“Wh…what!?”
I threw a knife at the throat of one of the men who emerged from the forest, killing him the moment he called out. The remaining two men groaned in stunned disbelief. Judging from the situation and their equipment, they were likely Bandits. Of course, there was a possibility they were something else, but the moment they hid themselves to ambush on a road so far from town, and drew their weapons against a woman and children, I judged it to be an act of hostility.
“Y-you little brat!”
“Wait!”
(…Too slow.)
I felt the movements of the man who brushed off his comrade’s attempt to stop him and charged at me were very “slow.” Did he not possess any Combat Skills? If I used Body Enhancement, I could extend my subjective time perception by about twenty percent, but this man couldn’t even properly move his feet before that. I focused my mind on the man rushing clumsily towards me, aimed at that small “spot,” and used magic.
“——【Feel】——”
“Hk!?”
The man, who had been angrily charging at me, suddenly looked surprised, dropped his dagger, and covered one of his eyes. There was no pain. No damage. He was simply surprised by the sensation of suddenly having his “eyeball touched,” and stopped moving. In that instant, I leaped forward and slashed horizontally, tearing open the man’s throat.
One more left.
Before blood could gush from the wound, I slipped past him and approached the last man.
“W-what the hell is this kid!?”
Having watched his two comrades killed in the blink of an eye, the last man shouted in confusion, threw away his rusty Hand Axe, and fled without regard for appearances in the direction where “someone” was fighting. I started to throw a knife at his back, but stopped midway. With my Throwing Skill, I could only accurately hit a target within five meters, and beyond that, even if I hit by chance, the damage would be low.
I retrieved the knife from the first man I killed, wiped the blood off with his clothes, and then rummaged through the men’s belongings. They didn’t possess anything that indicated their identity. For now, I挟んで a knife that seemed to be for dismantling into the holder on my calf and chased after the man who had fled.
Normally, I wouldn’t chase after them here. Even if I had the advantage at first, the situation could be reversed depending on the allies they fled to. I wouldn’t let my guard down. I wouldn’t be complacent. When I could kill, I would kill surely. But, ahead of the man who fled, his comrades and “someone” were fighting. It had nothing to do with me, but from their perspective, it would seem like I had stirred things up and increased their enemies.
In that case, I should at least help as much as I had caused them to increase their enemies. I sighed softly and “walked” after the man.
There were three young boys. They were already fifteen years old and adults, so in this world, they could be called young men. The three were childhood friends. Their families were retainers of a knight who ruled a certain town, and when the knight went to the battlefield, they had to fight as his soldiers. Not everyone born into a retainer’s family could become a retainer. The position wasn’t hereditary, but in that noble family, they had traditionally hired the eldest son of the retainer as the next retainer.
If that happened, the second son would become a reserve, but any children after that would have no hope of serving the noble. Still, if they had talent, there was a chance they would be noticed, but their fathers kicked the boys out of their homes as soon as they became adults.
Although they were commoners, they had grown up more affluent than ordinary commoners, and they weren’t very serious. They themselves longed to make a name for themselves on the battlefield and diligently continued their combat training, but they only focused on flashy things and neglected the mundane practical training. There was no way they could do a proper job, so the three, who had been kicked out of their homes, decided to live as Adventurers to make use of their skills.
The three, who were confident enough in their skills to choose to become Adventurers, naturally possessed Combat Skills. One had 【Archery】Skill at level 1. One had 【Spearmanship】Skill at level 1. And Rico, the boy who was their leader, had acquired 【Swordsmanship】Skill up to level 2. That made them conceited, and they cheerfully became Adventurers in the capital of Dandole, a large city, but reality wasn’t so kind.
Knights and soldiers patrolled the outskirts of the big city, and Monsters rarely appeared. Most of the Adventurers in such a city had connections to nobles or wealthy merchants, and were high-ranked individuals who obtained big jobs through trust. There was almost no work that they, a rank 1 party with only one rank 2 member, could do in such a place. Still, if they had diligently done the city’s odd jobs, they would have gradually gained trust. But, disliking the mundane work, they set out on a journey to a noble territory near the border, seeking combat with Monsters.
It wasn’t that they were particularly unserious. Most of the low-ranked Adventurers were people like them, who didn’t work diligently to gain trust, didn’t steadily train to improve their skills, and couldn’t even get a proper job.
Heading to a place where Monsters were was not a bad choice as an Adventurer. If they could fight and survive against Monsters and dangerous wild beasts, they could gain fame and trust as high-ranked Adventurers in return. But, that was only if they “survived.”
To go to the north, they had to pass through an undeveloped area that didn’t belong to any territory. All that was there was a path trodden by someone, a few campsites with Watering Holes, and the danger of threatening people. They didn’t have the money to ride a shared carriage with escorts, and they didn’t have the実績 to escort a merchant caravan, so they bought portable food with all their money and headed north on foot.
“There’s something there…”
Dan, who was good at hunting and had the 【Archery】Skill, spotted a figure in the depths of the Forest.
“Could it be Bandits? If we defeat them, they might have some money, right?”
Tony, the frivolous boy with the 【Spearmanship】Skill, grinned as he readied his Spear.
“Hey…”
Rico, the relatively sensible one, frowned at his two childhood friends, but by that time, Dan had already drawn his bow and fired an arrow into the Forest, spurred on by Tony’s cheering.
“We don’t know how many of them there are!”
Rico wasn’t exactly serious either, but he wasn’t as thoughtless as the other two. If anything, he had just been dragged along by the two of them and had been the one who was troubled more often. Still, he had been friends with them, but the biggest reason he couldn’t restrain them was probably because Rico was indecisive.
The Bandits who had been shot at attacked. There were seven Bandits. Rico and his friends were three. The number was more than double, but most of the Bandits were villagers who had trouble making a living in the neighborhood. It was rare for them to have Combat Skills, and Rico and his friends thought they could somehow defeat them even with just the three of them, so they drew their weapons and decided to meet them head-on.
But, after the battle had started for a while, they noticed a man who seemed to be a comrade of the Bandits running from the direction of the road leading to the town. Rico and his friends had missed him, but he had probably been placed as a lookout to prevent interference from the town. He was only one person, but he could become a fatal reinforcement for the three who were barely holding on.
But, when the man approached his fellow Bandits, he muttered incomprehensible words.
“A, a weird kid is coming!”
At those words, Rico couldn’t help but turn his gaze behind him, and there he saw a girl dressed in clothes that looked like she served a noble, walking quietly.
She was still young, but she was a very beautiful girl. She looked about ten years old. Judging from her composure in the face of the Bandits, she might be one or two years older than she looked. Rico had only seen them from afar, but there were more beautiful women among the nobles, and there were girls who were just as cute as famous tavern singers and看板娘. But, the girl who appeared had a mysterious “charm” that made people curious and unable to take their eyes off her, more than her beauty.
Suddenly, her long skirt fluttered, and Rico’s gaze was riveted on her spotless white legs. At the same time, the Bandit man who had come from behind collapsed as if he had suddenly died.
“What are you doing?”
When they heard such a voice from the girl, not only Rico and his friends but even the Bandits resumed fighting as if they had been reminded. Still, the Bandits still had more numbers, but for some reason, the Bandits became restless as if they had suddenly been whispered in their ears, and after a few minutes, Rico and his friends, who had consistently advanced the battle to their advantage, succeeded in repelling the Bandits.
*
“Anya-chan, did you see it? My Spearmanship!”
Tony, the Spear-wielding boy, looked back repeatedly at the girl walking behind him. The Pink-Haired Girl who had given them the opportunity to defeat the Bandits called herself “Anya,” and said that she was also traveling north.
Apparently, she was a Rank 1 Adventurer like Rico and the others. Even so, it was unnatural for a girl to be traveling alone in this forest, but Dan, the archer who had been healed with [Heal], insisted on thanking her. Anya reluctantly agreed to proceed with Rico and the others.
“Hey, Anya, why don’t you join our party? We’d feel much safer with someone who can use [Heal],” Dan said.
“Yeah, Anya-chan, you’d be better off with a vanguard, right?” Tony added.
Dan and Tony were eagerly inviting Anya to join their party.
However, Anya quietly shook her head in response.
She didn’t talk much and didn’t show much emotion. If she were a town girl like the ones Rico and the others would usually call out to, they might have felt like they were being made fun of, but Anya’s ephemeral and transparent aura, as if she might disappear at any moment, made even that seem like part of her “charm.”
Anya was an Adventurer, but she didn’t seem to know much about Adventurers. She asked about some basic things.
When they told her about how Adventurers fight, how they earn money, and where to buy weapons and tools, she nodded in admiration.
Was Anya accompanying them to hear about these things? She seemed to know a lot, but didn’t know the basics.
What on earth was she? That unnaturalness further stirred the boys’ protective instincts and increased their interest in Anya.
That day, they arrived at their next campsite in the evening, and Dan hunted wild birds with his bow, which they ate for dinner.
Anya said she was going to wash up and headed towards the Watering Hole. Rico and the three others gathered around the campfire and started talking about her.
“Tch, Anya-chan, she took all her luggage with her,” Tony said.
“Tony…” Rico scolded him for the thief-like comment. Tony stopped his friendly attitude from earlier in the day and spat with a frivolous look.
“What’s wrong with it? I haven’t been around any women since I left my hometown. Even God would forgive me for rummaging through her underwear.”
“She’s still a kid, right?” Dan asked.
“My sister became a lord’s concubine at thirteen, you know? It’s not that different.”
“I… I saw it,” Dan said, changing the subject suddenly.
“What?” Tony dutifully asked.
“When she pulled out her Knife, she lifted her skirt, right?”
“Yeah, I saw it for a second. She’s got skinny but pretty legs.”
“That’s not what I mean. I have good eyes, so I saw up to Anya’s thigh for a moment. You know? I saw her ‘thighs.'”
“I don’t get it,” Tony said.
“You don’t get it? She’s probably… not wearing any.”
” ” “………” ” “
The boys fell silent. Their faces were a little red, and not just because of the campfire.
Remembering Anya’s still youthful but beautiful face and the flawless white legs they had glimpsed for a moment, they chipped away at the young boys’ meager self-control.
“Anya-chan is late…” Rico said.
“Maybe she’s not just washing up… maybe she’s taking a bath?” Dan added.
The three of them had lived relatively comfortable lives near the nobility, so they weren’t used to being patient.
Young Adventurers lacked self-control. Being in the forest, away from the eyes of the constables, and with their target being a “child” who wasn’t an adult and could be easily intimidated, their self-control crumbled like a sandcastle.
“Hey…” Tony whispered quietly.
“What?” Rico replied irritably, feeling uneasy at Tony’s voice. Tony looked at his two companions and grinned lewdly.
“Don’t you want to… play a prank?”
Aria is using a fake name to be wary of the boys.
Next time, the second half. What will happen to Aria, who is targeted by the boys?
Next update is scheduled for Saturday, but it may be slightly delayed.