Chapter 296 : Pitfall
「Are they bandits?」(Mark)
「I think so. Monsters wouldn’t move so quietly like that, so they’re most likely bandits. Well, it doesn’t really matter to us whether they’re bandits or monsters, right?」(Celine)
「Right.」(Mark)
「Celine, I’ll fight too if necessary.」(Ester)
Ester joined us at the table while wrapping her leather belt with a dagger holster around her waist.
The three of us now are ready to fight.
By the way, Nicola is as calm as usual, but Tio looks scared.
It’s only natural if she’s afraid. It’s a sudden attack in the middle of the night after all.
I’ve encountered bandits a few times, so I’m not afraid, but I’m still a bit nervous.
After all, my enemies are humans, not monsters.
「Alright. Let’s move as planned. Mark, do it!」(Celine)
「Roger that.」(Mark)
I stretched my arm upward and used earth magic to make a hole in the ceiling.
After that, I used Levitation Magic to carry Celine to the bathroom on the second floor, and then made a hole again in the ceiling of the bathroom to go to the rooftop.
There’s nothing here but fences about 150 centimeters high made with earth magic surrounding the rooftop.
Celine and I crouched, approached the fence, and looked down at the bandits through the gap between the bars of the fence.
「Hmm… There are more than ten people. That’s quite a lot…」(Celine)
As Celine said, ten or more people are climbing the hill, approaching my container house.
Some of them are holding torches.
「Uwahh…」(Mark)
I couldn’t help but let out a groan when I saw them.
I had a rough idea of what was coming with my Sensing Magic, but seeing the bandits actually approaching us sent a chill down my spine.
Seeing my worried face, Celine patted my back.
「Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Compared to strong monsters you have defeated, they’re just small fry to you.」(Celine)
Well, surely bandits can’t attack me with strong tentacles or poisonous spores.
Thinking that bandits are much weaker than monsters makes me feel a bit better.
After I replied to Celine with a nod, I heard Ester’s voice coming from the hole leading downstairs.
「Mark, can you take me to the rooftop too?」(Ester)
Woops. I almost forgot about Ester.
I hurriedly went back to the living room through the holes.
However, when I was about to take Ester upstairs, Nicola wrapped her arms around my neck.
「Onii-chan, take me with you too. I can help.」(Nicola)
She wanted to join us, but Tio stopped her.
「N, Nicola-chan, I think it’s too dangerous. You should stay here with me.」(Tio)
「Don’t worry, Tio onee-chan! I can use magic too!」(Nicola)
「Ehh!? You can use magic too!?」(Tio)
「Un!」(Nicola)
「Ahaha… Don’t worry about her. We’ll protect her. You stay here and don’t go outside, okay? You will be safe here.」(Mark)
「A, Alright… Good luck, you guys!」(Tio)
I carried Nicola and Ester to the rooftop with Levitation Magic.
I sealed the entrance and closed the windows using earth magic beforehand, so Tio would be safe down there.
I also disassembled the stairs that were attached to the outside wall leading to the bathroom on the second floor so that the bandits couldn’t go upstairs.
Other than that, I also made some traps for the bandits.
The only way to get inside this container house is to destroy the steel-hard exterior walls that I injected with a huge amount of my earth-attributed mana.
After observing the bandits for a while from the rooftop, they finally got to the entrance.
They didn’t seem to notice that we were observing them from up here probably because they thought we were sleeping like logs inside.
「What the hell…? What kind of house is this?」(bandit 1)
「Beats me. He said there was an adventurer among them, so it might be some kind of magic tool or something.」(bandit 2)
「I see. Well, it doesn’t matter. There’s only one adventurer and the rest are kids and a woman. It’s gonna be an easy job anyway.」(bandit 1)
「Moreover, he said that the adventurer was a hot woman~ Uhihihi! I’m gonna have fun with her after I’m done with this job.」(bandit 3)
「Hahh… you’re such a perverted pig. Alright, enough talking. You. Open the door.」(bandit)
「Yes, sir.」(bandit 4)
The man in the front nodded in response and slowly walked toward the entrance.
However, before he could touch the doorー
ーClack!
「Eh? ーAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa…!!」(bandit 4)
ーThe trap door I made in front of the entrance opened, and then the bandit fell into the pitfall.
I softened the soil at the bottom of the hole, so he wouldn’t die. He might get injured, though.
「Wha!?」(bandit 1)
「Oooii! Are you okayー?」(bandit 2)
「He’s not answering…」(bandit 3)
「You, idiots! Keep your voice down!」(bandit 1)
The bandit who fell didn’t answer. He probably lost consciousness the moment he hit the soft ground.
I hope he’s not dead cause I don’t want to kill people.
When the other bandits were covering their mouths, trying to keep quiet, Celine stood up.
She made a light ball with light magic and made it float above her head.
She then shouted at the bandits with an unwavering loud voice.
「Hey! Did your mother never teach you not to assault girls while they’re sleeping? Bad boys like you should be taught a lesson!」(Celine)
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Let me see if I understand, these guys are invading his house with the aim of stealing everything and abusing all the women he likes (this includes the children too and obviously his sister), later probably when they are broke or well Next to that, they’re going to sell everyone as slaves, including him, and yet the first thing he thinks is, I hope he doesn’t die? The priority of any normal person is always their own. You should only worry about the lives of scum like these after you are absolutely sure that everyone is safe. Well, he needs a reality check to understand what to prioritize, but I prefer Nicole and Celine not to suffer because of his naivety.
Straight out announcing that you aren’t unaware of the danger coming seems to be a dumb tactic, isn’t it? I thought Celine to be smarter than losing the advantage of surprise right from the start.