Setting Out

On the way there, the others had been guessing which Zero-Ring Spell Rain knew.

Grand, with an iron round shield on his back and a hand crossbow at his waist, guessed that Rain knew Mage Hand.

Rain had seemed reluctant to discuss his spell, which suggested it wasn't a direct attack—or at least that it dealt very little damage.

Mage Hand fit that description. It had little direct offensive power and needed the right circumstances to be useful.

That didn't mean Mage Hand was a weak spell. The question was whether its caster knew how to use it.

Used badly, Mage Hand could be...

Fabian, who had been playing with his dagger the whole way, thought Rain might know Charm Person. That would explain why he needed to demonstrate it in the woods.

After all, charming a rabbit and making it bow to them would be a little embarrassing.

Only when Rain said he would hit the third tree did Fabian realize his guess might be wrong.

Before he could think it through, the answer appeared before his eyes.

Leia had been turning the question over in her mind as well. Even someone who knew only Light counted as an Apprentice Mage.

There were no useless spells, only useless Apprentice Mages.

But for their well-coordinated party of Adventurers, Light had few practical uses. It would do little to help them kill the Boarfolk.

So when Rain said he would hit the third tree, Leia's spirits lifted.

An attack spell?

Could it be a direct attack spell like Acid Splash or Poison Spray?

That would be a welcome surprise.

And if it was Fire Bolt, they ought to celebrate at Hearthfire Bar.

Then Rain fired the blue-white beam.

"Freezing Ray! And a powerful one at that." Chris had already stepped forward to inspect the tree.

He touched the trunk, where ice crystals still clung, as he spoke.

"Rain, you can cast Freezing Ray? I can't believe you didn't have a regular party before."

On the way over, Rain hadn't named his spell, but he had mentioned that he had no regular party.

"Ahem... Rain, you don't have any strange habits, do you?" As the one who had recruited him, Chris threw an arm around Rain's shoulders and asked with easy familiarity.

"Of course not." Rain blinked, then shook his head.

"Enough, Chris. Don't say things like that." As captain, Leia quickly cut him off.

As far as she was concerned, unless Rain had a truly outrageous habit, she would find a way to keep him in the party.

"Rain, I'm very glad you've joined us."

"Thank you."

"But I should say this upfront: I can only cast that spell twice in quick succession, so..." Rain thought it best to be direct.

Even then, he held a little back.

After all his practice, perhaps because his mental strength had improved slightly or perhaps because he had grown more proficient, he could just barely cast it three times.

But he wanted to leave himself some leeway.

"Twice? That's normal for an Apprentice Mage." Nothing in Leia's expression suggested she saw a problem.

Rain relaxed at her answer.

It told him that, broadly speaking, he wasn't far behind an Apprentice Mage.

With Freezing Ray's impressive display behind him, the others soon grew more animated in their conversation with Rain.

When they asked where he had learned magic, Rain told a harmless lie he had prepared.

He invented a Bard who had stayed in Oak Village for a while. They had gotten along well, and before leaving, the Bard had given him a gift: the Freezing Ray spell.

"A Bard?"

"That explains it."

"Quite a few Bards are actually Archmages in disguise. They like taking on that identity."

The others nodded at Rain's answer, looking thoroughly convinced.

Bards like that were known for rewarding kindness, after all. Every region had seven or eight stories about them.

"Looks like we should celebrate at Hearthfire Bar today," Chris said with a grin.

"Captain, shouldn't you treat us?"

"Let's go after we finish the job. We leave first thing tomorrow morning, so we should spend today preparing." Leia frowned slightly and shook her head, rejecting Chris's suggestion.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, she turned to Rain with an apologetic look. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Rain said with a smile.

They were heading out on a mission early the next morning. Getting drunk tonight would be a terrible idea.

If that had been the plan, he would have had to reconsider his opinion of this elite party.

Boarfolk were no lowly monsters like Goblins.

By now, after chatting with them along the way, Rain had grown more familiar with the members of his temporary party.

As the party's captain and a beautiful woman, Leia naturally drew a little more of his attention.

From what he had seen, she was not only beautiful but also decisive.

And judging by the large bow on her back, she was undoubtedly strong. No wonder she led this elite party.

"Captain, is there anything else I need to prepare?" Rain asked.

After two Goblin missions, he had a fair idea of how an ordinary party prepared.

But this was an elite party, so he thought it prudent to ask.

After all, leaving tomorrow seemed a little rushed to him. Shouldn't the party spend some time getting used to its newest member?

"No need. Your Freezing Ray is accurate enough, and I've already thought of the best way to use it." Leia smiled.

As they shopped for supplies, Rain began to guess what Leia wanted him to do in battle.

Early the next morning.

Rain arrived at the agreed meeting place, a road southwest of Mill Town, ten minutes early.

Leia and the others were already there.

Chris, however, was nowhere to be seen, which puzzled Rain.

He had his answer less than a minute later.

Chris sat beside a driver at the front of a covered wagon drawn by two horses. He grinned and waved to them.

A carriage—and pulled by two horses, no less.

Rain's eyes brightened. At last, he had a concrete sense of this elite party's finances.

Around Mill Town, ordinary people usually traveled between towns and villages by cheap ox cart, not carriage.

To make a profit, the driver had to cram more than twenty people into a space that was hardly roomy to begin with.

In that respect, low-ranking Adventurers were no different from anyone else.

On both of Rain's previous trips to kill small groups of Goblins, his temporary parties had squeezed into ox carts. They were slow, and the air inside was foul.

This journey would clearly be a considerable improvement.

Soon, they were riding toward their destination in the covered wagon. Through a gap in the canvas, Rain could see golden rice fields and dense green woods in the distance. The autumn breeze brought a pleasant calm.