They stared at me with eyes that suggested they were witnessing something utterly incomprehensible.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"He’s really going to die!?"
"I don't know what your circumstances are, but as it stands, you are bandits, aren't you? You should be in a position where you can't complain even if you are killed. I said I have no intention of killing you without cause, but if you're going to be rebellious and attempt to escape, I have no reason to go out of my way to keep you alive."
In principle, the subjugation of bandits meant extermination. While taking them alive might increase the reward, it was never an obligation. Especially in a case like this—one that wasn't part of my original plan—my own life came first.
"There are things I want to know... but you're going to talk, aren't you?"
"Y-yes!! Of course! I'll tell you anything! I don't want to die!"
One of them remained as compliant as ever.
"There we have it. It won't be a problem if the rest of you are reduced by a person or two."
"D-don't screw with us!?"
"How can you talk about killing someone so easily!?"
"I don't want to hear that from a group of bandits. You stole those swords by killing people, didn't you?"
The moment I said that, the man who had been struggling finally seemed to lose consciousness. He collapsed, his body going limp.
...That should be enough intimidation for now.
"Well, it was my fault for forgetting to warn him. I'll let it slide this time."
I signaled the Collar-duty Slime to expand slightly.
"H-hey..."
"Is he alive?"
"Who knows?"
"What do you mean, 'who knows'?"
"His chest is moving, so he's probably breathing. If he's dead, then he's dead."
I wasn't about to go out of my way to check his vitals. It would be a nuisance if he tried to swing at me the moment I let my guard down.
"Besides, the human body consists of blood, flesh, bone, and organs—all the parts my Tamed Monsters enjoy. I won't let a lost life go to waste, so you can rest easy on that front."
The conscious men all shuddered in unison.
I knew how it sounded coming out of my mouth, but being treated with care after you were already dead was a bit too late. I was living my life over again in this world, but I had no idea what had become of my old body back on Earth.
"At any rate, there won't be a problem as long as you don't act up. Just listen to what I say without resisting. If you do that, I won't kill you."
Once they finally settled down, I asked about the swords.
"I am looking for a missing person. He was traveling the mountain pass above, heading toward Kereban with a carriage full of weapons. The swords you were carrying are all of the same make, and they're brand new. I took a quick look, and the contents of those wooden boxes seem to be metal as well. I'll ask you straight: did you attack him?"
"Y-yes! Our swords are the ones we stole the other day, and the stuff in the boxes too. I don't know his name, and I don't remember his face well, but it's probably him... The location further up matches, too."
Just as I suspected.
"How did you attack? I asked around, and while I confirmed he used this road, everyone said there was nothing unusual."
"That, well... we planned to stop him and just snatch the cargo, but an arrow we shot hit the horse. It went wild and veered off the road, rolling down the slope all at once... We were often assigned to hide the traces of attacks, so we erased the wheel tracks and used magic to make the grass grow over the cliff where the carriage went down. Then we took as many valuables as we could carry and ran."
"...What about the coachman?"
"I don't know..."
They didn't know? How was that possible? It wasn't as if the carriage had been driving itself.
"Tell me everything. Don't hide a thing. Did you kill him?"
"No! That's not it! He was already unconscious when the carriage rolled down, so we just tied his hands and feet and stuffed him under the grass that the guy who won't wake up grew with his magic. After that, we just grabbed the luggage and left. We don't know what happened after that! It's the truth!"
"...You didn't deliver a finishing blow?"
Even with their efforts at concealment, it would be utterly meaningless if the victim managed to crawl out and report them. I suspected they might be lying to make themselves look better.
"We didn't stab him! Look, we didn't intend to kill anyone from the start. We just wanted the cargo and food! We didn't even mean to knock him off the road! That's why the coachman... I mean, I've never actually killed anyone!"
"What?"
They had never killed anyone?
"You're bandits, aren't you?"
"We were just the chore boys and cleanup crew. The Boss kept us around to make sure no one messed up the site... This was the first time we actually attacked someone directly. It's not just me—even those guys acting tough over there have never killed anyone. At most, we've done some petty thievery or pickpocketing..."
"In other words, you got cold feet?"
As I scanned the group, one of the men who had been snapping at me earlier glared back.
"Yeah, we were part of a bandit gang... but is it so wrong to be afraid of killing people!? We couldn't just end a life as easily as you or the Boss!"
His words felt like nothing more than a hollow bluff.
"Don't give me that."
As I listened to their excuses, I felt a chill settle over my mind.
"Is it wrong to be afraid of killing? No, it isn't. That's a perfectly normal emotion. But don't you dare be the ones to say that."
What were these people even talking about?
"You didn't deliver the finishing blow because you were afraid of killing him? But you didn't do a single thing to help him afterward, did you?"
"So what? Were we supposed to haul him all the way to the city?"
"Did you even check why he was unconscious? You don't need medical knowledge to know that a hard blow to the head is dangerous. Even if there are no wounds on the outside, you don't know what's happening on the inside. In the worst-case scenario, he could have died right there without ever waking up."
That wasn't all. While dangerous monsters were rare in this area, Goblins could be encountered anywhere. They even lived in Gana Forest, a place the gods had guaranteed was "relatively safe." If a man was found tied hand and foot while unconscious, he would undoubtedly be tortured to death.
"Like I said, that man hasn't been found yet, and his safety hasn't been confirmed. You didn't mean to drop him off the cliff? You didn't kill him because you didn't deliver the finishing blow? Don't make me laugh."
People died in accidents all the time. It wasn't just traffic accidents; children often died innocently dabbling in dangerous play. Every year, countless people died across the world.
But did the perpetrators of those accidents cause them by resolving themselves with a "Right, I'm going to do this"? No one did. If they did, it wouldn't be an accident; it would be premeditated murder.
It didn't take resolve to kill someone. If your actions led to that result, you could easily end a life even without the intent.
They had acted for the clear purpose of "robbery," and as a result, they had left a man in a situation where his death was a distinct possibility. Then, they had abandoned him without confirming his safety. After doing all that, they didn't get to claim "I didn't kill him."
The group fell into a heavy silence.
"Quiet again? What happened to all that spirit from before?"
"...Is this a lecture? What the hell does a brat like you know...?"
A lecture? It wasn't anything that noble.
"I didn't kill him. I don't want to kill people... I just didn't like the sight of people who might have deliberately left a man to die saying such things with a straight face."
...I didn't have time to waste on people like this.
"Wait!? Hold on! Aren't you going to help me!?"
"...I won't kill you, even if I find you disgusting. Instead, you're going to guide me to the spot where you dropped the carriage."
Seventy-two hours. On Earth, the survival rate for missing persons was said to drop precipitously once that window closed. And that was under conditions where they had food, water, and warmth. Without those, the time limit would be even shorter depending on their injuries.
"Dimension Home. I won't kill the others either. Instead, they'll stay in here for a while. The next time they come out, it will be in front of a city guardhouse."
I declared this as I picked up the man who had yet to regain consciousness, and I began the process of detaining them.
"It's this way, right!?"
"Yes! There's no mistake, Young Master!"
"...Stop with the 'Young Master' thing. It's creepy."
"My apologies!!"
I had the humbled man sit in an improvised back-carrier and began the climb through the trackless mountains.
When I ordered the man to guide me, it turned out the scene of the crime was indeed on the road closer to the Town of Kereban. However, because they had been wandering the mountains for days, he couldn't navigate unless we returned to the road first. I gave up on heading directly to the site and focused on reaching the road.
Thanks to the Rimur Birds scouting ahead, there was no risk of getting lost.
"...I've been meaning to ask something."
"Yes! Anything!"
"The attack was two days ago, right? Why were you still hanging around there? Normally, wouldn't you have fled immediately?"
"Well, once we descended the mountain, it was just open plains with nowhere to hide. If we ran into anyone looking like this, they'd be suspicious for sure. We had no choice but to head back into the mountains..."
"Then what did you plan to do if you hadn't been caught?"
"Nothing, really..."
"...You had no plan at all?"
"We were too busy just trying to stay ahead of the Subjugation Unit..."
"How have you survived this long being so disorganized?"
"Before the Subjugation Unit arrived, I was doing chores and hauling food. I happened to be holding some when we ran, so we survived on that while we fled this far. But we ran out three days ago, and we realized we had no choice but to attack someone."
So they had set their sights on Pedro just because he happened to pass by.
"Why did you take the cargo?"
"The Boss who got taken out was in league with some merchant. He used stolen goods and money to get us food and weapons. I figured it would be useful if we had something to trade."
"...Did you actually have a buyer in mind?"
"...I just thought it would be bad if an opportunity came up and we had nothing."
So they didn't have a buyer.
"You are way too aimless, in every sense of the word."
I thought I moved on a whim often enough, but even I wasn't this disorganized.
"How did you even manage to be a bandit like that?"
"I was just a chore boy. As long as I followed the Boss's orders, I got by... I did cleaning and laundry back in my home village, too."
...I felt like it would have been better to just stay in his village, but perhaps there was a reason he couldn't.
"Well, yeah... I punched the village chief and got kicked out..."
"And then you became a bandit?"
"For a while, I worked as an underling at a shop in the city, and I even tried being an adventurer... but I was a failure at all of it. Nothing lasted. I was struggling just to eat, and somehow I ended up drifting into banditry..."
"The others, too?"
"Probably something like that. We were all just living day to day. If any of us had the brains to think ahead, we wouldn't have ended up as bandits to begin with. ...Ah, no, forget I said that! Sorry!"
"I'm not exactly asking you to be polite."
His voice was thick with self-deprecation, as if the words had just slipped out.
After that, the conversation died. We continued our silent trek through the mountains until...
"Pirorororo!"
"Hey, we've hit the road. Which way?"
"Wait... it wasn't this high up. It was further down toward the base."
"That means left. We'll follow the road. Tell me the moment you see a spot that looks familiar."
"Yes."
Accompanied by the Rimur Birds who had been waiting for us, we walked for another hour.
"Wait!"
"Is it here?"
"Probably. I want to check a bit further back."
"How's this?"
"Ah, yes... up ahead. Where the road curves slightly to the right."
As we rounded the bend, the road meandered into a blind spot hidden by trees. There was a patch of weeds thick enough that no one would notice anything unusual unless they were looking for it.
Beyond those weeds... was a steep, sudden drop.
"Is this the place?"
"No mistake."
I set the man down, tied a rope to a nearby tree, and prepared to descend.
"...What is it?"
"...I was just wondering if he was still alive."
It was a little late for that, but he seemed to be genuinely tormented by guilt.
"That's what I'm going to find out. Do you want to wait here?"
"...It'll be faster if I'm there to guide you."
"Fine. Hold this."
I handed him the rope and secured the end to a Shackle-duty Slime. I instructed the slime to release all his restraints except for the shackles and collar.
"Whether we're recovering a body or rescuing him, you'll be in the way if I have to carry you. Walk down on your own feet. I've made it so you can move now. I have both the collar and the birds watching you, so don't try anything stupid."
"O-okay..."
I gave the man a brief glance as he stood up shakily, and then I began the descent.
It wasn't long before we found the missing man. Thanks to having a guide, the search was straightforward. As I hacked through the weeds concealing him...
"Pedro-san! Can you hear me!?"
"...O... ah..."
He was still breathing!
"I'm an adventurer! I'm here to help you! You're safe now!"
"...Ad... venturer...? Thank... goodness..."
I kept talking to him as I carefully but quickly removed the weeds tangled around his body, making sure not to put any extra strain on him.
"Are you all right? Do you know what hurts?"
"My back... it hurts..."
"Your back, understood."
As I cleared the grass from his face, his muffled voice became clearer. His skin was slick with a heavy sweat.
"Excuse me."
He had a high fever and was clearly dehydrated. He had exhausted a dangerous amount of strength. Fortunately, he was still conscious and able to respond, but I needed to get him to the city for treatment immediately.
"Hey! Over here!"
"Yes!"
I called over the man who had been hesitating to approach the person he had nearly killed. I pulled a Stone Spouted Cup and a bottle from my Item Box and handed them to him.
"Give him the contents of this bottle. A little at a time, very gently. Don't let him choke. Understand?"
"Y-yes..."
While the man hesitantly began to give him the water mixed with salt and sugar, I continued my work.
"Ugh!? Cough!"
"A-are you okay!?"
"Pedro-san."
"Ugh... my back..."
"Your back hurts, right. Does your head feel okay? No pain there?"
"My head is fine... nothing else really..."
Perhaps because of the water, his voice was regaining some strength. However, his body had begun to shiver.
"A blanket... here. I'm putting a blanket on you."
...The weeds that had hidden him had, ironically, shielded him from the freezing night winds.
"All right."
I finished cutting away the grass tangled around him. Then I pulled a stretcher from my Item Box.
"You really carry everything, don't you...?"
"I came here on a request. I prepared for whatever I might need. More importantly, we're moving him onto this. I'll release your hands—help me."
"Yeah..."
He had fallen with the carriage and been unconscious afterward; there was a high risk of head or spinal trauma. We gently slid him onto the stretcher and secured him in place.
"Dimension Home... hold that end and move him in carefully."
"Understood..."
Pedro needed to be transported with as little vibration as possible. Using Dimension Home was the ideal solution.
"Hey..."
"What is it?"
"Th... thank you... young men..."
The man next to me froze.
Whether Pedro didn't remember him or realized who he was and thanked him anyway, the words were spoken with genuine gratitude. Unable to bear it, the man turned his face away.
"Let's go."
The man might have been wrestling with his conscience, but I couldn't allow us to stop for sentimentality. We needed to get Pedro to the city for treatment as quickly as possible.
"...What!? Wait, hey!"
"Didn't you say you wouldn't kill us if we stayed quiet!?"
"I'm not going to kill you, but the situation has changed. From here on, I'm going to have you restrained so thoroughly that you won't even be able to twitch."
I submerged the previously captured men back into the slimes and sprinted toward the nearest city.