--Two later.

　Of the fourteen bandits, I was able to kill twelve of them.
　I'm disappointed that I missed the other two.

　Now that I've shown my sniper's hand, I'd like to kill them here if possible. It would be troublesome if they shared the information with the others who were not here.

　--They're heading for the Mises.

　Bad luck. Maybe the bandits are focused on getting away from me. It's probably just a coincidence that their target, the Mize, is right where they're running.

　If I give them too much time to get in touch with the others, it'll be a problem.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

I'm not a fan.

　One of the bandits stopped his escape and started to fight back.
　The man activated his "toughness" and swung his sword out sharply. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

　The next moment, a thrust was delivered. Unlike the students at the school, he was used to fighting.
　I took a step back as the attacker read my movements.
　A moment later, the ground I stepped on rises up.

　--A trap.

　I felt a strange sensation coming back from my sole and jumped back as far as I could.
　Immediately after, a bolt of lightning struck the spot where I had been.

"d*mn, you dodged it.

　The other bandit clicked his tongue at some distance away.
　Apparently, he had set a trap during his escape.

　It's probably the same type of magic as the Bomb Trap I just used.
　Fixed-point spells are often used for traps. However, this kind of magic can locate the location from the residue of magic power even if it is not visible to the eye.

　However, this residue is not something that can be sensed unconsciously.
　It can only be sensed by sharpening one's concentration to the extreme.

　Let out a short exhalation and increase the output of the Ligament.
　As his senses sharpened, he sensed the presence of a trap set elsewhere.

　--Bullet.

　He pointed his fingertips at the enemy and shot out a mass of magic power.
　The bandit avoided it almost intuitively. However, the bandit lost his composure and tripped over a tree root at his feet, momentarily losing his stance.

　An opportunity - he kicked the ground hard and approached the man who had lost his stance.

　But at that moment.
　The other man attacks from the side.

　A flash of his sword. Apparently, this man is good at close combat.
　It's a skillful swordplay mixed with feints. How can he use such an unsteady foothold to make such a beautiful sword stroke?

　With a little admiration, you break away from the man's blade-range.

You've suddenly become desperate. I see, so you're close by, huh?

　The bandit asks, sword at the ready.
　You're close, aren't you?　--I'm not going to answer that question.

　As the standoff continues, he uses his fixation to create a dagger and throws it into a tree five meters away.
　Immediately after, the tree the dagger was stuck in exploded violently.

"Explosion!

"d*mn, you're still doing that?

　It was one of the traps he had set up between the time he left Mize and the time he headed for the sniper point.

　Although it was unavoidable, it has been exploding several times since a while ago. The sound and vibrations were probably being felt by Mize and the others. We must destroy the bandits before they approach us with a strange curiosity.

　He regretted that he did not have enough cards in his hand when dealing with a large number of people.
　But now was not the time to dwell on unnecessary thoughts.

　Trees scattered to dust, and more dust and smoke billowed up.
　I slowly disappeared into the smoke.

"Another dazzler--blow it away with the wind!

Ah!

　The dust cloud was blown away in all directions by a sudden blast.
　I don't know exactly what kind, but it seems he used wind magic to blow the dust away.

　But it was a little late.
　A tree with a bandit's back to it. --I'm right behind it.

　--Blink of an eye.

　I swung my sharpened blade at the neck of the man who had stopped to watch his surroundings.
　The blade, transparent and difficult to see, severed the man's head from the tree trunk.

"Yeah--

　The man, whose head was severed from behind, let out a thin voice.
　The head fell to the ground at his feet.

"Well?

　I kicked a fallen tree at the remaining man.
　The man dodged the tree with an impatient look on his face as he was flung about three meters.

　--there.

　That's a good position to run to.
　He instantly materializes another dagger and throws it diagonally to the left into the bushes.
　The dagger cut the thread that was hidden in the bushes, and the trap was activated.

"What?



　The man's feet are tied up by a loop of thread.
　The man scrambles to break the bonds, but it's too late. The man is hung upside down in a tree.

　It's called a lanyard trap.
　It's a technique invented for hunting traps, but it works on humans too.

"Nonsense!　I didn't feel any magic!

It's just a string.

　We're both using fixed-point traps.
　That's probably why the guy was wary of magic traps. But - I'm not obsessed with magic.

That's what happens when you rely on magic all the time.

"d*mn it.

　A single bullet pierced the frustrated man's forehead.



　A bullet pierced the frustrated man's forehead.



　After defeating the bandits, I sat down on the ground for a while to catch my breath.

　--I'm exhausted.

　The difference in numbers was too great. As a man who specializes in assassination and surprise attacks, I'm not used to fighting in groups. To be honest, one-on-many combat is tough for me because I lack the ability to destroy.

　I wiped off my sweat and regained my composure, then downsized my black cloak and put it in my pocket.
　It's been thirty minutes since I left Mize and the others. It must be time to go back.

　I see the three of them and call out to them.

"Sorry we're late--

"Two-eight!　We need to get out of here now!

　As soon as Gran saw me, he said impatiently.
　You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

There's been an explosion around here for a while now. I think it's probably a high-ranked demon on the loose.

"Well, we'd better get moving because we don't want to get caught.

　I see, that's how you see it.
　That's convenient. This battle has drained me of more energy than I expected. If possible, I would like to return to King's Landing and settle down.

I don't mind the move, but what about the request?

I'm afraid we'll have to give up. If you can collect a few more, you can complete the request. ......

　Elysia looks down and says.
　It seems that they were unable to collect the required number of Sharp Rabbit claws.

I have a souvenir for you.

　It's good to have them just in case.
　With that in mind, I pulled something out of my pocket.

"Sharp rabbit claws, three of them. Will that be enough?

　After the break, I saw some Sharp Rabbits before I met up with the three of them, so I hunted down three of them.
　If I didn't need them, I would have exchanged them for cash later, but ...... apparently that wasn't necessary. The three of them looked at my Sharp Rabbit claws with half surprise and half delight.

"Nice work, Twight!

That's great, thank you.

Oh, thank you so much!

　The three of them bowed in unison.
　As for me, I'm happy that I was able to contribute to the request that we all received, but I feel very bad because ...... it was a complete match pump. If the explosion hadn't occurred in the first place, the four of us would have been able to retrieve Sharp Rabbit's claws as planned.

　The three of them looked at me strangely, as if they were biting down on a bitter taste in their mouths.

"If we're going to move, let's do it early.

"Yeah. ...... I'm sorry, Twight, that you had to come back so soon.

Don't worry about it. We'll be safe in the future.

　We're still beginners.
　This level of timidity is just fine for now.

　As the four of us headed for the capital, we thought about the attack.
　The bandits may be a much larger organization than we thought. If there's another attack of the same scale, we'll be in trouble.

　--It's hard to prevent more attacks by myself.

　I've been worried about this for a while, but this attack confirms it.

　--We'll need reinforcements here too.