As we headed toward the Royal Capital, passing through several villages and towns, about two-thirds of the journey had passed.
Until now, the merchant caravan had never been attacked by monsters, as Nana had always handled them, but a change had finally arrived.
If those targeting the caravan were monsters, Nana could have handled them as before, but a situation arose where that wouldn’t work.
“…Renee, we have a problem.”
Kousuke, who was on the driver’s seat with Kouhi and Mitsuki to distract himself, whispered to Renee in the cargo wagon.
Renee, predicting that if Kousuke and the others, who had effortlessly evaded monster attacks until now, called it a problem, then it must be a problem, let out a sigh.
“Is it difficult for Nana to handle?”
“Ah, no. If it were monsters, she could scatter most opponents. The problem is when the opponent is human…”
Kousuke hesitated, but Renee immediately understood what he meant and raised an eyebrow.
“Bandits?”
“It’s too far to tell for sure yet.”
“I see…”
As she said that, Renee fell into thought.
If the opponents were just bandits, it wouldn’t be a problem, but if they were something else, it would get even more complicated.
Kousuke understood that the goods he was transporting this time were not the kind usually carried by ordinary merchant caravans, which is why he was giving Renee this warning.
It was Renee’s role to decide what to do next.
“For now, let’s proceed until we can determine what kind of opponents they are. Is that alright?”
Sensing what she wanted to say, Kousuke nodded.
Kousuke knew that Renee wanted to deliver these goods to the Royal Capital in a hurry.
However, if they were surrounded by a large group, it might be impossible to defend against them.
Mere starving bandits could be dealt with, but opponents who had received proper training were a different matter.
Renee and Kousuke were anticipating such opponents.
Of course, if Kouhi and Mitsuki unleashed their full power, they could easily scatter any opponent, but it hadn’t been decided whether they would go that far yet.
That, too, would be decided after assessing the opponents.
***
We approached at our usual speed, trying not to be noticed by the opponents.
When we drew within a certain distance, Kouhi and Mitsuki, who had far superior eyesight than the others, began to describe the opponents’ state.
“It looks like bandits at first glance, but their clothes are clean.”
“Yes. They don’t look dirty.”
According to Kouhi and Mitsuki, they seemed too clean to be ordinary bandits.
It was an obviously suspicious group.
Kousuke relayed this information to Renee.
“…Can we let them pass, or can we break through if combat occurs?”
“It wouldn’t be impossible, but is that alright?”
“If combat occurs, then it can’t be helped.”
With Renee’s decision, that information was properly conveyed to the guards following behind.
Consequently, the adventurers, finally getting some work that resembled guarding, wore expressions of renewed determination.
The strategy was to proceed with the merchant caravan, pretending not to notice the attack.
Meanwhile, Kouhi would approach the group from behind and strike before they could strike.
Furthermore, there was an option to annihilate the opponents while they were in confusion.
The biggest challenge was whether Kouhi could attack the leader of the group first, but Kouhi understood that part.
Therefore, Kouhi was sent ahead of the wagons.
Since she had gone quite a ways ahead, she would have ample time to observe the opponents.
The merchant caravan proceeded as if nothing was happening until they reached what seemed to be the ambush point.
It was the most agonizing time, but at least the adventurers did not show any signs of impatience.
Even though they had never seen Kousuke in direct combat, he was probably trusted to some extent due to his past handling of monsters.
The number of opponents was around twenty.
By simple calculation, one person would have to defeat two others, but with Kouhi and Mitsuki present, it wouldn’t come to that.
Kouhi and Mitsuki had been asked to try not to kill the opponents if possible.
This wasn’t out of consideration for the opponents, but to gather information.
The opponents seemed to intend to surround and attack the merchant caravan.
They had dispersed their forces on both sides of the road to surround the caravan.
They were aiming for a pincer attack.
***
After the merchant caravan had proceeded a certain distance, combat began.
A shrill sound, like a whistle, echoed throughout the area.
That must have been the signal for the opponents’ attack.
Those who had been hiding behind cover suddenly rushed towards the merchant caravan.
“Ambush!”
Kousuke shouted to the group, feigning surprise as if they had just noticed.
Most of the cargo wagons immediately stopped.
However, the lead wagon accelerated and attempted to break away from the scene.
This was also part of the initial plan.
According to Renee, if this wagon alone reached the Royal Capital, their objective would be achieved.
Therefore, they intentionally made it separate from the other wagons.
Furthermore, this also served the purpose of discerning how much information the opponents possessed.
If the attackers were targeting what Renee expected, they would aim for the lead wagon.
Meanwhile, Kouhi, who had been acting separately, began her move at Kousuke’s signal.
Kouhi had had more than enough time, and had already identified the person who seemed to be the leader of this group.
She immediately launched an attack towards that individual.
However, the opponent seemed to have considerable skill, as she couldn’t attack without being noticed at all.
Judging by their expression, they were surprised, but quickly noticed Kouhi and drew their weapons.
However, that was all they could do.
Kouhi immediately struck a vital point, and the opponent collapsed on the spot.
Simultaneously, those around them also collapsed shortly thereafter.
All of this took less than thirty seconds.
Although Kouhi incapacitated the leader, the opponents seemed to have predicted our actions to some extent, as there was no apparent confusion even when the lead wagon sped away.
By this point, nearly half of the remaining forces were heading towards the lead wagon.
Since the opponents were also on horseback, it was impossible for them to keep running like this.
They had agreed to stop at a certain distance.
The wagon stopped at a distance that would prevent immediate support from arriving.
“Mitsuki, it’s about time.”
“Understood.”
With that, Mitsuki moved away from the wagon to a location some distance away.
Nana, who had been riding with her, also moved.
“Noel, I’m counting on you.”
“Roger.”
When Kousuke said that, Noel conjured a barrier to protect the entire wagon.
Kousuke and Renee were inside this barrier.
Now, Mitsuki and Nana just needed to annihilate the attackers heading towards them.
The question was whether the opponents could deal with this barrier, but even in that case, they weren’t particularly worried.
The barrier conjured by Noel, a fairy, would take time even for a high-level wizard to break.
More than that, it would be impossible to break during a short battle.
Even if there were spirit users among the opponents, the same would apply.
There was such a significant difference in power between spirits and fairies.
By covering the wagon with this barrier, they would buy time, and then leave the rest to Mitsuki and Nana.
It was a simple plan, but they carried it out because they believed it to be the most reliable method.
Details of the separate unit will be in the next installment.
It’s not written, but Kouhi, who defeated the opponent’s leader, went to the separate unit.
Battles are rare in this work, and often divided into multiple parts.
Hopefully, it will be resolved in the next installment.
I’m currently debating whether to write this chapter as a separate part.
It’s looking like it will exceed 20 episodes, no matter how I think about it.
Perhaps I should write this chapter like an interlude and then make it the third part.
Since Towa has graduated from the academy and the children have grown, it might be good to conclude with the previous chapter.
Please be aware that the chapter structure may change later.
