While the five Kobolds and the red-haired mage fought the red beetles, or the so-called Red Insects, near Viel village, a group of roughly a dozen lightly armored men had snuck undetected into the village from a different direction than our party of six.

Recently, there had been reports coming in from the guild branches that bandits had been appearing frequently on the road connecting the town of Zelgra to Viel village and were attacking merchants and had resorted to even killing several of them.

It was surmised that the appearance of bandits began exactly a month ago when several “iron” novice adventurers who were on a quest in the eastern tip of Easteria Forest, were stripped of their possessions.

In the report from the bandit victims that was compiled by the guild:

“The first and second victims claimed that they were not attacked by bandits, but by muscled, abnormally developed Kobolds, but the lack of any distinctive injuries makes it less credible.”

And other such incredulous accounts by victims were written, but it was just an unfortunate incident. Despite having doubts about the facts, the report was generally correct, and it was after that time that rumors of the bandits were first heard.

There will always be a certain number of rogues in any era.

The groups of bandits consisted of a variety of poor farmers, cash-strapped and bloodthirsty ruined mercenaries, and adventurers who dealt with shady businesses. Amongst them, it was generally known that the mercenaries who have gone out of business are the ones mainly involved in looting.

And so, these bandits posed as mercenaries that protected towns and villages and used underhanded measures to create demand and supply. In the worst cases, half of the mercenaries played the role of thieves, while the remaining half acted as guards to cheat some towns and villages.

However, the armed group that headed to Viel village weren’t the cunning types but were merely a band of brigands.

The man spearheading their operation was one of those typical ruined mercenaries wearing brigandine armor combined with metal pieces tied into the interior and carrying around a Warhammer that specialized in piercing armor. 

“Well then, let’s grab everything we can and quickly leave like what we did in the previous territory…”

“Captain, we’ve been in this territory for too long already…so if we don’t retreat and cover our tracks soon, the soldiers of the Feudal Lord of this territory will hunt us down.” 

Basically, bandits were wanderers. If they stay in one place too long, they will naturally be identified and subjugated, so after plundering, they have to move to another location right away. Most Feudal Lords who oversee the land are also aware of this and choose not to proactively pursue them unless the looting crosses their bottom lines.

In the case of a full-scale subjugation, it would be necessary to expend forces to go after the bandits who have fled into the mountains and forests, with poor visibility and unfriendly terrain.  The economic cost of such an operation would be a waste of resources.

The Bandit Leader considered his subordinate’s suggestion that if they stayed any longer, then the Feudal Lord might actually have them hunted down in earnest.

“Well, even if we leave, there would still be some expenses, so I wanted to end this with a bang… Gizel, report.”

“Yes, Viel Village is a small village consisting of approximately 40 households with over 180 residents. With simple calculations, there would be about 80 men and women if you exclude the children,  and within that population, the men would be around half of the adults.”

“Then we’d probably face approximately 10 amateurs, won’t we? Of course, it’s no sweat to wipe them off by myself, but what about you guys?”

The leader looks behind him and faces 18 of his subordinates.

“Captain, two of us could practically strangle a guy to death, easy peasy!”

“Hahah, no different from the usual then.”

The Bandit Leader’s subordinates laugh cold-bloodedly…

It was not strange for one or two of the hostages to be ex-mercenaries or ex-adventurers who would probably try to go against their leader, but instead of calling them out on it, he gave importance to raising his troops’ morale and when they favorably responded with vigor, he continued ahead.

“In a while, I want you to hurry up and grab all the valuables…If they obediently do as we say, then we do not harm anybody.”

The bandits were also considering the possibility of having soldiers pursue them once they escaped to another territory if they caused unnecessary harm to the villagers. 

However, there was one thing they did not know.

A little while before harvest season, there was an outbreak of beetle-type monsters in the fields surrounding Viel village which devoured the crops, so the villagers had nothing to offer.

After a short while, the bandits were greeted at the village’s entrance by a girl that claimed to be the village chief’s daughter who was accompanied by 5 armored village vigilantes.

……………

………

…

“By pointing that sword at me… are you saying that you won’t obey?”

“I’ve already told you, haven’t I? This village has nothing to offer you.”

The bandit leader glared at the girl who had come out to negotiate.

“So you made me wait just to give me that kind of answer, huh…… You’re not sincere enough!”

“……!!!”

The girl was frightened as the bandit leader shouted at her with a stern face.

Her father, who had been too ill to walk for months, was concerned as she shook off her mother who tried to keep her from facing the bandits. After all, she was merely the village chief’s daughter.

The village’s group of male vigilantes stepped forward to protect her.

“… You guys intend to fight like that?”

Aside from them looking like they were not strong enough to fight, the pieces of equipment the vigilantes had were worn-out leather armors and dull swords.

“Alright, I’ll deal with you.”

The bandits leered and mocked her, but the girl who squared off against them seemed to show no signs of retreating. As both parties continued the stand-off with each other, one of the bandits spotted something and cried out.

“Captain, look over there!”

While the vigilante groups stalled them for time, the people of the village were secretly sneaking away with their children. Unfortunately, they were seen by one of the bandits and he called them out.

“Oi, where are you people thinking of running off to!!”

“It seems like the time we bought them wasn’t enough,” said the village chief’s daughter, Maril, as she nervously bit her lip.