Chapter 217: Incidents Always Happen

The fact that something always happens wherever I go is, I think, the reason I am the protagonist. Some people would call it being a troublemaker.

That does not matter. I said to Captain Jobson,

"What are you going to do? How will you move?"

I asked, thinking it was more about how Jobson and the others would move than how I would move. He answered with something completely off the mark:

"We will have to move the village guard."

Yet when I thought about it he was right. From the perspective of the village guard, Captain Jobson was a guest, so against external enemies the village guard had to take the lead and move.

"Right. Then what will you do?"

"I will send someone to contact them."

Yes, that comes first.

"I see. Please do. Is there anything I can do?"

I said it out of goodwill. Lily had also changed clothes. Both of us were full of motivation.

"No. Having a guest participate in battle, sending him into such a dangerous situation — that is impossible! Still less is it possible to have the state guest Prince Robin appear on a battlefield."

He declared it flatly. What a lonely thing to be told. Lonely, and cold...

Captain Jobson, who noticed none of my passionate feelings, left me and Lily behind and dashed out of the room.... The junior soldier who ought to have been standing by in front of the room was also gone. The soldiers inside the lodging had been woken, and the disturbance gradually grew larger. Even though there were not that many escort soldiers, because they made a racket everyone had woken up, hadn’t they!? I think it had been a good chance to catch the bandits in one net.

"Lily, since I’m wide awake now, shall we go watch the big capture?"

Lily sighed and said,

"Yes. At this rate it looks as if the bandits will escape. They do not seem very used to dealing with bandits. The fact that they are unused to such things is proof that this village has been peaceful and safe, yet even so..."

The two of us, while being appalled at the response of Captain Jobson and those below him, went outside and climbed onto the roof. Because the lodging was two stories it was not as high as the official residences in the capital. From the roof we searched for where the bandits had gone and discovered they were lurking in a dark corner in the shadow of a house. Apparently, because Captain Jobson and those below him had moved so ostentatiously, the bandits were on alert. What is the strength of the village guard? I do not know how many bandits there are, yet because they came to the village knowing there was a guard, they must have calculated that they could win even if they fought the guard.

That means if those flustered Captain Jobson and the guard fight the bandits, won’t they lose?

"Lily, what do you think those bandits will do?"

We were sitting side by side on the peak of the roof. In this situation back in the capital Lily would have asked "Shall I give you one shot?", yet there was not the slightest such atmosphere. Somehow a slight distance was being kept.

"Those bandits appear to be moving on the premise that their intrusion into the village will be discovered."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. They are not trying to flee; is it not as if they are waiting?"

"Is that so? Certainly when you say it, they have too much composure and it also looks as if they are waiting for something."

"Shall I go tell that captain the place where the bandits are lurking?"

"Uuun, with that much he ought to be able to tell, shouldn’t he? He would not do something so clumsy. Besides, if I tell him it seems he would suspect ’How do you know?’"

"Yes. Then shall we watch the situation?"

In fact it later became clear that Lily and I had overestimated the guard.

The bandits Lily and I had fought in the capital of the Marie Kingdom had generally been stronger than the guards. And they had been extraordinarily strong. The members of the capital guard had generally been weaker than the bandits. Because we were there the outcome had been somehow a little better than a draw, and because Lily and I had defeated the bandits the impression remained that the guard was strong (that had only been the Anderson ducal house’s guard), and we had vaguely thought that normally the guard would be stronger than the bandits, yet the theory that bandits are stronger than the guard was being carried over even in the Mainz Kingdom.

In the first place, bandits never come without investigating anything about a village. Naturally they investigate thoroughly and come because they believe they can win when attacking the village. In comparison, the guard on the side being attacked does not know on what scale the bandits will come. It was the same in the capital of the Marie Kingdom; the bandits are more used to fighting and more used to killing people. Yet the village guard plus Captain Jobson and the others had so little tension that they had been holding women (buying them?). Thinking of that, the bandits’ victory was decided from the beginning. All of this is only when thinking afterward.

With the guard, even if one does not fight oneself it is fine if a colleague fights hard and drives the bandits away, yet with the bandits if one does not work one will be killed by the boss behind, so of course the degree of desperation between guard and bandits is different. Therefore with the same fighting strength the bandits become the stronger.

Thus the members of the guard who did not look very useful decided to light lamps, split the unit, and patrol the village. Yet, as the saying goes that when one looks down from a high place the situation can be seen well, even though the situation was well visible to us it was not visible to the guard, and they were holding back.

Because they had split the guard, each group was at most about five people and they were looking around while trembling. And at last they came to the place where the bandits were hiding. The bandits were lying in wait and attacked. Before the guards could even raise their voices they were brought down. The guards made far too many blunders.

"Lily, take out the bow. And tell Captain Jobson the place where the bandits are lurking!"

"...You must not!"

Surprised at Lily’s unexpected words I looked at her face; Lily shook her head.

"Helping is forbidden. If we do such a thing their position will be lost. In the first place all the arrows I possess use the feathers of Marie golden eagles. Anyone who knows would understand that they are not arrows of the Mainz Kingdom. It would become known that people of the Marie Kingdom loosed the arrows."

Then that is no good... I didn’t know that!

"But at this rate the guard may be annihilated!"

"Even so. We have no choice but to wait until they request assistance."

"However, while we sit idly by the guard will die and the villagers will be killed. Even while watching that, must we not lay hands?"

"Yes. Suppose that when we lend them a hand the battle ends and the higher-ups learn of this incident. Then the superiors will see that they could not settle the matter by themselves and were helped by a prince of another country who happened to be present — and a child at that. That becomes a symbol that they were negligent toward their own duties. Therefore we must not lay hands."

"I see. So we have no choice but to remain spectators to the end..."

"Yes."

Because the guard looks as if they are frightened and holding back, from the beginning they are not opponents.

The bandits disappeared into the darkness.

"Ah!"

I had an idea!

"What is it, Robby-sama?"

"If the other side is darkness, then I can also use Stealth with all my strength and attack, right?"

"Uuun, if it is only that much... would it be all right? I wonder? Will we not be found?"

"All right! Let’s go, follow me!"

"Let us be extremely careful. There may be someone who uses special magic!"

"Understood!"

Battle begins!!