"Please, spare us all"
"This is a disappointment. Not that I expect much from Group of Bandits" [Dana]
"Dana is so cool!" [Diana]
"Her ambition is to become the Saga after all. If she can't get rid of the bandits quickly, she might as well retire and play with Fie every day" [Princess Siti].
"What was that, Siti?" [Dana]
"Siti... Wait a minute... That's Princess Siti!"
"Oh Goddess... We... We are doomed!"
"The others are all fine. No one is hurt." [Teliara]
"Good. My citizen, allow us to escort you back" [Princess Siti].
We just stopped by to help a group of good and law-abiding citizens from a group of bandits. After a bit of questioning from us, it looks like they're taking advantage of the fact that there's a lot of good to be had, especially those who recently traveled from Amleth. After all, there's the Succubus Festival, where a lot of valuable items were sold. Yes. From the beauty products to one that's related to a valuable item related to the demon clan. That, and they blame it on the Devil King's awakening. According to them, they just wanted to stock up as much as possible before the inevitable.
As Dana said, they're not much of a problem. At least for us. Dana defeated them all single-handedly. Maybe Teacher Tiara, the weakest among us, will have a little trouble, but nothing she can't handle with her witch art. As for the ordinary citizens, yes, those bandits will cause trouble, so JOATMON and I used magic rope to bind them. We will make sure that the guard at Emas will bring them to justice. To prevent them from talking to each other (since they were complaining about our treatment), I also cast a sleepwalking spell on them. That way they will be quiet and walk around without disturbing others.
It didn't take as long as my first trip to Emas. Of course, since we have to help the citizen and keep an eye on the bandits, our journey is delayed a bit on the second half, but we still arrive before the appointed time.
At the gate of Emas, the guards, who know that their princess is here, quickly process our entry. We kind of skipped the line, so I hope the others won't be mad at us. Not that they would if they knew who to direct their anger at, but I still feel a little bad.
At the castle we are greeted by Princess Siti's family members. According to Dana, Princess Siti's mother is still a worrywart, just like the last time she met her. Princess Siti was also scolded in front of us for taking so long to even think about going home. Princess Siti has no excuses, except that she is doing her best in Amleth, studying under Master Merlin.
"Mother, please, no more. You will definitely not stop once you start nagging..." [Princess Siti].
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, it seems" [Dana].
"Excuse me. I let you know that I'm not... Sneaky!" [Princess Siti]
"Almost got you there" [Dana]
While they were talking, the head knight of Emas, Rentap, came in and greeted us all. It looks like he's gotten better since the last time we met. It's not obvious, but I can feel traces of healing mana on his face. He has probably just been treated for his defeat by the golem in the new dungeon. Unexpectedly, a group of dwarves from the dwarf kingdom are with him.
"Aren't you from the conference?" [Diana].
"We are. Our King Rhineheart has ordered us to be here to help as much as we can."
"We have already given the letter from Princess Siti to Emas' official. We're not much of a fighter, so we couldn't really help with the dungeon issue, but as for the golem, we already have a little plan to upgrade it."
"But the problem is due to the dungeon production being stopped, you can't continue, am I right?" [Princess Siti]
"That is the case. The minerals here play an integral role, just like our kingdom. We knew better than to just take everything without saving some for others, that's why we haven't made much progress."
"At least you have more common sense than that Brokkr" [JOATMON].
"He's a bit selfish, but he gets the job done" [Teliara].
"As long as he gets the job done, I have no complaints" [Merlin].
We are once again briefed on the situation in the dungeon. It's exactly as described by Princess Siti, so Teacher Tiara simply asked for any updates
"The church is unable to stop the ghastly knight from moving. Fortunately, they haven't run amok and started killing everything in sight".
"To be honest, it's as if the knight is protecting something precious" [Rentap].
"The adventures feel the same way. We haven't made much progress, and unfortunately, the guild hasn't been able to contact any of the available S-rank quests. The SS rank, Miss Khamisah are also currently unavailable for reasons unknown."
"Sister Khamisah is currently on a mission from Aunt Amleth, that's why she couldn't come here" [Diana].
Since there's not much left to do, we rest for the day to prepare for tomorrow. As for Dana, Fie and I, we actually stopped by Siti and her five brothers' inn to meet with them. They're happy to see us. Before nightfall, we head back to the castle for a good night's rest.