Twin Okam (1)

The reward for preparing dinner for the hero party was that Ethan and I were exempt from night watch duty.

Since the campsite was nearby and our tents weren’t completely adjacent-separated by about 50 meters-there was ample time to alert everyone if danger approached from outside.

Especially on a night like this, when it was certain something would happen, being spared night watch was no small reward for Ethan and me.

With Sally and Sei managing the campfire near our tent, it was the first time in a while that both Ethan and I could sleep peacefully during an overnight trip.

“Goodnight, Lilith.”

“Sleep well, Young Master Ethan.”

Inside the tent, Ethan and I held hands under the blanket, letting the day’s fatigue melt away as we drifted off to sleep.

Since I had wanted to travel alone with Ethan, I had driven the carriage for over ten hours without a coachman, so it was no surprise my body felt especially weary.

…And so, after falling asleep as soon as I lay down, how much time had passed?

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Everyone, wake up! Bandits! Everyone, up now!”

Startled awake by the clamorous bells from the hero party’s tent, I forced myself up alongside Ethan, still weighed down by lingering exhaustion.

“Young Master Ethan, time to wake up.”

“That voice… Natalie-yang, I presume? As loud and brash as her personality…”

“It might be an urgent situation. In any case, we should hurry and prepare.”

Fortunately, it took only seconds to gather my wits and step outside the tent. I had already expected tonight’s bandit attack-having experienced it countless times in the original story-so I had prepared accordingly before sleeping.

From this attack onward, the curriculum of the Humanities Exploration class involved identifying the bandits, deducing which villagers had colluded with them, and uncovering their motives.

…Of course, there was no way such a deranged murder event was part of the academy’s official curriculum. Originally, it was supposed to be a simple service activity, but it escalated into a bandit subjugation event due to conflicts with the villagers’ interests.

Once Ethan and I finished arming ourselves and rushed outside, we first surveyed the nearest enemies.

By using Awakening to temporarily increase the mana flowing through my body and scanning for unnatural mana voids among living beings nearby…

‘There!’

-Thunk!

“Guh-Ghk!!”

The sound of a blade piercing the throat of a bandit who had been lying in ambush behind our carriage-instantly killing him.

Meanwhile, Ethan had spotted another hiding behind the tent’s support pole and bisected him diagonally with a single swing of his sword.

-Slish!

“Aaaaagh!!”

The bandit collapsed, his upper torso-no, more precisely, the upper half of his torso-falling to the ground. After swiftly taking the dagger from the still-standing corpse’s waist, we hurried toward the hero party’s tent.

“First, we should regroup with the hero party, Young Master Ethan. Two is better than one, and ten is better than two.”

“Agreed. I think so too, Lilith.”

In a life-or-death situation, even if relations were normally strained, cooperation was unavoidable. And judging by Ethan’s demeanor today, he didn’t seem as antagonistic toward Kyetmajosyegigot as before.

On the way to join the hero party, a few more bandits leaped out, swinging their swords at us. But with the combined combat power of 1.1 Sword Experts, they were hardly a concern.

-Slish!

“Guhhhhk!!”

-Thunk!

“Kgh-Ghk!”

Two more bandits fell-one to Ethan’s sword, the other to the dagger I had looted earlier.

One of the smarter bandits seemed to realize something was off and shouted while pointing at us.

“The black-haired ones! Kill the black-haired ones first!”

“They’re isolated-take them out now!”

“You idiot! Don’t kill the girl! Anyone who kills her gets their fucking dick chopped off!”

“……”

-Crunch.

Hearing the bandits’ chatter, Ethan gritted his teeth so hard I could hear it.

‘…This is exactly why his obsession with me is a problem.’

Hoping Ethan wouldn’t lose focus due to anger, I tightened my grip on my daggers and took a defensive stance.

-Clang! Clang!

“Hahaha! What, you think you’re some kind of prince playing around? A brat like you swinging a sword isn’t even…”

-Thunk!

“…Next.”

Wave after wave of bandits rushed at us in the chaotic skirmish.

Most targeted Ethan first, likely thinking I’d be easier to subdue once he was dead. But none lasted more than three exchanges before falling to his blade.

“Hey, fuck! Up close, she’s insane! Just capturing her could fetch ten gold coins in the market…”

-Thunk!!

“Ghk-What the hell…?”

Ten? Now that’s just ridiculous.

“My annual salary is forty gold coins, you trash. Did you think the Blackwood Prince’s exclusive maid was some kind of whore?”

-Thunk!

“F-fuck… What kind of woman…?”

A few bandits tried ambushing me, but I had already reached the threshold of a Sword Expert.

The trajectories of these low-level thugs’ swings were laughably easy to read-deflecting and cutting them down was simpler than flipping my palm.

‘Definitely easier to fight now than before.’

Before, I had to meticulously predict every move, but now, just following the visible trajectories made most battles straightforward.

Of course, this wouldn’t work against truly skilled opponents, but those would likely go after Kyetmajosyegigot, not us.

‘Tonight, I just need to get used to the Sword Expert’s “blade prediction.”‘

Against these weaklings, there was no real combat experience to gain-just familiarity with this new ability.

“The girl’s strong too! Fight like you’re ready to lose an arm or two!”

“Shut the fuck up! A girl missing an arm loses half her value, dumbass!”

“Y-you idiots, focus on the guy! He’s stronger!”

“That bastard’s a Sword Expert, you moron! You go die instead!!”

-Thunk! Smack! Clang!

Unable to agree on how to handle us, the bandits started fighting among themselves, swinging swords and axes in disarray.

This made our job easier, but I couldn’t relax just yet.

Scenes like this usually signaled the arrival of a named enemy-the boss of this event.

-Thud, thud, thud.

As I cut down bandit after bandit, two massive men approached with slow, deliberate steps.

Having seen them nearly ten times in my playthroughs of Luminor Academy, I tensed slightly at the appearance of the named enemies.

“Haah, Okam bro. I told you we should’ve come alone.”

“Quiet, Okam. The boss ordered it, so we don’t have a choice.”

“These guys are all in the way. Can’t we just clear them out, Okam bro?”

“True. The boss only said to come together. He never said we had to fight as a team, right, Okam?”

“Yeah, Okam bro.”

“Right, Okam.”

The twin brothers who called each other “Okam”-the named enemies of the night bandit raid event, the Twin Okam.

“Ah, Vice Captain Okam! It’s them! They attacked our comrades first instead of fighting properly…!”

-Crunch!

“Who cares? Weaklings who can’t even block an axe shouldn’t be complaining.”

“Yeah, right. Weaklings shouldn’t talk back.”

The Twin Okam made their entrance by splitting a subordinate’s skull with an axe.

The remaining bandits panicked and fled in terror.

“Shit, shit! It’s the Vice Captain Okams! Run!”

“Fuck, move! I’m not dying here like a dog!!”

As the enemies around us scattered, the twins-one wielding a sword, the other an axe-approached.

“I’m Okam. And this is my brother, Okam.”

“I’m Okam. And this is my older brother, Okam bro.”

“……”

“……”

They delivered lines meant for Kyetmajosyegigot, leaving me thoroughly bewildered.