Ash turned his attention to Kelvin, not uttering a single word for a while. It didn't take long for Kelvin to notice the intense glare directed at him.
Panicking, he too looked at Ash, a trail of sweat forming at the corner of his face.
"What? Do you have something to say to me?" he asked, his voice a tad bit shaky.
Then Ash replied,
"No one has to make up for anything just because you have an incompetent mage on board. You don't have to worry about anyone else; we can take care of ourselves."
His words obviously ignited a bit of anger within Kelvin.
The same couldn't be said for Echidna, who was more intrigued than anything else.
"What did you say? Do you have any idea who my father is?" Kelvin snarled.
"No, did your mother never tell you?" replied Ash, a calm look on his face.
This made Kelvin even angrier.
The audacity of Ash to speak to him with such disrespect began to get the better of him.
"My father is one of the top 20 strongest adventurers in the entire Lumberg Kingdom! He's strong enough to fight alongside the summoned heroes, so who the hell do you think you are to speak to me as though we are equals?"
He went on,
"My mage here lacks the needed necessities to protect us in case of a beast attack. As weaklings, it's your duty to provide her with what she needs."
The very next minute, as though no one had been speaking to him at all, Ash turned his attention towards Aisha and began a new conversation.
"I searched the shop and couldn't find a sword you might like. You might have to stick to the one you're using for a while."
Aisha replied, "Master, I told you I am fine with this one. It's good enough."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's light and resonates well with my mana. Please don't worry about getting me another weapon."
As their quiet conversation went on, Kelvin watched, totally speechless at the sight.
The fact that someone as unimportant as Ash could ignore him so easily pissed him off even more than usual.
"Pftt! Bwahahah!" Echidna burst out laughing. "They totally ignored you! Hahah!"
"Stop laughing at once!" Kelvin turned to her, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
Echidna kept on laughing, her voice getting louder as she fell on her side on the chair, laughing her ass off.
"Dammit! I challenge you to a duel! Right now!" Kelvin jerked up from his seat, pulled out his blade, and pointed it directly at Ash. "You are an adventurer, are you not? Good, prove yourself like a true man and face me!"
Ash didn't care one bit. Actually, he had already planned to ignore him once again.
However, the case was entirely different for Aisha.
Clank!
In the blink of an eye, she drew her sword, slashed it against Kelvin's blade, and sent it flying right out of the moving carriage.
With her eyes dark with seriousness, she uttered in a low tone, "Don't point a blade at my master."
Those were her words, and Kelvin was sure he heard them clearly.
Still, how was she able to smack the sword away from his grasp so fast? Even if it was unexpected, the speed at which she did it was unreal.
For a second there, he was certain she had aimed for his head and only changed her mind at the last second.
Scared, he tumbled back a bit. "What the hell?" he blurted out.
Suddenly,
"HAHAHAH!" Echidna's laugh rang out once more. "You're a gold-rank warrior, and a girl just knocked a blade from your hand!"
Kelvin frowned at the comment, gradually masking his growing embarrassment.
As if that weren't enough, Ash's low voice soon echoed through the carriage.
"I know this is annoying, but knocking his blade away is not worth the trouble."
Aisha had a sad look on her face. "S-sorry, I just didn't like the fact that he had a blade pointed at you."
"I know," Ash said, petting her on the head. "Give him back his sword."
"Hai."
Without a single second wasted, Aisha leaped out of the carriage and onto the road.
Both Kelvin and Echidna were shocked to see how she jumped out of the fast-moving carriage without a hint of hesitation.
Then, the following moment, she had appeared right back in the carriage, seated beside her master while holding the blade she had knocked outside only a few moments ago.
"Here you go, your sword. And I'm sorry for attacking you like that," Aisha spoke to Kelvin, glaring at him hard as she stretched the blade towards him.
Though she was indeed apologizing, the expression she had on her face showed otherwise.
Still stunted by the feat he had just witnessed from a woman who looked so weak, he silently took the sword from her and walked back towards his seat.
Once Kelvin had grabbed the sword, Echidna took it upon herself to console him, despite the fact she was desperately trying not to laugh.
Accidentally, she managed to catch Ash's attention.
'I remember her saying she was a mage class. If she needs a book to cast her spells, then she must be a sorcerer or another job under the mage class. That must mean she is also a gold rank as well.'
Thinking back to what he knew, people under the mage class who are gold rank and lower are only capable of casting easy spells, such as elemental spells, speed, strength enhancement, and so on, depending on where they major.
But after the gold rank, a new job is offered or unlocked, and the individual grows at a much faster pace.
'She's strong for sure. Something about her freaks me out, so I'll just remain clear for now.' Ash turned his gaze back to the system. 'I just have to endure this for the period of this trip, and then we'll go our separate ways.'
…
A few moments later, the group arrived at the path leading to the Monster Hill Valley.