The next morning, the members of the caravan gathered for breakfast and were taken aback.
âW-What is thisâŚ?â
Brett, the leader of the âFlame Wolves,â was visibly shaken. The others were in a similar state.
Only the client and the leader of âDragon Breath,â Bart, seemed to maintain a certain level of composure, suggesting they were already aware of the situation.
What they saw was⌠Myle and Reina in Ecland Academy uniforms, and Pauline in Ecland Academy sports attire.
This was part of Reinaâs plan to lure the thieves.
Myle, who wore his uniform almost all the time during his school days except when sleeping, had to replace it multiple times due to wear and tear. Eventually, there were no uniforms left that fit perfectly, so he was given slightly larger ones. This is why there was a uniform that fit Reina perfectly. Since the proposer couldnât refuse, Reina, who was reluctant, was forced to wear it.
However, Mavis noticed something. Despite her show of reluctance, Reina seemed quite pleased.
And the unfortunate one was Pauline.
Myleâs sports attire, which he wore when not in uniform, i.e., when sleeping, was stretchable. Therefore, even if it didnât fit perfectly, it could be worn with some effort.
Pauline, who was made to wear it, was⌠well, very tight. Certain areas⌠and certain areas⌠and certain areasâŚ
âH-HuhâŚâ
And Mavis, the only one who managed to escape the Ecland Academy uniform series, thought to herself.
Thank goodness. Iâm glad Iâm tall enough.
Reina, with slightly flushed cheeks, and Pauline, with a completely red face, were pitifully looked at by Mavis and the usual Myle.
After breakfast and the cleanup, the members of âRed Oathâ each sat next to the drivers of the first four carriages.
âPlease take care of us.â
The old driver of the lead carriage, who was smiled at by Myle, responded with a laugh.
âSure thing. Thanks for the meat last night!â
While chatting with the driver to pass the time, Myle learned why this old man, who was quite advanced in age, was driving the carriage.
âWell, I had already retired, but when I heard that the drivers for the carriages heading to Amros were short, I thought, âIf itâs a dangerous route, an old man who doesnât mind dying can go.â
The other drivers must have thought the same, as four out of the six carriages were driven by retired old men.
Besides, my daughter and son-in-law run a business in Amros. If they are attacked while out of town for supplies or something, it would be terrible.
I thought I was just waiting for the end, but it turned out I had a meaningful place to die. The goddess must have a good sense of humor. Haha!â
âH-HmmâŚâ
While giving a half-hearted response, Myle thought to himself.
(Sorry, but I canât let you die here. If you want a place to die, look for it later, in a different placeâŚ)
Mavis, Pauline, and Myle decided to take on this mission for several reasons. Of course, Reina was a factor, but that alone wasnât enough to change their minds.
First, the reward for the mission was low compared to the risk involved.
This wasnât because the merchants were greedy, but because they had to transport essential goods to Amros, where trade had almost ceased, and had to load a lot of low-margin items, making the budget tight. No matter how much they wanted to support a regular customer, merchants couldnât afford to run a business that would result in a loss from the start.
Thus, the low reward for the high risk was understandable. However, whether to accept it was a different matter.
Next, the issue of whether to take on the mission with the goal of killing bandits.
Accepting a mission with the goal of killing bandits, or intentionally luring them, would be considered an out-of-scope action. However, if the mission explicitly stated that the goal was to kill bandits and offered a 50% bonus for it, it would be considered a âcombined escort and extermination mission,â and the luring would be at the clientâs request, with the consent of the other members, making it acceptable.
Then, how to view the high probability of combat.
Of course, it wasnât guaranteed that they would be attacked. The bandits might have just attacked another caravan, or they might not be active every day. They might have moved to another country. However, the probability of being attacked was higher than with a regular escort mission. It was all a matter of luck. Each of the three had their own thoughts on this, but they didnât discuss it in depth.
Regarding the âcute outfit plan,â Mavis, as a front-liner, was excluded because it took time to equip her sword and armor, and she couldnât wear Myleâs clothes. The other mages, who could equip their armor quickly, all participated, especially due to Myleâs strong insistence.
Reina, as the proposer, had no right to object, and Pauline, who was dragged into it by the other two, had no choice but to comply. This led to the disaster of Pauline only being able to wear sports attire.
Mavis, fearing that any comment might backfire, simply pretended to be an outsider.
Myle, Reina, and Pauline decided to wear Myleâs school clothes, except for the boots, which took some time to change and were hunter-style from the start.
They didnât wear the outfits on the first day because bandits usually donât appear near the capital, but the main reason was to avoid being seen by acquaintances in the capital.
They had practiced putting on their armor multiple times, so they could do it quite quickly. As long as they werenât ambushed, they would be fine. Of course, the mages werenât meant to engage in close combat, and the leather armor they wore wouldnât completely protect them from sword or spear attacks, so it was more of a psychological comfort.
While Myle was chatting with the driver, a reaction came from the exploration magic he had secretly cast.
(Hmm, these are⌠orcs. Six of them.)
Myle jumped from the driverâs seat onto the top of the carriage and signaled to the rear carriages with hand signals.
The rear carriages slowed to a stop, and after confirming this, Myle instructed the old driver to stop and jumped off the carriage, running forward.
(There they are!)
Myle hid behind a large tree and observed the situation.
As expected, six orcs. Whether they had spotted the carriages from a high place and moved ahead, or they had just encountered them by chance, they would have met if the carriages continued. There was no choice but to fight here.
Myle couldnât take too many risks when explaining to the other hunters. He took a slingshot from his item box and held it in his left hand, taking out a metal ball about the size of a pachinko ball with his right hand.
(Why does the size of the pachinko ball in the adult version fit the slingshot here so perfectlyâŚ? Is there some etymological connection? Maybe itâs the common point of âshooting a ballâ?)
While thinking about irrelevant things, Myle loaded the metal ball into the slingshot, which is also known as a pachinko ball holder.
This time, instead of the usual small stones for small animals, he used a metal ball because orcs, unlike small animals, have thick flesh, and he was worried that the stones would shatter and embed in the flesh. No one likes to find a âcrunchâ or âgrindâ in their meat, and if a tooth broke here without a proper dentist, it would be a problem⌠Does healing magic restore teeth? Or do they fall out and new ones grow? Either way, Myle didnât want to try it.
Or maybe orcs can crush and digest stones� The thought became increasingly scary, so Myle stopped thinking about it.
This time, instead of the usual small animal target, he extended his left hand to the maximum and adjusted his right hand to stretch the carbon nanotube to about two-thirds of its maximum length.
(Aim carefullyâŚ)
Bam!
âŚBang!
Bam!
âŚBang!
Bam!
âŚBang!
The sound of firing and hitting echoed three times in quick succession, and Myle, drawing his sword, leaped out from behind the tree.
Suddenly, a large hole appeared in the belly of one of the orcs, and blood and flesh splattered. Then, the heads of two other orcs were blown off, causing the remaining three orcs to fall into chaos. Myle, seeing the first orcâs belly explode and realizing that âa significant part of the meat is damaged,â changed his aim to the head.
Myle charged into the confused orcs, swinging his sword as he ran through them.
Swish!
Thud, thud thud!
Behind Myle, the upper bodies of the three orcs separated from their lower bodies, spewing blood as they fell to the ground. Not a single drop of blood touched Myleâs clothes.
âY-YouâŚâ
Turning around at the voice from behind, Myle saw the members of âDragon Breathâ staring at him and the orc corpses with their mouths half-open.
âWhy did you go alone without telling anyone!â
That evening, in the camp, Myle was scolded by Bart.
âIf you find orcs, you should report to me first! You were just a few meters away, separated by a single curtain, and you went alone without saying a word!â
âS-SorryâŚâ
âSorry isnât enough! Give me a reason, a reason!â
At a loss, Myle decided to tell the truth.
âImagine, Bart, that youâre on an escort mission and youâre walking at the front, and you see a baby horn rabbit in the middle of the road.â
âAhâŚ?â
âWhat would you do?â
âYouâd kick it away, âŚwait, you wouldnât!â
âYou wouldnât make a big fuss and call everyone, right?â
âAre you saying the six orcs were like baby horn rabbits to you! A C-rank rookie, getting cockyâŚâ
Bart, patting Myle on the shoulder, trailed off.
âLeader, itâs not very convincing when you say it while gnawing on the orc meat you hunted alone, is it?â
Vera, a party member, pointed out, and Bart looked at the orc meat in his left hand. It was his third piece, and the next one was almost ready.
âS-Sorry⌠I signaled the rear carriages, but I forgot to inform the people in my carriage⌠Iâll be more careful in the futureâŚâ
Myle, exuding a dejected atmosphere, finally brought Bartâs lecture to an end.
Bart wasnât trying to bully Myle; it was important to establish a command structure for the joint mission of the three parties, and he was concerned for Myleâs safety. Myle understood this and could only sincerely apologize, and the party members didnât defend him.
âAlright, thatâs enough. Eat up. Itâs the orc you hunted.â
Myle, finally allowed to eat the orc meat, was then approached by Calum, the sub-leader of âDragon Breathâ and another swordsman.
âHey, where did you learn that sword technique? How did you split the orcsâ torsos in half, three in a row?â
His eyes were fixed, even though he hadnât had any alcohol.
âI-I split their torsos because the sword couldnât reach their necksâŚâ
âThatâs not what Iâm asking! Donât try to dodge the question!â
Myle, in a bind, was helped by the archer, Vera.
âNow, now⌠The poor boy is already in trouble. Men who are too persistent are disliked, you know.â
Calum, who seemed to be intimidated by Vera, grumbled but backed off.
âThank you⌠Vera, thank you!â
Relieved, Myle thanked Vera, who had helped him.
âItâs nothing. Itâs a small favor.
By the way, we only saw you charge in with your sword. You had already taken down three before that, right? I saw the bodies, but there were no signs of fire, ice, earth, or wind magicâŚ
Did you use some kind of unusual ranged weapon?â
(Oh no!)
As Myle backed away, he felt something soft behind him.
Sweating, Myle slowly turned around to see the mage, Ginny, grabbing his shoulder with a full smile.
âWas it magic? Some interesting magic?â
âAaaah!â
It seemed Myle would have to wait a while longer before he could eat the orc meat.