Episode 72: Patrol Begins
The highway patrol, our patrol mission, has begun.
Ten idle Strider are walking along the highway in a line.
The goal is to prevent banditry by showing, “We are watching.” It’s the same as the police back on Earth.
But this is a Medieval European-style fantasy world.
Because there are real bandits who will try to kill you, patrolling is surprisingly important.
Even if that weren’t the case, there’s a tendency for ordinary people to casually commit theft and pickpocketing.
The治安 (chian, public order) is bad, you see.
…No, wait, recently, there was a case where idiots doing a Dark Job attacked a family with a cat named Lexus, killing an old man and robbing them, right? I hear the治安 (chian, public order) in Japan is getting worse too?
Man, that’s nostalgic. My own kid, after my ex-wife got custody and brainwashed him into a complete moron, predictably committed a crime and suddenly came crawling back, so I cut ties with him.
Now, that’s a good memory. No freaking way, you moron, go die.
…Well, to be serious, those guys doing Dark Jobs are like the cannon fodder the Yakuza used to use. Now that the Yakuza are almost gone, the semi-Yakuza are doing it instead, I guess.
The world of criminals is outsourcing to dispatch companies, huh? Everyone’s in a recession, how depressing. The end of the world, welcome to this crazy time.
…Well, that’s beside the point. Anyway, this is a job where people could end up “killing” each other.
So, instead of casual clothes, I’m wearing combat Lamellar Mail… a combination of hard leather, chainmail, and partial steel armor, fully armed.
Kaede is also equipped with an Iron Breastplate, and long 佩楯 (haidate, thigh guards) and 袖 (sode, shoulder guards) made by connecting small metal plates with thick thread… It’s like, some kind of Japanese-style fantasy armor. And one more thing I want to point out, what’s with that black iron mask? That 鬼 (oni, demon)-faced 面頬 (menpou, mask), it’s seriously scary…
The trio from “The Fang of the Wolf Gang” also showed up, wearing solid black hard leather armor.
On the other hand, the newbies are pathetic, all wearing E. Cloth Armor… or something like that. Their weapons, who knows where they picked them up, are chipped axes and rusty swords. Combined with their skills, they’re basically trash!
Desperately earn money from this trash state, don’t squander it on booze, women, and gambling, and properly equip yourself… If you can’t take that first step, you’re real trash and might as well die! That’s the consensus of the Strider, no, the world.
Well, the Strider are basically vagrants, outside the protection of the law, so it’s pretty much true that anyone who can’t stand on their own two feet should just die! It’s sad, but true.
The general members of “The Fang of the Wolf Gang” aren’t as good as the veteran trio, but they’re wearing armor. Armor in this world isn’t mass-produced in factories, it’s like handmade crafts by artisans, so it’s expensive…
Even hard leather, “leather armor,” costs a considerable amount.
So, just wearing a breastplate, gauntlets, and boots like these general members is pretty good.
Especially the boots, they’re using good ones. As expected of “The Fang of the Wolf Gang”! They understand the importance of footwear!
By the way, the black cloth wrapped around their arms is the mark of “The Fang of the Wolf Gang.”
Their weapons are… axes and maces, huh?
“The Fang of the Wolf Gang” has humble origins… mostly orphans and farmers as members. They prefer easy-to-use weapons like axes and hammers, rather than difficult weapons like swords.
Hmm… they feel like adventurers. It’s quite fun to watch.
“Hey, is that guy with a woman?!”
“It’s the spineless Andrews!”
…But, well, that’s how it is in reality.
They’re brats.
“Hey! You brats! Stop it!”
“Yeah! Picking a fight with a colleague you’re working with, are you a moron?!”
Two of the veteran trio step in to stop them.
Oh, as expected.
You can’t just be strong to get to the top as a Strider, you need leadership or some other skill.
These guys look like simpletons, but they can actually command the entire unit.
The scolded newbies trembled and made excuses like, “I, I didn’t mean to…”
“Tch… if you have time to waste on useless chatter, look around!”
“There won’t be a next time, newbies!”
The two newbies shrink back.
And then…
The remaining member of the trio, the older woman, comes forward.
“Well, I understand how you feel. But forget about that stuff while we’re working. Everyone’s life is on the line here.”
“…Yes.”
I see.
The fat guy and the skinny guy yell, and the older woman gently scolds them, huh?
Apparently, the three of them always use this method to discipline unruly newbies.
It’s well done.
The fat guy, the skinny guy, and the older woman! That’s just what I call them, but to the newbie Strider, who are just a little better than ordinary people, they’re pretty scary.
The fat guy, Bull, is a fat man of decent height, but his arms and legs are thick with muscle, reminiscent of a veteran gladiator.
The skinny guy, Bucky, is a slender, tall man with toned muscles and supple tendons. He’s not malnourished, but a slender athlete type.
Joze is a giant over two meters tall with as much muscle mass as a man. Instead of breasts, she has pectoral muscles, and her hair is very short, almost like a man.
All three of them are elites who are among the best in the Guild. You can’t underestimate them.
…And so,
We patrol normally without any trouble.
“As expected of Midford’s largest Clan, ‘The Fang of the Wolf Gang.’ You’re good at training newbies.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Sort of.”
“…Well, we’re a large group, and we don’t have time to train everyone individually. It naturally became like this… the superiors yell, and some members admonish them.”
“By the way, what about ‘Blue Comet’? Did you take in any newbies?”
“A, no. We… ‘Blue Comet’ only hires from the fourth rank? We don’t hire below that.”
“I see, so that’s why the quality is good…”
“Also, we are not just a Clan, but also a mutual aid society for women… Hiring is like increasing our family. We are very careful.”
“That sounds like a lot of trouble…”
“It is a little restrictive. But weak women gather together and protect each other, so we don’t have trouble surviving. It’s hard for foreigners like me to live anywhere…”
“‘Blue Comet’ has it tough too, huh? You can’t have it easy anywhere.”
“I’m having it easy, though?”
“Your real job isn’t a Strider! Shut up!”
“Seriously, why are you doing this Strider imitation? You’re earning as much as a Knight, right?”
“It’s a hobby.”
“I don’t get it!” “You’re trash!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for eating girls and living a life of leisure without doing any work.”
“Wait, did you… did you lay your hands on this girl too?!”
“A-eh?! Ehe, ehehehehe…♡”
“Hehehe… keep it quiet, okay? I’m seriously going to get killed by Katerina soon…”
“You’ve slept with about half of the girls from ‘Blue Comet,’ haven’t you?! Are you really okay?! If there’s a love triangle on this scale, the Guild will be shaken!”
“It’s okay, if it comes to it, I’ll just get them all pregnant and marry them…”
“I’m so pissed off…! That’s why guys with good looks and money are…! Hey Bull, shouldn’t we secretly stab him in the back later? The world would be better off if he died…!”
While chatting nonsense, I walk along the road with my friends and a woman.
It’s quite fun.