Chapter 6

After a while, the sun set and the surroundings became completely dark. The light leaking from the grand house gradually disappeared, and the thieves seemed to have fallen asleep quietly. The sky was cloudy, and the moon and stars were barely visible, allowing them to barely make out each other's presence.

"Is it about time? Al, let's go."

"Huh?"

He involuntarily let out a silly sound. The opponents were over ten thieves. He had thought he would just observe the situation during the night and do nothing. However, Barbara calmly began to inspect her weapon, taking something out of her belt pouch and shaking it lightly. The egg-sized stone-like object in her palm began to glow faintly.

"It's a light magic tool. It's more convenient than a lantern or a torch. Plus, it has a cover to adjust the brightness and direction of the light. If you light a torch, you'll be visible from a distance. So, how long are you going to stand there like a fool? We're going to deal with the thieves. Can you cast a sleep or paralysis spell? How many targets can you affect at once?"

Seeing her attitude, Al understood. He slowly stood up.

"Are you really going to do it? First, we don't even know if they are all thieves. There's a possibility that they are just guests who were unaware that the house was a hideout for thieves. Are you going to kill them without asking any questions?"

"Indeed, I would want to have proof. If we were near the capital, we would need to verify. But this is the frontier. We don't have that luxury. If we do nothing, the thieves will escape, and more people will suffer. You might not believe me, but you have to take that into account."

Barbara answered with a wry smile. Alfred sighed deeply at her response. He had heard that in the frontier, the battles with barbarians were fierce, and sometimes even the consideration for captured people was impossible. This must be one of those situations.

"I understand. If that's the case, I can cast a 'Slow' spell. It should reduce their movement and reaction speed by about 30%. The maximum number of targets is three. Also, if we are going to attack, why don't we use a perception enhancement spell instead of light?"

He demonstrated by closing and opening his eyes.

"Perception enhancement spell? You've been using it to sense vibrations while walking, right? How much can it enhance your senses? And isn't it only effective for the caster?"

Barbara tilted her head, but Al shook his head lightly.

"Let me try it. If you accept it without resistance, it should be fine. OK?"

Barbara pouted slightly but nodded reluctantly after being urged to accept it.

'Perception Enhancement' - Visual Enhancement, Night Vision, Contact Grant

As he cast the spell and touched Barbara's face, her vision suddenly brightened. She looked around in disbelief. Despite the darkness, it felt as if the surroundings were illuminated by a full moon.

"What? This... the surroundings suddenly became bright? No, is this the effect of the magic?"

"Yes. Please turn off the light from the magic tool. It's not necessary."

She turned off the light as instructed. The surroundings should have returned to darkness, but she could still see as if there was a faint moonlight.

"This is amazing. If we can see this much in the dark, we can attack unilaterally."

Barbara was impressed. Inside the building, there would probably only be the fire in the hearth left. Even so, it would be better than the current darkness. They could take down the opponents without them realizing what was happening.

"Pretty good, right? But there's a drawback. If you suddenly see a very bright light, you'll be temporarily blinded. It's especially dangerous if there's a mage among the enemies."

"Got it. How long does this last?"

"About an hour, I think."

"Got it. They can't see us, but we can see them. This will be an easy job. Let's get it over with."

Barbara, in high spirits, drew a knife in one hand and signaled to go. Al shrugged lightly and nodded in agreement.

---

Their first destination was the church. They thought that since there were probably only two thieves, they could quietly take care of them. They approached the back door of the two entrances stealthily.

The door was not locked. Listening carefully, only the sound of snoring could be heard, even with Al's enhanced hearing. Barbara led the way, quietly opening the door and entering.

The room they entered through the back door was a large, empty space filled with abandoned boxes and junk. The first thing they sensed was a musty smell, like that of wild animals. Looking around, the source of the smell was immediately clear. On one side of the room, several wooden cages were set up, and in one of them, two people were huddled together, half-buried in straw, sleeping.

Since they were in a cage, they were probably not part of the thieves. They were likely hostages, possibly being held for ransom. This confirmed that the people living here were not good. They wanted to rescue them, but making contact now would only be a hindrance... Barbara and Al seemed to have the same thought. They looked at each other, nodded, and slowly backed away, quietly closing the door again.

The two of them took a deep breath and re-focused. The remaining building housed over ten thieves.

The building was the grandest in the village, a two-story stone structure with several small windows, all of which were closed with wooden shutters.

Al thought of his family's manor, which was similar in appearance and not too far away. The layout was likely similar. There were two entrances: the main door and a side door used by servants. The first floor probably centered around a large living room with a fireplace, with a kitchen, storage room, and servants' quarters. The second floor likely had a study, master bedroom, and guest rooms. There might even be an underground storage.

Barbara first rigged the main door with a rope to prevent it from being easily opened from the inside. Then, moving to the side door, she whispered in Al's ear as she hugged his shoulder.

"With this perception enhancement, I can handle it alone. You just need to stay nearby. But if anyone tries to escape, take care of them. The 'Slow' spell is fine if you have time. Any other spells too. Got it?"

She seemed to intend to take care of everything alone to prevent anyone from escaping. It was a narrow space, and getting in the way would be a hindrance. If they came out one by one, he could handle them with magic arrows.

Al nodded slightly. She smiled and turned to the side door, took a deep breath, and kicked it hard.

With a loud crack, the side door, which seemed to be weakened, broke and fell inward. Dust rose instantly. Inside, it was dark and looked like a storage room. There were doors straight ahead and to the right, and a staircase going down to the left. Barbara opened the door straight ahead without hesitation.

It was the living room. A fireplace on the right side had some embers left. In front of it was a table, and around it, four men were sleeping in chairs and on the floor, seemingly drunk. To the left was a staircase going up, and the main door was straight ahead. Despite the loud noise, the four men did not seem to wake up. Barbara approached and methodically finished them off with her knife.

Meanwhile, Al remained in the storage room, listening carefully. His perception enhancement spell had enhanced his night vision and hearing. He could hear snoring and sounds coming from the room behind the door to the right and from the upper floor.

'Illusion' - Auditory Illusion

"Three thieves are in two rooms on the second floor, and five are in the room to the right. They seem to be waking up."

A small voice, audible only to her, whispered this information into Barbara's ear. Of course, the voice was created by Al's illusion spell, controlling the location and volume of the sound to manage the range of hearing.

She nodded and headed for the stairs. Seeing this, Al sighed. She must have thought the ones on the second floor were stronger, but what would she do if the ones from the right room came out?

He placed a wooden box as an obstacle in front of the right door and moved closer to the side door.

At the side door, Al stood quietly, tense. For a while, only the sound of discussion came from the first-floor room. Then, from the second floor where Barbara had gone, sounds of a struggle, groans, and screams could be heard, but they eventually stopped. This happened twice, and Barbara came down the stairs, covered in blood but unharmed.

"The second floor is taken care of. How about here?"

She asked Alfred casually, still on guard. He pointed to the wooden box he had placed as an obstacle.

"Did you really just stand guard?"

Her voice sounded genuinely surprised, as if she had expected him to go in and wreak havoc in the room with five people.

"I'm a mage. I'll leave the close combat to you."

Al answered firmly. Barbara kicked the wooden box away and opened the door as if to say, "Fine."

"投降します！" "Don't kill us!"

The men's tearful voices were heard almost simultaneously.

Thank you for reading.

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2023.4.8 I tried adding a bit more line breaks.