Punishing Black

I, Silva Branwen, looked at what remains of a bandit tribe that thought it was a good idea to attack the girls and me. Needless to say, they are six feet under after a few well-placed shots from Drake's main cannon. Unfortunately, this is the third time this has happened after I started heading towards the southeast area of Anima to see the volcanic region and nearby massive savannah. After using Soul Archive on a previous bandit leader, I learned it's the slow season for bandits right now, and a lot of tribes head down south to avoid the winter weather.

Bandits make the most of their living by raiding convoys, spice convoys, to be precise, as Mistral is the biggest producer of spices which exports their goods to the rest of Remnant, especially Atlas. However, since everything is harvested and already shipped before winter rolls around, the only way for bandit tribes to make some cash is to raid settlements that are heavily protected aside from newer ones, that is, so they head south to hunt and scavenge what they can. The Branwen tribe didn't need to do the same since Raven's Semblance could open portals over vast distances and hit settlements fast and hard, then leave without a trace.

Regardless I am still heading to the volcanic area and savannah for a few reasons. I want to go to the volcanoes to get volcanic ash for roman concrete and sulfur for gunpowder, as I will need both for my plans for Menagerie. The savannah, however, is more of a leisure trip to see some of Remnant's exotic animals and hunt some unique game to eat. Although I can't stay at these places long since the signals for the CCTS is weaker in these areas compared to Menagerie since their mostly uninhabited as they are either too dangerous or severely lack the resources needed to build a settlement there.

I thought about Ren and Nora since it had been a month since I had seen them after sending them off to Vale. Hopefully, they are managing well enough on their own in a new city, but I plan on checking on them later after my road trip is over. As I looked around the now-destroyed bandit camp for any survivors to deal with, I heard.

" Hold it right there, you damn animal, or the girl gets it!"

I turned to see a bandit holding Argint hostage; he really shouldn't have done that, as I felt mild rage at his actions. He was bleeding from his temple as he held a gun to her temple as the vampire bat girl actually showed a bit of fear. I haven't unlocked Argint's Aura yet because I wasn't sure of its effect on her tattered but healing mind. The girl has become slightly more expressive since I have given her the freedom of choice during this road trip. The bandit started talking as I looked at him.

" Don't move and drop your weapons!"

I just looked at him with disdain and walked over to him with the intent to kill. He panicked as he shouted.

" I said stop you, dumb animal, or the girl dies!"

I ignored him as his threat was meaningless and closed the distance. He pulled the trigger as a loud bang was heard, but Argint was fine, and the bandit died from his own gunshot. I used Door To Darkness to open a small portal at the barrel of the gun to the back of his head, which ensured the vampire bat girl's safety. I asked her with care and worry.

" Are you alright, Argint?"

" Yes, Master Silva, I am well."

I felt relieved and more than a little angry since Neopolitan was supposed to be guarding her, and yet some bandit got to her. I bellowed with fury.

" NEOPOLITAN, GET YOUR LITTLE A*S HERE THIS INSTANT!"

After a few minutes, I saw the tri-color girl appear, and she looked at Argint with a look of realization, then looked a bit sheepish as she came closer. I placed my paw atop her head to see what was going on with Soul Archive and saw that Neopolitan assumed all the bandits were dead and went to see if she could find anything in the wreckage of the camp. I let out a bestial growl and told the tri-color harshly.

" Neopolitan, never, ever make assumptions when it affects or concerns a person's safety! If I wasn't careful, or the if the bandit were smarter, Argint would've died today, and you have the blame for leaving her unguarded!"

Neopolitan looked down as she looked ashamed, and I gave her my punishment.

" I will put all your flavorings, plus any neopolitan flavored goodies, out of your reach, and that includes your secret stash until I say otherwise. Also, your allowance is now gone as well, so you can't buy more until you learn the gravity of your carelessness could have caused."

I originally gave the tri-color girl an allowance so she could get what she wanted since she was unlikely to be hired because of her doll-like appearance that could be mistaken as a child. It also served as a way to make her less inclined to steal and pickpocket Lein, as she could probably do it easily with her Semblance. Neopolitan fell to her knees as she was acting like it was the end of the world with a silent cry of despair. I sighed as I picked up the desponded doll of a girl and went back to the Drake to continue my trip.

***

Lie Ren could not believe his luck. After meeting Silva and getting a free trip to Vale, he and Nora found work with little difficulty that allowed them to get a cheap apartment in the city. The quiet young man worked as a cook at a nice little cafe run by a rabbit faunus while the thunderous girl was helping with her enhanced strength at the wall protecting the city of Vale. Overall, things are looking up for the duo, especially since his boss's daughter was attending a combat school and was loaning out her daughter's old books for them to study.

Ren felt grateful for meeting the snow leopard faunus and hoped to meet again to give his gratitude. While the past of the destruction of his home and the death of his family haunted him from time to time, he used his Semblance to stop himself from giving in to despair and move forward for himself and his sort-of sister, Nora. It had been a rough couple of years since they only had each other to count on since they had no relatives to take them in, but they survived however they could. Ren felt grateful to his deceased father for teaching him a few survival skills, like how to skin and butch some animals for meat.

No one would hire a pair of ten-year-olds even if they had Aura that made them stronger than the average adult civilian. They made do with hunting and foraging until they got old enough to be considered for hiring for whatever jobs they could take. They never stayed near or at a settlement for long since Mistral's social services wanted to put them in foster care and be separated, which neither of them wanted. The four kingdoms had different child labor laws compared to Earth's since Aura plays a factor in a child's ability to work.

Once they turned 13, they could start working where they could. The primary reason they went to that fishing village is that a few boat owners there occasionally went to the eastern coast of Sanus to exchange different varieties of fish with another village for profit or treat their families to something different and exotic. Ren and Nora, we're hoping to catch a ride to get closer to Vale in hopes of attending Beacon. Now that they're there, they can focus on saving up for some proper weapons and study what they could to pass the entrance exam. Beacon Academies' entrance exam has the loosest standards, which enables all walks of life to attend its halls.

" Ren, dear, another carrot cake."

" Yes, ma'am!"

Ren's boss called out, and he went to work to make another one of the cafe's famous carrot cakes. He enjoyed his job since it made use of the cooking skills his mother taught him, and he continued to work hard for his paycheck.