How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 66

73. Earning Money, GO! (6)

A bandit? That’s a joke! Pfft!

How amusing.

“This much manpower is enough to protect the luggage. And I’m quite strong, too?”

I said confidently.

“Actually, I’m the strongest one here.”

I think I can go anywhere now and say, ‘I’m pretty strong.’

“……”

“What? You don’t believe me, Mr. Seul? You don’t believe what I’m saying? Tell me?”

“N, no way.”

That’s the look of someone who doesn’t believe it.

He’s such a scaredy-cat.

Looks like he’s even praying under his breath so I can’t hear him.

I can understand how he feels, so I just chuckle and brush it off.

Yeah, I used to be like that too.

“Well, whether it’s bandits or monsters, do you really think they’ll just pop out so easily? Mr. Seul, you worry too much. Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

“……I, I hope so. Ahahaha.”

“Wahahahaha! And if it’s bandits, I’ve encountered them before. There’s no way we’d run into them again so soon after that time, right~.”

“Ahahahahaha! That’s also tr…… Wait a minute, Mr. Aileen? What did you just say?!”

So, after confidently laughing and firmly believing that nothing would happen.

About half a gak* later. [*Gak is a unit of time in this world.]

“……It seems like a group of bandits. We should stop.”

The mercenary hired to escort the carriage said, stopping the carriage.

“…….”

“Ah~ so this can happen too.”

Mr. Seul? There are some unlucky people in the world.

Like me.

So please don’t look at me with those tearful eyes! Seriously!

……Yes! I actually thought bandits would appear!

Looking back, my journey has always been full of hardships.

When I first left the village, the merchants betrayed me and tried to sell me off.

Then, on the next journey, some minor character tried to kill me.

And so on, whenever I go far away, incidents and accidents follow me.

No exception this time either.

Is this my fate?

“……Are you sure those guys are bandits?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

The oldest of the mercenaries hired as escorts answered my question.

He also has the role of estimating the route for this journey.

He frowned slightly, as if annoyed.

“It seems like a newly formed group. I heard that the number of bandits has increased recently.”

“The number of bandits has suddenly increased, huh…….”

There are many reasons why people become bandits.

They committed a crime, or they fled the territory because they couldn’t pay taxes.

The problem is especially serious during times of famine.

In the end, whether by choice or not, bandits are bound to appear everywhere.

Nothing surprising.

The problem is the gang we’ve encountered now.

“The number is roughly about twenty…… The armaments are ordinary. Did they steal them from some merchants?”

You can roughly tell the level of the enemy by the number of people and the state of their armaments.

“In the event of an emergency, would it be worth fighting them?”

“Well…… since we’ve been commissioned, we’ll have to do it when the time comes.”

The mercenary said calmly, but his expression was tense.

It’s a troublesome situation.

Putting aside the bandits’ armaments, the fact that their numbers are more than double ours is annoying.

The carriage is also heavy because of the luggage, so escape won’t be easy.

They don’t seem to have horses, but they know the geography of this area well, so they could just induce our carriage to run recklessly and break down.

In the end, there are usually two options in this kind of situation.

“Fight. Or let them let us go. Well, that’s how it is.”

“I just hope we can get through this safely, whichever way it goes.”

While we were talking, Seul was completely pale and praying.

He’s having a hard time.

Besides, no one’s listening even if he prays.

“They’re coming.”

In the meantime, the bandits are closing the distance.

Everyone drew their weapons and went on guard.

Finally, the bandits stopped when they were close enough to be heard.

“Hey! Merchants, listen up! This path has been ours for a long time.”

“……So they say.”

“Bullshit.”

Strictly speaking, the road around here belongs to the lord, not you.

That’s laughable.

“If you want to pass quietly, it’s best to hand over some of your luggage and a toll!”

“……So they also say.”

“I heard it too. Well, they’d be aiming for that.”

Bandits rarely swing their swords recklessly from the start.

If they fight, some of them will die too.

Unless they’re a large bandit gang, they usually threaten first.

It means they want you to concede if you don’t want to see blood.

If you pay the toll, they’ll let you go.

“What should we do, Mr. Aileen?”

“Hmm, a toll.”

I put my chin on my hand and pretended to think for a moment.

There are options, but both are annoying.

Why do I only have these unpleasant choices in my life?

I wish I could wander around with some sweeter worries…….

……Should I have read a romance novel instead of a fantasy novel?

Next to me, Seul heard that he could pass safely if he paid the toll and his face lit up.

“T, then we can pass safely if we do that!”

“That’s what it seems like. Whew~ can’t be helped.”

I shrugged and nodded firmly.

Okay, let’s be logical here.

“A toll, my ass. Who do you think you’re trying to rob?”

I will pay.

However, what I pay is the lives of the bandits.

Like hell I’m paying a toll!

When I made my decision, the surrounding mercenaries were completely speechless.

Even Seul here has a look on his face like he’s lost everything.

……Well, usually you’d just throw a few coins and avoid it.

‘I thought so a little while ago too…… I even prepared the toll for this case.’

But when I think about it, it’s infuriating.

I basically hate bandits like those guys.

I don’t feel like handing over my precious wallet to those guys.

Of course, if they were dangerous guys.

If it seemed like there would be casualties on our side, I would have chosen to avoid it without hesitation.

Life is more important than money.

‘But these guys are ordinary bandits.’

From what I can see, there’s no one among them who’s at least a minor character.

I can’t guess anything else.

Bandits have hardly ever appeared in the original work, so most of them can be killed with confidence.

So it’s okay.

“……If that’s what you mean.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The mercenaries couldn’t object either.

First of all, the client’s words are the top priority.

If he tells us to do it, we do it. If he tells us to fight, we fight.

Well, leaving aside what they think of me inside.

I smiled leisurely and got out of the carriage.

“……What?”

Of course, everyone was dumbfounded and found my actions strange.

Did they think I would make them fight and hide in a corner of the carriage?

That’s a sad misunderstanding.

Well, if it were me a few months ago, I would have done that.

“Please take good care of the horses and luggage. You guys won’t have to step in. ……Maybe.”

You never know, so I just told them to stay alert and stepped forward.

“I’ll take care of those idiots.”

I’ve always wanted to say that.

I’m not showing off.

I assessed the level of the opponent and judged that this would cause the least damage to our side.

‘And I also wanted to check the power of my current abilities against humans.’

I’ve tested it to my heart’s content against monsters, but I haven’t tested my skills in a one-on-one battle since I got stronger.

This might be a good opportunity.

“So, I’ll give you a chance for now, bandits.”

I took a few steps forward towards the dumbfounded bandits.

And then, I raised my thumb and pointed it straight down.

“Get lost if you don’t want to die. Don’t aim for other people’s luggage and just do ordinary farming. Then I’ll pretend I didn’t see what you just did.”

I gave them this kind warning.

But of course, it wouldn’t work.

The bandits listened to my words blankly.

“Kyahahahahahaha.”

“Kehehehehehehe!”

They burst into laughter as if they had heard something funny.

They’re laughing at me.

“What is that crazy bastard saying?”

“He’s completely out of his mind.”

I can really feel them laughing at me.

“……Well, I guess you would. You think my words are funny, right.”

I shrugged.

“Then goodbye, bandits. I clearly warned you.”

The price for ignoring the warning is high.

I raised my left arm and gathered mana to activate spirit magic.

Even though I simply supplied mana lightly, more than about 0.5 times the previous power gathers easily.

“Salamander, fire one off.”

A fire lizard appeared in front of me.

The Salamander opened its mouth wide, raised its head, and created a fireball.

A fireball about twice my height floated in the air.

“……It’s a bit big.”

Was I a little annoyed because they laughed at me and put in too much power?

Oh well. It’s a waste to reduce it now that I’ve summoned it.

Only then did the bandits’ eyes change.

They were terrified, as if they had seen a ghost.

“Th, that…….”

“What is that bastard?!”

“N, no way?! A, a mage? No! It’s a spiritist!”

Correct!

I didn’t feel the need to respond, so I poured out the fireball without hesitation.

Paaaaat!

The fireball burst open above the bandits’ heads, sweeping them away.

With just that one blow, half of the bandits burned to death in the flames without even screaming.

The remaining bandits started to run away with their bodies on fire.

“……Where do you think you’re going.”

If I let them go, they’ll just sneak into another bandit group or commit another crime.

“Sylph.”

This time, I switched to Sylph.

As Sylph danced in the air and waved its arms, the atmosphere shook.

Papapapapat!

The sound of lightly cutting through the earth was heard in succession, and the bandits caused a rain of blood.

Sylph created countless invisible blades of wind and poured them down on the ground like a rainstorm.

‘And it’s still low-grade?’

I thought about it last time too, but isn’t it about time to evolve to intermediate grade?

While I was pondering that point, one of the bandits who barely survived lunged at me, aiming for me.

I wondered how he survived, but he used his companion’s corpse as a shield.

“Die! You monster bastard.”

“……Hmph.”

That’s outrageous.

The bandit charged at me as if he had completely lost his mind.

However, even if it were me in the past, I wouldn’t have fallen for such a cheap surprise attack.

The bandit didn’t even reach near me.

Countless spears of water that appeared in the air pierced him.

The speed at which I can create and shape water with the power of Undine is now at a level that even ordinary bandits can’t handle.

At this point, I don’t even need to tremble when facing an Aura Expert head-on.

Still, overconfidence is forbidden.

‘At least I can say that I’ve gotten stronger at the general level.’

At least at the level of a minor character, I can now be considered a mid-level player.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment for some reason, I turned to the mercenaries who were looking at me with a blank expression.

See, I was really enough on my own, right?

“Amazing. Did you really annihilate them?”

“……But if that guy’s that strong, why did he hire us as escorts?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

……Ugh, I don’t know what to say.

Strictly speaking, to set up a porter and a watchman?

Even if I get stronger, that’s still essential.

By the way, being a watchman is a serious matter.

More so than bandits.