The previous punishment had ended successfully, and the academy was on a holiday, so Cain finally showed his face at the Adventurer's Guild after a long time.
Since it was just before noon, there were hardly any adventurers around, and the reception area was quiet.
Seeing that Letia, the receptionist, was there, he called out to her.
"Letia, it's been a while. Do you have any good quests...?"
Since he had suddenly been promoted to A-rank, he had only taken on monster hunting quests, so he decided to ask Letia.
"Oh, Mr. Cain, it's been a while. Quests, you say. Before that, the Guild Master said he wanted to see you, so I'll take you to him."
Letia gave instructions to the other receptionists and came out from behind the counter.
"The Guild Master is on the upper floor, so I'll take you there."
Cain followed Letia up the stairs.
The Guild Master's office was at the back of the third floor, with a grand door at the entrance.
Letia knocked.
"Guild Master, Mr. Cain is here."
"Come in."
A voice came from the other side of the door, and Letia opened it and let him in.
Cain entered the room and was guided to a sofa.
"I'll bring you some tea right away."
With that, Letia left the room.
"Cain, it's been a while. Please, sit down. I was worried because you hadn't come to take on any quests for a while."
Cain greeted him from the sofa.
"Mr. Edin, it's been a while. I've been busy with school, so I haven't had much free time..."
"Well, I understand. Actually, I want you to take on the quest to eliminate the bandits we talked about before. Since you're officially an A-rank, I think you're qualified."
"I remember you mentioned it. Where do I need to go?"
At that moment, there was a knock, and Letia brought in the tea.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
She placed the tea in front of them.
"Letia, could you bring the files on the bandits?"
"Sure, I'll get them."
Letia left the room again.
"I'll explain once she brings the files."
A few minutes later, Letia returned with the quest documents and files.
"These are the files. Cain, this is related to you. This bandit group appears on the route from the Gracia territory to the capital."
Saying this, he spread out a map of the Esfort Kingdom and marked the locations of previous attacks.
"The bandit group is about ten people. Do you think you can handle it? I know it's a bit presumptuous to ask, but your strength isn't in question. The real issue is whether you can kill people..."
Edin seemed genuinely concerned about this.
"I'm not sure if I'll kill them, but I might capture them. I think I can handle it."
"Since it's about a day's journey from the capital, I'll set the quest deadline for three weeks. The reward is two gold coins. I'm counting on you."
"Understood. I'll head out right away."
Cain took the files and left the guild.
The two gold coins were worth about 2 million yen in Japanese currency. However, Cain, who had already made a huge profit through his partnership with the merchant guild, wasn't particularly fixated on the amount.
Once he entered a back alley, he used long-distance teleportation to transfer outside the capital.
He then took to the air and flew at an altitude of about 100 meters, following the road.
While flying over the capital, he observed the flow of carriages and people. A few kilometers ahead, he saw a carriage being attacked.
"There they are. I hope I'm not too late."
Cain accelerated and flew towards the scene.
The carriage was being attacked by ten bandits, as reported. There were two guards protecting the carriage.
He flew above the carriage and landed on the ground.
"I'm here to help!"
Cain drew his sword.
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a child.
"Wh-what?"
"A, Cain?"
"Mr. Cain?"
The carriage driver and the guards both recognized him.
"Sabinos? Ms. Nina?"
He saw another person. The other person had red hair tied back and was holding a sword, bleeding from several cuts.
"Ms. Milly!!!"
Realizing that Milly was injured, Cain quickly reached her.
"Hey, we've got another kid. Two women and a kid, they'll fetch a good price if we sell them."
One of the bandits licked his lips and laughed creepily.
"Cain! It's tough with this many. Can you help us break through?"
"Milly, I'll handle it. Please step back."
Saying this, Cain cast 'Heal' on Milly. The wounds that would have taken time to heal with a regular heal were quickly sealed with the 'High Heal.'
"Cain, ten is a bit much... I'm healed now, so I'll help too."
"Milly, the wounds are sealed, but the blood won't return. Please protect Sabinos. I'll take care of the rest."
The bandits laughed at Cain, who stood alone.
"What can a kid do? Kids should just suck on their mom's tits."
"Ha ha ha ha ha."
"That's all you've got... You'll have to pay for hurting Ms. Milly."
Cain didn't move but swung his sword in place.
One of the laughing bandits fell, his upper and lower body separated.
"Wh-what?"
The bandits, Milly, and Nina were all stunned.
Cain's sword skill had separated the bandit's upper and lower body with a single swing. It was impossible not to be shocked.
"This kid is dangerous. We need to get serious."
Cain had killed the first bandit, but he intended to capture the others. He knew they were involved in illegal slave trading because they talked about selling children.
Cain sheathed his sword and rushed into the bandits. He used the sheath to strike their stomachs and chins, and the remaining bandits fell instantly.
"Phew. It's still hard to control my strength..."
Saying this, he took out a rope from his item box.
"Ms. Milly, can you help me tie them up?"
Seeing Cain's movements, Milly, who had been frozen, finally started moving.
"Your movements... I could barely see them."
Milly took the rope from Cain and quickly tied up the bandits.
Once the bandits were captured, they took a breather.
"I'm glad I made it in time. Meeting you here is quite a coincidence."
"Thank you, Mr. Cain."
"Thanks, Cain. You saved us."
"Cain, you were amazing."
The three of them thanked him.
"Still, why are you here, Cain?"
Milly asked.
"I received a quest from the Guild Master to eliminate bandits. I found you being attacked while searching for them."
"Really... Cain, you're only ten, right? Capturing bandits is a C-rank quest. It's also part of the B-rank test."
Cain showed them his guild card, which was a golden card.
"A-rank!?"
"Sure enough, Cain..."
Milly and Sabinos were surprised, but Nina remained calm.
"Things happened, and I was forced to become A-rank."
"Let's talk about it on the way to the capital. What do we do with these bandits?"
"That's fine."
Cain took out a cart-like object from his item box. It looked like a truck without a roof or a driver's seat.
"Huh?"
Sabinos was surprised. Milly and Nina already knew Cain had an item box.
"Creation Magic."
Cain cast the spell, and the cart transformed into a cage.
"This should keep them secure. This cart runs on a magic stone, so we don't need horses."
"Still, Cain, you're unbelievable."
Milly laughed at Cain's explanation, while Sabinos was stunned.
After calming down, they all carried the surviving bandits into the cage. The first bandit Cain killed was already stored in his item box.
"Let's head to the capital. I'll go with you."
Saying this, Cain got on the self-propelled cart with the captured bandits and headed to the capital.