A single road pierced through the forest.
I stood, protecting the omnibus carriage, its driver, and the lovely ladies aboard, ready to face the attacking bandits.
“You think you can win against this many, old man! ──Die!”
” ” “Hyahha!” ” ”
Men rushed forward, swinging their makeshift weapons as they leaped.
Four of them, first.
I held my axe horizontally──
“──Bring a hundred times more!”
I swung the Holy Axe Lombardia in a horizontal sweep.
The dull blade caught all four men—
*Clang, crunch, thud, boom!*
” ” ” “Gyaaaaah!” ” ” ” ”
I blew them all away, smashing them into the trees of the forest.
The men who were sent flying rolled their eyes, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed.
” ” ” “Huh…?” ” ” ”
The remaining bandits stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded at the sight.
Their eyes were wide with astonishment.
“Y-you blew away four of them at once?! No way…!”
“And it looked like you only swung your axe once…!?”
“W-what is that old man… Impossible…”
The emboldened bandits were now completely unnerved.
Meanwhile, I heard Elen’s voice from behind me.
“Ugh, no mercy there… Hey Douglas, you said you’d try not to kill them, but didn’t some of them already die?”
“Who knows. I didn’t dismember them, but I can’t be sure beyond that, nor can I manage them. They came to kill us, so they’ll have to bear that level of risk.”
“Ah, I see. Okay, got it.”
A casual reply came back.
There was no need to kill them, but no need to be overly cautious to ensure no one died either.
The priority was to brush off the sparks that flew my way.
Then, a man who seemed to be the bandit leader gave a new order.
“Damn it…! Then capture the women! If we take the women hostage, that old man won’t be able to lay a hand on us!”
” ” “Oh, right!” ” ”
Several men hiding in the forest on the side sprang out.
Their target seemed to be the ladies behind me.
But, of course, this was all anticipated.
“Honestly… do they really think Douglas-sama wouldn’t see through such a foolish tactic? Pitiful scoundrels, sleep──Sleep!”
Seraphina’s magic erupted, putting about three of them to sleep as they lunged.
And the remaining few—
“Hah, stupid! Do you think we’d be caught by the likes of you!”
“Beat it, meow!”
Elen and Miina sprang forward with their weapons, subduing them in an instant.
With them empowered by the Maiden’s Blessing, it would take ten times the number of ordinary bandits to even stand a chance against them.
And so, before they knew it, we had incapacitated over ten bandits.
Losing half their numbers at once, the bandit leader was clearly flustered.
“N-no… impossible…!? Just four adventurers… s-so strong…!”
Meanwhile, I shouldered Lombardia again and addressed the men.
“Now, let’s confirm one more time. If you don’t want to lose any more, I think it’s wise to leave. I have some reservations about killing you all here for the sake of the world and its people. If you promise not to harm us further, I might still spare you.”
“Guh… damn it…! Just a lowly adventurer old man… bragging…”
The man who seemed to be the bandit leader trembled with his weapon-holding hand.
Then, at that moment.
“──Goukyuu.”
A girl’s voice came from behind me.
Simultaneously, with a loud “Boof!”, something cut through the air with a sharp sound, and something whizzed past me at incredible speed.
“Wh-!? What… GAH…!”
The man who seemed to be the bandit leader coughed up blood.
There was a hole in his chest.
Yes, a hole.
It was a wound that might be made by a ballista bolt.
The man’s body swayed and fell.
After convulsing once, the fallen man became motionless.
A red stain spread across the ground.
I turned around and saw a girl with sky-blue hair holding an intricately designed bow.
“──Don’t let them escape, Douglas-san. They are my prey, offerings to our Queen.”
Her eye color was now more of an ice blue than sky blue.
Her icy gaze pierced through the bandits.
The girl’s small-animal-like charm had vanished, replaced by the aura of a cold-blooded killer.
Her small frame seemed to shimmer with a faint Fighting Spirit.
While everyone else stood there in stunned silence.
Biner, the girl with the bow, nocked and loosed another arrow in a fluid motion.
──Boof, Bang!
Looking back at the bandits, one of them had the upper quarter of his head blown off.
That man also fell, staining the ground with blood.
From the bodies of the man who fell first, presumably the leader, and the other man who just fell, a mist-like substance emerged and was sucked into the bow held by Biner.
“H-Hieeee…!? ”
“Wh-what is that woman, she’s scary! ──R-run!”
Overcome by fear, the bandit men turned and fled.
But Biner shot more arrows, targeting the fleeing men.
She shot one man through the torso, blew off another man’s head, and again, the mist emerged from the corpses and was absorbed by Biner’s bow.
At that point, the remaining men disappeared into the depths of the forest, so Biner dashed off in pursuit.
I shouted towards the sky-blue-haired girl who had become a killer.
“──Biner! Who in the world are you!?”
Biner stopped her pursuit of the bandits and turned towards me.
With a faint smile, she said:
“…Douglas-san. I thought I might be able to get along with everyone, but it seems not. ──I am Biner, one of the Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals, an archer. I will kill many people from now on. I will be waiting in the ruins east of the Royal Capital in ten days, so come if you want to stop me. Let’s fight.”
Then, Biner sprinted into the forest at terrifying speed and vanished from my sight.
