Chapter 14

The swift and precise capture by the knights resulted in the ten bandits being restrained in an instant.

Now, they won’t be able to cause any more trouble; I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I, along with Mawr, who was still clinging to my thigh, Meala standing beside me, and the freed hostages, stepped outside the store.

The crowd that had gathered began to murmur at the sight of me.

“Phew, at least that’s one relief…”

“Excuse me! Master Mako!”

It was then.

The knights, who had just finished restraining the bandits, rushed over to me with a loud thud.

“Master Mako! Was everything alright, Master Mako!?”

“Ah, eh? Ah, yes.”

The stern-faced men gathered in front of me, vying to be the first to speak.

“What kind of magic, no, martial arts did you use to subdue those bandits!?”

“Huh? Martial arts?”

Their eyes sparkled, like those of young boys who idolize superhero actors, as they bombarded me with questions.

“Well, I used that ‘steel pipe’ to go ‘boon’”

I pointed to the ‘pipe’ I had left inside the store.

“What! You used that spear with your slender arms!?”

“What school of spear technique did you master!?”

“Is ‘steel pipe’ the name of that famous spear!?”

No, it’s not a famous spear…

And the questions are really intense…

“Ah, thank you!”

Then, a voice from behind.

I turned to see the fruit store employees who had been taken hostage.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“You must be a renowned warrior… or a famous mage!?”

“No, not at all…”

There was a commotion both in front and behind me.

The crowd was also talking about me, wondering who I was.

Hmm… I have something more important to do right now.

“Excuse me, I need to speak to Prince Ikusa as soon as possible—”

“Damn it!”

At that moment, a rough male voice was heard.

It came from the leader of the bandits, who had been restrained and was lying on the ground.

Ikusa stood in front of him.

“I have some questions for you.”

His expression was serious, unlike the carefree one he usually had when encountering rare magical artifacts.

“Why did you attack this fruit store and barricade yourselves in today?”

“...”

“I’ve heard that you are usually a small group of petty bandits who ambush travelers on the road. You don’t seem to have the organizational skills to attack a store in the city, nor the military strength to escape unscathed.”

Ikusa continued.

“Yet, you chose to barricade yourselves, an inefficient crime, and even demanded a magical artifact from a royal. Everything seems so impulsive and childish. However, I suspect…”

He said this, but it seemed like he had a hunch.

“This crime wasn’t just about money or my magical artifacts. Was it a request from someone?”

“...”

“For example… to frame me. To harass me.”

The leader’s breathing became heavier.

“‘You who preach equality between beastmen and humans’ ‘You who abandoned beastman children because you didn’t want to give up your collection’ ‘You who left the responsibility to the knights’… By causing an incident in the city, especially in this market town where people from all over the country come and go, you tried to spread such rumors among the people, didn’t you?”

“...! ...! ...!”

“Who… no, ‘which prince’?”

“Damn it! This isn’t what we agreed on!”

The leader shouted, looking at someone in front of him.

“Huh? Huh?”

It was the captain of the knights, who had been lying down and told to rest. He must have just regained consciousness. He sat up and looked around in confusion—

“Hey! What the hell is going on with you guys!”

He was shocked to see the leader of the bandits.

“That’s what I want to know! Why were you unconscious so calmly! I agreed to cooperate and cover for you because you promised a reward! What’s the meaning of this!”

“What, you idiot! What are you doing here—”

“Captain of the Knights.”

In an instant, Ikusa stepped in front of the captain.

“What’s going on? Could this have been your own doing?”

“A, g… g…”

The captain lost his voice, and Ikusa sighed.

“Well, I’m not surprised… So, who gave you the impossible task?”

“...”

“Someone like the ‘Eighth Prince’? Or the ‘Third Prince,’ who has been critical of my father’s ideals and is his lapdog?”

“...”

“Probably the Eighth Prince. Despite his single-digit age, he has a tyrannical streak…”

Suddenly, the captain stood up and ran off.

He was trying to escape.

“Get out of the way! Get—”

He was probably trying to blend into the crowd.

But just as he was about to dive in, a woman stood in his path.

It was Suaro.

She had her hand on the hilt of her sword.

In an instant, Suaro’s right arm moved, and the captain’s armor shattered.

“G, g…”

He collapsed on the spot.

Wow.

Was that a ‘quick draw’?

“Thank you, Suaro. You didn’t kill him, right?”

“Yes, I just knocked him out.”

“Prince Ikusa, what’s going on?”

Finally, Ikusa turned to me.

“...There’s a lot going on with the current royal family…”

He said with a grim expression, then looked at me apologetically.

“I might need to apologize to you. Your beastman friends might have been targeted since yesterday. It’s unusual to see beastman children in such a place, and my involvement and the large sum of money I paid to draw attention might have been a factor. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry.”

Ikusa bowed his head.

...I don’t know. It’s not like all of this is really your fault, but you’re apologizing.

There’s a lot going on with the royal family, huh.

“He can be questioned later. But—”

At that moment, I saw the sharp look in Ikusa’s eyes and remembered.

Right, bad, if I keep using rare magic, I’ll be interrogated again.

“Mako, you—”

“Prince Ikusa! The head of the Weeble family is here!”

One of the knights ran over.

“He wants to apologize for causing trouble for the prince and to thank the woman who rescued the hostages!”

Ikusa turned his attention to the knight.

Now’s my chance!

I ran off without looking back.

“Entia!”

In the crowd, I saw Entia’s massive body curled up.

Nearby were Mawr, Meala, and Lam, Baguz, and Uga.

I could also see the cart they had used to transport their goods yesterday.

‘Sis!’

“Pull the cart and run! We’re escaping!”

‘Got it!’

Entia, who seemed to understand my intention instantly (maybe because of the ‘Pet Master’ skill?), grabbed the rope tied to the cart.

“Everyone, get on the cart!”

I shouted while running.

At that moment, the knights started chasing me.

Bad, they might try to catch me—

“Please wait, Master Mako! We’d like to train with you!”

They were completely serious! I can’t tell if they’re serious or just naive!

“Alright, alright! Next time!”

I answered casually and jumped onto the cart.

“Hey, Prince Ikusa!”

Standing on the cart, I shouted to Ikusa, who looked stunned.

“I’ll give you that magical artifact! Use it for research!”

I pointed to the ‘steel pipe’ I had left behind.

Then—

“There’s a lot of complicated stuff going on with the royal family, but don’t give up!”

Ikusa’s eyes widened in surprise at my words.

By then, the cart, pulled by the running Entia, had already started moving.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

“Phew, I’m so tired…”

Entia ran down the road.

I lay on the cart, looking up at the sky.

Including me, there were three adult beastmen and two children on the cart, but Entia’s strength was incredible.

So much has happened in just two days.

I just want to relax.

I really want to stay away from political stuff.

“Mako”

I looked to my right.

Mawr was lying next to me.

“Hehe… You’re amazing, Mako. Strong and cool… Thank you for saving us.”

She said, blushing.

I looked to my left.

Meala was there.

“…Thank you.”

She said, looking away.

“Yeah… I’m glad everyone is safe.”

I looked up at the sky again.

I gazed at the vast blue sky for a while, then closed my eyes.

I made a good amount of money and bought a lot of souvenirs for everyone. This trip was a huge success.

When we get back to the village, I’ll take it easy.