Versus the Bandits
“Huh? What’s this, a Tamer?”
“No, where the hell did that thing come from? The only one with her was that dog, right?”
“Doesn’t matter—get her! But don’t kill her. She’s a looker, we can sell her for a good price.”
The bandits were saying something, but I ignored them and spoke to my contracted beasts through telepathy.
—Meteor, there’s an archer hiding in a tree about ten meters from here. Take care of him.
—Got it.
Meteor took off toward the tree where the archer was hiding.
—Pearl, handle the small fry and keep them in place. Rosso, you after that… uh, are you mad?
—Of course I’m mad! I was taking a nap… and these guys—these guys just had to show up…!
Whoa, Rosso’s eyes are scary.
Rosso loves sweets and naps. If either gets interrupted, his mood turns nasty.
—O-Once this is over, I’ll have Assist-chan bring out some cake for you. Anny gave me a special one just for you.
—Really? Anny did? Okay then, I’ll do my best! Let’s go, Pearl!
Saying that, Rosso hopped onto Pearl’s back.
Alright then, I’ll handle the guy with the machete.
While we were communicating telepathically, one of the men crept closer, closing the distance inch by inch. Of course I noticed him—but I waited until he tried to slash me from behind, then dodged.
We faced each other, and I threw a kunai. The man blocked or avoided the flying blades with his machete, none hitting their mark.
“Heh, what’s the matter? That all you got? You can’t hit me like that.”
He grinned smugly. I smiled right back.
“Huh? … What the—my legs won’t move!?”
There were two types of kunai I’d thrown—one ordinary, and one wrapped with Giant Spider silk.
That silk, far stickier than a normal spider’s, was something I’d worked hard to adapt for use with kunai, together with Old Man Tom.
I’d thrown the silk-wrapped kunai in a circle around the man, and the regular ones were aimed in ways that subtly guided him into stepping into the sticky web. Without realizing it, he’d trapped himself.
While he was distracted, I teleported behind him and chopped him in the neck with a hand strike, knocking him out.
Belle returned, staring around the wagon with a blank look.
“Ah, Belle. Good work.”
“Joan, this is…?”
In her line of sight were three men standing frozen solid from the feet to the chest, another man with Meteor’s bite and claw marks all over his face and his torso encased in ice, and one more wrapped in Giant Spider silk, unconscious. And all five of them were stripped down to their underwear, every bit of visible hair shaved clean off. Rosso’s Wind Blades had left the ground littered with loose hair.
“Uh… bandits?”
“No, I mean—why are they bald?”
“Ah… they made Rosso mad.”
“Ahh. That explains it…”
Belle and I tied the bandits up with rope, and I didn’t forget to give them each a hand strike like the machete guy to keep them from struggling.
“Thanks for waiting! I’m opening up now!”
I pulled open the wagon’s cover. The passengers, upon seeing our faces, all relaxed in relief—then froze again when they looked outside at the bandits.
“““““““...…”””””””
“Ah, don’t worry, they’re alive.”
“That’s… not the issue here…”
“You girls were really strong, huh.”
“Yeah, but still… kinda feel sorry for the bandits.”
We discussed how to bring them along, and I raised my hand.
“I’ll run alongside and take them with us.”
“Run? As in, on foot?”
“Nono, I’m a Tamer. This one can get big, so… Pearl.”
At my call, Pearl grew to her full size.
““““““!””””””
“Whoa, so she wasn’t a dog, she’s a wolf? Amazing!”
Thanks to the little girl’s comment, the rest of the passengers accepted that explanation easily—which was exactly what I’d planned to say anyway.
“Uh, miss… are you sure that’s safe?”
“Hm? Sure it is.”
The coachman’s worry was understandable.
I’d tied the bandits’ wrists together with rope, holding the other end while riding Pearl—dragging them along as we ran. Like how a sheriff in some old western would haul criminals.
Thanks to magic tools, the main road was clear of snow even in winter, though it was still unpaved and uneven, with puddles, stones, and—worst of all—horse droppings. Pearl made a point of running right through those.
Every time she did, the bandits screamed. “Ugh!” “Gah!”—a fine variety of noises.
After about thirty minutes of dragging, we reached the checkpoint town.
The gate guards, understandably horrified, accepted the unconscious bandits. Turns out they were wanted men—robbers who’d been attacking travelers in nearby towns. Their faces looked slightly different from the wanted posters, but when they came to and saw me, they immediately begged the guards for help and confessed on the spot. No doubt about it.
＊＊＊＊＊
“Man, I still can’t get over those bandits yesterday!”
“Right? They came in all tough, but then bawled to the guards, ‘Help us!’”
“Well, can’t blame ’em.”
“Nope.”
““Ahaha!””
The merchant and the coachman laughed together.
“Really, though, I’m glad you girls were our escorts.”
“Yeah, you were so cool, sis!”
“And Pearl’s so cute and strong too!”
The grandmother and her grandkids, Shaun and Hal, chimed in.
“Thank you. I had a great time traveling with you all too. And I learned a lot from you, ma’am.”
During our breaks, the old lady had taught me about wild herbs and the Norden territory.
By the way, the two young men and the beautiful woman had gotten off at the previous stop.
“Hey! We’re almost there. Look, you can see the gate ahead!”
Following the coachman’s call, I looked forward to see Norden’s gate coming into view. Once we passed through safely, Belle and I stepped down from the carriage.
“Thanks for everything, girls. If I ever need guards again, I’ll hire you for sure.”
“Thank you very much.”
“It was fun.”
After getting his signature on our job form, we said goodbye to everyone we’d traveled with and headed toward the Adventurers’ Guild we’d been told about.
What do you think about this chapter?
