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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
Usually, once an offering was sealed at the production site, it was not to be opened again until it reached the King.
It was likely that the intruder and those behind the intrusion took advantage of this and decided to exchange the offering for something else.
However, since the fake was originally placed there, it did not matter even if it was replaced.
Reine had anticipated that this would happen along the way and had prepared various countermeasures.
One such measure was the preparation of a fake offering.
It was not so easy to obtain a copy of the sealed offering, but he did. It was mainly because the goods they were carrying this time were items greatly sought after by the royal family, which allowed him such leeway.
Now, the group was optimistic that the journey to the capital would be uneventful.
Unfortunately, reality was not that kind.
On the morning of the second day after leaving the city, Nana reacted to something.
At first, they thought it was a monster approaching, but it soon turned out to not be the case.
They also thought it might be another party messing with them, but that soon turned out not to be the case as well.
When Mitsuki identified the people in the distance, she found out that they were watching the merchants.
Yes, they were the real ones this time, actual bandits.
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Kousuke was sitting by the campfire he had built for lunch, eating a meal prepared by Mitsuki. Nana was lying down right beside him.
Nana, who had finished her own meal, was being smothered by adventurer women, a group which included Carla.
During the not-too-short time she had been with them as escorts for the merchants, she had become quite familiar with Kousuke’s group.
At first, Nana was wary and unapproachable, but once Kousuke first gave the go-ahead, the rest of the day went by like this.
Kousuke spoke to Carla, who was eating and petting Nana.
“I think it’s about time, are you sure you want to do that?”
What he meant was the bandits they had found earlier in the morning.
The fact that they were having a leisurely meal here was an invitation for the bandits to take action. The other party most likely believed they had let their guards down.
In fact, the bandits did not know they were already aware the bandits were gathering.
From the way they have been behaving since the morning, and the familiar presence of each one, it was clear these bandits had made this area into their stronghold.
“It’s fine. If we don’t do things the same way as usual, they won’t let their guard down, will they?”
Looking at Carla happily cuddling with Nana, it was probably a bit of a stretch to say whether she was being serious.
Either way, what Carla said was certainly true, so Kousuke stopped further commenting.
Just then.
The voice of someone who had finished eating earlier, and was on the lookout, announced.
“Here they come!”
With that signal, the female adventurers, who had been all over Nana, immediately got into battle stance.
Nana stood up as well, but was restrained by Kousuke.
“Nana, you’re not going to get a turn this time.”
Nana growled in frustration at Kousuke’s words.
“It can’t be helped. I was told not to take any more jobs.”
There was a reason Kousuke said so with a wry smile.
After discussing the situation with the other adventurers when they found the bandits, it was decided that Kousuke and his team would be put off until they were needed.
After all, they had so far taken care of everything. Yet, their request was to deliver the goods safely. Not to protect the convoy, and the other adventurers. So, Kousuke’s group had been left to their own devices.
Of course, Kousuke and his group were outnumbered in this sentiment. Even so, it was not like they did nothing. It was just that compared to before, they did way less.
“Well, let’s just sit here and wait for the results.” Saying this, Kousuke reached out his hand to Nana’s back and slowly began patting it.
Perhaps, because that put Nana in a better mood, and she happily wagged her tail around.
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While Kousuke and Nana were relaxing, the bandits were already closing in on the merchant group.
Perhaps because they were encouraged by the number of people who were more than double the number of the merchant group, a smile was on their faces.
They looked like wolves who had found a flock of sheep.
However, the fact that these supposed sheep were wolves in disguise was the beginning of their misfortune.
As had probably been the case in the previous raid, they were not a group that could be pushed around by sheer numbers – even if the adventurer group’s individual abilities were not very high.
To put it bluntly, they were not complete amateurs but were not exceptional either. Thus, even they were no match against the violence of numbers. Nevertheless, they were not afraid. They had survived numerous attacks up to this point. In the fact of overwhelming numbers, they could still calmly handle the situation.
They probably had a sense of security knowing that Kouhi and Mitsuki were standing behind them.
The feeling that they could handle it, even if one of them had to leave the line of fire, even if they needed to do something reckless, was a factor that allowed them to demonstrate their true abilities.
“What the hell are you doing! There are only ten opponents!”
The head of the bandits, perhaps impatient with his companions who were being knocked down one after the other, was shouting with impatience.
The fact that he was in command and was watching from the rear without taking part in the battle was a disaster.
The bandit leader gritted his teeth as the number of his men got reduced one by one.
He was thinking that the number of people protecting the convoy made this a tasty catch, especially compared to the number of merchants. However, they were far for skilled than he had anticipated.
Of course, they were not aware that among the goods the merchant group was carrying were offering for royalty. That the adventurers would be one step above the usual level of skill to protect them.
It was a shallow and reckless assumption, but then again, that was how bandits operated.
However, the leader of the bandit group, which had a decent number of people, was quick to decide.
Realizing that it was useless to go any further, the leader immediately decided to retreat.
He then sent a signal to retreat by blowing a finger whistle.
After confirming that his companions were escaping, the bandit leader also turned on his heel against the merchants in an attempt to escape.
“Oh my. Where are they going?”
The bandit leader’s gaze changed color when he saw a beautiful woman standing ahead of them.
The raid on the merchant group had failed, but he figured that bringing back one of these beauties would be enough to make up for it.
He had no idea that it would be the difference between his own fate and that of the others.
Mitsuki did not miss the bandit leader who stopped moving for a moment. While thinking of something else, she quickly decided to cut off his head.
“Huh?!” The bandit leader, who was able to notice the blade approaching his neck, was skilled in his own right. However, all he could do was notice the blade approaching.
Having decapitated the leader so quickly, Mitsuki looked around as if she had immediately lost interest.
“Oh dear. I guess Mitsuki-san ended up taking most of the credit again.” One of the adventurers, who had a talkative personality, approached Mitsuki after the attacking bandits had escaped and said so.
Though, that was just a one off comment. She knew once Mitsuki appeared, she would no longer need, or could do anything at this point..
“I wonder if I can take credit for something like this?”
“What are you talking about? This is the bandit leader, you know?” The female adventurer replied to Mitsuki’s words with a chuckle.
In the end, the bandits’ attack did not have much of an impact on their journey, which ended up being a minor event.
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