Skeleton Knight, in Another World (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

New Mercenaries on the Block

“HUH, so the transportation stone took you to the western empire?”

Ariane had just finished explaining what we’d done yesterday after teleporting to Glenys over breakfast.

“Kyiiii!”

Ponta was busily eating its breakfast salad at her feet while I cut a notch into Glenys’ freshly baked bread, lining it with thin slices of ham, lettuce, and mayonnaise to make a sandwich before taking a big bite out of it. The ham was nice and salty. No complaints here.

It was a bit of a bizarre sensation to be able to taste food, despite being a skeleton with no tongue.

After registering at the mercenary guild in the city of Rontestatt on the border of the Great Revlon Empire, we left the guild and found a suitably shadowed place 

to use my long-distance teleportation magic to bring us back to Lalatoya.

Upon our return, I gave a brief report to Dillan, the village elder, took a bath to wash away the day’s grime, and had some dinner before going to bed. I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed, probably thanks to having spent all day walking around town.

“So are you going back to the empire today? Do you think you’ll find the cardinals?” Glenys asked Ariane as she ladled bean soup into bowls.

Ariane took the bowl and shook her head.

“We’ll be going to the city again, but today we’re going to take on a job we received from the mercenary guild. The hunt for the cardinals is on hold for now.”

“A job from the guild?” Glenys sounded surprised.

As a matter of fact, it had all been decided right after we’d finished registering our name with the mercenary guild.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that name?” the guild staff member had asked, seeking to confirm that my mind was set on the name we’d chosen.

After each offering up our own suggestions, we ultimately settled on Turbulent Ponta Patrol. For an impromptu name, I actually quite liked it. In fact, any of the names he’d suggested would have just made me uncomfortable.

“It’s fine by me.”

I looked over at Ariane and Chiyome, neither of whom had any objections. Ariane just shrugged her shoulders. “The whole point of having a group name is to tell them apart from one another, right? It certainly does that.”

Chiyome also nodded in agreement. It seemed neither of them had particularly strong feelings about what we called ourselves, anyway.

“Any name that makes it easy to tell us apart is fine by me.”

The man muttered his assent, apparently having given up on trying to change my mind. He went back to filling in the paperwork before pausing again a moment later and turning to look up at me.

“And who is in charge of the group?”

Judging by the way he was focused on me, it seemed he was seeking confirmation rather than actually asking. However, I turned toward Ariane. I figured she would naturally be the leader, especially since I’d always been working under her directives. Much to my surprise, though, she casually shook her head and took herself out of the running.

I looked at Chiyome next, but she also shook her head, making it clear where she stood on the matter.

“Well, if we’re going to be going by the Turbulent Ponta Patrol, how about we make Ponta the leader?”

I hefted Ponta in both hands and held it in front of the man’s face. Ponta let forth a mighty cry, ready to take on the duty.

“Kyii! Kyiii!!”

The man laughed, an amused smirk rising to his lips. “Well, uh, unfortunately we can’t exactly list an animal who can’t communicate what it wants, so…”

I glanced down at Ponta. As far as I was concerned, it was quite easy to understand what Ponta wanted, but I wasn’t in a position to cause undue hardship to the guild.

I puffed out my chest.

“All right then, I’ll serve as the substitute leader.”

“Kyii!”

The man, clearly tired now, wrote down my name as the group leader.

Once that was done, we were handed three bronze tags, each of which were relatively simple in design with the exception of the three spears etched on the front signifying our Third Rank status. There was a hole in the top of the tag which you could slip either a chain or string through to hang it from your neck or waist.

I was mumbling to myself about needing to find a leather strap or something later in the town market to hang the tag on, when the man suddenly spoke up once more, offering an assortment of chains and leather strips…all at extra cost, of course. He was quite the salesman. Sure, it would be cheaper to get one at the market, but the cost meant nothing to me. 

I bought three leather strips and slipped the tags onto them. Once I hung the bronze tag from my neck, I instantly felt like an adventurer in a video game. Alas, I had yet to encounter anyone with the job title of adventurer here in this world.

Now that I really thought about it, though—from hunting monsters and bandits to collecting materials and hunting down items, there was very little adventure in what in-game adventurers actually did. If anything, you were generally serving as a hunter or mercenary, or maybe performing delivery jobs for craftsmen. The most adventurous job quest I could think of was exploring ruins and caves.

But if heading through wild fields and deep into forests without a map could be considered an adventure, then it was no exaggeration to say traveling anywhere in this world devoid of any properly documented maps was an adventure in its own right. In fact, even just walking around in this world that I knew nothing about could be described as a constant adventure. Looking at it that way, maybe I actually was an adventurer, even if not in title.

I handed the man a gold coin to pay the three-silver-coin fee for the leather strips. When he tried to hand me my change, I raised my hand to stop him and made one more request.

“Keep the change. In return, it’d be really helpful if you could think up a job that we could do to contribute to the guild.”

I looked down at the man across the counter from me. First off, we wanted to take a job where we could learn more about the city while simultaneously increasing our rank in the guild. But what kind of jobs could Turbulent Ponta Patrol do to raise us to Third Rank Silver? Not only were we a small party, but newly formed at that. There were likely few jobs available to us that would be considered immensely useful to the guild, but I figured paying some kind of finder’s fee might make that process a bit easier.

The man looked over the gold coin in his hand for a few moments before raising his head and meeting my gaze.

“I can’t really say that it pays well, but there’s a request that hasn’t met its quota of required people. How about it? The request is from an imperial office, so it’ll be a great contribution to the guild, to say nothing of the pay.”

The three of us exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

“Could you assign that job to us?”

***

Once we were done telling the story of what happened at the mercenary guild, Glenys cocked her head to the side. “So, what job did you ultimately agree to take?”

“We were told it’s a job protecting the chemists’ guild while they go hunting for materials,” I responded. “Apparently, some imperial researchers are running short on materials, so around twenty chemists or so will be sent out to the fields to gather supplies. Several mercenary groups are coming along to protect them.”

“Well, it sounds like you scored a big job for your first assignment.” Glenys smiled cheerfully, though she looked a bit surprised.

Perhaps it was thanks to the staff member, or just a stroke of luck that the quest was short a few people. Apparently, the pay wasn’t much to speak of, but since we were more interested in finding jobs which would contribute to the guild than focusing on money, I figured it would do us good to find more jobs like it in the future. With the group we’d put together, we should be able to pick up all kinds of unclaimed jobs, and hopefully gain some recognition from the guild for picking up jobs other groups wouldn’t touch.

Of course, that meant we had to do this job perfectly, or else it’d all be for naught.

Ariane finished her bean soup and stood. “We better head for the city if we want to make it in time to meet up with everyone.”

Ponta was the first to respond. “Kyii.”

Having licked its plate clean, it easily hopped up onto the table before bounding up Ariane’s shoulder, wrapping itself around her neck, and giving its tail a gentle wag.

“That’s right—they mentioned that we’d be doing a meet and greet with the other mercenary groups.” Chiyome also finished her breakfast, brought her hands together to thank Glenys, and then stood. Taking the hat hanging from the back of her chair, she pulled it down low over her head to ensure her ears were no longer visible.

I shoved the last of my sandwich into my mouth and slurped down the remaining soup. “Thanks for the breakfast, Glenys!”

“Of course. Now be careful out there.”

After picking up my sword and shield from where they sat in the corner of the room, I slung my coin-filled leather pouch around my waist and pulled my helmet down over my head in a well-practiced motion. Once done, I left the dining room.

Ariane and the others were already outside waiting for me as I descended the stairs and walked out the door into the garden.

“Ready to go?”

“Yep.” 

“I am.”

“Kyii! Kyiii!!” After the two of them responded, Ponta gave a mew of its own before diving to the top of my helmet.

“Transport Gate!”

Upon casting my long-distance teleportation magic, a magical rune appeared at our feet. A moment later, we found ourselves on the second floor of the empty house in Rontestatt.

“The place seems empty.” Chiyome scanned our surroundings as soon as we teleported in before looking back up.

I nodded in agreement. I stepped out of the room, then suddenly recalled what we’d seen the day before.

“Hey, maybe we should check out that room.”

Ariane seemed confused about what I was getting at until we made our way downstairs and I grabbed the doorknob leading to the open hall. I opened the door and peeked into the massive room on the other side. It was absolutely silent and lined with large wooden cells, just like the day before. Nothing looked disturbed, suggesting that whoever put the cells there hadn’t been back yet.

“Huh, doesn’t look like anything’s changed.” Chiyome stuck her head into the room after me and agreed.

“Seems that way.”

Ponta sniffed around at the air from atop my head, its nose twitching in an adorable way.

Just to be safe, we should probably find another site to use when teleporting out here. We continued discussing this as we left the building. Despite the early hour, there were quite a few people on the streets, lending a rather boisterous atmosphere to the world around us.

Ariane spoke from under the charcoal-gray cloak that fluttered with every step she took. “The meet-up spot was at the square in front of the northern gate, right?”

“I’m pretty sure that was it. I brought the proof of acceptance with me.”

I pulled out the wooden plaque I received from the guild staff the day before. It fit neatly within the palm of my hand and was simple in design, with only what I assumed was the job number written on it. This would serve as proof that we accepted the job when we showed it to the requestor at the meeting place. From what I’d heard, there were two other mercenary groups attending in addition to Turbulent Ponta Patrol.

I put away the plaque, asked a passerby for directions, and then headed down the street for around an hour or so before finally arriving at a wall so massive we could see nothing past it. As we got closer, I caught sight of an immense door.

There were a fair number of people in the square, though only one group stood out. What I assumed to be the mercenary group consisted of about thirty members, all outfitted in various types of weapons and armor. They were standing around four horse-drawn carts filled with approximately 20 unarmed workers dressed in work clothes. It seemed likely these were the people involved with our job.

At the center of the group was a figure who seemed to be managing the whole affair. Unlike all the others, this neatly dressed older gentleman had a scholarly look to him. Figuring he was in charge of the chemists’ guild that put out this request, we made our way toward him.

“Sorry for getting here so late. We are from Turbulent Ponta Patrol, and the mercenary guild gave us the job of providing protection for the chemists.”

As I spoke, I showed the man the plaque. He looked up at me and then up at Ponta, though his eyes went wide for a moment in surprise when their eyes met. He then glanced over at Ariane and Chiyome as they came up from behind and I once again caught a look of surprise on his face.

He then flipped through the papers in his hand and ran his finger down a column of what I assumed was a list of names of attendees before furrowing his brow and letting out a sigh.

“The guild reached out to me, sure, but I didn’t really think a mercenary group with a name like that would actually show up. And her, she’s just a child. I’ll have you know that since I’m the one paying here, I have no desire to babysit anyone who can’t fight.”

The researcher arched an eyebrow and looked back up at me.

Everything he said was correct. Even if mercenaries’ strength came in numbers, Chiyome’s age and figure raised questions about what she could add. Making matters worse, we were a small, untested party, up against two mid-size mercenary groups. If we weren’t equally skilled, we wouldn’t be able to hold our own. And yet, one of us was a little girl with no apparent combat prowess to bring to the table. Of course he would be upset.

The fastest way to ease his concerns would be to show him what she could do. I glanced over at Chiyome. She silently drew the dagger from her waist, spinning it around in the palm of her hand like a baton before hurling it high up into the air. She caught it deftly out of the air as it fell back down to the earth and slid the dagger back into its scabbard at her waist.

A novice would have shredded their hands to ribbons if they tried that. She did it all effortlessly. The researcher gaped at the sight of her flawless knife skills, unable to hide his surprise.

Alas, not everyone was impressed.

A man in his mid-twenties spoke up in a mocking tone as he approached.

“Heh, ain’t nothing more than a circus trick. If you plan on performing, why don’t you get outta here and show off in the town square?”

Standing around 180 centimeters tall, he wore his black hair cropped close to his head. He had a prominent nose and freckles and was dressed in well-worn black leather armor that clung tightly to his muscular build. A long-handled war axe hung from his back.

I figured he was from one of the two mercenary groups coming along for this job. Standing behind him were several others dressed in similar black armor, all of them looking quite amused as they watched the ongoing exchange between us.

Chiyome put her hand on the handle of her dagger and fixed the man with a deadly glare. “Would you be impressed if I were to kill you here and now, then?”

“Heh, now that’s an interesting challenge! I guess you wouldn’t be talking to me that way if you knew that I’m Gramn, leader of the Black-Fanged Dogs. It looks like you’ve got some decent equipment, but I have my doubts about letting a Third Rank Bronze group protect anyone, let alone one with girls.”

The man calling himself Gramn, apparently the leader of a group known as the Black-Fanged Dogs, held up a guild tag—a silver tag etched with a double-bladed axe, marking him as a Second Rank Silver mercenary—as he sneered.

It might seem like a simple threat, but I figured those in this line of work couldn’t allow themselves to be insulted by other mercenaries—not if they wanted to keep getting jobs. Responding to his threat and showing him what we could really do was probably the easiest way to resolve this.

I drew the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg from my back and spun it around before driving the blade into the ground, slicing effortlessly through the stone at my feet. I then gripped the hilt with both hands, spread out my feet, and glared at Gramn.

“Hm, perhaps the three of us could help you find out which of the black dogs are pups and which are the real thing. What do you think?”

“We’re the Black-Fanged Dogs!! You got guts, old man!”

My challenge set Gramn off, which in turn seemed to incite all the men behind him, as they each grabbed for their weapons. Realizing the impending danger, the researcher looked around wildly for someone to help him. 

Finally, two members of the other mercenary group stepped in to lend a hand.

“C’mon, let’s put those away. You guys can fight in front of a requestor all you want, but you’re just going to damage the guild’s reputation if you start fighting over who’s weaker. Try to have a little self-awareness, huh?”

He was a tall, young man with blue eyes and blond hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore lightweight gleaming armor with a dark hue to it, and a half-cloak depicting a beast being run through with a short sword on it, serving as a flag of sorts for his mercenary group. At his waist was an elaborately decorated longsword, giving him the impression of a true, dyed-in-the-wool knight—much like the kind that everyone mistook me for.

Dangling from his neck was a golden tag marked with a single sword—meaning he had reached Gold level, the highest available at the guild.

A tall woman wearing something like a white hijab stood silently behind the blond-haired, blue-eyed knight. She had jet-black hair, tanned skin, and cold azure eyes. She wore similar lightweight armor to the man, though she was armed with two short swords hanging from her lower back and a long, curved blade with an intricately decorated hilt hanging from her waist.

Tri-blade wielding? No way. Those must be her main and secondary weapons.

The woman’s attention had remained fixed on Chiyome from the moment she arrived. Chiyome silently returned her gaze.

Gramn merely clucked his tongue at their appearance. “Hngh, and who would dare speak up to the guild’s best boy and leader of the Silver Blades?”

The young knight responded to Gramn’s open hostility with a charming smile, as if nothing were wrong.

“I’m just trying to keep you from getting hurt, you know. My chief here told me that you don’t stand a chance against that girl.”

Gramn’s eyes went wide at this and he fixed the tall woman with an angry glare. Apparently, she was the second in command of the group.

“Whaddya say?! You sayin’ I’d lose to this little girl??”

A vein in Gramn’s forehead bulged as he shouted his abuse, but the young knight merely frowned at this.

“Being a woman’s got nothing to do with it. Have you already forgotten who my Meel here beat so effortlessly at his own game? If you keep damaging your reputation like this, it’s going to become all the harder for the Black-Fanged Dogs to ever reach First Rank Silver.”

He finished with an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders, though all Gramn could do was clench his fist in silence.

After a few moments, it seemed as if Gramn had finally backed down. He spat on the ground and stomped back toward the carts, his men in tow.

The researcher let out a loud sigh, immensely relieved to see the hostilities end, and turned toward the leader of the Silver Blades before bowing his head in appreciation.

“Thank you, Brad. We are immensely grateful that the mercenary guild would send along a First Rank Gold group such as the Silver Blades at a discount for this request. To say nothing of you leading the group yourself.”

The young man smiled at the researcher’s words.

“I volunteered for this request when the guild announced it as a matter of personal interest, which also allowed me to lower our rate. I’m very happy to be able to make the acquaintance of a new and talented mercenary group.”

“Talented?” A dubious look washed across the researcher’s face as he glanced over at me.

Brad continued to smile, responding with a firm nod. “My chief, Meel, has a keen eye for this sort of thing. According to her, all three of these people are incredibly gifted. And if that’s what Meel thinks, then I’m willing to stake the reputation of the Silver Blades on it.”

The researcher’s voice trembled, as if deeply impressed by Brad’s words. “Well, they must really be something for you to say that! In that case, I think it’s all but assured that we’ll have no trouble carrying out this task. All right then, let’s get this started.”

With that, the researcher bowed his head to Brad and headed toward the carts. After seeing him off, I turned toward the two Silver Blades.

“I apologize for the trouble we caused.”

Brad merely shrugged at my apology.

“Mercenaries tend to be a rough bunch. Besides, it wouldn’t look good for the guild if you guys wiped the floor with them. We were just acting in our own interests, so there’s no need to offer apology or thanks.”

He smiled and offered up his right hand, which I took in mine.

“I’m Brad, leader of the Silver Blades. This here is my chief, Meel.”

After his own introduction, he glanced over toward Meel. She met my gaze but continued to stand there in silence.

Chiyome, however, seemed greatly interested in this woman. I kept an eye on my young counterpart as I retrieved my sword from the ground and placed it on my back before introducing us and our newly founded mercenary group.

“I’m Arc, and this is the Turbulent Ponta Patrol. We created this mercenary group just yesterday.”

“Kyii!” Ponta introduced itself with a mew, puffing out its chest, right after my own introduction. Perhaps it was responding to the mention of Ponta Patrol?

The other two provided their own abbreviated introductions in kind.

“I’m Ariane.”

“Chiyome.”

Meel’s pupils narrowed slightly at the sound of their names. Seemingly unaware, Brad beamed and tilted his head to the side at this.

“What an interesting name. I suppose you’re the leader?”

He fixed his gaze on me as he spoke. I responded by pulling Ponta down from the top of my helmet.

“Actually, Ponta is our leader.”

Ponta batted its front legs playfully in the air at this and mewed excitedly. “Kyii!”

This seemed to have left Brad at a loss for words. To someone who took his mercenary craft seriously, this exchange was probably too bizarre to comprehend.

“I’m serving as his substitute,” I added.

Brad seemed to have figured out what I was getting at after a moment and loudly cleared his throat to refocus the conversation.

“You’re certainly a unique group. This isn’t the first time Meel has immediately recognized the talent of someone I’d never heard of before, but I don’t think we’ve ever met, have we? I’m certain I wouldn’t have forgotten you if we had. Are you not from here?”

It was clear that he’d been completely serious when he said he’d vouch for us based on Meel’s word alone. In that case, the woman standing behind him must have quite the eye for talent. Was it some kind of supernatural ability? Or were gifted fighters just able to pick each other out of a crowd? I certainly hadn’t reached that level of skill yet, so the concept was completely beyond me.

Although we’d found ourselves in a fairly large city, mercenary circles ran small. This influential member of that mercenary world was unfortunately right on the mark.

I told Brad the same story of how we’d come to the city that I gave at the mercenary guild the day prior.

“We arrived here only quite recently, having served as bodyguards for a merchant from Rhoden. I heard things have been rough here of late, so we decided to join the guild to see if it could earn us a bit more freedom.”

Brad didn’t seem to find anything suspicious with my story. He nodded his head once, seemingly convinced.

“I see. Mercenaries from other countries coming here isn’t all that uncommon. We get a lot of mercenaries from Soowihn up to the north, but Rhoden is another story altogether.”

Though he spoke with a smile, it was clear that this mercenary group leader was well informed of the surrounding geography and neighboring countries. If he asked too many questions about the neighboring lands, I knew he’d get me to spill the beans. It seemed best for me to change the topic as soon as possible.

“And, uh, this was Meel, right? You must have quite the eye to be able to tell at a glance how talented Ariane and Chiyome really are. I mean, sure, I was showing off a bit, but them? Chiyome often gets underestimated, and, uh…”

I trailed off with a chuckle.

Meel’s gaze ever-so-slightly turned toward me before she bowed her head in acknowledgement of my compliment. Brad laughed and spoke on his silent partner’s behalf.

“I may not be on her level, but even I could tell that you’re different from the usual novice mercenaries we encounter. Careful—if you’re too humble, people might think you’re making fun of them.”

I glanced over at Ariane. Judging by the unimpressed expression on her face, she wanted to say something. Apparently, she disagreed with something I’d said earlier…but practically speaking, there wasn’t much difference in skill level between the three of us when you took into account that we wouldn’t be using magic or special fighting techniques. In that sense, I hadn’t lied.

While I was lost in my own thoughts, I saw Meel lean over and whisper something to Brad.

“It looks like the requestor’s ready.”

Brad nodded in response. “Shall we get going, then?”

He turned on his heel and returned to his group.

After seeing them off, Ariane crossed her arms, looked up at me, and finally let me have it. “If you’re just a showoff, then what does that make me? And Chiyome?”

Ariane looked back at Chiyome for support but got no response. The young girl was still oddly transfixed by Meel, staring at her back.

“Hmm?”

“Kyii?” Even Ponta seemed curious about her reaction.

“What is it, Chiyome?”

She finally pulled her gaze away from the retreating figures to look back at me.

“No, I was just thinking that you, and of course Ariane and I as well, should avoid using any kind of showy magic or techniques in front of people. That woman, the chief, the way she was watching us reminded me of how we work as spies. Maybe she’s just scouting out talent for the group, but I think we should be careful around her.”

Ariane furrowed her brow at Chiyome’s suspicions. “Do you think she’s suspicious of us?”

I was wondering the same, though Chiyome shook her head at this.

“I don’t know. She’s a leader of one of the best mercenary groups in town, so maybe she’s just cautious around new people. In any case, it seems that we’ve caught their attention.”

I turned my gaze back toward the retreating Silver Blades.

We were planning to sneak around the empire, but now that we’d already caught the attention of some big names in the mercenary industry, we’d have to be careful how we acted within the guild going forward. If our identities were uncovered, it was highly possible that information would make its way to the fleeing cardinals.

Now that I thought about it, though…the combination of a mysterious sword-wielding beauty, a petite girl decked out in weaponry, and myself, a hulk outfitted in intricately designed body armor wearing a spirit animal on his helmet, was all but assured to draw attention no matter what we did. This was going to make it trickier to search for the cardinals in this city than I’d expected.

These thoughts continued to run through my head as we hurried toward the researcher, who was busily making his final checks at the center of the square.

***

Apparently, the chemists we were escorting were headed to the forests at the base of the mountain range northeast of the city. That was where the materials they sought grew in the wild. Though the forest wasn’t terribly deep, heading into the mountains alone was apparently tantamount to suicide, thanks to the monsters that roamed the mountainside.

With nearly thirty escorts in tow, however, spirits were high and the mood surprisingly relaxed. It seemed unlikely any monsters would show up against those odds.

“The pay may be low, but getting paid to just sit around and watch some people for half a day is fine by me!”

“Can’t hurt to earn some booze money before things really heat up with Aspania, huh? Gyahaha!”

The two men talking were members of the Black-Fanged Dogs. They were walking alongside the carts, without a single care for their surroundings, as it made its way along a barely visible rut leading toward the forest. 

On the other end of the spectrum, the Silver Blades moved in formation ahead of the carts, vigilant and with their hands on their weapons. Meel was walking out in front of the formation, almost as if to provide an example for the others. Honestly, the Silver Blades reminded me less of mercenaries and more of a military contingent, though I supposed that might very well be the difference between a First Rank Gold and Second Rank Silver group. If I were a local noble and needed to hire mercenaries to handle a dispute with a neighboring country, I’d definitely want to cough up the extra money to retain a group like the Silver Blades.

The newly formed Third Rank Bronze mercenary group, Turbulent Ponta Patrol, was all the way at the back of the formation. It was thanks to this positioning that I could analyze both groups with such care. Brad had decided how to situate everyone.

Ariane sighed, the annoyance clear in her voice. “Those guys are way too relaxed. I have no idea why they relegated us to the back of the formation.”

Chiyome spoke up from her position next to Ariane, clearly in agreement. “That’s right. Usually, you want the strongest people in the front and back of your formation. I was sure the leader of the Black Dogs would object when Brad announced that they would take the center.”

Gramn, the leader of the Black-Fanged Dogs, might have looked annoyed. But he wasn’t acting hostile toward us anymore, occupying himself instead with joking around with his comrades. Based on his behavior, he had no idea what the arrangement Chiyome mentioned actually meant.

If the man who was so intent on not being seen to be beneath us back in the town square truly understood, he would have been the first to oppose Brad’s proposal. Although I’d only known them a short time, I could easily imagine how we’d gotten here.

“Well, I guess he just wanted the easy job in the middle.” I shrugged and was met with a sympathetic mew from atop my helmet.

“Kyii!”

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t particularly good at reading the room, so it didn’t really make much difference where I was placed. Though I might be a skeleton with no actual eyes, I had good eyesight that would prove useful in a wide-open area. Unfortunately, the trees all around us made visibility poor. The only reason we were back here at all was most likely because the chief of the Silver Blades recognized Ariane and Chiyome’s sheer skill.

If we planned to avoid using showy magic or combat techniques in front of people while we were hunting down the cardinals, however, that left me to rely on my brute strength alone. I should probably work at being useful for things other than my teleportation magic.

About two hours after leaving the city limits, we were faced with the sight of an ominous forest. There were no paths for the carts to take, so the workers hefted large baskets onto their backs and spread out into the forest.

It had been explained to us back in the town square that the contract dictated half the mercenaries entering the forest would also carry baskets, but the members of the Black-Fanged Dogs now balked when handed theirs.

“Gimme a break, how can we protect anyone if we’re carrying junk on our backs?”

They did have a point.

If the escorts were slowed by baggage, it could endanger the very chemists’ guild members whom they were here to protect. However, these were the terms outlined in the contract. Both the requestor and the accepting party must have agreed to those terms when accepting the job.

The leader of the Silver Blades fixed the Black-Fanged Dogs’ leader with a cool gaze.

“It’s your job as leader to inform your people of the job details when accepting it. If you still have issues with this, then our members will take your place and you can stay here and guard the carts. Okay?”

The two men glared at each other for a moment, tension beginning to build, before Gramn averted his gaze.

“Gah, this is your job, ya hear?! If any of you idiots keep complaining, you’ll only get half pay!”

With that, Gramn shoved his assigned baskets toward nearby members of his group. While that was going on, I hurried over toward the members of the chemists’ guild.

Brad smirked at Gramn’s back before turning to me and handing us our baskets. “Sorry to do this to such a small group, but this is what was requested of us.”

He handed me two baskets.

“I’ll carry one, Arc.”

Chiyome immediately volunteered herself, but I merely shook my head. I threw one basket over my back and put the other under my arm.

“Nah, I think it’s best for me to carry these by myself. Besides, it could prove beneficial for the two of you to be unencumbered while playing escort in the forest.”

Ariane agreed. “Arc likes to show off, so we might as well let him carry the baskets.”

“Just leave the physical work to me.”

She shot a puzzled look my way at that and sighed.

I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. I looked toward Chiyome for an explanation, but she merely shrugged and urged us to join those getting ready to enter the forest.

“What’s that all about?”

As I watched my two companions head off, I received an equally confused mew from Ponta, along with a gentle swing of its tail.

“Kyii?”

Finally, the researcher who was the leader of the chemists’ guild gave us the order.

“We’re about to head out!”

With that, the members formed up and headed into the forest toward their objective with Meel, chief of the Silver Blades, and the researcher from the chemists’ guild up in the front. Apparently, he was going to lead the way to the harvesting spot.

The rest of the formation remained largely unchanged. There were no proper paths in the forest and we were limited to walking in pairs along animal trails. To give themselves room to use their weapons in the event of a monster attack, the mercenaries were placed in between small groups of chemists’ guild members. 

The Turbulent Ponta Patrol, however, had apparently been dismissed from our escort duties by the members of the Black-Fanged Dogs, leaving the three of us to continue holding up the rear. Well, at least it was easier work, since all we needed to do was keep an eye out until we arrived.

Chiyome, who was walking immediately in front of me, suddenly started to look behind us. I glanced back as well before asking her what was up.

“Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that I’m not so sure about leaving half of the Silver Blades’ members behind. I know someone needs to watch over the carts, but they’re so skilled…”

I nodded along, bringing my hand to my chin in thought as I looked at the head of the formation.

There were six members of the Silver Blades, including Brad and Meel, up front. We’d left around seven members back at the entrance of the forest to watch over the carts. If, as she mentioned, our job was to provide an escort, then it did make sense to have the more skilled Silver Blades provide protection while the Black-Fanged Dogs stood guard. 

However, even if the Silver Blades were highly ranked by comparison, the Black-Fanged Dogs weren’t too shabby themselves at a Second Rank Silver. Though there were certainly unimaginable monsters in this forest, based on what I’d heard, they were nowhere near as dangerous as those which inhabited the Great Canada Forest or the Black Forest down in the southern continent.

In that case, the Black-Fanged Dogs should be sufficiently skilled for the job.

“Maybe the Silver Blades are just giving their juniors, the Black-Fanged Dogs, an opportunity to show their stuff? Since the Silver Blades already have the highest rank attainable in the city.”

Ariane, bringing up the rear behind me, seemed convinced by this.

“It’s the same in our village. We give inexperienced warriors more active roles and have skilled warriors stand by. This doesn’t seem strange to me.”

Chiyome furrowed her brow at Ariane’s explanation. “Hmm, I guess that’s a possibility,” she mumbled to herself.

Since the mercenaries were an independent force hired for money, they were quite different from the warriors who protected the villages of the Great Canada Forest. But it didn’t seem out of the question for Brad to look out for the other men.

“Well, we’re just interlopers, so best to not worry about it and focus on our job here in the rear.”

My two comrades quickly agreed with my assessment and went back to watching our surroundings.

We continued walking deeper and deeper into the forest for some time.

With no signs of any monsters coming to attack us, our hike up the gently sloping mountain path, surrounded by the chirping of birds, began to feel like we were off on a picnic. Ponta grew tired after a while and curled up in the bottom of one of the baskets, snoring gently.

Eventually, the party arrived in a clearing where the trees were more spread out. I watched as everyone relaxed and took a breather, refreshed by the gentle breeze coming down from the mountain. Unlike the rest of the trail we’d followed up through the forest at the base of the mountain, this place looked more like a gentle hill covered in short grass, with a clear view of our surroundings. It was the perfect place to take a break.

Suddenly, the researcher said something to Meel. She nodded in response before turning to Brad. From how they were acting, it looked as if we’d arrived at our destination.

As if on cue, Brad proved me right by turning around after hearing Meel’s report and issuing a command.

“We’ve arrived at our destination. We’ll rest in shifts, and then the chemists will begin their work. While that’s going on, I want you to keep an eye on your surroundings and perform your role as escorts. Your individual sectors are as follows…”

As he went on to explain, there would be four sectors of responsibility: north, south, east, and west. Each group was assigned a sector. The Black-Fanged Dogs would watch over both the north and east sectors, as they had more members. The Silver Blades would watch the south, and the Turbulent Ponta Patrol would be responsible for the west.

The chemists needed the large baskets I was carrying for their work, so I would be handing them over now, but then be responsible for carrying them again on the way back. It seemed they were collecting some kind of medicinal herb, so I didn’t imagine they’d be terribly heavy, even when full.

“Nap time’s over, Ponta.”

“Kyuuun.”

Ponta let out a tremendous yawn as I picked it up by the scruff of the neck and handed the empty basket to the chemists’ guild members.

At Ariane’s direction, Ponta and I went to stand watch at a spot where the clearing met the forest, while she and Chiyome went into the forest to search for any threatening monsters. 

Considering our skill sets, this was the most reasonable proposal. If we were going to avoid using special fighting techniques and magic as much as possible, then I could serve as a wall by holding back any monsters that came into our space with my shield and stabbing them with my sword. Besides, the big sword on my back would be impractical to use in the forest.

With Ponta in charge of looking for any threats, we together were about as good as one whole person.

“We’re going to go look around the forest, okay, Arc? I doubt anything will happen, but we’ll call for you if a monster comes and we need any help.”

With that, Ariane and Chiyome slipped silently into the forest.

After waving goodbye, I set my bags down at my feet, drew my sword and spread my legs out into a stable posture and then leaned down on my sword for support as I gazed out into the forest.

The wind rustled down the gently sloping mountain, causing the trees in front of me to sway in the wind. I could hear the members of the chemists’ guild dispatched by the empire working busily behind me, but it all began to feel worlds away as I became entranced by the sound of the wind.

“Kyuuun.”

Ponta also seemed to be enjoying the breeze, stretching out its tiny body. I took that as a sign it hadn’t picked up on any noteworthy threats in the area.

However, no matter how good of a danger sensor Ponta may be, it was clear it would be to my benefit if I could detect threats on my own in the future. Glenys often said as much to me during our training sessions in Lalatoya, but it wasn’t a skill you picked up overnight. I would just have to use opportunities like this to hone my observation skills.

With that in mind, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and listened to my surroundings.

According to those who could actually sense the presence of others, it was completely unlike sight, sound, and smell. Such an abstract description was hard to process for a former human being who lived until recently in a science-based society.

Perhaps I should give up while I’m ahead. It’s not like I have any skin to sense a prickly sensation on to begin with.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, I suddenly heard the sound of flowing water off in the distance. Figuring it was just the flow of a nearby river, I turned my attention back to the forest spreading out before me and tried to focus on picking up a sign of Ariane or Chiyome.

Anyone who saw me probably thought I was napping, but I was completely serious. I furrowed my brow and groaned under my breath as I fought to sense their presence. However, after about a dozen or so minutes of that, my focus began to wane and I decided to take a break. Just as I was about to give up, I felt a troubled presence off in the distance.

Ponta, too, broke its silence and suddenly stood at attention.

“Kyii!”

I decided to finish up my practice there and turned my gaze in the direction of the disturbance, curious as to what had happened.

Next, I heard men screaming from the depths of the forest off to the northeast. The trees shook violently, birds resting in their branches took off in unison, and a thunderous, bestial roar echoed from the depths of the forest. It sounded nothing like the screams of the men from moments ago.

A moment later, I witnessed what looked like a black shadow burst from the depths of the forest and land in the clearing with an ominous squelch. The reddish-black figure was a mere piece of a grotesquely mutilated human.

The black armor still attached to the man identified him as a member of the Black-Fanged Dogs, though judging by the amount of torn flesh hanging off him, this was only his upper torso. Perhaps whatever attacked him had blown away his upper body, leaving his lower half in the forest.

With that much physical damage, healing or even revival would be difficult. In any case, using revival magic in front of all these people would make any future activities increasingly difficult.

“Waaaaaugh!!”

One of the members of the chemists’ guild who had been working in the area screamed, causing all the other members to throw their baskets and make a run for it.

Just then, members of the Black-Fanged Dogs came running out of the forest, a thunderous roar echoing behind them. They might not be the best out there, but a Silver-Rank mercenary group wouldn’t be so easily annihilated by a threat lurking in the forest.

Finally, a muscular monster with the head of a bull and body of a man—a minotaur—standing nearly three meters tall lunged through the shrubs in hot pursuit of the running men. It wielded a rugged club the size of a grown man, its tip dyed crimson. It was undoubtedly the one who had smashed apart the body of the Black-Fanged Dog earlier.

Its bloodshot eyes darted about, searching for its next victim.

The minotaur’s gaze came to rest on one of the escaping mercenaries. It kicked the man to the ground with one huge hoof and jumped impossibly high into the air with club in hand, swinging it right down onto the mercenary’s head. The giant club hit its mark, spraying the surrounding area with a thick coat of fresh blood and causing the earth to shake as we heard the unpleasant sound of crunching bone.

In the face of such overwhelming tragedy, the chemists’ guild members—and even the mercenaries who were supposed to be their escorts—seemed to lose heart and screamed out in despair.

Gramn, leader of the Black-Fanged Dogs, let his escaping men have it.

“Your worthless chumps! You dare call yourselves members of the Black-Fanged Dogs and wear our silver tag on your necks?! He may be a big brute, but now he’s out in the open! Let him have it!! Shields to the front, spearmen and archers to the back! Find your target and don’t let ’em get away!”

Holding his war axe at the ready, he glared straight ahead at the massive minotaur. The monster’s fangs curled upward in an ominous smile.

Spurred on by the force of their leader’s will, the escaping mercenaries readied their weapons and began to pull together into formation. 

The first to move were the mercenaries wielding large shields. The men let forth a mighty roar to psych themselves up and drew their swords in their free hand, striking violently at the minotaur to draw its attention. When the provoked minotaur turned to the shield-bearing mercenaries, it began to lunge toward them, swinging its huge club around.

Next, the spearmen and archers drew close in a large semicircle surrounding the minotaur so they could coordinate their movements. The spearmen threw their spears as the archers released their arrows. Faced with a massive, three-meter-tall opponent, it was easy for these Silver-Rank mercenaries to hit their mark. A number of spears and arrows pierced the minotaur’s hide, successfully drawing blood.

“Gwooooooaaaar!!”

However, none of the strikes were critical. The spears only managed to embed themselves to about halfway up their metal tips, while the arrows popped free of the minotaur’s muscles as it tensed up and roared in rage. With the creature’s attention once again on them, the surrounding mercenaries took several fearful steps backward.

However, one of the shield-wielding mercenaries took advantage of the minotaur’s lapse in attention and thrust his sword into his opponent’s abdomen.

“Gwooooaaaaaar!!”

The blade was stopped by the minotaur’s thick muscles, once again failing to deliver a fatal blow, but it still seemed to do better than the previous attacks. The angered minotaur snorted and tried to bat away the shield-wielding mercenary with its club. The man let go of his sword and used his large shield to deflect the club’s blow, but it was still strong enough that it caused him to lose his footing and fall backward.

The minotaur stepped forward to press the attack, but Gramn dove in with his huge battle axe before he could.

“Not a chance, ya ugly brute!”

The words hadn’t even left his mouth when Gramn’s battle axe roared through the air toward the minotaur. He swung the axe upward, leaving a gash in the minotaur from his abdomen to neck. A blast of fresh blood sprayed out over Gramn.

Gramn rotated his wrist and once again turned the battle axe’s blade toward his opponent, though the minotaur showed no fear. He gritted his teeth and swung his club down to Gramn.

“Damn!”

It seemed Gramn had intended to throw his opponent off balance and follow up with another blow to his body, but his blow simply didn’t exert enough force against his heavyweight opponent. On the contrary, he’d thrown himself right into the minotaur’s range. Gramn managed to deflect the minotaur’s blow with his axe handle, but the impact forced him to his knees.

It was now the minotaur’s turn to follow through. If it connected with Gramn, this would surely prove fatal. As the creature’s club swung down, however, it was forcefully knocked away with a high-pitched metallic clang.

“Gwaaaauuurgh?!”

I’d deflected it with my Holy Shield of Teutates.

It took me some time to join the fray after the minotaur first made its appearance, since I didn’t want to draw any attention up here in the empire by using my teleportation magic. But I did manage to save Gramn. It was probably humiliating for him to have been saved by a newcomer, but this was a great opportunity for me to show off my abilities in front of an audience. The only way to get the Silver-grade mercenary license we needed to leave the city would be to demonstrate our skills and build up a track record.

With that in mind, the minotaur was a perfect opponent.

“Hmm, it’s weaker than the man-spiders.”

I checked that I still had feeling in my left hand before catching another blow from the minotaur. Next, I used my shield to slam him with a body blow.

“Bwoooooaaaaargh?!”

The minotaur looked shocked by the force of the blow, its hulking three-meter frame arching backward.

With a swing of my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg, I lopped off one of his arms. It, along with the massive club, tumbled to and stained the ground a bright red as it thumped heavily down.

“Bwaaaaaauuuuuugh!!!!!!”

The minotaur dropped to its knees and belted out an anguished roar, holding the open wound with its other hand. Blood spurted from the injury. If left as it was, the minotaur would bleed out in short order. However, it was still fully capable of crushing people with ease. I couldn’t just leave it alone.

I repositioned the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg to ready it for the final blow, but before I could move, I saw Gramn lunge past me.

“Gyaaaaaaaah!!”

He swung his battle axe with all his might. The blade found its mark on the minotaur’s neck and buried itself halfway into its flesh. Not missing a beat, Gramn yanked the battle axe out, sending a red fountain of blood spewing forth from the minotaur’s nape, drenching him in the monster’s blood.

The minotaur slumped to the ground, unmoving. Gramn rested his foot on the bull head and fixed me with an angry glare, pointing his battle axe right at me.

“Mind your own business!”

Though he was breathing heavily, Gramn still seemed like he could stay in the fight and clearly seemed to believe I’d overstepped my boundaries. It would be easy to provoke him then and there, but I had to keep in mind that fanning the flames now could cause problems for us back in the city.

“I’m really sorry, Gramn. I just really wanted to prove myself, as part of a newly formed group. Maybe you could overlook it this once, as a newbie eager for success?”

I slid my sword back into my scabbard and slumped my shoulders. Gramn glared back at me, the wrinkles in his forehead deepening, but we were suddenly interrupted by the cheerful voice of a young man calling out to us.

“Could you guys cut it out for now? If this situation’s been settled, I’d like everyone to get back to work. As the leader of the Black-Fanged Dogs, I believe it’s your duty to take whatever final actions are needed in light of the fact that you’ve suffered casualties.”

Though his voice was cheerful, Brad fixed Gramn with a cool gaze. The two glared at one another for a few moments before Gramn averted his gaze in annoyance and urged the crowd forming around him to leave.

Apparently, they needed to bring the body of the minotaur’s victim back to the city. Watching Gramn give instructions on dealing with the injured, it was clear he really was a Silver-grade leader. Still, I could feel something broken from the group as they mourned the loss of their comrade.

Brad turned to me as I watched the activity.

“Even with all that heavy equipment on, you were able to get there in time to catch the blow. I couldn’t have pulled that off, despite my lighter armor, even if I moved the moment I noticed something amiss. What’s more, you managed to block a strike from a minotaur, a monster renowned for its strength, with just one hand. There’s something special about you. I want you in my group.”

Though his lips were smiling, his eyes were cold. Maybe he was sizing me up, or just plain suspicious. In any case, if I meant to achieve Silver rank as a mercenary, it was only a matter of time before I drew some attention to myself.

Maybe it was best to just go for it? I responded with a chuckle and flexed my bicep.

“I’m the strongest of our group. Even a dragon couldn’t break through my guard.”

I felt like an overconfident braggart, but I wasn’t lying. Ponta mewed with confidence to match as it continued to wrap itself around my neck.

“Kyii! Kyiii!!”

Suddenly, I heard a voice call out from me. “I guess you sorted out that problem, Arc?”

Ariane frowned as she walked over toward me, sword in hand, and looked down at the fallen minotaur. Chiyome stood by her side. Perhaps she’d heard the chaos and ended her forest patrol early to rush back.

“The mercenaries suffered some casualties, but I was able to put down the threat. All that’s left is to see if there are any other minotaurs.”

Chiyome looked around at our surroundings for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t sense anything big in the vicinity.”

Brad smiled at her remark.

“So you can sense monsters, huh? You’re just as gifted as our Meel, then. I’d like to invite you to join our group. It never hurts to have more skilled people working with you.”

“Kyii!”

For some reason, Ponta proudly puffed up at Brad’s words, almost as if it were direct praise. To be fair, Ponta was superior even to Chiyome in terms of its ability to detect monsters, so in that sense, it would be a great member.

I stroked the fur under Ponta’s chin as I asked Brad something that had been bothering me. “Do minotaurs often appear in this forest?”

The Black-Fanged Dogs’ attitude up until now made me wonder. It would be unreasonable to think that Silver-ranked mercenaries based out of Rontestatt would have no idea what kind of monsters inhabited the surrounding forests. If they did know they were going into a forest inhabited by dangerous minotaurs, then they wouldn’t have been so carefree earlier.

In that case, then that meant that the minotaur we’d encountered wasn’t native to these woods.

Brad thought for a moment about my theory and scratched his head.

“I’ve never heard of a minotaur in this forest. Well, I have heard that it’s a species that will chase its prey over long distances, so it may have ended up here from somewhere else.”

Meel stepped up silently behind Brad and shook her head before whispering something in his ear. He nodded and then turned his attention back to me.

“Well, the threat is gone for now, so you guys can go back to working in your sector. It seems none of the chemists were harmed, so we will continue with the task at hand.”

He and Meel went back to their sector. The members of the Black-Fanged Dogs looked despondent as they dealt with the cleanup, but they were hired help too, and they had no choice but to return to their duties as requested by the client.

“Should we head back?”

Ponta wagged its tail and responded from its place around my neck. “Kyii.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything left for us to do.”

With that said, Ariane turned her gaze away from the Black-Fanged Dogs and went back the way she came. Chiyome followed close behind, though her gaze remained fixed on the two members of the Silver Blades.

There was something about Meel that drew her attention. Unsure what it was that she was so interested in, I too turned toward the chief, only to accidentally meet her gaze. It only lasted a moment, however, and didn’t happen again.

Despite the trouble we’d encountered, we made it back safely to our home base of Rontestatt after completing the quest, though it was after dark by the time we returned. The chemists were anxious after the attack, causing them to work slowly, but they gradually picked up the pace once the Silver Blades hanging back to guard them were replaced with Black-Fanged Dogs. As expected, there was something to be said about the dependability of a Gold-Rank mercenary group.

Gramn seemed displeased with pretty much everything the Silver Blades did, but he performed his duties without causing any further trouble. The chaos made the chemists’ work take longer, delaying our return. As a result, we missed the curfew for reentering the city, but there were special exceptions made for quest-givers in the imperial government, and so we were allowed back in.

Once we were back in the city and the job was completed, we parted ways with the chemists. The hired mercenaries were disbanded, leaving only the leaders behind. Each leader would then return to the mercenary guild to report on the completion of the task.

“The guild is already closed by now, so I’ll report tomorrow morning. The pay should be available around noon, so don’t forget to drop by to pick it up.”

Gramn clucked his tongue in annoyance at the smiling Brad and turned on his heel before leaving. 

After seeing him off, Brad turned to me.

“I’ll tell the guild about what you did. You won’t go to Silver Rank right away, of course, but with our support, you’ll definitely be promoted to First Grade Bronze.”

“I wouldn’t dare impose. Are you sure that’s okay?”

I was grateful, but also curious about his intentions. I had mentioned before that we were aiming to achieve Silver rank so we could leave the city at will, but only because that had nothing to do with them.

Brad smiled slyly, perhaps picking up on my suspicion. “I have no ulterior motives. This is merely a legitimate evaluation of your ability. It’s hard for a small group of Third Rank Bronze mercenaries to find any good jobs, but things could change, depending on your ability, if you achieve First Rank. We need more talented mercenaries here in Rontestatt.”

Meel appeared out of nowhere and approached her smiling companion to whisper something into his ear. Brad nodded and looked back at me.

“Well, let’s call it a day. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”

He and Meel then disappeared down one of the darkened, empty streets.

After seeing him off, I looked over to Ariane and Chiyome, who stood at my side. “Let’s go back to the village. It’s gotten pretty late.”

Ariane stretched out her sore muscles. “I want to hurry home and take a bath.”

Chiyome nodded in agreement, a sleepy Ponta dangling from her arms.

And with that, we’d successfully completed our first day as mercenaries. Fortunately, we’d gotten off to a good start, and it seemed the day’s activities would pay off, with a generous promotion within the guild. If only I could say the same about rapidly finding clues to the cardinals’ location, too…

***

Sensing that they’d walked far enough, Meel glanced over her shoulder. Sharp blue eyes peered through the gaps in the cloth concealing her face.

After confirming that the armored knights were no longer in sight, Meel quickly hurried ahead to Brad and voiced her question.

“Mr. Brad, do you really need to go to the trouble of helping those whom we do not truly know?”

Brad smiled a little at her question, though his back remained facing her.

“You’ve got it backward. I’m helping them precisely because I don’t know who they are. They are undoubtedly the most, or at least second-most talented mercenaries within the city. If these people can aid our plans to leave Rontestatt, I see no problem with helping them do so.”

He stopped and turned around, squinting up at the moon in the darkened sky. The pale moon shining through the blackness reflected off his blue eyes, which shimmered suspiciously in its light.

“However, whether we must treat them as hostile will depend on which happens first—them reaching Silver Rank and leaving the city, or our plans going into motion. We’ll need to keep an eye on them.”

Meel nodded silently at Brad’s response.

“That the Black Fang’s casualties were minor was without a doubt due to their efforts. I fear they may further impede our plans. I will put out the order to uncover their true identities so we can explore options to dispose of them.”

Brad nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure you already know, but they are also quite talented. I don’t mind you digging deeper, but be careful not to draw suspicion. Proceed with care, and do not risk the execution of our plan.”

He smiled into the darkness and began walking again. Meel bowed in response before silently disappearing into the night.

***

It was around noon the following day when we finally arrived in Rontestatt. 

Ponta sat atop my helmet as per usual and Ariane and Chiyome stood at my sides. The town squares and city streets were bustling with people and were filled with various stalls from which wafted the appetizing smells of the meals and snacks they sold. Though I’d already had lunch back at the village, my eyes still wandered as we walked through the city. Maybe I wasn’t full yet?

Ariane glanced at me and jabbed her elbow into my side to urge me ahead.

“C’mon Arc. First, we need to go to the guild and then figure out our next plan of action.”

She hurried on ahead and I had to pick up the pace to keep up.

We originally hadn’t planned to wait until payment was issued at noon, intending instead to come to the city in the morning to look for clues pertaining to the cardinals. But Chiyome mentioned yesterday that she wanted to stop in at the village currently under construction, and I had to use my teleportation magic to pick her up in the morning.

“Sorry for making everyone late because of my personal business.” Chiyome dropped her gaze to the ground after watching the interaction between Ariane and me, but I simply shook my head.

“No worries. We needed to be here around noon to pick up our pay for yesterday’s job, anyway, so you have nothing to apologize for. Besides, there haven’t been any major developments in our investigation.”

Even Ariane agreed with me.

“That’s right. Right now, our priority is to gather information in the city and secure the means to get out, so there’s no need to rush. How was your errand, anyway?” She tilted her head to the side and looked back at Chiyome. 

“Progress on the village seems to be going well. If we keep this pace up, we will be able to welcome the next group of settlers earlier than planned.” Chiyome’s hat twitched up and down as she made her report, suggesting that her cat ears were moving about excitedly underneath.

Seeing Chiyome’s reaction, a smile graced Ariane’s lips.

“Oh, good. Just let me know any time you need to transport more settlers, because Arc here will help you in any way possible.”

Ariane may have been joking, but I was more than happy to help Chiyome and the others out in any way I could.

Ariane’s expression suddenly grew dark as she looked back at me. When I asked what was wrong, her ears went red and she averted her gaze before urging me to head to the guild and walking on ahead. It was all Chiyome and I could do to shrug in confusion and follow after her.

There were few people at the mercenary guild when we arrived, seeing as it was the middle of the day. As we stood there in the near-empty space, the staff member who’d assisted us last time quickly spotted me and called out to us.

“Sounds like you were pretty busy yesterday.”

The man mentioned that he heard everything from the leader of the Silver Blades before grabbing a leather bag next to him and hefting it up. I could hear metal clanking clearly as it moved.

“This is your payment for the escort mission yesterday. It would probably have been a bit more if the requestor was a company, but the central government hasn’t updated their rates.”

He laughed and urged me to check the contents of the bag. While I was counting the coins, the man excitedly continued on.

“I have to say, you’ve gotta be a pretty skilled swordsman to chop off a minotaur’s arm in one go.”

He imitated swinging a sword before looking back at me with a look of disbelief.

Personally speaking, I knew that it was less my skill with the blade and rather the abilities of the blade itself, so the praise made me feel rather uncomfortable. I glanced over at Ariane and Chiyome and nervously scratched my head.

“I appreciate your kind words, but my swordsmanship is little more than child’s play compared to these two.”

I finally finished counting up the coins. It all checked out.

“Well, I guess there’s a lot out there that I still don’t know, but if a brave knight like you says so, I’ll just have to believe it. All the same, I’m excited to see where you go from here.”

He looked closely at Ariane and Chiyome, though Ariane merely pulled her hood down even lower and avoided his gaze. This didn’t seem to faze him, however. He picked up another item sitting next to him with a flourish, pretending something had just occurred to him.

“Oh, right, I have some more good news for your brave warriors. Following Brad’s recommendation yesterday, the guild decided it would do us no good to hold such talent back at a low rank. We have promoted the Turbulent Ponta Patrol to First Rank Bronze.”

He showed me a bronze tag—our guild license. The tag was the same color as the one we were currently wearing, but this one was etched with a single sword rather than three spears.

“We must have been highly regarded to jump straight to First Rank.”

“Kyii!”

The surprise was evident in my voice as I picked up the newly issued guild tag.

Ponta also looked it over with great interest from its perch atop my head. Its excitement was audible as it sniffed noisily.

Yesterday, Brad told us that he would speak to the guild, but I was unsure if he’d follow through. Apparently, he was a man of his word. 

The leader of a First Rank Gold mercenary group probably had a lot of sway. It was quite the pleasant surprise to be promoted to First Rank Bronze in less than a week. This brought us one step closer to Silver Rank, which would give us permission to move between cities within the empire.

According to the staff member, the guild had recognized our abilities. And if we were just able to take on more requests and achieve more results for the guild, then Silver Rank wouldn’t be too far off. 

He handed over the First Rank Bronze tags to Ariane and Chiyome as well, and we all returned the Third Rank Bronze versions we were wearing.

Ariane glanced down at the new guild tag swaying just below her neckline. “It’s going even better than we planned, huh?”

Chiyome turned her attention to the job board in the corner of the room. “We should probably take as many jobs within the city as we can, so we can further our investigation at the same time.”

I nodded in agreement with her assessment and made my way toward the job board. As usual, there were a large assortment of arbitrary requests, plus those which remained neglected due to the time when they took place. I picked out several requests which started in the afternoon and seemed likely to end in the evening, and then discussed them with Ariane and Chiyome before deciding on the next request we’d take.

We settled on a request to clean an irrigation canal in the afternoon—something which had nothing at all to do with mercenary work.

***

Once the job was complete, we returned back to Lalatoya, where Ariane and Chiyome immediately took off to the baths with Ponta in tow. Cleaning out irrigation ditches was far more dreadful than I’d ever imagined. We wouldn’t have finished it today, if not for Chiyome’s water-based techniques.

Judging by the amount of work it involved, the job was intended for a large mercenary group. However, it had been left untouched since the pay was so low. Fortunately for us, just like with the chemist escort job, the requestor was a public entity, and our efforts would likely be seen as a decent contribution…though to be honest, we probably wouldn’t have taken the job if not for that.

Now that we’d finished, I was newly impressed by just how clean the elven village was. I’d had Chiyome give me a full wash with her water magic upon returning, but the stench still clung to me. Once Ariane was out of the bath, I decided I’d take my armor in with me to let it soak, too.

Ariane would likely balk at the idea of doing a similar job again. I’d need to look for something different next time.

I looked up at the starry sky above the village and sighed.

The next day, we went straight to work chasing down jobs at the mercenary guild. There weren’t a whole lot of choices for groups with only a few members, making our task hard, but there was a surprising amount of available work that involved such things as wall repair and providing security for merchants. Since repairing walls consisted largely of physical labor, such as transporting dirt and cut stones back and forth, I asked Ariane and Chiyome to collect information around Rontestatt while I took care of the labor by myself.

The on-site manager scowled when he learned only one person from the mercenary guild had bothered to show up—and decked out in armor no less—and let me know his displeasure. To be fair, it was pretty odd for someone to wear such burdensome armor while carrying around heavy objects. At first glance, I must have looked like I either misunderstood what the job was all about or had no real desire to work in the first place. 

Once I easily hefted a massive rock with one hand, however, the manager and other laborers were quick to welcome me to the group.

This world lacked any sort of heavy machinery for use in civil engineering or construction, and thus the majority of the work had to be done by man or beast. In that sense, my excessive strength made me something of an equivalent to portable machinery. In terms of power alone, large animals could be expected to provide that kind of labor, but the fact that I understood verbal instructions made me even more valuable. Or perhaps I was just being put to use at their convenience?

Apparently, the local nobility had put out orders to repair and expand the walls, which had led to a labor shortage. The situation seemed like a recent development. Around the same time, the number of mercenaries also began to increase as restrictions were imposed on entering and exiting the city. Rumor had it that tensions with the neighboring kingdom were rising.

Considering my status as a mercenary, people had questions for me about these recent circumstances. However, I knew nothing about any of it, since I’d only gotten here using a teleportation stone. I deflected most of the questions by keeping up my story of coming here as a bodyguard on business.

Though there was certainly enough circumstantial evidence to support the rumors of strife with the neighboring kingdom, it seemed none of the commoners had any real information. However, since the staff at the mercenary guild had let it slip that things were tense with our neighbors, it seemed all but certain that the nobles were making moves to prepare for a tense situation.

In situations like this, the ruling class were always on the lookout for spies—and smugglers were the ones most suspected of being spies. As Chiyome rightfully pointed out, holding credentials from a mercenary guild would prove vital to our being able to move about freely within the empire.

The fact that the second most popular job was providing security for merchants said a lot about the situation within the city. Due to the nature of the work they performed, many mercenaries were a rough-and-tumble lot. It was no surprise that more fights were beginning to break out as the city filled with these characters. Dealing with such people was a challenge for ordinary merchants, so they chose to ask the mercenary guild to let other mercenaries handle them.

It almost looked like a scheme to build your own market—what with mercenaries causing disputes and then having other mercenaries come along to solve those disputes. I figured such schemes were probably far from rare. 

It was jobs like these that helped the Turbulent Ponta Patrol gain even greater recognition, however. Leaving a beautiful woman or a young girl as security outside a storefront never failed to attract the types of mercenaries who were out to cause trouble. When they refused to entertain the idea of dealing with these men, the rowdy brutes would only get more enraged, and find themselves swiftly beaten by these skilled female mercenaries, thus improving our reputation.

Conversely, I also found myself highly valued by the local citizenry, thanks to the fact that most people looking to cause a fight tended to avoid an armored hulk with an animal on his head.

Not only did we gain a certain degree of recognition despite being newcomers to the mercenary scene, but we were even gaining praise from our peers for dealing with the trouble-makers among the mercenaries. Due to the nature of our mission to secretly search for the beautiful Cardinal, it seemed like getting our name out there would help—but considering how things were going in the city, it seemed better to act above board and avoid reacting to undue suspicion by gathering information under the table.

In any case, just standing around and acting as security exposed us to rumors and overheard conversations, saving me from having to openly collect any information on my own. One such conversation that stuck in my mind had to do with bandits operating behind the scenes. Apparently, Rontestatt and its surroundings were suffering an outbreak of such banditry. 

“The attacks are occurring out in the surrounding rural areas rather than the highways. Food prices are already on the rise with the city on lockdown, but if the rural areas get done in too, the costs will only continue to rise.”

I heard about this from an older woman married to a man working for a merchant. She seemed to know a lot more about what was going on than most people, perhaps because her husband worked in logistics.

“I’d like you to do something about these thieves, at the very least. Would a strong boy like you be willing to take on such a job?”

I cocked my head to the side at her request.

“Hmm, I don’t recall seeing any jobs about subduing bandits on the guild’s job board.”

Ponta imitated my shrugging motion. “Kyiiiii?”

“Jobs involving subduing bandits not only include pay from the local nobility, but from the affected villages and merchants as well. These kinds of jobs are usually sent to the larger mercenary groups of at least silver rank or higher.”

Just then, a member of the Silver Blades butted in, putting an end to the small talk between me and the woman. He and I had become acquainted with one another while I was working as security and we would talk from time to time when I was on duty. As a member of a Gold-Rank mercenary group, his information was almost certainly spot-on.

There was a bit of a strange tone to his voice as he explained the situation to the older woman. “The most important thing about subduing bandits is to find their base camps, and that requires manpower. Even if he’s got the strength to take them down, you won’t be able to stop them if you can’t find their key members.”

“Wouldn’t an impressive request like that go straight to your Silver Blades, then? What are you doing out here, talking shop?”

“Kyii!”

Ponta seemed to be of the same mind as it eyed the mercenary. The older woman was next to join the conversation and voiced her agreement.

The man raised his arms and shook his head as if in defeat.

“Our specialty is more slaying monsters. Now, why are we talking about other mercenary groups and taking care of bandits? I’m finally on break, so I’m going to do some shopping, thank you very much.”

His plea of surrender brought a smile to the woman’s cheeks. It may not have been the happiest of topics, but it was nice to be at peace for once.

I let my mind wander as I continued listening to my surroundings.

Obviously, if you wanted to take down some bandits and you didn’t already know where they’d made their base, you had to start by acquiring information about them. And then, you’d need a sufficiently large force to throw at them. However, I knew two people who were quite good at locating their enemies. As long as we could narrow down the bandits’ general location, they would have no problem finding them in a subsequent search.

I looked at Ariane, who stood at my side. She turned to meet my gaze, then leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Hey, Arc. We’re here to find the cardinals, not subdue bandits.”

Apparently, she already knew I was thinking about the bandits. She let out an exasperated sigh, almost as if she could read my mind. It felt like our objective had changed the moment I began talking to the older woman. Her ability to get inside someone’s head was truly something to fear.

While I did feel bad about losing focus, I couldn’t shake the feeling that mopping up this unresolved problem would contribute greatly to the guild. However, requests to subdue the bandits were currently only sent to large mercenary groups. Without the ability to freely leave the city of our own accord, we were left trying to further our contributions to the guild through the jobs we had access to. After all, if we were able to leave the city as we pleased, then we wouldn’t need to bother with the bandits in the first place. 

I spent the rest of the day mulling that over.

***

The next day, I visited the mercenary guild as usual and looked over at the requests on the job board. One pinned to the corner caught my eye. The pay was low, but that didn’t matter, since we weren’t in it for the money. What mattered were the details.

It was another security job, but for a village outside the city. I asked the guild staff about it and was told it was a request to protect the village from all the bandits on the loose. The big difference here was that the job was to improve the village’s defenses, not subdue the bandits.

As the man had mentioned yesterday, you needed to hire quite a few mercenaries to search out and subdue bandits. But, depending on the number of attackers, you could get away with far fewer defenders to repel an attack. Villages in this world were usually surrounded by high walls and deep moats to deter monsters, leaving only one or two entrances as choke points that needed defending. In such a situation, even a few people would suffice.

The nobles seemed to be fixated on eradicating the bandits, but that would do the village no good if they were destroyed by the time that happened. They couldn’t afford to hire a large group of mercenaries, so they must have decided to arrange for what little they could pull together. Judging by the amount of compensation on offer, they were aiming for about two to three people.

With a job like this, we could legally leave the city—and, if we were lucky, subdue the bandits in the meantime to score a promotion to Silver Rank.

I immediately proposed it to Ariane and Chiyome.

“What do you think of this job? We could leave two people guarding the village and send one to go hunt for the bandits. If we get lucky, we could solve all of our problems in one go.”

Ariane showed some reluctance. “If we’re lucky, right? You know, our identities could very well be exposed if we spend ten days guarding a small village. Unlike out here in the city, we can’t exactly use teleportation magic as we please.”

She was right. It was imperative that Ariane, a dark elf, and Chiyome, a cat-girl, both keep their identities under wraps here in the empire. Not that I was much better, seeing as there was nothing but a skeleton beneath my armor.

In contrast to Ariane’s reluctance, Chiyome seemed open to the idea.

“If they put the job up, it’s extremely likely there are bandits in the area. If we can learn more about the nature of their attacks, the number of bandits and the equipment they have, as well as whether or not they’re using horses, we can probably narrow down our search.”

However, she continued on to express her concerns.

“Considering what we’ve been hearing around town about the number and scale of the attacks, it seems there could be multiple groups of bandits on the loose. Catching one might not actually solve the city’s problem.”

As a ninja who specialized in information gathering, it was no surprise that Chiyome had accurately analyzed the situation.

“We’re not here to solve the bandit issue, anyway. Our primary purpose is to search for the cardinals. In order to do that, we need to be promoted to Silver Rank to be able to freely leave the city…which means this request could be a good way to show our contribution to the guild.”

The quickest way to shorten our stay in the village was to eliminate the problem at the source: the bandits. If Ariane and Chiyome could search the surrounding area, it would go even quicker. Sure, some of the villagers might become worried if they saw only me left behind to guard the village, but I might be able to win them over by showing off my strength.

If the search ended up taking a while, I could remain in the village and teleport Ariane and Chiyome to and from there while they were out searching the surrounding area. I explained my idea to them, and we ultimately decided to accept the job after a unanimous vote—though the look of disdain never left Ariane’s face.

Upon taking the request, we were handed a permit to leave the city. We were told that if a patrolling soldier caught us outside the city, we would have to show that permit, along with our job documents. If we lost either of these, we would be arrested under suspicion of smuggling.

So there really were soldiers out on patrol throughout the empire. Did that mean that we couldn’t use the imperial roads without identification?

The village requesting our services was apparently a day away by carriage. The staff asked if we would need them to make arrangements, but I turned them down. A one-day trip by carriage should only take about two hours using short-distance teleportation. However, considering that the highway was being patrolled by soldiers, I had to be careful about how I used my teleportation magic. Which meant we should arrive around… noon or so.

“Shall we get going?”

“Kyii!”

Ponta’s eyes glimmered. It wagged its tail excitedly atop my head at the initial marching orders.

Ariane sighed slightly while Chiyome nodded her agreement.

Upon presenting the job request and permit at the town gate, we were allowed to leave the city with surprising ease. As someone always prepared to be asked too many questions about my identity, I was relieved. This was much preferable to being hassled.

The guild staff gave us a rough map of the route to the village, but I had a hard time figuring it out. We spotted a group of patrolling soldiers, and I approached them before they could get too suspicious of us, handing them both the job request and map while asking where to go. 

In retrospect, it might have been an even better idea than I’d thought. It’s easy to be suspicious of someone from a distance, but people were often willing to help if you dared approach them first to talk. It was also nice to see someone sympathize with me as they looked over the guild’s hand-drawn map.

We managed to solve the mystery of the map and arrived at the village around noon, as planned.

The atmosphere of the village was not so different from the ones we’d visited in the Rhoden Kingdom, though the fields surrounding it looked a little rough. The fact that there are no villagers taking care of the fields was probably due to their fear of bandits.

In front of the gate, the only entrance into the village, I saw a young man sitting with his back to the gatepost, holding a spear and yawning. He seemed to be lacking some of the concern of a village that was so fearful of bandit attacks that they would hire mercenaries for security. His hair was unkempt and he looked a bit homely, something which probably wasn’t uncommon in the village, but I couldn’t shake the sense of unease I got from him.

Ponta slipped down from the top of my helmet and onto my shoulders and began letting out a low, guttural growl from deep in its throat. Confused by Ponta’s sudden change, I glanced over toward Chiyome, though she only replied in a low whisper, encouraging me to act like nothing was out of place.

“Arc, there’s something strange about the village, but they’ve already figured out we’re here. For the time being, let’s pretend everything is normal.”

Between her comments and the way Ponta was acting, I glanced around, wondering if there were already bandits around us.

Ariane nudged my side with her elbow to encourage me to be on guard. “Don’t act so suspicious, Arc. That man up there is probably not a villager.”

As soon as Ariane pointed this out, I inadvertently turned my gaze forward and noticed the man in front of the gate standing up and leaning on his spear cane as he took us in. Ariane fell back a step behind me and pulled her cloak down low over her face as she eyed our surroundings.

I finally arrived at the gate, still wondering what she meant about the man not being a villager.

“You a mercenary? What’s your business with a village like this?”

The man held a roughly made spear under his arm, as if he’d finally just figured out what was going on. It was far from surprising that he’d have a hard time telling if the armored knight escorting a young girl was a mercenary. If anything, it was the proper question.

It was unnatural for a village who had requested the services of a mercenary to ask such a question. Since the small village had hired outside mercenaries after being victimized by the bandits, it was unlikely that the villagers wouldn’t be expecting us. If so, it was unclear why he was wondering if we were mercenaries. Even if not all the villagers knew of the plan to hire mercenaries, it would be strange not to mention the possibility of our arrival to the person guarding the single entrance to the village. 

If the man in front of us was not a villager, however, the answer was self-evident.

Ariane and Chiyome seemed to already be aware of the situation, so I decided to just pretend that things were normal and cleared my throat.

“Well, we received a request from the village at the Rontestatt mercenary guild.”

“Oh, oh, right. I remember hearing something about that.” The gatekeeper was slightly awkward in his response. “The village mayor will have more information for you. You go ahead and wait inside and I’ll call him for you.”

He gestured with his chin to the man waiting on the other side of the gate. The other man responded by quickly taking off further into the village while the gatekeeper stepped aside and smiled, welcoming us inside.

However, the moment his gaze fell on Ariane standing behind me, the corners of his lips curved upward. She ignored the guard’s gaze and looked into the village to size it up.

As I proceeded into the village after the gatekeeper, I heard a loud thunk behind me. Looking back, I noticed the gate into the village had been closed.

The village looked a little rough around the edges, but at first glance, it didn’t appear seriously damaged.

“There are a lot of people watching us from their houses.”

I spied Chiyome’s ears flittering about nervously under her hat as she kept an eye on our surroundings while trailing behind the guard. Nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary to me. It seemed like a normal, quiet village.

However, as we passed the square located at the center of the village, the mood changed completely. Black soot was piled up in the plaza, from which rose an unpleasant odor. Few of the burnt items managed to retain any noticeable shape, though some of them were, without a doubt, humans. As for what kind of humans, I couldn’t say.

One man stood at the front of the scene, an uneasy smile on his face.

Something about all the knife wounds on his face gave the distinct impression that he wasn’t a villager. He looked down at the large sword in his hand for a moment before turning to me and licking his lips.

“I’m the mayor of this here village. Thank you for coming all the way here. I guess the people of my village asked the mercenary guild for help, huh? Sorry, my memory’s been getting bad lately. Can you remind me what it is that we asked you to do?”

Before we could reply, the scarred man belted out a fierce scream. In the blink of an eye, a lot of rough-looking guys armed to the teeth came out from the scattered houses, roaring intimidatingly like the man in front of us. There were quite a few of them—close to thirty.

It was probably unnecessary to ask who was now in charge of the village. I crossed my arms, set my feet in a defiant stance, and glared at the man in front of me.

“We were called to provide security to the village after it’d been attacked by bandits.”

The men around us broke out in laughter.

“Bandits? Oh, no, they’re so scary!! We won’t get a wink of sleep if you don’t catch them for us!”

Their laughter grew even more raucous.

“It looks like we’re a bit too late. What happened to the villagers?”

I did everything in my power to keep my voice cool and level. Becoming emotional certainly wouldn’t improve the situation. In response, the scarred man—probably the head of the group—thrust his sword toward me and sneered.

“We’re the inhabitants of this village now.”

I rested my hand on the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg before Chiyome stepped forward to my side to stop me.

“Arc, try to not kill them all, okay? I know it’s a big ask, but these people will have information about their cohorts. If you give them up to the guild, they may have to fess up about the other bandits.”

I hesitated for a moment when I heard her proposal before nodding and letting go of the sword hilt. Chiyome, Ariane, and I could make short work of all these men if we chose to. But if we killed everyone, there would be no one to attest to them being bandits. If we weren’t careful, then we could be accused of having wiped out the entire village.

We didn’t need to keep everyone alive, but we at least needed to spare the man who appeared to be leading the group. As Chiyome said, capturing the bandits alive could prove to be the greater contribution to the guild.

I clenched my fists, inhaled and held my breath for a moment before slowly exhaling and fixing my gaze on the leader.

“We need to capture as many of these bandits as we can.”

With that, Ariane and Chiyome also left their weapons undrawn and raised their fists. The sight only seemed to inspire the man up ahead.

“Kill him and take his armor! We’ll get some nice coin from it! Be sure to capture the girls alive… I want the first go at them!”

The surrounding bandits raised their weapons high and let forth a mighty roar. They seemed to think they had no chance of losing to us. They looked like salivating beasts as they eyed Ariane.

However, before the men even had a chance to close in on me, I was already moving. My raw strength extended not just to my arms, but my legs, and Glenys, Ariane’s teacher and mother, had taught me how to move like this. By dropping my lower body, angling my torso in the direction I wished to move and kicking hard off the ground, I closed the gap with my opponents at lightning speed.

However, I was still nowhere near as good as her. Though the attack was straightforward and relied on brute force, to an amateur observer, it looked almost like the user had completely disappeared.

Rather than throwing a real punch from this state, I merely let my fist be positioned between us as I stopped.

The head bandit’s eyes went wide in surprise before his expression instantly turned to one of shock as my fist sank into his chest. His body squirmed as he flew through the air and crashed into the clay wall of a nearby house, leaving a massive indentation.

In that instant, all the other bandits closing in on us stopped in their tracks.

“That was me playing nice, so you might as well give in now.”

I’d punched the man using only the speed and weight of my body, which was still more than enough to shatter several ribs. Any normal person would be out of the fight. In fact, the bandit leader lay prone on the ground, hacking in pain as he struggled to breathe, spit dripping from his mouth. 

Suddenly, someone in the crowd let out a piercing scream, breaking the rest of the bandits out of their temporary panic.

“Kill him!!”

I didn’t know who said it, but the rest of the bandits screamed as well and swung their weapons as they rushed in unison toward me.

I really wanted to avoid being surrounded. Kicking off from the ground again, I flew into the oncoming bandits and hit one in the back. The man bounced off the ground like a skipping stone and slammed against the wall that surrounded the village.

Judging by the fact that he was no longer moving, I’d hit him a bit too hard. But there was no time for me to worry about that. After all, I didn’t need to bring them all back alive.

Ariane dove straight into the swarm of men, ramming her knee right into one of the bandits’ chins. Using the man as a stepping stone, she jumped over the head of another approaching bandit and kicked him square in the back, knocking him and several others over in the process.

The group of men hesitated for a moment, likely still trying to capture her alive. This only served to make them good targets for Ariane. 

Dark elven women were generally stronger than the average human man, and every time she landed a blow on one of her opponents, I could hear the sound of their bones cracking like dry wood. Her movements were graceful and sophisticated, learned over many years of training with Glenys, and nothing like the full-frontal way I advanced.

She took a breath and then disappeared again. I lost sight of her for one moment—and in the next, four more bandits dropped to the ground. In these two moments, the men came to realize that she was not prey, but the hunter. But by the time they noticed it, it was already too late. If they turned to flee now, they would only be exposing their backs to the beast.

Chiyome had no problem keeping up, however. Taking advantage of her petite body, she danced between the bandits, causing those who dared to try to catch her to swing their weapons at their own brethren.

She moved so masterfully that it made you wonder if she had eyes on her back. What’s more, she struck only with jabs and kicks directed toward pressure points. The bandits had the breath knocked out of them with each blow. She would then double down and strike at their joints, sending the men to the ground.

She was terrifyingly efficient in how she laid waste to the human bodies, almost like a child playing with toy dolls. The fact that anyone was still alive spoke to her skill.

The group of bandits who’d been closing in like a pack of hungry wolves moments ago were now running like scared sheep. There would be no escape, since the bandits themselves had blocked the village’s only escape route.

The sounds of the screaming bandits filled the village. All that could be heard were cries of anguish.

In a moment, all thirty bandits were on the ground.

“Huh, well that was disappointing.” Ariane popped her shoulders and rotated her arms around.

Chiyome hadn’t really exerted herself in the fight, but she stretched her arms all the same.

All credit went to Glenys and her training for being able to make such progress in reducing how much force I used. I still tended to get caught up in a fight and use more strength than I needed to, but this was an improvement, all the same.

While all the bandits we could see had been dealt with, it was possible there were more still lurking in the village. As I walked around the village, I grabbed the unconscious hoodlums by the feet and chucked them into the village square.

I glanced around and called out to Ariane and Chiyome.

“Is that all of them?”

Ponta, who was still wrapped around my neck, stuck its nose up in the air and moved its head back and forth, as if looking around the camp, before crying out in a certain direction.

“Kyii.”

Chiyome moved in the direction Ponta indicated to search.

“I can still sense people in the village.”

Ariane and I turned our attention to the surrounding houses. I opened the door to the house nearest me and stepped inside, but was only met with a silent, dusty interior with no signs of life.

Just then, Ponta tapped my helmet as if to tell me I was in the wrong place.

Following Ponta’s instructions, I stepped back outside and observed Ariane and Chiyome silently signaling each other whether they approached a large-sized building. I hurried to close the gap with them and, as soon as Ariane noticed my approach, she shot me a glance to invite me to go in first.

Considering I was fully armored, it would be safest for me to enter first, in case I was suddenly struck. I nodded my acknowledgment and stepped in front of the door while Chiyome and Ariane flanked either side of me.

After confirming they were in place, I threw the door open and jumped inside. The moment I passed through the threshold and out of the natural light, I was temporarily consumed by darkness.

I heard several screams coming from the back of the building. Perhaps I was a little too rough with that door. The room was quite large and there were several people within, suggesting this might have once been the home of the previous mayor. 

The air was musty and smelled slightly of smoke. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I finally took in the sight before me: there were half-naked women and children settled in the corner of the room, watching us with frightened eyes. There looked to be about a dozen or so people.

I could see signs of abuse on their faces and arms and heard their sobs. However, others seemed dumbstruck by the sight of a man in massive armor standing in the open doorway.

The tension in the room eased slightly when Ariane and Chiyome stepped in from behind me. The two squinted at the darkness, but quickly seemed to adjust.

Ariane walked around me and gently pushed me back out of the room.

“Listen, we’ll take care of this. You can tie the bandits up with rope or whatever else you can find so they don’t escape. I’ll call you for some healing later.”

Glancing once more around the room, I bowed my head in apology over my lack of consideration.

After stepping back outside, I returned to the square where the bandits were. There, I found the supposed head of the group picking up his sword, his face contorted in agony.

As soon our eyes met, he struggled to bring his sword to the ready. However, no sooner had he moved than I hurled my shield like a discus in his direction and then dove after it in hot pursuit. He attempted to deflect the shield with his sword, but the impact was too strong, and knocked his sword away instead.

I grabbed the man’s chest and head butted him with my sturdy helmet, the force of the blow sending blood flying from his nose.

“Kyiiiiin…”

I hadn’t anticipated that my headbutt would send Ponta flying off my helmet. It spread its limbs and caught enough wind under the thin membrane that connected them to fly back up to my head again.

“Kyii! Kyiii!!”

Though it was pretty upset at me, I was glad little Ponta was okay. The scene replayed in my head, and I vowed to not lose myself in a fit of anger again.

“Well, we should do something about these bandits before they get any ideas.”

“Kyii!”

Ponta mewed in reply and took off from my head again. I figured it may have found something, but first, I needed rope or something of the like nearby that I could use.

After a short search, I found some ropes in a village barn. I used them to tie up the leader first, since I needed to be especially careful with him. He screamed and shouted as I tightened the ropes, possibly because of his injuries.

Suddenly, I spotted a strange pattern on the nape of his neck and stopped.

Was this from a branding iron or something? It looked almost like the emblem you’d find on a car, but not nearly as simple. Was it a marker of the bandit group they belonged to?

With that in mind, I took a peek at the necks of the other bandits lying around. They all had the same pattern etched in a similar place. Judging by the placement of the brand, it wasn’t self-inflicted.

As I mulled over the meaning of the pattern, I finished tying up the leader and finally stood up, just in time to spot Ponta running over with a bundle of ropes in its mouth. It dropped the bundle of ropes in front of me and scratched at the ground with its front paws, as if to urge me to use them.

“Kyiiiii, kyii.”

I looked at the rope in my hand and the ropes Ponta had brought before turning my attention back to all the bandits still in the square. Would this be enough? 

Shaking off my earlier suspicions, I quietly went to work tying up the bandits.