I was going to get a strong tone from Midea.

'You can't do that!　We're supposed to be the Demon Exterminators of the Alp States.　It's a violation if you work for free. A bandit's property is essentially the property of the defeater!

But I don't want to. ...Is there anything I can do?

Don't look at me like that... well, I'll pretend it's a request and say it's a request. But you have to take 20% of the reward, right?

　What's that?
　In Japan.....
　...it's never happened.

　This is a different world.
　The rules of this place.
　It's a no-man's land.

　If it's free, there's no mercenary dispatch service. The Alp Guard State will also lose its source of income. If we set a strange precedent, other mercenaries will get in trouble.

　For example, but they won't be paid and won't get the bandit's treasure. Under such conditions, he would risk his life to exterminate bandits that have nothing to do with him. How many people would be willing to do that?

　What's the guarantee that a justice who is stronger than the bandits, as the story goes, will always appear with gratuitous goodness?

　And even if you help them, you can't even get fame with a mix of stateless and despised people. So they need to ask for help with rewards and treasures.

　Otherwise, there would be little hope of help coming. Come to think of it, bounty hunters were all the rage back in the days of America's western frontier. In the end, it's all about money, and the Earth is no different, considering the environment and times.

　That's why Midea forged a request for 20% of the loot.

　Less than 20% was a violation of the Alp mercenary rules. Even so, 20% seems to be a case where the residents were the main force. Originally, it was a reward for identifying the hideout and auxiliary work.

　And now all of the abducted daughters are scavenging the carcasses. Even though they just went through such an incident, the people here are robust.

I could tell by the look on Ryota's face what I was thinking. That's funny!　You know, Ryota ... the city mixes have accepted being treated like slaves and being called urban parasites in exchange for safety. I'm sure they're not happy about it.

　Just being born as a mix and being treated like that................it's strange not to have complaints.

But this area is a mixture of the rich forest and the demon area called the Speckled Forest. The people who were prepared for such a dangerous place and wished to live as human beings gathered to form a settlement. That's why it's not easy to be attacked by demons and bandits," he said.

　They don't give up on being a person, no matter what the circumstances. That's a very hard thing to do, I think they're strong and honorable people. They're just getting back what they need to survive, not like those shallow people who want money.

　I'm afraid of the company, so I'm a coworker, and I ended up getting wasted.

　It's presumptuous of me to feel sorry for them because they're in the mix. These women are fighting. The unreasonableness that this world has imposed on them.

　I'm a whiner and a blabbermouth... but the people of the Blotch Woods are respectable people who have chosen to live a much prouder life than I have.

'I'm sorry, Midea. It would be insulting to me to help you and not give you a free pass, so please excuse my rudeness.

　It doesn't matter how strong you are militarily. I was wrong about who was really strong.

　A strong person is one who follows his or her own way of life, no matter what the circumstances. Looking good and caring about what others think is good or bad is a sign of weakness. A truly proud person is one who lives life to the fullest and yet never mistakes the path of a human being. Someone who can do that.

Ryota I'm glad that there aren't many people who understand that. But this is the way of life I chose to live because I love it, so it's enough that you understand it.

　After the talk, I'll fill the barrel with water from the watering hole the bandit was using with an armored car pump. I plan to use the water heater and hot water boiled on the stove to adjust the temperature.

　But the armored car will be powered by a water dragon's dragon ball, right?　I thought you could at least make water, but then I remembered I was told it was dangerous and could not be controlled except in a predetermined way.

　It's a very useless piece of junk, isn't it?

　I asked Windowflower if it was possible to collect the water in the air and groundwater for future use.

"Ryota-sama, you can collect the water in the air, right?　There is a local downpour on the dragon ball control function, so you can stop and assemble a rain collection sheet to make it possible. However, there will be heavy rainfall in the area, so please choose your location.

　Well, I saw such a feature in the materials. Simply put, the ability to create a small, strong low pressure system to make it rain.

　To do this, we stopped and set up a tarp like funnel, larger than an armored car. After filtration and disinfection, the water is sent into the armored car's water tank.

That's right. But in this case, the cistern is too small...

As a suggestion for improvement, I suggest that we add an external water storage tank, preferably made of readily available, rust-resistant copper or bronze. Then I would like to see you strip the equipment.

　Hmm. Let's say we melt it down in the electric furnace and revert it to material.

　Can I just tap it and make it cylindrical and weld it together?　Screw in one end and seal it up so it's cleanable. So that means we'll have to cut and shape the inside.

The extra cistern is a good idea. We can save the copper or bronze.

　We can't do it now, but the more water the better, for whatever reason. We have no choice, so this time we're going to work hard to get supplies out of the cave until the water picks up.

　And, occasionally, we'll strip off the copper and bronze equipment.

　The proud people of the Speckled Forest, this is a fight for survival, so refraining is an insult to them. When I was thinking hard about this, I heard Midea's voice saying [Outside the base is free to strip off, but I'm going to throw it away, so hurry up].


★ Finally, the work is done.

'Midia, we've finished collecting the money and goods. Plenty of additional slaver's wagons and money as well. There's also some food, but it's hard to distinguish it from the loot, so could you ask me to check and distribute it?

I'll take care of it, but I'd like to go and dump the bandit's corpse first. We've stripped it down to the studs and lassoed the carcass to an armored truck. But I just need a place to dump them do you mind if I ask you?

　Bodies can be a plague, and it's no wonder there's a place to hope for. If there's any concern, it's whether the rope will hold up if it's too far away.

　But I was impressed when I heard about the place I wanted to abandon. The demon area adjacent to each village, a place behind it. It is said that a pack of wolves live there and the soil is not suitable for cultivation.

　The wolves go to that place to dump the corpses as food for the wolves.

　The number of wolves that are able to feed themselves will increase temporarily, but the territory is the same, so there will not be enough prey to feed the wolves. The wolves will go after the demon's children, even if it is dangerous. Eventually the wolves will return to normal, but the number of demons will also decrease, so the village will be safe for a while.

　It's really a tough guy who won't just fall down and wake up. We saved him, and he was worth it.