Stealth Kid Meets a Transcendent Being – Part 01

The Kingdom of Ponsonia had undergone a change in leadership, only to face the catastrophe that was the arrival of the Fire Drakon. Meanwhile, the Quinbrand Empire saw many of its citizens perish from a plague known as the Black Rot, a man-made disease born from the madness of the previous pope of the Theocracy of Bios, with recovery efforts still ongoing.

Bios itself stood on the brink of collapse, torn apart by internal chaos following a papal transition and a military invasion by the neighboring Confederacy of Einbiest.

In short, the continent was in chaos.

When disorder strikes, the flow of money goes haywire. People lose their livelihoods, banditry flourishes, and soldiers, who should be suppressing crime, are instead tied up maintaining order in the city or keeping watch on foreign threats.

It was no surprise that highway security had worsened. The attack on the carriage, though unfortunate, was almost inevitable.

“Hey! Stop that carriage!”

The bandits—if they could even be called that—were a ragtag group of five that had been watching countless carriages pass along the highway. Dressed in clothes that could have belonged to local farmers, their only weapons were rusty swords. Their faces weren’t hardened with malice. Instead, they were as plain as the average person.

The instability in the nation had driven many like them to such means. But they weren’t stupid. They avoided merchant caravans guarded by adventurers, and they didn’t attack when other carriages were visible ahead or behind. Today, their patience had paid off.

“All right, hand over anything valuable, and we’ll let you live.”

The carriage was small. On the driver’s seat was a woman wearing a hood pulled low over her face. A closer look revealed her to be old. There was no sign of anyone else. To the bandits’ surprise, there wasn’t much luggage inside, but surely she had something of value.

The road ahead and behind was empty. No other carriages were in sight. Finally, fortune seemed to favor them. Tonight, they could eat to their hearts’ content, drink until they passed out, and maybe even indulge in pleasures of the flesh.

“Who might you lot be?” the old woman asked curiously. Her hood obscured her eyes, but her mouth and the fingers holding the reins were wrinkled.

“Who we are doesn’t matter,” a bandit snapped. “Hand over the goods, and no one gets hurt.”

His attempt at a menacing tone gave him a false sense of authority. He leveled the point of his blade at the woman.

“Money, is it?” she mused. “I don’t have much use for it myself, but unfortunately, without it, traveling becomes impossible. You need money to eat, money to stay at an inn, money to rent a carriage, money to cross the border.”

“Exactly! And we’re gonna take said money from you.”

“Ah, I see.”

The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a leather pouch. It was heavy and full, the bulging fabric revealing the outline of what seemed like coins.

The bandits’ eyes lit up with greed. They could get more than just booze and women. They might be able to live for months just off this.

“Hand it over, old hag!”

Excited, the bandits surged toward her.

“That would be a problem, you see,” the old woman muttered.

---

Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula rented a carriage to help Dodorono deliver the Progenitor’s Shield to the Theocracy of Bios. Driving the vehicle themselves was exhausting, but Dodorono had refused to hire an unfamiliar driver, worried the secret of the shield might be leaked.

Previously, Hikaru had traveled between the Theocracy of Bios and the Kingdom of Ponsonia via the Church’s Proselytizer’s Path, a route that cut travel time significantly but was impassable by carriages. Since the path was also a closely guarded secret, Hikaru couldn’t share it with Dodorono.

Compared to their recent adventure—soaring into the floating Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas—the slow, steady pace of carriage travel felt almost unreal.

Still, we need this kind of downtime.

Although it was the first month of the year, the midday sun felt pleasantly warm. Hikaru sat on the driver’s bench with Lavia. Wrapped in a blanket, she started dozing off, resting her head on Hikaru’s shoulder.

We’re always rushing.

Constant life-or-death adventures could wear down even the strongest spirit, no matter how well the body held up. The slow and peaceful afternoon ride calmed Hikaru’s weary mind.

But their peace didn’t last long.

“What’s that?”

As they neared a small settlement, Hikaru spotted a group of about ten fully armed soldiers. They had to be dealing with some kind of trouble.

“Let’s steer clear of this,” Hikaru muttered, deciding it was best not to get involved.

He kept the carriage moving, not slowing down. He saw they had surrounded someone and seemed to be questioning them. Hikaru did his best to ignore the situation.

“Oh? Soldiers, eh?” Dodorono’s head popped out from behind the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, uh…”

“Ah, Dodorono.”

Suddenly, a voice called out from the group of soldiers. It was coming from the person they had encircled.

---

“Sorry about this. I lost my carriage, you see.”

An elderly woman, who introduced herself as Talis, was now riding in their carriage.

“I mentioned her before, didn’t I?” Dodorono said. “She helped me a lot back in Vireocean. I’m bad at judging the quality of aquatic materials, but Miss Talis here is an expert.”

“I see. Were you in that line of work before?” Hikaru asked.

Talis chuckled from under her deep hood. “Not at all. I just ate and slept.”

“Seafood, you mean?”

“Exactly. Fatty Blue Sawry drifting down from the north, the thick, tender Rock Harriottis that grow slowly over the years, and the lush Batch Kelp spreading in the shallows like a meadow. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”

Really? Vireocean has such delicacies?

Hikaru couldn’t help but envy her lifestyle. The food in this world was delicious, but there was a severe scarcity of marine products. Back when he was in Japan, he gorged himself on mostly seafood.

“I like fish too. Sushi was delicious,” Lavia said, waking up from her nap.

“I never thought you’d eat raw fish,” Hikaru remarked.

“The combination of soy sauce and vinegared rice is perfect.”

“Oh, you eat raw fish?” Talis asked, intrigued.

“In my hometown, we eat it that way often,” Hikaru said. “Only when it’s fresh, of course. River fish, though, are a no-go.”

“River fish are too smelly to eat,” Talis agreed. “So, you’re a fellow fish lover.”

“By the way,” Dodorono interjected, “that was a real mess you found yourself in, huh?”

The soldiers had found Talis sitting by the roadside and took her to the nearby settlement. When they handed her over to Hikaru’s group, they explained, “We found the weapon likely used by the bandits who attacked this old woman, but no trace of them. They must’ve stolen the horse and fled. She said her legs were too weary to move. Good thing you guys showed up.”

Once Talis was in Dodorono’s care, the soldiers left.

Despite her ordeal, Talis insisted on getting to Agiapole, so Hikaru’s group agreed to take her along.

She doesn’t seem suspicious, Hikaru thought, using his Mana Detection to confirm she was just an ordinary old woman. Even her robe didn’t emit any magical traces.

She’s helped Dodorono before too, so it should be fine.

One more travel companion wouldn’t change much. Even if bandits showed up, Hikaru’s group could handle them easily.

“I wouldn’t call that a real mess at all,” Talis said. “A real mess is something much worse. A stormy sea that keeps you from eating fish… or when you choke on a fishbone.”

“What’s with all this fish talk?”

Talis cackled. “What’s more important than fish?”

“And yet, you’ve come all the way inland where there’s no fish,” Hikaru noted.

“Oh, yes. I have urgent business in Agiapole. The sea is calm for now. It will be fine without me.”

“You speak as if you’re a guardian of the sea.”

“Guardian? Nonsense. The sea is free. It rages, it calms, it turns warm and cold, and it nurtures life like a mother.”

Hikaru could sense her deep connection to the sea. She had truly lived alongside it.

“I hear the waters in Vireocean are currently yielding a bountiful harvest. I’d like to visit someday,” Hikaru said.

“You should. The bounty will last for another ten years.”

“Ten years of good catch? You sound so sure.”

“Indeed. The cause of the sea’s unrest has been dealt with. The fishers of Vireocean will likely head farther offshore now. But they must not get greedy. Even in calm waters, one never knows what lurks beneath.”

“What was this, uh, cause of unrest?”

“…”

“Miss Talis?”

“Hmm, looks like she’s fallen asleep,” Dodorono said. “She was like this during the journey from Vireocean to Ponsonia too. She’d fall asleep mid-conversation.”

“I-I see. She’s a free-spirited woman.”

Dodorono laughed. “That she is. Free as the sea.”

Hikaru couldn’t argue. Even after being attacked by bandits, Talis remained calm, speaking and sleeping whenever she pleased.

“Well, I guess it’s fine,” he thought.

Though curious about Vireocean’s seafood, he figured he had plenty of time to visit, especially with Talis assuring the bounty would last a decade.

With their peculiar new companion, Hikaru and his group crossed the border and arrived at Agiapole without further incident.