Chapter 16 : Operation to Suppress Red Hood (3)

Whether it was a stroke of bad luck or good, there was no ambush until the sun set.

If the bandits didn’t show up, Glenn’s party would have to repeat this process on the other side.

That was the plan.

Glenn, who had been quietly resting his eyes inside the baggage wagon, suddenly opened them.

Outside, dusk had already fallen.

He poked his head out of the wagon and listened intently for a moment before opening his mouth.

“This is strange.”

“Eh?”

Eredin, who was also waiting in the same wagon, asked back.

“Isn’t it way too quiet?”

“…What do you mean?”

There were all sorts of noises filling the air—horse hooves, wagon wheels, footsteps. What did he mean by that?

Glenn was about to answer the girl, but then he changed his mind.

“Sir Nedian, Brunel, Tillen. Over here.”

At his quiet summons, the others drew near.

“Tell everyone to stop for a moment. Something’s not right.”

“…Can I ask what seems off?”

“The insects. Up until just now, I could hear them now and then, but here, there’s not a single sound.”

At those words, Sir Nedian closed his eyes and focused.

“…There’s definitely something nearby.”

“Is that so? If you say so, we’d better check. Have everyone stop and prepare quietly. We’ll get out too.”

Sir Nedian was someone who had reached the level of an advanced knight (expert). If he concentrated, he would surely be able to sense this level of presence.

“Yes, sir.”

The messengers quickly relayed the order to the knights, who began to draw their weapons one by one.

Then, as they ran to the other groups nearby, soon the entire Trade Caravan came to a halt.

“What’s going on? Who gave the order to stop!”

“Well, uh, the Brunel Mercenary Group said they needed to check something…”

“You idiots!”

At that moment, Soron came running over, shouting angrily.

His face was flushed deep red with rage.

He strode straight toward the direction of the Brunel Mercenary Group.

“Hey, Brunel! What the hell are you playing at! Who told you you could just stop?!”

“It was me.”

Soron found himself facing a man with a face he’d never seen before, who answered him flatly.

Red hair and rust-colored eyes… definitely someone he hadn’t seen before.

Was he one of the new recruits among the mercenaries?

But for a mercenary, his appearance was too out of place.

“Just who are you… sir?”

Soron unconsciously shifted his tone in response to the atmosphere the man gave off.

“What does it matter to you. Anyway, keep it down.”

The man spoke casually, addressing him informally, his pale skin lined with blue veins.

Soron sensed it instinctively. A noble.

Damn it, what’s a noble doing here of all places?

“No, what the—”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

And right next to him stood a stunning blonde woman who looked like she might make his eyes roll back.

She too was obviously a noble.

But why was she looking at him as if he were some sort of insect? He’d never seen either of them before.

…Wait a minute, never seen them before? There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed faces like that. Which means…

“C-could you be the ones who surrounded the hooded man earlier…”

“Are you only going to listen if I cut off your tongue?”

Eredin frowned and began to raise her sword, but Glenn stopped her.

“That’s enough. Sir Nedian, are you ready?”

At his question, Sir Nedian signaled that the preparations were complete.

“Hmm.”

Glenn calmly walked to the front of the group, then drew a dagger from his belt.

Swoosh—!

And, at a moment when no one expected it, he hurled the dagger swiftly into the bushes.

“Kugh!”

“Got him.”

At the sound of a distant scream, Glenn grinned and darted into the brush.

“Damn! What’s going on?!”

“Get them! Now!”

At the same time, figures burst out from all directions.

Yes, the bandits had been lying in ambush.

“M-My lord!”

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Sir Nedian, frightened, followed after Glenn, and Eredin too charged toward the nearest bandit.

“My lady! Are you insane?!”

Tillen, aghast at her recklessness, ran after her.

“Aaargh!”

“Wh-what are you!”

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

The area instantly became a scene of utter chaos.

***

“What the…”

Soron was left completely dumbfounded.

Partly because of the unexpected ambush, but what surprised him even more was just how easily that ambush had been thwarted.

The bandits known as the Red Hood, who attacked this mountain path, were infamous for their cunning.

Unless there was a clear advantage, they would never attack first.

They had less than thirty fighters, but counting the members of the Trade Caravan, there were quite a few people.

And yet the bandits attacked anyway, meaning they must have been pretty confident.

This was already the third time the Soron Mercenary Group had passed through this path. He’d heard stories that sometimes the bandits attacked in force like this.

And today, of all days, their luck ran out.

But…

Did all those guys really get wiped out?

He estimated at least sixty bandits—a number almost double their own.

Yet the outcome was absurd.

The rookie mercenaries suffered no casualties at all, and the Soron Mercenary Group had only six injured.

Anyone seeing it might think they were the ones who launched the surprise attack.

And Soron had a vague idea why.

As soon as the battle began, those newcomers—who he now realized were probably nobles—charged right into the heart of the enemy ranks.

Their wild rampage threw the bandits into complete confusion.

“My lord, how many times must I tell you? You are the heir of the Principality!”

“I know that very well.”

Unlike Sir Nedian’s serious expression as he scolded, Glenn looked utterly indifferent.

“Then why do you throw yourself right into the middle of the enemy? You must remember your position—!”

“They were just some petty bandits, what’s the big deal?”

“My lord!”

“Alright, alright, enough with the shouting.”

Glenn waved his hand and approached the caravan.

From the other side, another argument was taking place.

“My lady! Do you have any idea what you just did? You can’t just charge in like that!”

“Tillen, I’m not a ‘lady’…”

“Is that really the issue right now? My heart nearly stopped!”

“It wasn’t just me, Glenn did too—”

“No excuses! I’ll be telling the count everything!”

Unlike Glenn, who shamelessly brushed off criticism, Eredin seemed at least a little aware she’d gone too far.

Once she’d confirmed Eredin had returned to the caravan, Glenn naturally turned to Soron and asked,

“Hey, Kron? No, it was Soron, wasn’t it? What was your mercenary group called again?”

“Soron, my lord.”

Before Glenn could finish, Sir Nedian quickly corrected him.

Soron felt a chill run down his back. Judging by the conversation, those two must be from some very high-ranking noble houses.

“In any case, give me a report.”

“Uh… pardon? Wh-what?”

Soron, still trying to process the situation, stammered, causing Glenn to frown.

“The casualties. How many of your people were hurt?”

“Uh… six were injured. No deaths.”

“And the merchants?”

“As soon as the fighting began, we pulled back behind them. So there were no casualties among them, either.”

As Soron answered with a stammer, he looked dazed.

The fact that it had been resolved so cleanly was surprising.

“So, they weren’t all talk after all. Sir Nedian? Did you manage to take any prisoners?”

“Yes, the knights are working on it.”

“Need any help?”

“Please, just restrain yourself.”

They were probably interrogating the bandits.

Sir Nedian had seen Glenn personally ‘work’—that is, torture—a prisoner not long ago.

He had made it clear that, from now on, all such work should be left to the knights.

Glenn didn’t particularly enjoy it, so he had no reason to refuse.

Of course, if their methods were too sloppy, he’d do it himself.

“Good. Get what we need and let’s move right away.”

“Huh? Aren’t we supposed to wait for the backup party?”

“If we wait for them, we’ll lose our chance.”

The plan was originally for Glenn’s party to lure the bandits, then have the backup squad follow and strike from behind.

But from the look of things, the backup wasn’t needed in this fight.

It was over with just the vanguard.

“Soron, have your mercenaries clean up here. Pile up the corpses. Ah, and when the backup party arrives, tell them which way we went.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

While Glenn gave Soron instructions about the aftermath, someone approached him.

“Lord Glenn.”

“Hmm?”

Eredin was looking at Glenn with a deeply serious expression.

Tillen beside her looked extremely anxious.

“Sixteen.”

“…What?”

“The number of bandits I killed, my lord. How about you?”

“My lady! Please!”

Tillen shrieked and dragged Eredin aside at her bizarre behavior.

Eredin, on the other hand, only furrowed her brow, as if she didn’t understand.

“Tillen, this is important—”

“No! Let’s just check our equipment, shall we? This way, please!”

Sir Nedian, watching the scene, let out a sigh.

“To think they’re seriously making a wager like that… Lady Tillen really has it rough. Haha.”

Unlike him, Glenn’s face had gone stiff.

“…This is bad.”

“Why so, my lord?”

“Damn, I only got fourteen.”

Even if he added the one he killed earlier, he was still short. That means he lost the bet.

“Where are the prisoners? If I kill a few more, I could…”

“My lord, please show some dignity…”

Sir Nedian suddenly realized his situation was quite similar to Tillen’s.

***

“That’s the place, then.”

“As the rumors said, there aren’t many people left guarding it.”

Just as Sir Nedian said, there weren’t many stationed at the abandoned mine’s entrance.

It was hard to see everything clearly from their hidden position, but even counting generously, maybe five?

“Was it Lacollin? Any information about the Chief of Security?”

“I heard a new group joined not long ago. That must be them, but they haven’t been spotted yet.”

For Glenn, capturing Lacollin was just as important as subjugating Red Hood. As the Chief of Security, trafficking drugs in the city was a serious crime.

“What should we do?”

At Sir Nedian’s question, Glenn paused in thought, then looked behind him.

“Eredin Knight, what do you think?”

“…Me?”

Eredin, who’d been sulking because of her lost bet with Glenn, brightened as she was addressed.

“Yes, I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“In my view…”

Eredin narrowed her eyes as she observed the target, then spoke again.

“It doesn’t look like many are outside, but we don’t know how many are inside the mine. The safest way would be to surround the area and wait for the backup.”

“Any other methods?”

“We could just storm the place. Only a small number can enter the mine anyway, so from the start we should plan to send in an elite team.”

“Hm, I agree.”

“Then let me take the lead—”

“Absolutely not!”

As soon as Eredin mentioned “taking the lead,” Tillen shouted.

Eredin started to protest, but quickly closed her mouth.

“Before that… there’s something I want to confirm with those men.”

“…What is it?”

As Glenn smiled slightly and sent a glance, Brunel suddenly felt uneasy.

“Let’s do it this way first.”