Pine is a merchant from Minagard City.

Contrary to the image of the big belly and the jewels of the poop in the minds of the general public, Pine is not tall, with thick hands and feet, strong muscles, and dark skin, more like a fisherman than a businessman.

In fact, only those heads of the big chambers of commerce who just need to move their mouths and a large amount of gold coins will automatically fly into their pockets will receive the "mark of a successful person" such as a fat belly.

Merchants like Pyne, who leads a dozen wagons and runs trade routes for their chambers of commerce, are naturally much richer than ordinary farmers and small traders, but they can't grow too much fat when they travel with caravans to and from cities and towns throughout the year, trading goods everywhere.

On the contrary, the muscles in the legs have grown a lot.

This kind of running business life with two pairs of shoes worn out every month and exposed to the wind and sun is hard of course, but he still persevered.

In this world full of monsters and dragons, caravanserais are a very dangerous profession, and it is not uncommon for caravans to be slaughtered by monsters in the wild.

Some large caravans transporting valuable goods will hire monster hunters to accompany them for protection, but the commission for hiring hunters to escort them throughout the whole process is very high, and it is difficult for ordinary caravan merchants to pay.

Pine is one of the lucky caravan merchants, as the routes assigned to him by the Chamber of Commerce to which he belongs belong belong to the safer category.

The trade route started from the city of Minagard, departed with a load of goods, passed through the coastal city of Melchita, exchanged some goods, and then turned southeast to the city of Metabetat in the Arkris region.

It is nearly 1,000 kilometers each way, and it takes nearly three months to make a round trip, but the benefits are really good.

The most dangerous part of the route is from Minagard to Melchita, where the trade route passes almost past the monster-infested Sishuretsen Hill.

The closest point between the two is less than ten kilometers.

It can be said that Pine and his caravan are also gambling to make money.

He was not a miser, he did not have a pathological desire to collect wealth like many merchants, but he also had his own goals.

Pyne is in his forties, unmarried, and few parents are willing to marry their beloved baby to a guy who has been away from home for a whole year and could make his wife a widow at any time.

But he has an older brother who is a few years older than him, and he has taken great care of him since he was a child, and the relationship between brothers is also very deep.

However, an accident more than ten years ago caused the eldest brother and sister-in-law to pass away, leaving only a young orphan girl who was only two or three years old and had no one to take care of her.

Pine adopted the niece as a matter of course, and treated her as if she were his own child, pouring all his affection and love.

After all, she was Pyne's only remaining relative in this world.

The girl's name is Hayata, which means "pandan" in the northern dialect.

Pine lived a frugal life, and he was only willing to wear the most ordinary cotton and linen travel clothes for three or four hundred gold, but he would not hesitate to buy a beautiful little dress with a price of two or three thousand in the window.

Speaking of his life goal, he is to save enough money before Hayatta becomes an adult to buy a small building with a small garden in front of the door in the most prosperous city in the center of the mainland, "East Doruma", and then find her a good family to marry.

After that, he was willing to let him close his eyes immediately, of course, it would be even better if he could hug his nephew before closing his eyes......

Pyne, who was looking down and thinking about something, was suddenly awakened by a shout.

"Uncle~ How long will it take to arrive!"

On the top of the large truck heap pulled by the herbivorous dragon, a lively little head poked out.

The girl's pupils are a sprout-like light green, and her long silky brown hair sways down her cheeks, swaying with the bumps of the truck, just like the girl's lively personality.

Pine raised his head and looked at his niece with doting in his eyes, and a little helplessness in his tone: "I'm bored, I told you that running a caravan is boring, and you have to follow."

It's only the fourth day of departure, and I haven't even reached a fifth of the one-way trip. ”

Hayatta flattened her mouth, apparently dissatisfied with this answer, and jumped from the high pile of goods as soon as she rolled over, slowed down with both hands on the rope that bound the goods, and jumped nimbly to the ground.

The corners of Pyne's eyes jumped fiercely.

Isn't this kid Hayatta too ...... compared to an ordinary fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl Lively and active, a little more agile?

On weekdays, he spends at least nine months of the year running away from home, while Hayatta stays at home in Minagard City, where he is left in the care of his nanny.

He had thought that Hayatta would grow up to be a gentle and virtuous lady, but now it seems that he is lacking some discipline?

Well, he is reluctant to discipline, so let's be lively......

Thinking of this, Pine couldn't help but sigh heavily.

I still dote on Hayatta too much, as long as the latter is coquettish, at most two tears, no matter what he asks, he can't help but agree.

A month ago, on Hayata's fourteenth birthday, she promised to grant any of her wishes, but who knew that the child's wish was to follow him for a business?

"Slow down, be careful not to fall!"

"Got it~!"

Reminding his niece who had started scurrying between the convoys, Pyne sighed again.

I must be crazy, how can I dare to bring Hayatta to this dangerous wilderness?

The companion of the caravan next to him patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile that he was really worried too much, although this place was very close to the West Xiu Retsen Hill, but for more than ten years, nothing had happened.

"Haha, why aren't you as bold as little Hayata? Those monsters have their own territory, and this area of Shangdao is not in their territory, so it will be fine. ”

The other companion also laughed, unable to tell whether he was teasing or comforting.

Pine smiled reluctantly, anxiety still in his heart.

For the safety of his niece, he had planned to hire a monster hunter at his own expense to escort the caravan through this relatively dangerous stretch of road.

But the hunting ban has not yet passed, and the Hunters' Guild in Minagard City is as quiet as a library, and even the Kanban girls have gone home for vacation, and they can't even hire a hunter.

The staff on duty advised him to wait a little longer, and then hire a hunter guard after the hunting ban was lifted.

However, the itinerary of the caravan was not something he could change if he wanted to, and in the end he had to go on the road as scheduled.

At the moment, all he can do is pray that this trade route, which has not had an accident for more than ten years, will continue to be safe.

Driven by the uneasiness in his heart, Pyne hurried over to the lead car and said hello, and the old driver of the lead car quickly took the map out of his bag.

Pyne carefully compared the surrounding terrain and calculated the speed and time of the caravan's march to determine the caravan's location.

"At this rate, the caravan will be away from this hilly area before the sun sets, and then it will be safe to go, so I hope everything goes well."

The old coachman, who also looked a little worried, nodded, and kept gently pumping the herbivorous dragon with the leather reins, urging them to hurry up.

Unfortunately, the snow on the road made it difficult for the heavy wagons to pick up speed, and the long caravan was clumsy like an old mammoth.

Slowly and methodically.