Chapter 5: Thieves
I continued my journey to the country of Nonette and arrived in the deeper part of the buffer zone.
During the journey, I mostly slept outdoors or in what seemed to be a work shed, without staying in any villages or towns.
This was because I was in a hurry to return home, and there was a possibility of trouble if I interacted with people. Additionally, there was a shortage of food, which was one of the reasons why I slept outdoors or in sheds.
I can hunt wild animals, and so can my companion Alektem. However, even if I tried to avoid contact with others, there were times when people approached us, such as when nearby villagers came out to pick wild plants or when we encountered other travelers with questionable motives.
Fortunately, they both pretended not to have noticed us and left without incident.
However, there were people who actively sought to engage with us, such as the bandits.
"Stop right there and leave all your belongings behind! If you do, I won't take your life!" the five men standing in our way said.
They held rusty swords and spears in their hands, and some had wooden clubs, perhaps because they couldn't get weapons.
The bandits appeared relaxed, probably because they thought that a boy and an old man would be easy targets.
I looked at Alektem, wondering what to do. He secretly gestured with his index finger up and down, which meant "execute" in the Nonette military code. In this situation, it meant "kill."
With that in mind, I drew my sword from my waist and hesitated for a moment before swinging it at a person. I had practiced sword fighting before, but this was the first time I had ever killed someone.
While I was still confused, the bandits became more aggressive.
"If you had just handed over what we asked for, you wouldn't have died, kid!" one of them said, holding his weapon and charging at us with the other four.
In this desperate situation, I finally made up my mind.
The opponent was moving like an amateur. It seemed possible to respond without using sacred magic.
In that case, I channeled magic into the hand sword - a magical sword created by the Empire. As the blade faintly began to emit light, I charged into the bandits and swung the sword in the same way as training.
"Raaaah!"
With a shout of determination, the Empire's best magical sword to date cut through the bandits' rusty weapons and even injured their bodies.
"Guu... with a strange weapon-"
I retaliated with a sword strike, cutting down one of the bandits and physically interrupting his words.
Seeing their fallen comrade in a pool of blood, the bandits became agitated.
"Darn it, he's not just some kid!"
"Gather together! Let's attack all at once!"
The four bandits huddled together and readied their weapons.
While their tactic was correct, their movements were untrained, making their weaknesses all too apparent.
As I contemplated how to break through their defenses, Alektem's attack began. He used a strap as a sling to launch a stone. With a snap, the strap rang out, and a stone slightly smaller than a fist was hurled into a bandit's face.
The stone hit the bandit's forehead with a speed faster than a professional baseball pitcher's fastball, causing a large dent.
The other three bandits shielded their heads with their hands and condemned the attack as cowardly.
With the bandits distracted, I charged in with my sword.
"Who are these bandits calling cowardly!"
First, I cut open one's stomach, then slashed another's throat with the sword. Finally, I stabbed the last one near the solar plexus with the tip of the sword.
Without checking the results, I let go of the sword and jumped back. Compared to an adult, I had a smaller physique, so even if the opponent was on the brink of death, if they grabbed my clothes, it would be a fatal situation.
So far, my movements were exactly as practiced in the country.
Slightly relieved by this, I suddenly felt a sense of fear and disgust at having killed someone who looked similar to myself with a sword rising up from my stomach.
I felt nauseous, but I didn't want to vomit out of sheer willpower.
Here, Alektem approached me and, seeming to sense my discomfort, placed a hand on my head and began stroking it.
"Milimos-sama. I'll take care of confirming the kill and disposing of the body. Until we're finished, you should pick up some branches and practice your stabbing technique on that tree."
"Stabbing technique...?"
As I asked this with a suppressed urge to vomit, Alektem looked at me with a caring gaze.
"Practicing the techniques we use regularly helps diminish the shock of taking someone's life. Even if you think it's a lie, why not try it?"
I was skeptical of Alektem's words, but if I were to try to stop or dispose of the thieves' bodies here, I would definitely vomit.
As instructed, I picked up sturdy branches, snapped them to sword length, and began stabbing them into the trees.
At first, the feeling of killing a thief resurfaced with each swing of my arm, making me feel nauseous, but with repeated swings, the sensation of taking a life began to fade, eventually becoming no different from when I was training.
Moving my body seemed to distract my mind, and my nausea disappeared completely.
As I was wondering about this strange effect, Alektem spoke up.
"I'm finished over here. How are you doing, Milimos-sama?"
"I'm feeling much better. My arms are a little tired though."
I replied jokingly, and Alektem broke into a smile.
"And with that, Milimos-sama has graduated from being a beginner soldier."
"Does that mean that when I first kill a wild animal or monster, it'll be like starting school again?"
"Hahaha, that's a good way to put it. Let's treat it that way from now on."
Alektem was in high spirits and started walking, pushing my back as if to move me away from where I had killed the thief.
I assumed this was an effort to distance me from the spot where I had killed someone, and I used a holy spell to heal my sore arm.
As soon as I did, the lingering discomfort in my body dissipated like salt in hot water.
It seemed that the holy spell not only healed physical wounds, but also worked to maintain or restore mental health.
"Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to survive the magic bombing from the terrifying empire."
Having confirmed its unexpected effects, I offered a prayer of thanks to the thieves who had attacked me earlier.