A Company

"Excuse me, Mr. Adventurer. Are you going somewhere?" 

"Ah... I'm going to Celeste Village." 

When Kenneth faced with expectant eyes, the prince unknowingly said his destination. Celeste Village was the village on the border of the Kingdom of Lucano, as well as the nearest place to the Audoran Forest region. The Audoran Forest could be seen clearly from the village. Kenneth intended to go and observe the situation in that village before he entered the Audoran Forest. 

"Ah! What a coincidence! Incidentally, our destination is also Celeste Village. If Mr. Adventurer doesn't mind, how about you go with us? You can ride our horse carriage for free. And, of course, we'll still pay you at the end of the trip." 

"Hey, Matias, how can you steal my customer like this? He has come to me for a horse." 

The horse seller seemed to be familiar with the man called Matias and began to reprimand him while complaining. Despite this, there was no hostility in their conversation. Matias smiled broadly at the horse seller, then put his arm around his shoulder in a familiar way. 

"Oh, come on! Don't you want to help your friend in distress? The people in the palace have monopolized all the adventurers in this town. We have to leave right now. But, other than this Mr. Adventurer, there are no more adventurers who can help us in this town." 

The horse seller scratched his head, then looked at Kenneth, who had been silent and watching their interaction. "I'm sorry, Sir. But if you guys have the same destination, could you help my friend by going along with him?" the seller asked. Kenneth was increasingly hesitant to refuse when two people asked for his help. Going alone with a carriage full of goods was dangerous for a merchant. Kenneth remembered his brothers, who were still too busy to gather people, then finally nodded to keep the questions of the people in front of him. 

"If being with me is fine, I'm ready to protect you throughout the journey. Although I'm not an adventurer, you can rest assured that I can use a sword and magic well." 

"Very good! I knew you were good just from your stature, young man. I've hung out with many adventurers thanks to my job. With a glance, I knew you have a distinction that is no less formidable than an A-class adventurer and above." 

Kenneth was slightly embarrassed when Matias compared his strength to that class-A adventurer. Although Kenneth was only wearing the basic clothes he got from the palace, his posture and sword alone were enough to prove that Kenneth was someone who could be relied upon. The princes had sword and magic teachers who were both former S-class adventurers. Because Kenneth was their most outstanding student, he had grown so strong even though he only lived in the palace. 

All this time, Kenneth only felt that he could use a sword and magic. What Kenneth did not realize was that his strength had actually surpassed that of an ordinary A-class adventurer. 

"Now, if you are not an adventurer, what name should I call you?" 

"Kenneth. You can call me Kenneth, Mr. Matias," Kenneth replied with a smile. The prince dared to use his real name because there was no way anyone would suspect that this ordinary-looking young man was the third prince of the Kingdom of Lucano. The name Kenneth was also not rare in the Kingdom of Lucano. So, as Kenneth had expected, not a single person suspected him after he told them his name. 

"Alright, Kenneth. Can we go now? Honestly, I have a delivery that I need to deliver as quickly as possible right now." 

"Of course. Before that, thank you for introducing such a nice horse to me, Sir." 

"Although I was only doing my duty, I will accept your thanks. Young man, if you need a horse in the future, you can come to me again at this place. When the time comes, I will give a special discount to a polite young man like you." 

Apparently, Kenneth's politeness managed to amuse the people around him. Kenneth immediately left the place after they finished saying goodbye. Matias took Kenneth to approach the horse-drawn carriage that he had. Since the carriage was located not far from the previous horse seller, Kenneth could see that Matias' wife immediately looked relieved when she saw her husband managed to get him to go with them. 

"Kenneth, this is my wife, Amy. And Amy, this is Kenneth, the young man who agreed to accompany us on this trip. Although Kenneth is not an adventurer, I knew you could also judge that Kenneth is no ordinary young man. Incidentally, he is also going to Celeste Village. So, I think being with him is fine, right?" 

"Of course! Thank you for accepting our offer, Kenneth. We will be under your protection from now on." 

When Amy bowed slightly to him, Kenneth immediately did the same to the woman. "I will try to do my best!" he said solemnly. Matias nodded in satisfaction at Kenneth's answer. But, the next moment, Matias' eyes were distracted to look into the freight caravan he had. 

"Brox, where's your modesty, Boy? Get down and greet Kenneth like your mother. He will accompany us on our journey to Celeste Village for the next few weeks." 

From inside the caravan, a young boy was about ten years old and looked at his parents with a sour face. The boy called Brox looked at Kenneth, who was trying his best to smile, then introduced himself in a lazy tone. 

"I'm Brox. Nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you too, Brox." 

Although Brox looked unwilling to introduce himself to Kenneth, the prince returned Brox's greeting with a small smile. Brox reminded Kenneth of the last prince, Ervin when his younger brother was still a child. Although Ervin had now turned annoying and cruel due to the teachings of his brothers, Kenneth still remembered that his brother had once been an adorable baby. Brox brought Kenneth's brotherly instincts back to the surface. Since childhood, Kenneth had always wanted a little brother that he could protect with his powers. 

After Kenneth finished getting acquainted with Brox, Matias finally signaled to them that they could start their long journey. They asked Kenneth to sit in the back with Amy and Brox because there wouldn't be any danger as long as they were still in the capital city. Kenneth saw how the visible royal palace was slowly getting smaller in his vision. The prince took a deep breath. In his heart, Kenneth hoped that this trip would not end his life.