The best motivation for people is money.


    Some might talk about dreams, hopes, justice, beliefs and other idealistic notions, but living 11 years in a medieval fantasy land makes such talk disappear. After all, wasn''t Roland an adventurer who roamed the Kingdom''s four corners, from northern snowfields to southern jungles, just to earn gold coins?


    The point is, this wasn''t modern fantasy but medieval fantasy.


    More precisely, when divided by economic standards, the upper class lived lives closer to modern times while the lower class lived medieval lives. The obvious reason was the existence of mages, something Earth didn''t have.


    Nobles wore fashionable lace and frilled dresses and silk tailcoats, living clean and comfortable lives with magitech devices similar to modern conveniences. But poor commoners lived medieval lives without game company buffs.


    Lives where pigs were raised inside homes, filth lined the streets, and people didn''t know the word hygiene so they never bathed. If everyone lived that way it wouldn''t matter, but knowing how the rich and noble lived made everyone''s eyes turn red with desire for money.


    Misfortune and discomfort stand out more when there''s something to compare them to.


    "Should we leave right away?"


    "After meeting up with the others buying exploration supplies."


    "Oh my, you could''ve just ordered us to do that."


    So naturally these people from the harsh north followed me around grinning like hypnotized by the glittering gold coins I offered.


    With money you could buy magitech devices that kept homes warm without firewood, or that produced clean water without having to break ice with cracked, frozen fingers.


    Mages sold magitech devices to commoners and nobles alike if they paid, wanting gold coins for research funds. Some eccentrics had strange elitist ideas about only nobles using their items, but commoners didn''t care about that.


    Come to think of it, magitech devices were superior to modern civilization in terms of infrastructure. Even remote villages without plumbing or gas lines could have perfect water and heating with just one fist-sized magitech device.


    "Roland, did you find those people?"


    "Yes. We can leave after meeting Katie back at the mansion."


    "Why''d you send Katie anyway?"


    "Since the hero party came to handle monsters in an Empire Margrave''s territory, not the Kingdom, we should let them know."


    As I thought this, Han Se-ah waved her hand in the distance and called out loudly. Not even trying to hide that she found us using her camera, she came right to us without arranging a meeting spot.


    Well, she probably found constantly speaking cryptically to NPCs annoying and wanted to gloss over such details. Since I was cooperating with her stream anyway, it didn''t feel right teasing her about this. R?


    "So, did you buy everything?"


    "Got everything properly. Tent, sleeping bag, heating stones for warmth, lantern and snow boots. Seems word spread - the shop owner had everything ready."


    -Japanese people poisoned BB Games!


    -Thought the Margrave would be some huge stoic old man but he''s just like his son lololol


    -But is there any reason we need to take those two?


    -Dunno? First time keeping companions this long, maybe teacher still has Empire sensibilities


    While I pondered the minor question of whether diminutives longer than names weren''t annoying to use, Han Se-ah seemed eager to play matchmaker again.


    The three retired adventurers watching cautiously, the childhood friend couple(?) openly flirting, companions examining our carriage, and Han Se-ah giggling alone at a distance for her broadcast. Ten completely mismatched people prepared to venture into the cold snowfields.


    "We can take a merchant carriage to where the village was, then get dog sleds from there."


    "Dog sleds?"


    Katie, more expert than me about the cold north and snow-covered plains, started explaining. She seemed more enthusiastic than usual, probably fired up with curiosity.


    Usually scatter-brained and easily distracted by random things, earning the peculiar nickname "kid," Katie now seemed ready to charge full speed toward our destination. Having it be about her ancestors clearly filled her with overflowing enthusiasm.


    Speaking of dog sleds, I hadn''t realized we''d go so authentically northern. Well, I suppose it made sense since we were heading to the edge of unexplored snowfields, halfway up a snow mountain. Even hardy northern horses couldn''t handle running through snowy mountains.


    "Wow, dog sleds? Really?"


    "Come to think of it, I''ve heard stories about using dogs instead of horses in the cold north since they handle cold better."


    "I thought dogs were just for tracking prey."


    Thanks to this, Han Se-ah grinned at finding a content angle, Irene started sharing stories she''d heard at church, and Grace, apparently only thinking of hunting dogs, began listening to Irene''s story.


    As our group of ten slowly left the mansion again, drawing everyone''s stares, we saw what were clearly merchant group members gathered ahead.


    "Ah, Young Master Olek, you''re here!"


    "Yes, did Father tell you?"


    Apparently these weren''t regular merchants but family merchants delivering supplies to the front lines - they bowed to Olek and led us to carriages clearly too large for normal merchants.


    At this rate we could progress faster than expected.


    ...Was that thought too dismissive of Han Se-ah''s notorious clumsiness?