Volume 4 Chapter 33 The Magician Shows Their True Abilities, But...
'Hey, don't forget about me!'
Gram shouts through telepathy, as if trying to make his presence known, and then I summon him back to me.
As I pass through the destroyed gate while carrying the spear, I find that the hideout is already in chaos.
The mercenaries who went ahead are causing quite a commotion. They are tasked with drawing attention away from the bandits.
"But, is it really okay?"
Aina looks towards the commotion at the back of the hideout. It's hard to see from here, but the sound of metal clashing indicates that the advance team is fighting.
"From what I can see, more than half of them are veterans, unlike us. They should have a lot of experience in personal and group combat as mercenaries. It won't be easy to catch up with them."
"Anyway, we originally planned to face the bandits with our 12 members, but now we're facing them with only half our numbers. We can't afford to waste time."
Mikage said calmly, with Rudel adding to her statement. Though his tone was light, the content was far from optimistic.
"Mercenaries! They've come over here too!"
Turning towards the sound of the voice, we saw two dirty men in shabby armor heading our way.
I prepared my spear to confront them, but Rudel and Gaddis moved before me.
"This――"
"Too bad. We don't have time to deal with you guys."
Rudel wielded a bastard sword, capable of being handled with either one or both hands. He stepped forward deeply toward the approaching bandits and swung his blade as they passed by. The bandits fell to the ground without even a chance to react.
"You scoundrels!"
"...".
One of the men, enraged by what had happened to his companion, swung his sword at Gaddis in front of him. However, Gaddis had a heavy shield in front of him. Despite the loud noise, the man's sword was easily blocked by the shield. Before he could pull back his sword, he was slashed by the one-handed sword swung by Gaddis.
"...Rudel, I don't want you stepping forward like that."
"Haha, sorry about that. I'll rely on you when needed, Gaddis."
In response to Gaddis' complaint, Rudel cheerfully replied. Seeing no signs of remorse in Rudel, Gaddis sighed.
Despite having just killed someone, the two of them did not seem to feel that way at all, and I was a little surprised. It was clear that both of them were more experienced than me.
Regaining our focus, we started running.
Our role as the backup group is to quickly rescue the prisoners and take them to a safe place. After releasing the prisoners, we will regroup with the lead team to eliminate the bandits.
Rudel was right, the burden on the less numerous but more experienced vanguard group increases with time. We needed to hurry.
"Yukina-sama, over here!"
Mikage had pinpointed the location of the prisoners during our investigation. We chose a route that avoided the bandits as much as possible and ran towards the tent indicated by her.
In front of the tent were three men who seemed to be lookouts for the bandits. As they noticed our approach, they hurriedly reached for their swords.
"Hah!"
Quickly, Kyunei's hand flicked and her thrown knife pierced the hands and shoulders of the bandits. The bandits winced in pain from the blade piercing them.
"Well done!"
Mikage praised and swiftly stepped forward. In an instant, three flashes of silver light, and before we knew it, the bandits had fallen. "...As expected."
I also praised Mikage, but my voice grew quiet naturally. bandits were lying on the ground at her feet. I could see 'red stains' spreading on the ground.
I have killed a 'person' before.
But, they were 'demons (mazoku)', the ones who threatened the royal capital, and their blood was blue.
However, it's not that "different" but probably it was the first time I witnessed the death of a 'human'.
――I feel a bit heavy now with 'this'.
From now on, I'm starting to feel a little nervous.
'.........'
Gram doesn't say anything. It seems like he's deliberately keeping his mouth shut. It might be Gram's way of showing consideration.
"...Let's help the prisoners!"
I tried to disguise my feeling of getting depressed by speaking out loud.
We rushed into the tent just like that.
Mikage's prediction was right. Inside, there were people chained up and restrained. There were almost ten of them. There were not only women, but also well-dressed men. At the end of the chains, there were heavy iron balls, making it seem like their movements were restricted.
When we suddenly entered, all the prisoners showed surprised and frightened reactions.
"Please calm down! We are sent here by the Mercenary Guild! We've come to help all of you!"
This is where Aina's charisma came into play. The fear in the prisoners seemed to fade away upon hearing the resolute voice coming from the beautiful girl.
After the prisoners had regained some composure, Aina looked at Kyunei. Kyunei nodded and stepped forward.
"We are going to escape from here now! Is there anyone among you who cannot walk? If there's anyone who is seriously injured, please raise your hand or have someone nearby raise their hand for you!"
Among the prisoners, a few raised their hands slowly. Kyunei quickly ran to those who raised their hands and knelt down beside them, opening a bag with medicine.
"I am a doctor. You will be fine now."
With a gentle smile to ease the tension, Kyunei immediately began healing.
Meanwhile, I started breaking the chains connecting the prisoners and the iron balls.
"When times like this come, I'm glad you're here."
'Well, I greatly appreciate that.'
Ignoring Gram's arrogant telepathy, I slammed the heavy black spear against the chain. Luckily, it was not made of very strong metal, so the chain broke easily.
――Up to this point, things had been going surprisingly smoothly. But from here on, things would not be so easy.
"Oh no, Black Blade! The other bandits is coming! They must have discovered our plan!"
Rudel, who was on guard outside, let out a shout of alarm. Peeking through a gap in the curtains blocking the entrance, I could see nearly ten bandits heading our way.
'With this group, we might not have a hard time fighting, but unfortunately, we have protectees right now. It's a bit tough to fight while keeping everyone safe.'
Gram calmly analyzed, as I shouted in frustration.
"Kyunei! Are you ready yet?"
"Sorry! It'll take a little more time!"
Kyunei was earnestly casting healing spells on the captives. Though I felt like sighing, her desperate efforts were apparent, so I clenched my teeth instead.
Suddenly, someone passed by my side.
"Aina!?"
She stepped out of the tent, pointing her staff toward the bandits coming our way.
"Flare Bomb!"
As the tip of her staff glowed, a mass of flames burst forth. It landed right in front of the bandits, causing a huge explosion.
A few people who were leading the way got caught up, causing those following to stop in their tracks.
The bandit who just took a hit from the magic spell lay motionless on the ground. Aina, witnessing this, shrugged slightly and then firmly gripped her staff before turning back to the tent. I bravely shouted,
"If you can't move, then that's a situation magicians excel at! While I buy us time, hurry with the healing!"
As Aina said, a magician's specialty lies in standing still and unleashing powerful magic. Even though she knew this, there should have been a reluctance within her to attack humans. Yet, she moved forward determined to fulfill her role.
Feeling guilty for letting herself do such things, I also felt a fire spark in my heart.
Aina, who was a princess just the other day, is now pushing herself. She cannot show an embarrassing side of herself to others like that.
I also resolved not to lose to Aina.
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