Chapter 182: Those Heading to the Port

◆ Liliera ◆

“Now then, what should we do from here?”

Meguri and I, having saved the pirates who fell into the sea, somehow managed to land in the Eastern Country.

And fortunately enough, we arrived at a port town, but there was no information about Rex and the others anywhere.

“Should we wait in this town, or look for another port town?”

Currently, we had no means of contacting our comrades.

The reason being…

” “To think there is no Adventurer’s Guild…” “

That’s right. In this Eastern Country, there was no organization called the Adventurer’s Guild.

Thanks to that, the method of asking the guild to contact other branches to investigate if Rex and the others are there has become unusable.

“When it comes to this, we’re at a loss.”

“We’re sorry, Big Sisters. Because you tried to save us.”

“We’re sorry.”

Dista and Shitaba, the pirates we saved, bow their heads apologetically.

“There’s no need to worry about it. It’s the result of us deciding to save you and acting on it.”

“Nn, an adventurer’s actions are entirely their own responsibility. That is the pride of an adventurer, who is a free person.”

Right, whatever we do is our own responsibility.

Because that is our pride.

” “S-So cooool!!” “

Could you spare us the fussing while looking at us with strangely deeply moved states, Dista and Shitaba?

Passersby are looking at us with faces wondering what’s going on.

Because the clothes in the Eastern Country have a unique design, our appearance as foreigners stands out even more.

“A-Anyway, Rex and the others aren’t in this town, so wouldn’t it be better to go to a different port town? If we’re lucky, we might meet them along the highway.”

“I think so too. I asked the people at the port which direction the clouds were rough, so I know the direction we were swept from. If we walk in that direction, we should arrive at the port town closest to where that storm occurred.”

As expected of Meguri. She’s shrewd about that area.

“Then shall we go immediately?”

“Nn.”

” “Yes ma’am!!” “

So we decided to head to another port town, but…

“Hyahha-! If you value your lives, hurry up and run away! Not that we intend to let you escape alive, though!”

“We’ll strip you of everything you own-!”

After walking for a while out of town, we ran into bandits.

“Ah-, a scene I’ve seen somewhere before.”

” “We’re sorry.” “

By the way, we aren’t the ones being attacked.

The one being attacked is a carriage.

“It doesn’t feel like a merchant’s carriage.”

“The carriage is luxurious, and it’s not a stagecoach either.”

In other words, a rich person’s carriage.

However, speaking of rich people, there’s a possibility the one being attacked is a noble.

You hear quite often about stories where acting out of goodwill resulted in getting tangled up with troublesome nobles, so acting easily is dangerous.

“Big Sisters, look at the guards’ appearance. That’s Eastern Country armor right there.”

Looking at the fighting guards’ figures at Dista’s words, I wonder if that’s leather armor? Unlike what we adventurers use, it’s quite heavily decorated.

“That’s proper knight’s armor of the Eastern Country right there.”

“Heh, the knights of the Eastern Country wear leather armor, huh.”

“Due to issues with the climate and terrain, the knights of the Eastern Country use heavily armored leather armor with decorations and flashy paint, rather than full plate.”

I see, it means the regional characteristics are suited for leather armor.

“And the armor of the fallen knights is the same stuff. In other words, the folks being attacked are rich people who can afford to equip everyone with the same gear.”

“I see, a noble who can afford to prepare good equipment for everyone is rich. In other words, their peerage is high.”

“Yes ma’am, that’s how it is.”

Surprisingly, these pirates have sharp minds.

No, it’s simply wisdom for sizing up prey.

“Anyway, if the one being attacked is a high-ranking noble, I wonder if we can do them a favor by saving them?”

They seem likely to cooperate with us to meet up with Rex and the others.

“Liliera, there’s one more thing.”

Then, Meguri pulls my arm.

“What is it?”

“Those bandits, despite their crude equipment, are overwhelming the trained, heavily armored guards.”

“Ah.”

Noticing what Meguri wants to say, I look at the bandits’ movements.

“Certainly, their movements are obviously good, those bandits.”

“What does that mean?”

I explain to Dista’s question, partly to deepen my own understanding.

“In other words, those bandits are stronger than specialized, trained professional knights who have better equipment than them.”

“Does that mean they just got unlucky and were attacked by coincidentally strong bandits?”

Hmm, he doesn’t get it, huh.

“In other words, there’s a high possibility those bandits are highly skilled professional soldiers or assassins disguised as bandits.”

” “I see!!” “

At Meguri‘s answer, Dista and the other raise voices of understanding.

“In that case, things have suddenly started smelling fishy.”

“Earlier they said they didn’t intend to let them escape alive. If they know the other party is rich, they should demand a ransom. Not doing that is also suspicious.”

Hmm, it’s completely black.

“What will we do?”

Meguri looks at me and asks.

You’re telling me to decide as the leader of this party, huh.

Is she deferring to me as her senior adventurer?

“Eh? Aren’t we going to hide and let it pass?”

“The opponents are skilled enough to defeat professional knights, you know?”

Dista and Shitaba are frightened, wondering if we intend to fight, but you guys were originally pirates, weren’t you.

“If it’s a noble worth being targeted, I think there’s a high possibility they are in a corresponding position. In that case, if we save such an opponent, I think they’ll arrange various conveniences for us.”

“B-But the opponents have more people than us, you know?”

“Moreover, they’re strong, right?”

“No problem. I’ve confirmed those bandits’ movements. If it’s that, we can win.”

Yes, we haven’t just been watching them being attacked. We properly discerned whether we could fight against those folks.

“I’ll attack by unleashing magic from the ground, so is it okay if you do a surprise attack from above, Meguri?”

“Okay.”

“Then we, who won’t be of any combat power, will hide so we don’t get in the way.”

…Yeah, I guess that’s fine.

“Then I’m going.”

Immediately, Meguri hides behind cover and moves away from me.

And having secured a sufficient distance, I unleashed magic at the bandits.

“ICE RUSH ARROW!”

I unleash a magic that rapid-fires lower-level ice arrows at the bandits.

Because I am a warrior, my magic power isn’t high, so I can’t use very flashy magic, but even so, having a means of long-range attack greatly expands the breadth of tactics. Like a blinder this time.

That being said, since the opponents are veteran warriors, even catching them off guard probably won’t deal significant damage.

“Wh-What!?”

“Gwaaaaah!?”

“Gyaaaaaaah!?”

Huh? It’s surprisingly effective?

And, while I was surprised, Meguri assaulted the bandits from above.

“Gaha!?”

“Wh-Where from, guah!?”

“Wh-Where!? Gofu!?”

Meguri, having assaulted from above, uses that momentum to crouch on the ground, then immediately flees into the sky using flight magic. During that, she cleaves another one with a reverse diagonal slash.

With the enemy who suddenly entered their guard disappearing in an instant, the bandits lose sight of Meguri and search their surroundings.

Normal humans probably wouldn’t expect to be attacked from above.

Capitalizing on that psychological surprise attack, Meguri moves around rapidly in a zigzag between the sky and the ground, repeatedly attacking the bandits.

However, if the same thing is done over and over, it stands to reason that the bandits will get used to it.

They are, after all, skilled assassins.

“Above! They’re above!”

“Are they flying!? Magic!? Or a magic tool!?”

The tone of the bandit who had half-panicked from the assault reverted to normal for just a moment.

As expected, they were pretending to be bandits.

“But well, forgetting about me was careless. ICE RUSH ARROW!”

At the timing Meguri escaped into the sky, I struck the sides of the faces of the bandits looking up with magic.

” ” “Gwaaaah!!” ” “

The perfectly landed magic deals heavy injuries to the bandits, and Meguri delivered the finishing blows to the surviving bandits.

“This is the end.”

The bandits are all defeated, and the only ones standing are us and the surviving guards.

“Are you alright?”

I call out to the dumbfounded guards with a gentle voice tone.

Then the guards immediately snap out of it, ready their swords, and direct vigilant eyes towards us.

“Wh-Who goes there!?”

“We saw you being attacked and came to assist. As a matter of fact, the only ones defeated are the bandits who attacked you, right?”

“Muu…”

The guards glance at the bandits, then fall into thought slightly about how to judge this.

“S-Certainly you saved us. But there is no guarantee you aren’t a different group of thieves. Therefore, do not approach!”

I see-, so that’s what they thought.

Perhaps these people suspected that the bandits were genuine thieves, and we are the enemy’s true main force.

Hmm, this is unexpected.

“Stop it.”

As I was troubled about how to persuade them, the carriage door opened and an old man in unfamiliar attire came out.

“M-My Lord!? It is still dangerous outside! Please return inside!”

“Do not expose such unsightly behavior, you fools! If these people were the underlings of that guy, they wouldn’t have needed to save us, they could have just let the pursuers disguised as bandits over there attack us. There is no point in going out of their way to kill their comrades who had the upper hand just to get close to me!”

Ah, thank goodness. It seems there was someone who properly observed the situation calmly.

“Forgive them. These ones were also desperate to protect me. Do not take offense.”

“M-My Lord!?”

Because their master apologized, the guards turn pale and become agitated.

Hmm, if they get agitated like that, I wonder if they can serve as guards? Makes me a little worried.

“Please do not mind it. I suppose they were high-strung after the battle.”

“I am grateful you say so. Having a standing conversation here is also inappropriate. If you like, I wish to invite you to my estate. As I want to properly thank you for saving my life.”

I look at Meguri.

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t mind. We aren’t in a particular hurry either.”

“That’s true too.”

Of course, the discussion is an act.

Since we had already decided to help them in exchange for their cooperation.

“Understood. If that’s the case, we will humbly accept your invitation.”

“Umu. Then you should follow.”

As expected, we weren’t allowed to ride in the carriage, but instead we were allowed to ride the horses the guards were riding.

Perhaps worrying about reinforcements for the bandits, the group proceeded by exchanging horses along the way without stopping at any villages or towns.

And at the town we arrived at just as the sun was setting, the pace of the horses finally slowed.

“Are we taking an inn in this town?”

I confirm the schedule with the guard I was riding with.

“No, this town is our destination.”

I see, since the destination was close, we pushed all the way through at once.

The carriage proceeded through the town, entering a district that looked like a noble quarter.

And as we proceeded further in, an estate with an exceptionally high wall came into view.

“My Lord has returned! Open the gates!”

At the guard’s words, the gates open, and the carriage and the horses carrying us enter inside.

“U-Uwaaa…”

A voice unintentionally leaked out.

Because inside the gates spread a mansion beyond my expectations.

“There’s a forest inside the gates!?”

“Hahaha, that is a garden.”

“A garden!?”

On both sides of the path we proceed on, trees and flowers that could only be thought of as a forest bloom beautifully in profusion, and now that it’s mentioned, certainly their arrangement and shape have been touched by human hands.

Furthermore, various decorations I don’t quite understand stand here and there.

“Amazing…”

Meguri is also unusually overwhelmed by something other than treasure.

“A-Are you sure it’s alright for the likes of us to enter?”

“U-Uhyaa-“

Dista and the others who came with us are also overwhelmed by the sight of the estate and garden.

“Hahaha, this garden is My Lord’s pride, you see. Though there are many estates of warrior families in Amatsumine, there is none other of this scale besides this estate.”

Does that mean the old man we saved is a person of considerable authority…?

Proceeding along the path sandwiched by the garden for a while, the entrance to the estate finally came into view.

“It’s huge…”

Coming close and looking, the estate was exceptionally huge.

It was hard to tell because it was dusk and the surroundings were difficult to see, but it’s quite vast.

And in front of the estate, dozens of people who seemed to be servants were waiting on both sides of the path.

The horse and carriage that were leading the way stop, and as we also dismount from our horses, finally the carriage door opens and the old man from earlier shows his figure.

” ” ” ” “Welcome back, My Lord!!” ” ” ” ” “

“Umu, I have caused you worry.”

The old man calls out to the servants, then turns towards us.

“Now then, despite having you save me earlier, I had not stated my name.”

He suddenly said such a thing.

“After all, it was a situation where we didn’t know where pursuers might be hiding. I did not want to give the opponent certainty that I was truly the target.”

I see, so that’s why he got into the carriage without stating his name earlier.

“Also, I think it’s because here he has many guards even if he states his name, and even if we escape, he can send pursuers after us.”

Meguri supplements softly so only I can hear.

He’s surprisingly shrewd, this old man.

“My name is Sanoukouji Sakyonosuke. I serve as the Head House Elder of this country.”

“Head House Elder…?”

What’s that?

” “H-Head House Elder!?” “

As if acting on my behalf, since I didn’t quite understand the meaning of the words, Dista and the other raise voices of surprise.

Being sailors, are these two surprisingly knowledgeable?

“You guys know what it means?”

“K-K-K-Know what it means, you ask!?”

“Speaking of the Head House Elder, it’s what we call the Regent-sama in our country!!”

“Heh-, a Regent, huh.”

I see, certainly if that’s the case it makes sense why Dista and the other would be surprised…

“Wait, Regent!?”

Surprised, I turn toward the old man who called himself the Head House Elder.

Then, he floated a grinning, seemingly spiteful smile and said this:

“Are you surprised, foreign young ladies?”

” “…” “

I-It’s beyond being surprised…

It seems we have gotten acquainted with an outrageous big shot…