“Hi-ya-ha! Time to work!”
“Everyone inside, get off the carriage!”
It’s been a week since I left my home in the capital and headed north in a horse-drawn carriage.
We are currently traversing the territory of the household that banished me.
While en voyage, I caught a glimpse of how impoverished the citizens in villages were. Everyone wore modest clothes and the houses were simple – a stark contrast when compared to the extravagant royal capital.
When we entered an area where public security was questionable, the incident described at the beginning of the chapter occurred.
◇ ◇
Our carriage was surrounded by more than a dozen bandits. Right before daybreak, when the sky was still dimly lit. Due to being abruptly awoken, everyone was naturally pissed off. As the old saying goes, he who disturbs the sleep of others is surely bound for hell.
“Oh, there’s a young woman on board!” (Bandit 1)
“I could probably sell the kids to a slave trader. We’re having a feast today!” (Bandit 2)
While we were contemplating running away and leaving the wagon, some men grubby-looking men spotted us. They quickly alerted their fellow bandits of our presence. The man assigned to stand guard while we were asleep must have run away long ago.
“Mommy, I’m scared!”
The passengers in the wagon were a mother, her two children, and us. The children were trembling in fear. Our lives would be in grave danger if nothing were to be done. However, I had no intention of letting the bandits succeed.
“Master, allow me. I’ll take care of these bastards for you.” Lara says in a quiet voice.
It’s good to be confident but don’t overdo it.
Based on my observation, there are around ten bandits. Although their numbers may be considered on the lower side, Lara alone won’t be enough to handle all ten of them.
Perhaps–
No, it would be difficult to kill them all in an instant, as expected. They probably intend to surround us and use their numerical advantage against us, so giving them even the smallest of opportunities isn’t ideal.
“I’ll take care of it, okay? I’d like to test my skill out.” (Yuo)
“… Understood. I will assist you if it gets dangerous.” (Lara)
Since I decided to handle it, I quickly got off the carriage. I was kind of annoyed that my sleep was interrupted. It’s unforgivable to attack someone in their sleep. The thing I hate most is when my sleep gets interrupted. I absolutely couldn’t allow the children to cry as well.
I was a bit nervous, and a little bit scared that the children might cry. I smiled at them as they clung to their mother’s legs, trying to hide as instructed.
I took a step towards the crowd of bandits.
“What the hell? They came out unarmed? I’m telling you, I can almost always tell the magic power of my opponents!” (Bandit Leader)
One of the bandits walk towards their leader while grinning and said, “Oh! As expected of our leader!”
“A veteran warrior!” another bandit immediately added with glee.
The compliments came out so naturally, they must have practiced them.
“Your magic power is… infinitely zero. Hmph, trash.” it may seem like these bandits were performing a little comedy skit but the leaders’ instincts are pretty sharp. After learning that I had no magic power, he burst out with a confident laugh.
“She’s a total idiot!”
“She must be crazy!“
At the same time, his followers also laughed at me mockingly.
Seeing a powerless lady challenge their leader, the bandits have no choice but to assume she’s insane.
“I suggest that you guys give up. Surrender quietly before I use my [Heater Skill] to blow you away!” (Yuo)
There’s still hope! I can still use the [Heater Skill] that I have. During our journey, I actually trained my usage of this skill.
"Huh? Heater?” (Bandit)
“You haven’t heard of it?” (Yuo)
“It’s probably just some lousy skill that warms things up or something.” (Bandit 1)
“Just so you know, our leader’s skill is called [Explosive Fist]. His fist is packed with such an enormous amount of magic power that even a single punch can become lethal!” (Bandit 2)
All of them laughed at me mockingly
Indeed, my skill can only warm things up. Meanwhile, their leader’s skill is a combat skill. Mine is no match for his.
“Weak girl, because your threat just now, I won’t let you live even you begged for it.” the leader said with an evil grin on his face.
They really are stupid, dumb, and irredeemable. People like these are the reason why the world isn’t getting better.
I prepared to activate my skill on the person in front of me.
“Eiyah!” I set my hand on the ground right beneath the leader’s feet and increased its heat with all my might.
What happens when you put heat into the ground with the heater skill? I have no idea how it works, but something happens.
Boom!
Firmly concentrating on the thought ‘Explode,’ the ground and rocks blew up. The ground beneath the bandit’s feet crumbled at once.
“Gghhhhhh!” hurled back by the strong, explosive force, the leader’s back hit a tree with a loud thump before falling motionlessly.
“Yes, it worked!” I said while pumping my fist in celebration.
“Leader got hit! What the hell is going on?” (Bandit)
"Shit, she’s a magician?” (Other Bandit)
Seeing one of them get blown away, the bandits started to panic. Additionally, the fact the person who got blown away was their leader was a big blow to their confidence.
“You bastard! Don’t underestimate the Jami household!” the bandits took their knives and axes out and surrounded me.
They were aiming to use their numerical advantage against me, a typical strategy.
I guess it’s an efficient way to fight.
But without hesitation, I put my hand on the ground again.
Kaboom!
Baaaaaaaaaaam!
Zugaaaaan!
Just like before, the ground exploded while making comical sounds.
Forward, backward, left, right, diagonal, the bandits had no time to scream as they instantly flew in different directions due to the explosion. By the time they stopped moving, several meter-wide holes could be seen all over the ground.
“As expected of master! It seems that your [Thermal Blasts] are very effective.“ Lara, who had witnessed the whole thing, approached with a cheer.
In the temple, the priestess explained, ‘It’s not magic so you can use it as many times as you want.’ After being able to use it to this extent, I can actually confirm that using the skill repeatedly has no physical or mental drawbacks whatsoever.
Surprised by how many times I could use the skill, I thought, ‘Is this even possible? It actually works!’
I trained my [Heater Skill] en voyage and already experimented on its effectiveness.
“Master, couldn’t you just have blown the bandits up themselves?” (Lara)
Lara was right, I could’ve blown their bodies up instead of the ground but I didn’t want it to get bloody. I’m also not an adventurer so I didn’t want to be on offense while fighting. I’m only gonna use my skill for self-defense. I know it’s a naive idea, but I don’t want to take the initiative to kill people.
“Master, let’s hand these bandits over to the next village.“ Lara tied up the bandits and threw them into the wagon.
She’s actually very strong, something you wouldn’t expect when looking at her thin physique.
◇ ◇
“Isn’t that Claude Jami of the Jami Household? Oh my god!”
"Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!”
After traveling for a while, we spotted a village and handed the bandits over to them. The village chief who greeted us looked surprised and even thanked us. Apparently, one of the bandits we caught was a wanted man in the area.
“Thank you, oneesan!” the mother and her children who rode the carriage with us thanked us in tears. Their crying caused the tiny amount of drowsiness remaining in my body to dissipate.
All right, let’s go to the frontier village!
I was determined to get to…
“Hi-yah! Surrender all your gold!” within a day, another group of bandits arrived.
Of course, they were blown up, captured, and handed over without question.
This is supposed to be my family’s territory, why is their public security so lousy?
I had no choice but to take out all the bandits and bandits I came across.
<<Scorching Witch’s Ability >>
[Thermal Blast]
Level: Quasi-death technique
Transmitting an excessive amount of heat, any target she touches explodes. This includes hard objects like boulders and tough metals. When used on humans, it cannot be defended against and disintegrates the limbs.
(T/N)
[1] The way that I struggled so hard because of this sentence. From what I understand the idea is to turn ice into shaved ice, figurative for beating someone up. I’m not sure though. If anyone can help me, it would be greatly appreciated :)
The assumption I wrote in my translator’s note in the previous chapter has finally been confirmed. Her skill is a physical ability and doesn’t require any magic power! Coupled with the fact that she can use it repetitively without strain, it’s a pretty OP skill even as of now.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and any corrections are greatly appreciated.
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