Chapter 147: The Motive of the Bandits (3/3)

“You plan too little.” [Ryouma]

And here I thought I was the impulsive one. Who would’ve thought there would be people that didn’t plan things to this extent?

“I can’t believe you’ve been bandits for so long with an attitude like that.” [Ryouma]

“We’re just the odd job guys. It’s no problem as long as we follow the bos’ or someone else’s orders. I mean we were cleaning and washing laundry even back at our home village.” [Bandit 3]

…I think it would have been better for them to have gone back to their village instead of becoming bandits. Is there a reason why they didn’t do that?

“Uhh, well… The village headman hit me and chased me out…” [Bandit 3]

“And then you became a bandit?” [Ryouma]

“Well, I did work as a servant at some stores in town and even as an adventurer, but… I failed at all of those and couldn’t continue any job for long. Without any way to fill my belly, I just somehow ended up becoming a bandit…” [Bandit 3]

“Is that true for the others too?” [Ryouma]

“Should be similar. We all became bandits by chance. I mean, in the first place, if we could actually use our heads well, then we wouldn’t have become bandits, ya know. …Erm, Sir!　Sorry! Slip of tongue!” [Bandit 3]

“You don’t have to speak formally with me.” [Ryouma]

His self-deprecation caused his real voice to come out.

We stopped talking after that and quietly walked up the roadless path of the mountain.

“PIRORORO.” [Rimel Bird]

“Hey, the road is here. Where do we go from here?” [Ryouma]

“Please give me a second… It wasn’t this high up. It should be somewhere closer to the foot of the mountain.” [Bandit 3]

“So, the left then. We’ll following the road from here on. Let me know if you see an area you recognize.” [Ryouma]

“Yes.” [Bandit 3]]

Accompanied by the rimel birds that had arrived before us, we walked for another hour.

“?　Wait!” [Bandit 3]

“Is this the place?” [Ryouma]

“Probably. I want to see the back.” [Bandit 3]

“Will this do?” [Ryouma]

“Ah, yes… It’s up ahead. The road will curve to the right a little.” [Bandit 3]

The road meandered as we continued our way. There was a blind spot hidden by trees that could be seen from a distance.

There is a section covered with grass that I would never have paid attention to if I didn’t know the situation.

Behind that is… a pretty steep slope.

“This must be the place.” [Ryouma]

“…There’s no doubt about it.” [Bandit 3]

I put down the man and coiled a rope around a tree to go down the cliff.

“What’s the matter?” [Ryouma]

“…I was just wondering if he’s still alive.” [Bandit 3]

It’s a bit late, but it seems he’s starting to feel guilty.

“We’re here to find out just that. Are you going to be waiting here?” [Ryouma]

“…You’ll find him quicker if you have someone to guide you.” [Bandit 3]

“Alright. Hold this.” [Ryouma]

I passed the rope to him and ordered the slime acting as his cuffs to affix itself onto it. At the same time, I ordered the slimes to release the restrictions other than the hand cuffs and the choker.

“Whether this turns out to be a rescue or just a corpse retrieval job, you’ll be in the way if I have to carry you too, so get down on your own legs. I made it so you can walk again. But don’t try to get any funny ideas. You still have the choker on your neck, and the birds are always watching.” [Ryouma]

“R-Right…” [Bandit 3]

I glanced at the man as he nervously got up, then I went down the steep slope.

It didn’t take long after that to find the missing person.

Thanks to him leading the way, finding the person wasn’t a problem at all.

I cut my way through the weed and…

“Pedro-san!　Can you hear me!?” [Ryouma]

“…Oh…. Ah…” [Pedro]

He’s breathing!

“I’m an adventurer!　I’m here to rescue you!　Everything is alright now!” [Ryouma]

“…dven… rer…?　Th… grea…” [Pedro]

I continued to call out to him as I cut off the weed from his body. I made sure not to burden his body.

“Are you alright?　Can you tell me your body’s condition?” [Ryouma]

“My… Hips… Hurt…” [Pedro]

“Hips.” [Ryouma]

It became easier to understand his muffled voice when his face was freed. But sweat kept pouring from his face.

“Excuse me.” [Ryouma]

He had a high fever. And he seemed to be dehydrated. Looks like he’s exhausted a lot of his strength too. Fortunately, he can still answer my questions, but he needs to be brought to town as soon as possible to receive treatment…

“Hey!　Come here!” [Ryouma]

“Yes!” [Bandit 3]

I called the person who tried to kill Pedro-san over and handed him a stone feeding cup and a vial.

“Pour the contents of that vial into the cup and make him drink it. Do it gradually. Make sure not to be forceful. Understand?” [Ryouma]

“Y-Yes…” [Bandit 3]

As the man nervously made Pedro-san drink the salt and sugar water, I kept working on getting Pedro-san out.

“UGU!?　*COUGH!” [Pedro]

“A-Are you okay!?” [Bandit 3]

“Pedro-san.” [Ryouma]

“Ugh… My hips…” [Pedro]

“Your hips? Does your head not hurt?” [Ryouma]

My head is… fine… It doesn’t… particularly…” [Pedro]

His voice became clearer after he drank some water, but his body was shaking.

“Blanket… Found it. I’ll put a blanket over you.” [Ryouma]

…For better or worse, it seems the weed that covered him all this time actually protected him from the cold winds.

“…There.” [Ryouma]

I finished cutting off all the weed that entangled his body. Next, I took out a stretcher from my Item Box.

“You sure have a lot of stuff with you…” [Bandit 3]

“I accepted the job, after all. I made sure to prepare whatever might be useful. But enough of that, let’s move this guy on top of this. Help me out after I release his hands.” [Ryouma]

“Yeah…” [Bandit 3]

He fell along with the carriage. Considering he fainted after that, there’s a high probability that he hit his head. I gently brought Pedro-san up the stretcher and affixed his body.

” ‘Dimension Home’… We’ll bring him inside. Be sure to be gentle.” [Ryouma]

“Alright…” [Pedro]

As much as possible, I want him to be brought to town without shaking him. Since that’s the case, the most effective course to take is to put him inside the Dimension Home.

“Wha…. Ah…” [Bandit 3]

“What’s the matter?” [Ryouma]

“Th, ank you… Friends…” [Pedro]

“!!” [Bandit 3]

…

Does he not remember this guy or does he? Either way, he thanked the bandit too. When the man realized that Pedro-san was thanking him, he couldn’t help but turn his face away.

“Let’s go.” [Ryouma]

I guess he must be feeling complicated. But I can’t allow him to stop just because he’s feeling sentimental. We need to get Pedro-san to town as quickly as possible since he needs treatment.

“…What!?　Wait a moment!” [Bandit 1]

“DIdn’t you say you wouldn’t kill us as long as we obeyed!?” [Bandit 2]

“I won’t kill you, but the situation has changed. I need to bind you completely so that you can’t move at all.” [Ryouma]

I buried those men I caught earlier with slimes and ran as fast as I could for the nearest town.