-----Ya’s POV-----

Hehehe! I’m on a secret mission with Ru! He and I will take care of the boss of the bandits!

 

“There it is.” Ru said while looking at the sky.

 

A flower made out of fire was illuminating the night sky…

 

Ru looks so pretty under the moonlight!

 

“Woah!” I was surprised to see that fire flower.

 

Silvia called that magic, right? I want to do that too!

 

“Ya, you remember what we talked about before coming here, right?” Ru asked me.

 

“We are here to beat up one of the baddies!” I smiled at him.

 

“That’s right. Do you remember how we are going to take care of him?” Ru looked at me intently.

 

Uh oh…

 

“Umm…”  I was twiddling with my thumbs...

 

Yeah… I think it was something along the lines of me hitting the boss of the bandits really hard until he dies… The rest… I don’t remember…

 

Ru simply smiled in response.

 

“I’ll explain it again, so pay attention. If you remember everything, I’ll give you a reward.” Ru was holding my hand tightly.

 

Hehehe! I wonder if I’ll get some meat!

 

“Okay!” I nodded.

 

“Ya, as soon as soon as a large group of men with horses passes nearby, I will throw you this rock. You’ll have to hit it really hard with your club and hit one of the horses.” He showed me a rock with the shape of a sphere.

 

Oooooh! So that’s why they told me to practice hitting rocks with Xi for a bit! That’s really easy!

 

“I will tell you which horse you’ll need to hit, okay? If everything goes according to the plan, the boss should fall off the horse. Then we will see how things play out for a bit... When the other bandits leave him while he is looking for his horse, we will appear to beat the living shit out of him!” Ru had a sadistic smile on his face.

 

I’m loving this plan! That smile definitely won my heart again!

 

“I’m ready to go!” I grabbed my club with my free hand. I also squeezed Ru’s hand.

 

“That’s very good, Ya!” Ru looked pleased.

 

Hehehe!

 

“Well, the rest of them are not that strong. Silvia, Elise, Junko and our sisters should be able to take care of them quickly.” Ru said as he was looking at the fire flower covering the sky.

 

Hmmm… Ru and the others are so smart… They can come up with things like this to beat up people… 

 

It is just like that time with the bear… I'm useless when it comes to stuff like this...

 

The only thing I can do is hit things really hard… There's nothing more I can do… I’m an idiot, after all…

 

“Ya, stop thinking about that.” Ru suddenly looked at me with a serious expression.

 

Ehh…? No way… Can Ru read minds!?

 

“I’m not reading your mind…” He said with a bitter smile.

 

“Then how…?” I asked.

 

“You start biting your lips when you’re feeling down or when you’re feeling insecure.” He said with confidence.

 

I do…? 

 

Ru then suddenly hugged me.

 

“Ya, everyone has things that they are good and bad with. For example, Da. She's not the best hunter, but she always tries her best when she's hunting with us. You don't need to come up with complicated plans or anything like that. You just need to do your best." Ru said in my ear.

 

Do my best…

 

"So…"

 

"I think you're stronger than all of us siblings, you're a superb hunter, a skilled warrior and you're really beautiful. You don't need to worry about planning or whatever, leave that to the rest of us. Just focus on doing what you know best… Beating the shit out of things! You're perfect the way you are!" Ru said while he hugged me tightly.

 

"Ru… Do you mean all that?" I asked… 

 

I-I sweah I'm not crying…! Something got into my eyesh…!

 

"Of course, I do!" Ru nodded happily.

 

Sniff… 

 

Ah… Ru really knows how to calm me down… I love him…

 

In the end, it took me a bit of time to stop crying… Ru didn't stop hugging me or comforting me...

 

"Ya, then what do you say? Should we go and kick the ass of that bastard?" Ru asked while smiling at me.

 

"Of course! I'll do my best!" I said happily.

 

Hehehe! I'm back to a hundred percent! I will not disappoint him!

 

"Now let's wait patiently… They should be nearby." Ru said while looking at the horizon.

 

Concentrate Ya! You can't let him down now!

 

Everything was silent for a bit…

 

"Do you hear that, Ru?" I asked.

 

I could hear thunderous sounds rapidly approaching us.

 

"Yeah. They are about to arrive. I'll go to my position. I'm counting on you, Ya. Remember, do your best!" Ru encouraged me.

 

"Yes!" I smiled in response.

 

Ru smiled back and nodded. He then walked away to get some distance from me… I could still see him.

 

I stood up and then prepared my club.

 

"I just need to hit that guy really really hard… I will make everyone proud!" I smiled.

 

The thunderous noise came closer and closer.

 

I now could see twenty humans riding some horses. They were going directly towards the town.

 

Which one is their boss? Perhaps that bald one over there? Or that small man riding in front of their formation? Maybe it is that burly man in the center of their formation…

 

This is no good… I can't tell which one is their boss…

 

"Got him! Ya, their boss is the one at the end of their formation! He's the one with the black hair! I will throw the rock at the count of three!" Ru shouted at me.

 

Oh! I see him! This will be a piece of cake!

 

The bandits and their horses were so close that I could hear their conversations… 

 

They are talking about tasting the women of Norvek…

 

Why didn't Ru tell me that these guys were cannibals! That's not good!

 

"Three!" Ru shouted. He prepared himself to throw the rock at me.

 

I also prepared myself… This is easy, Ya… Just remember what you did with Xi…

 

"Two!" Ru was already prepared. He was looking at me very intently.

 

I cannot disappoint him!

 

"One!" Ru shouted as he was throwing the rock at me.

 

Time slowed down for me as the rock was quickly approaching.

 

I just need to do my best… I will hit the rock with all I have!

 

"Take this!" I said as I swung my club in order to hit the rock.

 

I hit the rock with all of my power… It flew rapidly towards the group of humans.

 

It almost hit the horse of their boss… I missed both of them…

 

No way… I missed… I'm such a…-

 

But before I could even feel bad about it, I heard Ru's voice.

 

"Nice shot, Ya! We got him right where we want him! It is a good thing that Silvia gave us that special rock!" Ru shouted with enthusiasm.

 

Ehh? But I missed…? Ehh? Why is their boss on the ground? Ehh!? I did that!? How!? 

 

The boss of the bandits was lying on the ground shouting insults at his horse.

 

The group of bandits stopped moving in order to help their leader.

 

By now, Ru was again by my side…

 

"Good job, Ya. Once this is over, I'll give you your reward." Ru smiled and winked at me.

 

"But… I don't understand… I missed… Why did he fall off the horse?" I asked shyly.

 

"Simple. Horses are really easy to scare. His horse got scared as soon as the rock hit the ground. And now that I'm looking at that area… It seems like you made a crater and all... See? You did perfectly, Ya." Ru patted my head as he was explaining that to me.

 

So horses get scared easily… I didn't know that...

 

"I wonder if I could do the same…? Nah, I don't think I'm strong enough for that!" Ru said with an easygoing tone.

 

What!? That's a lie if I ever heard one!

 

"Ru is just as strong as me!" I looked at him intently.

 

"You think so? It makes me happy!" Ru blushed as soon as I praised him.

 

Ru is strong! There's no doubt about that!

 

"Ya, we'll continue this conversation later. The bandits are moving… Yes! They left their boss alone to look for his horse! Take your weapons, Ya! We are going to beat the shit out of him!" Ru said enthusiastically.

 

Hehehe! That's my specialty!

---

-----??? POV-----

 

That fucking horse... I swear in the name of all the gods in existence that I will eat that fucker as soon as we are back at the hideout…

 

I shouldn't have bought such a stupid animal… 

 

Sigh… Well, it was certainly helpful to escape from the empire thanks to its speed, but now it is just a pain in my ass…

 

"Come back 'ere, girl! I got a tasty carrot for ya!" I shouted at my horse.

 

The fucking horse just ran towards a nearby pond…

 

The horse launched me to the ground after a meteorite or some shit like that hit the ground and made a crater...

 

My subordinates tried to help me but I told them to go ahead and help the others in that shitty town.

 

"Sigh… It is not like I will have much to do anyway. Johan and the others are probably already raping everything that moves on that fucking town." I sighed heavily.

 

Well, at least things are going well for us. I managed to escape from the Empire after that incident, I crossed the border safely and we have managed to secure our territory around these parts.

 

"Hmm… But we still need a name for our band though…" I rubbed my chin while thinking.

 

Two years ago, I would have never imagined that I would turn my back towards my own country and become the boss of a bandit group.

 

To be honest, it is not very different from being the captain of an order of knights. You need to be strong and impose respect from those under you.

 

Well, the only difference is that there's no one above me and that we can do whatever we want.

 

"Easy there, girl! Come 'ere! Have a carrot!" I showed the carrot to my horse.

 

The horse quickly smelled the tasty carrot and started eating.

 

"Good girl!"

 

Now that I think about it, things have been really great ever since I came to this country.

 

We have been assaulting caravans and the country nor the adventurer's guild has not been able to send anyone capable enough to stop us!

 

They are so busy taking care of the situation at the borders that they forgot about their own lands.

 

What a bunch of idiots! 

 

I was a bit scared that they were luring us into a trap when they started setting up that town… We didn't attack because of that! Heck! I had to send Johan to use some favours in order for him to become our spy inside that town... 

 

It has been a while since that, but I'm now confident that the king and the adventurers have given up on this area!

 

"Perhaps, I should recruit the other bandit groups that operate near the royal highway and form my own country here!" I shouted.

 

Yes! A country for bandits exclusively! A country where rape, pillaging and killing is legal! A place where my words have the same weight as the words of the gods!

 

Oh… It seems I got myself carried away. That's not good… There won't be any woman for me to take if I don't hurry!

 

"Alright, girl. Let's get going… What the fuck!?" 

 

Before I was even able to get back on my horse, a big rock almost managed to hit my head… I barely managed to dodge it…

 

"Neeeeeigh...!" My horse then ran away again...

 

Fucking hell! Alright, who has the balls!?

 

I turned around to see two pipsqueaks walking towards me… One has green skin and the other has golden skin.

 

They are both carrying weapons.

 

Are those fucking goblins? Really...? I thought it was one of those weak adventurers sent a few days ago to take care of us… This is just disappointing…

 

I mean, I could sell the skin of the golden one… Now that I think about it, this is the first time I have seen a goblin with that skin colour…

 

"Yo, you ugly bastard! We came here to beat the shit out of you!" The golden pipsqueak said with enthusiasm.

 

"Hehehe! Prepare yourself for the beating of a lifetime!" The green pipsqueak raised her club.

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

Are you fucking with me? Did the guild seriously send these two to take care of us? There's a limit to bad jokes… I'm gonna crush those fuckers when I set up my bandit country!

 

"Oh? That's very cute… Fuck off! Can't you see that I'm busy? In fact, do you even know who you're talking with right now? I'm Neville Retam! The King of the bandits!" I shouted at the pair.

 

Oh! I really like the sound of that! I will introduce myself as such from now on!

 

The golden one then started laughing.

 

"I don't fucking care if you are the king of the hill. I'm here fuck you up since one of your subordinates tried to mess up with me." He looked at me with anger.

 

"And? That's what bandits do. Suck it up, pipsqueak! Get fucking lost! You don't want to mess with me!" I said to him.

 

"Why? I don't see anyone else to help you here. Most of your friends are already on their way to hell! Just like Johan and Kan!" He shouted with a devilish grin.

 

He then took a ring out of a pouch. 

 

Wait a minute… I recognize that one… Kan claimed that ring when we assaulted that wagon several weeks ago...

 

Shit… It really was a trap… Fuck! I need to get out of here! Screw the others! I ain't going down 'ere!

 

Fucking Johan! That fucking useless cocksucker!

 

"It seems you believe me now. I believe there's nothing else to talk about." He said with an expression devoid of any emotion.

 

He threw the ring and the pouch away and grabbed his spear from his back.

 

The other one was holding her club tightly.

 

Well, I better take care of this before running away again. Perhaps I'll escape to Washa this time.

 

I unsheathed my longsword and took a stance. This fuckers ain't intimidating at all!

 

I'm gonna kill them and then fuck off from 'ere!

---

We got him! The plan is going smoothly! Now, it all depends on whether Ya and I can hold him long enough until Silvia and the others arrive...

 

This is my second time fighting against a person… Fighting to death, I mean…

 

"Ya, you know what to do." I nodded to Ya.

 

She nodded back.

 

"Okie dokie!" She smiled.

 

I then looked towards the boss of the bandits.

 

The guy is at least 1.80 meters tall. His hair is black coloured and very short. He also needs to shave because he has a very unkempt beard...

 

He's not very muscular or anything… He seems rather thin despite being a supposed knight captain from another country...

 

He's using a longsword.

 

"Come! I'll cut yer necks quickly! It will be painless!" He smirked.

 

The guy is also very arrogant… He declared himself to be the king of the bandits just a few moments ago…

 

I nodded again at Ya.

 

She nodded back and raised her club.

 

Let's end this!

 

I jumped and pressed my feet against Ya's wooden club. She immediately used all of her strength to launch me towards the arrogant idiot.

 

The arrogant fool looked at us dumbfounded for a second.

 

I flew quicker than I had expected… I prepared my spear and pointed it towards the neck of the fool.

 

"Die!" I shouted!

 

"Enhancement: Iron Skin!" He shouted. He had regained his focus…

 

As soon as the tip of the spear came into contact with the neck of the fool, both the stick and the horn that made the spear, snapped in half…

 

Shit…!

 

I flew past the fool and landed on a pond near him… I immediately stood up and unsheathed my gladius.

 

"You fucking pipsqueaks! Now you have done! I will fucking murder you!" The arrogant fool shouted while looking at me.

 

He swung his sword towards me.

 

Time slowed down for me… I gave my all to try to dodge the sword… I was barely able to dodge the tip of the sword… My left cheek now had a large bleeding cut on it...

 

Fuck!

 

I had used Mana Perception to see the movements of the bandit in front of me, but… I somehow feel like something is out of place when using this against a person…

 

With animals, I can predict their movements thanks to the mana around them, but with people, the mana around feels a bit cloudy... No… It feels incomplete…

 

"You managed to dodge that? Shit, what an annoying pipsqueak!" The guy said with annoyance. He had taken a stance once again.

 

His sword was being pointed at me.

 

(Mana Perception won't help you to fully predict the movements of a person who knows how to use magic.) Arrat explained.

 

(So, the thing he did before was magic?) I asked.

 

That explains how my spear snapped in half...

 

(Yeah. It is body reinforcement kind. Be careful, okay? You can still use Mana Perception, just don't trust those predictions too much.) Arrat warned me.

 

So, it's just like the Trial of Instinct… I'll need to fight without relying on Mana Perception.

 

"What happened, pipsqueak? Are you not going to move!?" He asked before swinging his sword again...

 

Time slowed down once again… 

 

Focus Ru… Use all of your senses…

 

I could smell his intentions…

 

I could hear his bones making noises and his heart beating wildly.

 

I could see the blade slowly approaching my neck and the confident expression of the arrogant fool.

 

Using all of that information, I managed to dodge his attack unscathed… The tip of the blade passed just a few centimeters away from my face.

 

"Gugh…!" The guy suddenly groaned in pain.

 

Ya managed to land a hit with her wooden club. She had hit him with her full strength in the stomach.

 

That should be…-

 

"Ya! Get out of there!" I shouted as soon as I realized that something was wrong.

 

Ya instantly jumped away from the guy…

 

Ya managed to safely take some distance… If she hadn't, there would be a dagger stuck on her skull.

 

"You bastards… Clever little move right there… However, that won't be enough to take down someone like me!" He shouted in anger.

 

Suddenly, a fireball appeared on his right hand.

 

Oh, he can use fireballs.

 

OH SHIT! HE CAN USE FIREBALLS!