Translator’s note:
Dear readers, we have a
SERIOUS PROBLEM.Arge will have 13 continous Cliff Hanger chapters (From 109 to 121).
Mile will have 6 cliff hanger chapters. (From 54 to 59).
To deal with this trouble. I will traslate 6 Mile chapters in 6 days. 13 days after that will be translate Arge chapters.
And then I will return to Mile chapters again.
You had been warned, readers.
Cliff Hangerwill be here for 6 chapters. Prepare yourself. Harden your heart and your will.
T.N: I’m sorry, look like last time I make a mistake. There are only 4 merchants and some coachman drive 6 carriages. Not 6 merchants in this group.
Mile Chapter 54: Rena’s PastThe thieves had bruises and broken bones but no serious injuries such as life – threatening. All of them were tied up.
As a result of interrogating the leader and other people, these thieves were just ordinary thieves, not the large-scale thieves group. Recently the number of carriages drastically declined, and if there was any. It will be a really large-scale merchant group that hired a lot of escorts. After a long time, a rather small merchant group appear so they attack right away.
“… we should kill them!” (Rena)
And now, talks about treatment of thieves who caught were being held.
“There’s still a day and half until we reach Amuros town but it’s troublesome to take these guys because we can’t afford to prepare a horse-drawn carriage for them.
And if we let them walk, the speed of travel will be delayed and we will not be able to arrive at Amuros within tomorrow.
Besides, there is a possibility that they can remove the rope at midnight and kill us…
Certainly, if we take them to the city, we will receive some of the money from selling them as a criminal slave besides the reward.
But right now we are under an important escort request, we can’t affort to have more luggage. We only need some proof to show the guild!“ (Rena)
“No, … to me, even if they are enemies, I will not kill them after catching and disabling them. And I will not hesitate to kill if they plan anything to harm us” (Bart)
Bart wants to keep them alive, but I don’t know whether he doesn’t want to have unnecessary killing, or he want the criminal slave’s reward.
Eventually, it was decided by a majority vote, 12 guards, four merchants took decisions. The coachmans aren’t included.
What surprised me was that all the merchants were raising their hands to “kill”, but it may be natural if I think about it. Their orginal plan for this trading group are to kill all the thieves.
At the time of movement, only the leader was tied up and inside the carriage, the other six tied hands, wrapped a rope around their neck and connected to a carriage one by one. If you do not want to walk, your neck is squeezed. Whether walking or becoming a dead body and being dragged, it was left for the bandits themself to choose. With this, we can travel without worry. The reason why they were tied one by one in each carriage, is to avoid giving them any chance to help each other.
By the way, it was Pauline who proposed this method.
The four people of『Red Oath』stopped sitting on the each carriage like before. everyone was on the fourth carriage. And everyone still equipped their hunter equipment.
“Rena, why did you try to use lethal magic at that time? All the other thieves were disabled and there was plenty of room. We also need to collect information, so we should keep them alive. And Rena, you could just use any non-lethal magic to capture” (Maevis)
Rena responded to Maevis in a blistering manner.
“…” (Rena)
“…Obsessed with killing thieves, Rena, you aren’t like usual! What happen with those thieves?” (Pauline)
“… It was …” (Rena)
“They were killed! Everyone, both father and colleagues, were killed by bandits!” (Rena)
And then Rena started talking about her past to the party.
Rena was the daughter of a peddler.
Rena, which has potential for magic, she was able to create enough water for the horse and both her and her father, she was also able to lit the fire.
“E he he he…” (Rena)
But that time suddenly came.
“It’s a bandit! Get in the carriage and hide!” (Rena’s dad)
But even thieves still know that peddlers who can’t hire an escort with a horse carriage don’t have a lot of money and even if they rob, they can only get some goods and agricultural tools, they are bulky and there’s not much profit. So, normally they will leave those peddler alone and aim for prey that seems to be more profitable.
But occasionally, there are thieves that come stealing even the carriage that don’t have much money. In that case, if you hand all your money to them, the bandits will let the merchant go. Because the more damage cause by the thieves, the higher probability that the troops will be assembled.
And it is more profitable for the thieves to earn money and if they let merchant pass through this road than killing the merchant and stole the whole cargo which isn’t worth anything. If the thieves let the merchant go, the merchant will lose his money, but if the carriage and the sale are safe, rebuilding the business isn’t so difficult. When the merchant travel in the future, the thieves have more chance to steal again.
However, he still worry because he heard that the thieves in this area are bad.
“Do not be silly! Do you have only this much!” (Thief leader)
“I don’t need to know such things! We need money!
With the thief leader signal, the four bandits begin to climb on the carriage.
Her father desperately tried to stop Rena from being found, but of course thieves could not listen to such words. The bandits came up to the loading platform and began to take everything that seems worthy inside the load, a cry was heard from the loading platform after a while.
And Rena was dragged down from the platform.
The leader looks at Rena that was caught by his underlings, and started smiling.
“Please, stop, my daughter is only ten years old!” (Rena’s father)
At that time, the leader is laughing with was interupted by one of his underling.
“What do you mean …” (Thief leader)
“No, the hunters are coming!” (Thief leader)
Those one who become so low as thieves because they aren’t strong enough to become hunters. They stand no change against hunters with the same number. Besides, the hunter seemd to have magician.
“Sh**, get away, take your daughter!” (Thief leader)
However, Rena knew that she would be saved if she earned a little more time. She shake the hand of the thief and rolled down to the bottom of the carriage.
Although he was trying to drag Rena out from under the horse carriage in a hurry, Rena was clinging to the axle firmly with both her hands and feet. Even adult male was stronger than Rena but he still couldn’t drag her out in that situation. While doing so, the hunters who are pressing closer.
She heard the thief leader. Rena under the horse-drawn carriage didn’t see the situation, but it was easy to imagine. Perhaps her father is struck with a sword.
But Rena can’t hear any sounds or voices.
“Gu, gua ~a…” (Rena’s father)
“Stop it! Please stop it! I will come out!” (Rena)
Rena, who crawled out under the carriage without being able to endure the voice of his father’s anguish, was grapped by the arm of a thief.
The moment when Rena shouted at her father who fell to the ground, he was stabbed with a sword on his right shoulder, and when Rena looked, it was the bandit leader who stab her father.
The bandit leader pulled the sword out of her father’s shoulder and this time he pierced Rena’s father’s belly.
After that the leader press his feed on Rena’s father body and take this sword out of her father’s body.
“Hey!” (Four other thieves)
Rena desperately swung her limbs and scratched the face of the bandits.
Rena kicked the belly of one of the thieves.
“What are you going to do … hurry up, they are …, Uwa!” (Bandit leader)
A arrow hit his cheek.
“Hey, leader…!” (other bandits)
“Father, fatherrrr!” (Rena)
“Rena, … live happy … for both father and mother’s part …” (Rena’s father)
“FATHERRRRR !” (Rena) (O chichi sā ~a~a~an)
The hunters who finally reached the carriage, the magician cast the attack magic and the archer shot arrows on the escaped thieves, three of them are chasing the thieves, one remained in that place.
“Father is… Father is!” (Rena) (Otōsanga! Otōsan ga)
“A a~a, Father … ” (Rena) (A a~a, otōsan~)
After a while, the three hunters who were chasing came back.
“If I don’t … if I do not get out from under the carriage and earn more time …”
To Rena repeating cried, one of the four hunters『Red Lightning Bolt』silently stroked her head.