The Strongest Wizard Becomes a Countryside Guardsman After Taking an Arrow to the Knee

Chapter 21 – Sellin’ Meat

Translator: Raaaaanzaaaaan!

I stacked all the magically netted bandits next to the magic purse in the wagon and struck off for the town.

Femm watched them all closely while Millet and I sat at the driver’s seat.

「I can drive by myself, though?」

「Nonono, that was dangerous. I have to guard.」

「If that’s so, then I guess I’ll be guarded by you, Mr. Al.」

For some reason, Millet was blushing.

「Leave it to me. I mean, I can drive the wagon, do you want me to do it for you?」

「What? No, let’s do it together!」

「Um…okay.」

Millet scooched beside me while we were riding.

Then we heard Collette from behind.

「Good…good…」

I had no idea what she was talking about…but, whatever.

After that, we got into town with no problems.

As we drove in, I handed over the bandits to the outside guards.

It seems they were wanted, so I got a decent reward for the exchange.

「Well! With this cash we can eat some good food!」

「Great job, Mr. Al.」

「Yahooo! Sthuper job, old man!」

「I want something sweet!」

「Bark, bark! 『Beef, Beef!』」

When they heard the words good food, all of the party happily replied.

The reward for the bandits was treated the same as bounty received after any monster defeated during a quest.

In other words, it was split among the party.

As we drove the wagon through the town, Vi-Vi shoved her head between Millet and I to look.

She seemed very interested in what was going on in the town.

「All of these low-lifes in one place…」

「Vi-Vi, if they find out you’re a devil, it’s going to become a nuisance, so put this on.」

I put a hat on her head I had prepared for her on her outstretched head.

Normally, a devil could mingle among humans without any problems.

However, it wasn’t rare that here and there, depending on the local lord, just being a devil could cause trouble.

「Oh well…」

Vi-Vi probably understood her status quite well. She obediently put the hat on.

「I don’t think the local lord hates demons that much though.」

「Just in case.」

Millet looked a bit confused. If this was a town where the local lord didn’t mind devils, there would be no reason to hide Vi-Vi.

However, you could never be too safe.

「Make sure you act like a dog, Femm.」

「Bark bark!」

Femm wagged its tail while sniffing Collette, roughly like a dog would.

No matter how you looked at Femm, it was clearly canine.

After all that, we arrived at the butcher the town usually sold meat to.

Millet was in charge of the transaction.

As she explained the situation and started the transaction, the owner looked at her with a troubled face.

「I understand what you’re saying…but it this meat really okay?」

「Okay?」

「I mean…with preservation…if it’s gone bad…」

「It’s fine. We used magic!」

「No, there’s no one around here that can use magic like that!」

If it was the big city, then someone could create a storage space using preservation magic.

But not in the country.

There were no normal magicians living in Mulg Village either. And even if there were, it would probably be a half-assed job.

「I cast the magic…so it will be okay.」

I said, and offered the owner my Adventurer Card.

The doubting owner of the place looked over my card. It had items showing I was a wizard and an S Rank adventurer to boot.

「Wha?! Ah, you, you’re…」

「Please, keep the fact I’m here a secret, okay?」

「Oh, sure. Right. Sorry for doubting you!」

He had seen my name and realized I was one of the hero’s party that defeated the Demon Lord.

I didn’t want any fuss, so I stopped the owner before he blurted everything out.

It was impossible to forge an Adventurer Card. Because of that, the cards were well trusted.

From there, the transaction went smoothly.

Even so, the beef weighed a lot, so it took time to offload.

As the transaction ended, the sun had begun to set.

Afterwards, the owner came up to me again before I left.

「I can tell my son proudly that I met the great Viscount Alfred!」

「Well, thank you very much for saying so. However, I’d like to keep it a secret…」

「I see. It must be quite hard for you to keep your identity secret, being so famous and all.」

The owner bowed over and over.

「Ah, I know that this is an improper time for his, but could I have your autograph? My son is a huge fan…」

「That’s no problem at all.」

If it’s his son, then I couldn’t refuse. However, if Millet or the others saw me give my signature, they’d begin to suspect something.

So, hiding what I was doing, I signed a paper for him.

Collette saw it. She turned her head in confusion but kept quiet.

Even if Collette saw it, there should be no problem, I thought.

「Sorry if my writing isn’t the clearest.」

「My family will treasure this! If you ever need anything, please be sure to call!」

The owner said, thanking me, as my party then left for the inn.

「Mr. Al, thank you.」

「Hm?」

「For helping with the transaction.」

「No need for thanks. It’s normal for a wizard like me to provide proof of his work.」

Vi-Vi looked a bit unhappy.

「I thought I was the most helpful one that made the magic circle for that cow meat!」

「Yeah, I’m sorry, but if I said that a devil cast the magic…it would get complicated.」

「I KNOW THAT ALREADY!」

「Well, anyway, let’s get to the inn and eat!」

After saying that, everyone was happy.

「All right!」

「Ruff!」

As we drove through town, Millet pointed at one seller.

「Mr. Al! Look! That looks delicious!」

「Yeah, you’re right!」

「Old man! I want sthome!」

Millet and the others were now all looking at the sweets.

It was bread cooked from flour, eggs, milk, and so on, surrounded by cream.

Then, fruits that were in season were cut up and placed as a topping.

「It looks so good.」

「They don’t sell anything like that in Mulg.」

I bought some for the excited group.

「You want one, Femm?」

『YES.』

I was a little worried about feeding one to a dog. However, after asking Femm, I realized it was a wolf and not a dog, and not some ordinary wolf either.

It was a magical wolf. Totally fine.

So Femm got its own sweet as well.

「! Ruff!」

「Here.」

「Chomp chomp」

Femm gobbled it down happily. I decided to eat one myself.

Sweet food has a way of restoring a tired body.

Millet was tired from negotiating that sale as well, but now she was giddily happy.

Then, as we made our way to the inn, Femm bit and pulled at my sleeve.

「Hm?」

『Give me.』

Femm was drooling looking at a barbeque stand by the road.

「Femm…hey…when you get hungry, do you lose the ability to talk correctly?」

『No…don’t.』

「Well, whatever.」

I bought a gave Femm a lot of meat since it couldn’t speak well out of hunger.

Then I bought Millet, Collette, and Vi-Vi some too.

「After sweets, something savoury is good too!」

「Old man, sthanksth!」

「Low-life meat is the best!」

Everyone ate and seemed satisfied.

I was wondering if they’d all be able to eat dinner that the inn will provide as well.

Actually, I was a bit worried.