Chapter 69

Chapter 69 – Bandits

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We have left from Bailey early in the morning and arrived at a certain mountain after a half day of walking .

「Joule, Feat, thank you」

『Wafu』『Gau』

Although I say that, I have summoned Joule and others after getting slightly away from the town and we moved on them, so it didn’t take that much time to arrive at the destination .

「N~, would it be better if you turned small here?」

『Kyan』『Naa~』

It’s unhabituated mountain, but it would be unsuitable to keep riding on Joule’s and other’s backs on this mountain, so I had them turn smaller .

The space between the trees is considerably narrower compared to the Gaya Forest, so it doesn’t seem like running around in their big forms would be good .

『Garu~』

Vector was in his small form since I summoned him . Well, although I say small, he’s as big as Allen and Elena . Rather, Vector is slightly bigger .

「Now then, what shall we do?」

「Herb~」

「Searching~」

「Eh? Herb searching? It’s not like we have accepted a request, it’s okay to play around, you know?」

When I asked the children what they want to do, they returned an unexpected reply .

I thought of receiving a request before coming here at first, but I somehow didn’t want to go to this place’s Adventurer’s Guild, so we have not received any requests today .

That’s why I thought of normally playing today, but to think they would want to do herb searching……

「Lemme see~…… ah!」

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Right . It might be a good idea to look for the materials and herbs used as spices for curry . When I looked around lightly, and as I thought, I found a mint growing nearby .

「Allen, Elena . Shall we look for plants and herbs for today’s meal?」

「「Un, let’s do it~」」

Allen and Elena have displayed a great motivation .

At the same time, Joule and others drew closer to us .

「Oh, everyone will help us out?」

『Kyan』『Naa~』『Pii~』『Garu~』

That being the case, I thought of searching for plants and herbs while strolling around the mountain, but――

「「Ah!」」

「Allen, Elena?」

Suddenly, Allen and Elena began feeling presences from the surroundings .

When I also looked around with【Detection】, I sensed several presences at some distance away .

「Ah~……」

Furthermore, they are surrounding us from all sides .

The presences are also gradually approaching us . This is obviously not the movement of animals or monsters . No need to guess, this is……

And then, after a few minutes, ten-odd people holding weapons appeared .

We are just passing by, they won’t be saying that, will they? As I thought, they are bandits, aren’t they~

When I used【Appraisal】to see their status, their occupation had properly【Bandit】beside it . We have encountered a troublesome group .

「Head~ They are a man and two brats」

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「No woman, huh . You bastards, kill the man and steal the valuables . Don’t kill the brats, we are going to sell them」

『Ussu!』

It looks like fighting can’t be avoided .

Even if you kill bandits, it won’t become a crime in this world . But, I don’t think of proceeding to kill them . I do not intend to hesitate because they are dangerous, but I don’t plan on staining our hands on opponents of such degree . I would like to avoid taking lives as much as possible .

I thought of reaching my hands and pulling Allen and Elena behind me, but the two are already in a complete battle mode . Even if I tell them, they won’t obediently back away, right?

「Allen, Elena . Are you not willing to let Oniichan take care of this?」

「Allen too~」

「Elena too~」

…… Un, they are eager to act .

「Oniichan wants to be entrusted with this?」

「「………… Doing~」」

They seemed to be conflicted a little, but they don’t withdraw . How unfortunate .

「Ah~…… then, can you go easy? You must absolutely not kill, okay?」

「「Can do~」」

The two are usually obedient, but they are surprisingly belligerent .

「Joule, Feat, Bolt, and Vector will……」

『Kyan』『Na~u』『Pii』『Garu』

…… They are fully motivated as well .

「…… You guys hold back too, okay? Please, avoid killing as much as possible」

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『Kyan』『Na~u』『Pii』『Garu』

Everyone except Bolt are in their small forms, but all of them should be able to instantly kill if going seriously .

I beg you, don’t overdo it! We obviously have too much fighting power!

「You bastards, let’s go-!」

『Ooohーーー』

With the command of the man called Head, the bandits simultaneously rushed at us .

Using it as a signal, the children faced the bandits .

「「Yaa!」」

「「Guwa……」」

『Kyan』『Nnaa』『Garu~』

「「「Guwa……」」」

『Piii』

「Giyaaーーー」

The bandits decreased in numbers in no time .

Ah~ Lemme see, lemme see…… un, they are fine . They didn’t die .

I thought it would be difficult to render the bandits incapable of fighting, but it appears the children can properly control their power . I’m a bit relieved .

「You bastards, what are you doing against brats, dogs, and cats!!」

「H, however, Head! These guys are str~ong!」

The Head gets angry seeing his underlings get beaten one after another, and the remaining underlings are preparing to flee .

「「Yaa!」」

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「Gufu」

「Gawa」

Thus, Allen and Elena knock them out as well .

Not being able to endure, the Head faced the children while a holding a knife――

「You bastards! If you want to live――guha!」

Vector slammed into the Head with all his power .

「「「H, Head!!?」」」

『Garu~♪』

The Head flew slightly backward, but Vector’s attack was a simple ramming attack…… he will surely live……

「T, there’s no way we can win against fellows like these~~~」

「Oopsy, I won’t let you escape」

「Hiii!!」

Looking at their companions getting beaten one after another, one of the remaining bandits tried to escape .

I swiftly move behind him and place a knife against his throat .

「Are all of your companions here? Ahh, will you also tell me where your hideout is?」

「P, please wait-!」

「If you don’t answer quickly, my clumsy hand might slip, you know?」

「Hiiiiii!! Talk, I will talk! I will talk so, p, please spare me…」

When I lowered my knife, the bandit immediately answered my questions .