Chapter 16

As we traveled, Jofle burned the monster-repelling incense he had, so we weren't attacked by any monsters.

When we arrived at the first level of the dungeon, the sensation on my back changed.

"Hmm... What? Where is this?"

"Nolun, are you awake?"

"Eh? What? Big brother, what happened? Eh?"

It seemed that Nolun didn't even know she had been captured by bandits, so I put her down and explained everything from the point where I was staying at Margaret's shop.

By the time she heard everything, her face had turned pale, but she seemed relieved that although her clothes had been taken off, she hadn't been touched.

"Here, this is your spear, Nolun. I'm sorry, but I couldn't find your armor."

I took the spear out of my item bag and handed it to her.

"Thank you, big brother. ...Ah, it's embarrassing that I was captured by bandits even though I warned you about them."

Nolun took the spear, scratching her head and looking embarrassed.

Now that Nolun was awake, it was probably fine, right?

I called out to the two people walking ahead.

"By the way, Jofle and Elise, you two are new to the bandits, right?"

I asked the two people walking ahead.

Then, they turned to us,

"W-What are you talking about? I would never do such a big thing, rookie."

"Y-Yeah, Rookie-kun, it's impossible for such a handsome and beautiful person to be a bandit, right?"

No, your nervousness is the best evidence.

Besides, there's no reason for these two not to be bandits.

The boss said that new male and female members had joined, and most importantly, the tip of a wine bottle was visible from the backpack they were carrying.

Hal seemed to have noticed as well, but since I was carrying Nolun, Hal alone couldn't carry the bandit, so I used them.

With their level, even if they caught us off guard, we wouldn't be defeated, and I had them walk in front as a precaution.

Even if the bandit woke up and it became a 2-on-3, I had cut the tendons in the bandit's arms, so they wouldn't be a threat.

"S-Sure, Rookie, as proof, we'll give you 80% of the bounty we get from turning in this bandit to the Adventurer's Guild. How about it? We were planning to split it, but I'll give you 80%. There's no way a bandit would be this generous, right?"

"Wow, Jofle, you're so generous!"

The two of them got excited.

"......"

We stared at the two of them.

"Y-You're not convinced? Okay, then 90%! 90% for you and 10% for us. Let's make a deal, okay?"

"Ah, Jofle, are you a god? You're so amazing, I'm in awe!"

The two of them got even more excited.

"......"

We stared at the two of them.

"O-Okay, 95%, no, all of it, just forgive us!"

"Jofle, stop it! Don't apologize! You became a bandit to save people as a righteous thief!"

Jofle prostrated himself, and Elise stood by him.

After staring at them silently, they started confessing. They are indeed annoying, but they are also quite amusing.

When they prostrated themselves, the bandit fell over, but he should be fine, right?

"Nolun, what do you think?"

Nolun was holding her head, looking at the two of them.

"Jofle and Elise, they are known in this town as—petty criminals."

"What kind of things did they do?"

"For example, stealing apples three times."

"We didn't steal them, we waited for them to fall and picked them up. It's just finding lost items."

"That's right, stealing is the worst!"

People who call stealing the worst shouldn't join a bandit group.

Also, apples exist in this world. I want to eat an apple pie.

"Selling mud balls without permission."

"I didn't know that selling mud balls required permission from the Alchemy Guild."

"The kids bought them for one cent. They were shiny."

Hmm, I don't think I would know that selling mud balls requires permission either.

The idea of selling mud balls to children is strange.

"Vandalizing walls."

"That's not vandalism! It's my signature!"

"Jofle's signature will definitely become a tourist attraction in this town in the future!"

Ah... I see.

So, these two are—

"Just idiots?"

"Yes..."

Nolun sighed.

It's no wonder the urge to capture them disappears. All their crimes are at the level of severe warnings.

Even though they joined the bandits, they were new members who didn't even know the boss's face.

"I didn't expect them to be part of the bandits... But I think they should spend the night in the holding cell for now."

Yeah, I'll leave it to you.

"If you want to get out of the holding cell quickly, help carry this man."

"Okay, just to the Adventurer's Guild, right?"

"No, to the checkpoint at the entrance of the dungeon."

"Got it. Let's go, Elise!"

"Okay, Jofle."

The two of them cheerfully carried the still-stretching bandit.

"Nolun, you're quite experienced."

"......Yes, since I was assigned here, their cases have come up every three days. It's a waste of tax money to imprison them, there are no buyers for criminal slaves, and their crimes aren't severe enough for capital punishment. I've been ordering them to explore the dungeon to stabilize it, but I didn't expect them to become friends with the dungeon bandits."

"......Good work."

Finally, with Jofle and Elise in the lead, we escaped the dungeon.

At the entrance, a man with a spear was waiting,

"Nolun, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I was captured by bandits, but he saved me. This man is the bandit leader."

"Hmm... Oh, I see! Hey! Carry this guy to the checkpoint! Help me! By the way, what about Jofle and Elise?"

The man seemed used to Jofle and Elise, calling them "Jofle and Elise" for short.

"They seemed to get along with the bandits and became friends. I think I'll take them to the holding cell."

"Got it, we'll handle it. Nolun, go home, Margaret is worried about you. We'll talk about the details tomorrow."

Then, the man turned to me,

"Thank you for saving Nolun. On behalf of the vigilante group, I appreciate it. If there's a bounty on this man, you'll be paid. Come to the Adventurer's Guild tomorrow."

"......Then, let's stop by Margaret's shop and head back to Matthias's shop."

"No, Matthias's shop is already closed. Let's go in the morning."

Ah, you're right. It would be a bother if we went now.

I thought about reporting to Margaret, who might be worried, but you're right.

"Got it... Then, let's stay at Margaret's place tonight."

There should be extra rooms.

Jofle and Elise were so obviously bandits that I panicked.

No, they were obviously bandits.