Ero Skills Volume 1, Chapter 1 Part 6

Chapter 1, Part 6: Bandits

 

「Haah, haah, haah, hhah, hhaah!」

「Mmhh! Nnhh! Mmphh!」

「Meena, raise your arms more.」

「Y-Yes, sir.」

「That’s good.」

「Soiya!」

「Mhnn!」

「Huff! Huff! Teyandeii! Barooooooo!」

　After having breakfast with Meena at the inn, I am learning swordsmanship at the Welbard Swordsmanship Dojo again today.

　However, at this point, it seems like we’re just doing practice swings, which is boring. Also, my arms getting tired.

　I thought I would get terrible muscle pain, but surprisingly, my arm fatigue disappeared when I slept.

「My friend got attacked ……」

「I see, they come out again……」

「Bloodshadow bastard ……」

　Ione, Welbard, and Fritz are talking in hushed tones with dark expressions. I wonder if a strong monster has appeared. It’s concerning.

「Did something happen?」

　I asked Ione when she brought in the bread for lunch.

「Errr ……」

　Ione looked concerned about Billy standing next to her for some reason.

「There’s a bandits coming into town and they’re causing trouble.」

　Billy says, I see, but I guess they’re not just ordinary bandits, they’re the ones who rape and kill people.

「This is the royal capital, right?」

　I would think the security should be quite strong.

「About that, by the time the soldiers arrived, they had already escaped, and they seemed to be a handful. Maybe they have some, you know, skills.」

　Ione says with a difficult face.

「Ahh ……」

　That’s quite troublesome. I’d like to have some of those skills if they’re useful.

「Well, don’t worry about it. If I find them, I’ll take care of it.」

　Billy said brightly.

「Stop it, Billy. They must be quite formidable. Don’t try anything by yourself. Call an adult.」

　Ione said in a stern voice, apparently concerned for Billy’s safety.

「What? I’m already an adult!」

「What are you saying? You are just a beginner who has mastered the basics. Fine, if you beat me, I’ll knowledge you as an adult. Let’s have a match.」

「Wait! No way I can beat Ione!」

　Billy says in a panic. Welbard, who was watching their exchange, said:

「Fufu, well, it’s going to be tough to beat Ione. Right, when you reach rank C, you’ll be considered an adult. Billy needs more training.」

「Eehh? D rank is good enough, isn’t it ……?」

「No, There are D rankers everywhere, and even the bandits might have that rank.」

「Tch. I’m not going to lose.」

「Fumu, well, having confidence isn’t a bad thing, but Billy, try sparring with Meena.」

「Oh, sure? If I win, I’m an adult.」

「If you win, right?」

「Wait, father.」

「It’s okay. Alright, then. Meena, will you spar with him?」

「Yes, sir.」

「No need to hold back.」

「Keh, no way I’ll lose to a guy who’s only been here for three days.」

　Well, we’ll see about that.

　In the end, Billy lost by a narrow margin. His movements and techniques were good, but Meena was more agile and stronger.

「Damn it! I lost to a beginner!」

「You know, you’re still a beginner too, Billy.」

「Damn it. Can’t keep doing this!」

「Ah, Billy!」

　Billy threw down his sword and left the place. What a brat.

「Good grief, he’s got no patience either.」

　Fritz shrugs his shoulders, but it seems to be the usual thing. Maybe if we leave him alone, he’ll come back.

「I’m sorry.」

「No need to apologize, Meena. We’ve got to talk to him, or he might go off and face the bandits alone.」

　Welbard said that, you’re probably right. Billy seems a bit naive.

 

「If you’ll excuse us, sensei.」

「Mm, good luck with your adventures.」

　Sword lessons in the morning, adventure in the afternoon. That should be fine with that kind of daily life.

　As usual, we headed to the Adventurer’s Guild and checked the parchment on the bulletin board.

「Master, there’s a bounty on the head of the leader of a bandit.」

「Ah, 1000 gold, huh? That’s cheap.」

　It’s definitely better than the reward for hunting an F-ranked monster, but it’s not very appealing to me since I made a fortune with a gemstone.

「Cheap ……?

「Think about it. Multiple bandits can be a problem just by themselves. There’s also the possibility of being surrounded or ambushed.」

「Right ……」

　It seems like Meena was thinking of exterminating bandits, but it is too risky. The bandits in this world, the ones causing havoc in the capital, are probably high-level.

「Plus, it’s hard to find them.」

「Right.」

　Meena’s sense of smell would come in handy, but even so, we’d have to go see the sites where the bandits have looted.

　Isn’t there anyone among the soldiers with a good nose?

　I kind of doubt it. Oh well. We’ll hunt monsters instead. It’s easier if we know their level and can take them on by ourselves.

「Sorry to keep you waiting.」

　Ione came with her armor on, not that we had promised.

「Alright, let’s go then.」

「Yes, let’s go.」

　The three of us headed out of town. Then, Ione stopped in the middle of the street.

「What’s wrong?」

　Without saying anything, Ione gestured for me to be quiet and held her hand up. She seemed to be paying attention to something further down the street. I wait.

「I thought I heard a scream coming from this back alley.」

「Hmm? I see」

「Let’s go.」

「Hey, wait!」

　Before I could stop her, Ione ran toward the back alley.

　Tsk. Well, with a full-fledged swordsman like Ione, things probably won’t get too bad, can it?

　I don’t want to go, but if I abandon her and something happens to her, Welbard will be angry, and Fritz will probably be angry too.

　Seriously.

　Reluctantly, I followed her.

　As we turned the second corner, Ione stopped and searched for signs of life inside the house.

「Master, there are four or five people inside, engaged in sexual activity. There’s also the scent of blood.」

　Meena whispered.

「I see. What will you do, Ione?」

「It’s obvious. Haah!」

　Ione swung her sword towards the door and charged in. The door slid open without making a sound. “Wow”, I thought.

「Muh! Who the hell are you guys!?」

「No questions asked!」

「Wait, Meena!」

　Meena tries to enter the house, too, so I stop her.

「But…」

「You might get in Ione’s way. Anyway, we’re beginners and you’re supposed to protect me, right?」

「That’s right. I’m sorry.」

「Gyaaahhhh!」

　A man screamed, but, phew, Ione seems to have killed him. I’m relieved.

「Tch, I’m going to get the hell out of here!」

　A man in leather armor comes out of the door. Meena braced herself but didn’t attack him as I had instructed her not to.

「Kuhh! He got away! Geez!」

　Ione, who came out after him, gives us a stern glance but doesn’t say anything.

「Sorry. We didn’t know how skilled he was. We’re beginners, you know.」

「Yes, I know. They were quite skilled. For a bandit, though.」

「Hmm, that’s Bloodshadow. So ……」

「I’ll go after him. Excuse me, I need you to contact the soldier at the station.」

「Got it.」

　I’d feel bad if I didn’t at least take care of that. But it’s too much trouble for me to go.

「Meena, do you know where the station is?」

「It’s all right. Well then, I’ll go now.」

「Yeah.」

　She’s quick to act, which is helpful

「Uuhhh. ……」

　I heard a woman’s voice moaning inside the house, fumu, looks like the rape victim is still inside. It seems Ione was also preoccupied with chasing the culprit. No choice, I should call out to her.

「Hey, you okay?」

　I won’t jump in recklessly. I was mistaken for a rapist before, so I don’t want to repeat that mistake.

　The woman inside takes a deep breath and looks nervous.

「Don’t worry, my comrade has gone to the soldier’s station to call for help. They’ll be here soon.」

「……Uh, uuhhh….」

　Whether it’s due to severe injuries or shock, she doesn’t respond properly. I’m worried and peek inside

　Ugh, tsk, did she do the killing too?

　The homeowner, a man in plain clothes, lay dead in a pool of blood. Beside him, a half-naked woman was crying as if clinging to him. “Sigh”. …….

　I’m not into this kind of NTR.

　Anyway, I decided to wait for the soldiers to arrive and I left the doorway and turned around.

　There I saw Shiraishi

「Ueh!」

　I involuntarily let out a voice.

「Hmm? Hey, what were you doing in that house?」

「No, no, wait, don’t misunderstand me, ah, hey!」

　Shiraishi pushed me aside and entered the house.

「Ha!」

「Stop! Owahh!」

　It seems that Shiraishi misunderstood me as the culprit, and suddenly drew out a longsword and slashed at me!

　I also drew my sword and tried to defend myself, but Shiraishi was too fast and I couldn’t keep up, and the small shield on my left arm failed to protect me.

　There was an impact on my left arm. An excruciating pain ran through me.

「!!」

「You fiend!」

「Like I said, you’ve got it wrong! Kuhh!」

　Now this time I also drew my sword and managed to successfully block Shiraishi’s sword, but damn, is she trying to kill me?

「Listen to me.」

「I don’t want to hear it!」

　Despite her thin arms, she’s at a higher level than me. If I’m pushed back by force, there’s no choice but to run away.

「I won’t let you escape.」

「Uwohh, damn it!」

　It seemed like she read my thoughts, and in no time at all, she circled around me and cut off my retreat.

「Hey, you woman over there, explain the situation to her, ughh」

「Are you trying to threaten her? I won’t let you.」

　The idiot is waving her sword to intimidate me.

「Hey, where’s Erwin and the others?」

　This guy is useless. I look around for Shiraishi’s companion.

「Mughh ……That’s irrelevant now, isn’t it?」

「Hmm?」

　Something seems to have happened, but did they split up or something? However, why would it happen at this timing?

　The pain in my arm got worse, so I looked at my left arm, and blood was dripping heavily.

　This is really bad.

「I’m not the culprit. Meena is calling for the soldiers right now. Just wait a little.」

「That’s a lie…」

「I’m not lying. Anyway, just wait. I won’t run or hide.」

「Then why were you trying to run earlier?」

「About that, I just thought I couldn’t bear to see that person naked.」

「Eehh? This guy is the culprit, right?」

　The woman seems to be mourning and not reacting.

「Over here! Ah!」

　Meena came back with a soldier. Phew, I was saved.

「Mugh」

「W-Wait, please! He is not the culprit.」

　The soldiers also briefly misunderstood me as the culprit and tried to attack me, but Meena quickly stopped them

 

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