In a flash I was nearing the bend in the road. I saw at that point that the forest thinned out enough that they had made the road pass through a small section of it.
However, that made it so this section of the road had plenty of places to hide in on both sides of the road. It was a perfect ambush point for people with evil thoughts.
As I thought I saw a carriage that was overturned in the road and blocked it. On the other side of it I saw some brawny men milling around.
「Soujirou, I no longer hear the sounds of fighting ja. There don’t seem to be too many, but I hear the sound of arguing. Hide in the shadow of the carriage and check the situation jarou.」
I silently nodded and quieted the sound of my steps as much as possible as I instantly hid in the shadow of the carriage.
「Listen up! Hurry and show the contract! You’ll enter a contract with me and become my Exclusive Acolyte!」
「…….」
Priest….pastor (shisai)? No it was a different word…Acolyte (jisai)…acolyte huh? Was it some kind of priest or monk person?
I secretly peeked out from the shadow of the carriage and saw a young 15-16 year old girl being surrounded by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…6 men who looked like they’d never entered a bath in their lives.
「We know what yer all about acolyte. We got a spy in town and we know exactly what ya are. Some Noble-sama’s gonna buy an acolyte for their little kids~ They gotta be doting parents if they wanna buy a Shrine Acolyte for their little brat. We’ll probably get so much gold we can’t even count it all!」
「Boss! This really an acolyte? How can a little girly like this be worth so much?」
A skeleton like man said as he approached the girl.
「Dumbass! Get the hell away from her! Acolytes are masters of self-defense. When they’re on the defensive apparently they’re real strong! We can’t let our guard down, surround and poison ‘er. Once we get that contract finished she’ll do what we want.」
The guy they called “Boss”, who looked like he’d been kicked in the head by a horse a few times, let out a vulgar laugh. He seemed so gross I felt a bit nauseous.
「Soujirou…see that tear in the carriage? Take a peek inside ja.」
Inside the carriage? I moved slightly to look at the top of the carriage I was hiding behind and saw a tear on what would be the roof of it before peeking inside.
「…………….」
Something inside of me grew colder.
「Soujirou, hold back your bloodthirst for now ja. Even if they are weaklings you could get injured noja.」
I had seen a lady wearing a well tailored dress as she blankly stared into the void. She was already dead. The killing blow was most likely the knife sticking out of her neck.
And the one that licked the knife as they continued to move its hips.
Looking around further I could see the bodies of what were most likely the carriage guards lying around on the ground. Many of the corpses had arrows sticking out of them.
It appears most of them died in the first ambush.
As I continued analyzing the situation my mind became colder and colder…my right hand naturally moved to grasp at Hotarumaru.
「Hotaru-san…」
「Are you doing it?」
I nodded.
「Understood. First take down the one in the carriage with one blow. Then ignore everything else, close the distance, and kill the leader. This time I am with you. I can tell you of any dangers to your rear. I’ll speak directly to your mind so you won’t miss it ja….all you need do is crush every enemy before you.」
「Thank you Hotaru-san. I’ll be in your care.」
「Alright, first let’s take care of this trash. Ready yourself.」
I drew Hotarumaru and got into my stance. Hotaru-san began speaking into my mind.
「Lower the edge of my blade a bit…a bit more…half a step to the right…now stab.」
At a speed greater than any language I followed Hotaru-san’s instructions and stabbed without any hesitation. Hotarumaru’s blade was around a meter long. Considering my body and my arms’ reach the range of my stabbing attack was around 2 meters.
「Kahyu…」
A sound like air escaping quickly sounded from the interior of the carriage. As planned I had most likely stabbed the trash’s throat.
I pulled back the blade and lightly wiped the blood from its surface as my mind chilled completely.
「Let’s go Hotaru-san.」
The next instant I dashed out of the carriage’s shadow.
First step, no one’s noticed yet.
Second step, the surrounded girl noticed my presence with a sidelong glance. She didn’t say a word thankfully.
Third step, finally one of the bandits realized and his eyes bulged out.
Fourth step, the one who noticed opens his mouth to shout.
Fifth step, from my low dashing stance I slant my katana and cut upwards. My blade cuts through the leader’s jaw and up through his head.
「Boss! …Ga—!」
The big guy finally managed to speak but I took a single step forward and beheaded him.
Then I slashed at the man next to him. However, maybe because he had moved back to draw his weapon the distance was slightly off so I only ended up slashing his chest.
At that moment I sensed that there was danger behind me. It was probably Hotaru-san’s warning.
I immediately side-stepped and an instant later an arrow flew through the place I had been standing. It seemed there were still bowmen hiding in the trees.
「Sakura, I’ll be sending you a bit far, but I’ll pick you up later.」
I said and felt Sakura’s joyful feelings. I was relieved as I drew the kodachi with my left hand and threw her towards the hidden enemy Hotaru-san had pointed out to me.
「…..!!」
I heard a small groan along with a feeling of happiness from Sakura. It looks like it was a perfect hit. At that moment I changed positions with great speed before cutting another one down.
At this point I had lost the element of surprise, but because I had cut down their numbers significantly it wasn’t too much of an issue.
I attacked the other men who were still a bit shocked over the sudden ambush.
“!!”
Hotaru-san’s warning echoed in my head. Slanted right and behind me a downward slash.
From the front attacks from the left and right. I might not be able to dodge…in that case!
「Wha—!….Bastard!」
I back-stepped and slammed my back into the torso of the man attacking me from behind. His form crumpled as I turned to stab him through the chest. I kicked him away while pulling my blade from his chest and turned back to take a defensive stance against the enemies to my front.
I quickly glanced around and spotted two of them as I kept the young lady behind me.
「Only two left…」
The man I had cut in the chest and the other guy readied themselves as they glared at me.
I had been making extreme movements for a while now, yet my breath was still even and calm. Could this also be a benefit of the lower gravity here?
I also guessed that it might have something to do with my psychology having no hesitation about killing such evil beings.
「Are there any others left alive?」
I said to the girl behind me without taking my eyes off of the enemies.
「….there are none.」
「I see. Then, is there any reason to let these ones live?」
「Absolutely none. In fact it would be preferable if you made sure they were absolutely all dead.」
In a flash I was nearing the bend in the road. I saw at that point that the forest thinned out enough that they had made the road pass through a small section of it.
However, that made it so this section of the road had plenty of places to hide in on both sides of the road. It was a perfect ambush point for people with evil thoughts.
As I thought I saw a carriage that was overturned in the road and blocked it. On the other side of it I saw some brawny men milling around.
「Soujirou, I no longer hear the sounds of fighting ja. There don’t seem to be too many, but I hear the sound of arguing. Hide in the shadow of the carriage and check the situation jarou.」
I silently nodded and quieted the sound of my steps as much as possible as I instantly hid in the shadow of the carriage.
「Listen up! Hurry and show the contract! You’ll enter a contract with me and become my Exclusive Acolyte!」
「…….」
Priest….pastor (shisai)? No it was a different word…Acolyte (jisai)…acolyte huh? Was it some kind of priest or monk person?
I secretly peeked out from the shadow of the carriage and saw a young 15-16 year old girl being surrounded by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…6 men who looked like they’d never entered a bath in their lives.
「We know what yer all about acolyte. We got a spy in town and we know exactly what ya are. Some Noble-sama’s gonna buy an acolyte for their little kids~ They gotta be doting parents if they wanna buy a Shrine Acolyte for their little brat. We’ll probably get so much gold we can’t even count it all!」
「Boss! This really an acolyte? How can a little girly like this be worth so much?」
A skeleton like man said as he approached the girl.
「Dumbass! Get the hell away from her! Acolytes are masters of self-defense. When they’re on the defensive apparently they’re real strong! We can’t let our guard down, surround and poison ‘er. Once we get that contract finished she’ll do what we want.」
The guy they called “Boss”, who looked like he’d been kicked in the head by a horse a few times, let out a vulgar laugh. He seemed so gross I felt a bit nauseous.
「Soujirou…see that tear in the carriage? Take a peek inside ja.」
Inside the carriage? I moved slightly to look at the top of the carriage I was hiding behind and saw a tear on what would be the roof of it before peeking inside.
「…………….」
Something inside of me grew colder.
「Soujirou, hold back your bloodthirst for now ja. Even if they are weaklings you could get injured noja.」
I had seen a lady wearing a well tailored dress as she blankly stared into the void. She was already dead. The killing blow was most likely the knife sticking out of her neck.
And the one that licked the knife as they continued to move its hips.
Looking around further I could see the bodies of what were most likely the carriage guards lying around on the ground. Many of the corpses had arrows sticking out of them.
It appears most of them died in the first ambush.
As I continued analyzing the situation my mind became colder and colder…my right hand naturally moved to grasp at Hotarumaru.
「Hotaru-san…」
「Are you doing it?」
I nodded.
「Understood. First take down the one in the carriage with one blow. Then ignore everything else, close the distance, and kill the leader. This time I am with you. I can tell you of any dangers to your rear. I’ll speak directly to your mind so you won’t miss it ja….all you need do is crush every enemy before you.」
「Thank you Hotaru-san. I’ll be in your care.」
「Alright, first let’s take care of this trash. Ready yourself.」
I drew Hotarumaru and got into my stance. Hotaru-san began speaking into my mind.
「Lower the edge of my blade a bit…a bit more…half a step to the right…now stab.」
At a speed greater than any language I followed Hotaru-san’s instructions and stabbed without any hesitation. Hotarumaru’s blade was around a meter long. Considering my body and my arms’ reach the range of my stabbing attack was around 2 meters.
「Kahyu…」
A sound like air escaping quickly sounded from the interior of the carriage. As planned I had most likely stabbed the trash’s throat.
I pulled back the blade and lightly wiped the blood from its surface as my mind chilled completely.
「Let’s go Hotaru-san.」
The next instant I dashed out of the carriage’s shadow.
First step, no one’s noticed yet.
Second step, the surrounded girl noticed my presence with a sidelong glance. She didn’t say a word thankfully.
Third step, finally one of the bandits realized and his eyes bulged out.
Fourth step, the one who noticed opens his mouth to shout.
Fifth step, from my low dashing stance I slant my katana and cut upwards. My blade cuts through the leader’s jaw and up through his head.
「Boss! …Ga—!」
The big guy finally managed to speak but I took a single step forward and beheaded him.
Then I slashed at the man next to him. However, maybe because he had moved back to draw his weapon the distance was slightly off so I only ended up slashing his chest.
At that moment I sensed that there was danger behind me. It was probably Hotaru-san’s warning.
I immediately side-stepped and an instant later an arrow flew through the place I had been standing. It seemed there were still bowmen hiding in the trees.
「Sakura, I’ll be sending you a bit far, but I’ll pick you up later.」
I said and felt Sakura’s joyful feelings. I was relieved as I drew the kodachi with my left hand and threw her towards the hidden enemy Hotaru-san had pointed out to me.
「…..!!」
I heard a small groan along with a feeling of happiness from Sakura. It looks like it was a perfect hit. At that moment I changed positions with great speed before cutting another one down.
At this point I had lost the element of surprise, but because I had cut down their numbers significantly it wasn’t too much of an issue.
I attacked the other men who were still a bit shocked over the sudden ambush.
“!!”
Hotaru-san’s warning echoed in my head. Slanted right and behind me a downward slash.
From the front attacks from the left and right. I might not be able to dodge…in that case!
「Wha—!….Bastard!」
I back-stepped and slammed my back into the torso of the man attacking me from behind. His form crumpled as I turned to stab him through the chest. I kicked him away while pulling my blade from his chest and turned back to take a defensive stance against the enemies to my front.
I quickly glanced around and spotted two of them as I kept the young lady behind me.
「Only two left…」
The man I had cut in the chest and the other guy readied themselves as they glared at me.
I had been making extreme movements for a while now, yet my breath was still even and calm. Could this also be a benefit of the lower gravity here?
I also guessed that it might have something to do with my psychology having no hesitation about killing such evil beings.
「Are there any others left alive?」
I said to the girl behind me without taking my eyes off of the enemies.
「….there are none.」
「I see. Then, is there any reason to let these ones live?」
「Absolutely none. In fact it would be preferable if you made sure they were absolutely all dead.」
