Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Bandit Group (2)
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Upon returning to the mansion, Ariel immediately headed back to her room.
That was strange. She usually stuck to me like glue, so I'd been planning to tell her to give me some space for a bit. But here she was, walking away on her own.
I asked her if something was wrong, but she just shook her head vigorously.
'Hmm.'
Something felt off.
But I trusted Ariel to handle herself just fine, so I went to find Father.
The family head's office.
Father appeared to be working through some documents.
As I approached, he looked up from the papers and met my gaze.
"What is it?"
"Father, have you heard the recent news from the village?"
"...You're talking about the two girls who went missing from the southeastern village."
"Yes, that's it."
Father set down his pen.
His deep-set eyes turned toward me.
"Mari and Sofi were kidnapped. It's already been quite some time—who knows what they're going through right now. Shouldn't we help them as soon as possible?"
"I agree with you, Kline. How could I ignore the plight of our territory's people?"
"Then why...?"
"We've identified them. They're the 'Black Hood Bandits' who've been spotted around the duchy lately. I didn't pay them much mind since they were just committing petty crimes."
Bandits, huh.
It was odd when I thought about it. Father said they were behind those petty crimes.
Stealing daily necessities or crops and livestock—small-time stuff like that.
Yet these same thugs had kidnapped people from our duchy.
It didn't make any sense.
"But they dared to abduct our territory's people. That's why I'm being cautious. We don't know if there's some larger force behind them or if they've just gotten too bold."
"Can't we pull some of the remaining knights?"
"No. They have to guard the key points in the duchy. We can't spare resources on something like this."
"So, we have to wait for the knights dispatched to the north to return."
"Exactly. The village guards couldn't even stop them. It's hard to resolve without our family knights, and since they're away, there's no choice."
"Hmm..."
This was definitely tricky.
Multiple bad conditions were piling up, making it hard to solve.
In times like this, you needed a bold move.
One decisive strike that cut through all the tedious logic.
"Then I'll go."
"...What?"
Father furrowed his brow.
"Are you out of your mind, Kline? Even if you're exceptionally talented, you're still only twelve. I can't let you charge into a bandit camp alone."
"I don't plan on engaging them properly. Just reconnaissance. I'll check on the kids from a distance and come back."
"...Hah."
Father let out a small sigh.
But he didn't seem intent on stopping me outright.
"You'll really just scout and come straight back?"
"Of course. I don't overdo it."
"Fine. Do you even have a way? The trail's probably gone cold by now."
"My eyes are pretty sharp, you know. I can find it."
"Good."
Father nodded and returned his gaze to the documents.
It was basically permission.
"Go and come back. Experiences like this will benefit you."
"Yes. I'll be back."
"Remember this. Do not even think about fighting. I don't want to see my son's corpse."
"Don't worry about it."
With those final words from Father, I left the family head's office.
Tomorrow morning, I'd head back to the village.
I might find some clues there.
Black Hood Bandits.
A third-rate bandit group that roamed the empire, stealing cheap goods or pilfering crops and livestock.
They had set up a base in the outskirts of the Leonhart Duchy.
Emboldened beyond belief, they'd committed a crime against the duchy's own people.
"Boss. Got 'em here."
"Good."
A subordinate approached Bern, the leader of the Black Hood Bandits.
Next to the subordinate were two young girls with cloths over their heads.
"P-please, spare us..."
"We didn't do anything wrong..."
The girls—Mari and Sofi—trembled in fear.
They'd only gone out to pick flowers, never imagining they'd be kidnapped by bandits.
The children shuddered, imagining the horrors ahead.
Bern sneered down at them.
"Shut up. I'm not planning to kill you."
Right.
They'd always been a small-time bandit group, stealing goods or food at most.
There was a specific reason why the Black Hood Bandits had done something insane like kidnapping girls from the Leonhart Duchy.
It stemmed from a rumor circulating in the underworld lately.
'They pay for kids, huh.'
A terrifying rumor just to hear.
The Black Hood Bandits weren't in a position to get involved in something like that.
But the rumor spread like wildfire, one tale leading to another.
They pay a fortune, the more kids you bring, the higher the price...
In the end, even Bern had gone through with it.
Kidnapping children—something they never would have done before.
But Bern thought it was the right call.
Other bandit groups that handed kids over to the client had made a killing, after all.
"Boss. What do we do with these two?"
"Lock 'em in the basement. Make sure they can't get out."
"Do we feed 'em?"
"Of course, you idiot. We gotta deliver 'em in one piece."
And so, the children were shut away underground.
"Now we can finally relax. Been worn out from all the thieving."
"Tell me about it, boss."
"But boss, what's the deal with that client? Why just kids? Slave trader or something?"
"Yeah, what if the imperial army catches us?"
"Calm down, calm down, you fools."
Bern clicked his tongue to settle his men.
Yeah. Everyone had worries nagging at them.
They'd committed a crime against the people of the Leonhart Duchy, of all places.
Who knew if knights might show up and lop off their heads.
"We got a plan. Pretty much all the imperial troops and territory knights got pulled to Priod up north. No one's coming after us."
"Really? Where'd you hear that, boss?"
"The client passed it along."
"That's suspicious. Who the hell is this client anyway?"
"Hmph."
Bern grunted at that.
Come to think of it, who was this client?
Freely handing out info like that even to the Black Hood Bandits.
Someone in the know about Priod?
'Eh, doesn't matter.'
Whatever.
What counted was that the Black Hood Bandits were about to achieve financial freedom.
"Alright, boys. Pack it up."
"We finally gonna live it up, boss?"
"Yeah. No more risky bandit life. Time for a fresh start."
He looked at his ten subordinates, envisioning the future.
Time to quit the lowlife bandit gigs and live comfortably.
As the Black Hood Bandits grinned in satisfaction with their resolve...
Bang-!
"What the hell?"
A massive boom echoed from outside the bandits' base.
It was an unbelievably loud noise.
Bern almost thought a cannon shell had hit.
"Go check it out."
"Got it."
One bandit crept toward the door.
He drew the shortsword from his belt.
The moment he opened the door, he charged forward—
Slash!
"...Huh?"
Bern let out a dazed sound.
His subordinate's body was cleaved in two.
From the crown of his head straight down to his ankles, perfectly vertical.
Thud—
The bisected man died without even a scream.
"What the fuck!"
"Who the hell is that bastard!"
"Stop him!"
The bandits leaped up, shouting.
They grabbed their weapons, readying for defense.
"Hey there, you vermin."
Step... step...
The footsteps echoing weren't those of an adult.
They belonged to a child—a very young one at that.
"Never imagined scum like you bunching up in a dump like this. Pathetic."
The intruder suddenly burst in, spouting nonsense.
Revealed was a girl who looked about seven years old.
Snow-white silver hair and pure white pupils.
Clad in stylish white clothes, she was like a snowflake come to life.
And incongruously, a sword in her hand.
"I was thinking. My brother's pissed off—what can I do for him?"
"What kinda bullshit is that?"
"Comfort him? Nah, that'd be pointless. Brother doesn't stop once he starts. He'd find you eventually and fight anyway."
"...?"
"So I came instead. Right now, you're a problem for him. There's a chance he could get hurt."
She kept saying things that made no sense.
The girl's eyes glowed pure white.
No distinction between sclera and pupil.
Bern let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
"What a crazy bitch..."
Was she insane?
Whatever crap she was spewing, she must've had a death wish.
Could probably sell her for a good price. She was pretty enough.
"I'll make this quick. Where are the kids?"
"What?"
"Mari and Sofi. Where?"
"This psycho bitch thinks she can just—"
Furious, Bern gripped his weapon and advanced.
Whatever nutjob this kid was, she'd just killed one of his men.
No intentions of letting her go unharmed.
"Two."
Then the girl uttered something weird.
Two? What two? Starting from two instead of one—she must be totally off her rocker—
Slash!
"...Huh?"
All the bandits' eyes turned to one side.
One of their own, who'd been advancing with a weapon, lay dead—split vertically just like the first.
As everyone froze in shock...
"Three."
Slash!
Another fell.
Vertically bisected again.
'F-fucking insane!'
Only then did Bern realize.
This crazy kid was cutting them down in a single stroke.
He didn't know how. He hadn't even seen her swing the sword!
Yet his men were dropping like flies.
Bern got it. This girl wasn't human.
A monster you should never cross. Mess with her, and you'd die underfoot.
"Four..."
And then.
As the girl's gaze next turned to Bern...
"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you, just please spare me!"
Bern screamed his unconditional surrender and decided to reveal Mari and Sofi's location.