I Was Kidnapped to Another World and Forced to Become a Hero

Ch. 7 - Our First Ranked Quest Is Just to Protect Cargo?

Kamiro's eyes darted back and forth while he stared at the swinging tail of the old mule trotting in front of him. Under the warm rays of the early morning sun, the mule pulled a carriage down a dirt road, carrying some cargo that was hidden within. Now hours away from Lucerna, only open fields and the occasional farmland would appear.

The party were on their first official quest, protecting a cargo transport. Blinded by the excitement, they paid little attention to the vague details of the quest. All the three knew was that they had to protect the transport from any threats and were given strict instruction on no one being allowed to see inside the carriage hold.

A lanky-old man named Marvin, was the coachman. He had a warm demeanor and rode along with his grandson, Gregory, a young man in his early twenties with a humble and eager to learn appearance.

Kamiro walked on the side just behind the mule and guarded the rear. Too bad we can't ride on the carriage, but they don't seem to mind. He glanced at Ayu and Earla. Not that it'd be any faster...

Ayu walked in front, next to the mule. She hummed and smiled, and Earla did the same on the other side.

The three wore their new adventurer attire and equipment Di Reids had gifted them. Kamiro had some black and white lightweight armor, mostly made up of crucial pieces such as a small chest plate, greaves, and red vambraces. Ayu's armor was also lightweight. It was white with a soft light blue hue and fit her figure quite well. Earla's custom armor was a bit more traditional and consisted of a metal skirt-like piece below her breastplate. The armor set was silver colored with a subtle, yellow finish, and countered nicely with her body's curves.

Kamiro's gaze drifted to the mule's hypnotizing tail once more. Oh? It stopped. The tail suddenly rose high before a gust of wind reverberated from underneath.

"Ha-ha, Kamiro, what did you eat?" Ayu said.

Kamiro covered his nose in a futile attempt to escape from the pungent odor. Earla tried to hide her chuckle while he peeked over with a slight pout.

"Sorry about all this. Old Bill here just can't help himself, but he's as trusty as ever," Old Man Marvin said. His grandson, Gregory, forced an awkward laugh.

"I think he's cute..." Earla said while petting Old Bill's head. He whinnied with a mule's distinctive sound as if understanding that he was being complimented.

Cute? Maybe. But out of all the incredible fantasy creatures, somehow, we got stuck we a regular old mule...

Mules were trusty and hardworking, but at most, Old Bill could've probably competed in the Olympic sport of Racewalking. It was going to take almost a week to reach their destination at the pace they were going.

The group continued on their quest, but at times, Kamiro would catch himself staring at the back of the covered carriage. Curious of what this precious cargo was that needed their protection.

***

What seemed like hours passed by, and everyone's enthusiasm about their first ranked quest had begun to dwindle.

"Oh! Look over there!" Kamiro pointed ahead with only grassy plains and the patchy dirt road in sight.

Ayu's eyes widened. "What, what is it?"

"More fields," Kamiro said.

"Funny." Ayu didn't seem amused. "Why does it feel like we're walking down a never-ending road?" Her voice was devoid of her cheerful expression from earlier.

"Probably because we are..." Kamiro wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looks like anime had it wrong; most adventures and quests aren't all that exciting, just a lot of walking under a hot sun.