"Bandits!?"
The party hadn't expected an ambush in a place like this.
"We're at the base of a steep descent from the pass," Elsa analyzed calmly. "We're hidden from the top, and we're far enough away that the guards up there wouldn't notice a thing."
"Usually, attacking from above would be the advantage," she continued. "But we aren't armed, and our only escape route is back up the hill—which is too steep to climb quickly."
"I see. They chose this spot specifically for the trap."
"Most likely. They probably anticipated that I would be making a round trip and lay in wait for us."
When traveling to Port Rock, one almost always returned by the same road. Elsa surmised they had been followed or tracked.
"How many are there?" Jin asked.
Reiko peeked out the window. Since the carriage was inscribed with a simple magi-formula for a magic barrier, it was difficult to sense presences through the walls; she had to rely on her eyes.
"Ten... no, eleven," Reiko reported. Ten were closing in, while one more stood further back.
"I see. Oh, right—this is a bad time, but Elsa, I want you to have this."
Jin pulled a ring from the pouch where he kept his personal effects and held it out to her.
"...? Jin-kun?" Elsa stared at the ring with a look of confusion.
"Listen, I made this myself. It's called a Protect Ring." He took her hand and pressed the ring into it. "Just put it on for now."
"Mmph."
She looked for a finger that fit and settled on her left ring finger. For some reason, a small, happy expression flickered across her face as she slid it on. "I'm wearing it."
"Good. It'll take about a minute for your mana to sync with it. After that, just say the keyword 'Barrier' to activate it. It can block most attacks."
"...Eh?"
"No time to explain. Reiko, where's Touka?"
"In the luggage, Father."
Since she couldn't exactly carry a katana around at all times, it had been stored in the luggage compartment at the rear of the carriage.
"Alright, get it out. Then, repel the bandits."
"Understood."
"Jin-kun, you and the others stay here," Elsa said firmly. "We will handle the bandits."
Jin shook his head. "I can't just do that. This is an emergency; we have to work together to get through this."
He stepped out of the carriage alongside Reiko. Mine, the wet nurse, was already there, clutching a short knife and bracing herself to protect the carriage.
"You two?"
"We can fight. Let us help."
When Elsa tried to step down as well, Mine cried out in a panic. "Milady! You mustn't!"
Jin backed her up. "Elsa, stay inside. This carriage has magic defenses, right?"
"...You can tell?"
"Yeah. You're safer in there."
But Elsa refused to listen and stepped down onto the road anyway.
"Milady..." Mine was nearly in tears.
Elsa remained composed. "If we're combining our strength, then I should fight too. I can use magic."
She looked down the slope. The bandits were just about to clash with the guards.
"You scoundrels! Do you have any idea whose carriage this is? You are attacking a daughter of a Shouro Empire viscount!" the butler bellowed.
"Who cares whose carriage it is? That doesn't matter a bit! As long as there's gold inside, that's all we care about!"
The lead bandit swung his sword in a high arc and slashed downward.
The man who caught the blow was the guard who had earlier expressed a desire to pet Reiko.
"Is that so? Well, that's a pity! You're going to lose your lives for the sake of that gold!"
The guard parried the blow, sliding his blade to deflect the bandit's sword before stepping into the man's guard. He delivered a swift, powerful strike to the solar plexus with the hilt of his sword. He had no intention of killing them; his priority was to keep the scene from becoming a bloodbath for Elsa’s sake.
"Guegh!"
The guard's skills were the real deal. With that single strike, the bandit collapsed.
"I won't let you lay a finger on Milady!"
Beside him, Adberg, the butler, was wielding a staff like a baton. He knocked a bandit's sword aside before bringing the staff down on the man's head, knocking him cold instantly.
However, the remaining footman was far less capable. Though he held a pole, he was cowering and trembling, clearly having his hands full just standing his ground near the carriage.
Four bandits broke past the three defenders and charged toward Elsa and the others.
"Milady! Why are you outside!?" the butler screamed.
Elsa ignored the shout and extended her right hand. "Wind Bullet!"
She unleashed a barrage of invisible projectiles.
"Guh! What the—!?"
However, the individual Wind Bullets lacked significant power. The bandits shielded their faces and continued to edge closer.
"Reiko, go!"
"Yes."
Jin had let Elsa take the first move out of respect for her pride, but it was getting dangerous. He gave Reiko the signal.
"Hm? What's a shrimp like you gonna do?" The bandits scoffed, laughing at the idea of a young girl standing in their way. Their expressions changed the moment Reiko swung Touka.
"W-What!?"
With a single flash of Touka, the sword in a bandit's hand vanished from the hilt. It hadn't been snapped; it had been sliced clean through.
"U-Uwah!"
Two swings, and two more swords were gone. Three swings, and a third sword was sliced away. The fourth man managed to raise his blade just in time, but—
"Hiee!"
Reiko leapt over him, grazing his head, and his sword was severed as well. Into the opening, Elsa launched a follow-up.
"Wind Blow!"
Hit head-on by the mid-tier magic, the bandit was sent flying and didn't get back up.
"Three more."
By the time Elsa turned her head, Reiko had already knocked the remaining three unconscious using the back of her blade.
"We're fine on this side," Jin said.
"Milady, just because you can use magic, please don't be so reckless! You're taking years off my life!" Mine cried. Elsa offered a few quiet words to comfort the distraught woman.
"It looks like they're finishing up over there, too," Jin muttered.
Elsa followed his gaze down the slope. Thanks to the butler and the guard, four bandits were already on the ground, and a fifth was just collapsing at Adberg's feet.
"The butler is quite strong," Jin noted.
"Yes. Adberg is a master of martial arts."
"I see."
"And Hermann is a ritter-class swordsman."
The guard, Hermann, had just taken down the sixth bandit. That left only one man—the one watching from a distance.
Or so they thought.
"Hyahaa! You let your guard down!"
With a sudden shout, two more bandits leapt out from the top of the slope behind them.
"Kyaa!"
Mine tried to intercept them, but her short knife was knocked away. Blood sprayed as a sword slashed her diagonally across the shoulder, and she collapsed.
"Mine!"
"...Elsa... run..."
The other bandit lunged at Elsa. Panicked, she forgot all about the Protect Ring and simply crouched down, clutching her head.
"Barrier!"
Jin threw himself over Elsa to shield her and shouted the keyword.
In the next instant, the bandit’s sword came whistling down toward Jin. But the blade slammed into an invisible wall, stopping dead before it could touch him.
"W-Why!?"
The bandit froze in disbelief for a split second. It was all the time Reiko needed to beat him down with the back of her blade. The other bandit was already unconscious.
However, Mine had sustained a deep, dangerous wound.
"Mine, are you okay!? Hang in there! Behandeln!" Elsa rushed to her side and immediately cast a healing spell. But the wound was too deep, and the blood wouldn't stop.
"Milady... thank you... but please, stop..." Mine whispered, her face ashen. She seemed to think it was a lost cause.
"No! I won't give up! Behandeln!"
The wound closed slightly, but it was far from enough. The injury was too severe for basic magic.
Seeing this, Jin told Reiko to keep a sharp eye on their surroundings before he knelt beside Mine.
"Elsa, let me try."
He held his arm over the woman and focused. "Recover."
He activated the magic within his bracelet. While it was a mid-tier healing spell, Jin's immense mana and the specialized focus of the bracelet pushed its effectiveness to the level of high-tier magic.
In an instant, the bleeding stopped, and the wound knit itself back together.
"She's going to be okay now."
At Jin's words, Elsa—who had been watching through tears—clung to Mine. "Mine, thank goodness..."
"Milady..."
Jin let out a sigh of relief. "The wound is closed, but she lost a lot of blood. She needs to rest."
He looked up. The last remaining bandit finally made his move.