After a foolish conversation, Chamber and I were both hit by Nina.
Now that Piyo had recovered, we decided to head towards the merchant’s route as Navis had said. I thanked Chamber once again. Wilderness that was nothing spread out once more. In the midst of it all, Piyo was happily humming.
“Hmm, hmm. Hey, hey, since Piyo and I met, is everyone else nearby too?”
“That’s highly likely. Is the valley Navis mentioned over there?”
In the direction Nina’s gaze was pointed, I could vaguely see something that looked like rocks. It might be, since merchants use it, it’s probably relatively close to town. As we approached, I could see a road formed between two large mountains. Because of that, the sunlight was blocked, creating shade.
“I see, this looks easy to use. It’s in the shade and the road is flat and easy to walk on.”
Saying that, Nina entered the valley. The temperature dropped a notch, making it comfortable, which would make even a long journey less tiring. Moreover, this valley wasn’t a single path. There were several narrow side paths along the way. It was like a maze, but if you kept track, you could have an advantageous journey. However, this was also a perfect spot for bandits, as they had places to hide and ways to escape. They wouldn’t need to wait for prey in the middle of the desert.
“Piyo, can you jump up and observe the surroundings?”
“Roger that! Huh?!”
Nina stopped Piyo, who was eagerly trying to jump up.
“What? Is something wrong?”
“Shh, be quiet. It looks like they’re coming from that way.”
From somewhere hidden, several figures appeared from the front and back of the road. Standing at the front was a particularly large half-beastman. He looked like a lion. He had long hair like a mane and fluffy fur around his neck. His arms were covered in tough fur, and sharp claws glinted at the tips of his fingers.
“What, only three of you? Well, travelers, just leave your luggage and go. We won’t kill you.”
“Hah, are you sure you’re that relaxed? I might kill you guys?”
“Hmm, I see. So you’re one of those exterminators hired by the camel guys? In that case, it’s fine to just get rid of you. Hey, you guys.”
With a flick of his chin, his companions came out from behind as if they had been waiting. There were less than ten of them, quite a few. Wait a minute, is this situation bad? There are only three of us, and I’m not much of a fighter.
“Wow, going up against a large group, doesn’t that sound fun?”
“N-Nina, this is a bit…”
Just as I was about to say it was bad, something passed me at incredible speed. At the same time, my bag was snatched from my shoulder. By the time I realized it, my bag had been successfully stolen.
“Ah, it was stolen! Damn it, but, huh?”
The thief had already put a significant distance between us. But this figure from behind… hairy limbs, a small build, a cat’s tail and ears. No doubt about it!
“Ah, Sharin! Right? Ahh, I’m so glad it’s Sharin, it has to be! Hey, I was worried about you!”
“Huh? Oh, really, hey Sharin!”
Piyo bounced happily and ran towards her back. Sharin’s movements stopped abruptly.
“Huh? What are you guys? Are you acquaintances?”
With a creak that sounded like grinding gears, Sharin turned around. Half of her face was hidden by a bandana, but I could tell by her eyes alone.
“Sharin, hehehe, we met!”
“Eh, u-uh, a case of mistaken identity…”
Nina sighed at our emotional reunion.
“I can’t believe you’re still a thief. Haven’t you retired?”
“…I can’t help it. It’s all I can do.”
The bandit boss interrupted our one-sided conversation, asking what was going on.
“Sharin, are these people your acquaintances?”
“Yes, well, sort of.”
She reluctantly returned my bag. According to her story, Sharin, who had been separated from us, had joined the bandit group to survive. The cat-like beastman Navis mentioned must have been Sharin.
“I see, so these are your stray companions.”
“My name is Hiroaki. Uh, could you stop attacking merchants here?”
“And you think I’ll just say yes?”
Right… well, it can’t be helped, but I’m truly glad Sharin was found. I’ll consider that good enough.
“Understood. Then, Sharin, let’s go.”
“Wait, where do you think you’re going?”
We were immediately surrounded. They weren’t going to let us go that easily.
“You want to take Sharin? She’s our comrade. Do you think we’ll just hand her over?”
“Can you guys do nothing without Sharin? You only started attacking merchants because she was here, right? You’d be defeated by escorts.”
The bandit boss gritted his teeth. Sharin stepped between the glaring parties.
“Calm down. Boss, thank you for everything. Thanks to you, I was able to survive. But it was all to meet these companions. Please.”
As Sharin bowed her head, the boss grudgingly looked away.
“Tsk, is that so? Hurry back to your original companions. But don’t ever come back here…”
“Boss! It’s an emergency! Kiah has been captured! By the Garuda Tribe!”
A breathless member of the bandit group burst in, interrupting their farewell.
