Chapter 005

"They don't seem to be aware of what happened yet," Olivia noted, peeking out the window with only half her head. One of the two bandits ambling this way was dressed like how people perceived bandits but the other one was dressed too lavishly. If it had been for his rough features, no one would have thought he was some kind of ruffian. "Where do we run?"

"We are not running, Olivia," Robert said. He too was taking a peek but he was barely hiding with more than half of his body showing.

"But those two are very likely Aura users, skilled ones at that. I'm not confident in going up against them."

"You won't be going up against them, not directly at least. I'll be the one confronting them."

"Same difference. We're partners. They'll treat us as one."

"Don't worry, I won't lose."

"But they killed two trolls."

"Or so that's how the rumours go. Do you have any spells that provide light?"

"Like a torch?"

"As long as it gives light."

"I have two. One's Light Drop and the other's Beacon. Light Drop is essentially a torch or a lantern. Beacon is used like a signal flare."

"It travels far?"

"Of course. It would be redundant if it couldn't. It is a blinding flash of light that lasts only a few seconds."

"What happens if I touch this Beacon spell? Will I be scalded?"

"You will but… it won't be a terrible burn. It will be just a singe."

"Good enough," he said and turned away from the window. He looked around the room with the gaze of a hawk. The moment he spotted a lantern by the table the bandits used to play cards, he hurried to the cabinets and rummaged through them one by one until he came across a small jar. He knew this was what he was looking for when the pungent smell from within the jar wafted into his nose. "Alright. Here's the plan. When you see me clenching my hand, cast the Beacon spell at them. Understood?"

"I-I think so… Are you really going to—"

"Yes, I am. Now, stay behind me." With the cutlass and the jar in hand, Robert strode out of the hut in stride.

The two bandits saw Robert and they immediately halted their steps and drew their weapons.

"Stop right there!" yelled the seedy-looking bandit. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Someone who's here for your heads," Robert answered without stopping in his tracks.

"If you don't stop right now, you can say goodbye to your legs," said the besuited bandit. "Your choice."

"Alright, goodbye," Robert retorted and increased his pace.

The besuited bandit swung the greatsword in his hand as his body shimmered in soft white glow. An ethereal crescent-shaped projectile was launched at Robert.

"That's Aura, I guess," Robert mused and hopped over the projectile. "I may be in another world but my body is the same, or even better than in my prime. It's a shame that I can't use Vis."

"What are you blabbering about!?" the besuited bandit shouted in a panic. He couldn't believe Robert just jumped over his Aura Blade like it was nothing. It was not an impressive feat on paper but it was very commendable in reality as it was something most could do but the risk behind it had deterred many from doing so or doing it without fail.

Robert continued running at the two. He even grinned at them to provoke them further.

The sordid bandit met Robert's charge with a leap assisted by the use of Aura. The bandit's whole body also softly glowed in white as he leapt. He raised his cutlass overhead as he swung down.

Robert huffed in derision and effortlessly dodged the bandit's slash by simply sidestepping. Before the bandit could rein in from the slash, Robert stomped on the sword with a considerable amount of strength poured into his feet.

The bandit gave up on getting his sword back and leapt back a great distance before Robert's counter-slash could reach his head. "This bastard…" he cursed with a bloodshot glare directed at Robert.

"Not bad…" Robert praised but not at the bandit. He was praising the Aura. "Not as refined and dynamic as Vis but it is still meritorious."

"Step aside. I'll handle this clown," the besuited bandit said and stepped forward. His whole body glowed but the lights were a tad stronger than before. He stood there with his greatsword lowered as Robert came into the reach of his sword.

"Thanks for the charity," Robert said and swung down at the unmoving bandit. However, the blade of the cutlass snapped off as it collided with the bandit's neck.

"Idiot," the bandit snickered and raised his greatsword. "And naive."

"I agreed," Robert retorted and clenched his hand as he doused the bandit with the contents inside the jar he was holding.

The besuited bandit groaned and staggered as a few drops of the contents got into his eyes. "What the fuck— Oil?" It was hard to get rid of the oil blinding his eyes. His was a bit blurry but he still had sight on Robert. "You fucking slippery shit. I will—"

Robert let go of the cutlass and tossed himself away from the bandit just as a blind flash of light streaked past him and darted towards the besuited bandit soaked in oil.

"Beacon? Why—" The bandit's confounded inquiry turned into a scream of agony as he burst into flames.

"Boss!" shouted the other bandit.

The bandit leader flailed and floundered around in a frenzy, shouting at the top of his lungs all the while.

The shabby bandit eventually returned to his senses and decided to exact revenge for his boss. He charged at Robert with a battle cry, his body glowing faintly in white.

Robert picked the sword the bandit left behind and threw the empty jar in his hand at the charging bandit.

The bandit shrieked and recoiled from the jar with his arms crossed in front of his face, perhaps thinking he would meet the same fate but the empty clangour of the jar brought him back to reality. There was no reason for him to be afraid as it was empty. The bandit grimaced, indignant over being frightened by some petty trick.

However, when he parted his hands from his face, a cutlass with a broken blade was flying his way. He managed to evade the spinning cutlass of a projectile by a breadth of a few inches. But when he turned his gaze back to Robert, he was too late in stopping a thrust from Robert. The cutlass plunged through his chest was the one he abandoned.

The bandit cried and laughed as his soul left his body and his eyes fell shut. Robert let the corpses hit the ground and turned his attention back to the burning bandit leader, who had dropped to the ground and was struggling weakly. The pain had probably numbed his whole body and now he had trouble moving.

Robert approached the bandit leader, picking up his greatsword on the way, and stared down at him as he loomed over him.

"W-wait…" the bandit leader spluttered.

Robert did not retort and promptly stabbed the greatsword into the bandit leader's heart. The bandit leader became motionless in an instant but Robert was still staring at the now-dead bandit leader. "Hmm," he murmured, squinting.

"What is it?" Olivia asked as she scuttled near Robert.

"His face."

"What about his face?"

"It's so disfigured. How am I gonna claim his bounty if no one can recognise the corpse except for me?"

"Ah, that's true."

"Damn it. There's no dental records here, you idiot," Robert admonished himself in a whisper.

"But I don't think that would be a problem."

"It wouldn't?"

"If you also collect the heads of the other bandits, I'm sure the chief will believe this one to be the bandit leader. This sort of thing happens all the time."

"That's very exploitable."

"Only for the bold fools. If the requester found out they were being tricked, they would simply hire someone else to take care of the one who fooled them. The slayer would simply take the fraud's money and possession as payment. It's not a perfect solution but… it is how it is."

"Oh, I see. Smart. Well then, let's get to chopping," Robert said and raised the greatsword overhead.

Olivia turned around just as Robert swung the sword down.

Collecting the bandits' head proved to be the harder part of the endeavour as it took Robert nearly an hour to finish up and he was all bloody when he had finished. One of the reasons it had taken so long was because Robert was looting the corpses. He took his time rifling through all of their pockets and he found a folded paper in the bandit leader's coat pocket. Surprisingly, it wasn't burned as the paper quality was extraordinary.

"That's white paper…" Olivia gasped. "Only nobles have them. Why does he have such a paper?"

"Let's find out," Robert said and was about to unfold the paper when he stopped. "I can't stand this. I can't stand this stench on me."

"I can take care of that," she said and stood close to Robert. "I am about to perform a cleaning spell. We best get as close as possible to each other to avoid wasting the spell."

"Alright." Robert nodded and squirmed close to Olivia, who was red to the ears but since she had her head lowered, Robert couldn't see her flushed face.

"Before that, please make sure the paper is far away."

Robert put down the paper twenty feet away from them and snuggled back close to Olivia. "I'm ready."

Olivia closed her eyes and uttered a short chant before firmly ending the chant with a "Wash!"

In a blink of an eye, both of them were soaking and dripping wet, as if they had just emerged from a deep body of water. Though wet, they were now speckless of dirt and any sort of stain. Even the odour from their sweat and the enemies' blood was no more.

Olivia uttered another string of chant before firmly uttering, "Dry!" This spell took some time to work but it was still only a few seconds, around ten seconds and their skin and garments were now dry. After cleaning was done, Olivia fell to her knees, panting.

"Are you alright?" Robert asked in a hurry, kneeling before her.

"I'm fine. Using two spells of intermediate tier in succession is a bit too tasking for my current abilities but I'll be fine."

"Truly?"

Olivia nodded.

"If you say so," Robert said and went to retrieve the paper. Walking back to Olivia, he unfolded the paper and read the contents written. He was surprised to learn he could read the letters that clearly weren't English but somehow, everything was translated to English in his head.

"What does it say?" Olivia asked, still recovering from her fatigue on the ground.

"A Baron Kraus wants to recruit these bandits into his military force."

"Baron Kraus? That's the lord of this fief."

"Well… it seems like he knows the hunter party from before was killed by these bandits and he also knows about the matter regarding the patrol soldiers turning a blind eye to the bandits' misdeeds. These are the reasons why he wanted to hire these bandits."

"Despicable," Olivia spat. "Instead of eliminating these bandits, he wants to recruit them? What are these villagers even paying the taxes for?"

"Not our problem," Robert said with a shrug and tossed the paper aside.

"Not our problem?"

"Yes, it ain't our problem."

"But—"

"But nothing, Olivia. What are you going to do about it?"

"We have to let the villagers know the truth."

Robert snorted in ridicule. "Like that would change anything. It won't, Olivia. The villagers can't even do anything about a couple of bandits terrorising them. What can they do against a noble who has an army of trained soldiers?"

"But… But can't we do something about this?"

"Why should we?"

"Because the villagers need help."

"They do but do they deserve it?"

"W-what?"

"Listen here, Olivia. You don't know the villagers. You don't know these people. For all we know, they could be just as terrible as the bandits but they are simply more subtle with it."

"...."

"Here's some advice. Never give the final judgement to an outcome which you did not see what led to it."

Olivia nodded reluctantly.

"Good," Robert said, smiling. "Sorry about that. I may have been a bit harsh." He ruffled her hair.

"It's alright… What you said makes sense too… I was just being rash because of my sense of self-righteousness. T-thank you, Robert."

"You don't have to keep thanking me, Olivia."

"But I want to"

"Suit yourself." Robert shrugged. "Now come on, let's head back."