6-4. The First Thieves [Revised]
Satou's here. I thought that the three precepts are, "Don't kill", "Don't steal", "Don't violate", but in truth, it wasn't, "Don't steal", but, "Don't burn".
However, even if it's not one of the three, bad things are bad, right.
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""Good morning, master.""
"Good morning."
Lulu and Liza who have immediately woken up with the first sign of morning sun give me morning greetings.
I let Tama down from my laps, and take Liza to the spear in order to apologize to her.
"T, this is."
Even Liza is speechless.
Since externally, her important spear looks like it has been scribbled. Let's apologize first before I say, "The performance has been improved.".
After I make up my mind, I step forward toward Liza-- but, she's not looking at me.
Seemingly to check on the spear's condition, she tries stabbing with it many times. The red light that appears when she does heavy blow is stronger than before.
"Master!"
After she finishes swinging the spear, she comes closer to me. I decide to listen to her complaints before I make an excuse. Her voice's tone is a bit high, would be good if she's not angry.
"This is, it must be a reward right!"
Since I don't understand the flow of the conversation, I ask her.
"Arisa was saying to Lulu, 'If you properly service master, you'll get a reward someday.', she said."
Those, "service", and, "reward" probably have different meaning. That Arisa, don't indoctrinate weird things to Lulu.
For the time being, since she looks really happy, let's ride on this flow.
"It's because Liza has always worked hard. How is the spear?"
"Yes, the weight is the same as usual, but it is now possible for my arm to become one with the spear up until the tip."
She looks so happy, she's rubbing her cheeks on the spear, I apologize to her for arbitrarily doing something to her spear after the breakfast before we depart. Liza says, "My spear and I, everything is master's.", but I remind myself not to take advantage of that.
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Since Lulu will call me when Liza finishes breakfast preparation, I pick a towel and go to river beside the camping ground. There's a river nearby, so I want to take a bath there. By the way, the water temperature is below 10 degree (celcius), so normally I'd get a cold. Although, I don't feel that cold, maybe thanks to ice resistance.
Rather, I'm more interested with Lulu's gaze which I feel from over the bushes. During the cooking, she occasionally takes a glance over here. I thought the bushes should be tall enough to cover me, but...
She's at an age where she would be interested with the opposite sex, I guess it can't be helped.
Sine it would be troublesome in various ways when Arisa wakes up, I wash my body with a soap quickly.
I see several fish outlines before I wear my clothes, so I throw skewers at them catching around 10 fish and put them into the Storage.
I've thought that grilled fish are a staple of breakfast, but Lulu and Liza have already started cooking, cutting in between them now would be boorish.
I wipe my body roughly and wear clothes.
My hair is still wet, but it should be dried soon when it gets close to fire.
"Good morning, master."
"Good morning Nana. Try saying some more words after morning greeting."
"Good morning, master."
"Yep, that's good."
I pat Nana's head while praising her.
Ye~p. Her outward appearance is that of an adult woman, so patting her head looks really out place.
"Morning."
"Ning~?"
"Good morning nano desu!"
"Good Morniii!"
The other members are waking up. I also greet them back.
Still, what's wrong Arisa?
"Why?"
What is she saying?
Arisa points my wet hair.
"Say something if you want to take a bath!"
"No way. You'll go peep if I tell you right?"
"Of course! It's my natural job as a slave to wash my master's back!"
"Your real motive?"
"A boy bathing at the center of mother nature! Missing that is a regrettable situation!"
When you said that so frankly, I could not punish you.
Usually, before we go to sleep or after breakfast, I go away alone to wipe my body with wet towel and Arisa usually try to peep me which she did once when she managed to escape from Liza's watch. I don't necessarily scold her when she peeps but since it'd be a bad influence to other girls, I'd give her spanking if I catch her peeping.
...How do I say this, feels like our role as man and woman is reversed.
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That day, my magic practice ends in failure again, to have a change of pace, I sit at the end of the wagon and make small shields using some wood.
Since I get Armor Creation skill after making one, I put it point to the maximum and activate it. Even though the shields are made of woods, they're made with the highest level technique of armor creation.
Since it's messy, I put a sheet for the fallen wood chips. I present two shields made after I've acquired the skill to Pochi and Tama. There are some shields in my storage but there is none which could fits Pochi and Tama so I have to make them myself.
I've only just made three of it but since the time is almost up, I clear away the tools.
Arisa who has noticed it, faces toward me.
"The guys you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah, very soon. There are two people on the highway, five people in each forest on the sides of highway, and two people on a tree a bit further. Arisa will deal with the two on the highway, while the five in the right forest will be taken care by Liza, Pochi and Tama. I'll defeat the two on the tree and the five in the left forest. I will leave Lulu's guard to Mia and Nana."
Everyone nods at my instruction. Since I've explained it beforehand, they don't have any particular question.
Everyone is tense, but the enemies are no big deals. On the left side, beside a level 7, the others are small fries at level 2-3. The beast girls could annihilate them alone if they want.
When we enter the forest after a slight curve, there are a man and a woman sitting on the road.
They look like normal villagers. "Oo~i", they call out over here.
When the wagon loosen its speed, the man approach while trying to say something.
"I'm sorry, my wife is,s,s,s,s."
"Fuhn, I have no interest with thieves' acting."
Arisa hit the man and woman with mind magic without asking. She had a hard time choosing a location so our horses wouldn't get swept with her attack. Even though she loves to act a bit dramatic herself.
Yes, these 14 men and women are thieves.
Without checking the result of that battle, I use 2 crossbows alternately to shoot down the bowmen on the tree. They shouldn't be dead.
The beast girls jump out from the back of the wagon and begin their assault in the forest. I also jump from the coachman-stand and charge toward the opposite forest.
In just a few minutes, [Oyu Village Thieves Gang] is annihilated. Half of them are injured but none dies. We hang them on trees while disarming their weapons. I feel wasteful to use ropes on them, so I roll them up with tree vines, per Liza's suggestion.
I've noticed this with the accident faker in the city back then, there is no punishment for, [Injuring] and, [Assaulting] in this world. Just to be sure, I check on everyone's status and their Reward and Punishment hasn't changed.
The thieves have been subjected to Arisa's magic, Sleeping Field to make them sleep.
Just in case, checking on the map, there is no village called, "Oyu Village", in this region.
"By the way, what do you want to do by capturing them? Isn't the earl-san's city still relatively far away? Isn't it faster if we just kill them?"
"Since I was ordered not to kill if possible, I did not kill anyone, but thieves should be killed as soon as one comes across them. If master wants the prize money then their heads are enough. Furthermore, even if ones kill a thief, their Reward & Punishment won't change into [Murderer]."
Arisa and Liza's suggestions are quite brutal, but I wonder if that's just how it is in this world. If I overlook these guys here, they would probably kill or sell merchants or travelers who use this road as slaves.
Even so, I don't want to see the beast girls kill people, and I, myself, don't want to kill. I want to avoid murder as much as possible.
But then, I feel like I would retract that if my companions' lives are in danger. Even if I'm a hypocrite, I am not a saint, if that time really happens I'll give in.
I did kill Zen anyway, even if it was his own intention.
"Let's bring them to the earl's city and sell them as crime slaves. Is it not more profitable than killing them here?"
Even though I don't want to kill them, I have no intention of letting them go. I will have them pay for their crime adequately. Their [Reward and Punishment] stats are filled with [Murder], [Rape], [Theft] and more. There is no innocent one.
Liza has a face that looks like she has more to say, but it seems that she doesn't have any intention to object my words more.
"It can't be helped~ let's do it like that."
While saying so, Arisa shakes her head like some kind of gaijin. I understand that she's worried, but that gesture is slightly petulant.
Then, she points her finger at me, and continues with these words.
"If your life is in danger, don't hesitate to kill the opponent, understand. That is the rule of this world. I won't forgive you if you drag your peacefulness like that country and get yourself killed pitifully!"
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Still, 14 people are too many indeed. Even though the wagon hardly has any luggage, more than half of the wagon's back is buried with the thieves. Morever, they stink.
Since it'd be annoying if they wake up, in addition to Arisa's magic, I make them drink sleeping potions that I've made on the first camping night and take them along to the earl's city while they're sleeping.
Although it's just for two days, the thieves' smell and snores are huge nuisances.
If we find another thieves, I'll leave them half-dead. I did not think that bringing criminals away from a remote place would be this troublesome.