Chapter 54

The thieves had bruises and broken bones but no serious injuries such as life – threatening. All of them were tied up.

As a result of interrogating the leader and other people, these thieves were just ordinary thieves, not the large-scale thieves group. Recently the number of carriages drastically declined, and if there was any. It will be a really large-scale merchant group that hired a lot of escorts. After a long time, a rather small merchant group appear so they attack right away.

“… we should kill them!” (Rena)

“Well …” (Bart)

And now, talks about treatment of thieves who caught were being held.

“There’s still a day and half until we reach Amuros town but it’s troublesome to take these guys because we can’t afford to prepare a horse-drawn carriage for them.

And if we let them walk, the speed of travel will be delayed and we will not be able to arrive at Amuros within tomorrow.

Besides, there is a possibility that they can remove the rope at midnight and kill us…

Certainly, if we take them to the city, we will receive some of the money from selling them as a criminal slave besides the reward.

But right now we are under  an important escort request, we can’t affort to have more luggage. We only need some proof to show the guild!“ (Rena)

Rena insists so strongly, and the thieves are trembling after hearing it.

“No, … to me, even if they are enemies, I will not kill them after catching and disabling them. And I will not hesitate to kill if they plan anything to harm us” (Bart)

Bart wants to keep them alive, but I don’t know whether he doesn’t want to have unnecessary killing, or he want the criminal slave’s reward.

Eventually, it was decided by a majority vote, 12 guards, four merchants took decisions. The coachmans aren’t included.

The result was 9 to 7, so we will take them alive.

What surprised me was that all the merchants were raising their hands to “kill”, but it may be natural if I think about it. Their orginal plan for this trading group are to kill all the thieves.

And the thieves were treated by Pauline and Mile. Of course the girls only treat their leg, for them to be able to walk and the other parts were left untreated to reduce the risk even a little. Mile still plan to treat them when handing over to the official constitution in Amuros. If so, the value will not go down when they are sold as a criminal slave after the interrogation.

At the time of movement, only the leader was tied up and inside the carriage, the other six tied hands, wrapped a rope around their neck and connected to a carriage one by one. If you do not want to walk, your neck is squeezed. Whether walking or becoming a dead body and being dragged, it was left for the bandits themself to choose. With this, we can travel without worry. The reason why they were tied one by one in each carriage, is to avoid giving them any chance to help each other.

By the way, it was Pauline who proposed this method.

The four people of『Red Oath』stopped sitting on the each carriage like before. everyone was on the fourth carriage. And everyone still equipped their hunter equipment.

The atmosphere of the four people was not very good.

“Rena, why did you try to use lethal magic at that time? All the other thieves were disabled and there was plenty of room. We also need to collect information, so we should keep them alive. And Rena, you could just use any non-lethal magic to capture”  (Maevis)

“Because we don’t have to keep them alive, we don’t know when the thieves will betray you even if you spare them. And they had been killings countless people until now so they don’t have any right to complain when it’s their turn to be killed” (Rena)

Rena responded to Maevis in a blistering manner.

“No, we can do it in battle, but it will be different after we already disable and capture them. We will get reward if we properly handed them over to the official constitution. The “first time killing”that Rena wanted us to experience is different with killing the opponents like this?” (Maevis)

“…” (Rena)

Rena is silent.

“…Obsessed with killing thieves, Rena, you aren’t like usual! What happen with those thieves?” (Pauline)

With Pauline’s question, Rena who had been silent for a while, whispers in a small voice.

“… It was …” (Rena)

“Huh?” (Mile + Maevis + Pauline)

“They were killed! Everyone, both father and colleagues, were killed by bandits!” (Rena)

And then Rena started talking about her past to the party.

***

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Rena was the daughter of a peddler.

When she first know it, she had always traveled with her father with a single carriage and go from the village to the village. There is no memory of the mother.

Rena, which has potential for magic, she was able to create enough water for the horse and both her and her father, she was also able to lit the fire.

“It was a great help when I have Rena” (Rena’s dad)

“E he he he…” (Rena)

Although they are neither rich nor poor, the journey with her father as a peddler was a lot of fun. This life will end when save enough money to set up a shop in town, or when Rena get married …

But that time suddenly came.

It was when Rena was ten years old. While moving to the next village, Rena who was resting at the front of the platform, suddenly heard a loud shout from her father.

“It’s a bandit! Get in the carriage and hide!” (Rena’s dad)

Rena hurried hide herself into the gap of the goods load in the loading platform. It was not the first time this happen.

But even thieves still know that peddlers who can’t hire an escort with a horse carriage don’t have a lot of money and even if they rob, they can only get some goods and agricultural tools, they are bulky and there’s not much profit. So, normally they will leave those peddler alone and aim for prey that seems to be more profitable.

But occasionally, there are thieves that come stealing even the carriage that don’t have much money. In that case, if you hand all your money to them, the bandits will let the merchant go. Because the more damage cause by the thieves, the higher probability that the troops will be assembled.

And it is more profitable for the thieves to earn money and if they let merchant pass through this road than killing the merchant and stole the whole cargo which isn’t worth anything. If the thieves let the merchant go, the merchant will lose his money, but if the carriage and the sale are safe, rebuilding the business isn’t so difficult. When the merchant travel in the future, the thieves have more chance to steal again.

Her father is preparing money like usual. It was the bad luck that he had encountered several times before and this time, it was just like the number of that bad luck was increased one.

However, he still worry because he heard that the thieves in this area are bad.

“Do not be silly! Do you have only this much!” (Thief leader)

“Well, even if you said that, sale money will be use to purchase the goods for the next sale … I’m also eating with that slight difference, I don’t any money left on hand”  (Rena’s father)

“I don’t need to know such things! We need money!

Then, I suppose we are going to take all the items and foods in the carriage … Hey!” (Thief leader)

With the thief leader signal, the four bandits begin to climb on the carriage.

“Please, stop, if you steal everything, business will be…” (Rena’s father)

Her father desperately tried to stop Rena from being found, but of course thieves could not listen to such words. The bandits came up to the loading platform and began to take everything that seems worthy inside the load, a cry was heard from the loading platform after a while.

“Iya, please stop it!” (Rena) (Iya! Yamete yo ~o!)

And Rena was dragged down from the platform.

“No, please don’t hurt her!” (Rena’s father)

The leader looks at Rena that was caught by his underlings, and started smiling.

“Take everything worth and that girl” (Thief leader)

“Please, stop, my daughter is only ten years old!” (Rena’s father)

“Don’t worry, I will not kill her, after playing with her to our heart content … I can make her live happily in some noble or rich place, as a slave, Hi~ya” (Thief leader)

At that time, the leader is laughing with was interupted by one of his underling.

“Leader, that was… !” (Thief B)

“What do you mean …” (Thief leader)

Rena’s eyes are filled with tear when the leader is laughing, but when she heard the bandits talking, she looks at the direction the bandit pointing …

“No, the hunters are coming!” (Thief leader)

There was a figure of four hunters running with full power to help the carriage attacked by the thieves.

Those one who become so low as thieves because they aren’t strong enough to become hunters. They stand no change against hunters with the same number. Besides, the hunter seemd to have magician.

Rena and her father aren’t sure the Hunters coming to help for reward or just for honor. but the Hunters are headeing torawd here with full motivation. Because the thieves were wasting a lot of time stealing goods and kind of distracted by Rena and her father. They were late to notice.

“Sh**, get away, take your daughter!” (Thief leader)

With the order from their leader, the thieves tried to raise Rena who was holding down in their horse.

However, Rena knew that she would be saved if she earned a little more time. She shake the hand of the thief and rolled down to the bottom of the carriage.

“Oh, sh**, this wen** …”

Although he was trying to drag Rena out from under the horse carriage in a hurry, Rena was clinging to the axle firmly with both her hands and feet. Even adult male was stronger than Rena but he still couldn’t drag her out in that situation. While doing so, the hunters who are pressing closer.

“Hey, little girl! you don’t care what happens to your father ?”  (Thief leader)

She heard the thief leader. Rena under the horse-drawn carriage didn’t see the situation, but it was easy to imagine. Perhaps her father is struck with a sword.

“If you’re not going to come out … your father will be like this!”  (Thief leader)

But Rena can’t hear any sounds or voices.

“You bast***,  let your daughter hear your scream … then, how about this?” (Thief leader)

“Gu, gua ~a…” (Rena’s father)

He was unable to endure it, her father who leaked the groan of pain.

“Stop it! Please stop it! I will come out!” (Rena)

“Rena, it’s useless, don’t … go out! Do…n’t … go… out…!” (Rena’s father)

Rena, who crawled out under the carriage without being able to endure the voice of his father’s anguish, was grapped by the arm of a thief.

“Father!” (Rena) (Otōsan!)

The moment when Rena shouted at her father who fell to the ground, he was stabbed with a sword on his right shoulder, and when Rena looked, it was the bandit leader who stab her father.

“Alright, this is already finished, so that the magician will be obliged to this …” (Thief leader)

The bandit leader pulled the sword out of her father’s shoulder and this time he pierced Rena’s father’s belly.

“Gū ~…” (Rena’s father)

After that the leader press his feed on Rena’s father body and take this sword out of her father’s body.

“Did you faint or you die … Oh well, that’s what you get for opposing me!” (Bandit leader)

“Hey!” (Four other thieves)

“Fatherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” (Rena) (Otōsannnnnnnn!)

Rena desperately swung her limbs and scratched the face of the bandits.

“It’s hurt, this wen**, quit strugging … you got it!” (Bandit B)

Rena kicked the belly of one of the thieves.

“Gua~!” (Bandit B)

“What are you going to do … hurry up, they are …, Uwa!” (Bandit leader)

Hi ~yun!

A arrow hit his cheek.

They leave everything and run away with full power.

“Hey, leader…!” (other bandits)

Other thieves noticed it, let go of Rena, and also moved to escape.

“Father, fatherrrr!” (Rena)

Her father use his last strengh grab Rena’s hands and speaking.

“Rena, … live happy … for both father and mother’s part …” (Rena’s father)

That was his last word, and his hand fell to the ground without any power left.

“FATHERRRRR !” (Rena) (O chichi sā ~a~a~an)

The hunters who finally reached the carriage, the magician cast the attack magic and the archer shot arrows on the escaped thieves, three of them are chasing the thieves, one remained in that place.

“Is everything okay! Are you injured?” (Magician Hunter)

“Father is… Father is!” (Rena) (Otōsanga! Otōsan ga)

A man who seemed to be a magician, stopped to look at the condition of her father immediately, but shook his head in a silent manner.

“A a~a, Father … ” (Rena) (A a~a, otōsan~)

After a while, the three hunters who were chasing came back.

Of the four bandits, two were taken down. Two people who were injured by arrows and attack magic were caught, but the remaining two seemed to have escaped. However, it was fortunate that one of them was the leader.

“If I don’t … if I do not get out from under the carriage and earn more time …”

To Rena repeating cried, one of the four hunters『Red Lightning Bolt』silently stroked her head.