I Thought I Was Collecting Systems, Not Overpowered Wives

The trouble, when it finally arrived on the fourth day of their escort, announced itself with none of the dramatic flair Azure Blake had grown accustomed to from ancient horrors and secret cults, instead taking the considerably more mundane form of a dozen ragged bandits blocking the pass with crude weapons and even cruder threats.

"Toll’s due, travelers," the apparent leader called out, a scarred man wielding a notched axe with more confidence than skill. "Hand over the goods and nobody needs to bleed today."

Rosalind, from her position atop the lead cart, sighed with visible exasperation rather than fear. "Every season, without fail. You’d think they’d learn eventually."

"Want us to handle it?" Kael asked, already dismounting.

"Please. Try not to kill them outright, though. Most of these fools are just desperate farmers who lost their land to bad harvests. Scare them off properly and they’ll likely think twice before trying this again."

"Understood."

Kael approached the bandit leader with the easy, unhurried confidence of someone who’d faced considerably worse threats than a dozen poorly armed opportunists, Sylvia falling into step beside him while Yuki and Harriden fanned out to flank the group from either side.

"Last warning," the bandit leader said, though his voice had already lost some of its earlier bravado at the sight of four hunters advancing without visible concern. "We’ve got numbers."

"You’ve got numbers," Kael agreed. "We’ve got considerably more experience fighting things scarier than farmers holding rusty axes."

"Rusty—" The leader’s grip tightened defensively around his weapon. "This blade’s perfectly serviceable."

"I’m sure it is. Doesn’t change the outcome here, though."

Sylvia, without any particular urgency, summoned a modest handful of her celestial swords—nowhere near the full Array she’d use against genuine threats, but more than sufficient to make the bandits’ collective resolve waver visibly.

"That’s— that’s Array of Swords," one of the bandits stammered, backing away. "That’s the elven princess’s ability. I’ve heard stories."

"You’ve heard correctly," Sylvia said, mild and unbothered. "I’d suggest reconsidering your current career path before this escalates further."

The bandit leader’s bravado crumbled entirely at that, his weapon lowering slowly as his companions began retreating without waiting for his order. "This—this isn’t worth it. Fall back! FALL BACK!"

Within moments, the entire group had scattered into the surrounding treeline, abandoning their ambush entirely rather than risk facing genuine hunters of Azure Blake’s reputation. Kael watched them go with a mixture of relief and mild disappointment at how anticlimactic the whole confrontation had proven.

"That’s it?" Yuki said, holstering his revolvers with visible letdown. "I didn’t even get to shoot anything."

"Be grateful," Harriden said. "Not every fight needs bloodshed to end successfully."

"I know, I know. Still, feels strange after everything we’ve survived recently. Almost anticlimactic."

Rosalind, watching the exchange from her cart with obvious amusement, called out cheerfully. "Well handled, all of you! Exactly the kind of efficient, bloodless resolution I was hoping for when I hired Azure Blake specifically."

"Happy to help," Kael said, remounting his horse.

"Though I confess," Rosalind added, "part of me was hoping for a slightly more exciting story to tell my grandchildren someday. ’The great bandit stand-down’ doesn’t have quite the same dramatic ring as some of the tales I’ve heard about you all."

"We can arrange something more exciting next time, if you’d prefer," Yuki offered.

"Absolutely not. Boring is exactly what I paid for. Keep it boring."

The caravan continued on without further incident for the remainder of the day, the brief bandit encounter already fading into another minor footnote in Azure Blake’s increasingly varied collection of missions. That evening, as they made camp once more, Claire couldn’t resist teasing Kael about the anticlimactic confrontation.

"’Considerably more experience fighting things scarier than farmers holding rusty axes,’" she quoted, grinning. "That’s going to become a running joke at your expense for weeks, you understand."

"Worth it, if it kept things bloodless," Kael said, unbothered.

"Oh, absolutely worth it. Doesn’t mean I won’t tease you mercilessly about your dramatic bandit-intimidation speech regardless."

"Fair enough."

They settled into another peaceful evening around the campfire, the day’s minor excitement already blending comfortably into the broader rhythm of their pleasantly uneventful escort mission, and Kael found himself grateful, once again, for the genuine novelty of a threat that resolved itself without requiring anyone’s blood spilled at all.

Rosalind joined them at the fire later that evening, producing a small flask of something warm and spiced that she insisted on sharing as thanks for the day’s efficient handling of the bandit encounter. "You know, I’ve hired considerably more heavy-handed hunters over the years. Ones who’d have carved through those poor farmers without a second thought, just to make a show of their strength."

"Didn’t seem necessary," Kael said, accepting the offered flask. "They backed off the moment they realized what they were actually up against."

"Exactly my point. Restraint like that isn’t common among hunters your level of strength. I’ve seen plenty who mistake brutality for competence." Rosalind settled onto a nearby log, expression turning thoughtful. "Whatever Azure Blake’s reputation says about your battles against monsters and ancient horrors, I think this small moment says more about who you actually are."

"That’s generous," Sylvia said. "Though I’d argue the ancient horrors mostly don’t leave room for restraint. Different circumstances demand different approaches."

"Fair point, dear. Still, I appreciate seeing the difference firsthand rather than just hearing about it in exaggerated tavern stories."

Yuki, predictably, seized the opening. "Speaking of exaggerated tavern stories, did I mention the time I single-handedly held off an army of ogres using only my devastatingly good looks and unshakeable confidence?"

"You did not," Claire said. "Because that’s not remotely what happened."

"Details, Claire."

The evening wound down in familiar, comfortable laughter, the fire crackling warmly against the cool night air, and Kael found himself once again appreciating the simple, uncomplicated pleasure of an evening spent among people who felt, increasingly and unmistakably, like family.

Eventually the camp settled into quiet, one by one drifting toward their bedrolls until only the crackling fire and the distant chirp of insects remained, the whole pass wrapped in the kind of undisturbed calm that made the looming uncertainties waiting back in Renodin feel, for one more night at least, comfortably far away.

—

End of Chapter—