Chapter 17 – Is It My Fault?

Is It My Fault?

‘They say you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance, but…’
They look dangerous no matter who looks at them….

While I was admiring their familiar-looking appearances in their eyes, Airi quietly spoke to me.
“What should we do, sister? For now, what that man is saying seems true, but… it’s a bit suspicious.”

Honestly, my thoughts are the same as hers. Putting aside their appearances, there’s no guarantee that they’re not in cahoots with the bandits.
They might be luring us two to the bandits.
“Hmm…”

Originally, I would have flatly refused without a doubt, but the problem was that the deadline for the goblin subjugation request we had accepted was until tomorrow.
Unless we can rent a carriage, we’ll end up having to walk, which could potentially cause us to miss the deadline.
To fail the very first request as adventurers. There might be disadvantages in future reputation and request acceptance.

After much deliberation—
“Let’s accept for now. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if anything happens.”
—I eventually chose to accept their offer.
Honestly, bandits weren’t much of a threat to me, and I was confident I could protect Airi.

“Sister. Do you know that’s an incredibly thrilling line?”
…Although I said it, it was a bit cringeworthy.
The fact that Airi’s face seems to have reddened must be my imagination.

“Excuse me. Have you two made a decision?”
The man with a good-natured smile slowly approached us.
At this point, even that smile is suspicious, but… we’ve decided to accept the offer anyway.

“…Yes. We’ll accompany you just until Rain Village. Is that okay?”
“Of course.. We know it would be greedy to ask for more than that. Please come this way.”

We accepted the man’s offer and boarded the carriage following his guidance.
The man’s companions were already seated.
“Sisters! Are you coming with us?! Woohoo! That’s great! Do you have boyfriends?”
“Huff…huff.. I’m… nervous.”
“Women. Pretty.”

……I was already starting to regret my decision.

Rattle rattle.
Although the journey started with anxiety and concern, the carriage was moving along without much problem, better than expected.
“Sisters. Do you perhaps have boyfr—”
“Don’t talk to us.”

Thanks to Airi sharply cutting off the men trying to talk to us.
Faced with her attitude reminiscent of an iron wall, the men didn’t dare to speak and just looked out the window.
…They looked a bit pitiful, being so dejected.

Just as a somewhat peaceful time was being maintained like this.
Screech.

The carriage gradually slowed down and then stopped at a certain point.
Looking out the window, I could see people who appeared to be bandits surrounding the carriage one by one.
A desolate road with no buildings around.
There was a hill nearby, and it seemed they had spotted us from there and come down.

‘As expected… was it a trap?’
“Sister….”
“Let’s get off for now.”

As I got off the carriage holding Airi’s hand, the man who had been driving the carriage from the driver’s seat was talking with a man who seemed to be the leader of the bandits.
“Kekeke. Didn’t you hear that you have to pay a toll to our brotherhood to pass through here?”
“…I’m sorry, but we haven’t heard of such a thing. We have a copper rank adventurer and a silver rank adventurer accompanying us. We’d like to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

‘Oh? They’re not in cahoots?’
I had naturally thought it was a trap to lure us two, but listening to the conversation between the bandit leader and the man now, it doesn’t seem to be the case.
The man talking with the bandit leader is visibly tense after all.

“Wow. They’re real bandits. We’re in trouble.”
“Huff… This is… dangerous.”
“Bandits. Bad.”

The other companions of the man who had been riding in the carriage also got off one by one and started to look tense seeing the bandits.
“Hahaha! Did you think we’d run away scared of mere copper and silver ranks?!”
“…It seems you have no intention of resolving this amicably through dialogue.”

Compared to just six of us, the bandits numbered at least twenty from a rough estimate.
Moreover, except for me and Airi, it’s uncertain if the others can even fight.

‘It’s not a trap, we just had bad luck and ran into bandits.’
I started to feel a bit sorry for judging people by their appearances.
No, but their appearances clearly scream “I’m suspicious” as if it’s written on their faces in big letters.

Is it my fault? Is it my fault, I ask.
“Hm? Are those wenches the adventurers you mentioned? Wait a minute.”

The leader looked us, me and Airi, up and down as he was speaking.
Although it’s been over a year since I became this body, I still get goosebumps when I see men’s gazes full of desire.
‘I miss Saya and Puel….’
I wonder what my angels are doing now…..

“Kyaahooooooo!!!!!!! We’ve hit the jackpot, boys!!!!!!”
“Wooaaaaahhh!!!!!”
The guys suddenly started yelling.
Looking disgusted at their behavior, Airi whispered to me quietly.

“They’re disgusting creatures….”
“Indeed.”
Just as I was about to prepare for battle, unable to stand by any longer, the man made a proposal to the bandit leader.

“Please wait a moment, gentlemen of the brotherhood. I have a proposal.”
“…Huh? Begging for your lives? Kekeke. We’ll let you live. Just the women.”
Puhahahahaha.

Although the bandits laughed with an unpleasant sound, mocking the man, he steadfastly explained the content of his proposal.
“As I said before, we don’t wish for unnecessary sacrifices. So I propose, how about settling this situation with a one-on-one duel between your representative and ours?”
“Why should we accept that? We can just kill you all and be done with it?”

The bandit leader still wore a relaxed smile.
To such a guy, the man showed something he took out from his pocket. It was a hexagonal shape slightly smaller than a palm—a portable safe.
It was one of the magic tools widely used among merchants, a magic tool that could store many gold coins in a small volume.

“…That’s a portable safe, isn’t it?”
The leader made a surprised expression seeing the object the man took out.
“That’s right. Inside this are several times more gold coins than the cargo loaded on the wagon right now. If you accept our proposal, we’ll give you all the gold coins in this safe.”
“What if I say I’ll just take it by force now?”
“As you know, this magic tool only responds to the owner’s mana. If anyone else tries to open it, it won’t open no matter what they do.”

He’s quite bold. That man.
To propose a deal to the bandit leader in reverse in this situation.
‘Or does he have something he’s relying on?’
Is he stronger than he looks? That man.
…Of course, on the surface, he just looks like an ordinary merchant.

“Sister. Should I go and knock out that leader guy now? It seems like a good opportunity.”

Airi, who had been watching the situation, asked me with gauntlets on her hands.
“…Let’s watch for a bit longer.”
I held back Airi, who was pretending to loosen up by rotating her wrists, and decided to observe the situation.

“Vice-captain—no, Boss! Let’s just kill them! If we stab their bellies a few times with knives, they’ll open the safe on their own. Kukuku.”
“……Be quiet. What if it doesn’t open and they die? Are you going to take responsibility?”
The leader quieted his subordinate who was suggesting to forcibly take the safe.

“Alright. I accept your proposal.”
“…Good. Please decide on a representative among your brotherhood members and let us know.”
“There’s no need for that. I’ll step up. You guys hurry and decide. Geez…. What kind of nonsense is this.”

The man slowly approached us after finishing the conversation.
He must have been quite tense, as he let out a long sigh of relief as soon as he came to us.
“Phew. Thankfully, they accepted my proposal and we survived. I was worried about what would happen if it fell through…”

“…Just in case, you’re not planning to fight, are you?”
Airi asked him quietly. To her question, he answered with an awkward smile.
“Haha… I’ll leave it to you, adventurers.”

…It wasn’t that he had something to rely on, he just took a gamble.
‘It’s better than outright conflict, but… why do I feel cheated…’

“Sorry, sisters. We can’t fight.”
“Huff.. We’re… sorry…”
“Sorry. Women. We are powerless.”

The three apologized to us as if they were sorry.
They’re truly the epitome of useless brothers.

“Sigh… What should we do, sister? I can step up if needed.”
Airi, who had been glaring at them with disapproving eyes, eventually spoke to me.
“No. I’ll do it. I was the one who suggested joining this caravan in the first place.”
“You don’t have to worry about it.. I agreed too..”

If Airi gets hurt, I wouldn’t be able to face her.
And there’s no way I’d lose to these lowlifes who engage in banditry.

“I’ll step up. Is that okay? I don’t mind if you want to do it. Come to think of it, I don’t know your name. You. What’s your name?”
“…It’s Ian. And, if you two have discussed it, I have no objections. It was my idea to begin with.”

The man who had proposed for us to join the caravan—Ian, answered with his head bowed as if apologetic.
“Are you going to decide quickly? Or should I just kill you?!”

The leader shouted at us at the top of his lungs.
I wonder why these thieves are acting like their time is precious.

Step step.
As I slowly walked towards them, the leader spoke to me with a disgusting smile just to look at.
“…So you’re the representative, bitch? To think these so-called men are trembling and hiding behind a wench! What a sight to see!”

Kekekeke. The group of bandits behind him all laughed with disgusting sounds, mocking my companions.
“Be quiet. It’s noisy. …Everyone, step back.”
“Kekeke. She says to step back!”

The bandits distanced themselves from us at the leader’s words.
Eventually, an environment for a one-on-one duel was created, and the leader and I faced each other.
“Kukuku. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. It’d be a waste to scar that pretty face, wouldn’t it?”

The leader with a huge double-bladed axe on his back.
Woong—! Bong—!
He soon started swinging the axe as tall as himself here and there, as if to show off his strength. The muscles covering his entire body seemed to be not just for show.

The fact that he’s openly exposing his body without any armor must mean he has some confidence in his physical abilities.
I looked at him without any emotion and thought of Saya and Puel.
‘I prepared lunch… I hope Saya and Puel aren’t hungry? I want to go home quickly.’

Recently, Puel seems to have become interested in cooking, and she said she would cook dinner herself when I return today.
‘And I was looking forward to that so much…’
Suddenly, anger rises to the top of my head.

I need to finish this quickly and cuddle with Saya and Puel, but some bearded old man is interfering with me.
“Kukuku. Are you scared?”
“…Shut up.”

Around the time when the scorching sun was positioned in the middle of the sky, we started to move our bodies as if by agreement.