The damage from the attack at the south gate was almost zero.


　After the bandits retreat, capture the fallen bandits with [Astonish Bubble].
　More fences and stakes were set up inside the gate, and the defenses were established.
　The north gate was also breached, but the bandits there are said to have quickly retreated.


　We're still investigating the damage, but for now, I'm leaving Kazui alone in the village, and instead, I'm sending Noah and a few other villagers out to patrol the area.
　We'll see if there are any bandits lurking around the village.
　Whether or not they would pretend to have retreated, but would attack again.
　That's what we went out to find out.


"Wu ......

Mr. Arx, if you're not feeling well, why don't you go back to the village?

No, that's not how it works. ......


　I walked around the village, holding my mouth with my hand. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.
　Thanks to Noah rubbing my back, I feel much better, but I still can't get rid of the sick feeling in my chest.


Even you, Arx, are no match for a dead body.

Of course not. ......


　＋"Of course it is, " I reply to Alpha's words with bitterness.
　Yes, the cause of the nausea that wouldn't leave me was the corpse of a bandit.
　When the village was being attacked, I was so focused that I didn't pay attention to it.
　When I took a breath, the smell from the stomach of the bandit that had been cut in half made me nauseous.


　When I fought at the Marquis of Gaston's mansion before ......, the corpses were basically clean.
　Some were pierced by Noah's sword.
　Or iced.
　Some of them had their necks broken by Cazi's magic.
　Finally, they were choked by the locust whirlwind.
　This is the first time I've been in a fight where my guts were splattered all over the place.
　The sight of the warm blood and flesh rising up in a thin, smelly steam was like a hellish picture of a man's world.
　Some of the villagers even vomited during and after the bandits' attack.


　And yet, even after witnessing such a horrific situation, a certain Gills was unconcerned.


"At ......?　Why did Gills come along?

No, I thought it would be safer to stay here than in the village. I thought it would be safer to stay here than in the village, and if something happened, the powerful mages would protect us.

I'll take Arx-sama first.

There's Kazui in the village. He'll be fine.

That's true, but the more the merrier.


　"That's true, but the more the merrier," he said, and laughed.
　If they were really such cowards, they wouldn't have come to a dangerous place.
　What are their intentions?
　As with the bandits who suddenly retreated, we still don't know much about this man.


But that magic you just did was amazing. I can't believe you came up with the idea of defeating an enemy with sound. You've got to make them less cautious with your appearance and then ...... go boom. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

It's much better to disable them with a simple spell than to damage the village with a big, flashy spell, right?

Disabling them instead of defeating them. ...... I guess we shouldn't make enemies of Mr. Arx.

Please do.

　I'm sure you'll agree that it's a good idea.
　But still...


I'm sure you've figured out that that magic is 'unbelievable'.

"Hmm?　What are you talking about?

"Don't be silly.


　I looked at Gills and poked him lightly, and he stuck out his tongue in a goofy way.


You got me. No, I've got some knowledge of magic, even if I'm not like this.

"So?


　Yes, he did say something like he knew the effect of magic.
　There was no way he could have known that the bubbles were insane just by looking at them.
　To the casual observer, it must have looked like just a bunch of big bubbles floating in the air.
　This means that, in all likelihood, he judged it by the spell.


　A man who calls himself a merchant, but who also knows magic.
　A man who claims to be a merchant but also knows magic.
　But the bottom line is that I don't know.


　Regardless of the story, I checked where the bandits had fled to, being careful not to stray too far from the village, but there was no word.
　It seems that the bandits are not lurking anywhere, so I decided to make a break for it and return to the village.


　What was the point of this attack on ......?
　I can't figure out what the bandits were trying to do at all.
　Certainly, it sounds like a brilliant exit.
　However, without stealing anything or achieving anything of note, they would only have caused damage.
　If the diversion had been successful and the north gate had been opened, the attack would have been even more fierce.
　However, they retreated with a signal soon after the report of the gate being breached arrived.


　They simply wanted to open the gate to the village.
　To exhaust the village's defenses with sporadic attacks.


　All sorts of possibilities came to mind, but they faded away as quickly as they were conceived, as they made little sense.
　I could see a faint reddish tinge in the dark sky just above the village.
　Perhaps they had increased the number of bonfires. The village didn't have much "glittering glass," so the only light was from the fire.


　As soon as we passed through the gate, we were greeted by the village chief.


Oh!　You're back. ......



Apparently, they're not hiding anywhere nearby. How about you?

Yes, sir. We have confirmed that there is no major damage to the village. ...... Thank you very much for your help.


　The village chief bowed, and those behind him bowed as well.
　The damage to the village was limited to a broken gate.
　As for the rest of the people staying in the village...


"Speaking of which, what about Pilokoro and the others?

Pilokoro-dono left right after that.

What?　He left?

Yes. We tried to stop him, but ......


　The village chief sank into a sigh of regret.
　So, he couldn't keep him and left?
　But why did he leave at this time?
　Pilokoro's behavior was so bizarre that his face showed his confusion.
　Then, as if to express his confusion, Gills said.


No, no, the night has just begun.　Even if you're in a hurry, it's absurd to leave the village at this hour, isn't it?

"Yes. I repeatedly told them that it was dangerous to go outside now, but they wouldn't listen to me, saying that they had to go to the capital to report as soon as possible.

What report?　What for?

Well, during the attack on the north gate, a cargo was stolen. ......

"Stolen?


　The village chief nodded in reply.
　So you're saying that their cargo, or silver, was stolen by the bandits?
　Noah raised an eyebrow at the mention of this.


They had many guards, didn't they?

It seems that when the gates were breached, they took advantage of the situation and the entire shipment was snatched.

"Seriously? ......


　I'm not sure what to say.
　When we were waiting for the village to come in, the Piloceros had enough guards to form a line.
　I don't know if I counted correctly, but there were ten to twenty of them.
　How skillful they were to slip past that many guards and steal it.
　Moreover, not much time had passed between the breach of the north gate and the retreat of the bandits.
　And even though it hadn't been long since the north gate had been breached and the bandits had retreated, how could they have stolen it so easily?


"Chief!


　I turned around at the sudden call.
　When I turned around at the sudden call, a villager came running towards the chief.


What's wrong?

I've made contact with the army that's been staying nearby. They'll be here soon!

Oh!　That's good!


　The village chief's voice bounced with joy.
　The chief's voice flashed with joy. Apparently, after they left for the patrol, they sent out a report to the nearby villages that bandits had appeared.
　One of them said that they had found a territorial army that had come to this area to kill the bandits.
　They were on the lookout for a while.


　...... Soon, a group of armed men appeared in the village.
　They were armed with swords, spears, bows, and other weapons of their choice.
　The design of the armor and other clothing is all the same.
　The equipment is made to order and engraved for each individual.
　A strong warhorse and a military flag indicating the territory of the army.
　There is even a Transportation Corps in the rear.
　Definitely an official unit.


　But what appeared with the troops was a boy with reddish-brown hair carrying a huge sword on his back.


　He was about the same age as me.
　He was only a little taller than me.
　Despite this, he rode at the head of the troop on a war horse.
　Even the older men in the troop were polite to him.
　So he must be the son of a good family.
　I observed his appearance, thinking that he must be from a very strict family to be leading his troops to defeat bandits at this time of the day.


　He was dressed not in armor, but in the kind of comfortable clothing and cloak that one would find on the street.
　The only armor he wore was a pair of well-tailored boots and a wrist.
　On his nose is a bandage reminiscent of a naughty boy.
　His face is full of energy and vigor, even at night.
　He looked more like an adventurous boy than the son of a good family.


　What is surprising, however, is his huge sword.
　The fact that he could walk around with a sword twice his height was like something out of a daydream.
　Perhaps it is the effect of the engraving on the sword and the engraving on the wrist.
　The chief of the village kneels down to bow to the boy on the horse.
　He was a man of high rank, after all.
　The chief immediately began to explain the situation.
　Soon, the soldiers began to move one by one.
　They were probably repairing the gate and checking the security.


　Suddenly, the boy turned to me.
　He looked dubious, but when the chief immediately said something to him, his face became smiling and satisfied.
　　He must have told him what had happened.
　The boy and some others dismounted and approached.


　And he was a little more curt than the broken ...... children of good families.


"You protected my people, didn't you?　I thank you. Thank you.

"Oh, yeah.


　I gave him a vague reply.


"............?

"......, what is it?


　The boy peeked at me with a suspicious expression, and I gave him a suspicious look as well.
　In the midst of all this, the boy is bouncing around, looking at our faces from various angles.
　In addition, he squinted his eyes and groaned as if trying to focus.
　I wondered what he was trying to find out about me.
　Her gaze naturally narrowed due to her rudeness.


...... You're a girl, aren't you?　...... Yes, I am. And you're cute.


　Right after he said that, he turned around and said.


"Noah, they say you're cute. Noah, they say you're cute.

"...... Dear Arx. Don't turn your back on reality. That was definitely directed at Mr. Arx.

Shut up, I know!　d*mn it!　d*mn it!


　He shouts and clogs his feet.
　I wonder if this kind of exchange is a regular thing anymore.
　He shouted to the wondering boy and the people behind him.


I'm a man!　Man!　I'm a man!

"What?　Is that so?　Are you sure?

Yeah!　You can tell by the way I look!　You're wearing men's clothes!

No, I'm sorry, I didn't realize.


　The boy is smiling cheerfully.
　There is no hint of embarrassment.
　The person behind him asks him if he is his assistant or something.
　They must be his assistants or something.


"Boy, boy.

"Oh?　Oh, yeah. I know, I know. ...... Well, it's my job, so I had to ask you some questions. ......


　They want to find out who they are.


　If you'd like to go to my house," the chief suggested, "we'll go to your house together.