The thieves, though bruised and broken, were all bound without any life-threatening injuries.
After interrogating the leader and others, it turned out that these thieves were not related to the large-scale bandit group from before but were ordinary thieves. Recently, the number of passing carriages had drastically decreased, and most of them were large convoys with many guards. This small convoy, with no guards and a wealthy-looking girl, was too tempting to resist.
"…They should be killed!"
"Hmm…"
Now, a discussion was taking place about how to handle the captured thieves.
"It's over a day and a half to the city. It's troublesome to bring them along. There's no room to put them in the carriage, and if we make them walk, our progress will slow down, and we won't reach Amros by tomorrow. Plus, there's a risk they might loosen their ropes at night and attack us…
True, we could get a reward and some money from selling them as criminal slaves if we bring them to the city, but we're in the middle of an important job right now. It would be better to just bring their heads back and claim the reward!"
Reina strongly argued this point, causing the thieves to tremble in fear.
"No, but… During combat, it's one thing, but killing them after they've been neutralized is another.
If their comrades were coming after us, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them…"
Bart seemed reluctant to kill unnecessarily, or perhaps he was considering the share of the money from selling them as criminal slaves and wanted to bring them alive.
In the end, it was decided by a majority vote. The 12 guards and 4 merchants voted, excluding the drivers.
The result was 9 to 7 in favor of bringing them alive.
Surprisingly, all the merchants, who seemed gentle, voted to kill them. Perhaps it was understandable, considering their perspective. The hunters who voted to bring them along weren't necessarily more humanitarian; they just thought it would be better to have a bit more income if there was no risk involved.
The thieves were treated by Pauline and Mile for any injuries that would hinder their walking, but the rest were left untreated to minimize the risk. They planned to treat them in Amros before handing them over to the authorities, so their value as criminal slaves wouldn't decrease, and there was a chance they might get paid for the treatment.
During the journey, the leader was tied up and placed in the carriage, while the other six were each tied by the hands and a rope around the neck, one to each carriage. If they didn't want to walk, their necks would be strangled. They were given the choice to walk or be dragged as a corpse. This prevented them from deliberately walking slowly to waste time. They were separated into different carriages to prevent them from conspiring or colluding before interrogation.
Incidentally, this method was suggested by Pauline.
The four members of 'Red Oath' were all in the fourth carriage, as they had been when they left the capital. They were still in their hunter gear.
The atmosphere among the four was not good.
"Reina, why did you try to use a lethal spell at that time? The other thieves were already neutralized, and there was plenty of time. From an information-gathering perspective, there was no need to use such a spell on the leader. Reina, you could have used any number of spells to capture them, right?"
"There's no need to keep them alive. Thieves are unpredictable and have likely killed or toyed with many honest people. They can't complain when it's their turn."
Reina pouted in response to Mavis's words.
"No, during combat, it's one thing, but after they've been neutralized, it's different. They will receive their punishment when handed over to the authorities. Was the 'first kill' you wanted us to experience about killing an unarmed person?"
"……"
Reina fell silent.
"…It's not like you to be so fixated on killing the captured thieves, Reina. Has something happened with the thieves…?"
After a long silence, Reina whispered softly in response to Pauline's words.
"…Please…"
"Huh?"
"They were killed! My father, my friends, everyone was killed by thieves!"
Then, Reina began to tell the party about her past.
Reina was the daughter of a traveling merchant.
By the time she was old enough to understand, she was already traveling from town to town and village to village with her father in a single carriage. She had no memories of her mother.
Reina had a moderate amount of magical power, somewhere between a convenience-level and a junior magician. She could produce enough water for the horses and their needs and start a fire.
"Having Reina around is a big help."
"Hehe…"
Though not wealthy, they weren't poor either, and the father-daughter merchant journey was quite enjoyable. This life would end when they saved enough money to open a shop in a town or when Reina got married…
But that day came suddenly.
When Reina was ten years old, during a move to the next village, her father, who was driving the carriage, suddenly shouted to her, who was resting in the front of the cargo area.
"Thieves! Hide in the cargo!"
Reina quickly hid in the gaps between the tightly packed goods. Being a traveling merchant, they had been attacked by thieves before.
Thieves usually didn't think that a single carriage without guards would have much money, and taking pots and farming tools for villagers wouldn't be profitable. They usually ignored such targets and went for more lucrative prey.
Occasionally, however, thieves would attack even unprofitable carriages if they were desperate for money. In such cases, if the merchants handed over their cash, the thieves usually left the carriage and goods alone. If the thieves caused too many problems, the chances of a hunting party being formed increased, and it was more profitable for the thieves to let the merchants earn more money and pass through again. If only the cash was taken, the merchants could usually recover from the loss.
So, Reina's father wasn't overly pessimistic about the attack. He saw it as just another unfortunate event, like the ones they had encountered before.
However, this time, the thieves were particularly desperate or ruthless.
"What the hell! Is this all you have?"
"Well, as you can see, we use the sales to buy goods in the next town… We live on the small profit, so we don't have much cash…"
"I don't care about that! We need money!
Fine, we'll take all the valuable items and food from the cargo… Hey!"
The leader of the four thieves then ordered his subordinates to search the cargo.
"Stop it! If the goods are damaged, our business will…"
Reina's father desperately tried to stop them from finding her, but the thieves ignored his pleas. The subordinates climbed into the cargo area and started searching for valuables. After a while, a scream came from inside the cargo.
"No! Stop it!"
Then, Reina was dragged out of the cargo.
"Hey, stop struggling!"
The leader, seeing Reina being held down by his subordinates, grinned.
"Looks like we found some 'valuable items'…"
"Stop it! My daughter is only ten years old!"
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her… After that, she'll live happily as a slave in some noble's or rich person's house. Hahaha!"
But then, one of the subordinates called out to the leader in a panicked voice.
"Boss! Look, over there!"
"What is it…"
The leader, who had been in a good mood, looked in the direction the subordinate was pointing.
"It's hunters!"
There, four hunters were running towards the carriage, apparently to help.
A former hunter who had turned to thievery couldn't stand up to an equal number of active hunters, especially when one of them appeared to be a magician.
The hunters, whether motivated by a sense of justice, a reward, or the bounty for the thieves' heads, were coming with determination. The thieves, distracted by Reina and the cargo, didn't notice them until it was too late.
"Damn it, let's run! Take the girl with us!"
The subordinates, following the leader's order, tried to stand up with Reina.
But Reina, realizing they could be saved if she just bought a little more time, broke free and rolled under the carriage.
"Damn it, this brat…"
The subordinates tried to drag her out from under the carriage, but Reina clung tightly to the axle with her hands and feet, making it difficult to pull her out. As the hunters got closer, the leader shouted.
"Girl! Don't you care what happens to your father?"
Reina, who couldn't see what was happening from under the carriage, could easily imagine the scene. Her father was probably being threatened with a sword.
"If you don't come out… I'll do this!"
But there was no sound or cry.
"Damn it, if you don't want to hear your daughter scream… Then, how about this!"
"Ugh…"
This time, her father couldn't hold back a groan of pain.
"Stop it! I'll come out, I'll come out!"
"No, Reina, don't come out! Don't come out, ugh!"
Reina, unable to bear her father's cries of pain, crawled out from under the carriage and was pulled up by the thieves.
"Father!"
Reina screamed as she saw her father, who had fallen to the ground with a sword in his right shoulder, being stabbed and twisted.
"Alright, this one is done for. Now, to keep the magician busy…"
The leader, pulling the sword out of her father's shoulder, stabbed him in the stomach.
"Ugh…"
Reina's father's body convulsed and then went limp.
"Damn, did I mess up? He's dead… Oh well, let's get out of here!"
"Roger that!"
"Father! Father!"
Reina, struggling desperately, scratched the faces of the thieves.
"Ouch, stop it, you brat… Ugh!"
She kicked one of the thieves in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Her toes sank into his lower abdomen.
"What are you doing! Hurry, they're… Ugh!"
Whoosh!
An arrow grazed the leader's cheek.
The leader, leaving his subordinates behind, ran away with all his might.
"Boss!"
Noticing this, the subordinates who were holding Reina let go and also fled.
"Father, Father!"
Reina's father, with his last strength, grabbed Reina's hand and spoke.
"Reina, be happy… Your father and mother…"
These were his last words, and his hand fell limp to the ground.
"Father! Father!"
The hunters finally reached the carriage and attacked the fleeing thieves with magic and arrows. Three of them pursued the thieves, while one stayed behind.
"Are you okay? Any injuries?"
"Father! Father!"
The magician, who stayed behind, immediately checked Reina's father's condition but shook his head in silence.
"Oh, Father…"
After a while, the three who had pursued the thieves returned.
Two of the four thieves were killed. The two who were injured by arrows and magic and slowed down were caught, but the other two escaped. However, it was fortunate that one of the caught thieves was the leader.
"If I hadn't been there… If I had stayed under the carriage and bought more time…"
Reina, sobbing, repeated this. The four hunters, 'Red Lightning,' silently patted her head.