Having stuck around the village for too long without any benefit, I set out again as soon as I finished breakfast.
Two days later…
“Hey, traveler! Can I ask you something?”
A group of people approaching from the opposite direction struck up a conversation with us.
Well-trained warhorses and bright white armor. The cloaks draped over their backs had the symbol of the goddess’s order embroidered on them.
‘Paladins?’
The swords of the goddess’s order.
Knights nurtured as weapons to eliminate the enemies of the order, combining the talents of a priest and a warrior.
You could occasionally encounter them in dungeons deeper than mid-levels, but it was rare to stumble upon them like this on the road.
“So, what can we do for you?”
In for a penny, in for a pound—Friede, who had been nestled in my arms, softly spoke up on my behalf while I kept my mouth shut to maintain the cognitive cloaking.
“Excuse me. I am Polsven, a servant of the goddess Elianel.”
The closest paladin lifted his visor and introduced himself with a courteous bow.
“Respect to the sword of Elianel.”
Friede nodded back, acknowledging him. Although she didn’t reveal her name, her demeanor was still sufficiently courteous to adhere to the order’s manners.
“So, what brings you here?”
“By your attire, you seem to be adventurers. Have you perhaps heard of the monster known as ‘Braum’s Nightmare’?”
“…Braum’s Nightmare?”
Friede asked, her expression turning unsure.
“Oh, it’s said to originally be called the beasts of Pinwood Forest.”
Are they back to the nightmare stories again?
I had wondered what kind of nonsense would bring knights all the way out here—apparently, they’d come believing the absurd rumors were true in order to hunt it down.
“If you know anything about that monster, we would appreciate hearing it. This is to further spread the grace of Elianel, and if you help us, we will generously reward you.”
Any information about the beasts of Pinwood Forest seemed to be welcome.
I couldn’t believe they expected useful information from street travelers… Were they just banking on luck to snag something useful?
Well, perhaps the goddess had her blessings in order, for I managed to grab something amid their ridiculous inquiry.
No less than the actual ‘Braum’s Nightmare’ stood right in front of them.
“Sorry, but I really don’t know much. I’ve heard the rumor that even the knights were defeated, but other than that, not really….”
“…Is that so? That’s rather unfortunate.”
Of course, what we could tell him was all common knowledge.
Why would I reveal that I, the very subject of their rumors, was standing right in front of them, about to be taken down by Paladins?
“Anyway, thank you for your cooperation. May the goddess bless you.”
Finishing those words, Polsven returned to his group of paladins and headed off in the opposite direction to hunt a nonexistent monster.
“Uh… Seems like the rumors just keep spreading, huh?”
“Yeah, those paladins looked like pretty skilled folks from just a glance.”
The absolute weakest Abyss Priest, Hugh Casval, had previously put the paladins of Vespians to shame, and now these knights breezed past.
To think those paladins had that much momentum, they seemed a tad overkill for just hunting one monster.
Considering they would scrounge through the woods and fields to find a monster that didn’t even exist, that was the biggest waste of time imaginable.
Well, it wasn’t just the paladins wasting time.
Ever since the rumor spread that Baron Braum was gathering adventurers to hunt monsters, countless adventurers had flocked down this road towards Pinwood Forest.
In the last two days alone, I had encountered more than forty adventurers. From my perspective, it was quite the ridiculous farce.
◆◆
It wasn’t farce at all.
If anything, it was more like a comedy.
This was closer to an R-rated slasher film filled with happy tree friends.
What do I mean by that?
“Don’t move! If you don’t want to die, hand over everything you’ve got!”
Exactly that.
Just as always, while mindlessly strolling down the road, a group of thugs jumped out from the bushes, shooting arrows at us in a show of force.
“Ha….”
“Again? Are these bandits naturally spawned or something?”
“Seems like it….”
It was now so familiar that it was downright tiresome.
An assault from a band of thieves.
◆◆
Like that blonde punk who always shows up in clubs full of women, when you have a floating crowd, it becomes the hunting ground for scumbags.
The road back to Bainen was overrun by marauders targeting adventurers. It was not uncommon for adventurers to temporarily switch to the profession of bandit.
Yeah. As long as you aren’t caught by face or name, you can make a quick score and bounce back to being an adventurer.
A wise yet trashy judgment.
Anyway, the area around the city was relatively safe, but once you went more than half a day out, it was like wandering into a den of bandits.
On severe days, you could get ambushed ten times in a single day, like a pre-election opinion survey call.
Thanks to that, when it was time for bed, you absolutely had to find the nearest city or village.
Camping out in the woods swarming with thieves was akin to begging, “Please rob us, we won’t resist.”
For those reasons, the delays kept piling up, and before I knew it, I was five days late. Even then, I wasn’t close to reaching Bainen.
“Okay, get off the horses! Drop your weapons…!”
“Ha….”
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
In this damn world that’s hard enough to survive with just monsters, the amount of murderers, robbers, and rapists is just absurd.
The goddess, who is supposed to punish sins and protect the good, seems to be enjoying a peaceful slumber like a goddess. What gives—no action whatsoever?
So what can we do?
SWISH
We, the hero party, have to bring justice in her stead.
Of course, not in a manner suitable for children growing up.
“What are you doing!? Drop your sword!”
“I said don’t move!”
As Friede and I dismounted and drew our swords, the surrounding bandits frowned, brandishing their shoddy spears at us.
“Don’t move, huh? How hilarious. That’s what I should be saying.”
Knights express their intentions with swords, not words. With a chuckle, I stomped and charged like lightning towards them.
A while later…
“…If you don’t want to die, hand over everything!”
“Y-you can have it! Just please spare my life!”
Same threat as before.
The bandits, rendered immobile after being cut, desperately rummaged through their pockets to present their coin purses.
“Not needed.”
I shook my head as I collected the spoils that they offered.
“No, no…? What does that mean…?”
The bandits looked up at me with expressions of incredulity, as if they were staring at a madman whose words contradicted his actions.
“What? Did you misunderstand? Not that money.”
I guess they didn’t quite get me.
I handed the coin pouches over to Friede, raised my sword slightly, and shook my head.
“Uh…? Then what…?”
What else would it be?
“Your lives, of course. Aren’t they unnecessary?”
What’s the point in living if you’re just going to keep robbing? Can there be any trash more worthless in this world?
“And you guys didn’t even hand over everything you had, did you? So, it seems you have to die.”
“N-no—”
SWISH!
Before the kneeling bandits could even react, I swung my sword horizontally, decapitating two of them simultaneously while laughing.
“What the…!”
The remaining bandits jumped back in shock at their companions’ sudden demise.
“AAAH! Please, spare me!”
“That’s not a request I’m willing to entertain.”
Stepping on the back of a bandit trying to crawl away, I sliced the back of his neck, then swiftly turned around to cut down another who was about to swing at me.
“You didn’t grant that mercy either, did you?”
“AAAGH! My leg! My leg!”
Screams erupted as blood spewed from the bandit with the severed leg, sending him sprawling forward.
“Damn! Grr…! You b*tch! You promised if I surrendered, you’d spare me!”
The bandit, clutching his severed leg, writhed like a fish as he yelled in anger.
His vocal cords were impressive. With that much blood loss, he was practically halfway to the other side.
“Did I say that? I don’t think so. What do you think?”
I turned to Friede and asked.
“Y-you only said they should surrender without resisting!”
With the great sword obtained from the last bandit, Friede grinned and shook her head.
“Is this really okay?”
In an effort to avoid being misunderstood as a monster, I had instructed her to dispose of them as normally as possible.
Hmm… Looking at it now, she didn’t completely obliterate them—she’d just sliced them up a bit.
That should be fine for letting it slide.
I relaxed, turning my attention back to the bandit with the severed leg.
“Ugh….”
This guy was still alive.
How resilient could this punk be? Didn’t he have any family beckoning him over from the other side?
Well, it definitely didn’t seem like it.
“Did you hear? You can’t just go and call someone a liar when you’ve made a mistake.”
“Urgh… what are you… talking about…!”
BARK
With that bark, I thrust the tip of my sword into his eye.
He must have finally met his end, as he twitched violently before collapsing.
The stench of death and bodily fluids assaulted my nostrils and was quite displeasing.
In this way, Friede and I plundered the lives and riches of marauders as we made our way to Bainen.
We wandered like that for about a week or so.
“Finally….”
After what felt like an endless journey, we finally arrived at Bainen. Over ten days behind schedule, but hey, we made it!
It was a long and exhausting journey, in every possible sense.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.