Chapter 60

A few days later.

During the day, I had Phylia pull the cart in the form of a normal Filo, avoiding villages and towns as we headed northeast.

At night, we repeatedly camped in the open.

We were almost at the border.

“Gwee!”

Filo screeched loudly.

Enemies!?

The Second Princess and I hid in the straw and observed the situation.

“Hehehe, leave your money behind.”

A familiar voice.

It was the same group of bandits I had beaten up when I was transporting the accessory merchant.

It’s just these guys.

Attacking a cart that only has straw... What are they thinking?

“Hey! Hand over your valuables quickly! Oh? This one’s unexpectedly a--”

The bandit’s face turned pale as he looked at Laphelia, who was in disguise.

“Still the same, aren’t you?”

There’s no need to hide. I stepped out of the straw and jumped off the cart.

Realizing that there was no need to disguise herself, Filo transformed back into Filo-Queen.

“Are we going to fight?”

The Second Princess asked worriedly from the straw.

“Yeah, probably. It’s fine.”

“What’s going on? What’s the matter with you guys?”

Among the bandits, about two-thirds were new faces, and they were confused by the pale faces of their companions.

“D-Don’t panic. This guy is a wanted man now. If we take him down, we’ll be rich!”

The lead bandit’s voice cracked, and he trembled as he spoke.

He’s stuttering a lot.

“Back already? Even after we confiscated all your assets, you recovered quickly.”

The bandits who hadn’t fought us before were now entering a combat stance, confused by my response.

“Shut up! Because of you, I’m now a low-ranking member of a rival bandit gang!”

“Oh, so the bandit gang merged?”

“The boss went back to the countryside!”

“That’s good. It’s nice to see you’ve left this line of work.”

“Shut up! I’ll get you all!”

They drew their weapons and charged at us.

“Filo! Laphelia!”

“Yes!”

“Sure!”

I positioned myself to protect the Second Princess from behind.

Filo and Laphelia aren’t the type to be outmatched by bandits.

“Take this!”

A bandit swung his sword at Filo.

“Filo-chan!”

The Second Princess burst out of the straw, extending her hands and beginning to chant.

What? Can the Second Princess fight too?

“I, the source of power, command you. Reinterpret the principles and launch a mass of water at them!”

“Al Zweite Aqua Shot!”

What?

Large masses of water shot out at high speed from the Second Princess’s hands, blowing the bandits away.

Zweite. That’s an adjective for intermediate-level magic. And Al means multiple.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

The bandits near Filo were blown away.

The power was considerable.

“I, the source of power, command you. Reinterpret the principles and cut through them with a blade of water!”

“Zweite Aqua Slash!”

Immediately, the Second Princess cast another spell.

A blade of water shot out from the magical water sphere at the tips of her hands, passing through the bandits.

It made a nice slicing sound.

Though it didn’t hit, the tree in front of it was split in half vertically.

“Next time... I’ll hit.”

She was breathing heavily. It seems casting spells in succession is difficult.

“There’s a mage! And a powerful one at that!”

“Filo-chan!”

“Yes!”

Filo kicked the bandits, who were distracted by the Second Princess, like they were toys, silencing them.

“I’m done here.”

“It’s not over yet!”

I saw a bandit with a pale face trying to sneak around to our back and jump onto the cart to attack the Second Princess.

“Air Shield”

“Ugh!”

I summoned a shield in the path of the bandit’s jump.

“It’s not over yet!”

Taking advantage of the opening, the remaining bandit ran towards the Second Princess, who seemed the weakest.

“Second Shield, Change Shield”

I summoned a second shield to block his movement and then transformed it into a Beedle Shield.

This one could potentially kill with its poison, so I used the paralysis effect.

“Ugh, gah...”

The bandit who hit the second shield was paralyzed and convulsing.

“S-Still...”

The bandit who tried to sneak up on the Second Princess was crawling closer.

“No, it’s over.”

“A...”

A large shadow loomed over the bandit. He must have realized it. He looked like he was crying.

Probably seeing his life flash before his eyes or something.

“Mell, I’ll save you!”

Filo pounced on him.

“Since the sun is setting, it’s perfect. Tell us where your hideout is.”

After tying them all up, I asked.

“If we talk--”

“Filo”

“Right here!”

“Hey!”

Some of the bandits were unaware of the situation.

“What’s going on?”

The bandit from our previous encounter started to persuade them desperately.

“If you don’t cooperate, you’ll become food for that bird!”

“No way, that’s a joke, right?”

“Do you think he’s joking?”

The bandit who tried to sneak up on us looked at me and said,

“Who is that guy? He used some weird magic or skill.”

“You don’t get it!? It’s the shields!”

“Huh?”

The bandits finally realized who we were, and their faces turned pale.

“That man-eating bird and the devil!?”

“That’s right! That bird eats people from the head! If you provoke it, you’re done for!”

“Life is precious! If you give us all our wealth and our leader, we’ll be spared!”

It seems my bad reputation is spreading rapidly...

Laphelia put her hand on her forehead, looking exasperated.

“If you lie--”

“I understand! Just spare our lives!”

Before he could finish, the bandit led us to their hideout. Of course, with our overwhelming combat power, we easily took it over.

That night, we stayed in the hideout we had taken over and feasted on the supplies the bandits had stockpiled.

Mainly food. We had been living on the run, so our meals had been sparse, mostly monster meat.

At first, the Second Princess was scared, but she soon got used to it.

We only took the money and burned the rest, as leaving it behind could be dangerous if the bandits recovered it.

The tied-up bandits were left outside, looking half-smiling and desperate.

“By the way, Second Princess, you can use magic?”

“Yeah, I learned it for self-defense.”

“How much can you use?”

Considering the future, it would be better to have the Second Princess in our party if she can fight.

“What’s your level?”

“Um, Level 18... I can use most intermediate-level water magic.”

Lower than I expected. But considering her appearance, it’s not surprising.

But intermediate-level magic, huh.

“Are you good with water?”

“Yeah.”

Her blue hair might be related.

“And a bit of earth magic.”

“Huh...”

Surprisingly versatile.

“By the way, your sister used wind magic, right?”

I don’t want to remember.

The wind magic that flew at me from behind during the duel.

Thinking about it makes me irritated. I’ll stop there.

“Sister? Sister is good with fire and a bit of wind.”

Makes sense, given her hair color.

“Mother is good with fire and water.”

“Hmm.”

Irrelevant.

“Anyway, I’ll send a party request. Join us.”

I don’t intend to rely on her.

But it’s good to have a backup in case of emergencies. It’s better to have someone who can fight.

Escaping increases the risk of death.

I want to avoid relying on the Second Princess as much as possible.

“Hey, why did the Shield Hero anger Father so much?”

“I haven’t told you yet. It all started when your sister set me up--”

That night, I told the Second Princess about all the pain I had endured from the scum and the bitch.

Filo was listening with a face like she was watching a paper theater, but I didn’t lie or exaggerate.

I told her the truth, including my feelings and grievances.

“Father and Sister are terrible! The Shield Hero shouldn’t be blamed for saying harsh things!”

“Right, right.”

“Mother always said to treat the Shield Hero with care.”

“Huh?”

What is she talking about? The country’s religion considers shields demonic, right?

Is the queen different?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I wonder what your mother thinks of you.”

“Hmm... I don’t know. But Father wrote in a letter that I should treat you like the other heroes.”

From what the Second Princess said, it seems the queen was concerned about me.

But since she couldn’t protect me, she’s as guilty as the scum.

“Master, a lot happened before Filo was born.”

“Yeah.”

“Huh?”

The Second Princess looked surprised.

“So, how old are you, Filo-chan?”

“One month and three weeks.”

“Eh!?”

Well, it’s surprising. Even for a monster, it’s rapid growth.

“Filo-chan is precocious.”

“Hehe, I got a compliment.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“So, I’m older than you.”

“Well, in terms of age, yes. Laphelia is about your age too.”

“Laphelia is...”

Filo looked slightly disappointed as she looked at Laphelia.

Laphelia had a subtle expression, probably not liking the attention.

This bird only says outrageous things, so I understand her feelings.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re a demi-human... Even if you’re the same age, you feel older.”

“Ugh... I feel like I lost even though I didn’t.”

The atmosphere is a bit awkward.

“Well, if Laphelia looked her age, I’d probably be labeled a pervert.”

A lolicon label.

Both Filo and the Second Princess are children. If Laphelia were a child, it would be even worse.

“It’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Naofumi-sama...”

If I had three young girls, it would be called a lolicon harem.

Those heroes would probably denounce me.

“Anyway, we’ll rest here today and cross the border tomorrow.”

““Yeah!””

“Yes!”