Chapter 35: Siege

“Ah, it must have been quite a trip for you, coming all the way out here in the mountains! Welcome! I am Hasdal, the village mayor. Please, stay the night in my humble home.”

There was no way that there would ever be an inn at a village like this. The mayor’s house was bigger than the rest in small villages, mainly for the purpose of housing and feeding travelers and visitors. So, declining his offer wasn’t really an option. It wasn’t like we couldn’t camp outside, but turning him down would be discourteous and would make the mayor lose face.

But this did make me wonder... There was a very obvious question he should have asked us in the beginning. That being, “What is the purpose of your visit?”

Though, he probably didn’t ask, because he already knew that those boys had brought us here...

Anyway, our guide thanked us for the meals and the martial arts lessons, then ran off to his own house as we made our way to the mayor’s house.

“Urgh!”

We entered the mayor’s house and got led into the main hall to find a large group of men sitting there. The youngest ones seemed to be fifteen to sixteen years old, having just recently come of age, and the oldest ones looked to be about sixty...

Unlike in modern Japan, sixty-year-olds in this world were pretty much ancient. Maybe it was their diet, or the harsh living conditions...

“The meal will be ready soon, so please relax here with the others...” With that, the mayor went toward the back of the building, presumably into the kitchen.

“W-Wait a minute...” I whispered quietly, and Francette replied in a hushed voice, “D-Don’t tell me...”

“A marriage hunting party for single villagers who can’t find a wife!”

“No, it’s not!!!”

The men all shouted at once, in response to the comment that Francette and I had yelled without thinking.

They didn’t have to deny it that vigorously...

“Besides, all that’s left on your side is a kid and an infant!”

Sh-Shut up!

The mayor returned, the food was brought out, and it was time for us to all dine together. There weren’t really any deep conversations going on during the meal, and the villagers mainly seemed to talk about whatever nonsense came to mind. As such, we opted to stick to normal girl talk (that wasn’t very girly) that we were okay with the others overhearing. Roland and Emile were busy muttering things to each other. The food came on large plates, in the style of a big feast, but the ingredients were run-of-the-mill crops and boar meat, which had presumably been procured by the hunters.

They weren’t just feeding us, but a mass of villagers as well, so they couldn’t get too extravagant. The villagers seemed to understand this, as well. There seemed to be a lot of food at first glance, but it was a relatively small amount when considering the number of people there, so they only scooped small portions onto their plates, so as to not make it seem like there wasn’t enough food.

Why did they go through so much trouble to gather all these people here, I wonder...

＊　　　＊

The not-so-extravagant meal ended quickly. There was actually more food portioned out on the plates near us, and the villagers didn’t try to touch those. Feeling a bit suspicious, I extended the range of the poison-detecting bracelet’s effects, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Now that the meal was done, I figured it was time to bring up the main topic.

Maybe they were planning on making us repay them for the meal and lodging? Drifting gamblers relying on the hospitality of their local gaming parlor owner might have had such an obligation, but we were invited here.

What’s going to happen now...?

“Well then, it’s time to begin our monthly village meeting. Our guests may only be here on the day of our meeting by coincidence, but since they are currently present, they are free to give their input, just like our fellow villagers, without any reservations. We could learn much from a fresh perspective, after all. Hohoho!”

Lies!!! Like hell it’s a coincidence! They timed everything so we’d be here on this day on purpose!

Roland, Francette, Emile and Belle stared at the mayor with accusatory eyes. But it seemed that he hadn’t made it to his position as the mayor without developing the appropriate skills. He was completely unconcerned by the cold looks that all of us (excluding Layette) were giving him.

The meeting went on, and we were sometimes asked questions like, “What sort of crops are selling in the cities?” and “What kinds of crafted products are the prosperous villages selling?”

“Now, on to the final topic. How to deal with the bandits and their demand for a ‘protection fee,’ in the form of valuables, food, and women. Any ideas?”

There it is!!! Let’s see how everyone else is reacting...

Yup, Layette looked like she wasn’t thinking about anything at all.

So cute...

Likewise, Emile and Belle had blank looks on their own faces.

It wasn’t that they’d given up on thinking. If anything happened, after all, they would just follow me and do whatever I said... Wait, they had given up on thinking!

Roland wore an awkward expression. In his mind, the royal family had a duty to protect its people. But this wasn’t his kingdom, and the duty to protect these people fell to the nobles and royals of their nation, not to him. Besides, the royal family was supposed to protect their subjects through administration, not by swinging the sword themselves. But, as a member of the royal line—no, as a man—could he really abandon people in trouble right before his eyes? That’s probably what was going through his head...

As for Francette...

There was a twinkle in her eyes. They were sparkling like crazy!

A traveling knight arrives at a village in danger. The knight cuts down the mob of villains, and as she turns to leave, a voice can be heard from behind...

“Please, what is your name...?”

“I am Francette. An einherjar of no consequence...”

I could tell that kind of scene was being played out, in her head, right that moment.

...She’s hopeless!

A man with noble features and expensive equipment, who was clearly an aristocrat traveling incognito... A young woman, who seemed to be his wife or lover, also in expensive-looking equipment... Two hunters, likely brother and sister, or even lovers, who appeared to have been hired as bodyguards... A maid, accompanying them to handle the two nobles’ needs... And, finally, a little commoner girl, who they had presumably taken into their care along the way.

Yeah, from an outsider’s perspective, they were obviously a noble couple with a soft spot for commoners on a sight-seeing trip. Moreover, the nobleman clearly sympathized with the village’s plight, and his wife/lover was exuding an aura of enthusiasm. In fact, it was gushing out of every pore of her body like a geyser. I could tell the mayor was desperately trying to stifle a grin upon seeing all of this.

Well, I supposed that was to be expected, considering that he thought the decision-maker of the group was at least partially on board, and the woman, who he presumed to be the actual highest authority due to her influence over said decision-maker, was fully ready to help. It was uncommon for noblemen to simply ignore a woman’s request, after all. Especially if it was from the woman they were romantically involved with.

And the opinions of the bodyguards, maid, and the little girl...they were irrelevant.

...Or so he thinks.

The mayor and villagers looked at us... or, rather, at Roland and Francette, expectantly.

Then, unable to withstand the pressure, Francette finally said, “You can count on us—”

Not so fast!

“...To pray for the safety of your village, so please don’t hesitate to ask your liege lord for assistance!”

Francette began to make a careless comment, but I cut her off immediately.

“Whaaaaaat?!”

The kind and simple-looking noblewoman was just about to give the reply they were all waiting for, and just as they were reveling in their victory, an unexpected interruption had ruined it all. The looks on the villagers’ faces went from confusion to anger.

Well, I suppose that’s natural...

“Know your place, maid! Keep your mouth shut and do as your master says!”

“Yeah, that’s...”

Then, the mood suddenly got tense.

“Huh...?”

Just as the mayor raised his voice in anger at me, and the other villagers followed suit...

Well, first, the air grew cold.

Francette, whose eyes had been sparkling just a moment ago...

Roland, who had been mulling over the idea...

Emile and Belle, who were entirely unconcerned until then, leaving the decision completely up to me...

And even Layette, who was just sitting there absentmindedly...

They all glared back at the mayor and villagers with fury in their eyes.

“I am impressed, Kaoru. You saw through to their true nature: lowly and unworthy of saving.”

“I am disgusted. We’re leaving. I refuse to defile myself by staying in this village a moment longer!”

“...Can we destroy this place before we leave?”

The villagers and their mayor went white in the face. It seemed that they had quickly realized the mistake that they had made.

Hey, don’t look at me with those pleading eyes. I’m just the maid, after all.

＊　　　＊

“Please forgive uuuuus!!!”

The village mayor rubbed his head against the floor in apology, the other villagers in a similar position behind him.

After that unfortunate incident, the mayor had thrown out all his schemes and bargaining tactics and finally spat out the truth. According to him, the situation was as follows:

They were a small village: not particularly wealthy, but able to lead a modest life, sustaining their needs with agriculture, forestry, hunting, gathering, and the occasional trip to the nearby hot springs for their leisure.

Then, one day, they arrived. The aforementioned bandits. But instead of attacking and robbing the villagers, they brought a proposition with them:

“We’ll protect your village, so give us your valuables, food, and women as compensation.”

What a joke.

Apparently, they thought to prey on this village to supplement their less-than-stable thieving business. Instead of robbing them blind in one fell swoop, they wanted a steady supply of food and revenue. And a steady supply of women. They were also planning to use the village to recruit new underlings.

Though, under that plan, they would run out of young women and girls, and once they expended all the young adults and boys of the village as human shields and disposable grunts, the village would only be left with senior citizens.

But that wasn’t a big deal. If that happened, they would take what was left of the village and move on to the next place. The troubling part was, they had acted as if they were proposing a legitimate protection service. Due to this fake posturing, the village couldn’t seek help from their lord. There hadn’t been any harm done yet, and these bandits were technically just “proposing a protection contract.” They were merely offering up the conditions of the contract, and they weren’t making threats or committing any crimes in the process, though no one knew what would happen if the villagers actually refused.

It would have helped if they’d had proof that these bandits had engaged in previous acts of banditry, but there was no way to tell who their past victims had been, and it wasn’t as if there were any local merchants, much less any who had survived their attacks. Even if there had been, they would likely have been far too busy running for their lives to remember the faces of their attackers. Besides, the bandits could simply deny any such claims, and there wouldn’t be anything that could be done about it.

And even if their lord sent out soldiers to help, the bandits could just rob people in some other region, then return once the soldiers left. It was unrealistic to expect the soldiers to stay in a distant village like this one over a long period of time. Besides, sending soldiers to some tiny village in the mountains to fight bandits, risking casualties in the process, was far more costly than simply letting the villagers get sucked dry. The lord could just ignore the issue and keep collecting levies without bothering to decrease taxes. It wouldn’t be surprising if he came to such a conclusion, honestly. Although, this may have been different if the village in question paid higher taxes, or produced rare materials...

“...So, instead of doing something about it yourselves, you wanted to trick a bunch of unrelated foreigners from another country into fighting the bandits for you? Even though there are children among us, and only three of us are even capable of fighting?”

The villagers likely assumed from Belle’s appearance that she was a fighter, but her dagger was basically just for intimidation. At best, she could only take down one person with her. Belle’s self-proclaimed role was to be my shield and buy a few seconds until Emile or Francette could rush to my side. She would cling on to the sword that impaled her so the attacker couldn’t retrieve it...

Wait, like hell I’d let her do that!

“N-No! We did not expect your small group to fight off nearly thirty bandits alone!”

Well, we could, but... yeah. Pretty easily, too.

“We will fight too, of course! Gathered here today are the men of the village, minus the children and young men without offspring. However, although we are hardy from rigorous labor, we are all amateurs when it comes to fighting men. The only ones who have some basic ability in a fight would be the hunters, but their expertise is in fighting beasts, and will not be of much use in this case.”

But even as he spoke, the mayor’s eyes had vigor in them.

“A young man going to the city to make his name in the world is one thing, but if families with elderly parents and young children abandoned this village to move to the city, they couldn’t survive with just their skills in farming, logging, and hunting. The best they could hope for would be to rot away in the slums. In that case, we may as well risk it all in a fight... Even if we fall in battle, it would be a thousand times better than running away without a fight and watching our loved ones starve to death! So, when the children informed us that some travelers had arrived, travelers who seemed to have fighting experience at that, we couldn’t help ourselves. We want all the help we can get. We want to raise our chances of winning, no matter how small they might be. And we will give up our lives if we can increase our chances of saving the women and children, even if we end up in hell rather than heaven...”

With that, the mayor pressed his head against the ground once more. Looking again, I realized that quite a few of the people here were advanced in their years. Instead of being protected, the elderly were going to sacrifice themselves to help the younger generation live just a little longer. That even included the mayor himself...

Hmm, I see.

I see...

I stood up, arms folded, then said, “Mayor. Why did you use such schemes to try to drag us into this?”

“...” The mayor kept his head down, unable to respond.

So, I continued.

“Instead of plotting, you should have said: ‘We are going to put our lives on the line to fight for our village. Please help us.’ That was all you needed to do...”

The mayor and villagers kept their heads down...

＊　　　＊

“That was incredible, Kaoru!” Francette said as soon as the villagers left and it was just our group in the room that we were assigned to. Roland and Layette followed.

“Indeed.”

“Incredoru?”

Francette grew ecstatic any time I did Goddess-like things that encouraged people to have faith in me. Roland also seemed glad to be able to participate in protecting the populace. Emile and Belle’s reactions... went without saying.

And Layette, what the heck was “Incredoru”? Had she combined “Incredible” and “Kaoru”?!

Anyway, this wasn’t a task suitable for my main role as the owner of Convenience Store Belle, but rather something for the Eyes of the Goddess. Though, it wasn’t like I was obligated to do anything. I suppose this was like a club activity I did as a hobby.

Man, I’m too easy...

“All right, our staff vacation is put on hold, as of right now. From here on, we’re going to set aside common sense and move forward as the Eyes of the Goddess...”

*nod, nod, nod, nod*

Okay, let’s gooo!

Earlier, we’d had a conversation with the villagers. They had been driven out of their original lands due to circumstances beyond their control long ago and hadn’t had any choice but to develop a village deep in the mountains. They’d lost many of their companions along the way, and they weren’t going to just let all the hard work of their ancestors go to waste because some lowly bandits said so.

And they claimed they didn’t mind if most of the men gathered here died, as long as they could protect the village itself. As long as the women, children, and young adults lived, the village would survive and their knowledge would be passed on. Then, the next generation could have many children. That way, their lives, too, would be passed on.

“Our deaths will not be in vain.”

Rather than abandon their village and flee, only to end up in the gutter of some slum and perish, full of regrets, they would die with pride and with their heads held high...

As the mayor and the others said so with a laugh, they no longer had a subservient air about them.

Maybe they’ve gotten over it...

In any case, it was time to prepare for battle.

“So, I will dive into the enemy’s ranks and take out about half of them right at the start. I’m sure Sir Roland and Emile also wish to succeed in front of Kaoru, so we can split the remainder evenly among the three of us...”

It seemed that Emile wanted to shoot down this idea, but he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to take on an even third of the entire enemy force. Realizing this, he seemed a bit reluctant, but nodded without saying another word.

As for Roland, he was accustomed to thinking that he didn’t have to directly defeat enemies, but that using his subordinates to achieve victory would add to his own glory, so he didn’t seem to mind.

But...

“That’s no good. We can’t just produce a deus ex machina and conveniently solve all their problems without the villagers lifting a finger. They wouldn’t learn anything or grow from this at all. What do they do if they face another danger when we’re not here? What about after that? And after that?”

“Urgh...” Francette couldn’t respond.

“And what do you think will happen if word of this spreads? Everyone will think they can just wait for a savior when facing their own dangers. They’ll think, ‘Someone will come and save us, just like that village!’ They need to overcome obstacles with their own hands. Getting a little help is one thing, but relying entirely on God or other people doesn’t do anyone any good. Besides, that’s not what they want.”

Francette looked down wordlessly, seemingly ashamed of her own imprudence.

Surprisingly, Emile responded, “That’s because everyone doesn’t know about Kaoru’s power, or our own. If they did, they would have asked for our help differently. Besides, would you be okay with letting people get hurt or die when we have the power to save them?”

“Yeah.”

“...Huh?” Emile seemed surprised by my reply.

But that’s just the way of the world. You can’t just rely on everyone else for everything while taking on zero risk yourself. If that became the norm, humans would go real rotten real quick.

Roland and Francette seemed to understand. Wisdom comes with age, I suppose. Francette was over thirty now, come to think of it.

No, the villagers wouldn’t be dying this time. I’d make them fight for themselves, but we’d be helping a bit.

Yes, just a bit...

＊　　　＊

“Heh heh, well? Have you decided to take us up on our offer yet? It’s not like you have a choice, after all, so just hurry up and accept it. All you gotta do is give us all your money, feed us as much as we like, and send some women our way to take care of some chores. That’s a pretty good deal for protecting a whole village, if you ask me.”

With that, the three men sent by the bandit group laughed vulgarly.

“...Hm?”

One of them had a perplexed look on his face.

“What the hell are you giving us that look for?!”

The last time they’d visited, with their leader present, the villagers had had a much more fearful, nearly subservient attitude. But this time, there was defiance in their eyes.

“You think you can act up because it’s just the three of us?! Listen here, we’re from the famous bandit group, the Beasts of Disaster...”

“And?”

“Huh?”

Something was off. Very off. The three men finally came to this realization.

After being shown to the mayor’s house, they had given what was basically an ultimatum to the mayor and the several elderly men gathered there. They had planned on making the villagers accept all of their terms, maybe taking a few young women with them, and stopping somewhere nearby to relieve them of their virginity. So, they had struggled to win their highly-coveted positions as the members who would come on this excursion. All they had to do now was reap the benefits of their role. Or so they thought...

“Here is our response.”

The mayor opened his mouth.

“We refuse your proposal. What we would need to give up for what little benefit you’ve offered is far from acceptable. That is, the money, food, and... young girls... you’ve demanded. And, above all, we do not trust you in the least. No one in our village is stupid enough to make such an agreement with a group that’s so unlikely to keep a promise...”

The bandits watched, mouths agape, as the mayor went on matter-of-factly. Then, as the words finally began sinking in...

“Wha?! What the hell is this? You know what’ll happen if you don’t do as we...”

“I wonder...?”

“Y-You little... I’ll kill you and make an example out of ya! The rest of the village will see we mean business if we kill a couple...”

“All right, there’s an admission that you’re a bunch of bandits, along with a declaration of your intent to murder, as well as intimidation, and even assault by grabbing an elderly man’s collar. This fulfills the conditions for self-defense and is reason enough to defeat the bandits!” yelled Kaoru.

“Wha...”

Five men and women suddenly appeared from the room next door. Their clothing and features made it clear they weren’t from the village.

“You bastards the ones who put these geezers up to this?! I’ll kill you first... Gwah!”

Bam! Smack!

As the bandits were distracted by Kaoru’s speech, Francette, Roland, and Emile had snuck up behind them. And unlike Roland, Francette and Emile wouldn’t sit idly by and allow some lowly bandits to talk down to or threaten Kaoru.

The three bandits fell to the ground. As for Belle, she stood in front of Kaoru in a low posture, her hands crossed over her chest.

“Good! You’re fulfilling your role well, Belle. You must use your body as a shield for Lady Kaoru at all times!”

Upon hearing Francette’s words, Kaoru snapped.

“It was youuuuuu! I was wondering why I could never stop Belle from being so self-sacrificing, but it was all your doinggg!!!”

＊　　　＊

We took out three of them for now. When the bandit leader and his men had first arrived, the villagers counted twenty-nine men. ...Which left twenty-six more.

I treated the three we had captured with healing potions just enough so that they wouldn’t die, had them tied up, then gave them some medicine that would lower their metabolic speed. They wouldn’t be capable of joining any fights until they were given a neutralizing agent first.

Francette and the others captured these three, but that wasn’t a big deal. Even if we weren’t around, the villagers could have easily defeated them by ambushing them with bamboo spears or putting poison in the food or water. So, by the time they had gotten around to fighting back against the bandits, they were guaranteed to at least take out three of the enemy.

It just so happened that the enraged Francette and the others beat them first, and taking out the messengers was only the first step of the villagers’ plans.

“Lady Kaoru, we’ve finished reinforcing the palisade. Please take a look.”

“Ah, all right.”

One of the villagers reported to me, so I stood up in response. Francette and the others followed, of course. Once the fight against the bandits had been agreed to, I had given several orders to the villagers. One of them being, naturally, the reinforcement of the palisade around the village.

The palisade was built for keeping out monsters, and it was far too fragile and the gaps in it too large to be of any use against human attackers. As such, I had it modified and reinforced as a countermeasure against the bandits.

“Yeah, that’s pretty good. Definitely a passing mark. Now, about the water buckets...”

The villagers looked thrilled to win my seal of approval, then quickly ran off to carry the water buckets.

This palisade was a defensive structure, originally designed to stop charging orcs and ogres while spears were held out between the openings. Therefore, it didn’t account for smaller monsters like goblins, kobolds, and horn rabbits. And, of course, humans.

It had been modified by narrowing the gaps between the stretches of palisade and installing sharp stakes on the open edges to cut up anyone who tried to force their way between them. The parts that had wider gaps intentionally left open had such traps built into them with extra attention.

Of course, poison would be applied to them before the actual showdown. This village had hunters, and unlicensed apothecaries too, so they could prepare poison extracted from plants and poisonous monsters without my interference.

As everyone checked the status of the fences, several of the villagers came over with buckets of water.

Time to pretend to reach into my pocket and make some potions!

I produced some convenient medicine inside a test tube...

“Good work. Please leave it there.”

The villagers placed the buckets on the ground, and I dropped a few drops of the potion into each one.

“Slowly pour this water on the ground under the palisade and around the stakes. Apply it to the palisade and the spikes, as well. It will make the wood more durable. If you run out of water, refill the buckets and call for me. I will add more of the medicine.”

This should have been an acceptable amount of help. I was just making the palisade a little stronger, and if they had taken the time, they could have reinforced the palisade themselves, even without my potions. I was just using items to reduce the required time. Just like spending money on in-app purchases. It wasn’t cheating.

I decided to check the effects of the durability-enhancing water, which I had dubbed the “Super Hard Liquid Coating.” The effects should be instantaneous, so I should have been able to check the effects immediately after application.

I first pulled on a stake that secured the fence to the ground...and it didn’t move. It didn’t budge one bit.

“Fran, can you test the durability of the stakes?”

Maybe Francette’s powerful arms would have better luck than my noodle arms?

“...A powerful foe.”

Francette tried to pull the fence out, but only managed to move the stake and the ground around it very slightly. It seemed to be far from being pulled free. The stake itself didn’t seem to be breakable, either...

Judging by the look of it, it may have been possible to slip through between the palisade sections, but breaking the palisade itself seemed highly unlikely. And if someone did squeeze through, the sharp stakes and thorns would cause a lot of damage to any poor sap who tried. Besides, they were coated in poison.

“Kaoru, what should we call this medicine, or I should say, the palisade coated in this medicine?” Francette asked. She was probably asking to note it in that “Records of the Goddess Kaoru’s World Reformation” diary that she secretly kept, all without realizing that I knew all about it.

Well, not like I minded. She could keep a diary if she wanted.

...But I wouldn’t let her publish it! But I didn’t think to name it...

Hmm...

When you knock on it with your hand, it feels and sounds rigid.

And when you pour the medicine on it, it erases time and only leaves the result, like King Crimson.

You go “kon” with your hand (te), and it becomes King Crimson...

Te goes kon, into kincri...

Tekkon, kincree...

“Tekkonkinkreet, a.k.a. Tekkon!”

Yes, the Nagase Clan’s horrible naming sensibilities were still alive and well...

＊　　　＊

“...Bring me the village mayor.”

Two bandits had come to visit. This time, they stayed outside of the entrance of the fence and made their demands from there. They must have found it suspicious that the three men they had sent previously hadn’t returned yet.

...Well, they’d have been idiots if they hadn’t.

Francette and I were hiding in the shack near the entrance, listening to their exchange. This shack was where the people on night watch duty took turns resting during periods of danger, like when monsters came to attack. The only furnishings were a couple of chairs and a table that looked like reused junk, but it was better than nothing.

The young men who had responded to the bandits yelling at the entrance called the mayor over.

“Yes, how can I help you...?”

The mayor was a pretty good actor. Must have been the wisdom that came with age.

“Our men should have come by yesterday! Where are they?!”

Yep, of course they came to check. And the mayor’s reply...

“Indeed, the three of them did pay us a visit.”

“Well? Where are they?!”

The bandits aren’t in a very good mood. That was to be expected, I suppose...

“Oh? They left right after. They said they were acting on their leader’s orders, and we gave them all the money we had, plenty of non-perishable food, water in a leather bag, and three of the best-looking young girls in the village...”

“Huh?”

The two bandits seemed dumbfounded. Then, the mayor’s words finally seemed to sink in.

“Wh-What?!”

“We only did as we were told by your messengers... Their words were their leader’s words, or that’s what we’ve been told...”

The bandits look troubled! What will they do now...?

“...Damn it! We’ll be back!”

Ah, they’d retreated to get new orders from their leader. Not like they had any other option, really.

They thought their men had betrayed them and ran off with the money, food, and girls. They couldn’t let the villagers realize this, or they’d expose their lack of solidarity and make themselves look bad. Of course they’d try to hide that. And, to make sure others didn’t follow suit, they had to catch and make an example out of the deserters. Now, they’d waste days trying to punish traitors who didn’t exist. During that time, we would continue our preparations.

The reason we hadn’t made a move on the visitors today was, of course, because we thought they might have suspected their previous messengers could have been attacked, and may even have stationed other bandits to keep watch on us from afar. That, or they could have already suspected the previous messengers had betrayed them, and had someone keeping watch on their own men. Either way, it was too dangerous to make a move this time. That was all.

“All right, let’s keep working, then!”

“Yeeeah!!!” the villagers all shouted at once.

The village was becoming much more cheerful. But they were still just doing as they were told, and all their work was without risk, so far. When it came down to it, would they be able to break out of their shells as herbivores? Could they stand up to their carnivorous oppressors?

Would they flee, or would they give up their own lives to deliver a sting, like the honeybee does? I remembered a manga I had bought at a used book store long ago. In that story, all the old people had willingly stayed to shoot at their enemies, buying time for the younger generation to get on a ship and fly off to space...

Did the old people of this village have that same resolve? A famous line from a certain title came to mind. “Why do you think tigers are strong? Because they’re strong by nature!” Tigers don’t lift weights or train to learn special moves. But they’re strong. That’s because they were born as tigers.

But the bandits were no tigers. They were nothing but stray dogs, trying to make themselves look big with weapons and violence. These men lacked the talent to become hunters, the discipline to become soldiers, the diligence to become merchants, the skills to become craftsmen, and the endurance to become farmers. What would be exposed from under their bravado when their desperate attempt at intimidation failed and the villagers they looked down on retaliated...?

＊　　　＊

A few days later, the villagers had already formed their rural village defense organization, Arc Path.

Farming was an occupation that cultivated life through the creation of crops. A farmer who planned to kill other people was a farmer who had lost their way. But, this time, they had no choice. So, they hadn’t completely fallen off of their path, but it was more like they had deviated from it in an arc, which was how they had gotten their name.

...I named them, of course.

What? I thought it sounded cool!

There had been a lot of progress on the upgrades for the palisade since the first messengers had arrived. Using the extra time we had bought, the palisade had been completely reinforced. We had even set various traps around it and in the surrounding woods, as well as the bushes where the bandits might set up camp.

The traps ranged from highly advanced ones to cheap tricks. Some of them were literally made by the village kids, and might not even trigger properly. But with there being deadly traps in the mix, the bandits had to deal with each one as if it was highly dangerous. This restricted their actions and narrowed their range of options. And so...

“They’re here!”

The lookout alerted us as Francette and I were waiting at the shack on standby. From there, we could hear any conversations at the entrance. Roland and Emile were at a nearby house, while Belle and Layette were waiting in a house further away.

After some time, two bandits appeared. They called for the mayor like last time, to talk... or, rather, to intimidate the villagers.

“Heh, we’re back. Now, I’ll need you to give us money, food, and women, like we mentioned...”

It seemed they had given up on finding the “traitors that had run away.”

“What? We already gave you all of our money, food, and young girls. What are you talking about?”

“Urgh... Whatever. That’s not important, damn it!”

Unable to come up with a retort, the bandit yelled and tried to cover it up. But the mayor didn’t let up.

“You claim not to have received what we have already given you, and now you demand more? What kind of agreement is this?! Besides, are you truly even the same bandits who came here last time? I find it suspicious that you claim you haven’t gotten what we’ve handed over already! The person we gave everything to was definitely from the same group as the first visit. Some of us remember their faces. But we don’t recognize any of you...”

“Wh-What are you...”

They didn’t want us to know that they allegedly had a traitor. And even if they confessed, that wouldn’t be reason enough for the villagers to want to pay them again. That left the bandits with limited options.

The conversation came to a deadlock and the bandits seemed rather troubled, but then the mayor brought up a suggestion.

“If someone who we recognize...not the leader, but someone who’s distinct enough that they stood out, like that bald man with a wound on his cheek...and that silver-haired man who looked a bit frail to be a bandit... If those two were here, we would know that they were definitely messengers from your leader. Then we would be open for negotiations...”

The two messengers cursed at the mayor, then left. Their next visit would be when we made our move.

＊　　　＊

“I’m the boss’s second, Deyles, and this here’s Exdel, his advisor. We’re here, just like you wanted! Now, you’d better...”

The baldy and the slender guy had come with two others, making a total of four bandits. The mayor and villagers waited some distance away from the entrance, further inside the palisade, so the bandits moved forward and took a few steps toward them. Then...

“Wha...”

The entrance suddenly slammed shut, and several villagers sprang out of hiding and charged, each of them gripping a bamboo spear in their hands.

“Y-You bastards!”

Wham! Wham!

The bamboo spears were thrust into each of the bandits in quick succession. The bandits were definitely not masters of the sword, and there was no way that they could have parried so many attacks at once.

In a desperate battle between amateurs with no experience in martial arts, the difference in fighting abilities tends to be rather insignificant. And in cases where there was just a slight difference in power, that disadvantage could be overcome with superior reach and numbers. The four bandits couldn’t do anything against an ambush with so many long bamboo spears coming at them all at once.

Why had the villagers gone through so much trouble to set this up instead of just killing the messengers last time? Since they only had one chance to conduct an ambush, it was obviously better to use that chance to its maximum possible effect. That was why we had baited out the highest priority targets available.

Since the bandit leader was unlikely to come himself, they wanted to take out the second-in-command and the advisor, the latter of whom was the reason that the bandits were able to maneuver relatively well in the first place. According to the three bandits the villagers had captured, those two were the brains of the operation. The leader may have been strong and charismatic, but apparently he had muscles for brains...

Now, the bandit group had fallen from being formidable and cunning foes into just another pack of meatheads. Not only that, but the bandits would be blind with rage from losing their key members. When they did invade, they’d meet a counterattack carried out by Roland, Francette, myself, and the members of Arc Path, who had been taught how to fight without mercy. The preparations to defeat the bandits were complete!

But Roland and Francette...

I didn’t know you two were capable of torture and teaching people how to fight dirty...

I didn’t think knights and royals did that kind of stuff.

“They’ll probably come first thing tomorrow morning...”

Once they got the shocking news, it would be like a bolt from the blue, and they’d be left dumbfounded for some time, then go wild with rage. It would be near sundown by the time they made preparations and mobilized, so they’d probably come early tomorrow morning.

Well, that was assuming there was someone watching from afar who reported the incident right away, but judging by how no one had come to see what was happening after their second had been gone for so long, they were likely aware of what was going on.

In any case, I decided I would try to get some sleep tonight. Some of the villagers were standing watch in case the bandits tried to sneak in and take the girls and children hostage. And, of course, we weren’t part of the guard duty rotation. So, we would rest up for tomorrow.

＊　　　＊

The next morning arrived.

It went without saying that I had woken up early, had some food, and washed my face in preparation for the bandits. Though it went against their usual routine, I had instructed the villagers to each have a light meal, too. It would’ve been bad if they were to get stabbed in the stomach when it was full, but I figured it would be worse if things went south when they still hadn’t eaten since last night, causing them to run out of energy.

Well, I did have potions for if they got stabbed in the stomach.

And so, their group arrived. There were about twenty of them, so it was probably everyone they had left. Twenty-nine minus three minus four makes twenty-two. ...Yeah, it was right around that number.

Francette and I were hiding in the nearby shack again.

The bandits stopped at a spot some distance away, far enough that even arrows wouldn’t reach, then sent a grunt over to the closed gate. The runner stopped in front of the gate.

“Bring out your mayor! Your...”

Wham!

“Huh...?” He looked rather confused for a moment, then looked down at the “feathered accessory” sprouting from his chest with a surprised expression, then fell to the floor, never to rise again.

The hunters shot rabbits and birds on a regular basis. There was no way they would miss a stationary target from such a short distance.

Twenty-one left.

“You bastaaards!!!”

The one shouting seemed to be their leader.

Shooting down their runner without hearing him out meant that the villagers denied them completely... in fact, it was a declaration of war. They had no intention of talking, now. Well, that should have been clear from the way the villagers had taken out their second-in-command last time, but they had decided to try to talk it out anyway, and ended up letting another one of their men die for nothing.

Rest in peace...

We do not negotiate with criminals and terrorists. Bargaining and tricking the opponent are all fine, though. No need to diligently follow the rules when your opponents clearly don’t. We should use all the trickery and traps we’ve got, instead.

Oh, and we hadn’t killed the three bandits that had come by earlier. Once we tied them up and gave them a weakening potion, there was no risk of them helping the enemy side, even if they managed to get rescued. Unlike muscle relaxants, weakening potions were safe to take, so no worries there. If you were to drink it, it would just render you unable to move your limbs, without affecting your breathing, heart, or other organs. And even if those bandits we captured did get away, they were just some peons, so they wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

But that wasn’t the case for the second-in-command. If he had escaped, it would’ve been a big blow to us. Nothing’s harder to deal with than a cunning villain. Also, I had to give the villagers some confidence before the main battle. They had to see for themselves that, while bandits may act tough, they were really nothing to fear.

Yes, bandits are weak. Not once have I seen or heard of bandits who spent every day training in martial arts. Though, I guess it’s possible that a few such bandits exist...

In any case, the majority of bandits haven’t received real training in any official capacity, and didn’t practice to improve themselves each day. They were merely ordinary men who were feared because they flashed weapons at defenseless, unarmed people, and were prepared to use violence on harmless folk. In fact, farmers, miners, hunters, and woodcutters could beat them easily in a straight-up fight.

Besides, if they really were strong, they would have gotten into an actual, legitimate profession and become hunters, mercenaries, contract bodyguards, or other security personnel. They wouldn’t have been here, debasing themselves by being bandits.

So, what would happen if the villagers all came at them with the intent to kill, without holding back and without regard for their own lives? We intended to show the bandits just that.

“Get ’em, men!”

Wham!

An arrow landed on another bandit, but it hit a reinforced part of his armor, so it was unfortunately rather ineffective. The bandits arrived at the gate before the next arrow was fired, but when they tried to open it...

Slam!

“Gyaaaaaa!”

Bam! Thud! Fwip!

The gate wasn’t just a board, but another obstacle, with open slits like the rest of the palisade. It was made so it could be moved from the side to block the gate section, and bamboo spears could be thrust out from the spaces around the gate.

Two bandits carelessly approached the gate to move it to the side and open it, and spears were thrust into them. The villagers holding the spears had been hiding until it was their time to strike. Even the bandits wouldn’t have been dumb enough to heedlessly walk up to villagers holding spears out in front of them.

...Now there were nineteen left.

“D-Damn it! Forget the gate, attack from all sides!”

Most of the bandits were equipped with swords. Maybe they thought swords were cooler, or that swords were somehow better for bandits, or that long spears got in the way when moving through the forest. Regardless, none of them were holding a spear, for whatever reason. They didn’t have any bows, either. Maybe arrows were hard to come by for bandits, or bladed weapons were better for intimidating villagers, or it was harder to look tough with a bow when arguments broke out...

Anyway, they seemed to realize that they were at a disadvantage fighting over the palisade and the gate without any spears or bows, so they decided to prioritize getting past the undefended sections. They had observed during their last visit that the structures were designed in such a way that regular people could easily get through them. It seemed that the bandit leader wasn’t the boss for nothing, as he wasted no time in giving out orders, despite having lost his second.

The time for direct confrontation had finally come. The villagers grew tense, but they were past the point of getting cold feet, and they stood tall with bamboo spears and their familiar farming tools in hand. Those who were in hiding had revealed themselves, and everyone, including me and Francette, was now out in the open. Though, the bandits wouldn’t care about some unarmed girl.

...Except maybe to take as a hostage, anyway. But it was unlikely that they would be taking hostages at this point.

If word got out that they’d needed to take hostages from a bunch of villagers, they’d be done for. No one would be afraid of a gang of bandits with such a terrible reputation. They could still go for it, if they got desperate enough, but with Francette being right next to me, I wasn’t really worried. Besides, once the fighting really kicked into gear, Roland and Emile would come flying out of hiding. I had ordered Belle to protect Layette, who was hiding in a house in the center of the village. Not in the mayor’s residence, which the bandits might try to take over, but in an ordinary house.

Belle had insisted she wanted to guard me, but I used my special move, “I give you my divine order to protect Layette,” and she did as she was told. As for the current state of the battle...

“Agh!”

“Urgh, damn!”

“Ahhh!”

The bandits screamed in pain whenever they tried to slip in between the palisade sections and consequently got shredded by the spikes placed there. And, once their movement was impaired, they were quickly impaled with bamboo spears. The bandits who managed to get through tried to hurry away before the spear-wielding villagers came for them, but they were typically bleeding all over with pretty deep wounds.

“Huh...?”

And, of course, the spikes were coated in poison.

Just in case there had been any accidents, I decided not to use poison that could cause instant death or anything. I didn’t want the villagers to accidentally prick themselves and end up dying. As long as they were still alive, I could use a healing potion, or rather, the Tears of the Goddess, to cure them. I had gone with this approach for safety purposes, but if they ended up being attacked by bandits again when I wasn’t around, they would likely have to use a quicker-acting, deadlier poison. Obviously.

And so, a total of fourteen bandits made it past the palisade, half of them looking pale from the poison spikes and the other half having somehow managed to avoid getting stabbed, with nearly thirty villagers standing before them. Yup, five of them were down just from having passed through the palisade. Pretty good! Out of all the villagers, half of them were elderly. The ones who said they wouldn’t mind dying to be a shield for their younger kin.

Roland and Emile appeared from one of the nearby houses to prevent that from happening. Though, really, they were just there to help any villagers who were in danger. Everyone else was on their own.

It went without saying for Francette, but Roland was also quite skilled, having received martial training ever since he was a child, so he was strong enough to fight off a few ordinary soldiers and knights. Bandits were no match. Especially because he had that divine sword, Exhovud. I had finally caved under his incessant complaining...

Oh, but it didn’t come with any supersonic vibration functions. It was just durable, easy to maintain, and sharp. Roland was still really happy, though. How desperate to get a divine sword was he...?

I had told him the sword was top secret, and he wasn’t to tell anyone about it.

By this point, the initial skirmish had ended. It was time for the main battle.

...I think I’ll back up a bit.

“Mercenaries? But two or three more aren’t gonna change anything! ...Oh, I get it. You’re the ones who put them up to this, aren’t you? Screw this village, you’re all gonna die! Then the next village we target will know to do as they’re told! Watch your village burn, all due to your own stupid actions, and despair!”

The bandit leader was enraged from losing half of his men and seemed to abandon the idea of milking the villagers long-term. Now he had changed tactics to killing everyone here, then moving on to the next village to leech off of them. Not that these bandits could ever have leeched off of the very people who had killed nearly half of their men with indirect attacks. They would’ve had to worry about getting knifed in their sleep every night.

Once the villagers realized that the bandits could be easily killed, there was no way they’d ever put up with their unreasonable demands again. Especially considering that they had reduced their enemy numbers by half in the initial skirmish, all while taking zero casualties of their own...

And the sound of swords clashing rang in the air! Actually, one side didn’t have swords, so I guess not. The bandits had their swords raised with the fences at their backs, while the villagers stood before them, stances low, with their spears pointed at their foes. The bandits’ positioning was scattered and uncoordinated, while the villagers stayed close to each other, moving in on the bandits in a half circle. A phalanx, I think it’s called? Though they didn’t have any shields.

Though it had a weakness to sudden flanking maneuvers and rear attacks, the phalanx was an impenetrable formation when there was no chance of hidden enemy reinforcements. Even if the bandits did have any forces in reserve, they would appear on the other side of the palisade, and there was no way for those reinforcements to take the villagers by surprise. Moreover, considering that it’d be an influx of untrained men wielding cheap, dull, poorly-maintained swords, there was no way they could have cleanly cut through the bamboo spears, even the ones that weren’t secured firmly in the ground.

By the time the bandits realized that they were the hunted rather than the hunters, it was already too late. Trapped in this confined space, with the palisade at their backs, they couldn’t get through the concentrated wall of spears thrust toward them, and thus found themselves helpless.

“Bastaaards!”

One of the bandits knocked a bamboo spear upward with his sword and tried to attack, but was promptly impaled with additional spears from both sides. Another bandit tried to slip through the bamboo spears, but then another villager appeared from behind two of the other spearmen and swung a three-pronged hoe down, straight into the man’s skull.

There were plenty of men wielding farming tools right behind the spearmen, prepared to bring their tools down on any bandits who might approach. Those tools had more reach than the bandits’ swords, and swords had the disadvantage of being ineffective with the arm fully extended. They had to get closer to get a proper swing in. On the other hand, garden hoes could be brought down upon their target with the arms fully outstretched.

Several of the panicking bandits turned to go back out through the palisade, but more villagers had moved around them with their bamboo spears at the ready. Some of those spear-wielding villagers included women and children, but they only needed to point their weapons at the bandits to fend them off. As for the bandits, they were trying to get through the narrow space between two palisade sections, with no room to swing their swords.

...They were done for.

But it seemed the bandit leader couldn’t stand the thought of the infamous Beasts of Disaster, nearly thirty men in all, being taken down by mere villagers without even killing a single one of their opponents. He screamed in rage and tried to rush through the bamboo spears surrounding him. The villagers recognized that this was the decisive moment and all thrust their bamboo spears into the leader at once, then brought down their farming tools upon his body. After letting out a resentful growl, he finally sank to the ground.

Several other bandits followed, then the remaining men threw down their weapons and surrendered. The death penalty was pretty common around these parts, and captured bandits tended to become slaves for life rather than being executed, unless they were the type to ruthlessly murder entire caravans that had already surrendered to them. Being put to work in the mines as a slave was a harsh life, and one that often didn’t last very long, but it was better than being killed on the spot. If they didn’t cause any problems, there was a chance they could get moved to an easier, safer work environment for a healthier, longer life.

These bandits were apparently a wicked bunch, but the leader, second, and advisor had already been killed. So, even if we captured the remaining small fry instead of killing them, it was unlikely that they’d survive by themselves.

We rounded up the bandits who had surrendered, and the villagers stood around dazedly for some time. But they eventually came back to reality again, and raised their voices, giving cheers of jubilation.

Amidst the tumult of laughter and tears, I had Francette and Emile help me with a certain task. We were going around administering healing potions to the fallen bandits. If they were physically unable to drink, or refused to because they suspected it was poison, we poured the potion onto their wounds. Now that we had won, there was no need to let anyone else die.

It wasn’t that I was being generous. I would turn them in to the city guards and have them receive the appropriate punishment for their crimes. If they were wanted “dead or alive,” now that I had them captured, I would naturally just turn them in alive. There was no need to kill them first. Besides, if they died, it would be a pain to deal with all the rotting corpses and maggots.

But I was more concerned about the villagers killing their already-surrendered enemies once, and then doing so again in the future. With how things had unfolded until now, and the abuse they’d received from bandits in the past, it was possible that the villagers would have taken such action.

It would have been disturbing if the villagers ended up becoming a band of merciless killers, or went around murdering bandits in the name of justice. I didn’t hold back if it was for self-defense, but I also didn’t agree with deliberately going out to shed blood. We had to show them the importance of control and moderation.

There was also the most important reason of all...

If we turned the bandits in alive, we would not only get a monetary reward, but we would also get half of their worth when they’re sold off as slaves!

...What’s that? I just ruined everything I said?

...Anyway, we were tying up the living bandits, and pouring healing potions on the dying, when a young villager came running up in a hurry.

“If you’re finishing them off, please let me do it!”

See?!

＊　　　＊

“...That’s why there’s no need to hold back in battle, but if you capture them alive, make sure to turn them in to the authorities! Otherwise, everyone will know that you’ll kill even those who surrender, and no one will ever have reason to yield. That will only lead to more people needlessly dying and getting injured. You’ll miss out on your cut of the criminals being sold as slaves, too...”

It seemed they understood where I was coming from, once I had given them an explanation. It wasn’t that they had turned into a bloodthirsty mob, but they were just on a temporary high from all the adrenaline. Whew...

There were very few bandits whom we had captured alive, at least besides the ones who had surrendered in the end. If they had been smacked hard through their armor with dull swords, they may have gotten away with just fatal wounds like ruptured organs and broken bones.

...As in, they may have eventually been fatal, but they wouldn’t have died instantly. But having been stabbed with multiple bamboo spears, most of them seemed to have died within a minute of sustaining their injuries. It wasn’t as if bandits would ever wear plate armor...

Well, I guess there’s not much you could do about that.

“Thank you so much! I will remember this for the rest of my life!”

Yeah, I don’t think the rest of that old mayor’s life is going to be very long...

Francette, Roland, and Emile had been watching the fight nervously, with their hands on their sword hilts, ready to help the villagers if they were in danger, but they ended up not having to step in.

We had planned on letting the villagers handle it themselves in the first place, so they had assumed they wouldn’t need to get involved, and if they had needed to step in, it would’ve been if the villagers were completely incapable of doing it without help. In that case, we would have had Francette deal with the bandits, then told the villagers that they were on their own next time. But the villagers and the elderly had done it themselves.

Next time... If there was a next time, could they fend for themselves without me, the emergency backup, or the convenient Tekkon? And did they really have the guts to do it without any outside help? If they failed, it would be on us for egging them on...

No, forget that!

They had asked for help this time, so we helped. Nothing more, nothing less.

I can’t take responsibility for everything that happens after. The rest is all up to them!

I’d just watch over them from afar. ...And not get involved. I couldn’t protect every farming village, mountain village, and fishing village in the world!

The villagers had begun preparing for a feast. I decided to eat my fill, then take my leave. The food in this village, like that simmered stuff that looked like the tips of thick-stemmed bamboo, and that cloud ear mushroom-looking thing, was actually pretty good...

Francette didn’t get to do much this time, but she wasn’t in a bad mood or anything. She understood that it wouldn’t have been a good thing if she had actually needed to step in. Emile, too, of course. As for Roland... it went without saying.

Now, time to go retrieve Layette and Belle...

＊　　　＊

“First, please send a messenger to the city. Have them take the bandits into custody, and get your reward payment and half of the proceeds for the sale of the criminals as slaves.

“...Don’t do anything reckless like taking them into the city yourselves. Those bandits are crafty, so they’ll complain about their bound hands hurting, or that they need to go relieve themselves, or they’ll have sprained their ankles, and then try to kill their escorts to get away.

“Even if they’re unarmed, they can easily kill someone who’s not a trained fighter by snapping their neck, shoving a finger in their eye, or crushing their throat.”

“...”

The villagers were looking a bit pale.

Ah...

Yeah, they were taking this too lightly.

“Make sure you have a specialist handle the escorting. Instead of hiring a hunter, you can ask the police to take in the bandits for free. And make sure you send three or four reliable people with them, so no one gets any funny ideas about the reward money and the commission. Even police officers might be tempted to make a little extra cash.”

“...”

Are they shocked because I suspect the police?

Half of the commission for the sale of criminals as slaves went to the city, and the police officer who took them in got a cut... I mean, a bonus... so I was sure they’d be happy to bring in the captured bandits, but they were the kind of people who had ignored the village while it was in danger, so I didn’t consider the police all that trustworthy.

Though, I suppose it’s possible that it’s a policy set by their superiors and it’s not necessarily the fault of the individual officers...

Anyway, the food was being brought out, so it was time to eat and hightail it out of here! We were just outsiders, after all. We didn’t belong in this village. To these people, we weren’t all that different from the bandits: temporary irregularities. The village had been protected by the villagers themselves, not by some god that happened to pass by or a Deus Ex Machina that had wiped out the bandits for them.

I decided the meal and usage of their hot springs was payment enough to cover my consulting fee. It’s like they say, “I’ll let you off easy this time!”

...Well, I guess it’s not really like that.

“Thank you, Miss Francette!”

It was the boy who had first brought us to the village. I looked over to find the hoe he was still gripping in his hand had some black-red blood caked onto it. ...Already battle-tested, eh?

This boy seemed to think Francette exercised the most authority in our group. Well, Roland and Francette were obviously the most important-looking just based on their equipment, and Roland tended to hold women in high esteem, particularly me and Francette, so it couldn’t be helped if Francette looked to be at the top of the food chain... I mean, the hierarchy. And above all, Francette was the one who had put effort into training the boy in the use of the sword, and she was obviously more skilled than Roland, so the boy thought of Francette as the biggest authority figure among us.

“I’ll train hard and buy a real sword instead of using farming tools! Then I’m gonna kill every bandit out there!”

He seemed to think Francette would praise and encourage him for killing the bandits, and for steeling his resolve to protect the village.

But Francette shook her head.

“Then you would no longer be a farmer.”

“Huh...?”

He didn’t understand what she was saying. The boy looked at Francette with a blank expression, and she continued:

“You mustn’t learn martial arts just for the sake of killing other people. It must be to better yourself, and to protect those you care about. ...You may end up killing others, at times, as a result. But if you learn the martial arts because you wish to kill, that would make you more like a bandit than a knight or a farmer. Sir Roland and I did not teach you how to wield a sword for something like that.

“The people here fought bravely and drove off the bandits this time around, despite having no combat training. This victory wasn’t achieved from a desire to kill the bandits, but everyone’s genuine, desperate will and desire to protect their fellow villagers. Protecting the village is not about an eager drive to murder...

“It’s about everyone in the village cooperating together, and having a strong will. You certainly don’t need a bloodthirsty killer among you to accomplish that.”

He clearly didn’t understand everything Francette had said, but the boy did seem to get the gist of it. His right hand holding the hoe loosened its grip, and he nodded. The adults around Francette who had been listening would likely repeat what she had said to the children later.

The young adults, who had been getting overly excited and rowdy, quieted down, and the mood grew heavy. But the old men used the wisdom of their years and raised their voices to liven up the feast once more. They produced what seemed to be their secret stash of mead and alcohol, made from local fruits and grains, but since the captured bandits were still around, my group and a portion of the villagers held back on any alcohol intake.

We chose to eat the best dishes offered, said our farewells to the mayor and a few of the older villagers, then slipped out of the feast, which would likely go on for some time. The elderly villagers sensed that we didn’t want to stay long, so they gave us their thanks and saw us off. Being rich with experience, it seemed they were rather perceptive about this sort of thing.

Oh, and I advised them to disarm all those traps we had prepared but ended up not using. I didn’t want the villagers to accidentally get caught in one of them, after all. They may have gone unused this time, but setting those traps was a useful experience, so it definitely wasn’t a waste. Failures and mistakes are useful, so long as they contribute to the next attempt. Nothing in life is a waste. All those times I had to clash with my shitty superiors and supervisors helped me level up my patience and ability to ignore irritating things, so they weren’t wasted.

Yeah, I’m sure of it!

＊　　　＊

Francette seemed to be deep in thought as we walked down a mountain path that was little more than an animal trail.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Oh, no... I was just thinking about that village...”

I tried talking to her, but it seemed she wasn’t too deep in thought. It was just on her mind a bit.

“A small village manages to survive by enduring exploitation from bandits, and without handing over their food and their girls, but now that they’ve learned to fight back, you’re worried about whether they can keep it up. Is that it?”

“...Yes. Once they start fighting back, one mistake will lead to the destruction of the entire village. And there’s no guarantee that it will always go well like it did this time...”

That much was obvious. Fortune decides the outcome of any given battle.

“They may all get wiped out some day.”

“Y-You say that so dryly...”

Francette’s eyes widened, but it was the truth.

“Depending on the scale they’re dealing with, it’s up to the villagers to decide to fight or do as they’re told like before. It’s not as if they always have to fight. And no matter what they choose and how things end up, they now have the freedom of choice. All we did was give them a free trial run with a safety net this one time, and one extra option moving forward. Whatever they do now isn’t our concern, and we can’t be responsible for it. That’s all there is to it.”

“...”

Francette was rather hardheaded and obsessed with justice.

Even though she’s around thirty... Whoa!!!

Yeah, I had just narrowly avoided a boomerang thrown at me. That would’ve been fatal...

Anyway, it was all over with. There was nothing we could do now. So, we were going to spend some time at the hot spring and depart after enjoying another soak in the morning.

After all, the goal of this entire trip was to go on a staff vacation and visit hot springs. It was an episode of “Witnessed by the Housekeeper! College Girls Hot Spring Gourmet Timetable Murder Case!” Yes, the hot spring was all that mattered! Everything else was the whims of the Goddess.

I had just so happened to come across someone and decided to help them through their trouble. It was a singular, fortunate event. It absolutely didn’t mean I would take care of them forever. That’s just how it was.

We arrived at the hot springs, so I shooed Roland and Emile away and immediately got into the water.

What’s that? The women got to go in first last time too? Women take longer, so maybe the guys should go in first, you say? I don’t care! Hmm, Francette seems to be deep in thought. I think I’ll modify the lion head to increase its healing effects and add a relaxation effect, too. And... there.

Hm? Wait a minute. I feel like I’m forgetting something... Oh!

“Belle, Francette, can you come over here?”

And as the girls and I enjoyed the hot spring together...

“Who goes there?!” Francette called out in a low, sharp voice. She immediately picked up her sword, which lay next to a nearby rock, taking a fighting stance with her sword’s point toward the shadows.

Belle and I positioned ourselves to protect Layette and backed up a bit, with our bodies still in the water.

Then...

“What happened?!”

“Lady Kaoru!!!”

Roland and Emile popped out of the bushes behind us, swords drawn. Then they froze, standing bolt upright, their faces tight...

There was nothing and no one in the direction Francette was pointing her sword.

Francette’s face turned toward Roland and Emile.

Likewise, Belle, Layette, and I also turned toward the two men.

Roland and Emile turned pale in response.

Our faces distorted in anger, and our bodies were neatly covered with towels.

“I wonder...where have you two been, and what were you doing? Why did you think there was trouble when Francette spoke in such a low voice? When the villager kids appeared the first time, how did you show up so quickly? I wonder... I wonder... I wonder...?”

“Gya...”

“Gya?”

“Gyaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

And so, the trial had begun.

“Guilty!”

“Guiltyyy!”

“Already?! That was a quick decision!!!”

It was time for Roland and Emile to receive their punishment. If I had let Francette punish Roland and Belle punish Emile, they would have gone easy on them, so I made them swap. Then, I whispered in their ears.

“Belle. Roland tried to peep on you and I while we were naked.”

Tching!

Belle’s face contorted with rage. Then...

“Francette. Emile tried to peep on you and I while we were naked.”

Fwsh...

All the emotion drained from Francette’s face.

Roland and Emile turned chalk-white.

“W-Wait...”

“H-Help...”

Not my problem!

In fact...

“Did you two think I wasn’t mad, too?”

“But we aren’t interested in you and Layette...”

Snap!

“Gyaaaaaa!!!”

...I messed up. I had turned up the hot spring’s healing effects for Francette, so when Roland and Emile went in later, they recovered right away.

Damn...

The next day, we had another leisurely soak in the hot spring and made our way home, full of energy...

Completely forgetting that I had set the lion head to increase the water’s healing properties and relaxation effects, without ever removing it...