"Why did you let it go so easily? Do you really think the thief would change his mind?"

　With a mystified face, he swings away the blood from the blade by shaking his death size wide, and after passing through the magic, he confirms that the death size is in perfect condition, and returns it to Mistilling.
　Taenia was watching it, but once again she shrugs at Ray's gaze.

"I don't think the robbers really regret what they've done... I don't think so, either. But it can't be helped, can it? It's my employer's request."
"...what?"
"Well, now I shall join you, Mr. Alechtol," I think they'll explain it properly."

　Taenia leaves Ray and Seto there and quickly returns.
　After seeing him off for a few seconds, he breathes a little sigh and leaves the forest of the night, where the smell of blood and organs is strong.
　The fire, which had already spread by Ray's first use of the flame, had been extinguished, leaving only countless bodies left in the night's darkness.

(I think it would be better to burn it before long...)

　Though I think so, I cannot do the work alone in this darkness, so I put off the disposal of the body, and first I go back into the forest to join Alexander.





"Ray! I'm glad you're safe!"

　the first to speak to Ray and Sett from the forest It was, of course, Alexander, the leader of this business force.
　Surprised at Ray's robe and not having any blood on it, he moves his eyebrows slightly, but greets one and the other with a smile on his face, not a word about it.

"And why would you go out of your way to get rid of a thief? Wouldn't it be more profitable to take him to town as a criminal slave?"
"Yes, I thought about it at first. However, as you can see from the state of the carriage, there is no room at all to keep the robbers locked up. You can tie them up with strings and let them walk, but we can't send them to watch over them in the current situation where there are only three guards, Mr. Ray and Mr. Ryo no Shizuku, and even if we keep an eye on them, it's highly possible that they will be able to escape. To be honest, selling as a criminal slave is very regrettable considering the loss I have suffered this time."
"... then why didn't you kill him?"

　It was not Alektor who answered the question, but Taenia, who was on guard next to him.

"Ray, don't you notice that there's no Louid flying to you as soon as you have Sett?"
"Huh? Come to think of it, it's true."
"Glu?"

　Ray and Taenia look at each other and tilt their heads.
　Indeed, based on her previous experience, it was funny that Louide, who would have embraced her as soon as she showed up, didn't show up.

"What's the matter?"
"Louid looks like that, and he's good at covert behavior. Well, it's not so unusual for an archer."

　As Taenia says, many archers take the form of fighting, in which they shoot bows without any sign. Louid is probably one of them.
　And all that talk leads to the reason why Louide, who is good at hiding and the bandits that Ray just escaped, is not here.

"…I see. Did you purposely escape by pretending to make them take you to their hideout?"
"Well, there are no robbers in a merchant like Mr. Alector, and so are adventurers like us who guard him." And the robbers' hideout probably has some savings. --you can look forward to your share, can you?"
"Yes. As a merchant, reducing the number of thieves is paramount. Of course, I'd like to have a share of it, too, but I wouldn't force myself to do so."

　In Taenia's mischievous smile, Alektor also had an equally mischievous smile.
　As they watched, Fabel smiled bitterly at the interaction between their leader and their employer, but also smiled belligerently.
　They came here to kill themselves without any questions or answers. We thought it was unnecessary for us to adjust ourselves.

"But... Ray will help me, won't he said.

　In Taenia's eyes as if she were trying to get Ray to cooperate.
　After all, it's better to have more war potential than to attack a thief's hideout. Rather, it is almost impossible to annihilate the enemy with only beautiful drops, given that there are still nearly twenty enemies left. It's only with Ray and Sett's combination that has been able to kill nearly 30 thieves with overwhelming combat power in a short time.

"I don't mind that... then I'll have the priority of the robbers' treasure.

　And, of course, Ray insists on the priority of compensation as long as he knows that his military strength is the cornerstone of this operation.
　It's a rather large band of thieves, with more than 50 people. Then he decided that some of the treasures that would naturally be in his hideout would be his favorite magic items or weapons for throwing.

"...it can't be helped." But don't be too greedy."

　Even Taenia understood who had the initiative in this place, so she would nail down a little bit and settle the negotiations.
　It wasn't until the moon went down that Louide came back.

"Wait a minute,"
"Isn't it too late?"
"Because. You've been busy here, too. I wish I could have come back as soon as possible." and there's no speed beyond carrying a faint man on his back."

　Louide protests Faber's words with puffed cheeks.

"Well, that's about it, too, Fabel. Do you know where the hideout is? According to the robbers who questioned me, it was a cave in the back of the forest."
"Yes, indeed there were thieves in the cave." But there was a trap and so on, so you have to be careful."
"…I see. That's the level of caution you've been taking."
"So who wants to go? Seto and me?"
"Well, that's a little difficult," I think Ray and Seto are enough for military strength, but we want to go, too."

　Thaenia muttered, but privately, it was in the interest of Ray's potential to rob the thieves of all the good things they had accumulated if they didn't send someone out of their party.

(Ray has an item box anyway.) and no matter how many treasures the robbers had accumulated, they could not prove it.)

"But wouldn't that make the military balance unbalanced? We're just guards of the merchant corps, and this time we're going to get rid of the bandits. and yet, besides me and Set, if you come here, the bodyguard will be too careless."
"Well, that's why I'm going to have Sett and Ray split up into two. The Robbery Control is Ray, Louid, and I. The bodyguards are Seto and Faber."
"Well, I'd rather be with Seto," Fabelle is the only cunning thing."
"…well, if I were to divide it as a military force, that would be the case." I'm afraid that's all right with me."

　At Taenia's direction, Faber nods easily, and Louide, who wants to play with Seto, complains, but is returned to Taenia in a way that is dumbfounded.

"What are you talking about?" In the first place, you're the only one who knows the exact location of the hideout. I'm going too, so show me around quietly. ...and Ray?""Well... I see. If we were to divide our military strength evenly, would it be better for me and Seto to be separate? -- Cet, can you ask for the escort of the merchant party?"
"Glu".

　I'm going to sing in my throat as soon as I'm going to leave it to you.
　He smiled a little and stroked his head.

"That's all right with you, Mr. Alexander, isn't it?"
"Oh, of course," In order not to sacrifice other merchants, I would like you to subdue the bandits. We are quiet here..."

　It was when Alexander said so. Ray opens his mouth when he suddenly remembers himself and the robbers that Sett had killed.

"I'm sorry, but will you clear away the bodies of the robbers in the forest? It's winter now, so it won't rot much, but if you leave them alone until spring, they may rot and spread a strange disease, or they may be undead." There is also the possibility of attracting strange monsters as bait."

　Rey's words allow Alexander to think for a moment and then nod.

"All right. We won't be going through this road for a while, but there is a possibility that other merchants and travelers will suffer from such damage. Besides, it's not pleasant to have a body nearby that could be undead. but I shall have the equipment which the robbers had used here."

　Given the damage suffered by the Icebirds attack, Alektor's real intention was to make money where he could earn as little as he could. The treasure in the robber's hideout is still the real thing, but most of it will go to the adventurers who actually launch the attack. It was not such a bad choice, then, to have access to the robbers' equipment, even if it was only a small sum of money.
　And even Ray nods without any hesitation, as he expected Alexander to say such things.

"All right, then let's take action at once." Louid, please."
"Well... I'm Setto,"
"Louide,"

　Taenia, muttering with a strong gaze at Louid.

"All right, sir. -- here!"

　With a sigh, Louide leads Ray and Taenia into the forest of the night, holding a bow in his hand.

"Set. Then I asked for your bodyguard."
"Glu".
"Fabelle, too," Don't skip and work hard."
"I know," Please take care of my souvenirs. It's pretty tough for me to replace my shield."
"Well, if you're a good boy, I'll bring you some souvenirs."
"Yes, mother,"
"Who's your mother?" I don't need a child like you."

　Taenia looks disgusted at Faber's words.

"Why, you didn't do it first. Anyway, I and Seto are very careful about this place, so for the thieves, please."

　Shouted out by the voice, the three of them made their way into the forest of the night to launch a surprise attack on the bandits' hideout.





　There are three figures making their way as quiet as possible through the forest at night.
　Needless to say, Louid is ahead, followed by Ray and Taenia.
　Louid seems to have a good night's eye, or whether it is affected by the road he took earlier, and goes through the dark forest of the night. When it comes to Ray, the body itself is naturally capable of night vision, and he follows Louid without any difficulty.
　But Taenia, the only one of the three who had no night vision, was desperately chasing them.
　Or if the moon in the night sky had not been hidden in the clouds, we could have secured some visibility. No, even if the moon had shone brightly, as long as it was a forest, it might not have been covered with tree branches.

"Hold on, hold on. Both of you are a little slower... oh my gosh!"

　Taenia, which leans on the roots of a tree rising from the ground and almost falls down. However, it must have been a Rank D adventurer who was able to immediately reach out to the tree trunk to avoid falling.

"Oh, Taenia can do this much if you're an adventurer."
"Don't be silly! I'm originally an ordinary adventurer. You can't expect him to run through the woods at night like Louid. Most of the time Louid is an archer and trained to move in the mountains, so how can Ray move in this darkness?"

　Taenia turns her eyes to Ray, who is moving next to her as if it were unreasonable. The moon is hidden in the clouds, and even the faint moonlight is shielded by the branches of trees around it. He grudges at the two people who continue to move, as if they had no effect at all.

(Louid is training, if you like, but he's wearing a robe like that, and he's even wearing a hood...)

"That's the way I should be looked at," I was originally a night‐sighted man and lived deep in the mountains with my teacher a while ago. With this level of light, there is no problem at all."
"Well..."
"Oh, I can't help it," Yes, Taenia. Hold my hand."

　I've almost fallen down many times already, and although I'm not seriously injured, I've had some scratches. Louide reaches out as if there is nothing she can do about it, looking at Taenia.

"It can't be helped... to people..."
"Wait,"

　Ray's hand blocks Taenia's mouth when she starts to say something.

"Hmm!? ... what?"

　Taenia was wide-eyed by Ray's sudden behavior, but she must have felt something was going on when she noticed Ray's keen gaze deep into the forest. Taenia also huffs her eyes back into the forest.
　And beyond my sight. We notice that it's getting brighter when we're going. At the same time, we hear voices like shouts.
　You thought Taenia had settled down. At the same time as Ray's hand, which had been holding his mouth back, he looked at Ray and Louid and opened his mouth slightly.

"What happened?"
"Well, I'm sure you're not making a fuss at a banquet. ...Louide, the robber's hideout is good beyond this."
"That's for sure,"
"Then... the robbers who failed in our attack were scolded by the head?"
"No, it's probably not,"

　Ray's immediate denial of Taenia's words.

"Why?"
"You'll find out if you go,"In a brief retort, they make their strides toward the bandits' hideout.
　with frowning at the smell of a great deal of blood floating on one's face