“You dummy…”

And we are back to the present. Any information I may have forgotten to explain is probably not important or too painful to retell.

This dummy has been doing nothing but bitching.

I can’t tell her that she is so weak that a single blow might result in her death as she might just do something annoying. That’s why I am keeping it under wraps for now.

While she did say she wanted to stay at the winged-snake Inn, I couldn’t take the chance that the demon king will not find out about that’s place’s connection to the white crusaders and raid it.

Which means the safest place for this idiot is next to me.

“You two get along very well.”

I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or a sarcastic remark but Catherin uttered those words to us.

She, I and the goddess were all sharing the most expensive coach in the caravan heading to the city of raven.

The reason we were in the most expensive coach was so that this idiot didn’t complain about how uncomfortable the ride was.

I am pretty sure I would have ended up killing her before we arrived at our destination.

I put on a wry smile and answered, “It is not all sunshine and roses”

“Ar~re? Spoken like a true husband. You guys must have known each other for a long time.”

“Humph…Like I would be caught dead hanging around this guy. What kind of demon sells someones personal belongings without permission? Humph”

“Interesting words coming from someone who gave away something that belongs to another person… just because the boy who was standing in front of her had good looks.”

“Huh!? What are you talking about?”

Oi... This idiot forgot what she did to me, didn’t she?…

Catherin broke into laughter after watching our banter…

“I hope I find someone to love like you two.” She said

I could only respond with a wry smile

***

Nighttime had arrived and I was facing a huge pain in the ass…

“Why do I have to leave this comfortable carriage for a less comfortable one?” the goddess yelled at me.

We were preparing to camp for the night. Usually, when a caravan was preparing to camp for the night, people would be moved to the fast-moving carriages in case of an attack from bandits.

The carriage we were on was nice but it was also slow. The caravan had to adjust their speed to accommodate us.

This was not with incentives of course. Apart from me and Catherin, 12 adventures guarded the caravan. All of whom were rank C. One rank below us.

These adventures were all hired by the carriage company we were using.

Under normal circumstances, this level of protection should be enough. These adventures, even without Catherin and I would be able to repel bandits numbering 40 with ease and 70 with difficulty.  They could also hold their own with rank C monsters

“Sorry about that Athena” Catherin uttered. “This is just how things work around here. You never know what will happen in the middle of the night. A large number of monsters might appear out of nowhere or bandits.”

“Humph…That has nothing to do with me. This one will protect me…” she said while pointing at me.

This idiot has really forgotten that she didn’t give me any cheats.

“I admit, Sojuro’s skills are great... even if I haven’t seen them in action myself, but I doubt he will be able to fight and protect you at the same time."

“Then you do it.”

“Ar~re…Are you asking me to do a guard job? That will be 10 million credits.”

“10 million to escort her to the sea town?”

“Don’t be silly Sojuro. 10 million for the night.”

“Done!” The goddess yelled

“Undone” I retorted, “We don’t have that kind of money to waste…”

“Huh!? What about the money you got from selling my jewels?”

“That money has a more useful purpose... Just get into the other carriage”

“I refuse… I will not lower myself to substandard service…”

“Yes you will, or I am going to tell god- I mean, your mother that you are causing me more problems…”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Try me”

The goddess glared at me before pouting.

I didn’t find it cute at all.

After making sure she was safely asleep in one of the fast carriages I headed to where the adventures had made a campfire.

Catherin was already there, drinking while making fun of the other guys that weren’t.

“We are duty, Catherin…Done tease us…” One of the adventures uttered

A little further away was the carriage we were traveling in. It was there to act as bait. This was a kind of unspoken rule between bandits and adventures.

If the number of bandits is too much for the adventures, the carriage will be used as a kind of payment to the greedy bandits. In exchange the bandits would not chase down the fast-moving carriages. 

The expensive carriage was made from various precious metals. You just need to find a shady blacksmith and melt it down.

It was for this reason that the carriage company charges heavy fares to ride one of their carriages. No matter what happens they will still make a profit.

“What about you Sojuro? Are you going to leave me hanging?” Catherin’s question towards me, brought me back to reality

“I can handle one drink.”

“Humph…Sissy”

As we talked a felt a chill down my spine. It was like I was sensing danger. It was not the physical kind... more like that feeling you get when some fool is about to raise a red flag. 

“You should have let the young miss sleep in the expensive carriage… There are no bandits in this area that can overcome the six keepers.” One young adventure boasted

Apparently, he was the youngest member of the party called, ‘six keepers’.

The fact that at such a young age he was able to become a C-rank speaks a lot about his skills

“Don’t get cocky… You would probably piss your pants if the bone skulls attacked.”

“Bone Skulls?” I asked the leader of the other adventure party that was with us. They were called 'quest seekers'.

“Bone Skulls is the largest bandit group on the continent. With over 400 strong bandits.”

“There is a bandit group that large?”

“Yeah… Some crazy strong guy named thunderbolt crushed a lot of other small bandit groups and absorbed them into his own.”

“Sound scary”

“Yep… No one has ever survived an encounter with these guys… but not to worry. I heard that they are currently operating in the cities to the north. Chances of us meeting them is low…”

My flags sense was now in overdrive.

“This information you heard… How long ago was it?”

“Hmm…2 months ago…”

2 months ago! Then rather than call it information we might as well call it gossip…

Catherin slapped my shoulder. She must have sensed what I was thinking.

“You can’t go through life worrying about every little detail, sometimes you just have to take a chance.”

Bullshit… I follow reincarnation rules 6 to 9

6. Always have a plan

7. Always have a backup plan

8. Always have a backup for the backup plan

9. Always have an escape plan. Because plans and backup plans tend to fail

These rules have kept me alive in many situations and I am not going to just forget about them.

With that, I made some plans in my head for the journey ahead… The only comfort I took to my sleep is the fact that I might not need to use them this early on…

“Wake up everyone… we are under attack”

I got up in the middle of the night…

“Who is the enemy? Monsters?”

“No…It bandits…”

“How many?”

“I count 200 and rising!”

“Don’t tell me!?”

“It’s the Bone Skulls… The Bone Skulls are raiding us!”

“Shit!” I uttered

THE GODDESS AND I ARE ABOUT TO BE ATTACKED BY THE MOST POWERFUL BANDIT GROUP. WTF