Legend

"Why did you let him get away with it so easily? You really think a bandit's gonna change his mind?

With a strange look on his face, he shakes the death size he had wide to blow the blood that was on the blade, once through the magic, then confirms that the death size is in full condition, and returns to mystering.

It was Taenia who looked at her like that, but she flaunted her shoulders in a small way at Ray's gaze, which was directed at her again.

"I, too, have nothing to say about the bandits seriously regretting what they did... I don't think so. But you can't help it, can you? It's my employer's request."

"... what?

"Now, let's join Mr. Alektor and the others. I think it explains it well."

Saying so, Taenia leaves Ray and Seto on the spot and just returns.

Even if we drop off the hindsight for a few seconds, we eventually exhale a small sigh and follow the forest at night where the smell of blood and guts drifts as it is.

The fire, already burned with the magic of the first flames used by Ray, was extinguished, and only countless corpses left in the darkness of the night remained later.

(I guess I should burn it while I'm at it...)

Though I think so on the inside, I can't do the work alone in this darkness, so I'll put the body behind me and go back into the woods to rendezvous with Alektor first.

"Mr. Ray! You're safe and above all!

The first person to speak to Ray and Seto who came out of the woods. That naturally was Alektor, who was also the leader of this merchant army.

I greet one and one with a grin, not saying anything about it in particular, although I move a small brow in surprise at how Ray's robe doesn't have a single piece of blood attached to it.

"So, why bother imitating a bandit? Would you dispose of it on this occasion... or would you rather take it to the city as a criminal slave and sell it?

"Yeah. At first I thought about that, too. But as you can see from the current state of the carriage, there's absolutely no room to keep the bandits locked up. You can tie him up with a string and let him walk, but under the current circumstances, where there are only three escorts, Mr. Ray and Shizuku Reishi, there's no reason to turn him over to your surveillance, and even if we keep an eye on him, he's not in charge, so he's likely to get away. To be honest, selling as a criminal slave is a shame considering the losses we've suffered this time."

"... then why didn't you kill him?

It was not Alektor who answered that question, but Taenia who was vigilant around him as an escort next to him.

"Ray, as soon as Seto's around, but you don't realize there's no Luid flying in?

"Hmm? If you say so, sure."

"Gru?"

Seto with Ray and Taenia's gaze pointed and his neck tilted.

Indeed, from previous experience, it was odd that Luid, who Seto should hold on to as soon as he showed up, did not show up.

"What's going on?

"I can see Louid, and he's good at covert operations. Well, as an archer, it's not that uncommon."

Taenia is right, many archers take the fighting style of shooting a bow by erasing signs. I guess Luid is one of them again.

And if they say that much, it ties the reason why Rueed isn't here, who specializes in the bandits and covert actions he let go earlier in Ray's brain.

"... I see. Did you intentionally miss by imitating them to take the fainted man to find their Azito?"

"Well. There's no bandit even for a merchant like Mr. Alector. I've never crossed it, and the same goes for adventurers who escort like us. And there's probably some savings in the bandits' aside.... you can expect a share, right?

"Yeah. As a merchant, reducing the number of bandits is our top priority. Of course, I'd like to have some share here too... I'm not saying I can't do that there"

Alector had another grin that included something as well, in a grin that included Taenian prankiness.

Fabel smiles bitterly at the interaction between her leader and her employer, and she smiles belligerently again.

They're the ones who came here to kill themselves without question. We didn't think we needed to do anything about it again.

"That's why... Ray's gonna cooperate, right?

To Taenia's eyes, who asks so, he has a strong gaze all the time when he lets Ray cooperate, no matter what.

At any rate, you better have more power than to raid the bandit Ajito. More than that, it's nearly impossible to wipe out Shizuku Reishi alone than it turns out to have nearly 20 enemies left, because it's the combination of Ray and Seto who were able to kill nearly 30 bandits with overwhelming combat power in a short amount of time.

"I don't mind that... then I'll take precedence over the bandits' treasures?

And naturally, even as Ray, he insists on the priority of the reward more than he knows his power is a necessity for this operation.

A sizeable band of bandits, more than 50. When that happened, it was a decision that some of the treasures that would naturally be in Ajito would be ray-preferred magic items or likely to be used as weapons for throwing.

"... you can't help it. But don't be too greedy."

Even for Taenia, I understood who had the lead in this place, so I stabbed the nail a little and the negotiations would come to an end.

Then, by the time the moon set, Louid finally came back.

"Thank you for waiting."

"Hey, isn't it too late?

"Because. We've been busy, too, huh? I wish I could have come back sooner. Besides, there's no better speed than carrying someone who's passed out."

To Fabel's words, Louid protests with her cheeks swollen.

"Well, let Favel be around that. Any more information on Ajito's location than that? According to the bandits who interrogated me, it's a cave in the back of this forest."

"Yeah, there was definitely a bunch of bandits in the cave. But it was a trap or something, so you might want to be careful."

"... I see. That's exactly how careful you are."

"So, who's going? Me and Seto, okay?

"Hmm, that's kind of hard. I think Ray and Seto are enough for the war, but we want to go."

That was Taenia whining, but inside, if we don't get people out of our own party, it was Ray thinking about the possibility of uprooting something good from the burglars' accumulated treasure.

(Whatever, Ray has an item box. So no matter how much treasure the bandits piled up first, they can't prove it.)

"But isn't that going to imbalance your power? We are only escorts of the merchants, and this bandit's exorcism is only at last. And yet, besides me and Seto, if you come this way, your escort will be too neglected."

"Right. So I'm going to have Seto and Ray split up on two hands. Bandit exorcism is Ray, Louid, me. The guards are Seto and Favel."

"Uh, I'd better be with Seto too -. All the fabels are sloppy."

"... I wonder if that would be the case if we divided it as a force of war. I'm sorry, but that's fine with me."

Fabel nods lightly at Taenia's instructions, and Luid, who wants to play with Seto, complains, but is returned the words to Taenia as if they were frightened.

"What are you talking about? In the first place, you're the only one who knows exactly where Azito is. I'm going, too, so show me around.... Can I have Ray?

"Right...... right. Surely when it comes to evenly dividing the forces of war, should I and Seto be separated?... Seto, can you ask me to escort the merchants?

"Gru."

Leave it to me, Seto, who just rings in the back of his throat.

I smile small at the look of it and stroke my head.

"That's all right, isn't it, Mr. Alector?

"Oh, of course. I would very much like to ask you to crusade the bandits so that the other merchants will not be sacrificed. We are here..."

It was when Alector said so. Ray opens his mouth remembering himself and the bandits Seto killed earlier.

"I'm sorry, would you mind cleaning up the bodies of the bandits in the woods? I don't think it's going to rot that way because it's winter now, but it could rot and spread weird diseases if we let it go until spring like this, or it could be undead. Besides, it could attract strange monsters as bait."

Alektor thinks about Ray's words for a little while, and eventually nods.

"Okay. It won't be long before we cross this street, but it's also possible that other merchants and travelers will be harmed. Besides, having a corpse nearby that could be undead doesn't feel good to go over the night here, does it? However, you will receive the equipment used by the bandits here..."

Given the damage suffered in the Icebird raid, it was Alektor's genuine desire to make money where he could make a little money. It will be in the bandit's Ajito. It doesn't change that treasure is destiny, but it will actually cross the majority to the adventurers who raid. Then it wasn't such a bad choice to keep the bandits' gear even if it was only the end money.

And I expected Alector to mention that extent even for Ray, so I nodded without any particular hesitation.

"Okay. Then shall we move on to action soon? Louid, please."

"Uh... I'm Seto and..."

"Louid."

Whimpering, Taenia sends her strong gaze to Louid.

"Okay. Yikes.... over here -"

Exhaling, Luid enters the woods at night trying to lead the two Rays and Taenias with his bow in his hand.

"Seto. Well, I asked for your escort."

"Gru."

"Favel, too. Don't skip it. Work properly."

"I know. Nice souvenir for me, too. I bought a shield. It's tough."

"Well, if you're a good girl, I'll bring you a souvenir."

"Yes, Mother"

"Who's your mother? I don't need kids like you."

To Fabel's words, Taenia looks disgusted just to say if this is still the case.

"What, you didn't do it first. Anyway, this place is well protected by me and Seto, so if you're a bandit, please."

Sent to the voice, the three proceeded into the woods at night to ambush the bandits into Asia.

Three shadows go through the woods at night, making as little noise as possible.

Needless to say, it is Louid who precedes him, and Ray and Taenia who are after him.

It seems that Luid originally had a good night's eye, or no particular uncertainty as to whether it was the path he had taken earlier, and he goes on through the woods surrounded by the darkness of the night. As far as Ray is concerned, the flesh itself was originally equipped with the ability of dark vision, so there is no sign of any difficulty in following Rueed.

But Taenia, the only of the three who had no dark vision capability unless the night was handy, was desperate to follow after those two.

Or if the moon that was out in the night sky had not hidden in the clouds, it would have been able to secure its sight, albeit somewhat. No, even if the moon was bright and shining, though the lights might not have come in, covered with tree branches, other than being woods.

"Hey, hey. We're both a little slower...... Yikes!

Taenia floats at the roots of a tree rising from the ground and is about to fall as-is. But still, it must be the Rank D Adventurer who was able to reach toward the trunk of the tree and avoid falling.

"Already. Taenia can do as much as an adventurer can do."

"Don't be impotent! I was originally a normal adventurer. I don't care if they expect me to imitate running through the woods at night like Louis. Mostly because Luid is an archer and trained to move in the mountains, how can he normally travel through the darkness like this until Ray!

Taenia turns her gaze to Ray, who is moving next door just to say it's unreasonable. The moon is hidden in clouds, blocked by tree branches that are also growing around it with regard to the slight moonlight that pours further down. I voice resentment at the two people who keep traveling as if that doesn't affect them at all.

(Even if Louid is training, he's wearing a robe like that, and he's even wearing a hood...)

"I don't care if you look at me like that. I was smart at night and lived in the back of the mountain with my master until a little while ago. With this much light, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

"Ugh..."

"Ha, I can't help it. Yes, Taenia. Grab my hand."

There are already several scratches of things that are likely to fall and are not seriously injured. Looking at Taenia like that, Luid just reaches out if he can't help it.

"I can't help it... to people..."

"Wait."

Ray's hand blocks Taenia's mouth from saying anything.

"Mmmm!?... Hmm?

It was Taenia who opened her eyes to Ray's sudden actions, but she probably felt something was happening when she noticed Ray looking sharply behind the forest. Taenia also lurks her breath and turns her gaze to the back of the forest.

And ahead of sight. I notice that it's brighter that we were about to go out. At the same time, a voice like a cry comes into my ear.

I guess you thought Taenia had settled down. As Ray's hand, who was holding his own mouth, leaves, he turns his gaze toward Ray and Louid and opens his mouth small.

"What happened?

"I don't know. But I'm pretty sure we're not making a scene at the banquet.... Louid, the bandits are just ahead of us."

That's for sure.

"So... the bandits who failed our raid are being scolded by their heads?

"No, probably not."

Ray immediately denies Taenia's words.

"Why?

"Go and you'll see."

Return your words briefly and continue walking toward the bandits' aside.

Frowning at the smell of the massive amount of blood that drifts.