it tough?

「R-Rikū thank Yuan for the food you gave me! R-right Rikū?」

「Y-Yeah. That’s right」

「Well, I’ll take it as an exchange of goods, thank you very much」

I finished my sumptuous meal, satisfied that the goblin’s dried meat had been replaced by sandwiches and soft bread, which was more than I had expected.

Thank you, dried goblin meat-sama.

Author’s Notes.             

Yuan’s Special Skills: She can sleep anywhere. She can eat just about anything.

We will see in the future if she has a poor sense of taste or not.