Chapter 35

Before departing, John made sure that the key still pointed southeast. John and Leyla boarded Isak’s carriage to continue their journey.

The three traveled down the empty road. Empty plains and the occasional farmland dotted the landscape. John rested his head on the carriage’s side, his eyes on Leyla. They had been talking normally with Isak for the morning, waiting for the right time to strike.

“Oh, and the beaches are just exceptional,” Isak said. They were talking about their ideal vacation destination. Isak liked going to the beach. He enjoyed walking on the sand, swimming, and enjoying the warmth. John wanted to voice his disagreement. He was more of a mountain hike kind of guy. But he played along for now, keeping his mind on his goal.

“It sounds like you visit that place often,” Leyla said, going on the offensive. “Do you go there for your quests?”

“Yes,” Isak answered without hesitation. Was it because he answered truthfully, or was it a result of his training?

“Oh, what do you usually bring? Valuables?”

Isn’t that a bit too on the nose? John thought. He couldn’t say it. He and Leyla sat across from each other. They could only talk through their expressions. John showed his disapproval by frowning. Leyla didn’t notice, looking at Isak instead.

“I rarely deal with valuables. Usually, it’s food or some kind of equipment.”

“I thought someone like you got asked to transport top-secret things a lot.”

This is not what we planned for!

During their discussion the night prior, John and Leyla decided that they would slowly guide Isak to accidentally reveal his true self. Leyla was skipping questions, however. Isak would realize it sooner or later.

“What makes you think that?” Isak asked curiously.

“I mean, you’re not affiliated with the transportation guild, right?”

Like the treasure hunters’ guild, the transportation guild allowed people who owned carriages to transport items for an amount of money. When John and Leya hopped onboard a carriage ride, they would usually go to the transportation guild. The guild would then connect them with a merchant group heading the same way as them.

Unlike the treasure hunters, members of the transportation guild wore a special badge when they traveled. John saw that badge on some of the merchants. Since Isak was transporting something, he should be wearing that badge. He didn’t wear the badge, which meant this task didn’t come from the transportation guild.

“I’m not.”

“If I have an item I want to transport, isn’t it better to give it to the transportation guild?”

It should be more guaranteed that way. But…

What if it’s from a friend or a family member? John pointed out the flaw in Leyla’s argument. Although they weren’t supposed to be arguing with him in the first place.

“Sometimes, you need to get things over quickly, and you can’t wait for a guild member to become available.”

Leyla turned to John, asking for support. John preferred to change the topic instead. They wouldn’t get anywhere with this one.

“As for these apples, they’re for a special client.”

“Oh?” Leyla whispered, intrigued.

“There are no carriages to the town for several days, so you can count yourselves lucky.”

“Yes, thank you,” while saying that, John’s mind was already on something else.

If he really is a noble, then he should feel suspicious of that question… So what can we ask that won’t give us away?

Something that would make it sound like a regular conversation, not a battle of wits.

“So you’ve had a lot of experience in this work, huh?”

We’re still continuing with that?

“A fair bit. Certainly more than regular, I guess.”

Regular, huh…

Did he mean as in the average person in terms of transporting goods, or did he mean when compared to other nobles? John doubted nobles transport goods themselves. They probably have someone they could call if they needed something. If Isak’s a noble and he was talking about other nobles, then he might have more experience in transporting goods compared to them.

There wasn’t any significant proof. Certainly not the kind of clue they were looking for.

“Is this job hard?”

From an outsider's perspective, transporting goods was an easy task. All they needed to do was pick up the item, ride all the way to the destination, then drop off the goods. Reality wasn’t as simple, however.

“Depends,” Isak said. “Some goods are easier to handle than others. Materials like stone don’t have an expiry date, and it doesn’t need special conditions.”

Isak ended up describing the difficulties of being a transporter. Sometimes everything would run as expected, and he would be hit with much-appreciated boredom. If he was bored, then nothing was wrong. If he didn’t have the time to be bored, then he would be dealing with trouble. Bandits were rare, but they existed. A majority of customers were reasonable, but some could be annoying. Most goods wouldn’t be troublesome, but sometimes he was forced to deal with things that got damaged during the trip.

Despite John’s and Leyla’s attempt to steer the conversation, they lost control of it. They got roped into Isak’s stories and eventually gave up, deciding to continue hearing him instead. The stories continued until they reached town.