Chapter 70: Departure and Roadkill 

The camping tank was finally complete.

With every last adjustment finished and every piece of luggage packed away, the long-awaited day of departure had finally arrived.

“I’m hooome!”

“Eve, you certainly took your time.”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry! It took forever to track Grandpa down. ☆”

“Grandpa?”

Tilting our heads in confusion, Raphiel and I watched as Eve proudly held something out in front of us.

It was… a soft, quivering little creature.

Its body was perfectly spherical, sporting a tiny mustache and an elegant necktie that somehow gave it the appearance of a distinguished old gentleman.

…Huh.

Kind of adorable, actually.

Just as I was thinking that—

“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, ladies and gentlemen.”

The voice that emerged was astonishingly deep and refined.

Far deeper than I ever could have imagined.

The contrast between its cute appearance and the dignified, gentlemanly voice was so overwhelming that I stood frozen in surprise. Meanwhile, the little creature gracefully bent its round body into an elegant bow with remarkable dexterity.

“I’m Rondelion, a Slime Lord and humble caretaker to Her Majesty the Demon Lord Eve.”

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Eight Tsurugi. I look forward to working with you.”

“Ohhh!! So you’re Eight-dono!! Our lady has spoken of you countless times! Thank you sincerely for everything you’ve done for her!!”

“Eve… don’t tell me Rondelion-san is…”

“Yep! Back on the Demon Continent, he’s probably the second strongest after me. The best part is that he can split himself into multiple copies without getting any weaker, so he’s absolutely perfect for protecting a large group!!”

Eve puffed out her chest proudly, enthusiastically singing her beloved grandpa’s praises with sparkling eyes.

Right then, as if drawn by something, the village chief casually wandered over.

“Hmm? I sensed a rather nostalgic presence nearby… and would you look at that, it’s a familiar face.”

“Mmm? That voice… could it be Fuldretch-san?!”

“It has indeed been a long time, Rondelion.”

…Huh?

“Village Chief… you two know each other?”

“We do. Long ago, when I journeyed alongside the Hero to invade the Demon Continent, this slime joined our party for a time. Back when we first met, he smiled and declared, ‘I’m not a bad slime,’ all while expertly aiming for my carotid artery. Quite the slippery fellow he was.”

“Hahaha… I was rather rough around the edges in those days. I deeply regret my youthful indiscretions.”

“I see… Well then, if you’re joining them as an escort, there’s nothing to worry about.”

The village chief clearly trusted Grandpa’s strength without reservation.

He bowed his head sincerely and asked him to look after Luka, Sabine, and everyone else during the journey.

…For all his quirks, the old man really did know when to be serious.

“Alright then! Time to head out!”

“Yeeees!!”

Hijiri climbed into the driver’s seat, and the rest of us boarded the camping tank one after another.

“Take care out there, Luka. And you too, Sabine.”

“I know, Grandpa!!”

“I’ll bring you back lots of souvenirs!!”

Luka and Sabine leaned out through the windows of the camping tank, waving enthusiastically at the village chief.

With every preparation complete, we departed Papel Village, escorted by the heartfelt farewells of the villagers, the adventurers, and of course the village chief himself.

“…Why do I have to come too…”

“Oh, Mom, stop dragging your feet already! Spend some time with your daughter for once!”

“Isn’t that a rather unusual thing for the daughter to be saying…? …Well, I’ll do my best.”

“Hehe! See? That’s what you should’ve said from the start!”

Perhaps because she was finally getting to travel together with Reina, Nor’s smile was brighter than usual, practically glowing with excitement.

“My, my♡ Not only is it big, it’s incredibly fast too♡”

“Y-Yes… that’s right…”

…She’s talking about the camping tank.

Right?

The fact that it somehow sounded incredibly suggestive had to be because my mind was the dirty one.

Yeah.

That had to be it.

“Mom… aren’t you sitting a little too close to Eight-niichan?”

“Not at all. Ufufu.”

Tifana and Rio locked eyes.

Invisible sparks crackled between them.

“Eve. Let’s play fighting games until we reach Luresia.”

“Oh? Sure. I’ll gladly show you how it’s done.”

“And exactly what chest are you offering?”

“…Okay. I’m going to kill you.”

The two immediately began their gaming duel with such intensity that it looked as though real sparks might start flying at any moment.

…They’re definitely going to get motion sickness later.

Just in case, I quietly prepared a few sickness bags so they’d be ready the instant either of them started feeling nauseous.

“Father… is it true that the sea is truly that vast?”

“Hm? Yeah, it is. Looking forward to seeing it?”

“Yes!! Ehehe.”

…Man.

Amate was just too precious.

She was pure healing.

◇ ◆ ◇

Along the highway connecting the Kingdom of Elde and the Luresia Empire, over a dozen figures lay in wait.

“It’s awfully quiet today, Boss. Hardly anyone’s passed by.”

“Idiot. Times like these are exactly when you stay patient.”

They were a notorious band of thieves operating throughout the Luresia Empire.

Their livelihood came from ambushing merchants traveling along the highway, slaughtering them, stealing both their cargo and wagons, then selling everything for profit.

The reason their name had spread so widely among the underworld wasn’t overwhelming strength.

It was caution.

“Boss, wouldn’t we make way more money if we just attacked some noble’s carriage and demanded ransom?”

“You really don’t get it. Pull something like that, and the country’s army comes after us. We’d all be wiped out. I’ve told you countless times—the important thing is staying quiet and leaving behind no witnesses.”

“I know that, but refusing to attack anyone with more than three guards is too cautious.”

“And that’s exactly why we’ve survived. We wait for merchants who don’t even know there are bandits on this road, traveling without proper protection. We kill every last one of them and take everything. If nobody survives, nobody reports anything. Then we repeat the process.”

If there were no survivors to report a bandit attack, the government had no reason to mobilize troops.

Furthermore, the territory where they operated lay within the disputed borderlands between the Kingdom of Elde and the Luresia Empire, where years of fierce conflict had left the border itself ambiguous.

Even if someone somehow escaped, it would still take considerable time before either nation could organize a military response.

It wasn’t glamorous.

But it was effective.

Little by little, through endless patience and careful planning, the gang steadily expanded its influence.

One day, the boss dreamed, they would become the most infamous bandit organization in the world.

“Boss!! Something’s coming from the other direction!!”

“What do you mean ‘something‘?! I’ve told you a thousand times—make accurate reports!”

“B-But I don’t know what it is! It kind of looks like a carriage… but there aren’t any horses pulling it! And it’s moving unbelievably fast!!”

Annoyed by the vague report, the boss narrowed his eyes toward the distant highway.

Sure enough…

A large, box-like object was barreling toward them at incredible speed.

“…Doesn’t look alive. It’s… something like a carriage, but that’s the best way I can describe it. Some new weapon from the Kingdom of Elde?”

“What do we do? Attack it? Or let it pass?”

“No. If we attack something we don’t understand, who knows what’ll happen to us? Ignore it. We leave it alone.”

“Got it.”

The boss made his decision instantly.

Leave it alone.

However, not everyone agreed with his swift and calculated judgment.

“We’ve had enough of your cowardly methods!!”

“Huh?”

“If we steal that thing and sell it to the Empire, they’ll pay us a fortune! I’m done following you!!”

“You idiots, stop!!”

Ignoring the boss’s warning, several of the rebellious bandits rushed into the middle of the road and spread their arms wide.

“Hey! Stop right there!! Hand that thing over peacefully, and we won’t take your li—Huh?!”

“GYAAAAAH?!”

BOOM!!

The strange self-propelled carriage—

The camping tank—

Didn’t slow down.

Not even for a single instant.

It plowed directly into the bandits.

Its massive crawler tracks rolled over them without mercy, grinding flesh and bone into a gruesome pulp beneath their unstoppable weight.

Without so much as a hint of hesitation, the camping tank continued racing down the highway at full speed, its heavy engine roaring into the distance as though absolutely nothing had happened.

“…Yeah…”

“Our boss really does make the right calls.”

There were some things in this world that simply shouldn’t be touched.

Having learned that lesson in the most painfully literal way possible, the surviving bandits obediently continued following their boss’s cautious leadership, and in the years that followed, their organization steadily expanded without incident.