Chapter 27: Bandit Extermination (1)

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

It’s the third day.

Since we’re taking the roundabout way, we’ve got 11 days to go. Our plans are being considerably delayed.

We got some bear meat for our main dish. The only remaining problem is water, but with the magicians here, that’s practically solved.

We can just melt the ice that we get from the [Icicle] spell.

Oh, and I secretly wove [Weight reduction] into the inside of my Master’s knapsack as an experiment.

We’ve got a spare knapsack on hand, so even if this one breaks, it’ll still be fine.

The result was excellent. The food and water that were put in the knapsack were all effected by [Weight reduction], and it looks like the 40 kilogram load was reduced to a mere tenth of that, down to 4 kilograms.

Since the [Enchantment] was done in secret, my Master, not realizing what I did, put too much strength into lifting the knapsack onto his back and ended up flipping it over and spilling everything. He saw my mischievous look right then.

—Thanks to that, the top of my head has been hurting since this morning. Because of his fist.

Anyway, this is convenient, so I’m thinking of giving [Weight reduction] to Alec later too.

… If I wove it into someone’s clothes, I wonder if it would reduce the person’s weight?

“And while thinking that, what a lucky opportunity to try it out! We have Alec’s pants right here.”

“Miss Yuuri, I really don’t think we should be doing this…”

“Failures and sacrifices are indispensable to experimentation. Alec has become our sacrifice.”

“He hasn’t been sacrificed yet though?”

Coincidentally acquiring Alec’s change of clothes while [Enchanting] his knapsack, I immediately start my verification.

Why his pants, you ask? Because Marle came along to grab them and rub them against her skin.

This girl is kinda dangerous… though I do the same thing with my Master’s sometimes.

Anyway, we need to finish this up before we get caught.

I draw the magic circle with fire magic. I’m burning it into an item, but since the target this time is cloth, I have to keep the fire’s strength down.

There’s a subtle difficulty in keeping the fire weak enough that it doesn’t burn up.

“There we go. Now we just pour some magic power in… and it’s done. I feel like the pants themselves got lighter.”

“Ah, you’re right. It’s about as light as a handkerchief.”

“Now I just need you to hand this over to him as a change of clothes. Do you think it would be best if you at least gave him an explanation?”

“So just tell mister Alec that you put [Weight reduction] on them, and ask him if he feels any lighter, right?”

“That’s perfect, Marle!”

That afternoon.

Due to the [Enchantment], the durability of the pants dropped, and they crumbled into dust. We all saw Alec go streaking along the highway.

~*~

And now it’s the fourth day.

Everyone was told that Alec’s streaking incident was a cute prank that I played on him (since it’s a secret that I can use magic), and my punishment was a scolding from miss Bella the next day while I sat in seiza position.

The reason the knapsack was fine is probably because the weight reduction rate of its contents was greater than the reduction in its durability.

It seems anything put into the knapsack was bundled together with the “knapsack” item and [Weight reduction] applied to all of it together. However, in the case of the clothes, they were regarded as the equipment of their “wearer”, so the effect of the circle made on the “clothes” only applied to the clothes I guess?

Even if the knapsack’s durability was reduced by half, since the weight of its contents was reduced to a tenth, it seems like it could still handle it.

My next topic of research will be on how external factors reduce durability.

That’s when all of a sudden, the lead carriage—

—Vanished.

“What the? What happened?!”

“Wait, it might be dangerous, don’t go near there.”

“Is this really the time to worry about that?!”

At the abrupt disappearance, the rear carriage goes into a panic.

Being dumbfounded myself, I couldn’t grasp the situation either.

By mister Jack’s instructions, we quickly advanced to where the carriage vanished… and that’s where the bandits started raiding us!

“RAAAAHHHH! Get ready, you asshooooles!”

“HEHEHE! Don’t go killing the women!”

“An ambush?!”

“Sh*t! Kale, Bhav, hold ’em off!”

The jeers of the bandits were followed by mister Jack’s astonished voice and mister Oreas’ rushed instructions.

Following those instructions, our vanguard heads off to meet the 10 or so bandits that jumped out from the side of the highway.

Mister Jack can deal with the bandits, I’ll search for the cause of the disappearing… Alec and Marle were on that carriage!

Jumping down from the carriage, I carefully investigate the area where… well, if they’re raiding us here, then it’s obviously a trap. Reluctantly, I activate “Appraisal”, targeting the “space”.

Although the main force is with the other carriage, we don’t have a minute to spare. Actually, from our perspective, nothing has changed much for the Vultures and the Bears.

—Are these cobblestones on the ground? Moreover, it’s a magic circle. Is this a teleportation formula?

“Master, take a look at this!”

“This is… a magic circle for a [Teleport] trap?”

“It looks like they split us up with this. I’ve analyzed how to activate it. We should hurry and follow…”

“No, don’t! If we [Teleport] now, then we’ll be leaving the vanguard behind.”

When mister Jack, Kale, and Bhav jumped out of the carriage, they went outside the [Teleport]’s range… damn them! Well, it’s thanks to them holding the bandits off that I had time to use “Appraisal” I suppose?

“Ughah!”

“Jack?! Tsk, Bella, hurry with the healing!”

“Got it!”

Mister Jack’s right arm was roughly cut, and he couldn’t swing his great sword anymore.

There are 10 bandits, and we’re trying to hold them back with 3 people now. We’re in a highly disadvantageous situation.

“Mister Jack, fall back!”

“SHUT IT, keep you mouth zipped, brat!”

If they come over here, then we can [Teleport] and chase after Alec!

Although it’s not like we can let these bandits get away either. I send a quick glance towards my Master, and he gives a small nod in reply.

“Wh-what the? What the hell are you doing?!”

“Whoa! Sh*t, they’re magicians too?!”

“You’re in my way. I said fall back, please!”

Suddenly pulled back, mister Jack was flaring up at someone I guess, the bandits gave some more jeers, and I pulled mister Jack back while I stepped in front.

This place is in chaos, but my spells are already being completed.

While my Master diverts their attention, I complete a huge [Wind blade]. With the blade extending to 10 meters, I release it in a semicircle and mow down all the nearby bandits at once!

“Gwah!”

“Gyaaaaah!”

The bandits who were blown away let out their expected screams, and that’s 6 down. On top of that, my Master took out another 2.

I had roughly cobbled the magic power together, so it wasn’t very dense and didn’t deliver a killing blow, but it did neutralize them successfully.

“Master, there’s two archers in that grove.”

“Got it.”

I point to the shadowed gap in the forest.

I applaud your judgment for immediately hiding yourselves, but when I’m using “Appraisal” on a “space”, you can’t keep any secrets from me, you know?

My Master burns the tree they’re using as a shield with a [Fireball]. Added to that, I send a [Strong wind] in that direction to strengthen the fire.

“HYAAAAAH! He… Help me!”

“IT BURNS! IT BUUUUUURNS!”

When the two burning dolls came running out, mister Oreas’ [Light arrows] and mister Bhav’s throwing knives stabbed into them, and the battle was over.

~*~

While mister Bhav and mister Kale are still tying up the bandits that are still breathing, miss Bella is treating mister Jack’s wound.

“So you two were magicians as well, then.”

“My apologies, we have our reasons. It would cause some problems, so we couldn’t talk about it.”

Mister Oreas cautiously comes over to talk with us.

Well if my traveling companions used powerful magic in rapid succession all of a sudden, I’d be cautious too… but we don’t really have time for that right now.

After making sure that there are no other enemies, I cancel my “Appraisal” on the “space” around us. Even with a spare magic power tank, this is the only thing I can’t use much.

With the excessive strain it puts on my brain, I can’t think of a good way to lengthen its effect.

“Master, there are no more enemies. Also, this magic circle can do [Two-way Teleportations].”

“Alright, if we can, I’d like to chase after them quickly. Are you ready over there?”

“I’ve stopped the bleeding. But my healing isn’t strong enough for Jack to be fighting yet. I need to spend more time on it.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have that kind of time. This attack is, without a doubt, an ambush, so there’s no guarantee the other end of this teleporter is safe. In fact, it’s probably even more dangerous over there.”

“That’s fine. Rather than mister Jack himself, I need his weapon.”

Yeah, mister Jack uses a great sword. If I hand that sword over to Alec, then he’ll make quick work of the enemies over there.

“Why do you need MY weapon?”

“Alec uses great swords. If he has a sword, he’ll be able to fight.”

“But he’s only got one arm. And the Vultures are over there anyway!”

Now that he mentions it, if the weapon doesn’t have [Weight reduction], then Alec definitely wouldn’t be able to swing it with one arm.

The [Body reinforcement] in my bracelet is an agility1 reinforcement, so…

We were looking at this as a simple bit of traveling. Maybe it really was a mistake to leave all our main weapons behind?

“We can’t be sure that there are less enemies on the other end. No, we should actually be looking at the other side as the main force.”

“Hey, hey, are you saying that even the Vultures members are in danger?”

“That is certainly a possibility. If we’re all done here, then we need to hurry and go after them.”

Mister Oreas gave a calm assessment, followed by mister Bhav’s reply.

It’s surprising that this man is able to make such calm judgments.

“Yuuri, even a little bit is fine, just give some [Weight reduction] to this sword. Get in the carriage too. While you’re applying the spell, I’ll bring us all there together.”

“… All right, understood. I’ll see what I can do.”

Somehow… I don’t need to give it the full-on application like usual. With Alec’s strength, if I bring it to the weight of a long sword, he’ll be able to swing it around without any problems!

Mister Jack’s great sword isn’t as big as Sentinel, so half… no, if I make it a third lighter, it should be fine.

I don’t need to carve in the overlapping magic circle. In which case, if I can just get five minutes—!

And if I’m applying the weight reduction in the carriage, then I can do the [Enchantment] while my Master is activating the [Teleporter] too.

I tell my Master how to activate it, and immediately go in to start [Enchanting].

Alec, Marle, please wait for us. Big sis will be right there to save you!