I removed the cloth covering the carriage, revealing dozens of small boxes piled on top of each other.
To my surprise, each and every box were enchanted with dimensional storage and could store at least hundreds of items, depending on their size. The other carriage had fewer storage boxes but had bigger storage capacity.
The small storage boxes contained crafting materials and a bunch of alchemical ingredients, while the bigger boxes had all kinds of tools and unique appliances.
It was normal that the Tigrites didn't touch these storage boxes. The Tigrites were only looking for food, and the carriage doesn't have any scent since most of the goods were stored in a different dimension.
While pondering how I can bring two carriages filled with storage boxes back to town, I realized something peculiar.
Why did Garam request such an important job to me when we barely knew each other? I could have run off with everything and we'll never see each other again.
I'm aware that I have bad social knowledge since I only stay cooped up inside my workshop, but for me to realize this to be this late! Is this a trap?
Next thing I know, the bushes would rustle and bandits would jump out and charge at me, demanding I give them everything I have.
However, my expectations weren't up to par with my imagination. The forest remained serene and I stood idly, patiently looking around.
Nothing.
I stopped scaring myself and actually proceeded to check the campsite. Later on, I learned that Garam was only being a cheapskate and doesn't want to spend too much money on hiring mercenaries to retrieve his wares.
As for why he trusted me that I won't run off with his goods? He had Merchant's Judgement, a psych skill that allows him to see whether he can trust a person or not.
Pieces of leftover bones were all over the place. Next to them were a bunch of damaged gears. There were chest plates, round shields, and iron swords.
Based on the items left behind, Garam only hired a low-tier mercenary group. I can't even find a bow or any sort of ranged weapon after searching the ground.
Nevertheless, I unexpectedly got a great haul with no effort required. I could use them temporarily until I have a decent arsenal to protect me.
The carriage had an old simplistic design of four cartwheels, a driver's seat, and a storage trunk.
Since the animals that pull the carriage were already dead, I have to think of a new way to drive the carriages back to town.
After pondering for a few minutes, I managed to come up with a plan. However, I need another person to help me since there were two carriages I have to take back.
I opened my holowatch and contacted a friend.
—
"Two horses and they cost 100 gold each. Oh, and just to warn you, they're just rented. That means if I don't return them after twenty-four hours, I would have to pay another day's worth of gold."
Standing before me with arms crossed was Aaron. For a short time, I thought he would nag at me, but got surprised when he acted like a cheapskate.
I knew that I bothered him to come and even requested for him to look around if he could find an NPC that rents horses or bulls, but it wasn't for free you know... I'm even paying back the gold he used to rent the horses.
Forget it, he must be doing some quest and I interrupted him.
"As agreed, here you go. An iron chest plate, an iron sword, and a round shield. It's worth it, right? You saved a lot of gold for buying gears. Armors are extra expensive than weapons, so be kind to me, okay?"
"Tch. I can't believe I came out to the woods for these. If there's nothing else I'm going back to town." he said, then activated the teleport rune.
"No, wait! Stop, stop, stop." I shouted trying to catch his attention. Usually, your ears would be filled with ringing as the lights covered you while recalling, but my extensive movements attracted his attention.
After seeing him stop the teleport recall, I then asserted my plan.
"How about helping me with something? You're already here, so you might as well help me, right? There are two horses and two carriages, right? Right?"
I tried my best to give him the hint but he remained a listener. He only stared at me and had no reaction.
For a minute, I thought he was lagging since he was standing still perfectly until he sighed deeply as if he has given up. "Is this one of your weird quests again? I know that you're going for the support route, but you need to stop accepting weird quests," he said then clutched his head as if he was having a migraine. "Let's just finish this quickly, I'm feeling exhausted already."
"Thank you," I replied thankfully.
Though I'm not that knowledgable in terms of interpersonal relationships, I knew that someone who would run on your first cry for help must be treasured as a friend.
We attached the horse to the carriage and manned each carriage out of the campsite. It took me some time to learn how to control the reign but overall, it was an easy job.
The trip back to town took less than fifteen minutes and I was even able to learn why Aaron appeared pissed earlier.
Apparently, he was going to strike a conversation with this hot girl when he heard a message notification on his holowatch. After learning that the message came from me, he chose to ignore it and continued his original plan.
However, upon raising his head, he noticed someone else chatting with his target. Irritated, he begrudgingly opened the message only to see my request for help. If it weren't for the good stuff that I offered, he was planning to ignore my message.
After learning the truth, I take back what I said earlier about treasured friends, let's keep things professional.
With that thought in mind, I plan to slightly increase the price when I sell items to him in the future.
After entering the town, I drive around wide roads and was able to park just outside of the marketplace.
Players have been eyeing us ever since from the plains and if it weren't for their hesitation whether I was an NPC, we could have been robbed.
"Alright, I'm leaving," Aaron said after we parked the carriages.
I hurriedly jumped down and bowed.
Manners, it was one of the things my father thought me. Thank someone after receiving help, no matter whether they succeed or failed at the task.
"Thank you so much for helping me. If you have any problem in the future, you may contact me."
Aaron untied the horses from the carriage. He expertly climbed one, then bade farewell. "Sure, I'll remember that," Afterward, he kicked and the horse started strutting away. He pulled the other horse's rein, then waved his hand as he went away.
Garam saw me from his stall and he became excited. He packed up his things and closed the stall.
"You found them!" he said, clearly satisfied.
He checked the boxes in the carriages and smiled contentedly. "Some boxes were opened, but there's nothing missing. Great job! I never doubted you. As per our agreement, I'll give you the multi-tool and an item of your choice from my wares."
Did he just try to scam me? I quickly interrupted him and said, "Please don't forget about the gold remuneration too. I spent a bit of gold to hire a coachman and two horses to drive the carriage back here."
Garam widened his eyes and smiled apologetically. "Of course, of course! How could I ever forget about that? Here, take this 1000 gold. Also, here's a list of items that you could choose from."
I already got the multi-tool and now received the promised gold. Now, I just have to select an item as an additional quest reward and forget this quest ever happened.
I scoured the list for items that I might need and settled with the Augmented Hologram Blueprint Creator. The AH Blueprint Creator is a smart device made to help inventors in creating blueprints. It has an assistive AI and can be connected to the holowatch network for blueprint parts database.
When I selected the AH Blueprint Creator as my additional reward, I could somehow sense Garam's grief.
Was he regretting his decision? I have no idea.
Was he able to save gold? With the amount of loot I brought back, probably yes.
I don't need to care about things like that. I'm just happy that he kept his side of the bargain.
Now, I have to find a place to rest. I should ask an officer where to find an Inn. But before that, let's go window shopping for a bit more.