Their first agenda would be looking for food. An inn was open close to the walls, thus they had their breakfast there. After that, they went toward the sheriff’s headquarters to register their truck. Captain Daven was free by the time they arrived, thus he assisted them in getting their truck registered. William categorized it as a ‘magic cool-looking, high-power carriage’ as a joke.

Captain Daven was about to write that down when William stopped him.

Guess people in this world really thought of it as something weird.

Once that was done, they headed for the guild.

“What should we pick today…”

Now that they understand how the guild works, they no longer need to head to the receptionist to pick a quest. There were slightly more quests on the board compared to the day before.

“Anything you’re interested in?”

“I prefer something that you can practice magic on.” Her eyes went from left to right, searching for a quest. She tiptoed, reaching for a quest paper on the top side of the board. William leaned in closer, inspecting the quest paper. It was a rank seven quest. The writing itself was tidy and easy to read, exactly what he expected from a professional guild, but its contents didn’t seem professional at all.

“... Is this written by a child?” William said after reading the quest.

“You’ll be surprised, but there’s a lot of quests we received that came from children. Usually under the approval of their parents, though.”

“Related to tutoring?”

“Some, yeah. Sword lessons or the like.”

This quest came from a small town west of Pakihana. The request asked for the removal of ‘big, scary looking thing that are round and have big balls as eyes’. It stated that this ‘monster’ had been appearing a few times in the last few days and is scaring the person. The person even offered a very generous reward consisting of the person’s entire income, a whopping twenty thousand Karape.

Enough for two whole chocolate breads.

The request time was ‘as fast as possible’ with a little love sign drawn on the bottom.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he muttered.

“Ah, sorry about that one.” A receptionist came up to them.

“A child wrote that one. To please him, the local adventurers' guild sent a copy of the request to us, and we put it on as a joke. Wasn’t expecting anyone to actually pick it up.” The receptionist offered to take the request back, but Feodora held on.

“Feodora?”

“Do you… do you want to do this?” she asked, looking a little hopeful, hiding the bottom part of her face behind the piece of paper.

Like hell I can say no to that!

“Sure, let’s do it.”

“But are you sure? That thing practically rewards nothing. You’ll earn much more with any other quest.”

“If Feodora wants to do it, then I want to,” William stated firmly. Lily nodded behind him.

“If you say so, then I won’t stop you.”

Using her magic, Feodora put magic on the stamp.

“I wish you luck.” The guild receptionist smiled.

“Thank you. We’ll be claiming that twenty thousand Karape!” William said excitedly, Lily shaking her head. “You’re no different to the child.”

The guild receptionist simply smiled. “Looking forward to it.”

The three headed toward the exit. Before leaving, William stopped in front of the ballista quest. He clenched his fist and aimed his hand toward it.

“I’m coming for you.”

* ••

“So, what are our plans?” after driving out of Pakihana, William could finally talk normally. Pakihana was much more crowded during the day, making driving around tough, especially when instead of moving out of the way, people crowded around his truck, curious about the vehicle. He didn’t come here to be a truck-kun. Killing and sending people to other worlds weren’t part of his plans.

“Hmm… I do not remember any particular animal or monster that fits the description.”

“Isn’t it pretty vague?”

“Yes, but in the case where it is a known monster, why would they not put the name of the monster instead?”

“They’re treating it as a joke, remember?” Lily remarked.

“Ah, you are correct.”

“How much money do you have left?” William asked.

Feodora looked into her pouch, checking her contents.

“With yesterday’s reward, five hundred thirty-five thousand Karape.”

“Still a lot… Would it be fine if we focus on training my magic today? After finding whatever monster that bothered the child, I mean.”

“I do not mind. My money can support us for several days without doing anything.”

“I need to remind myself to not get too dependent on you.”

“You do not need to worry about that.”

William and Lily both shook their heads.

“He definitely should be worried about it, Feo.”

“Let’s just say it’s something I personally want.”

“Very well. But remember, I can help if you need it.”

“Thanks, partner.”

Feodora let out a small grin. She still gripped the seatbelt like before, but she seemed much calmer now. A stone wall appeared in the distance, signaling their approach to the town.

"Should we train magic before or after we complete the quest?"

"I suggest after."

"Okie dokie."

His arrival naturally caught the attention of the townsfolk, who gathered around to look at this weird-looking magic carriage. He honestly found their reaction pretty amusing, as he was never treated like a celebrity before this. From the outside, his truck looked like a moving box with some extra features. It wasn’t something he would gather around. Then again, he saw thousands if not millions of similar trucks back on Earth, so what was new to the people was a normal thing for him.

One of the knights stationed there asked for documents. William showed his adventurer card along with the vehicle registry. He proceeded to ask where the house of the quest giver was. The knight got onto a horse and led the way.

He drove slowly, following behind the knight, careful to not hit anyone. He had seen this level of crowd before, especially during the holidays. When he drove through some markets back on Earth, he would occasionally be forced to drive just centimeters away from pedestrians.

It was scary, knowing that things could go wrong very quickly. Unfortunately for him, the pedestrians in this world didn't go about their activities when he passed through. They stopped and examined the truck with great interest, trying to get as close as they could. From the mirrors, some even tried reaching out their hands and touching the metal box.

People who do that tend to be disappointed though, finding that the truck box was made out of standard metal.

It was a huge headache, to say the least.

Eventually, they arrived in front of a simple stone house.

"Here we are."

"Thank you for your help."

The knight gave them a salute, took one last look at the truck, then returned to his post. Seeing him ride a horse away reminded William that this was a different world.

Horses were a common thing here, with many people owning and taking care of one. The same couldn't be said for cars or trucks. They, of course, didn’t exist yet. While he did see some carriages, they tended to be the ones pulled by horses. He wasn’t sure if magic could be used to power them, but even if it could, he had yet to see one.

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In the future, if this world discovered engines, the opposite would be true. Horses would be a luxury item, while 'carriages' would be everywhere. Much like Earth.

"William?" Feodora called out to him.

"Ah, sorry, I got distracted.” He pulled the parking brakes, turned off the engine, and got off. Feodora applied a magic shield on the vehicle and they walked up to the door, knocking on it.

"Excuse us?" William called. The door let out a little squeak as it opened.

"... Umm… who are you?" a girl asked, hiding half her body behind the door. She had pointed ears signature to an elf. She looked pretty young, maybe around her mid-twenties. Considering the long lives of elves, at least in fiction, he might be very wrong.

"Good day. We're from the adventurers' guild, to help with the quest." William took out the quest paper from his bag, showing it to the girl.

"What quest?" The girl seemed puzzled as she accepted the piece of paper.

"Oh… oh my. I wasn't expecting people to actually come.” She let out a sigh.

"Are you sure you want to accept this? This literally said twenty thousand Karape." The girl pointed toward the reward section. Indeed, it had the number twenty thousand written on it.

"Yes, we are sure."

"Sigh… sorry for dragging you into this. Please come in.” The girl opened the door wide, allowing the three adventurers inside. A boy appeared from inside the house, running in excitement after seeing the three entering the living room.

“Aunties, uncle, are you here to help me?” he asked with sparkling eyes. Feodora kneeled in front of the boy.

“Yes, we are.”

“Then let’s go! Let’s go!” the child darted out of the door.

“Charles! Wait!” the girl went out to chase after him. The three quickly went back out, chasing the two down.

“This way! This way!” the child kept yelling, skillfully dodging the crowd on the streets. It wasn’t as crowded as back in Pakihana, but this boy was strangely agile. Even the girl, presumably her mother, struggled to keep up. Feodora increased her speed, dodging in between the crowd. She quickly caught up, before overtaking him and stopping in front of him.

“Woah!” the child stopped, wobbling as he struggled to maintain his steps. Feodora managed to catch him in time.

“You should not run around like that. It is dangerous, and you make other people worry.”

“I’m sorry.”

The other three finally caught up.

“Charles! Don’t go running around like that again!” the mother scolded. William stood next to her, catching his breath.

“I’m sorry. But, we’re close to where I saw the monster.”

“Is that so? Please lead us the way, but do not go running again.”

“Okay!”

Now walking slower, the boy named Charles guided them to where he last saw this monster. He held his mother’s hand as he walked. They ended up at the western gate of the town.

“... Here?” William asked. Beyond the gates was a cobblestone road that switched into a dirt road far in the distance. A fairly large river and farm fields occupied the left side of the road, while some tough-looking buildings occupied the right.

“Not here.” The boy shook his head, walking even farther.

“Just where did you go?”

“Not far, I promise.”

This certainly looks far.

By a child’s standard, at least. The mother greeted some people who occupied the buildings on the side of the road. Apparently, most of them were hunters, or someone related to the profession. They were used to handling magic and weapons, so being outside the walls wouldn't threaten them as much as a normal person. Guards also stood at the gate, able to warn them in case there was an emergency.

They all look nice, so maybe it wasn’t as concerning to have a child-like Charles play around this region. With that said, he still shouldn’t be here alone.

But Charles didn’t stop there. Instead, he went further, following the road. The houses and buildings end, replaced by dense foliage.

“Charles, what the heck were you doing in the forest?”

“I was with Uncle Mordel when I heard some weird sounds…”

“And you run off!?”

“... Sorry…” Charles looked down. His mother let out a sigh.

“This is the last time you ever go to the forest on your own, alright?”

“Yes, mama.”

“Still…” she looked toward the forest, looking concerned. William, Feodora, and Lily walked up to her.

“Has anything been happening in the forest?” Lily asked, looking into the trees.

“The hunters said some weird things sometimes. Don’t know if they’re just joking or if they’re serious.”

At first, the three had thought this was someone playing a prank on the kid, resulting in the kid getting frightened. But, if they were heading toward the forest, everything changed. Who knew what kind of weird, frightening monster hid deep in there? Feodora kneeled next to Charles again.

“Can you describe what you see in great detail?”

“It’s big, umm… like a carriage! It’s round. Yes, very round!” Charles started making the shape with his hands. If there was indeed such a monster, the size alone made it troublesome.

“It’s eyes are big! They’re round, and scary. Really scary! Its skin is red. Umm… it smells disgusting.”

William tried sniffing the air, not smelling anything.

“Anything else?”

“Oh, it runs fast! But it’s clumsy. When it’s chasing me, it got itself stuck.”

“Understood. Please go back to the town, we will deal with it.” Feodora stood back up.

“You will?” Charles’ eyes sparkled.

“Leave this to us.” William backed Feodora up, despite knowing that for now, he could only watch.

“This would be a piece of cake!” Lily added, as if to further increase the trust the mother and child have in them.

“Thank you very much!” Charles bowed his head. He and his mother then returned to the city, leaving the three alone.

“So, what are your plans?” William asked. The foliage was so dense that he couldn’t see farther than a few meters into the forest.

“I propose we do another quick magic training to prepare you.”

“Should we close our eyes again?” Lily asked, looking at the same palm that generated dirt yesterday.

“No. Utilizing magic means utilizing all your senses. Please abstain from doing that.”

“Alright, we will.”

“Now stand there.”

William stood up straight, Lily standing next to him. Feodora started circling them, examining the two from top to bottom.

“... Can I ask what you’re doing?”

“Can you feel my presence?”

“I can.”

He could see her. It would be harder if she asked him to close his eyes, but with his eyes, he could tell her presence rather easily.

“With your eyes?”

“Yeah.”

“That is what makes it hard. You need to use all your senses, including your eyes, but you must not allow it to overpower the rest of your senses.”

“... I know I’ve said this before, but this is really different.”

“You used magic before, Lily?” William asked.

“Yeah, not much, though. I did use it to light up my arrows.”

“I see… by the way, how do I do that? How to use my senses, I mean.”

Feodora stopped in front of him and got closer.

Too close!

She looked up at him, her face next to his neck. She motioned William to kneel, allowing their heads to be at the same height. He moved to his ears, standing in between him and Lily. She motioned Lily to come closer.

“Can you hear me?” she whispered straight into his ears.

“Yes.”

He could hear her breathing, the air tingling his ears.

“Does this have something to do with the training?” Lily asked.

“It will help to raise your senses further. Do not worry, you will get used to it, eventually.”

“So until then…?”

“You will probably have a hard time falling asleep. Probably.”

“That sucks.”

“Adventurers-related issues kept me up all night before, so it should be easier for me,” Lily murmured.

“Lucky…” William said, glancing back at Feodora.

“It is necessary. Do you realize something?”

“What?”

“I changed my volume with every sentence I spoke.”

“... Did you really?”

In William’s ears, the volume did not stay the same. It got slightly quieter, but he could still hear her words very clearly. He thought she wasn’t doing it on purpose.

“Yes. Now, both of you, please look forward. And do not move.”

William did as told, staring straight forward, only a portion of Feodora’s face visible in his eyes.

“Sometimes, you should not be able to hear something, but you can hear it.”

She flicked her finger. Despite hearing that sound countless times before, this one sent chills to his bones. He kept his head facing forward, though, fighting the urge to look toward her. She then began moving, circling the two of them a couple of times. William’s knee began aching, but he held on.

“Erp!” He felt something cold touch the back of his neck. It was a sudden feeling, no warning whatsoever.

“Is… is this a part of the training as well?”

“If your enemies got this close, training you is surely not the thing they have in mind.”

“Yeah, but, is this really necessary?” He asked uncomfortably.

“I also went through this training.”

William couldn’t even begin to imagine the things she went through.

“Normally, doing things like this will not help increase your senses, that is, if you never touched magic in the first place. After you touched magic yesterday, it is like training your muscles. The more you use them, the more powerful they get. It is not an easy process, but if you concentrate, you can go through it quicker,” she said, before poking his back with something hot.

William wriggled his body in discomfort. He couldn’t see how Lily reacted to this, but she let out some noises as well.

“Hold the pain, memorize it. Do not worry. I will make sure you are unharmed.”

William trusted her on that, but he really wanted to escape. He knew that if he wanted to take down the ballista and face the demons, he would need to be able to wield magic. It was a basic requirement in this world, similar to writing and reading. He watched a lot of anime in his past life, but never had he expected that now, he would be the one undergoing a training arc.

“How long before I’m able to wield magic normally? Actually, am I supposed- Ouch!- to be allowed to speak?”

“If you are able to concentrate while you are speaking then by all means. If anything, it shows that you are quite the capable person,” Feodora said, beginning to turn around the two of them again.

“Learn to divide your concentration. A part of it goes to your senses, processing and analyzing the information you receive from them. The other part goes into an action as a result of that information. To be an outstanding fighter, you will need to be able to do these two things at the same time.”

“I see,” Lily murmured,

He felt terribly uncomfortable, but he tried to hold himself. Feodora finally stopped and took a step away.

“That should do for today. You should not feel the changes immediately, but keep at it. You two will be able to wield magic in no time.” She let out the tiniest bit of smiles, yet that was enough for William to forget all his pain.

“Thanks,” William shook his body, throwing all the weird sensation he received from Feodora off. If he had a choice, he would rather have a normal male do this to him, not a cute girl like her. Feodora touching him only hurt his concentration.

“Anyway, we should get going.”

“Feo, you’ll lead.”

“Very well.” Feodora stepped into the forest with William and Lily following behind her.