Several days had passed since the incident with the Cobolts and at the gates of Gilm.
During that time, Rei, Vihera, Byune, and Set continued venturing outside Gilm to search for the alchemist.
However, finding a single alchemist outside Gilm when it would be difficult enough to find one inside proved quite a challenge, and they had yet to catch sight of the alchemist.
"Guruuu..."
Set, flying through the sky on flapping wings, let out an apologetic cry.
Rei, riding on its back, stroked Set's back.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like it's your fault, Set. You knew from the start that finding them would be difficult, right? Besides, we're not the only ones searching."
"Gurururu"
At Rei's words, Set regained a little of its spirit.
Though only Rei and Set were searching from the sky, Vihera and Byune were moving around on the ground. Following the incident at the gate, the guard soldiers had also been patrolling inside Gilm — particularly around the slums, where people could easily hide.
However, while Vihera and Byune were one matter, only Ranga and a few others within the Guard Force actually knew the full situation.
Given that, it was not uncommon for guards who knew nothing about the circumstances to conduct patrols, resulting in searches that were somewhat off-target.
...Though it wasn't exactly a byproduct of that, the guards patrolling the streets did serve as a crime deterrent.
"Besides, Vihera was enjoying herself quite a bit, wasn't she? She's working while having fun, so don't let it bother you."
"Guruu?"
Was I? Set tilted its head.
Indeed, Vihera had been enjoying the act of walking around outside Gilm with Byune.
Vihera had only recently arrived in Gilm, and there were still some people who didn't know of her connection to Rei.
...Even though she had been in Gilm for less than ten days, the number of people who knew Vihera already outnumbered those who didn't — a testament to just how much she stood out.
At any rate, among those who didn't know Vihera was connected to Rei, the rougher sort would naturally try to hit on her when they encountered her outside Gilm.
In response, Vihera would tell them she'd at least hear them out if they could beat her, challenging them to a mock battle... and the result was an unbroken string of victories.
If anything, Vihera's exploits over the past few days had made her stand out in a different way than Rei.
"I don't think they're inside Gilm. If they were, they'd stand out quite a bit."
"Guruu"
Set let out a cry of agreement with Rei's words.
If the alchemist was inside Gilm, small weapons like the dagger aside, a massive Magic Item like the hammer the red Cyclops had used would inevitably draw attention when being carried out.
And there was no way the Guard Force led by Ranga would overlook someone carrying out such cargo.
Could they be disguised as a merchant?
Rei considered the possibility, but the guard soldiers could be considered professionals in that field.
The Gilm guards in particular, given that the city was in the frontier, checked such things thoroughly.
(In that case, they must be hiding out somewhere... but staying outdoors in the frontier at night, and likely with only a small group at that — that's a bit hard to imagine.)
Rei pondered this while gazing down at the ground from atop Set's flapping wings, when suddenly Set let out a cry.
"Guruu!"
"What is it!?"
Set cried out and immediately changed course, flapping its wings.
As it dove toward the ground, its behavior was exactly what one would expect from a bird of prey that had spotted its quarry.
From Set's back, Rei also directed his gaze toward the ground.
As they landed, what entered Rei's field of vision was a single overturned carriage by the side of the highway.
At first, Rei thought it might have been an accident where a wheel had caught on something, but the only things around the carriage were the corpses of horses.
Not horses that had broken their necks from the impact of the carriage rolling over, but horses with arrows sticking out of them.
It was clearly the work of human hands, and if so, what kind of people had done this was easy enough for Rei to imagine.
"Bandits coming all the way out to the vicinity of Gilm is unusual. Is it because it's spring?"
Gilm was in the frontier, and powerful monsters existed in large numbers in the surrounding area.
And monsters naturally did not consider bandits as allies; if they encountered them, they would attack without question.
In other words, to operate as bandits in the frontier, one needed the strength to defeat monsters.
While not exceedingly common, one needed power sufficient to face C-Rank monsters like the Cyclops Rei had fought the other day.
Of course, with that kind of strength, one could attack the merchants and trade caravans coming to Gilm and steal large quantities of rare goods.
But doing so would put a target on them from Gilm's adventurers in addition to monsters.
If one had enough power to deal with that... they wouldn't need to be bandits at all. They could make a living through honest means as mercenaries or otherwise.
To deliberately operate as bandits near Gilm under such conditions meant they were either people confident in their skills who couldn't or wouldn't choose any way of life other than banditry... or overconfident fools who knew nothing about the situation here.
"Well, just because they're using bows doesn't necessarily mean they're bandits. And with only one carriage, it might not be merchants either."
If they were humanoid monsters like Orcs or Cobolts, it wouldn't be strange for them to use bows.
Even so, for Rei, it was preferable that they turned out to be bandits. Because...
"There's a saying about using a snake to catch a snake. If they really are bandits claiming this area as their territory, it wouldn't be strange for them to know something about the alchemist situation. Set, do you know where they are?"
"Guruu!"
At Rei's words, Set looked toward a copse of trees slightly off the highway, as if saying to leave it to them.
Unlike the forest where the battle with the Cyclops had taken place, this was a copse with sparsely growing trees. If fighting was happening deeper within, finding them wouldn't be difficult.
"Set!"
At that call, Set let out a cry and immediately sprang into action.
With Rei still on its back, it kicked off the ground and advanced through the copse, weaving between the trees.
After running for about a minute, the sound of clashing metal finally reached Rei's ears.
(A minute at Set's pace means it's quite a distance, even while dodging trees. The fact that they escaped the bandits that far means they must be pretty fast on their feet?)
While not as fast as when flying, Set's running speed was considerable.
Enough to easily catch up to a trained horse, in fact.
Since Set ran for a full minute, the distance covered was substantial.
Eventually, the figures of those fighting came into view through the gaps in the trees...
"Looks like we hit the mark. Set, I need you to guard the ones being attacked."
"Guruu!"
There were about twenty individuals who appeared to be bandits.
Against them, there were five who seemed to be guards.
The difference in numbers was overwhelming, but the reason the bandits hadn't yet finished the fight was likely because the five guards were focusing entirely on defense, centered around two women in their twenties.
(I don't know if they're merchants or not, but this must be why the bandits prioritized the people in the carriage over the cargo.)
The two women being protected by the guards were, even in Rei's eyes, people with refined features.
Even from the perspective of Rei, who knew beauties like Elena, Vihera, and Marina, they didn't quite measure up to those three, but they possessed beauty that could confidently be called attractive.
It wouldn't have been surprising for the bandits' eyes to light up at the sight of them.
"Set, I'm counting on you. First, use King's Intimidation."
"Guruu!"
Just as Rei called out while retrieving the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring, they burst through the trees and emerged into what served as a clearing.
The first to notice the sudden intruders were not the bandits... but the five guards.
Set had appeared from behind the bandits, so that was only natural.
Noticing the guards' reaction, the bandits sensed something was off and began to turn around...
"Gurururururururururuuu!"
At the roar that echoed from behind them, their legs trembled, the weapons they held dropped to the ground, and their minds filled with terror.
"W-What? What just happened?"
One of the guards stared in disbelief and spoke aloud at the sight of all the bandits who had surrounded them suddenly standing frozen in a daze.
It was the effect of the skill called King's Intimidation, but the two women and five guards recognized by Set as those it should protect were exempt from its effect.
"...I didn't expect everyone to go down in one hit. Turns out there was nothing for me to do after all."
Muttering this, Rei dismounted from Set's back and surveyed the surroundings with the Death Scythe in hand.
"Umm, you're..."
One of the guards opened his mouth at the sight of Rei.
At first, he hadn't known who Rei was... or what the situation was, but the guards had come to Gilm as escorts many times over the past few years.
Because of that, they quickly recalled the person who had a Gryphon as a Tamed Monster and carried a scythe larger than his own frame.
"Are you... Crimson!?"
"That's right. ...Well, we can talk about the details later, but for now, we should tie up these bandits so they can't move. Are those two safe as well?"
Rei's gaze was directed at the two women surrounded by the guards.
They had been attacked by bandits, and though the guards had managed to help them escape, they were pursued into the copse where they were caught and surrounded, then attacked half in jest by bandits who knew they could take them down whenever they pleased.
At this rate, all the guards would be killed, they would be taken by the bandits, their bodies defiled, and ultimately they might be sold as slaves.
Amidst such fears, a sudden hand of salvation had appeared.
The person wore a hood, so their face wasn't visible, and they weren't particularly tall.
It would have been impossible not to feel gratitude toward such a person.
"Thank you so much. Truly, I don't know how to express my gratitude."
"Um, th-thank you!"
As the two women bowed deeply, Rei waved his hand lightly.
"Don't worry about it. I have some business with the bandits too... I'll ask just to be sure, but these guys are bandits, right?"
Rei asked, figuring it would be no joke if it turned out they weren't actually bandits, but the five guards and two women all nodded in response.
"Without a doubt, they're bandits."
"I figured. If you told me with those faces that they weren't bandits but the knight order, that would've surprised me in its own way."
"Hey now, don't judge people by their faces."
Listening to the guards' exchange, it briefly crossed Rei's mind that if Pamidor were here, he would without question be treated as the bandit boss.
While somewhat wanting to see that play out, Rei took out a rope from the Misty Ring and tossed it to the guards.
"As things are, there's no telling when these guys might start moving again. Let's tie them up quickly."
Even while Rei was talking with the guards, the bandits remained unable to move.
No, some of them had even lost consciousness entirely.
If they could move, they would flee immediately, but they were still completely immobilized by the effects of King's Intimidation. And even if they could move, Set was keeping the bandits pinned with a sharp glare that would make anyone who saw it disbelieve it came from the same creature.
Set's eyes normally emphasized cuteness with their round shape, but right now they held a gaze so sharp that no one who saw them could possibly believe that.
Thus, Rei and the guards quickly tied up the bandits who were unable to move.
Though two of the guards stayed by the women's side in case the bandits tried anything suspicious.
There were about twenty bandits, but since Rei and the others were used to this, they had them all tied up in a matter of minutes.
"...So, um... I know it's a bit late to ask, but what do we do with them? You saved us, so we'll leave handling them to you."
One of the guards who had finished tying up the bandits asked Rei this, but Rei shook his head at the question.
"No, I'll leave these guys to you. The carriage is in that state, so you've got plenty of expenses, right?"
Normally, Rei — as the name Bandit Eater suggested — would steal the treasures the bandits had hoarded and sell the captured bandits as slaves for money.
That alone could amount to one fortune... or even two, which should give an idea of just how much Rei normally earned.
That was exactly why the guard's eyes went wide with surprise at Rei's words.
"Are you sure?"
Even though bringing the bandits to Gilm as they were would mean money.
"Yeah, I'm a bit short on time right now. But before that, I'd like to ask these guys a few questions. I'm looking for something... no, someone. It might not be pleasant news for you, but I originally got involved in this situation for that very purpose."
"No, if you hadn't been here, we'd have been in real trouble. It's questionable whether we could've saved those two we were guarding. We have plenty to be grateful for and nothing to hold against you. ...So, what did you want to ask? I don't mind, but are you all okay with it?"
When the guard who had been talking with Rei asked the others, the only response that came back was a nod.