Chapter 84

I continued driving while the three of us were noisily talking . When I thought that it will be time for lunch soon, we saw several horse-drawn carriages that looks like from a trading company ahead .

It looks like a very small group, with three wagons and some escorts who were protecting the carriage . They are currently sandwiched by 17 to 18 ruffians with extravagant swords .

Needless to say, they are bandits .

Although the bandits population isn’t that high, as expected there are still some places that can be categorized as 『a place that can be attacked easily』 .

For example, near the border, where they can flee to other kingdoms after being chased by the kingdom because they will immediately be out of the kingdom’s jurisdiction .

They also can be on a hill where they could see prey and other things on the main road from a distance then catch them in a mountain area where their front visibility is obstructed .

Yup, a place that just like here .

While the bandits were making an assault to the company, a following large-scale carriage passed by . The bandit scouts should have confirmed the rear situation, but apparently our speed was too fast and we could easily passed them .

The car speed at which I drive is by no means fast .

Although the road is maintained, it’s not a paved road, and even if I have my driving license, the car is still a big one . The feeling when driving it is completely different compared to the car at the training school and the light ones which I have finally gotten used to .

I don’t want to get a title for the person who caused this world’s first car accident, and above all, it would be terrible if Sabine-chan and Colette-chan were to be injured . I must apologize to the King and his wife and Colette-chan’s parents too .

That’s why, I could only drive at about 30-40 km/h at best, though it’s still a marvelous speed compared to a carriage . It would be no surprise if the bandits had believed that there were no carriages going to the site before they finished their work .

Or rather . . , it’s not even a carriage to begin with… .

(Sabine) 「……What should we do?」

I immediately replied Sabine-chan’s question .

(Mitsuha) 「TO BATTLE!!」

(Sabine and Colette) 「「Right~! (dayo ne~!)」」

I temporarily stopped the car and made continuous transfer in an instant .

For Sabine-chan and Colette-chan, they probably could only see my figure as if it were blurred for a moment . However, there’s a difference from the last scene .

Behind the driver’s seat, one assault rifle, two sub-machine guns and ammo belts had appeared .

The three of us took two handguns each on between our legs and left arm for protection . If we put the number of bullets all together, it should be about 3 times the number of the enemies alone, but of course we won’t waste any bullets . In addition, with only handguns, the intimidation will be low .

Regardless, the weapon still needs to be of a certain size to intimidate those who don’t know anything about it .

The reason why I’m using the sub-machine gun instead of the assault rifle is because it’s lighter, smaller, and the recoil is smaller too .

Besides, I have no intention of killing people with these . It’s enough if you can appropriately use the bullets to show off a number of hits so I will shoot when I need to .

We quickly wore the ammo belt and hold the guns .

I bent the flexible microphone which was sticking to the ceiling and pulled it near my mouth, then I put my finger on one of the switches that were attached to the shift lever .

(Mitsuha) 「Depart!」

The scene was in a stalemate due to the bandits’ miscalculation .

Bandits are essentially weak .

It’s normal because they are not soldiers nor mercenaries . They are just a bunch of fighters who were not serious enough to get a regular job .

The leader might be as strong as a normal mercenary, but the others are not that strong, except for those who have some kind of special conditions .

Hence, bandits put importance to numbers .

In general, bandits will only attack if their target number is less than half of their own .

If there’s a big difference like that, the escorts will often surrender without fighting, and even if it turns into a fight, the bandits’ casualties will be less . From Lanchester’s law, that kind of idea is correct .

(TL Note: Lanchester’s Law – Calculating the relative strengths of a predator-prey pair . )

And this time’s prey is a small-scale one with three carriages, with the number of escorts estimated to be only four to six people . They are just a small group of people with carriages which can’t even be called a trading company .

In fact, the number of mercenaries hired as escorts is only six people, and there’s also the rule from mercenary guild that says 『If the number of enemies is two times more than your group, it won’t be considered as mission failure even if you surrender』 . In conclusion, it’s an easy pattern .

Although they are bandits, they don’t want to risk their own or friends’ lives as they like . Of course they will die, but they would like to avoid peer loss, as it will directly affect their future work .

Thus, their prey, which has a difference nearly three times lower in strength, is a delicious job that can be easily earned with no casualties .

… . . that is how it was supposed to be .

However . .

(Bandit Leader) 「How come there are more than 10 fighters!?」

The bandit leader cried out in desperation .

Yes, even though there were only six escorts at that time, the bandits are now dealing with 11 combat personnel .

……A combat attack aircraft .

Unlike attack aircraft that only carry bombs and torpedoes to the battlefield, they are multi-role aircraft that can handle anti-air combat .

Yup, they are just like that, the three men in the company are former mercenaries and have some fighting experiences, not just working as a pilot for carrying the bombs .

Furthermore, the consignor couple who accompanied them were also former mercenaries .

A team of five retired mercenaries that had opened a small store with a small amount of money .

The team leader and a single red-haired female mercenary got married, opened a store with the money they saved and became the manager, working together with the other three who were the investors and employees .

There were only a few number of people who can wash themselves out of danger every day, cut off their lives and convert them into money . In a way, they were good mercenaries .

It would be impossible for them to put up with the business they started while doing mercenary work .

In addition, the mercenaries that were hired by them are their juniors who had various things taken care of by them when they were still mercenaries .

From the bandits’ perspective, no matter if they are a husband and a wife who can fight, it will appear to be just a trading company with no escorts . Hence, there is a great benefit from raiding it while also inviting those who are currently free and struggling for money .

And the current difference of combat personnel is now 11 to 18 . It’s about 1 . 6 times . Like this, the trading company won’t choose to surrender .

The trading company’s people were holding weapons meaning that there was no sign of surrendering to the bandits .

If they were ordinary bandits, it will be impossible to win if they challenge the mercenaries from the front with their number of people . Even if they win by luck, the bandits will lose majority of their strength and become extinct .

However, these bandits were not just 『ordinary bandits』 . As it was said from before, they were the people who had been well-trained .

Thus, they thought that they were stronger than the mercenaries . Additionally, they have more people .

Despite this, it will be annoying to withdraw and run away . In addition, there were only few funds and food remaining . They need the funds to eat, to drink, and sometimes to go to the town by taking turns while acting as an ordinary citizen .

If they overlook this group, they won’t know when the next affordable and less escorted group will come .

Even if a peddler who carries only small change and daily necessities comes, they will still attack if it’s for securing a couple more days worth of food . At the very least, it’s just a small-scale group of legal merchants with several carriages that are carrying worthy goods from town to town . However, they won’t be able to save some money if they attack like this repeatedly .

On the contrary, they cannot raid a group with a large number of carriages that has a large number of escorts .

Although there are a little more escorts from before, if you think about it, 11 people are just 『more than half of the number of people here』 .

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Only two, but it’s a lot . Moreover, it also includes the coachmen and the merchants .

There is also a possibility that the escorts may surrender along the way if they found out that the bandits are not only superior in number but also the individual’s combat ability is also different from an ordinary bandit . Therefore, the battle may end without many casualties .

……We can do this!

When the bandit leader thought so and tried to give orders to the men to start attacking, 『it』 appeared .

*Paparaparaparapa!*

(TL Note: Mitsuha’s car horn)

The motorbike gang-like horns rang at a loud noise and the eyes of the bandits and those from the trading company looked back astonished .

A strange carriage that looks like a huge demon was coming straight towards them fast .

Though, even if it’s a carriage, it can’t move that fast despite there are no animals in range .

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While everyone was being frozen in place, 『it』 approached and stopped about 20 meters away .

And then, a loud voice came from 『it』 .

(Mitsuha) 【Who dares hinder my path!? The bandits over there! If you don’t want to be hit by lightning, throw away your weapons and surrender at once!】

(Bandits) 「「「「「Uwaaaaaaahh!!!」」」」」

The bandits who heard the voice from the loudspeaker screamed in horror .

Yes, the bandits fled in no time and will finally stay there after crossing the border .

It was the remnant of the imperial soldiers, whose fear and despair were imprinted in their soul by Mitsuha .