Published: September 2, 2025
※ Correction made on 2018/6/11.
This is Satou speaking. Since there are usually about 30 cockroaches for every one you spot, I always deal with them by spraying insecticide mist and wiping them out in one go.
I wish there was a similar method to wipe out bandits all at once...
â—‡
The first three days after leaving Nowkey Town were peaceful, but over the next two days, we encountered bandits three times.
Each time, it was a small group of seven or eight bandits. After Arisa and Mia cast preemptive spells, the beast girls would charge in and incapacitate them.
In the very first fight, Mia used Acid Mist, but the burns were so severe it was gruesome, so from then on she switched to Blind Mist or Mustard Mist.
I played a key role in disabling enemies in the first fight, but since the beast girls seemed eager to fight, from the second encounter onward I left it to them and watched from a position where I could back them up if needed. The beast girls were more than a match for the bandits, both in level and combat experience, so I never had to step in.
Having learned my lesson last time, I stopped taking captured bandits all the way back to the villages. Instead, I put them to sleep with Arisa’s magic, stripped all their equipment except their clothes, tied them up with vine ropes, and left them there. Without their gear, the bandit business would surely collapse. Even if they forced themselves to continue, they’d likely get defeated again.
I made sure they didn’t bleed to death by tearing their jackets into bandages to stop the bleeding. A patrol of light cavalry under the Count should pass by in a few hours, so I left them alive until then.
Just in case, I nailed a piece of paper reading “Bandits” to the tree they were tied to.
“They really don’t follow the usual template, do they?”
“Template?”
“Is that something tasty?”
Arisa was in a bad mood after our second encounter with bandits today.
While muttering “I want tempura~”, she rolled around on the floor of the wagon.
“What kind of template?”
“Normally, when you run into bandits, it’s supposed to be like the bandits are attacking a beautiful woman or a rich person’s carriage, and then you heroically come to the rescue, right?”
I have no idea about such templates.
“Arisa.”
“What? Mia.”
“A rich person.”
Mia said, pointing to me.
“A beautiful woman.”
Mia pointed to the other girls.
“Oh no! We’re supposed to be the ones getting saved according to the template!”
Arisa held her head, groaning. Mia looked satisfied watching her reaction. She had her usual composed face, but if you looked closely, the corners of her mouth were twitching.
Along with Pochi and Tama, Nana even copied Arisa and put her hands on her head in a troubled pose. Nana’s movements were a bit awkward, but I decided to just leave her be.
â—‡
“Master, blue people approaching.”
Responding to Lulu’s call, who was driving, I went out onto the driver’s seat. The “blue people” Lulu referred to were soldiers from the Count’s Domain. They called them that because their uniforms were all blue.
“We are knights of Count Cuhanow’s order. Call your representative.”
“I am Satou, the representative.”
“Oh, young man. This highway has frequent bandit attacks. Traveling unescorted is dangerous. You should return to town and hire mercenaries.”
“Thank you for your concern. I have excellent guards protecting us, so we’re fine.”
I opened the wagon curtain to show Liza’s face.
Liza, stop with that carnivorous smile, it’s scary.
“Hmm, she looks like a strong guard. But you should keep guards where bandits can see them; it acts as a deterrent.”
After giving that advice, they formally checked my ID and the inside of the wagon. Satisfied, the knights resumed their patrol.
â—‡
“Tada—cute, right?”
Arisa said as she twirled in front of me. She wore a one-piece dress adorned with frills on the shoulders, sleeves, and hem. Combined with her mystical purple hair, she really looked like a character from a fantasy movie.