episode_0037

When we returned, the unexplored area was literally devastated.

The buildings of the ancient empire, which had at least a recognizable shape, were destroyed to the point where they were indistinguishable from the stones on the roadside, and the corpses of monsters and humans were lying here and there, rotting.

“Khahaha! Give me everything you have! I won’t kill women if they surrender calmly!”

“……”

And in places like that, dung flies are bound to be attracted.

They were wearing several layers of leather armor that must have been removed from the corpse, and they were wearing necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other accessories, and they were sweating and smiling triumphantly.

There were more than thirty people, and several people were tied up and hanging out in the carriage parked at the back. Probably to sell them as slaves.

“Ugh…Xenia. Please take care of Vanessa.”

“Oh, yes!”

Watching Xenia activate the shield, she draws her sword and steps forward, and Herriot stands by her side.

It’s so relaxed that it almost makes me laugh.

“There’s no need to take a break, right?”

“Of course.”

“…!!”

When the aura formed on the sword, the guys flinched for a moment, but soon spread their shoulders confidently and took a fighting stance.

“Khahaha! A young guy is an Auror! That’s awesome! But we have magic tools! I can kill two knights in an instant!”

“That’s right, Captain!”

“Let’s finish this quickly and have a taste of the woman! It must be a high-quality product because it looks very delicate!

“Uhhhh…!”

Cheesy laughter echoed here and there, but we didn’t even snort.

“Then die! Magic Arrow!”

“Fire Ball!”

“Lightning Bolt!”

Dozens of magic pour in from the magic circle engraved on the magic tool.

But it is shallow and obvious.

“To gather this number of magic tools, you would have had to search this area like crazy… You’re so diligent.”

Not feeling the need to waste time, I gathered my consciousness to one point.

The converged consciousness accelerates and slowly perceives the world, and the body that responds to it is filled with intense heat…

“Huh?”

I tilted my head because it felt different than before.

“…How can this be?”

light.

Even though my heart is pounding hard, I don’t feel any frustration or fatigue and feel relaxed. Full body muscles also move easily in a slow world. The quantity and quality of the mana that strengthened the body was also unusual. The mana circuit, which was previously intrusive as if a pile of clay had been added together, is now as wide and strong as an open highway.

“…Haha!”

I never thought the elixir would be this effective.

I walked through the slowly approaching magic as if I was taking a walk and swung my sword.

“K……Uh…billion……?”

“Wow! It’s this slow?”

I was really surprised to see the leader with his head cut off and slowly dying. Now, I can see that the ship was speeding up before the accelerated accident. Isn’t it scary how much acceleration can be achieved just by lightly concentrating one’s consciousness? What happens when you give your all?

“Inhale…!”

As a test, I focused my consciousness and accelerated it to its limit.

“Oh…!”

A scenery as if time had stopped.

“…Ugh!?”

But before I could laugh at the joy, I had to release the acceleration. Because my body couldn’t bear it.

“The burden on the body is enormous. Well, time actually hasn’t slowed down, I’m just moving faster…”

After pounding my chest that felt like it was about to explode and rubbing my cramping leg muscles a few times, I looked at them again and raised my sword.

The magic they fired had not even reached the halfway point yet.

“Phew…!”

It didn’t even take a few seconds for them to move in earnest and wipe them out.

While Herriott cut down about ten people, I took out twenty.

“Huuu….!”

“Master. Why does it seem faster than before?”

“Sure. I guess the elixir is good. My body is much lighter.”

“For me, dying and coming back to life is something worth doing.”

“Ahaha, don’t worry. When you feel like you’re about to die, I’ll use an elixir for you.”

“…Thank you for that.”

Smiling sheepishly, she shook off the blood and looked at the fallen thieves.

“Are you going to take all the magic tools these guys are wearing?”

“Of course. How much does it cost to sell just that? It will get better if you leave the combination to Petra.”

“Yes!? Magic tools are also possible!?”

“Of course. In the first place, the clothes we are wearing are also some kind of magic tools, right? What’s not to like about accessories?”

What we are wearing looks like ordinary cloth clothing on the outside, but it is an item with defensive power similar to metal armor. I fluttered it and laughed, and she nodded with a blank face.

“Now that I think about it, is that right? Why didn’t I think of that until now…?”

“Superpowers are a foreign power even in this world, right? Now, while we’re talking, let’s retrieve the magic tools.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“I’ll help you too!”

Xenia and Vanessa worked together to collect magic tools, and the number was over thirty.

“…Are magic tools really this common?”

“Hmm… I think it’s because most of them are magic tools. Moreover, most mercenaries and treasure hunters have at least one magic tool.”

“Hmm…”

Most of them were small items such as rings and necklaces, so there was no problem carrying them.

“What about the people in the carriage?”

“How many people are there?”

“Four…no, five.”

“There are many. Are they all women?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible? Let’s release everything first.”

After removing the restraints, the women were taken out of the carriage, their wounds were treated, and their bodies were cleaned.

“Thank you…!”

The red-haired woman, the stockiest among them, stood up and bowed politely.

“There’s no need to be so polite. Because it’s no big deal. But being caught by them means that you are also mercenaries or treasure hunters who came to explore unexplored areas, right? Then I got swept up in that monster wave.”

“Ah, yes. My name is Jeffrey, and I am a silver-level mercenary.”

When she straightened her back, she was a head taller than me and was about the same size as Harriet. She is a very stubborn-looking woman with thick eyebrows and tightly closed lips.

“Hmm, what about other women?”

“Well, I’m Halona, a professional treasure hunter! I belong to the Treasure Hunter Guild and am a silver rank!”

“This is Isabelle. He is a silver level mercenary and a 3rd circle mage. It’s the same party as Jeffrey.”

“My name is Jeremy. He…is a mercenary and is of the same rank…”

“This is Karen. He is a mercenary of the same rank.”

Halona was a woman with short hair and a slim body, Isabelle had pink hair and looked fragile, and Jeremy had brown hair and droopy eyes and looked timid and unconfident. Karen was a beautiful silver-haired woman who seemed relatively undisturbed. She had the most outstanding beauty and body among the women imprisoned, and she had an air of dignity.

It was the appearance of a nobleman that I was familiar with, but I pretended not to notice and avoided my gaze.

That’s because I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it, no matter what the circumstances were.

“Ah, so…did everyone eat?”

Actually, there was no need to ask. Their faces were tired and haggard, and they had not looked good for the past few days, so their gauntness was showing.

“Let’s eat first and rest for a bit.”

We moved to a suitable place and gathered branches to make a bonfire while Vanessa cooked. For food, we took what the bandits had. The quantity was considerable as it was carried around for 30 people to eat.

“But can you guys go back to the city by yourself?”

“Yes? Ah, that’s…”

“It’s a little difficult.”

While the women hesitated, Jeffrey shook his head in a stern voice.

“Why?”

“Because you can’t handle the monsters that are rushing at you. We don’t even have our weapons or equipment.”

“If that’s the case, if you go to the place where the thieves died earlier, it’s all over the place.”

“…Even if the equipment is sufficient, with this number of people…”

Glancing over, she looked at the women she had been detained with.

“What does the number of people matter? We came this far as a group of four?”

“That’s the nobleman’s…”

“Call me Rom.”

“Because Rom’s party is very strong. By any chance…are you an expert intermediate level?”

“That’s right. Herriot and I are intermediate experts.”

At those words, exclamations come out of the women’s mouths.

“Awesome. I think you’re still young… but at that level, you probably don’t have to worry about monsters. But among us, there is no one with that level of skill.”

“I think you are an expert?”

“It’s still just a low-level job.”

“Hmm…”

I looked around at them and nodded. Certainly, if it were just these women, it would be very difficult to get out of the forest. The girl named Karen feels a bit ambiguous, but she’s said to be in the same class, so she’s probably weak.

…It’s annoying. Should I just leave it behind? I don’t have to take responsibility.

“Rom! Could you please include us in your party? I will do anything to be able to safely return to the city!”

“Are you guys with no skills asked to join the party? You know that saying that is the same as asking to be taken care of, right?”

“Ugh…uh, I’ll do any chore.”

“I would also like to ask you a favor. Mr. Rom.”

As Geoffrey kneels and bows his head, Isabelle, a fellow party member, also kneels next to her. Then the other women, who realized the situation, also knelt down one by one.

“Hmm…Heriot. Xenia. Vanessa. What do you think?”

“Well, I…I think it’ll be okay. If we ignore it like this, it will be difficult for everyone to survive…”

It was Xenia who hesitantly expressed her opinion. Harriet snorts at those words.

“I am against it. You never know what these guys will do behind the scenes. If you get hit in the back of the head, it won’t end as a numb feeling.”

“Hmm, I don’t think she would do anything foolish when her life was at stake… What about you, Vanessa?”

“…I don’t mind as long as it pays for the food. Oh, by the way… are you okay, Master?”

“Huh? What?”

“Those…acts. You probably don’t plan on doing it in front of those people, do you? Then you’ll have to be patient…”

“What are you talking about? What are you holding on to? Are you just going to do it?”

“…!!”

“…!”

At my words, Harriet and Xenia turn to me with pale faces.

“Master. That’s not it…”

“I will die of shame…”

“If that is what you think, I will oppose it.”

Vanessa glares at me with a fresh look on her face. I laughed at that cute sight and looked at the five women, including Jeffrey.

“If it doesn’t bother you, I agree. Because it seems difficult for these guys to do anything with their skills.”

“It will never cause any harm. How can we do that when our lives are at stake? The moment Rom and the rest of the party disappear, our lives are no different. At least Isabelle and I are not idiots who don’t know such things.”

“Me too! I will never betray you!”

“Same!”

“……”

Everyone was desperate to gain trust, except for Karen, who had an aristocratic air.

I’m really worried because I keep staying away from you.

“You said Karen, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you a nobleman?”

“… To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that he was a nobleman. Because my family fell.”

“Hmm, that’s why I’m talking about becoming a mercenary… It’s impossible unless you’re fairly confident in your skills. Don’t you usually go to another territory as a maid or concubine?”

“……”

“Are you hiding your skills?”

“I have never lied. I am a mercenary of the same level. However, his swordsmanship has reached the level of intermediate expert.”

For some reason, I couldn’t figure it out. He was on the same level as me.

“Ho-oh, I’m at Expert Intermediate…of course the tech tree is a secret, right?”

“……”

“If you lead, you can take all these women safely, right?”

“It’s hard to do alone.”

“Hmm, really…?”

I tilted my head.

I tried to put myself in Karen’s position, and it seemed like it would be possible.

“Heriot. Can you get out of the forest while protecting these women?”

“Yes? How do you do that? It’s impossible. What if I had two bodies? I might be able to do it on my own.”

“Huh? Really?”

I whetted my appetite at the unexpected answer. Harriet glares at me a little.

“Master. Don’t think that everything is possible, Master. We are not geniuses.”

“Aren’t I a genius too?”

“Ahaha. A person who reaches Intermediate Sword Expert level at the age of thirteen is not a genius? You did well~”

“……”

I had nothing to say due to the scathing sarcasm, so I scratched my head.

“Huh? Wait, but if you were an intermediate sword expert, there would have been a lot of nobles who would have taken you with them even if you didn’t have to become a mercenary?”

“…There are circumstances.”

“Oh, yes.”

I nodded moderately and avoided eye contact.

I don’t know what the circumstances were, but it’s none of my business. I’m not really curious.

“Cooking is finished.”

“Oh. okay. Anyway, these girls will just join the party for now. Still, it’s a bit much to let him die, isn’t it? Harriet, Vanessa. Are you okay?”

“Okay… that girl named Karen is a little annoying… but I can’t help it. ”

“…I don’t care.”

Harriet nodded reluctantly and Vanessa nodded with an emotionless face.

I grinned and led everyone to sit in front of the bonfire.

“Then let’s start by eating.”

The women seemed to be very hungry and rushed for food. Oh, except for Karen, who has culture and manners ingrained in her.

“…Oh my god!”

“How can it taste like this!?”

The women who tasted Vanessa’s cooking opened their eyes and were amazed. Even Karen.

I ate my food slowly, looking at that with happy eyes.