A loud yawn was heard as Shichiro opened his mouth this morning. He rose lazily from his bed, rubbing his eyes wondering what he should do for today. He had nothing planned but decided he would go out and do something anyways, preferably out of the ordinary. Climbing out of his bed, Shichiro undressed and got into the bathroom to freshen up. After thirty minutes of being in the bathroom, he walked out in a towel around his waist, toothbrush in hand. He was brushing his teeth while pacing around before he decided he scrubbed enough before walking back into the bathroom to spit. He then dried himself off and wandered over to his bedside to put on his normal attire. He had a strange feeling in his gut today though. Over the past few months, it seems the townsfolk’s cries have increased significantly. He wasn’t sure why but he thought knew that he might get into a spot of bother so he decided to ditch the suit attire for the time being.

Instead, Shichiro decided to put on grey and blue windbreaker pants, navy blue running shoes and a grey shirt. He decided to himself it would be in his best interest to be comfortable. He doesn't have any armor yet so he decided if he had to do anything strenuous, he'd better make himself as comfortable as possible. After finishing dressing up, he walked towards the exit of the complex he was staying in. Placing his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he began to think about the sudden rise of citizen pleas. He figured he might as well answer one and see if he could get some kind of reward for it other than fame. He wasn't too interested in being famous, only the potential doors it may open. Finally, his wish was about to come true. A man was scratching his head in front of Shichiro pacing back and forth along side the road of Era. As Shichiro approached the man, the man had stumbled across him, panic  stricken across his face, immediately asking is he was mage or not. Shichiro nodded his head in conformation that he indeed was a mage and wanted to know what the problem was.

The man had explained how he was moving goods from Era to a minor village to sell and wanted some protection from a mage. He said he was previously attacked by bandits and lost half of his shipment in the raid. To prevent that, he would ask a mage for help. Shichiro pondered his request for a moment before asking why the man hadn't reported this incident to the rune knights as well as make a formal request to have them escort him. The man looked down at the ground, gritting his teeth as if Shichiro had offended him in some way. Another moment had passed before the man raised his head and responded to Shichiro's question. The man had told him it would have taken far too long to go through the process and too expensive to hire a small squad of knights to protect him. Shichiro understood that and all but still, maybe he should bring it up to them anyways. Sighing, Shichiro felt as if he had no choice but to help this man because that's what good mages do. He felt a bit guilty in undercutting the rune knights from potential income but he decided that this was a form of good fortune.

In the end, he decided he would help out for a small amount of jewels. At least compared to what the official price of protection was when dealing with the rune knights anyways. The man had finally loosened up and even chuckled with relief that he was gonna get help at a reduced price. The man ushered Shichiro towards the wagon that he would be loading up with the goods and taking off with. The man started to load up the cargo when suddenly he had gotten himself another idea. Turning to Shichiro, he bowed profusely and asked him for another favor. Immediately, Shichiro realized where this was going. Before he could refuse, the man offered to sweeten the deal with a little extra. Inhaling then exhaling, Shichiro accepted and began to help out by loading the cargo alongside the man. Over thirty minutes later, Shichiro and the man had finished loading up the wagon and gotten on to ride it. Shichiro climbed into the back of the wagon, sitting on some cargo boxes while the man in the front fed his animals to pull the wagon.

Moments later, they were off. Riding through the streets of Era, their first destination being the city gates. He didn't mind the ride along but right now he was feeling very uncomfortable sitting on a hard box. Not to mention, the swaying of the cargo makes him feel a little queasy. Luckily for him, he didn't eat anything yet and the wagon wasn't covered up so he had fresh air for the most part. For what felt like an eternity, the wagon finally arrived t the gates of Era. Finally, the first part of trip was over. Making it to the gates of Era was a trip of it's own as the city was pretty big. Now that they were outside of Era and into the wilderness, Shichiro's job would now officially begin. Travel the off beat road towards the minor settlement, the man operating the wagon said it would take at least a day to get there. Well, that's just great. Shichiro felt like he'd be stuck feeling like crap for a day but at least he got a night of respite. Travelling for hours on the open road, Shichiro decided to take in the scenery although, there wasn't much of that going on either. Just trees, bushes, generic greenery all around, nothing new. It would have been rather exciting the first time around since he had never been on top of a mountain so lush the first time he was visiting Era but other than that, nothing.

Hours had passed and soon night began to fall. While they both set up camp the man had warned him this was the exact area wher ehe would normally rest up for the time. In Shichiro's head, this would also mean this is where they would most likely attack a second time cause they memorized this man's travel route. KIzmaru found it odd that the man would continue to use the same route when there was a couple other routes that would get him to his destination but as if the man was reading his mind, the man began to clarify this was route was the safest and quickest way to get to his destination cause it had routine patrols from the knights and normally other travelers passing back and forth. At night though, it seems to die down and there is even weak points in the patrols so some travelers become vulnerable at night, this man being one of them. Well all that is gonna change Shichiro was here now. Eventually, some more time passed and the man went to bed. Shichiro, on the other hand, stayed up to keep watch bend the earth against his will to kill time but quietly.

He heard a rustling noise, immediately Shichiro stomped his foot to conjure an earthen spike and launched it in the general direction of the rustling. Hearing a yelp, Shichiro got up and leaped towards the bush to find three brigands. Two males and one female.  Shichiro scoffed and told them if they don't want to be locked up in shackles for the rest of there lives, they better get out before the man he was guarding woke up and calls the rune knights or they could fight three on one, lose and then get the book thrown at them. The choice was there's. Seeing as they were dealing with a mage of sorts, they decided the didn't want any trouble and decided to head out. Shichiro chuckled that his bluffed worked and walked back to his campsite. When he arrived, the man had been aroused from his slumber by the noise. He was holding a piece of lumber that he used for a fire earlier. Shichiro told him to relax and that he chased away the would be assailants. The man thanked him once more and decided to continue on with his journey since now he couldn't sleep after that encounter.

After packing it up, the man had started to operate his cart and continue on to his destination. When the sun rose, the man and Shichiro had arrived in the minor settlement where he began to sort out his goods. After hanging around for a couple hours, the man had finished his task and thanked Shichiro and gave him his reward. Shichiro decided to accompany the man a bit longer so he could hitch a ride back to Era and figure out what he's gonna do for the rest of the day.

[Exit]

W.C: 1537