Year 141_Keireki Era_Spring/08
Yo.
I'm a bandit.
This time, it's a young body, unusual. The body's agility is different.
From the original memory, there doesn't seem to be any useful information about this body.
Parents unknown, foster parents unknown, a typical case of a bandit child who grew up on their own.
Naturally, there's no outstanding ability either.
“Boss, are you serious?”
A voice comes through.
While listening to it, let's understand the surrounding situation.
This is along the highway, bandits are lurking in a reasonably dense forest.
The number of bandits following the boss is quite large.
It seems like something akin to group division has already been done, and the voices are a bit distant.
The fact that group division is done means there are that many people.
Roughly counting, there are over thirty of them. If there are those already in position, could there be forty or fifty?
This scale is quite rare.
I feel like there were many more people at the maximum number I experienced, but memories fade rapidly.
Let's conclude that this is the largest number in recent times.
Everyone's equipment is mixed.
The equipment given to me is light armor made of leather and a shabby sword full of nicks.
Hmm, I don't know what we'll be made to do as a group, but this equipment is quite unreliable.
Rather than wielding such a sword, it might be more useful to throw stones, so let's find some suitable stones.
“Yeah, of course I'm serious. That's why I've gathered the numbers.”
The Boss boasted about the number of people he gathered and the effort.
He arrogantly talked about incorporating people from near some village, people hiding in some cave, even bandits gathered by someone's brother, and even reaching out to rivals.
“But kidnapping someone from the Adventurers' Guild is insane.”
Unfortunately, the speech about effort and diligence didn't seem to resonate with the subordinates.
A decent nerve can't be a bandit.
In other words, that subordinate doesn't seem to have a personality suited for being a bandit.
There aren't many people who can choose their jobs, so such unfortunate personnel matters often happen.
“Can you do bandit work with sanity?”
The Boss said irresponsibly.
“They even have guards, though.”
“It's not like there are guardian knights or anything. It's just adventurers, right? With these numbers, it will be a walk in the park.”
Kidnapping someone from the Adventurers' Guild is indeed reckless.
If you do such a thing, you don't know what kind of request will be created at the guild in retaliation.
Moreover, I've heard that guild members need to have a decent level of skill to be formally employed.
Besides, if they even have guards, the kidnapping plan that the Boss is likely planning sounds like nothing more than a suicide mission.
However, this might be a chance.
By pretending to be dead without participating in the fight, If they can successfully be wiped out during that time, another adventurer opportunity might...
“Hey, we need to go soon.”
“The kidnapping team is so tense.”
“They are much better off than facing directly with the guards.”
They started moving, and he yelled,
“What are you doing! Hurry up and go!”
Huh? Am I part of the kidnapping team too?
… Even if I'm pretending to be dead, I need to consider the timing, or it could be like playing dead in front of a bear.
The substitute for a bear, of course, is the bandits.
The battle has begun.
Almost all of the bandits, including the boss, were involved in a melee to distract the guards.
The members of the kidnapping team, hiding and bypassing, were approaching the carriage.
As expected of the Adventurers' Guild, it seems they've mobilized adventurers as guards, and their tactical level is high.
Naturally, the individual capabilities to execute this are also high.
From a glance at the guards, there were three of them.
A male greatsword user, a scout-like person whose gender is unclear, and a female monk.
The man had a bulky weapon, but his armor wasn't much. It seems he prioritized ease of movement.
The scout-like one is bouncing around at quite a speed, so I couldn’t see clearly.
The female monk seemed to be the most clad, with equipment that prioritized defense.
Gambeson and shield, no weapon. No staff.
I've heard that having a wand makes handling ink easier, so maybe she's not a Petitioner.
The bandits were being cut down as if tearing paper.
The bandits, who were probably the Boss's proud friends, seemed to be getting scattered in a manner that didn't match his own efforts.
However, that might have been the Boss's plan all along.
The frontline relying on numbers successfully separated the guards from the carriage.
In truth, the situation was just sheer luck, with the horses starting to run, causing the guards to be separated.
No, maybe there was someone sharp-eyed among the people the Boss gathered, and that person did something to the carriage.
I have a desire to keep observing them, but my planned actions after this──namely escaping──would be suspicious to my comrades.
I had no choice but to follow the kidnapping team from behind.
I witnessed them approaching the Adventurers' Guild's carriage and destroying the door.
After a while, it seemed the bandits successfully captured a guild member.
I heard vulgar laughter, and then it quickly disappeared.
The first intruder rolled out in front of the other bandits waiting outside the carriage.
It seems he got stabbed with a dagger by the person inside after boarding and died. Rest in peace.
Seeing that, the second wave rushed into the carriage.
I heard a woman's voice scolding the bandits, so the person inside was a woman.
She seemed to be saying something to them, but it's useless, or rather, it just ignites their dark desires. I don't recommend it.
Apparently, she let go of her dagger and was dragged out by the next ones.
What do you think about this chapter?
