“Chief! Chief!!!”

    “Why are you making such a fuss again, Paul? I distinctly remember telling you not to go crazy over trivial matters, right?”

    “T-this time, it’s really important! I’ll stake my dignity on it!!!”

    “Sigh, what use is staking your pathetic dignity… Alright, speak quickly then.”

    The leader of the bandits slowly rose from his slumber at the urgent voice of his subordinate.

    To be so confident as to stake his dignity, just how crucial must the news he brought be?

    With an intrigued expression, the chief gazed sharply at his subordinate and decided to listen to what he had to say.

    “W-well… It’s about those pesky Valeri guys we’ve always clashed with…”

    “Ah, those small fry? What about them?”

    “Yesterday, an adventurer party came by and completely wrecked them. They were utterly helpless… apparently.”

    “…Seems like quite a strong bunch.”

    Faced with news far more serious than anticipated, the chief furrowed his brow.

    Has an order for suppression been issued?

    That couldn’t be it, as far as he recalled, the lord wouldn’t be the type to issue a bandit suppression order.

    After a moment of contemplation, the chief, noticing the anxious look on his subordinate’s face, questioned him.

    “Have the Valeri guys had any recent outbursts? Like killing nobles or something of that sort?”

    “N-no! There haven’t been any incidents like that in months! They were just collecting tolls normally…?”

    “That’s odd, if they were just collecting tolls normally, there shouldn’t have been such a reaction.”

    Why did things escalate?

    It wouldn’t have escalated without reason.

    Pondering the cause, the chief, feeling a sudden unease, hastily gave orders to his subordinate.

    “Paul, tell the boys to prepare to move the base.”

    “Are you saying this all of a sudden?”

    “Yeah, something feels off. If we don’t move now, it feels like we’re definitely screwed.”

    His sense of unease had never lied before, allowing him to rise to the position of chief of a large bandit group.

    Thinking that his intuition would be correct this time as well, the chief began to pack his belongings, sighing with relief as he stuffed all the treasures into his bag.

    “We can move as soon as we’re ready.”

    This too shall pass without incident.

    Thanks to this incredible intuition, he had managed to avoid most dangers until now.

    However, as if mocking the chief’s thoughts, a deafening explosion shook the earth outside the hideout.

    Boom!!!

    …Did his intuition fail him this time?

    Perplexed, the chief rushed outside, clutching his favorite weapon, and upon surveying his precious territory engulfed in chaos, he wore a dumbfounded expression.

    “It’s too early for this. What’s going on?”

    The chief, with a bewildered expression, finally began to grasp the situation.

    Before him, someone clad in a plain robe and a witch’s hat revealed themselves.

    “Looks like you’re quite flustered.”

    A calm yet alluring voice that awakened his senses.

    The chief tightened his grip on his weapon and glared at the witch before him.

    “Is this your doing?”

    “Well, not entirely. I was just watching from the sidelines.”

    “You damn woman…”

    Crack!

    Despite erupting in anger, the chief quickly composed his emotions.

    He had heard that even when captured by ogres, one could survive if they kept their wits about them.

    Provide what the other party needs for now, plan for the future.

    And he would surely repay this humiliation.

    After concluding his thoughts, the chief cautiously questioned the witch.

    “Why did you do this? What did you aim to gain by causing this? Do you hold a grudge against our bandit group?”

    “No? I don’t hold any grudges. I simply came because I needed supplies.”

    “What?”

    …Are you telling me that some lunatics raided a bandit group to supply themselves?

    Unable to bear the absurdity, the witch let out a hollow laugh and smiled sweetly, saying, “If you give up everything you have, I’ll spare your life. How about it? Isn’t this a fair deal?”

    With those pretty lips, she delivered a truly menacing threat.

    —–

    The reason for heading towards the western part of the continent was quite simple.

    Firstly, it was the place farthest from the eastern part of the continent where witch hunts were least severe.

    At the same time, it was thought to be the most comfortable place to live due to less oppression than anywhere else.

    Of course, the heavy responsibility of freedom rested solely on me, which was a concern.

    But as long as I could obtain ‘it,’ it wouldn’t be a significant issue since it would be resolved immediately.

    …In truth, I was somewhat drawn to the north for stability, but since the protagonist had skipped the north and headed straight to the Great Forest.

    Going north felt like living with a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment, so I decided to give up on it.

    Anyway, back to the journey from the south to the west.

    After spending a cheerful first day, the group discovered a major problem the next morning right after breakfast.

    The rate at which our food supplies were depleting was alarmingly fast.

    One might think we should ration our food, but that was simply impossible.

    Among the six members, four were muscle-bound men who didn’t even consider the next day’s meal.

    So, I began to worry.

    How could we solve the upcoming food shortage? Could we peacefully finish this journey without starving to death?

    That’s when I came up with the idea of robbing a band of thieves.

    …Of course, initially, I didn’t plan on robbing a band of thieves.

    I simply wanted to rely purely on what nature provided.

    Disturbing a band of thieves could trigger a butterfly effect, leading to unforeseen consequences.

    Having already endured numerous battles in the Great Forest, I had no desire to engage in more fighting.

    Thus, although I initially intended to obtain meat from beasts or monsters to solve our food problem.

    Perhaps the chaos we caused in the Great Forest had come back to haunt us.

    Nature did not provide us with anything, and our food supply quickly dwindled.

    There were six of us. Four of them were big eaters.

    If we continued like this, we would inevitably face a food shortage, so we had no choice but to make a decision.

    Given the circumstances, we had to rob the band of thieves.

    And that’s how this situation unfolded.

    A band of thieves’ leader fighting to protect something precious, and a group of adventurers trying to plunder everything from him.

    It felt like our roles had been reversed, but I didn’t feel any guilt.

    After all, the food we were going to steal was probably taken from someone else.

    Smiling wryly, I made a proposal, and the bandit leader fixed his lively gaze on me.

    Then, with a twisted smile, he slowly raised his hand to signal an attack.

    “If you hand over everything you have, I’ll spare your life… Are you serious about that? Is that really what you’re saying now?”

    “…”

    “To blurt out such jokes on this street, you must be out of your mind. Hehe… Do you think I’d take you as my companion on the road to the afterlife?”

    “Well, it doesn’t seem like you would.”

    As I spoke, someone beside me was vigorously rushing over to confront you.

    “Hey, you!”

    Nonchalantly speaking, the leader rushed towards me with determination.

    Unfortunately, consumed by anger, he failed to notice something.

    It was the presence of a muscular macho elf attempting a body tackle from the side.

    Thud!

    “Ugh…!”

    Struck by the body tackle, he was sent flying and crashed into a nearby oak tree.

    Would that be how it looks when hit by a truck? The leader groaned in pain, shivering, while the elf who witnessed it shook his head in disbelief.

    “Truly a weak flesh. Even though I struck with muscles that have not yet recovered… It’s pitiful, I thought they were all water muscles.”

    “…How do you distinguish that kind of thing?”

    “I felt a softness that shouldn’t be felt the moment I struck. It means a high body fat percentage. It means that guy wasted his training.”

    “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

    As he grasped his forehead and complained of dizziness, an elf approached the leader and grabbed him by the hair.

    Growling fiercely, the elf began to interrogate the leader.

    “From now on, I will teach you the correct way to exercise.”

    “Cough… Ugh…”

    “You can’t seem to pull yourself together. With an unhealthy body, an unhealthy mind is inevitable.”

    “Mih… Mihinnohom…”

    Staring at the elf with fearful eyes, the leader laboriously pulled something out of his bosom.

    Its true nature was a vial exuding a sinister gray aura.

    Despite the intimidating appearance of the vial, the elf fearlessly gulped down its contents while being stared down by the crazed elf.

    Soon, his muscles began to swell rapidly.

    I remember that content, but where did I see it before?

    Rapidly trying to recall, the thought of needing to deal with it first overshadowed any memories.

    I don’t know, deal with it first and maybe the memories will come back vaguely.

    Normally, when a villain awakens, you have to kill them. So, I tried to throw the Chinese sword I was holding, but…

    “Wait a moment, witch. There are still things I haven’t confirmed.”

    Bellum blocked me like that and closed in on the leader.

    “Oh.”

    Unfazed, Bellum stood still, waiting for the leader to awaken.

    In the meantime, he prodded the swelling muscles curiously and, for some reason, marveled, his eyes shining.

    “Oh…!”

    Is how one appears not important?

    He touched and admired the changing muscles of the leader, applauding enthusiastically as the leader completed his awakening.

    “An impressive sight. At first glance, one could say it’s truly perfect muscle.”

    [Die…! This crazy bastard…!]

    “But.”

    Lightly blocking the hefty fist coming towards him, he uttered disappointedly.

    “In the end, you’re just a Royder.”

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