Chapter 117
Francette: “…so, you know it’s suspicious but you are still planning to go…?”
I ignored Francette’s face which seems somewhat tired .
Kaoru: “Yeah, for some reason it seems to be interesting…and besides, I have a principle to pick up a fight that has been given to me . ”
Francette & Belle: “”……We know that . ””
Riette: “We knoww dat…”
Following Francette and Belle, Riette-chan, who doesn’t understand what were they talking about, imitated so .
Yup, such a cutie~… .
The boy who remained as a guide is in the men’s tent with Roland and Emile . Therefore, there’s only the members of the women’s tent who are present in this discussion .
Kaoru: “Basically, if it’s a bandit village, then we will have to destroy it . we’ll catch them as many as possible, but because I prioritize the safety of our side, don’t hesitate to kill if you sense a little danger . I can still heal them if they’re not dead . ”
*nod nod*
Kaoru: “I want to help the children if possible, but if they had been 『educated』, then it’s close to impossible to reform them . If they are fine with trying to kill us, then don’t hesitate to take them down . For me, my own comrades are tens of thousands of times more important than a mere bandit’s kid . Putting yourself in danger to strangely help those bandits is dangerous, so please think that this is not 『your own life』 but 『my servant’s life』 . ”
*nod nod*
Alright, it should be fine with this .
Is the weight of the human life the same, you say?
If there’s an idiot who said Riette-chan’s life has the same weight as a filthy bandit uncle, bring him here! I will preach him for an hour!!
If you can only save one side between thieves and beautiful and young girls, is there any room to doubt?
Eh? How about between villainous-looking commoner and pretty bandits or young thief girls?
Uhh…
Uhhhhhhh…
W-well, that’s that!
Francette: “Kaoru-chan, in that case, which one should we prioritize… . . ?”
Bell: “Yes, we need to confirm that first!”
Francette and Bell pressed on .
Uhhhh…… .
Kaoru: “T-That’s, you should think that on your own!!”
Francette: “Ah, she avoided it!”
Bell: “She avoided it indeed…”
S-shut up!
And after spending two nights slowly enjoying the hot springs, the tent was dismantled and we moved towards the village just before the second afternoon chime (around 3pm) .
The boy who remained as a guide was full of energy as he ate the meal which I made with everyone . Roland and Francette were interestingly exercising to help their digestion… or rather, imitating some martial art moves that they got into and trained seriously as soon as I taught them a little . Emile and Bell also joined and it somehow became like a martial arts classroom .
Eating, training, and hot spring (with healing and recovery effect) . Repeats endlessly .
Well, that’s going to have a huge effect…
The boy who has also taken a professional guidance and proficiently improved enough to understand the moves clearly in a short period of time is in good spirits and energetic in guiding us .
…Somehow, I don’t feel like there are traps that has been set up in advance by his comrades . The two who returned to the village earlier looks exactly like common village children, and they didn’t have a villainous air around them as well… .
Was I thinking too much and being too cautious?
No, well, being too cautious and risking my life is far better than dying because of being not cautious at all, so I guess this is fine as it’s not like this bothers anyone either .
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And less than 2 hours .
We arrived at a small village deep in the mountains .
The village is surrounded by wooden fences and there won’t be any soldiers attacking in this kind of place either . As expected, this is really a bandit village……
Francette: “Those are for beasts and monsters countermeasure, you know?”
Francette told me after looking at my face and understood what I was thinking .
That said, it’s certainly a little coarse for stopping human raids .
No, I’m not talking about the robustness . It seems that it can be easily evaded by passing through or over the gap if it’s a person . Hence, this is likely for beasts and monsters that rushes forward without any intelligence .
Only the residential area where the houses are lined up is surrounded by the fences and the cultivated fields are spread widely beyond that . Well, it’s a fence that can prevent monsters who 「eats humans」 instead of small beasts and monsters that eats crops . It’s also not possible to protect the fields as it’s too wide and it’s probably difficult to make the fences as well .
…And when we were heading to the entrance gate, several people who were farming in the field outside of the fence started to gather around .
Villager: “Ooh! it’s rare for visitors to come to our village . Welcome! Feel free to sight-see around, will ya’!?”
Kaoru: “H-haa…”
Umumumu… .
Everyone welcomed us with a friendly smile .
It seems that they are farming seriously and their atmosphere is not giving a dangerous feeling as well . No matter how you look at it, they are the common trope of villager A, B, C, and the rest .
Seems like I had overthought that this is a bandit village .
……But somehow, I’m feeling uneasy .
In the first place, won’t the villagers have to be cautious of those who suddenly come to this rural village that is completely separated from such a traffic route?
In addition, 3 out of 6 people here are armed with swords, and two of us seem to have quite expensive clothes and equipment . Even if we’re not hoodlums, there is still a possibility that we are low-rank nobles or knights in name only who will force unreasonable demands or hospitality . Welcoming us like this is supposed to be out of the question, though…
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Besides, this is a small village . The rumor about us coming from the two boys who should have returned two days ago should have been spread around . For such a village, rare stories should have been immediately transmitted around the village and become a huge topic .
However, their responses are as if they didn’t know anything .
Umumumumumu… .
Well, it’s still too early to relax, huh?
When I glanced at Roland and Francette, they both slightly agreed as well . They are both professionals in fighting and strategy, so of course this is natural for them . Unlike low-class soldiers, knights and royals are also studying schemes and tricks .
Several villagers talked to us, but in the meantime, 2-3 people were heading towards the entrance of the gate .
Yeah obviously, they’re going to inform everyone, huh…?
They are not forcing their attitude as well and they also seem to be decent farmers… .
No, of course there could possibly be people with various professions, such as hunters and lumberjacks, but in any case, they don’t look like a group of criminals .
But it’s a bit suspicious to call it a normal village and it seems that it is unusual to see that the boys chose to leave one behind and return to the village . Usually everyone will either return or remain .
Well, the latter is unlikely as it will cause an uproar if they don’t return to their family for two days without permission .
But, will you leave one boy behind with people who you have only met once? In addition, to those who were staying for two nights . Don’t you think it would make a fuss when they told the boy’s family about it?
And the family did not come to pick up the boy for these past two days . Even though it’s a little less than two hours on foot .
……In other words, that is the case why it’s suspicious .
Hasdal: “Ohh! Welcome to such a village deep in these mountains! My name is Hasdal, I’m the chief of this village . Please do stay at my house for tonight . ”
There is no reason to have an inn in such a village as the village chief’s house is larger and more splendid than ordinary houses . In addition, he also provides bedrooms and meals for travelers and visitors . Hence, there’s no choice but to accept the offer . It’s not impossible to camp, but it’s rude to turn down the head of the village .
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……But why isn’t this village chief asking anything? Usually they will ask this question first .
Yes, the most obvious question,『What is your purpose on coming to this village?』…
Well, he probably knew that 『the children are guiding us to this village』, so as expected, he didn’t ask anything… .
After that, the boy headed to his house after thanking us for the food and martial arts guidance and we headed to the village chief’s house .
Kaoru: “Uhh!?”
When we entered the village chief’s house and passed through the reception hall, there were many men sitting here and there . The men who sits on the lower area are around 15 to 16 years old, while the upper area are men who are around 60 years old… .
60-year-old people in this world is quite old unlike in modern Japan . I don’t know if it’s due to the diet or harsh life, though…
Hasdal: “The food will be prepared immediately, so please relax with everyone here…”
Saying so, the village chief went to what seems to be the kitchen .
Kaoru: (T-this is…)
Francette replied to my murmur silently as well .
Francette: (D-don’t tell me…)
Kaoru & Francette: “”A marriage hunting party in a rural village for those who doesn’t have a bride!?!””
Men: “”””””LIKE HELL IT IS!!!””””””
The men screamed in denial all at once to me and Francette who suddenly shouted .
No, you don’t have to deny it that seriously…
Man: “Ain’t the only candidates left here are a child and an infant!?”
S-shut up!!