Chapter 15 – Justice Showtime

This was Count Alhena’s domain… specifically, its urban district.

In a relatively less-trafficked area at the edge of a residential zone stood a detached house with a garden.

Though only a single story, it was reasonably spacious, and it was there that a group of about five bandits had holed up.

In other words, they were living in that house.

Five burly men, cohabitating without ever stepping out.

To put it bluntly, these five were in a tough spot, but it couldn’t be helped.

The kingdom’s most elite Knight Order had arrived; they had no choice but to hide.

The five of them were enduring the cramped conditions, prepared to wait until the day the Knight Order departed.

“Haaah… The Conjurer Knights, was it? Wonder when those guys are gonna leave.”

“The Knight Order ain’t got time to spare either. Could be they just planned to pop in for a bit and head right back.”

“No doubt. We ain’t done nothin’ but super petty crimes, after all.”

“Is this even a big enough deal for the esteemed Knight Order to come all the way out here?”

Now, about these bandits.

They were hired bandits and, frankly, had been doing a pretty haphazard job of it.

They’d been scoundrels even before being employed by Count Alhena, but in their own view, they weren’t exactly “the real deal.”

At the very least, they hadn’t committed murder.

They’d engaged in extortion, theft, and property damage, but since they hadn’t killed anyone, they figured their crimes weren’t all that severe.

It was possible that some people had their lives ruined or had even committed suicide because their cargo was stolen or because they were injured by the bandits.

But even if the bandits learned of such outcomes, they would undoubtedly think something like, ‘If they kick the bucket just ‘cause we messed with ‘em a little, then that’s just how weak they were.’

In other words, they were, in every sense of the word, thorough villains.

And indeed, even now, they were up to no good.

“Well, Count-sama will probably learn his lesson once the Knight Order shows up. We’ll be off the hook, too.”

“So, how much d’you think we can squeeze outta him? Hear Count-sama’s been makin’ a pretty penny.”

“We’ve already blown through all the cash we got from Count-sama and everything we looted.”

“We are his weakness. We can bleed him for as much as we want, you’ll see.”

They were happy.

They had comrades who shared their ambitions and a man of power who would protect them and even give them money.

What was there to fear? Every one of them envisioned a bright future.

However, when one is gazing at a happy future, one tends not to see what’s right at their feet.

※

The other day, along with the dwarves, ten Beastkin and ten Dark Elves had been added to their ranks.

The fact that there were already others of their kind—and fellow rejects, no less—had put them slightly at ease.

After all, their senpai seemed to be in reasonably good health.

At the very least, they wouldn’t be scrimped on when it came to food, drink, or sleep. That’s what they had thought.

Well, they were right about that, they were, but…

Before they knew it, they’d been moved near the Knights’ Headquarters, lectured on how to use even more suspicious-looking weapons, and told, “You’re going to fight using these.”

They feared they’d been made into vanguard soldiers for some shady religious cult.

In reality, they were mostly right.

These new recruits, along with their senpai, were now participating in the encirclement of the house where the five bandits were supposedly hiding.

(This has gotten… pretty crazy…)

(Why did we go from a slave trader’s where we didn’t even know where our next meal was coming from, to suddenly being drafted into the Knight Order…?)

They had thought the person who bought them all in bulk was a weirdo.

He was a weirdo far beyond their imagination. And now, they were part of his crew.

Of course, they were nowhere near mentally prepared.

“Alright, everyone. For now, we’ll handle it ourselves, so watch closely. Next time, you’ll participate too, and the third time, you’ll do it all on your own.”

The bandits were said to be hiding in three separate locations, so the plan was to repeat the raid three times.

They were going to use it as a training exercise, but the newcomers could only be put off by how thoroughly indoctrinated their senpai seemed.

But that’s what it means to become a working member of society, so it was hoped they too would become indoctrinated. Otherwise, they’d be useless.

“Yes…”

Being bottom-tier slaves, they were docile. If one had to say whether that was good or bad, it was probably good for the situation. However, it wasn’t exactly wonderful.

“Alright then, according to plan…”

Ten Dark Elves, carrying large sheets, crept forward through the garden.

They were trying their best not to make any noise, but that alone couldn’t muffle the sound of ten people walking.

Their footwear consisted of military-issue soft-soled boots. Boots that were, for lack of a better description, exceptionally suited for stealth.

Wearing these boots and moving as quietly as possible allowed for an approach so silent it was hard to believe ten people were on the move.

(We’ll spread ours in front of the door.)

(We’ve got the windows.)

Trying their best not to make a sound, they placed the sheets outside the house’s exits and windows.

Positioned so that anyone exiting the house would step on them the moment they came out.

Once the setup was complete, the Dark Elves stealthily withdrew.

Seeing them return, the Beastkin grabbed their projectiles and moved forward.

“Everyone, you should have had training. Watch carefully… This is the Conjurer Knights’ way of fighting.”

Not the Lowly Slave Knight Order, but the Conjurer Knights.

The Beastkin held proud expressions, as if shrugging off that unspoken, demeaning name.

“All units, throw!”

The Beastkin, serving as grenadiers, once again hurled ‘explosives.’

However, this time it wasn’t hand grenades or Hōroku bombs. Nor was it anything dangerous like incendiary devices.

It was something much safer: smoke bombs. Items that produced no heat, only smoke. While sometimes used as a diversion during an escape, their purpose this time was a little different.

“They should be coming out… any time now.”

CRASH! SMASH!

Windows shattered as smoke bombs flew inside.

Naturally, the smoke bombs dispersed a considerable amount of smoke throughout the interior, which now billowed out from the broken windows.

This smoke wasn’t particularly toxic.

At worst, it would probably just cause some coughing.

But those inside had no way of knowing that…

“S-Smoke?! What, is it a fire?!”

“Dammit, something was thrown in from outside?!”

“Are they trying to burn us alive?!”

The bandits, keenly aware that they were resented, hastily tried to escape the house.

It wasn’t like this was a house they’d lived in for years; they didn’t even know where all the exits were.

Stumbling around in the smoke, bumping into walls, getting tangled up with each other…

Somehow, they managed to get out of the house.

They burst out towards the fresh air, and the first thing their feet landed on was…

A sticky sheet.

“A-Aaaah?!”

Having slipped spectacularly, they found themselves stuck fast to the sheets. Just like rats.

Their entire bodies adhered to the sticky sheets, they struggled, not understanding what had happened.

And who could blame them? They thought the place they were hiding in had caught fire, and just as they tried to escape, they’d suddenly been caught in a rat trap.

The fact that they weren’t in much actual pain only made them struggle more, digging themselves deeper into their predicament.

“Wh-What the hell are you guys?!”

“Damn it, what in the world is this…?!”

“Is this birdlime?! Dammit, this isn’t something you use on humans-sama!!”

“The Chieftain’s special make, military-grade adhesive sheets… An average human male can be neutralized with just this.”

“It was something our Lord had them bring, after all. If they’d just stood on it, it might have been one thing, but once they fall and lie flat, there’s nothing they can do.”

The senpai Dark Elves and Beastkin approached the fallen bandits.

In their hands were ropes and gags.

“D-Dark Elves and Beastkin?! Using such weird-ass tools, and you’re the ones who threw fire into the house, aren’t you…”

“Listen up! We’re human! We can use magic, not as well as Elves, but still! We can blast you away even from this position!!”

“If you value your lives, then scram!!”

The five bandits, their faces pressed against the sheets, still tried to put on a brave front.

They attempted to buy time to escape, but their bluster had no effect on the women.

“It would be troublesome to have you think that just because we’re Beastkin, we’re ignorant of magic. A fully-fledged mage might be one thing, but someone who’s merely dabbled in magic can’t use it while sprawled on the ground.”

“Our Lord said as much, so it must be true, I suppose.”

“…!”

Now, humans are quick learners and can use both magic and physical combat skills.

But it’s also a fact that the profession of ‘mage’ exists.

Roughly speaking, the difference is like that between an English beginner and someone who can hold a conversation in English.

Humans who can only use basic magic have merely memorized spells and magic circles by rote without truly understanding their meaning, and they use them as is.

That’s why they might memorize a spell like ‘a bullet that comes from the fingertips and flies straight,’ but they can’t adapt it to be, for example, ‘a bullet that comes from above the head and flies straight.’

Therefore, if your opponent has only dabbled, simply tying their arms is enough to neutralize them.

And even if they were facing a mage, there are ways to incapacitate them.

“Alright, let’s tie up your mouths.”

“St-Stop, mmphh!”

Stuff some cloth in their mouths to prevent proper enunciation.

That alone is enough to render magic unusable.

If you know how magic works, or if you’ve been taught, countermeasures are simple.

“Now everyone, did you watch carefully? Next time we’ll help, but you’ll be doing it too!”

“It’s fine! With the weapons our Lord and the Elven artillery squad made for us, guys like this are a piece of cake!”

“…W-We’ll do our best.”

The new recruits, having witnessed the operation, saw a plan that seemed genuinely feasible for them too, and it sent a shiver down their spines, in a roundabout way.Could it really be this easy to restrain five men? they wondered.

They keenly felt the terror of non-lethal weapons.

※

And so, the Conjurer Knights visited Count Alhena’s domain.

A group, exuding an air of utter inscrutability, had gathered the domain’s citizens in the town center and was giving a speech.

“Good citizens of Count Alhena’s domain! I… yes, I! Am Gaikaku Hikume, the commander of the Conjurer Knights… who became commander upon the recommendation of that beautiful, wise, and valiant Supreme Knight Commander Tistria-sama!”

He truly was the Knight Commander, but he reeked of suspicion with all his might.

In the minds of the good citizens, alarm bells were ringing.

“On this occasion, in response to the fervent will of you, the good citizens, I have hastened to your side! For the sake of your peace and security, I pledge to embark on the subjugation of the bandits with the resolve to work myself to the bone!”

It was true that the citizens had submitted a request to the Knight Order, but his demeanor was so suspect it made them doubt even that.

Even the uneducated among the citizens could tell how shady he was.

“Now then, good citizens! Please observe this cage!”

With an arm still concealed by his sleeve, Gaikaku indicated a large cage.

It was a rather large, wooden cage, big enough to hold perhaps twenty people.

Placed outdoors, it was very conspicuous.

“I! I, who am so excellent and capable as to be headhunted by Tistria-sama! Promise to throw all the bandits who threatened your safety into this cage and display them before you all!”

It was quite a boast.

Well, being the Knight Order, they’d be in a bind if they couldn’t at least do that much.

Rather, that was the kind of expectation placed upon an organization like the Knight Order.

“Then! Let’s draw the curtain!”

Swish!

For some reason, a cloth was suddenly draped over the wooden cage.

It was a presentation as if a magic trick was about to begin.

“Three, two, one!”

Whoooosh!

Gaikaku whipped off the cloth.

And there, inside the wooden cage, fifteen men, trussed up like packages, had appeared.

“?!”

“Ha! Just as I said! A man who keeps his declarations is I, Gaikaku Hikume!”

The townsfolk were so astonished by the overly abrupt presentation of the ‘culprits’ that they were struck speechless.

Of course, the magic trick of making people appear inside a cage was reasonably well-known.

It had a false bottom, and they came out from there.

They were shoved in from the side when the cloth was being draped.

Various such tricks could be conceived.

But in this case, how the men got inside the cage wasn’t particularly important.

Why had a man who had only arrived in this domain yesterday been able to capture the culprits?

No, in the first place, were these really the culprits?

The doubting townsfolk approached the cage.

“…I-It’s him! This is the man who stole my carriage! There’s no mistake!”

“Ah, yes! That’s right! I was beaten by this man, and he broke my bones!”

“It’s them, alright! I’ve seen their faces in my nightmares!!!”

Among the townsfolk were victims of the bandits.

They all attested in unison that these were the bandits who had attacked them.

In other words, Gaikaku truly had managed to capture all the bandits in a single day.

At this point, even those who were giving testimony began to doubt reality.

Just what in the world had this man done, and how?

“Heh, heh heh… Wh-What ‘Conjurer Knights’! This is a joke!”

The answer to that came from none other than the captured bandits themselves.

They, who had been hiding within the town, knew the man who knew… no, who had prepared their hiding places.

If he had given Gaikaku his full cooperation, this capture was easily explained.

“You! You made a deal with the lord of this domain, Count Alhena, didn’t you?!”

“It was rumored around town, wasn’t it? That Count Alhena was sheltering bandits!”

“It’s true! We were ordered by Count Alhena to harass the neighboring Count Wasat-sama!”

“The only one who knew our location was Count Alhena! And you’re talking like it’s your own achievement when all that happened was that Count cut us loose!!”

The bandits’ words had credibility.

Since it was actually the truth, there were naturally no inconsistencies.

However, Gaikaku, even hearing this, didn’t seem bothered at all.

(It’s not like I’ll be in that much trouble even if things stay like this. Besides… the real headliner is about to arrive.)

The bandits, lightly gagged, their pronunciation slightly off.

As if to cut through their torrent of abuse, two men appeared.

“My, my, to think that rumors about us have even reached the ears of bandits.”

“It was a ridiculous story to even bother correcting, but if it causes trouble for the Knight Commander-dono, then we must issue a denial.”

At the appearance of these two, both the bandits and the townsfolk trembled with fear.

It was the lord of this domain, Count Alhena, and the neighboring lord, Count Wasat.

With the two of them appearing side-by-side, the atmosphere of the place changed in an instant.

“The discord between myself and Count Wasat has indeed been rumored. You likely intended to use that to frame me or Commander-dono, but we ourselves shall deny it. As you can see, our friendship remains unchanged.”

“It’s impossible that Count Alhena would harass me. I, more than anyone, know that this man would never do such a thing.”

They were true politicians.

These two appeared with imposing dignity and began to declare their innocence.

“The reason Lord Gaikaku was able to capture all these culprits at once is precisely because our plan succeeded.”

“Capturing bandits hiding between domains is very difficult. That is why Count Alhena, Lord Gaikaku, and I cooperated and put on an act. While pretending that we two were unmotivated, we secretly searched for these scoundrels’ base. Then, we guided them to flee there when they heard Lord Gaikaku had arrived… and Lord Gaikaku’s subordinates captured them.”

This, in its own way, was a coherent story.

At the very least, it wasn’t logically flawed.

However, the bandits who had been cut loose were far beyond caring about that.

“D-Don’t screw with us! You definitely ordered us, didn’t you!!”

“Oh? This is the first time I’ve seen your face. Besides, you say I ordered harassment, but why would I need to do such a thing to Count Wasat?”

“Hah… You were complaining to us about your grudge, weren’t you…!”

The bandit revealed the truth.

“That you were furious about losing the sake-tasting competition!”

“Would I hire bandits for such a childish reason? Ridiculous.”

Count Alhena used the skill: Shamelessness.

The surrounding townsfolk, well, they thought, yeah, that makes sense, and were convinced.

The bandits were dumbfounded, thinking, Well, yeah, it is, but that’s what you said!

“However, it is also true that we overlooked the increase in damages, even if it was to ensure their certain capture.”

“For those who have reported damages from this incident, the two of us will provide compensation. Not from the budget, of course, but from our own purses.”

The two of them bowed their heads in unison to the victims present.

Seeing this, the ‘good citizens’ did some calculations in their heads.

“That’s right! There’s no way he’d hire bandits for such a silly reason!”

“My, my, Count Alhena and Count Wasat get along so well, don’t they!”

Regardless of the truth, they figured it was more advantageous to side with the two Counts.

Since either story made sense, they chose the one that benefited them.

And even if the Counts’ words were lies… the only ones who would die anyway were the bandits.

Yes, the bandits themselves had confessed in this public forum, “I am a bandit.”

It was probably fine to kill them now. Whether they were entirely to blame or not, it was certain they had done wrong.

“N-N-N…”

Geh heh heh!

“Bandits, remember this well.”

To the bandits, caged, bound, and despairing, Gaikaku declared triumphantly.

“This is justice!!”