Chapter 6: The Road to the Academy (5)

“My lord! This way!”

“Alright.”

Bandit C guided us to their hideout with a carefree gesture, as if inviting friends to his own home.

I found it amusing, but Hori’s expression was filled with constant disgust as she glared at Bandit C.

“Baronet… Is it really okay to let him go? He might run away or betray us….”

“It’ll be fine. He doesn’t seem to have any intention of running away.”

Besides, I was confident I could catch Bandit C if he tried to escape.

“More importantly, why did you two follow me? You could’ve just stayed by the campfire.”

Hori and Boris didn’t stay by the campfire and followed right behind me.

“Well… thinking about what just happened, it seemed like nothing would happen if we came along.”

“Honestly, I feel the same. Going back and forth is just annoying now….”

It seemed the fear of the bandits that had sprouted in their hearts had completely disappeared.

I wondered if they were being too careless, but considering what they had witnessed earlier, it wasn’t surprising.

“Still, just in case, stay behind me.”

“Okay.”

“Yes, we will.”

As Hori and Boris answered, Bandit C, who was leading the way, laughed and said,

“My Lord! May I hide behind you too?!”

“Just fend for yourself, you bastard.”

Whether by chance or not, the bandits’ hideout wasn’t far from here.

Or rather, because it wasn’t far, they could bring dogs and arrows.

Anyway, it was good for me since we didn’t have to go far.

“By the way, Hori, what did they steal from you that you’re so desperate to get back?”

“Yes… it’s my father’s research notes.”

As Hori mentioned earlier, her family had been alchemists for generations.

Just as swordsmen created and passed down their own swordsmanship, alchemists researched and developed their themes, adding their own ideas and philosophies.

“In our family’s case, it was a potion that temporarily enhances physical strength.”

Hori’s father, like his ancestors, continued to advance his research with his ideas and philosophy.

When the research was near completion, he presented it at an academic conference, but the response was beyond cold; it was hostile.

‘What is this?! What kind of mind would present such a monstrosity at a conference?!’

‘It’s nonsense to even discuss this at the conference.’

‘If your father saw you now, he would regret not using contraception!’

If he were a web novel writer, he would’ve posted a hiatus notice immediately due to the harsh criticism.

After that, all support for Hori’s father stopped, making it difficult to sustain the family.

However, Hori’s father didn’t give up and continued his research.

Enduring a harsh life, Hori’s father grew increasingly haggard and eventually became bedridden, awaiting death.

“Before he died, my father entrusted me with his research, which was stolen by the bandits.”

Those notes were the culmination of Hori’s father’s lifelong research.

“When I first saw my father’s research, I was thrilled. Not because he was family, but as an alchemist, I felt I had found everything I’d been searching for.”

Therefore, Hori had to retrieve those research notes.

To fulfill her father’s wish and for her own research.

“So you lost something that precious?”

“Yes…. I intended to take my father’s research notes no matter what, but by the time I came to my senses, we were surrounded, and escaping was all I could do.”

“I’m sorry, Hori…. It’s because I took the wrong path that we ran into those bastards….”

“Oh, no! It’s not your fault, Boris.”

“Right, if you have to blame someone, blame these bastards.”

Saying that, I lightly kicked Bandit C, who was walking in front of us, in the butt.

“Ah! My Lord, I’m not on their side anymore!”

“Yeah, sure you aren’t….”

It felt foolish to even respond to this traitor anymore.

After walking for a while, we arrived at the bandits’ hideout before dawn.

“Is this the place?”

The spot Bandit C led us to looked like a cave, and on the ground, there were still traces of footsteps and wagon tracks.

“Yes! Most of them should be asleep except for a few!”

“I didn’t think they’d be living in decent conditions, but really, this place?”

“From the outside, it doesn’t look like much, but it’s more spacious inside. We even stored the stolen wagons in there.”

I asked Bandit C if there was any escape route inside, and he shook his head.

“Really?.”

Now, there was no need to worry about the enemy escaping.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, I took a deep breath and shouted with all my might towards the cave.

“Come out here!!”

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Raei  Translations
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I had a sh*tty dream.

It was about the abuse disguised as training I received from my father since I was a child.

Thinking I finally became a knight, only to meet a sh*tty senior knight.

Beating that sh*tty senior and getting expelled from the order because his father was a baron.

It was like watching a novel replaying all the memories before ending up in this hellhole.

It was just a dream, but it felt like watching my life flash before my eyes, and it put me in a foul mood.

‘Damn….’

I tossed the sweat-soaked blanket onto the floor and got up.

My entire body was drenched in sweat.

I moved to get some water to quench my thirst.

“Come out here!!”

An unfamiliar loud voice echoed through the cave.

‘What the f*ck?’

The loud voice woke everyone, not just the guards.

“Boss!! What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know, you idiot…. Remember that magic tool we bought? Use it to see what’s happening.”

“Yes!”

The subordinate grabbed a telescope with night vision magic and headed out.

Based on experience, it probably wasn’t the regular army of the territory.

If it were, they wouldn’t waste time waking everyone up meaninglessly.

Even if they didn’t want to risk going inside, they could’ve collapsed the cave or set fire to the entrance to force us out.

‘Is it an adventurer then?’

It made sense if it were adventurers.

There were plenty of foolish young ones who thought they were strong just because they killed a few bandits.

“Boss!! I’ve got a report!!”

While I was thinking about various things, the subordinate I sent to scout returned.

“Alright, how many are there?”

“Yes! There are four of them! But….”

“What? Spit it out.”

“One of them is one of our members.”

That idiot… he got caught and gave up information. That’s probably what happened.

I could guess how they found out about our hideout deep in the forest.

“And what else?”

“Well… the other two are the ones we robbed of their wagon and goods this morning.”

“And the last one….”

“…I don’t know. He has a sword at his waist, but he’s shouting alone, telling us to come out.”

“How ridiculous.”

To sum it up:

First, the two people we robbed were probably fleeing and ended up in this forest by chance.

Then, by some luck, they encountered a strong adventurer.

The men we sent to chase them were all killed by that adventurer, except for the traitor standing with them now.

Afterward, with the traitor’s help, we tracked down our hideout to where we were now.

“……”

Even thinking about it, I couldn’t believe it.

The odds of fleeing from bandits in a forest and coincidentally meeting a strong adventurer were so slim that it was foolish to even consider.

“Hey, arm all the kids. Bring the dogs too. It’s been a while since they had some meat to tear into.”

Since he managed to kill all the men I sent after him alone, it would be better for everyone to gang up on him.

‘There shouldn’t be any adventurers that strong around here.’

Could he be a noble heading to the academy?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have crossed the forest; he would’ve taken a proper road by carriage.

Shortly after, as my subordinates gathered in the main area after arming themselves, I placed my favorite greatsword on my shoulder and spoke.

“Some of you might have heard on the way, but there’s a crazy bastard out there who thinks he can kill us all by himself.”

Did they think it was a joke?

Or were they as dumbfounded as I was?

Either way, the mood wasn’t bad, so I continued.

“The ones we sent after him are all dead, but don’t worry. Because… I’m right here――”

“Hey, you bastards!! I’ll be waiting all night at this rate!! Come out quickly, you f*ckers!!”

“Hah, seriously….”

Everyone burst into laughter at the sudden interruption.

“No more talking, let’s go kill that bastard.”

“Yes, Sir!!”

The loud answer echoed, boosting the morale of my men. The earlier anxiety vanished, and we confidently headed to the entrance where the intruder awaited.

‘That must be him.’

At the entrance, a young man with black hair, about twenty years old, was grinning at us.

“Are you the lunatic who’s been yelling?”

“Yes! It’s me!!”

The young man leaned forward, one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other on the scabbard, and shouted.

“Die so I can enjoy my Baldo!”

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