「With this, I’ll be D rank.」
As I listened to the sound of the carriage wheels clatter, I feel that an artisan’s adventurer rank becoming Rank D is strange.
Not even a year has passed since I arrived at 【Mildgard】. Despite this, my level is in the mid-60’s.
For adventurers in this world, people who reached this level are called veterans. Even though I’m an artisan.
Other adventurers might get angry if they were told this is a status of an artisan.
「So, what will you do? Will you hunt for more Treants at the Forest of Death on our way back?」
When the campsite across the Forest of Death came into view on the left side, the very “my pace” dwarf Doganbo-san who was at the coachman’s seat looked over his shoulder asked if we wanted to make a stop-over.
「May we stop by for a short while if we have some time? Sophia, Maria, what do you think?」
「The town of Volton has a shortage of Treants, so having even a little bit more would be greatly appreciated.」
「I want to become even stronger.」
Since the two were eager, we decided to hunt for Treants for a bit.
「「Ha!」」
Gan! Gan!
『Guooooooーーーー!!』
Sophia and Maria drove their axes into the Treant, and Kaede and I cut off every single tentacle-like root that emerge from the ground.
This time, Kaede and I were support while Sophia and Maria fought the Treants.
Clutching a sword on my right hand and a knife on my left, I cut the roots aiming for Sophia and Maria.
With the Swordplay skill level at 7, I took a step into the realm of top-class sword handling.[1]
It’s slowly coming to a point where it’s becoming shameful to call myself an artisan. I feel like a con artist.
「This much will do, right?」
Having seen 5 Treants killed, I suggested that it was time to go back to Doganbo-san who was taking care of the carriage.
「Yes, we should barely manage to reach the next campsite if we leave now.」
「I have had enough of Treants for a while.」
「Kaede had enough too!」
Since it had become routine work, everyone agreed to put an end to the Treant subjugation. We stored the last defeated Treant and returned to the carriage Doganbo-san was waiting in.
「We have returned.」
「Ou, how was it?」
「Yes, since the girls did their best, we were able to secure materials from 5 Treants.」
「You improved a bit if you got that much.」
「Yes.」
Even so, I understood that that still wasn’t enough, but the Black Buffalo hunt would settle down very soon, and adventurers hunting Treants would soon turn up.
「Takumi-sama! Spirits say that there are around 20 people lying in wait for an ambush at the side of the main road ahead!」
Spirits informed us via Sophia that there is imminent danger ahead of us, and Sophia asked me on how we should deal with them.
What Heath-san said became a reality. In this world where thieves attacking carriages on highways is a commonplace, I once again resolved myself. But I consider myself blessed. When I came to this world, I whose age and appearance had been changed completely might have also had my soul tweaked by Norn-sama, but I was released from the accepted practices of Japan in a good way.
「Doganbo-san, keep the carriage speed as it is. Kaede, erase your presence and kill those carrying bows. We will do a surprise attack with magic.」
「Understood. Time your magic with mine.」
「………… I’ll try my best.」
Thanks to the spirits, we know the location of concealed thieves. We decided to launch a surprise attack with magic at Sophia’s signal. I had Kaede to take a detour and dispose of the thieves aiming at us with bows.
Frontward, groups of ruffians wearing dirty leather armor and carrying swords and spears came out from the sides of the main road and blocked the path.
Doganbo-san who was operating the carriage slowed down.
Kaede jumped out from behind the carriage, and silently ran off to the hidden thieves with bows.
「Hey! Stooop!」
At the same time the boss thief carrying a large axe yelled, Sophia, Maria, and I fired magic at the thieves blocking the road.
Thrown stones, blades of wind, bullets of ice swooped down on the thieves.
「GYAAAAAーー!!」
「GAH!」
「UU!」
Surprised by magic suddenly being fired from within the carriage and thieves collapsing, the thieves still hiding in thickets on both sides of the road panicked and came out.
「D, Damn it! You bastards! Surround them!」
「Gyaaaaaa!!」
「Hiiih!」
The moment the axe-wielding thief, despite being heavily injured, yelled, many screams came from behind.
「Uu!」
「Gyaaa!」
Standing on the coachman’s seat, Sophia shot to death the thieves that came out.
「Oraaa!!」
Before I knew it, Doganbo-san appeared at the front of the carriage, brandishing a hammer.
When the number of thieves had dwindled to half, I jumped out of the carriage.
I thrust my spear, aiming for the thief’s throat.
I’ve gotten used to fighting monsters but it feels different when the opponent is a person. Although I feel uncomfortable taking my opponent’s life, I lunged my spear at the next thief.
「You bastard! I definitely won’t let this pass! I’ll kill you, ravage those women till I’m tired of them and kill them!」
The idiot boss thief swung his axe and attacked me. Avoiding the swing of the axe wasn’t difficult.
「You bastard! You keep running away!」
Because the range of a spear and an axe are different, the fight between the idiot and I was one-sided. Closing the distance in an instant, I stabbed the slow idiot boss thief in the abdomen, chest, and throat with a triple thrust and he died with a frustrated-looking expression.
「Haa, haa, haa.」
Even though I wouldn’t be out of breath if this were a fight with a monster, I am breathing roughly and my back is drenched in sweat right now/
I was disturbed by killing a person for the first time, but that was it. I once again noticed that I have changed.
「Heave-ho, heave-hounsho unsho, Master! Brought thief!」
「Okay, thank you Kaede. You’re a big help.」
Kaede was pulling a headless corpse with her threads.
I stroked Kaede’s head and thanked her.
She may be a monster, but having instructed Kaede to kill people, I couldn’t escape the feeling of aversion again.
「Takumi-sama! Are you injured?」
Sophia worried for me and checked my whole body.
Even Maria had alighted the carriage and embraced me.
Thinking about it, it was also Maria’s first time in an interpersonal battle too. Even if this is a brutal world, the hurdle for killing people is not low. But the reality is, kill or be killed.
「Okay, let’s take what can be taken, and deal with them later.」
Doganbo-san moves at his own pace till the very end.
I’m saved by the very “my-pace” Doganbo-san.
Afterwards, we split into groups to strip the corpses of the thieves of their armor, guild cards, and any item that seemed useable, then dug up a large hole with Earth magic and buried the corpses in it, and then we headed towards Volton.
***
Footnotes:
