Around 8 AM, I teleported to the forest exit. Setting up teleportation points in advance makes travel much easier. The countess' group had already left their campsite.
About 7 km ahead, a convoy of wagons seemed to be heading towards Mināosa. The convoy was moving at a speed of about 5 km/h. I decided to move at around 7 km/h as well.
I chose not to use the mana-powered car to avoid drawing attention. After about 3 hours of advancing while collecting materials along the way, a group suddenly burst out from a nearby forest and attacked the convoy. They seemed to be bandits.
The distance between me and the convoy was around 1500 m. I could reach them in about 2 minutes. There were 38 bandits in total.
The convoy consisted of 4 merchants, 6 drivers, and 10 guards. It appeared that 4 of the guards had already been defeated. The drivers and merchants were also fighting back with swords, but it looked like their numbers were dwindling as well.
"I'll help!"
"P-Please!"
I used binding magic to immobilize 10 bandits at a time. Within 20 seconds, all the bandits were immobilized. The merchants were quite surprised.
"May I treat the wounded?"
"Y-Yes, please."
Among the convoy, 2 merchants, 3 drivers, and 4 guards had been defeated. Since time was limited, I used "Area High Heal" to treat the injured, including the remaining merchants and the bandits.
Unfortunately, 2 guards didn't make it.
"Thank you. I'm Grey from the Minag Trading Company, operating in Mināosa."
"I'm Takashi Suzuki. I'm on my way to the capital city of Mināosa."
"Could we offer our thanks once we reach the capital city?"
"Well, you don't really need to..."
"No, you can't do that. If you don't express your gratitude, people who notice you're under attack won't come to your aid."
"That's right. By setting a precedent like this, others might also face inconvenience."
The leader of the guards, who had been observing from nearby, joined the conversation.
"Understood. Then I will accompany you to the capital city of Mināosa."
"Sure, please. I'm Kind, the leader of the guards."
"I'm Takashi Suzuki."
"Nobility?"
"I have a family name, but I'm not a noble."
"I see. Please look after us on our way to the city."
"Now, what should we do about these bandits?"
"Transporting this many bandits would be a hassle. How about we get the city guards to provide a prison carriage?"
"Well, I actually have the 'Storage Box of the Jail'... Can I use it?"
In fact, I had secretly created it within the Infinite Storage during our journey.
"Uh, sure... but where..."
"Like this."
I took out the Storage Box of the Jail from the Infinite Storage.
"Storage user? Takashi-san, would you like to work at our trading company?"
"I'm sorry. I have plans to run my own shop."
"I see. Well, let's get along then. Please let us know if you need anything. We'll help."
"Thank you."
Afterward, the 38 bandits were stored in the Storage Box of the Jail. The bodies of the two guards were wrapped in sheets and placed on a wagon.
They asked me to join them on the carriage, and I rode along with Grey. He informed me about the economic situation in the capital city of Mināosa. I also mentioned the dragons, which surprised him. It turned out that Grey was quite familiar with the Frontier Count as well. He had a good reputation for fair governance.
The Minag Trading Company was apparently the largest trading company in the capital city. He said he would recommend me to the Commercial Guild once we reached the city.
He was pleased to hear that I wanted to open a shop, especially because the city lacked stores specializing in magical tools. He offered advice on what items to sell besides magical tools. Since the Minag Trading Company dealt with real estate as well, they offered to help me find a suitable location.
They suggested a building with a shop and residence combined, and I told them I had a building in mind. It seemed they had realized how spacious my Infinite Storage was.
Speaking of which, you need a silver coin to enter the city, right? I took out a glass cup from the Infinite Storage. It was a perfectly crafted, highest-quality glass with intricate patterns, created using a magical tool for item fabrication. However, the cup itself wasn't a magical item.
"Grey-san, how much do you think this glass cup would cost?"
"A glass cup, huh? Well done. It's a beautiful piece. I'd say one gold coin."
What? That much?
"It's the first time I've seen a glass cup with such exquisite patterns. One gold coin might be cheap for it."
"I can't let you buy these two cups for 9 silver coins. Let's go with wholesale."
"I'll buy them. Please, let me buy them. No, even if it's wholesale, I can't accept 2 cups for 9 silver coins. Let's say 1 gold coin and 8 silver coins for the two cups."
"Is that okay?"
"Yes, I believe I can make a profit of at least 2 gold coins with this."
"In that case, I'll continue to wholesale these highest-quality glass cups to Grey-san."
After that, we discussed the quality and pricing of glass products I would offer in my shop. I aimed to provide items affordable to commoners, so I decided to focus on simpler items. The highest-quality glasses were probably more suited for nobility. Our conversation also covered non-magical tools related to tableware. The details were sorted out, including Grey's offer to help with real estate and the land for my shop.