Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 151: A Kidnapping Attempt During Herb Gathering
One day, Tauro and Aeris traveled to a forest near the Royal Capital.
Two off-duty Royal Guard knights accompanied them. Count Connoen had unofficially assigned the pair as Aeris’s escorts.
They had come to complete a medicinal-herb gathering quest.
Adventurers below C rank faced serious penalties for prolonged inactivity. Going two months without accepting a quest could result in demotion, while five months could cost them their adventurer qualifications entirely.
Tauro and Aeris still had time before either limit, but a free day had opened in their schedule. They decided to complete a simple quest rather than allow their records to remain inactive.
“This should be enough. It took longer than usual because medicinal herbs are scarce in this part of the forest.”
Tauro examined what they had collected.
“You’re right. Without [True Eye], we might’ve struggled to find even this much.”
Aeris laughed and stretched.
After so many meetings with nobles, the outing had been a welcome change of pace. Tauro smiled with her, but the expression soon vanished.
[Presence Detection] had caught a group beginning to surround them from a distance.
The Royal Guard knights possessed detection abilities of their own. They noticed almost immediately and closed ranks around Aeris.
Through [True Eye], Tauro saw the silhouette of someone issuing orders from behind the bushes. He raised the Bow of Artemis and fired a warning shot into a tree beside the figure.
The arrow tore through the undergrowth, screamed between the trees, and buried itself deep in the trunk beside the apparent leader.
The man had believed the distance would protect him. Shocked by the arrow, his silhouette dropped to the ground.
Even so, the group continued tightening its encirclement, seemingly ignoring their leader’s disgrace.
There were fifteen attackers.
If they continued advancing after such a warning, their target was almost certainly Aeris.
“Fifteen of them,” Tauro told the knights. “They’re ignoring the warning and closing in from the front in a semicircle.”
The two Royal Guard knights nodded and drew their swords. Because they were supposedly off duty, they wore ordinary clothes instead of their usual polished armor.
Aeris readied her staff and immediately cast defensive magic over her allies. She followed it with spells that increased agility, attack power, and endurance.
While she strengthened the group, Tauro began reducing the enemy’s numbers.
He fired repeatedly from the left edge of the semicircle to the right, spacing his shots evenly through the bushes.
A succession of screams followed.
[True Eye] showed five men crouching in pain, each with an arrow through his right shoulder.
The attackers faltered.
“We can’t retreat now!”
At the shouted order, the remaining men burst from the bushes and onto the path.
“We only need the girl. Kill the guards and the brat, then-“
Before the speaker could finish, Tauro’s arrow struck him in the forehead. He died instantly.
“I’m not kind enough to stand still while you announce that you intend to kill me.”
Tauro raised his bow again, making certain every attacker heard him.
The men recoiled.
“You said there’d only be two guards!”
The complaint further weakened their resolve.
Tauro pressed the advantage by releasing [Majesty].
The Royal Guard knights understood his intention. One remained beside Aeris, while the other crossed the distance to the nearest attacker in an instant and knocked the man’s sword from his hand.
The man and those around him froze at the knight’s speed.
“They’re on a completely different level!”
Someone shouted, and the surviving attackers fled.
The Royal Guard knights didn’t pursue them; their duty was to protect Aeris. Tauro also refused to shoot men who were running away.
“Remarkable,” one knight said. “Your archery is exceptional, but how many battles have you experienced at your age?”
Both knights were impressed by the efficiency and composure of Tauro’s response.
The figure who had originally directed the group appeared to escape with the others. Its outline had resembled Uwaakin, the Marchioness of Van Dyne’s lover, but Tauro couldn’t confirm the man’s identity.
“A simple herb-gathering quest turned into quite a commotion.”
Aeris sighed in relief.
“They were far less capable than I expected. That’s fortunate, but…”
Tauro couldn’t dismiss his unease. The adventurers watching the Van Dyne residence had reported signs of highly skilled people operating in the shadows, yet none of today’s attackers had displayed that level of ability.