And so, we were dragged to the lair of Bandit King Kuilan and his minions.
"Yahoo~!"
"Party time-!"
...We were truly having a good time, just as Kuilan had said.
In the midst of the mountain stronghold, a large campfire was blazing, roasting wild animal meat.
They had just successfully hunted deer and wild boar and were now busily grilling a massive barbecue.
It was like a scene from some pirate cartoon, where they'd shout 'Party time-!' and make merry. The bandits around the campfire were gleefully playing.
As for us?
We, who were captured, were huddled together, tied up, and watching the campfire.
We were bound with rope around our bodies and upper arms, but our forearms were free, and grilled meat had been placed in front of us.
As the bandits sang and danced, we chewed our individual pieces of meat, dazedly watching.
The leader, with a face that had given up on everything, mumbled,
"It's tasty."
"Really?"
"It's better than Elize's cooking."
"I guess so..."
I chewed the meat, which was gamey but had a certain wild flavor, as I surveyed the surroundings.
The stronghold... or perhaps it would be better to call it a village, was an unlikely place for so many people to be living in such a rugged mountain.
Among the hundred or so villagers, only about thirty who had attacked us seemed combat-ready; the rest were emaciated, looking just poor.
They looked like refugees, to be honest.
Thud!
Kuilan came and crouched in front of me, holding a large bottle of liquor.
"How is it? Any discomfort, guests?"
Kuilan, after chugging from the bottle, smiled, his lips curling up.
He appeared quite young, but his actions, speech, and the fact that he was a bandit chief gave him an old man's vibe.
I shook the wild boar bone in my hand.
"Thanks for treating us, the hostages, to meat."
"Uhahaha! Don't mention it! I've already looted all your valuables and will be ransoming you, so what's a bit more meat? I can give you as much as you want!"
Huh? That's true. This is a total loss for us.
Not just in words, Kuilan ordered his minions to refill the plates with meat in front of us.
I did not refuse and ate with relish. Kuilan laughed heartily, watching me.
"In a situation like this, you're so composed! Truly brave. It seems the rumors I heard about the third Prince were all false."
"You never really know a person until you meet them, right?"
"Uhahaha! So true!"
I smiled at Kuilan, who was slapping his knee in laughter.
"I didn't know you were this kind of person until I met you either, Kuilan."
Kuilan's eyes widened.
"Did I tell you my name?"
"I'm the lord of Crossroad. How could I not know about the Bandit King Kuilan of the south?"
Actually, I just knew from playing the game.
"Bandit King Kuilan, notorious for relentlessly targeting only the citizens of the Empire for the last ten years. An evil bandit who made a bad name for himself in the southern part of the continent."
"..."
"But those who were robbed were only citizens of the Empire, and you even helped the war refugees from other nations, didn't you?"
I looked at the emaciated villagers.
Near Crossroad, there had been people living like this.
"From the Empire's perspective, you're nothing but bandits to be subdued. But to the refugees hiding, you are righteous outlaws... That's you, Kuilan."
"..."
At my words, Kuilan laughed dejectedly, as if it was absurd.
"Righteous outlaw? They call me that?"
"Haven't you done things to be called that?"
"I'm not at liberty to do such honorable deeds. I'm just taking advantage of the refugee tribes while I find someone worth robbing."
Kuilan glanced at the shabbily constructed refugee tribe and chuckled.
"We provide these people with daily food and money, and these pitiful folks provide us with a place to sleep and hide. Just like this, after about a decade or so, we've formed a sort of symbiotic relationship."
"..."
"There are more than a couple of countries that the Empire has destroyed. In these remote areas where the Empire's laws don't reach, there are many refugee tribes."
I clicked my tongue.
"If they are citizens of a country annexed by the Empire, wouldn't there be a legal path to become citizens of the Empire?"
"You don't honestly believe that this path would work properly in these remote areas controlled by a Margrave, do you, Your Highness?"
Kuilan had a smirk on his lips.
"These people are the dregs of the earth, unable to live under the Empire's rule."
"..."
"Their original country was burned and ruined, and within the Empire, they're discriminated against and oppressed... Hell everywhere they go. With nowhere else, they're pushed to live at the very edge of cliffs."
Kuilan gulped down his drink, wiping his mouth, laughing.
"Since I've robbed someone of your caliber this time, I guess I'll have to move all these people somewhere else... But it's worth it, right? I'm banking on your ransom, Your Highness."
"My ransom..."
"I'll send someone to Crossroad in a few days. We'll negotiate, get the money, and release you right away. Just endure until then. Being a distinguished person, we'll provide you with all possible comforts."
I forced a smile.
"I hope you don't ask too much, Kuilan."
I didn't know precisely how much I was worth, but...
...The more my comrades value me, the harder it will be for you to afford it.
***
The night deepened.
The campfire went out, the food was gone, the refugees who were excited after a long feast, the bandits thrilled with their big catch, the captured Imperial soldiers, all had dispersed.
"..."
Staring down at the darkened tribe, Kuilan continued to gulp down his drink.
The image of Ash, with whom he'd been conversing moments before, was lingering in his mind.
'Did I mess with someone too big?'
From the moment he met Ash's gaze, a chill had been running down Kuilan's spine.
Though just a bandit group, Kuilan, who had reigned as their leader and evaded the Empire's pursuit for ten years, felt uneasy.
He considered himself not very bright but was confident in his intuition.
Something didn't smell right. It was ominous.
"Tsk."
He thought he'd scored big for the first time in a while, but of all people, his opponent had to be a prince...
But, what could be done?
The prince and his party had already been captured, and his own situation was even more desperate. He urgently needed money and supplies.
'After all, this is the southernmost point of the continent. It's a Margrave among Margraves.'
It didn't matter if the hostage was the Prince or whoever else. This place was the end of the world, where neither the Imperial Family bothered to watch nor the goddess paid attention.
Kidnapping and demanding a ransom, as usual, was all that needed to be done. Once the money was snatched and they escaped cleanly, everything would be resolved.
As long as the Prince was returned unharmed after taking the money, the imperial forces wouldn't risk their lives to pursue them.
Thinking this way, Kuilan struggled to lie down and went to sleep like his subordinates.
Crossroad was more than a day's distance away, and this neighborhood was far from the kidnapping location. Finding this place would be difficult in itself.
Even if a rescue team were to storm in, there would be plenty of time. They could rest easy at least for the night.
'I have always been lucky... It will be fine this time too.'
With that thought, Kuilan slowly drifted off to sleep.
That was a mistake.
***
"..."
Inside a building at the edge of the neighborhood.
I was sitting on an unimpressive but assigned bed, lost in thought.
I had considered taking advantage of the boisterous atmosphere to escape, but the bandits' watchful eyes were sharp. True to their bandit king's direct command, they were on high alert.
Escape was impossible with my hands and feet bound like this, so all I could do was wait for the rescue team...
With that in mind, I was about to lie down and sleep comfortably when,
Thump! Thump!
A dull thumping sound came from outside.
"Huh?"
Wondering what was happening, I looked out of the building to find Evangeline carefully laying two defeated bandits on the ground. Our eyes met.
"..."
"..."
It was our reunion after almost a month, and both Evangeline and I were momentarily stunned to encounter each other in this place.
Immediately after, tears welled in Evangeline's green eyes.
"Senior~!"
She rushed over to hug me. I was shocked.
"Wow!"
"Waaaah. Seniorrrrrrr."
"Uh, uhm? Are you crying?"
I mean, a tearful reunion is good and all! But right now, the ones who really feel like crying are me and my team! We were kidnapped!
"Waaaah."
"Yes, yes. Evangeline. It's good to see you again after such a long time."
I did my best to comfort the sniffling Evangeline.
Was my being kidnapped that big of a worry? Honestly, her reaction was somewhat pleasing.
But something was off.
"Sob, Senior. Help me."
Wiping her tears, Evangeline mumbled. What? I broke out in a cold sweat.
"Uh, eh? Shouldn't you be the one helping me?"
I'm the one who's kidnapped, see? Look, I'm still bound up like this!
"While you were away, Lucas, Juju, Damien, everyone..."
Evangeline, sniffling and swallowing her snot, said,
"They've all gone crazy!"
"...?"
Gone crazy?
My reliable comrades? All of them?
"They all started acting strange since you weren't around, and now they've... they've turned completely... insane..."
"Eh...?"
"You'll see when you see them. They all came to rescue you."
Having calmed down a bit, Evangeline undid my restraints.
As we walked outside together, I asked.
"But how did you get here so quickly? It's not even half a day since we sent the distress signal."
"We were on our way to meet you as soon as we heard that our senior was coming. We were camping, and then Elize came with the request for rescue..."
So that's what happened.
"But how did you find this area? The kidnapping place was quite far away, making the search difficult."
"That is..."
Evangeline let out a deep sigh.
"You'll find out soon."
"...?"
Anyway, Evangeline and I hurried out of the building to rescue the rest of my kidnapped companions.
Junior, who had arrived before us, was releasing the captured soldiers.
"Ah."
Junior looked back at me with a bright complexion.
"It's been a long time, Your Highness!"
"Uh... yes. It's been a while, but..."
I pointed at the things dangling all around Junior's body.
"What are those?"
Junior was equipped with packed lunches full of food and cups full of drinks, even chewing on spinach at that very moment.
"I was suffering from a loss of blood, so I came up with a solution."
Then, she picked up a bottle of tomato juice that was hanging from her waist and took a sip.
"If I throw up a lot of blood, I just have to make more, right?"
"...?"
"So I decided to eat food that's good for anemia 24 hours a day. This way, I'll make more blood than I lose, maintaining the balance. Hehe, I am so smart..."
Well... it's not entirely wrong, but... is it right? Or not? Is it?
Just then, Evangeline, who had been watching Junior, shook her head slightly.
"Juju's craziness is on the cute side."
"Ah... that's considered cute...?"
"The other two are really in bad shape... Ah!"
At that moment, we were spotted by a bandit guard who was about to blow a horn. However, before we could even react,
Whizz- Thwack!
An arrow flew in and shattered the horn into pieces.
"Kehuk?!"
The horn was destroyed, sending shockwaves in all directions, and the startled guard fainted.
Only one person could make such a precise shot.
I looked in the direction the arrow had come from, pleased. Damien! My trigger!
"Heheh..."
And there was,
Something covered in a dark aura... Damien, who was laughing unnervingly and making an unpleasant sound. What's with him...?
With a crossbow in one hand and a magic gun, Black Queen, in the other, Damien posed bizarrely and muttered,
"These eyes... see the darkness well..."
Why has he suddenly come down with a case of 'chuunibyou'?! (TL Note: For those that don't read JP Novels, it means 8th grade syndrome. The Author decided to use said language here.)
What on earth is happening here!