Chapter 44: Ambush
After entering the forest a short distance, I walked west along the boundary between the forest and the open area, searching for birds.
With sparse trees to my right and the grasslands visible beyond them, I could hear various bird calls.
From among them, I picked out the cries of Chikki-Chikki Birds and Green Birds as I continued onward.
However, even though the royal capital is large and full of people and adventurers, that doesn’t mean the hunting grounds nearby grow in proportion to its size.
On my way here, I’d seen several adventurer groups using the same beast trail, and even now, two groups were caught by my detection magic. One of them was visible where the forest thinned.
Since I primarily hunt birds, it’s not a problem for me, but low-rank adventurers must have a tough time making a living.
And when life gets tough, it’s natural that more people start looking for an easy way to earn money…
One group shifted into a standby formation, while the other—either because their detection skills were poor or because they knew each other—approached them.
Then they made contact, and both sides began moving suspiciously.
I couldn’t just ignore it, so I headed over to check.
I wrapped a shield around my body and ran. I reached the scene in less than two minutes—two men were already down.
The moment they spotted me, one drew his bow and fired an arrow, then demanded my identity.
“Who the hell are you!?”
“I don’t have time to introduce myself. Get lost!”
I instantly used [Tornado!] to suck up the archer and the man who shouted, tossing them high into the air.
The two who were down had been shot by arrows, and one of the men who had been pointing a weapon at someone had also been wounded.
“Which of you are the injured men’s companions?”
“They’re with us! Please—help them!”
“You were ambushed?”
“Yeah! They suddenly shot arrows at us!”
I wrapped the two glaring men in [Whirlwind!] just as they tried to turn and flee. Didn’t matter—they weren’t getting away.
After three consecutive whirlwinds, I captured them. At the same time, I drained the magic from the first two, and while they staggered, I knocked them out with kicks to the back of their heads.
“Hurry and treat your friends’ wounds!”
I drained the remaining whirlwinds of their magic as well and knocked out the men, then took out a useless rope and tied them all up. It wasn’t useful for escaping the hole, but I’m glad I didn’t throw it away.
When I turned around, the group was crying as they gathered around the two still on the ground.
I approached—both were coughing up a little blood, but they were alive.
“Why haven’t you removed the arrows?”
“We don’t have any potions! If we pull them out, they’ll die!”
Good grief. I’d never appraised a person before, but it was an emergency, so I tried it.
[Appraise!] → Half-Kohito / Half-Human, age 26, male, lightning magic, barriers…
No, not that.
[Appraise… wound condition!] → Severe injury.
Well, I could see that. But at least he didn’t seem close to death.
The other man was also severely injured, so I was relieved.
“I have potions. Pull the arrows out.”
“For real!?”
“That’s generous and all, but… we don’t have money to pay you.”
“I’m not charging you. Just hurry and remove them.”
“Uh—o-okay!”
They grabbed the arrows—but started wobbling them sideways, making the wounds worse. Seriously?
They’ve hunted beasts before, right? They should know better.
They fumbled around, so I had the others hold the men down while I pulled the arrows out.
One man had a wound in his chest, the other in his abdomen. I removed their shirts—now, which potion should I use?
I had five each of beginner-grade (upper/middle/lower), and two each of intermediate-grade (upper/middle/lower).
The man with the arm wound—I removed his clothes and poured an intermediate-lower potion on it.
Like magic—literally—the wound closed rapidly.
This world really is amazing. A potion heals wounds like that.
For the chest and abdominal wounds—which probably hit the lungs or organs—I used intermediate-upper potions. I sprinkled a little to seal the surface, then made them drink the rest.
“Whoa… that looks like one of the high-grade potions from the Alchemist Guild!”
“I’ve heard adventurer guild potions taste like poison. How does it taste?”
“I’m glad we survived, but… that must cost a fortune.”
“We could never repay this…”
“Hey, I helped because I wanted to. Don’t worry about money. Can you move?”
“My arm feels completely fine! Amazing!”
“Same here!”
“I thought I was dead…”
“Oh, and don’t clean up the blood. If we turn these guys over to the guards, we’ll get a reward.”
“Hey, kid! Why are we tied up!?”
“Yeah! You kicked us and tied us up for no reason! YOU are the criminals!”
“You’re the ones who suddenly shot at us and attacked!”
“Hah? Where’s your proof? You lot were fighting among yourselves, so we tried to stop you. Then you aimed a bow at us, so we defended ourselves.”
“Right, right! And two of our buddies are missing now—he must’ve done something!”
“Untie us already, you brat!”
“If you don’t want to end up criminal slaves, get on your knees and apologize!”
“You guys just got into a fight and injured yourselves. But we lost two comrades! Who do you think the guards will believe?”
“T-that…”
Good grief. How are the others getting swayed by idiots like these?
“Honestly, I should’ve just finished them off earlier.”
“Hear that? This brat wants to kill us!”
“Kids these days are scary, huh?”
“If you’re not going to behave…”
“Oh yeah? And what’s a little brat like you going do?”
Smirking and taunting—that mouth of his irritated me, so I tossed a small Water Ball into it.
“Ghh!”
“Mmff! Nngh—!”
“Gguh!”
He tried to spit it out, but it was stuck in his throat. His face changed color and he began convulsing.
I wasn’t planning to kill him, so I drained the magic and dispelled the Water Ball.
As he wheezed desperately for air, I gagged him with leftover rope.
“You all heard them. They planned to pin the crime on you. So I need to rough them up a bit.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I want each of you to prepare a stick about as long as your height. Ten of them. Once they’re ready, I have plenty of questions for these guys. If you don’t want to help, you can run home—but we were taught that ‘an adventurer always pays back what’s done to them.’”
“That’s true enough. We just need long sticks, right?”
“Yes. Quickly, please.”
“Let’s go. If we don’t push back, we won’t survive in this business.”
“Yeah. Just getting beaten on because we’re low-rank feels awful.”
“Wha… f’ru… kika…”
“Yuh… m-mouf… stawp—”
They were noisy, so I shoved another Water Ball into his mouth.
Once he was on the verge of fainting with his eyes rolling white, I drained the mana and let him breathe again.
The others looked confused, not understanding what these gathered wooden sticks were for.
Don’t worry—I’ll let you “enjoy” them very soon.
“Sorry, but please rough one of them up until he can’t move. Don’t hit the face.”
Following my instructions, they kicked him with all the pent-up anger of nearly being killed—but I made them stop quickly.
“Why stop us?”
“You said to rough him up, didn’t you?”
“I’ve only hit him twice!”
“Undo his rope and tie his arms out straight. Make sure his legs are tied wide apart too—tight and secure.”
The stick was placed behind his neck like a bar, then tied so he couldn’t move his head away.
Once they finished one, they understood the method, and the remaining four—after being kicked and hit until sluggish—were tied up the same way.
I then searched the first guy, taking everything and placing it near his head.
Every one of them had a magic pouch.
When I started confiscating their belongings, they glared at me viciously, but I smiled sweetly and teased:
“Isn’t winning fights fun?”
They stayed silent, so I made them help, and once preparations were complete…
With murderous eyes still glaring at me, I placed fist-sized Flames on each of their bellies.
The moment one man saw the flame on the belly of the guy next to him, his face froze.
Then he noticed the heat on his own stomach—too late—and screamed.
No time to leisurely stare at your belly.
You’ll savor the fruit of nearly ten years of practicing life magic!
Each of them let out their own noises:
“Hrrng—!”
“Gyaaah! H-hot—!”
and so on.
Since I didn’t pour mana into them, the flames went out in under a minute, but their clothes were badly burned and their stomachs were scorched and painful to look at.
“You put aside your own wrongdoing and tried to turn us into criminals? Don’t push your luck.”
Maybe they finally understood my seriousness—and my personality.
They shook their heads desperately, clearly trying to express their apologies.
“If you’re going to grovel, pay up—”
Oh, oops. Wrong phrase.
It was “If you feel sorry, give me money!” wasn’t it?
After letting them enjoy the pain for a while, I floated a flame before their eyes and declared:
“I’ll roast your bellies again and again until you become honest. If you agree to obey me unconditionally, nod.”
I figured burning the same spot again would cause too much damage, so this time I placed the Flames on their lower abdomen.
They desperately jerked their hips trying to shake them off— but if they dropped one, I’d put it right on their crotch.
“Poor guys. If it were me, I’d obey after one burn.”
“Same here. Burning alive would be awful.”
“I’d rather be beaten to death by goblins than go through that.”
I turned around and saw the spectators casually giving their opinions—they felt safe since the pain wasn’t theirs.
There’s a saying: “Another’s pain can be endured for a hundred years,” and likewise, watching someone else’s fight is the best entertainment.
Now then—how long can these guys hold out?
The instant I placed a flame over their crotch, every single one of them nodded frantically.
“Good. You will obey my commands and answer my questions honestly.
If not, I’ll burn your crotch to charcoal. Don’t forget.”
Everyone nodded obediently.