Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Volume 1
Chapter 52 : Out of the Tiger’s Den, Into the Wolf’s Lair
The setting sun reflected off the river like scattered golden leaves, and the rippling water shimmered brilliantly.
The early autumn breeze brushed through the woods with a rustling whisper, bringing the first trace of chill after the height of summer.
That chill carried a hint of killing intent.
“Hmph, little bitch, be smart and hand over everything valuable!”
On the road by the river, several rough-looking men in fur skirts had surrounded a frail young girl.
Their expressions were vicious, like wolves closing in on a deer.
At their head stood a man with an enormous scar slashing across his face.
As he looked at the cute-looking girl before him, a lewd grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“If you behave, we might not do anything to you. But if you don’t... heh heh, then do not blame us for getting rough.”
“I am an adventurer.”
The surrounded girl gripped her wand tightly, and there was not the slightest trace of surrender in her eyes.
“If you want to rob me, have you thought through the consequences?”
“Hahaha, of course I can tell you are an adventurer.”
Scarface burst into laughter, clearly not taking the girl’s identity as an adventurer seriously at all.
“But you are a mage, aren’t you? And judging by the fact that I cannot sense even the slightest trace of battle aura from you, you are a pure mage.”
“...”
Seeing the girl fall silent, the smugness in Scarface’s grin only grew more arrogant.
“If you had companions, even companions who could only stall us for a moment, we would run as far away as possible. But you are alone.
A lone mage is a fat prize no matter where you go.”
Scarface’s gaze swept over the wand in the girl’s hand, and greed immediately showed itself without restraint. “That wand alone should sell for quite a bit, right?”
“...Damn it.”
The girl instinctively hid the wand behind her back and took several steps backward.
Then she forced a fierce expression onto her face and said,“You are robbing people in broad daylight. Are you not afraid some righteous hero might pass by and uphold justice?”
“A righteous hero? Hahahahaha—”
Scarface exchanged looks with his men, and they instantly broke into uproarious laughter.
“Is this little bitch is actually that naive?”
“W-What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Hmph, naturally. Very wrong.”
Scarface shook the gleaming broadsword slung over his shoulder and laughed with wild confidence.
“Beauty, have you not figured it out yet? We are professional bandits!
Professional! Do you know what professionalism means?”
“Make plans in advance!” Bandit A shouted.
“Establish a clear route!” Bandit B declared.
“Accurately identify the target!” Bandit C laughed.
“Guarantee absolute success!” Bandit D said, hands on his hips.
“That is right, that is right. That is what professionalism means!”
Scarface waved a hand grandly and laughed.
“We already scouted this whole area beforehand. Absolutely no one will pass by, so the righteous hero you keep talking about is naturally not going to appear.”
“...”
The girl’s cheek twitched.
They were only committing a robbery, so why were they acting like some elite criminal operation?
“But what if? What if there is someone you missed?” the girl asked stubbornly, still unwilling to give up.
“What if? Hahaha. If you really want to talk about a what-if, then the only place we did not scout in advance would be this river.”
Scarface waggled his brows with an exaggerated expression.
“What, are you saying your righteous hero is going to crawl out of the river? Hahahaha, do not make me laugh. Could it be that your righteous hero is actually a mermaid living under the wat—”
Splash!
Scarface’s words were suddenly cut off by the sound of violently churning water.
Beneath the rippling glow of the sunset, a blond man suddenly burst through the surface of the river and rose up from the water to reveal his upper body.
His refreshing short golden hair had been swept back by his hand, exposing an unusually handsome face.
Crystal-clear droplets rolled down his perfectly sculpted chest muscles, glittering in the light.
“A... a mermaid!” Bandit A cried out in shock.
“Mermaid my ass!”
Scarface smacked Bandit A on the head.
“Open your eyes. That is a man!”
“Oh, right.”
“I finally... escaped!”
Out on the river, the blond man suddenly threw back his head and spread his arms wide, as though he wanted to embrace the sky.
“I am finally free!”
His voice was wild and unrestrained, like a soul that had been imprisoned for ages and had finally seen daylight again.
Even from a distance, Scarface and the others could feel the blond man’s joy.
“What the hell?”
The blond man suddenly turned his gaze toward the group on shore.
That fixed stare made even Scarface, who prided himself on never changing expression even if a mountain collapsed in front of him, feel uneasy.
Then the man started swimming toward them.
And as the water grew shallower and more of his body was revealed, the people on shore finally realized...
He was completely naked!
“B-Boss,” Bandit B said, his voice trembling slightly.
“We did not just run into a pervert, did we?”
“That is very possible.”
Scarface’s expression turned grave.
If they had really run into a pervert today, and a ridiculously handsome pervert at that, then his plan would need a slight adjustment.
He turned to glance at the girl.
She was covering her flushed red face and shaking her head with all her might.
Very good.
So he was not some so-called righteous hero after all.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“Hello to you too.”
The blond man walked ashore, completely unconcerned by the fact that he did not have a single thread on him, and enthusiastically went around shaking hands with everyone.
“Beautiful weather today.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Brother, that outfit looks great on you.”
“Do you know where this is?”
“This is...”
Looking at the overly familiar blond man, Bandit C could not help swallowing nervously.
“The wilderness west of Belland.”
“The west side? Then I must have slipped far enough away. Ann probably cannot catch up anymore.”
“After all, just to be safe, I drifted in the river for an entire day and night.”
The blond man—Muen—murmured to himself in a low voice.
After briefly stealing Ann’s sight earlier with the Light Spell, Muen had jumped straight into the river and fled along the current.
Because he had no idea just how absurd Ann’s Young-Master Detector really was, Muen had stayed hidden in the river for an entire day and night, using the water to wash away all traces of his scent and presence.
Fortunately, after reaching the second rank, his body, protected by battle aura, did not lose too much heat in the slight chill of early autumn.
Simply drifting with the current did not require too much stamina either.
Only after confirming that Ann could not possibly catch up did Muen choose a stretch of calm water and prepare to come ashore.
Which brought him here.
He just had not expected to run into people the moment he came up.
And from the look of things, they seemed to be robbing someone?
After a brief moment of thought, Muen realized that the people whose hands he had just enthusiastically shaken were actually a bunch of bandits?
What kind of shit luck is this?
—Better run first.
He had no weapon, and two fists could not fight four hands.
Trying to play the hero would be an extremely foolish decision.
“Haha, thanks for the directions, everyone. I will be on my way now.”
Muen thanked them with a smile, turned around, and promptly prepared to slip away with practiced ease.
“Hold it.”
Who would have thought that after only taking two steps, Scarface’s voice rang out behind him.
“Hm? What is it, big brother?”
Muen turned back and forced a smile.
“Heh heh, kid, you have already figured out what we do, have you not? And you think you can just leave?” Scarface sneered.
Not good.
The corner of Muen’s mouth twitched, and he laughed awkwardly. “Do not worry. I will pretend I never saw anything.”
“That is not what I mean.”
“Then what do you mean...?”
“What I mean is, we are bandits. And when bandits run into people...”
Scarface stared at Muen and slowly said each word with emphasis,
“Then naturally, we rob them.”
“Rob me?”
Muen’s expression turned strange.
He looked down at his completely naked body, then back at Scarface.
“Are you serious?”
“Heh heh, who said I was robbing you for money?”
Scarface stuck out his tongue and slowly licked the edge of his gleaming blade.
His eyes burned as he stared at Muen.
“I am robbing you for your looks!”