The carriage wheels rumbled beneath my ears as I perused the books we had brought along. Efil sat beside me, diligently trying to decipher the characters.
“Master, doesn’t reading in a carriage make you carsick?” the coachman called out.
“I’m used to traveling. This level of vibration doesn’t bother me,” I replied.
“Oh, adventurers are truly something else,” he murmured.
Even Efil and I, accustomed to the much more violent movements of battle, didn’t suffer from motion sickness from reading in a carriage.
“Master, this part?” Efil asked.
“It’s an application of what we just covered,” I said.
We were currently traveling by carriage from Paaz to the Water Country Traase. The reason for this destination was my overwhelming craving for rice. Those unfamiliar with being away from Japan for extended periods in modern times might not understand, but after eating foreign cuisine for so long, there comes a day when one simply yearns for plain white rice. Several months after my reincarnation into this world, my limit was drawing near. I had been considering it for some time, but Traase, rumored to have a rice-like staple food, was a place I had wanted to visit. Guild Master Rio had surprisingly granted me permission without issue, so I decided to take this opportunity to head to Traase.
To make the most of our travel time, I was currently teaching Efil to read. Efil had grown significantly in both combat and daily life, and she was also studying academic subjects like reading and writing.
“Kelvin! A river, it’s a river!” Sera exclaimed from the back of the carriage.
“Do you want to go fishing?”
“Fishing? What’s that?”
“…Maybe we can try it when we reach Traase,” I said.
Sera was leaning out of the carriage’s cargo bed, enjoying the scenery. She had been chattering excitedly about everything she saw.
Besides the rice expedition, there was another reason for our trip to Traase: a promise with Victor, and the desire to show Sera the world. This sheltered, pampered lady didn’t even know what fishing was, and she found joy in even the most ordinary scenery. I believed this journey would allow her to learn and experience a great deal.
‘Sera seems quite energetic.’
Gerard, who apparently disliked traveling by carriage, had returned to my magical energy when we departed from Paaz. It seemed that materializing placed a strain on his waist. While he was fine when in a spiritual state within his armor, he seemed to be enjoying his long-awaited physical body right now.
“Come to think of it, Kelvin, it’s been bothering me a little,” Sera said, turning to me as the carriage entered a wooded path.
“What is it?”
“There are people hiding and watching us.”
“Ah, I sense them.”
“W-what is it, Master? Don’t startle me…” the coachman stammered, looking uneasy. My own presence detection had picked them up as well. About twelve individuals were scattered across the map, maintaining a distance and surrounding the carriage. Some were utilizing advanced concealment skills.
“I’m not lying! I can’t concentrate with them around!” Sera exclaimed, frustrated. She possessed a broader range of sensory skills than I did, likely a measure instilled by her doting father, Demon King Gustav, for self-protection.
“C-could they be bandits!?” the coachman asked.
“Perhaps. There are rumors of bandits in this area,” I replied.
“M-Master, you’re still reading in this situation… And that maid is quite composed too…”
Bandits were hardly a concern at this level for me. Perhaps the issue was that our sense of crisis had dulled. Efil and I resumed our studies, though I, like Sera, felt a flicker of curiosity.
“Hey, hey, Kelvin~”
“I know, I know. Look, they’re moving now.”
Six figures clad in black emerged from the side of the road, positioning themselves in front of the carriage. The remaining six remained hidden, presumably providing rear support. It seemed they had no intention of letting us escape.
“Halt that carriage!”
Surprisingly, the voice was female. Each of the six figures held a weapon.
“Heh, boss, we’ve got two prime pieces here!” one of them leered.
“Let’s see… Oho, these will fetch a good price. And the master will be pleased too.”
The woman, seemingly the leader, and her subordinates were appraising us—or rather, Efil and Sera. It was the same pattern as with that prince.
“W-who are you?! Do you know this carriage belongs to adventurers? How dare you!” the coachman shouted, his voice rising. The five subordinates erupted in laughter.
“Hahaha! Adventurers? We know. You’re from Paaz, aren’t you? From that weakest Adventurer Guild where at best there are only Rank C adventurers!”
“We are the fearsome ‘Kokufu’! Do you think we’d be intimidated by mere Rank C adventurers?”
They seemed to mistake us for adventurers below Rank C. They must have felt confident, capable of taking on at least three Rank C adventurers. It also appeared they had been targeting this carriage for quite some time.
“Kokufu?! Weren’t you a bandit gang that was wiped out by adventurers!?” The coachman seemed to recognize the name.
“Master, please be careful. Kokufu became famous about a year ago. I heard they were a band of skilled fighters that even Rank C adventurers found hard to deal with. But I recall them being annihilated by an A-Rank adventurer party…”
“…Something’s fishy about this,” I murmured.
“Huh? What is it?” the coachman asked.
“Never mind. More importantly, we need to break through this situation,” I replied.
I had already used Appraisal Eye to check the Status of the six in front. What should I do?
“Heh heh, they’re trembling after hearing our name, aren’t they?” one of the subordinates sneered.
“Boss, if you want a reward, show us with your actions,” the leader chastised her subordinates, who were exchanging crude remarks.
“You have bad luck being targeted by us, Kokufu. Well, if you’re adventurers, you should offer at least a little resistance, don’t you think? Alright, you maggots, take the cargo! Capture the women! And kill the men!”
Five subordinates charged from the front. The remaining six remained hidden in the rear.
“Sera, I know it might not be very satisfying, but could you handle them?”
“Sure, but is it okay to kill them?”
“In the eyes of the world, they’ve been annihilated, so I’m not sure if there’s a bounty… I also want information. Please capture that leader alive.”
“Understood! Fighting after so long, my skills are itching!” Sera struck the black and gold demons on her forearms against each other, producing a crisp metallic clang as she psyched herself up. However, I decided to stop her for a moment.
“No using the Black Gold Demons. Fight with your bare hands.”
“Ehh?! Why not?!”
“There’s already a significant difference in our power. If you use that against opponents like these, it’ll get quite brutal…”
“Muu, fine,” Sera pouted, her enthusiasm dampened. I understood her desire to test out her new equipment, but…
“Hmph, I’ve lost my motivation, but I guess I’ll fight them myself,” Sera said, leaping from the cargo bed and landing in front of the carriage with a languid air.
“Oh? You’re going to fight us all by yourself?!”
“Hya ha! Hey sis, let’s have some fun~!”
The bandits’ gazes fixed on the beautiful woman who appeared before them, each eager to claim the credit. Their teamwork was nonexistent.
“No thanks.”
In the blink of an eye, Sera closed the distance to the bandits and delivered a body blow to the one who had been spewing vulgarities. Her fist sank deep into his body, and the sound of bones cracking echoed as I could easily imagine the internal damage being inflicted. The bandit flew several meters forward, landing headfirst.
“Oh? I held back quite a bit, but was that not enough?”
‘He died instantly,’ Gerard noted.
Was the power difference really that great? The bandits couldn’t even follow Sera’s movements. It was questionable if they could even track her with their eyes.
“Huh?” The bandits stared in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the situation. Sera’s previously disgruntled expression had vanished as if it were a lie.
“What’s wrong? You were enjoying yourselves just a moment ago. Come play with me already. Um… you’re the Breeze Bandit Gang, right?”
Ah, this girl was a sadist.
“You six in the back too~” Sera casually glanced towards the hidden bandits. It seemed I didn’t need to tell her their location.
“Master, isn’t this grammar incorrect?”
“Ah, you’re right, it was mistaken.”
I decided to resume my studies with Efil.
