Chapter 18 (1/2)
Ossan, * *DISCLAIMER: I DON'T REALLY KNOW j.a.pANESE, THESE ARE MACHINE TRANSLATIONS THAT I TRY TO PUT INTO PROPER ENGLISH. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
*The t.i.tle is kind of a minor spoiler. I'll put it at the end of the chapter.
The girl was an ordinary student who attended a nearby junior high-school. However, there wasn't anyone she could call a friend, and so, her days went by.
It took little time for her to start feeling like a bird in a cage in such a monotone and ordinary world, where all her days were exactly the same.
The new state-of-the-art game console she bought with her New Year's money, 【DreamWorks]. It's clear as a bell, how she would get hooked up with the online game 【Sword and Sorcery], released at the same time.
This virtual world was full of excitement unlike the real one, and thus, the monotone daily life she dreaded became full of vibrant colors, and eventually becoming the only place she belonged to.
She made a lot of friends; trustworthy companions. Though, they're not there anymore the moment she turns off the game. Although loneliness was the main reason she felt suffocated in the real world, that didn't really matter to her anymore.
And then… when she was doing quests along with her companions like usual, suddenly, her vision faded to black…
She was standing in the center of a plain before she realized. There was no one else there, and at the same time, she had a hunch that her everyday life was going to change from that moment onward.
A hunch that was reaffirmed when she read the email that appeared when her status screen expanded.
According to it, the G.o.ddess of this world had sealed the Evil G.o.d in her former world (more specifically in Sword and Sorcery's virtual world), and many people died due to a curse the Evil G.o.d released just before it was defeated.
It seems she had been recreated based on the aspect of her former world's body and her status in the game world. Whatever the process was, she had died and was reincarnated into another world.
To begin with, she didn't care much about her former world. Moreover, she didn't interact much with her family in the first place, so she didn't have any lingering attachments.
In truth, Being in another world less boring than her original one will only arouse her adventurous spirit.
Taking out a map from her inventory, she finds a town nearby and starts walking towards it.
—–
Her name is Irie Sumika *(T.N: Irie is the surname, Sumika her first name). The name she used to register at the Mercenary Guild was Iris.
In order to enjoy this world, she became a mercenary using the same name as her character's when it was a game.
The Mercenary Guild is similar to the game's Adventurer Guild in both, organization and structure, so it was quite convenient to her for her goal of enjoying this otherworld…
She is now currently being held captive by a band of bandits.
”What are we going to do now, Iris?”
”Right now… we have to wait for our chance to escape. Don't worry, it'll definitely come.”
”Really?”
”Probably…”
Due to her status(*T.N: I guess Status as in her character's overall strength or ability) from the time when it was a game, her ability as a mercenary sits around the intermediate levels. Specifically, she's rank C, but a mere merchant escort request is nothing but easy work to her.
The problem was that there were a lot more bandits than she had antic.i.p.ated, and in addition, the merchants who they were supposed to be protecting were taken as hostages. After all, she is a girl used to living in a modern society, and doesn't see this world from a weird angle like a certain sage from somewhere. (*T.N: talking about the MC)
That lack of awareness is what has put her in this perilous situation.
The bandits abducted not only women but also children. While holding one of these children hostage in front of a woman, who seemed to be related to the kid, a bandit is making her take off her clothes in order to rape her.
Perhaps it was this child's mother, but the woman is frightened and trembling in shame whilst undressing quietly.
The men who were looking at her with such filthy eyes didn't even count as humans to Iris.
(I'll be sure to kill you all…)
A primeval killing instinct dawned on her for the first time in her life.
She glares at her surroundings while making sure to keep as close as possibly to the bandits that are about to rape a fellow woman. (*T.N: no clue about that sentence, I practically made it all up)
Suddenly, while using her detection skills, she notices a magical reaction above in the sky.
(Is that a familiar? There's a magician looking here?)
Hawks and falcons were circling around in the sky without even trying to hide themselves. But they weren't actual living beings.
”Rensan, maybe there's help on the way…”
”Really? But how…?”
”It looks like a magician has found this place. They might come to help.”
”But you don't know when they might come to rescue us, right?”
”Un…”
The familiars have certainly seen their situation. However, it wasn't clear when the help would arrive, if any.
”This… is the worst, I want it to end soon…”
”I don't care about being saved… but I'll get back at them.”
Her first companions in this world were glaring at the bandits as if to kill them with their gaze. There were three other fellow mercenaries accompanying Iris on this escort mission, but they left a bad impression on her after they met for the first time, and thus, they didn't get along with each other.
They really wanted help to come soon.
(If you're coming to help, come quickly!… no more…)
Eyes full of l.u.s.t gathered on the two young women. They could only regret that they might be raped next, before they would get here.
Thirty minutes after they started to follow after the bandits' traces upstream.
The knight squad, including Zero and his disciples, have finally arrived at their hideout. There's a boat laying by the river, with which, they seemed to have carried their loot.
”So they were river bandits…”
”Are these guys the Mobus bandits?”
”I don't know, but the rumor is that they were some ill-bred lot that separated from the main group of bandits.”
”So they were marked as traitors by the leader and escaped here?”
”Well, who cares. Let's destroy everything!”
”Now, let me hear a good scream hehehehe…”
It was hard to tell who were the bandits in this situation.
The waves of the knights' killing intent aura were already at the levels of a violent storm.
”What do we do about the hostages? Women, children and some men are gathered around the center of their lair.”
”They're threatening the hostages with those children and are about to rape them.”
”Nii-sama… You aren't peeping, right?”
Celestina's freezing gaze was stabbing deep into Zweit. After all, this is an emergency situation. As time pa.s.ses, the hostages lives get progressively endangered.
”How insensitive… Do you think I'm a monster?”
”It's not like that, and well, somehow we need to attract their attention…”
”We'll surround them and beat them to a pulp… we'll make them regret being born kukuku.”
”Do we have poison?”
”I think we do, right? You guys have a terrible personality…”
Their plan was quite horrifying, but for them, these bandits were nothing more than trash, so there was no reason to make it easy for them.
Subjugating bandits was also the knights' job, but most of the times they just charge head on into their hideouts, instead of encircling them or using more sly methods, so more often than not, the bosses end up escaping through back doors.
After all, The knights are mobilized in large numbers, so bandits would know when they were going to be raided by them just by keeping a watch for the moment they start making their preparations to sortie.
Ultimately, that's because when knights move, so does gold. Such as by purchasing supplies, as well as when weapons and food are transported into forts and other garrisons. In addition, when knight scouts are frequently spotted, the bandits are, naturally, on high alert.
That's the biggest factor responsible for the failures in the subjugation of large bandit bands, be that is it may, at least small bandit groups were more predictable, to a certain extent.
Countries are not the only ones to have information networks. It's natural for merchants and even bandits to have them as well.
There were information management organizations by the name of guilds, with each profession having its own information network.