Going over the absurd night of his debut as an Adventurer, Rorschach felt something was off.
According to Mr. Ah Le, inns in small towns were often monopolies—hubs for the Nobility and town administrators to squeeze money from outsiders. The innkeeper was now a preacher for the Sect, so could the innkeeper's boss be someone from the Return of the Holy Mother sect?
In this world, ordinary people were usually both respectful and fearful of Casters. But that thief, faced with something as magical as a glowing stone, wasn't scared at all. Instead, he immediately tried to assassinate Rorschach.
'Was he brainwashed? Or does the Sect also have supernatural means... Which god is secretly using the Mother of the World's account as a sock puppet?'
In the Holy Kingdom and Istani, every town of a decent size had its National Church's churches and monasteries. Priests maintained social order and prevented disturbances from uncontrolled supernatural forces. But in the Empire, where faiths were mixed, the council, provinces, and states jointly funded the employment of Town Mages to handle supernatural affairs. Limborg was definitely large enough to have an Empire Mage stationed there. The Underground Sect seemed to have been growing for some time, so why hadn't there been any reports?
Thinking it over, this whole group was strange:
Their destination was the human-supremacist Holy Kingdom, yet the Lowe Commerce Association had hired a Half-Elf and a Dwarf.
Furs weren't valuable in the Empire, and Rorschach didn't know the prices in the Holy Kingdom, but after factoring in the cost of feeding the men and horses, plus the hiring fees for three Adventurers, it was highly doubtful they'd make a profit.
The association seemed quite powerful, so why didn't it have its own Guards? The elegant steward's explanation at the time was that the association's guard forces were concentrated on the trade routes in the Empire and the northern kingdoms...
'There's plenty to write about in my letter to the Mechanical Director.'
A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and Rorschach fell asleep just before the sun fully rose.
...
Before setting out, Rorschach never would have thought that the skill he'd use most on the road would be the [Basic Level Decomposition Skill].
[Rorschach's Water Creation Technique] was a bit draining for him and could hardly satisfy the thirst of so many grown men and a team of packhorses. He only provided everyone with fresh water when they were far from a natural source. "Young Master Rorschach's water is so sweet!" This was Singrev's glowing review. It was a pity it wasn't a standard Water Creation Skill, or Rorschach could have told everyone: "I don't produce water, I'm merely a porter for nature!"
After its proficiency reached Purple, the Decomposition Skill could control the size and shape of the cuts, making it much more versatile—especially when it came to cooking.
Salted meat—Rorschach flicked his index finger, and it split into small chunks.
Fat root stalks (similar to radishes, but sweeter)—Rorschach flicked his index finger, and they split into small chunks.
Mushrooms—Rorschach flicked his index finger, and they split into thin slices.
Bread—Rorschach flicked his index finger, and it split into even slices.
A wild rabbit caught by Hill—Rorschach flicked his index finger, and it split into small pieces perfect for stewing.
At first, the carriage drivers, Hill, and Rorschach would chop vegetables together. But they soon discovered that their frantic chopping with knives couldn't match the speed of the Master Mage's wave. The division of labor changed to plucking and washing, then handing everything over to Rorschach.
"Having Magic is so convenient! Young Master Rorschach, can a Great Mage conjure a whole feast with just a wave of his hand?"
"Sure they can."
"How do they do it? Tell me about it."
"Great Mages are all incredibly wealthy. All one has to do is walk into his private dining hall and wave his hand, and a line of servants will bring him food and drink."
"Then those Great Mages aren't as good as you, Young Master Rorschach!" Rorschach had no idea how Singrev came to that conclusion as he manipulated the Mage's Hand to drop the rabbit meat into the pot.
Ever since developing [Magic Power Drive], he could now use the Small Spell [Mage's Hand], which he had never managed to master before. He opened his panel, and just as he'd guessed, the first attribute of [Mage's Hand (Blue)] was "Magic Concentration (Purple)," and the second was "Repulsive Force (White)."
It seemed the principle behind using [Mage's Hand] to lift physical objects, and how some Mages used it to defend themselves by blocking ranged attacks, was to imbue the concentrated Magic Power with a Repulsive Force.
Rorschach used cooking as an opportunity to constantly practice with [Mage's Hand] to get a better feel for controlling Magic Power. 'Perhaps after I master this Magic, I really could cook a full meal with Mage's Hand. At the very least, I could chop vegetables, wash ingredients, and do the dishes... just like the lifestyle magic in some children's book from an island nation.'
The food on the road was far from delicious, especially in a world where spices were scarce and expensive. They had two meals a day, which usually consisted of a pot of mush eaten with dry bread. If Hill managed to catch a fresh rabbit, things were better. But if the hunt was unsuccessful, they would boil salted meat in the soup, which gave it a rancid, greasy flavor.
Occasionally, they passed by a farmer's house, and Mr. Ah Le would buy some eggs. If there were enough, they were distributed per person. If not, they were stirred into the thick soup so everyone got a share.
Bathing was another problem in the wild.
It was currently summer, and just riding a horse would leave you drenched in sweat by noon. If there was a small river, the carriage drivers and Singrev would jump in to bathe. Mr. Ah Le would go a bit further upstream to draw water and wash himself. Rorschach's solution was to cast a Water Creation Skill over his head, which was more or less a shower.
Hill wouldn't bathe with them, but she always managed to stay clean, which Rorschach found somewhat admirable.
"Miss Hill, Young Master Rorschach, why'd you become Adventurers? Answer me, what was your original dream?!"
One evening after dinner, Singrev, a little drunk, started up an awkward conversation. Rorschach didn't mind the awkward chatter; there was a nice atmosphere to everyone sitting around the campfire and talking.
"This," Hill said, patting her Crossbow. "And this," she added, taking out her Hand Cannon to wipe it. "Regulations. Adventurers are exempt."
Since they were already halfway there, Rorschach was direct. "I was heading to Valuva anyway and just needed to hitch a ride with a caravan."
Mr. Ah Le chimed in with a joke, "And our association is paying you to hitch a ride."
"That's not how it should be!" Singrev was bitterly disappointed, heartbroken over the new generation of Adventurers. "When I first got into this business, Adventurers—no, *explorers*—were driven by dreams! The sea is vast? We'd swim across it! The ruins are deep? We'd explore them to the very bottom! It's not like today, doing odd jobs for rich folk, like finding their lost cats and dogs. And it's not like you lot, with no dreams at all!"
"Back when I was still Black Iron Level, I ran into..." When the Dwarf had too much to drink, it was time for another installment of *Adventurer King Sengeriv's Memoirs*. Although he always left his stories unfinished and repeated the same old segments, the carriage drivers listened with great interest. Hill listened while cleaning and maintaining her Hand Cannon, and Rorschach listened while reading a book he had brought along.
He had already finished *The Three Royal Command Casters* and was now reading the *Comprehensive Guide to Basic Level Spells*, a book he had filched from the academy's Library. It was a weighty, hardcover tome comparable to a massive dictionary.
Previously, Rorschach couldn't afford the two Empire Golden Eagle Yuan deposit required to borrow books, so he always read them inside the Library or had Bart and Richard borrow them for him. He called it filching, but the librarian must have realized what a recently graduated student was up to, paying a year's worth of deposit before "borrowing" a book right before leaving.
'I've essentially just bought the books,' Rorschach thought. 'Although there's no way two gold coins could ever buy the books lying in my Storage Ring on the open market. Not a chance!'