The Red Hat and the Red Nose (Part 3)
The Red Hat and the Red Nose (Part 3)
"Hey there! You there, fair lady! Over here! Come this way!"
A man tied to a tree in his underwear.
He shouted at me at the top of his lungs.
He looked desperate, as if he'd found his savior.
"W-Won't you untie me? I beg of you."
Ignoring his pitiful gaze, I briefly scanned the surroundings.
No suspicious signs were detected.
It didn't seem like a trap.
Only then did I approach and untie the man's ropes.
"Whew, thank you. If it weren't for you, miss, I'd have surely become a meal for the beasts."
"Were you attacked?"
Dusting off the dirt as he stood up, he nodded with an angry expression.
"Got ambushed by three damn thieves. I set out early at dawn to avoid the scum, but ended up getting hit hard anyway. As you can see, they took everything but my underwear."
"At least you don't seem injured."
Fortunately, aside from rope marks, no wounds were visible.
Losing possessions must sting, but nothing is more precious than life.
"Hoo. True. They say even rolling in a dog shit field is better than the afterlife. When they tried to kill me in one stroke, I prostrated myself and begged. I even licked their feet like a dog, and they laughed their asses off before sparing me."
So that's how he survived—by enduring such humiliation.
I too suffered all sorts of indignities when captured by mountain bandits.
Even now, remembering it makes my nipples ache and my butt throb.
Feeling a sense of shared hardship, I handed him my cloak.
"At least cover yourself with this for now. I'll escort you to a safe place."
I couldn't just ignore someone in distress.
Since I wasn't in a hurry, I planned to escort him at least to the coach inn.
"Th-That's very kind, but... miss, are you perhaps skilled with a sword?"
"...I am a Silver Badge mercenary, for what it's worth."
Not sure why he asked, but I took out my mercenary badge and showed it.
The middle-aged man's face instantly brightened.
"You, see those peppercorns scattered over there?"
"Peppercorns?"
I shifted my gaze to where he pointed.
Sure enough, a few lumpy black peppercorns were rolling on the dirt ground.
"My spice sack had a small hole in it. Those must have fallen out. If we follow them, we might be able to track those damn thieves!"
Skeptical, I looked closer and indeed, clusters of peppercorns were sporadically scattered like Hansel and Gretel's trail.
The man spoke excitedly beside me.
"How about we ambush them in return? If we succeed, you can have my pack and all the spoils. I'll be content just getting my clothes back."
It wasn't a bad proposal.
Capturing the thieves there would also let me ask about Red Nose.
I agreed without hesitation.
"Alright. Let's do it."
And so the pursuit began.
Following the peppercorns on the ground, the two of us moved through the forest path for a while.
Just as my eyes were starting to strain, we discovered a crude campsite.
"Those bastards! Sons of bitches. They're eating my pepper in their stew!"
Three thieves were huddled together, shoveling down stew.
The perfect moment for an ambush.
The man lowered his voice and whispered a plan in my ear.
"I'll distract them. How about you flank them from the other side?"
"No. I can handle this alone."
I appreciated the offer to help, but that would just needlessly risk his life.
Without waiting for his reply, I strode forward.
"Huh? Who...?"
The thief's words didn't continue.
A horizontal slash had severed the bastard's neck.
"Hey! Draw your swords!"
The bastards threw their bowls and frantically tried to draw their weapons.
I had no intention of waiting idly.
A smooth vertical slash split another thief's skull.
Then I clenched my fist and punched the last one square in the face.
"Guhack!"
The bastard fell forward awkwardly and lost consciousness on the spot.
The fight ended almost before it began.
I turned and called the merchant man.
"It's over."
"Th-This is the power of a Silver Badge mercenary... an Aura User. Amazing..."
He approached me hesitantly.
Unlike before, he seemed a bit intimidated.
"Find your clothes and get dressed first. I'll look around a bit."
"Ah, alright."
Leaving him to dress himself, I searched the thieves' pockets.
I managed to get about 4 Arshen in cash.
The rest were just miscellaneous trinkets, so I left them.
"You've done well. Here, as promised, my pack and spice sack. Aside from some missing pepper, it's all here."
The man, now recovered his clothes and shoes, handed me a large backpack and a sack.
I looked at them for a moment, then slowly shook my head.
"It's fine."
A lone merchant wouldn't be carrying anything expensive.
The spices were probably cheap kinds like pepper, ginger, or mustard.
Carrying them would just be a hindrance.
"Huh, really? You saved my life, got my revenge, and now you're returning my goods too..."
His face full of gratitude, the man suddenly shoved his hand into his pants.
Followed by a vigorous, almost masturbatory hand movement.
"...?"
The absurd sight left me speechless for a moment.
As I stared in bafflement, he finally pulled something out and offered it to me.
"Here, take it. My token of thanks."
It was two 5-Arshen silver coins.
Instead of taking them immediately, I stared at the man.
Everything was fine, but why did these come from his crotch?
"D-Don't look at me like that. It's emergency money I hid in a secret pocket inside my underwear."
"...I see."
Though somewhat dubious and grossed out, I accepted the silver coins.
That made 14 Arshen total.
A pretty good haul for a brief act of kindness.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. Thanks for the help!"
Shouldering his pack and clutching the spice sack, the man soon departed.
Watching his retreating back, I spoke softly.
"You there. Let's have a little talk now."
The thief who'd been knocked out by a punch to the face.
The bastard, who'd been lying still as a dead mouse, cautiously raised himself up.
"Wh-What do you want to know..."
"Know a bandit called Red Nose?"
"I do!"
An immediate, forceful reply. He was full of vigor.
Well, I did kill his two companions in one strike, so that's expected.
"I hear Red Nose is gathering bandits. True?"
"Yes! Twenty—no, about thirty of them!"
More than I expected.
This meant I should opt for infiltration and assassination over a frontal assault.
I asked again.
"Any Aura users in that group?"
"Yes! Red Nose is an Aura User!"
"Anyone besides Red Nose?"
"No!"
If he were an Expert, I'd stand no chance, but a User level is something I can handle.
The problem is the underlings, but that can be solved with a surprise attack.
"Where's Red Nose's hideout?"
"I know the location! Shall I guide you?"
"Good. Lead the way."
I liked his straightforwardness.
Given how well he knew about Red Nose's group, this bastard must be part of that faction.
In recognition of his cooperation, I decided to kill him with my sword later instead of using Agony's Ecstasy.
Following the thief, we walked through the forest and climbed a mountain until a fairly large campsite appeared.
It seemed spacious enough to accommodate thirty people.
This had to be Red Nose's hideout.
"...Wait. I don't see Red Nose?"
Only about ten people were at the campsite.
And none of them had a red nose.
The moment I turned to interrogate the thief.
The bastard suddenly sprang up and dashed out of the bushes.
"Ambussssh! Help! Ambussssh!"
As if waiting for this moment, the thief ran toward the campsite, shouting at the top of his lungs.
I shot forward like lightning and caught up to him instantly.
Then, with Agony's Ecstasy, I mercilessly slammed the back of his neck.
"Ambush? Hey, everyone gather! It's an ambush!"
"Tch...!"
I reacted as fast as I could, but it was already too late.
The bandit group, hearing the commotion, was converging on my position.
I knew things were going too smoothly.
I drew my Bastard Sword and prepared for combat.
Whatever the reason, Red Nose wasn't here anyway.
In that case, I'll just quickly slaughter these ten first.
"The enemy is just one woman! Capture her alive, don't kill!"
As if they'd already assessed the situation, the bandit group closed in on me.
Capture alive, don't kill. Their underestimation only works in my favor.
I activated my footwork techniques, closing the distance between me and the thieves in an instant.
Just as they flinched and tried to raise their weapons, my vertical slash flashed.
One bastard was mortally wounded, his shoulder cleaved off as if slicing radishes.
I immediately followed with a horizontal slash, deeply cutting into another thief's side.
In one-against-many combat, seizing the initiative is key.
Killing two in mere seconds made the other thieves hesitate to approach.
Effectively, the outcome was decided then.
I plunged into their midst in one breath and swung my sword.
A symphony of violence—slashing, stabbing, twisting, and carving.
Each swing of the sword claimed a life.
Using my footwork definitely made fighting multiple opponents easier.
It felt like offense and defense were unified, allowing evasions and counterattacks to flow seamlessly.
In the end, the slaughter concluded in under three minutes.
I confirmed and executed any still breathing bastards, then searched their pockets.
Collected together, I managed to gather a couple of brass rings and about ten silver coins.
Since they were a fairly large faction, their belongings were quite decent.
Just as I was about to examine the campsite more closely.
A thunderous roar suddenly struck my eardrums.
"What in the world is going on here!"
Only one person could radiate such a fearsome aura.
The leader of the bandit group causing disturbances—Red Nose.
Finally, it was time to face the final boss.