I finished crafting the tent just in time before the monsoon arrived.
The world of Golden Dawn—and the Central Nations, which were situated right in the center of that world—experienced four seasons. Because its seasons had been designed to be similar to those in Japan, its summers were hot and its winters cold. Spring blessed the world with lush greenery, while fall dyed the leaves red.
And Golden Dawn also had a monsoon season, which this world reflected as well.
I’d been panicking a little about whether I’d make it in time, but just before the rain poured down on us, I finally finished the tent that would let us rough it even in the wettest weather.
“Sorry for the wait, Wal!”
We were at one of the many rest stops scattered every so often along the highway. The open space here was equipped with an anti-monster barrier around its perimeter, and I had completed pitching my handmade tent in a corner of it.
At a glance, the tent was a small and typical-looking triangular one that’d been fashioned out of gray giant frog leather. The design was similar to a shelter half or pup tent, like the ones used by the military. As suggested by the name, these tents were actually made up of two halves. Each soldier would have their own half of a pup tent, including all of the tarps, support poles, rope, and stakes. By having two soldiers combine their halves, you’d have a single tent.
Drive the two support poles into the ground, and secure the edge of the hexagonal tent sheet over them. Use a stake on the opposite edge and presto! One half of the tent is done.
Because the sheet was hexagonal, the extra triangular section of fabric provided you with cover at the front and back of the tent. It also served as the tent’s entrance and exit. It was a nice, simple design.
Up till now, whenever we’d had to sleep outdoors in wet weather, I would just hook the edge of a waterproof tarp over the support poles to make a lean-to, and we’d pass the night sitting curled up beneath. It’d been like trying to use a broken umbrella.
But now, with a real tent, we could lie down.
Of course, it went without saying that no tent of my creation would be merely ordinary—I was an Item Master, after all!
Now come, young prince!
He stood in front of the tent, gazing upon my handiwork with admiration. I encouraged him to enter it.
“I went all out to make this tent!” I said. “The entrance might be small, but there’s a lot of space inside. Once you go inside, try pulling back the sheet of blue frog leather on either side of the tent.”
Heh heh heh. I couldn’t suppress a gleeful chuckle. The prince cocked his head at me—the oddly excited barbarian—and then slipped into the tent. He spent a moment inside before crawling back out.
“K-K-Kariya! There’s another room inside it! There’s so much space!” he cried.
This time, I didn’t bother holding back my mirth.
This tent had a trick to it—I had designed it like a nesting doll. The main part of the tent looked completely ordinary. A tent that was precisely the size it appeared. But peel back the panel of blue frog leather lining the tarp, and another dimension would appear.
Well, to spoil the secret, I had basically attached two more tents inside of it to create more space. That meant the tent had two rooms inside, one for Wal and one for me. Each was large enough to be considered a small bedroom.
I had already placed a closet, a bed, and a small table in each room. These square rooms had no windows, but I had affixed lights to the ceiling. There was even enough space to wash up in the private confines without risk of peepers.
“Do you need any other furniture? If I have it in my storage, I’ll pull it out for you,” I began asking, but Wal interrupted me.
“Allow me to thank you once more, Kariya. I had no idea of just how serious you were, but I see now that your work is nothing short of stunning...”
I laughed again.
This barbarian was grinning from the praise heaped on him by the excited, emerald-eyed boy. His sheer amazement and surprise made me happy.
And this wasn’t even the work of an SS or SSS-tier crafter—just an S-tier one! But the way he couldn’t stop exclaiming animatedly warmed my heart.
I had been so caught up in my bashful joy that I hadn’t noticed two men on horseback cantering down the highway, approaching the rest area, until just then.
The two men astride the horses must’ve been adventurers—their mismatched armor was proof of that. Had they been in matching equipment, I would have taken them for soldiers.
“Already claimed the campsite, have you?” one shouted to us in greeting. “Awfully early in the day to be making camp.”
It was, but I’d done it to unveil my completed tent.
Entering the open rest area, one of the men swung himself down from his horse. He walked toward us.
The man greeting us had shockingly vibrant red hair. I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear he’d earned some nicknames because of it. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and he was a handsomely rugged man with a bright, friendly smile.
The other man, who was tall and lanky, remained seated on his horse. He was probably keeping an eye on us.
That guy must be real dedicated to his bit.
“We were planning on setting out early in the morning,” I replied to the redhead. Then, I asked a question in return. “Are you two escorting a caravan?”
“Aye, and it’s a big one—’bout thirty people all told. You boys don’t mind if we use the rest of the site?”
He wasn’t really asking for permission, but that didn’t bother me.
“As long as you leave the area around our tent open, my brother and I don’t mind. Go ahead and use the rest of the space,” I told him.
“Thanks, lads.” He then turned and called out to his companion. “Hey, go back and let the boss know that there are two people at the rest stop already, but we’re free to use the space.”
“All right,” said the other with a nod, then circled his horse back down the road.
Evidently, the redhead was going to remain here. I thought maybe he was still wary of us, but apparently, he was only staying here to get the space ready for his employers before they arrived.
Taking the bundle of twigs that had been loaded up on the horse, he placed them into the firepit at the center of the rest area. He lit them, starting a crackling fire. The scent that wafted from the open flames was one particularly effective at keeping monsters at bay. The rest area was already safe from the local wildlife, but he must have been taking extra precautions.
Honestly, I was impressed by his work. Maybe he was an adventurer whose specialty was escorting caravans.
Wal quietly stepped to my side to whisper a question to me. “I know it’s a little silly to be asking at this point, but do you think I ought to hide my face?”
Oh, right. He hadn’t been wearing his cloak when the men had approached.
“They’ve already got their eyes on us. If anything happens, we can deal with it right away. So I think it’s fine to be open this time, Al,” I said.
He nodded, taking note of my deliberate usage of his other nickname. “Okay, big bro.”
Keeping tabs on people in a bustling town was a fool’s errand, but this space was small. If something were to go wrong, I could handle it easily enough.
“’Scuse me, lads!” the man called out to us again. “D’ya know if there’s a watering hole around here?”
I shook my head in response.
While the rest area was safe from the threat of monsters, it didn’t have a well—maybe it was because they hadn’t been designed with any back in Golden Dawn.
Had there been a source of water, a post town might’ve popped up here instead. But for most of the stretch of highway, there hadn’t been a drop of water. No one would be able to live out here, so rest areas remained as simple, open clearings.
To be honest, since people generally got around the vast areas in Golden Dawn with Jump, these rest areas were typically only used as unlockable save points. That was why every rest area had a stele carved with a unique identifier. No two rest areas had the same pattern.
“There weren’t any along the highway from the direction we came in. Is there no one in your caravan who can use water magic?” I asked.
“We’ve got one, but we’ve got a few more people than expected right now. Handling that many alone might be tough. But thanks for the info.”
“My brother can use water magic. Do you need our help?”
“You sure?” he asked, fixing his eyes on the youth standing beside me.
Wal didn’t say anything but gave him a small nod.
The only water we kept on us was in the waterskins at our hips. But even if we hid the fact that we could use water magic, the man and the rest of his caravan would instantly know we had access to it if we used water during our meal prep.
“Thanks again! Then it’d be great if we could get your help. The name’s Keith, by the way. I’m with the Green Robins.” Then, as if reconsidering his lack of decorum toward strangers who had offered their assistance, he added a quick “We owe you one.”
I shrugged. “There’s no need for that; we’re all friends here. I’m Arowa, and my brother’s Al. We’ll only be around for a single night, but let’s make it a good one.”
“Right. Put ’er there.”
Keith walked up to me with an extended hand. I took it, and we exchanged a friendly handshake.
Temporary alliances like this were common. Different groups of travelers sharing the same rest stop could work together to handle the night watch, and those with knowledge of water magic could help others out. Sometimes, those providing water would even be paid for their work.
I gotta say, even barbarians from the remotest reaches of the world knew that much.
“Uh, big bro?” Wal sounded hesitant.
“It’s fine, Al. Practitioners who can handle magic at a level useful for daily life are uncommon among ordinary folk, but they do exist. It just so happens that between us two brothers, you’re the one blessed with magic,” I explained.
“No, that’s not what I wanted to talk about,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I just wanted to ask, um...” He trailed off, voice dropping to a whisper. “Who’s Arowa?”
Oh, so that was what’d caught his attention.