Bandit Extermination (1)
Ugh... Why are you hitting me?
Who told you to hit me? Get serious already.
I was being serious... No, it was a joke! A joke, so put your fist down!
Tsk.
Even though I was stronger than Kanisia, her punches still hurt. *sigh*... Maybe because my durability stat was only 46 points?
Anyway, since dungeon clearing was nearly impossible, I had no choice but to follow the original plan. I called it Plan B, but in reality, this was Plan A.
Let's head back to Baidu first.
Back? You don't mean you want to have sex again, do you? Then I'll really get angry.
No, really. When we get to Baidu, I'll go to the bounty office.
Bounty office?
The bounty office was one of the contents in Fairy Masters, a kind of reward system where you could get decent rewards by killing boss monsters or masters in specific stages.
So this is a real-world reference?
Kanisia tilted her head, having never heard of the bounty office.
It made sense. There was no bounty office in Chinnimoni, and in the game, the bounty office function only opened from Chapter 4, which was this Baidu.
Rich places always attract flies. There are many bandits around prosperous Baidu. You saw them yesterday, right?
The desert scorpion gang or something like that?
Yeah. Besides those guys, there are many other bandit groups. And even if the Witch Queen is strong, it's impossible to drive out all those bandits. Moreover, even if you kill all the bandits, new ones will appear soon, so the Witch Queen personally exterminating the bandits is a one-in-a-million thing.
Ah~ So that's why there's a bounty office in Baidu? The Witch Queen assigns bandit extermination requests to the office, and masters take on those requests?
Kanisia, who didn't know what the bounty office was, immediately understood its role and what I meant by Plan B.
As expected, she was a woman I had chosen.
Yeah. Since we can't clear the dungeon as planned, we have to raise our levels this way.
It was a somewhat harsh statement, but killing people gave you experience. Even though we couldn't get growth stones, we could loot their weapons, so it wasn't bad.
But why use the bounty office? If we want to raise levels by hunting bandits, we could just go there.
Do you know where they hide?
Then does the bounty office know where the bandits' hideouts are?
No. But it has information on which regions and which groups usually appear there. Based on that, we can track them down and soon find their hideouts.
Hmm... Then we should stock up on food just in case.
That's right. Plus, we can get rewards for exterminating the bandits, so it's a win-win.
Oh, that's good. Let's do that.
Since there was no other way besides what I suggested, Kanisia agreed to my opinion.
Where is the bounty office?
The bounty office is...
I asked a soldier guarding the gate for the location. Heading in the direction he pointed, we reached a bustling building. Papers with various notices were hanging on the walls, and many people were intently looking at them.
What brings you here?
We want to take a bandit extermination request.
Have you received the Divine Selection?
Yes.
Then please fill this out. We have to assign a bounty extermination request suitable for your master's level, so you can't just write fake levels and ranks.
Hmm...
The office staff wrote our party's specs on the paper they handed us.
This could reveal our power, but it didn't matter. After all, we were currently a party of weak-looking strength, and above all, by hunting the bandits, we would naturally become much stronger than what was written here.
All done.
Hmm... Let me see... Including fairies, there are 4 in total, and all are 3-star? Please wait a moment. I'll bring a bounty request suitable for a master party like yours.
Okay.
The staff member who checked our party's specs soon disappeared inside. After a while, he returned with a rather heavy file in his hand.
The current bounty request suitable for a master party like yours is this.
Hmm... [Snake Bandit Gang]?
When I checked the file's content, I confirmed the bandit group's name and chuckled inwardly.
So the [Snake] organization I made is about to exterminate the [Snake Bandit Gang]?
I didn't know if it was fate's prank, but the name of the organization I created was [Snake]. And the bandit group we had to exterminate was named [Snake Bandit Gang].
Can we take this?
You can look at it inside the office, but you can't take it out.
Understood.
Nodding at the staff's words, I took the Snake Bandit Gang file and returned to Kanisia. Then, together with her, we checked the information on the Snake Bandit Gang.
Snake Bandit Gang? Heh!
Kanisia burst into laughter when she saw the bandit group's name. She must have had the same thought as me.
If the desert scorpion gang we fought yesterday rode giant scorpions like horses, then the Snake Bandit Gang was a group of people who controlled snakes.
The estimated rank was 2-star to 3-star, and their levels were estimated to be 30 to 50. Also, their numbers and areas of appearance were listed.
Hmm... Isn't it too far to travel by carriage for a day?
Still, there are villages nearby, so it's not bad. Let's search for them centered around the village.
Sigh... If I had known, I wouldn't have paid the lodging fee in advance.
Kanisia made a sad face because the lodging fee was a waste. She had paid for a week's stay in advance at the new inn this morning after staying at the luxury hotel yesterday. And unfortunately, due to city policy, prepaid lodging fees could not be refunded.
I could have forced a refund, but causing trouble in a city ruled by the super-strong Witch Queen was, no matter how you thought about it, a bad idea. It was a pity, but I had to give up on the lodging fee.
By the way, Kanisia was being frugal with money because the room she and Abraham used at the luxury hotel yesterday was paid for by her.
Although she had been active under the Blood King, Kanisia surprisingly didn't have much wealth. She spent every coin she earned on drinking.
It's a pity, but what can I do? Anyway, let's buy what we need at the market and set off immediately.
Sigh... Okay, let's do that...
Kanisia nodded with a gloomy face.
At the market, we purchased additional items like food, antidote potions, recovery potions, and protective gear to protect our legs. We immediately rented a carriage and headed to the area where the Snake Bandit Gang frequently appeared.
Since it was a day's journey by carriage, we had to camp in the middle of the desert, but luckily, no bandits appeared. It was a real shame from my perspective because experience wasn't rolling in.
It doesn't seem like there are many people around.
Yeah.
For a while, the name of the village we would stay in was [Jert], a very small village with fewer than 100 people living there.
"....."
"....."
The villagers looked at us intently, probably tense because of the appearance of unfamiliar guests. It was a bit annoying, but since we didn't intend to cause trouble, we headed straight to the inn.
Wow... It's really rundown.
When I checked the inn room, I clicked my tongue.
The floor creaked with every step, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. There were cocoons hanging from the cobwebs like fruits, probably because there were many insects. The bed wasn't fluffy, and there was a bad smell from the blanket.
I would have preferred a better inn than this, but I couldn't. This was the only inn in Jert village.
After unpacking our luggage, we came outside.
Now, let's go search. I wanted to rest today too, but we've rested too much for too long, haven't we?
Yeah.
From Chinnimoni to Baidu was 10 days, we stayed one day in Baidu, so 11 days, and with resting today, it's 12 days of doing nothing and resting.
No matter how much gold we had, over 6.7 billion, if we just relaxed like this, the money would run out quickly. If I could live for a few months and die cleanly, it wouldn't matter, but I had no such intention, so I had to work hard to earn money.
We only took weapons and a certain amount of food, and set out on the search based on the information from the bounty office.
But... Where do we find the bandits in this vast desert?
... Yeah.
All around was just yellow sand. No one else was visible besides us.
Thinking about finding the bandits in this vast desert was daunting, but what else could we do? Since there was no other way, we had to keep searching.
Even if it's hot, don't take off the protective gear on your legs. Got it?
Yeah.
Yes, Master.
Understood, Lord Alan.
Then let's really start!
I gave instructions to the party members and set out to search for the Snake Bandit Gang.
Snakes in the desert were extremely dangerous predators. They had powerful venom that could instantly knock down several adult men, and they hid nearby to inject venom with a single bite when prey came close.
Snakes were assassins in the desert, so we had to be especially careful with those who controlled them.
Tsk, annoying.
But until the sun set, we didn't find even a single bandit, let alone a snake. It was a very frustrating situation. In the end, it was a waste of a day!
... Let's go back.
Yeah...
Walking under the scorching sun all day made me incredibly tired.
It was then that we were returning to Jert village.
Eh? Alan! Look there!
Eh?
Kanisia had found something. When I looked in the direction she pointed, I could see someone collapsed in the middle of the desert.
Let's go quickly!
Wait a minute, Kanisia.
Eh? Why?
Hmm... It smells... It smells...
You crazy bastard! What the hell are you saying now!
Ah?! Why are you hitting me all of a sudden?!
Suddenly, Kanisia hit my side. Since she put her full strength into the punch, my bones ached. When I protested the sudden punch, Kanisia's face turned red, and she shouted "Puff-!"
It's natural that you're sweating from walking in the desert, you idiot!
No, but... Isn't that a reason for me to be hit?
But why are you saying it smells!
"....."
I understood why she hit me from her words. I felt a vein popping on my forehead.
It's not that you smell from me, but that the person is suspicious, Kanisia...
Uh, uh? R-really? Ahahaha... Sorry. I thought you were saying I smell...
Kanisia awkwardly smiled and apologized. Looking at her, I sighed. You only have a smelly scent to me, you pink-haired woman...
Is something weird?
What?
We passed by there earlier, but there was no one there then.
You mean after we passed?
It could be, but... Especially when we were returning to the village? When we've been walking in the desert all day and are exhausted?
Hmm...
Upon my words, she also seemed to smell the trap and stared at the collapsed man. The man didn't move.
You all wait here.
Eh? What for?
I'll go check.
If it's a trap, won't it be dangerous?
It's fine, wait here. I'll go check quickly.
Alan! Wait!
Kanisia called from behind, but I ignored it and slowly approached the collapsed man. Since the probability of it being a trap was very high, I stopped at a reasonable distance without getting too close.
Huh-cha!
Then I threw a dagger aiming at the man's head.
Thud-!
The dagger stuck right next to the man's head,
Aaaaaack!
The man screamed and jumped up from his seat.
"....."
"....."
... Hehehe. You are a bandit?
You bastard! If someone is collapsed, you should help, not throw a dagger?! Everyone, attack!
The man shouted, and people jumped out from the sand.