Chapter 190

Chapter 190

And so, we were dragged to the lair of Bandit King Kuilan and his minions.

Yahoo~!

Party time-!

...We were truly having a good time, just as Kuilan had said.

In the midst of the mountain stronghold, a large campfire was blazing, roasting wild animal meat.

They had just successfully hunted deer and wild boar and were now busily grilling a massive barbecue.

It was like a scene from some pirate cartoon, where theyd shout Party time-! and make merry. The bandits around the campfire were gleefully playing.

As for us?

We, who were captured, were huddled together, tied up, and watching the campfire.

We were bound with rope around our bodies and upper arms, but our forearms were free, and grilled meat had been placed in front of us.

As the bandits sang and danced, we chewed our individual pieces of meat, dazedly watching.

The leader, with a face that had given up on everything, mumbled,

Its tasty.

Really?

Its better than Elizes cooking.

I guess so...

I chewed the meat, which was gamey but had a certain wild flavor, as I surveyed the surroundings.

The stronghold... or perhaps it would be better to call it a village, was an unlikely place for so many people to be living in such a rugged mountain.

Among the hundred or so villagers, only about thirty who had attacked us seemed combat-ready; the rest were emaciated, looking just poor.

They looked like refugees, to be honest.

Thud!

Kuilan came and crouched in front of me, holding a large bottle of liquor.

How is it? Any discomfort, guests?

Kuilan, after chugging from the bottle, smiled, his lips curling up.

He appeared quite young, but his actions, speech, and the fact that he was a bandit chief gave him an old mans vibe.

I shook the wild boar bone in my hand.

Thanks for treating us, the hostages, to meat.

Uhahaha! Dont mention it! Ive already looted all your valuables and will be ransoming you, so whats a bit more meat? I can give you as much as you want!

Huh? Thats true. This is a total loss for us.

Not just in words, Kuilan ordered his minions to refill the plates with meat in front of us.

I did not refuse and ate with relish. Kuilan laughed heartily, watching me.

In a situation like this, youre so composed! Truly brave. It seems the rumors I heard about the third Prince were all false.

You never really know a person until you meet them, right?

Uhahaha! So true!

I smiled at Kuilan, who was slapping his knee in laughter.

I didnt know you were this kind of person until I met you either, Kuilan.

Kuilans eyes widened.

Did I tell you my name?

Im the lord of Crossroad. How could I not know about the Bandit King Kuilan of the south?

Actually, I just knew from playing the game.

Bandit King Kuilan, notorious for relentlessly targeting only the citizens of the Empire for the last ten years. An evil bandit who made a bad name for himself in the southern part of the continent.

...

But those who were robbed were only citizens of the Empire, and you even helped the war refugees from other nations, didnt you?

I looked at the emaciated villagers.

Near Crossroad, there had been people living like this.

"From the Empires perspective, youre nothing but bandits to be subdued. But to the refugees hiding, you are righteous outlaws... Thats you, Kuilan."

"..."

At my words, Kuilan laughed dejectedly, as if it was absurd.

"Righteous outlaw? They call me that?"

"Havent you done things to be called that?"

"Im not at liberty to do such honorable deeds. Im just taking advantage of the refugee tribes while I find someone worth robbing."

Kuilan glanced at the shabbily constructed refugee tribe and chuckled.

"We provide these people with daily food and money, and these pitiful folks provide us with a place to sleep and hide. Just like this, after about a decade or so, weve formed a sort of symbiotic relationship."

"..."

"There are more than a couple of countries that the Empire has destroyed. In these remote areas where the Empires laws dont reach, there are many refugee tribes."

I clicked my tongue.

"If they are citizens of a country annexed by the Empire, wouldnt there be a legal path to become citizens of the Empire?"

"You dont honestly believe that this path would work properly in these remote areas controlled by a Margrave, do you, Your Highness?"

Kuilan had a smirk on his lips.

I did my best to comfort the sniffling Evangeline.

Was my being kidnapped that big of a worry? Honestly, her reaction was somewhat pleasing.

But something was off.

Sob, Senior. Help me.

Wiping her tears, Evangeline mumbled. What? I broke out in a cold sweat.

Uh, eh? Shouldnt you be the one helping me?

Im the one whos kidnapped, see? Look, Im still bound up like this!

While you were away, Lucas, Juju, Damien, everyone...

Evangeline, sniffling and swallowing her snot, said,

Theyve all gone crazy!

...?

Gone crazy?

My reliable comrades? All of them?

They all started acting strange since you werent around, and now theyve... theyve turned completely... insane...

Eh...?

Youll see when you see them. They all came to rescue you.

Having calmed down a bit, Evangeline undid my restraints.

As we walked outside together, I asked.

"But how did you get here so quickly? Its not even half a day since we sent the distress signal."

"We were on our way to meet you as soon as we heard that our senior was coming. We were camping, and then Elize came with the request for rescue..."

So thats what happened.

"But how did you find this area? The kidnapping place was quite far away, making the search difficult."

"That is..."

Evangeline let out a deep sigh.

"Youll find out soon."

"...?"

Anyway, Evangeline and I hurried out of the building to rescue the rest of my kidnapped companions.

Junior, who had arrived before us, was releasing the captured soldiers.

"Ah."

Junior looked back at me with a bright complexion.

"Its been a long time, Your Highness!"

"Uh... yes. Its been a while, but..."

I pointed at the things dangling all around Juniors body.

"What are those?"

Junior was equipped with packed lunches full of food and cups full of drinks, even chewing on spinach at that very moment.

"I was suffering from a loss of blood, so I came up with a solution."

Then, she picked up a bottle of tomato juice that was hanging from her waist and took a sip.

"If I throw up a lot of blood, I just have to make more, right?"

"...?"

"So I decided to eat food thats good for anemia 24 hours a day. This way, Ill make more blood than I lose, maintaining the balance. Hehe, I am so smart..."

Well... its not entirely wrong, but... is it right? Or not? Is it?

Just then, Evangeline, who had been watching Junior, shook her head slightly.

"Jujus craziness is on the cute side."

"Ah... thats considered cute...?"

"The other two are really in bad shape... Ah!"

At that moment, we were spotted by a bandit guard who was about to blow a horn. However, before we could even react,

Whizz- Thwack!

An arrow flew in and shattered the horn into pieces.

"Kehuk?!"

The horn was destroyed, sending shockwaves in all directions, and the startled guard fainted.

Only one person could make such a precise shot.

I looked in the direction the arrow had come from, pleased. Damien! My trigger!

"Heheh..."

And there was,

Something covered in a dark aura... Damien, who was laughing unnervingly and making an unpleasant sound. Whats with him...?

With a crossbow in one hand and a magic gun, Black Queen, in the other, Damien posed bizarrely and muttered,

"These eyes... see the darkness well..."

Why has he suddenly come down with a case of chuunibyou?! (TL Note: For those that dont read JP Novels, it means 8th grade syndrome. The Author decided to use said language here.)

What on earth is happening here!