Suddenly, the carriage lurched to a halt.
　There was a strange feeling.
　I looked at Clarice and saw her eyes. Her eyes were shaking uneasily.

　I murmured.

'It's a raid.'

What?

Mr. Clarice had better stay put.

　Not a few bandits are after the traveling wagon. If you get hold of the cargo, you can sell it off. No exception, even if the cargo is human.
　Slaves are one of the most expensive commodities in the Empire.

　I heard a man screaming from outside.
　It sounded like one of his guards had been killed.
　As soon as I stand up, the front and sides of the carriage are cut open.
　The bandits have penetrated to where the passengers are.
　The rest of the guards must have escaped.

'Oh, well, a lot of them look like they've got money. Yeah?　There's a young girl here, this one's gonna be fun.

　A large man, who seemed to be the bandit's chieftain, yelled out.
　His minions also smirked and looked at Clarice as they licked her.
　Clarice lets out a small scream with a whimper.
　I walked around to the front of Clarice so that she wouldn't be exposed to the gaze of the bandits.

'Haha, so you think you're defending a woman, kid?'

Well, that's the plan, isn't it?

　The chieftain chuckled as I replied nonchalantly, ''You think you can take on the 'Jet Black Bandits' all by yourself?

''Did you think you could take on the 'Jet Black Bandits' all by yourself? You've been lambasted. ''Huh?''

　The Jet Black Bandits. It's a largely respectable name for a bandit, and it's a bit, well, rather strange.　

　But I've heard of them.

　It's the same as the adventurer's party, with six bandits sharing the roles of attack, shield, recovery and support.
　It is also heard that they are a small number of elite and rather troublesome bandits.

　Either way, we need to get rid of the sparks that fall on us.
　I pull my sword from its sheath and raise my shield.

''Gentlemen of the Jet Black Bandits, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go easy on you. I'm sorry, but I can't go easy on you either. I suggest you leave quickly if you want to spare your life.

"Bastards, kill this puffed-up little bastard!

　As the chieftain shouted loudly, the six men entered a battle stance with a smirk.
　Be on your guard.
　The basis of battle is to go all out from the first move.

　I swung my sword to the right.
　In the next moment, the men who look like recovering and supporting mages of the jet-black bandits are enveloped in red lotus flames.

　I can hear the men's screams.
　The chieftain was astonished and slashed at us.
　It's admirable that he doesn't cower when his companions die, but it's useless.

　I block the chieftain's great sword with my shield.
　At the same time, an attack magic that glows light blue flies towards us. I don't have time to dodge, but it's not that advanced of a technique.
　Even if it's a direct hit, it won't do much damage, I stepped on it and didn't dodge.
　My magic resistance as a magic swordsman protects me.

　I swung my greatsword and slashed and discarded the gaping chieftain, at the same time, I cast a recovery spell to restore my strength.
　Then I used my acceleration magic to close the gap to the remaining three.
　Now there is nothing to protect them.
　I flashed my sword and they fell without a sound.

　I looked down at the six corpses.
　I don't like killing people, but it wasn't the first time either.
　The Jet Black Bandits are the target of the Imperial Army's defeat. They would have been killed sooner or later as retribution for poisoning so many people.
　I held out my hand and mourned for them. That was the style of the Imperial Church.

''Soooo great!　Brother!　You look like Master Solon!

　When I turn around, I see Clarice staring at me with her sparkling eyes.
　I don't feel bad about being respected, but I can't help but chuckle.

'As if,' you say, 'as if,' but Clarice, you've never seen Solon before, have you?

'But I'm sure Master Solon is active like this too!　I can do everything by myself!

I don't know.

I'm sure it is!

　Well, he's the person himself, so I'm not wrong.
　Even though he was kicked out, he was still the deputy leader of the strongest adventuring party in the Empire.
　I could take out bandits, well, it's just a normal thing to do.

　I looked around and then ran over to the coachman. He was quite old, and he was also hunched over.
　I tap him on the shoulder and reach out my hand to help him up.
　He asks the calm Goji, "How do you feel?

How do you feel?　Do you think you can move the carriage?

Yeah, well, sort of. You'll need to do a little work on it, though.

That's good to hear.

You're a lifesaver, sir. You're a lifesaver.

　And the passengers were like, "Exactly! He nodded his head and thanked them with a mouthful of gratitude. They asked me to do something to thank them, but I'm not in need of immediate money.
　In the end, I decided to just accept their offer of free carriage rides.

　It's not a bad feeling to be thanked for defending someone, though.
　Until now, it was my fellow knights that I should have been protecting.

　But now I don't have the power to protect Sophia and the others, nor do I have the power to fight with them.
　Then what should I protect them from now on?
　Does the Imperial City have the answer to that question?