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<h1 class="has-text-align-center">Episode 41: It’s better to start first </h1>
“This is the bandits’ hideout…?”
The enemy’s location was not far from the guild.
About 10 minutes on foot.
The exterior of the house completely blended in with the surrounding houses, and at first glance, it didn’t look like thugs were hiding there. It was a normal reaction for Aina to look at me in disbelief.
“I’m sure it’s here. Well, they say if you want to hide a tree, you have to hide it in a forest. I’m sure they know that it’s more suspicious to hide in the suburbs with so many men. Since there are many people in the capital, you won’t be suspicious even if they move in and out a lot.
“Yuki, you’re too clever! How do you know that!?”
“It’s a simple question of deductive reasoning. If you carefully think in a logical way you should be able to figure it out in no time.”
I don’t think it’s special knowledge, but in a different world where people don’t have much experience with stories or documentaries, this might be a special ability.
“Okay, I’ll take down the wall, Aina, you neutralize the bandits. Aleria, you follow up in case anything goes wrong.”
“All right!”
“I understand!”
“‘Oh, and I want you to be very careful Aina. Just enough not to kill… okay?”
There’s no doubt that they’re heinous criminals but we must thoroughly examine the circumstances and reveal the facts. Only after that can we bring the hammer down under the law.\n
</ins>\n“I’m not you, Yuki, I can’t do that much against five bandits.”
“Well, it’s not unreasonable to think so, but you don’t underestimate your own power okay? If not you’ll end up hurting yourself.”
It goes without saying that it is usually the opposite. However, it’s a bit difficult to adjust when you’re in a state of being granted “God’s blessing”. For the safety of Aina, it wasn’t possible to attempt this special attack without granting it, so she has no choice but to adjust.
“Well then, I’ll break the door. According to the guards’ investigation, all five of them should be inside now.”
That said, I shot a “flare” of no attribute at the door.
Boooooooooom!
The door was destroyed with a tremendous roar.
Some may criticize that there was no need for such a flashy attack, but the aim is to distract the bandits and prevent them from escaping.
I’ve already put up a magic barrier around the hideout, so even if they can escape from the building, there’s no way out.
“We’re here to secure you! Resistance is futile. Put your hands in the air!”
Aina shouted at the bandits inside.
When the dust settled, the bandits were caught completely by surprise and were in a state of panic.
A large man reported to be the leader spoke with a surprised expression.
“Huh? you’re… Aina Neitzel! Why are you here!”
“You..! You are…!” [Aina]
Apparently, Aina had noticed.*\n</ins>\nOf course, I knew this but still decided to assign this quest to Aina.
“How dare you mock the dignity of the elves!”
“Hii, hiiii!?”
It was their gang that had kidnapped Aina from her elven village and sold her to a corrupt merchant.
They had taken not only Aina but also a large number of elves continuously.
“You guys said that if I was the only one sacrificed, you wouldn’t touch the other elves… but I’ve heard since I was brought to the capital… you’ve been targetting more of us!’
“No, that’s a misunderstanding! We really didn’t do anything.We were just joking. trust me!”
I sigh as the bandits desperately try to excuse themselves with lies.
“No, it’s not a mistake. I’ve been able to verify with the merchant. Even after you sold Aina to the merchants, there have been at least 10 more cases.” (Yuki)
Aina glared at him.
“Ah, that bastard…betrayed me…”
“Most merchants have something to hide. He spit it out easily.”
“Chi”
The leader of the group clicked his tongue and looked at the other four.
The four of them nodded in unison, and–
“There are only three of you. We’ll beat you down with the force of numbers!” [Gang leader]
“Ooohh!”
Five reasonably strong men attacked me all at once. They were the ones who had captured her. But Aina didn’t seem to move.
I was a little surprised by this.
If we fight properly, we should be able to win, but…\n</ins>\nThen I remembered I hadn’t looked at the status yet.
Using the evil eye, I looked into the leader of the bandits stats.
“Oh, I see.”
He was such a small fry that I wouldn’t even bother remembering him.
Equivalent to a C-rank adventurer. No matter how many men of this sort gather, I don’t think they would have caught Aina, even without the “divine protection.” There seems to be some other reason why Aina was captured.
He also said something that bothered me.
“I can’t use my full strength, but I won’t let you get away with cheating me.”
Aina said coldly and drew her bow in quick succession.
It would definitely hurt but she had the sharp pointy edges removed so as to make sure she doesn’t kill anyone as I instructed.
“Urrh..!”
“Aaah…!”
“Arrgh…”
“Ohh…”
“Ah…!”
Each of the five men fell to the ground giving their own reactions.\n</ins>\n“Thanks for the hard work, Aina. You passed the test without question. I know you have a lot on your mind, but I’m taking them to a detention center after this. You understand right?”
She had been tricked, and not only had she been wronged, but her friends had been wronged as well.
The truth is she probably wants to kill them.
But there’s a good chance these guys still have a lot of hidden sins left.
I don’t want them to die until I find out all they did.
“No, it’s okay …. I’m just kind of tired.”
“Oh. You can report to the Guild at any time. We’ve got them in custody so go home today and have a proper rest. Aleria, take care of Aina.”
” I understand!” [Aleria]
I have one last job left to do: take these guys to jail. I’ll be heading there now to fulfill the promise I made to the officials yesterday.
I took out five handcuffs from an item slot to use on the unconscious bandits.\n</ins>\nI secure them one after another.
It was also confirmed that these handcuffs would lower their status when applied.
“But are you going to carry all these guys…?”
“I can call for backup, but… no, wait a minute.” [Yuki]
I threw one of the bandits into the item slot.
“Wait, what!? He disappeared!?” (Aleria)
“No, it’s okay. I can always take him out like this.”
“It’s like a potion!”
It seems they won’t die even if you put them in, so let’s take the 5 people in the item box.\n