Sharin bowed her head to rescue her captured companion.
“Why are you prostrating yourself, Sharin? I involuntarily crouched down.
“Sharin, that’s enough. Let’s go. We had a talk, after all.”
“No, I will definitely bring them back. I will do anything you ask.”
“Anything” wasn’t a word to be said lightly. The Garuda looked at her and grinned.
“You say you will do anything. In that case, you shall hand over your punishment. It was your companion’s wrongdoing in the first place, so you should resolve it yourselves.”
“What do you mean by punishment?”
The chieftain then took a sword that was displayed behind him.
“To ensure you never steal again, I will cut off your hands.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Your life will be spared. And didn’t you just say you would do anything? Do you intend to lie?”
Sharin let out a voice of regret. Then, one of the Garuda from behind whispered something to the chieftain. The chieftain nodded, saying “hmm, hmm.”
“Now, I’ll give you a chance. Before, two Giant Centipedes had made a nest near here. We defeated one and drove away the other. But recently, it has returned.”
“You want us to defeat it?”
“That’s right,” the chieftain nodded. So there were Giant Scorpions and Giant Centipedes. Centipedes have so many legs… ugh, just imagining it gives me goosebumps.
“Understood. Then we will be on our way. Will you keep my companions alive?”
“We will release one of you. If you fail, consider the remaining two as food for the centipede.”
With that said, they brought out one of the bandits, a cat-beastgirl. We left the Garuda tribe’s settlement with her. She didn’t say a single word while we were walking. Moreover, she seemed somewhat annoyed and wouldn’t even meet our eyes.
Back at the bandit group’s hideout, our companions immediately rushed over.
“Kia! You’re alive!”
“Kia… why did you go to the Garuda’s nest? You knew what would happen, right?”
The boss looked down at her with sharp eyes. So this is Kia. Kia looked down, appearing awkward.
“Hey, what about the others? Are they alive?”
“Don’t worry, they are alive. However, they have made the subjugation of the Giant Centipede a condition.”
Sharin spoke in place of Kia, who did not answer. The boss clasped his head.
“Haaa… What is this? Damn it, what should we do?”
Our companions looked at each other, wondering if we had lost our minds. That Giant Centipede was apparently an unbelievable monster. It might even be stronger than the Giant Scorpion.
“We will go. Don’t worry, it’s just reconnaissance.”
“Hey! Does ‘we’ include me?”
Nina, who was relaxing in a hammock, said lazily, “When did I last steal it?”
“Ah, it would be helpful if you could assist us.”
“Piyo is always ready!”
Piyo poked her head out of the tent. Piyo, too, seemed to be settling in. Had she become too accustomed to situations, allowing her to relax even in a bandit hideout?
And so, with Nina complaining, we headed to observe the so-called Giant Centipede. It seemed to be settled in the place where the Ant Nest had been before. And the original inhabitants were not ordinary ants, but seemed to be a race similar to Pauline. In other words, Bugfolk. Come to think of it, we had only seen Bugfolk like Pauline and perhaps Killerbees before.
After passing through the valley and advancing for a while, we saw a place that looked like a cave formed by a pile of giant rocks. Around it were several mounds of dirt that used to be Ant Nests. However, most of them were destroyed, and there were no figures.
“Hmm, so this is it. I suppose it’s hiding inside those rocks.”
“Yes, then let’s kill it quickly. Wouldn’t it come out if we torched it from behind?”
Nina said, fiddling with her nails, looking bored. I didn’t think it would be that easy, though. But we couldn’t come up with a plan without seeing it. Should we try baiting it with food at the entrance?
“How about leaving some meat to lure it out?”
“Indeed. That would be good. How about setting some poison there?”
“W-we don’t have time to be this leisurely!”
A voice suddenly came from behind us. We all turned around at once.
“Why are you here?”
There stood Lauren, who should have been in Shindo.
