Chapter 196

We decided to enter the village that the bandits had taken over.

It wasn’t that we had resolved to fight.

Rieka believed that even among the bandits there would be someone who could be reasoned with. Negotiating with them was also Rieka’s responsibility.

“Who do you think you are?”

“We’re mages researching Ground Zero, and I’m the adventurer acting as their guide.”

At Rieka’s words, the bandits standing on the watchtower exchanged glances and snickered.

“Did you hear that? They say they’re mages.”

“Damn it. Some of us get dragged out here and have to risk our lives working, and they call it research. Must be nice. So what do you want?”

“Do you even have the authority to bring what I ask for? Stop wasting time and call your boss.”

The bandit glared at Rieka, but soon complied.

“Wait there.”

One of them jumped down from the watchtower and went to fetch a superior.

The man who came back had epaulets on his shoulders indicating rank.

The epaulets were already so worn out along with his uniform that it was difficult to recognize their original shape, but it was still enough to tell that he had once belonged to a slave unit or a penal unit.

Rieka asked,

“Are you the leader?”

“That’s right. Got business in our village?”

“We’d like to rest in the village for one night. If possible, we’d also like to replenish our water and food.”

“Do you have something to pay with?”

“Of course.”

When Rieka showed a small trick by rolling a gold coin between her fingers, the man’s eyes gleamed.

Normally, gold coins aren’t a very welcome currency in Ground Zero.

Since the survival conditions are so harsh, there are many situations where a sip of water or a piece of bread is far more valuable than a single gold coin.

However, in places where villages have formed, traveling merchants visit from time to time, and gold coins can be exchanged for luxury goods like alcohol or tobacco.

Moreover, if they belonged to a penal unit, they might also be able to bribe the overseer managing them and reduce their sentence.

That was the reasoning Rieka and I came up with, and it seemed to be working fairly well.

The man replied.

“Alright. I’ll allow you to enter the village. In exchange, it’ll be two gold coins per person.”

“Wow, these idiots don’t even know how to overcharge properly.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. How about you just open the gate already?”

Our group consisted of six students and three adults.

Nine people in total, and Rieka paid eighteen gold coins.

At first the bandits were extremely wary of us, but the moment they checked the makeup of our group, the tension visibly faded from their faces.

Most of us were academy students, and the only armed person was Rieka.

They must have judged that we weren’t much of a threat.

The bandit acting as gatekeeper inspected us.

“Are you the only one carrying a weapon?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“I told you. The rest are mages who came here to study Ground Zero.”

“Then hand over your sword. We’ll hold on to any weapons and give them back when you leave the village.”

At that, Rieka frowned in annoyance and unfastened her sword before tossing it over.

The bandit pulled the blade out slightly and whistled.

“Damn, that’s a hell of a weapon you’ve got there!”

“You’d better take good care of it. Otherwise I’ll use that sword to cut your head off.”

Leaving the snickering bandit behind, we entered the village.

The place they gave us to stay was the village chief’s house in the center of the village.

Rieka muttered,

“This is starting to smell worse and worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“The building we were originally supposed to stay in is that one over there.”

The place she pointed to was a shabby house attached to a stable and pigsty.

Compared to that, the chief’s house was relatively clean and spacious, but there was no way they had given it to us out of kindness.

“Did they lend us the house in the middle of the village so it’d be harder for us to escape?”

“Probably. They’re most likely planning to make their move tonight while we’re asleep.”

“Act naturally. That’ll make it easier to lure them in.”

At my words, Rieka let out a sigh.

“You’re really sure we can trust this? That you’re confident in a fight.”

“Of course.”

I won’t even need to step in.

If it’s Trisha a 7th-class mage and a vampire at night, then even if a regular army came instead of bandits, she could easily sweep them away with a relaxed smile.

Rieka tapped her waist and said,

“Well, besides the one I handed over to the gatekeeper, I’ve got a few weapons secretly hidden. If something happens, I’ll handle it somehow. A contract’s a contract.”

“Reassuring. More importantly, look at that.”

“That?”

Following my nod, Rieka turned her head and frowned.

“Damn it. Those are the supplies we were supposed to receive. Those bandits are throwing a party with the stuff they looted!”

***

From the royal capital Lambart to the entrance of Ground Zero.

After enduring a week-long journey, the students were utterly exhausted. The moment they entered the lodging, every single one of them collapsed with groans.

“I thought a trip might at least have some fun parts… but this feels closer to torture. My whole body feels like it’s creaking.”

“My feet are so swollen I can’t even take off my shoes. What should I do?”

“I don’t know. Let’s just lie down first.”

Even Stephanie, a third-year noble who would usually raise hell over shabby filthy lodgings, simply spread a blanket in a corner and lay there motionless like a corpse. This showed just how much they had suffered.

The only one who still had some energy left was Jacqueline. Carrying a water jug and cups, she went around checking on everyone.

“Senior Stephanie, please have a drink of water.”

Slowly.

Like a ghost, Stephanie raised her upper body without a sound, took a sip of water, then collapsed again and closed her eyes.

“Looks like you don’t even have the strength to talk…”

Holding the jug, Jacqueline moved clockwise around the room.

The next person waiting made Jacqueline a little nervous.

“Um… are you alright? Y-Your Highness.”

Princess Estelle, who had transferred into the academy in the second semester, was a beauty who radiated elegance even while sitting there completely exhausted.

The princess’s admission had been a major topic of conversation throughout the academy for quite some time. However, since Estelle never appeared in class even after the semester began, this was the first time anyone had actually seen her face.

Seeing Jacqueline fidgeting, unsure whether she should hand over the cup with one hand or respectfully with both, the princess gave a gentle smile.

“Thank you. And you can call me Estelle. You can speak comfortably with me too.”

“Huh? H-How could I possibly…”

“But inside the academy, we’re all just students. And I’d like to become friends with you as well.”

“You want to be friends with me? Really?”

When Estelle nodded, Jacqueline hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Th-Then… should I? Haha. I’m Jacqueline. Jacqueline Dogwood. Nice to meet you, Estelle.”

Having just become friends with the princess, Jacqueline felt as if she were floating on air. In high spirits, she picked up the water jug again and continued walking.

Shannon and Rita were sitting with their backs against the wall, watching Jacqueline.

Rita wore a shocked expression.

“My goodness, Jacqueline. Did I hear that correctly? You just called Her Highness the princess by her name so casually.”

“She said it was fine to speak comfortably.”

“I’m honestly jealous that you can actually do it right after hearing that, Jacqueline.”

“D-Did I make a mistake?”

“Well… she seemed to like it, so maybe it’s fine…”

“More importantly, Shannon doesn’t look well. Are you okay?”

“Actually, I was thinking that maybe it would’ve been better if I’d been born as a plant without legs. If I were a plant, I wouldn’t have to walk, and if I didn’t walk, my legs wouldn’t hurt like this.”

“…I think Shannon should get some sleep.”

The last person waiting for water, like Estelle, was a transfer student who had joined this semester.

Her name was Jamie Frawley.

Since, unlike Estelle, she attended classes properly and even used the same dormitory building, there had been several chances to run into her from time to time.

However, since she seemed to be the type who extremely shut herself off from interacting with others, they still hadn’t exchanged a single word.

“It really feels like looking at Shannon when we first met.”

“Mm… did you call me?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll go finish handing out the water. …Ah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The jug is empty.”

Everyone except Jamie had already had some water, so if it ended like this, it would feel like they were leaving one person out.

Jacqueline picked up the jug and stepped outside the lodging.

She was going to draw water from the well she had spotted earlier.

A few men had gathered around the well, chatting among themselves, and Jacqueline happened to overhear what they were saying.

Before long, the hairs all over her body stood on end.

It was because she realized they were murderers and that they were targeting the lives of her and her friends.

Just as a scream was about to escape her without her realizing—

Thud.

Someone covered Jacqueline’s mouth.

The dorm supervisor?

Trisha who had approached without making a sound lightly tapped Jacqueline on the shoulder.

Then, with a faint smile, she raised a finger in front of her lips.

***

A night without even the moon in the sky.

Unlike the royal capital, where streetlamps lit the roads here and there, the night in the frontier was truly pitch-black.

Those harboring killing intent took advantage of the darkness and approached the house in the center of the village.

“Listen to that snoring. Sounds like they’re completely out cold.”

“Good. That’ll make the job easier.”

“Earlier today, I saw that except for one, they were all women. If the supervisor’s a woman, the overseer goes crazy for that sort of thing, doesn’t he? How about we hand all of them over and ask for a reduction in our sentences while we’re at it?”

“What are you talking about? Before that, we should have a little fun ourselves.”

“Well, that goes without saying.”

Snickering laughter broke out here and there.

They were a military unit made up of death row inmates the Empire had sent to explore Ground Zero, and they thought nothing of harming people. It was less troublesome than eating a meal and picking their teeth.

Just a few days ago, they had massacred the residents of this frontier village to secure food, so the unlucky visitors who had arrived today were nothing more than a bonus.

“By the way, who was the guy behind me again? Gary?”

“What are you talking about? Gary died the day before yesterday. Bilbo, you’re at the very back now.”

“I’m at the very back? Then who’s the one behind me that’s been snickering this whole time?”

“Cut it out with that creepy nonsense, Bilbo. Who the hell would even be behind you—ghk!”

The bandits who turned their heads swallowed hard.

In the pitch-black darkness, a pair of red eyes was staring straight at them.

Before the bandits could even draw their weapons, the slaughter began.

“S-Spare me!”

“Ghk—!”

It didn’t even take a minute before the final dying scream burst out.

When all the bandits had breathed their last, a woman watching the scene from the roof of the house they had intended to attack let out a sigh.

It was Rieka.

“Honestly… if it was going to turn out like this, I should’ve just slept a little longer. I even took the trouble to stand watch for nothing.”

Pulling the dagger she had stuck into the roof, Rieka watched the scene of slaughter below.

“A vampire, huh. Our employer is traveling with quite an interesting one.”