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On Old Road

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Maria’s family, the Bell Household, were the lords of the town of Stola. It was a town located southwest of Rodon, beyond the Sananal Pass, about a 3 to 4-day journey by carriage.

On the first day, the novelty of the carriage and the scenery flowing by the window made the journey enjoyable. By the second day, however, it started to get a bit monotonous. Hana, citing a lack of exercise, was already running alongside the carriage outside. Maria, Sonia, and Noris were chatting among themselves, while Heinz was deeply engrossed in a book he had brought. I thought I might join Hana outside.

Just as I was thinking that, I heard a tapping sound on the carriage window, and Hana rushed back into the carriage in a panic.

“It’s starting to rain, degozaru!” (Hana)

She shouted, and at the same time, the sound of rain pounding on the roof echoed.

“It came suddenly.” (Heinz)

Heinz muttered as he looked up at the carriage ceiling. Thunder struck with a loud bang, and Maria and Noris screamed, “Kyaah!”.

The carriage, unable to proceed, came to a halt. The driver opened a small window at the front and, shouting over the rain.

“I apologize, but we will stop until the rain calms down.” (??)

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s wait.” (Heinz)

Heinz said calmly as he returned his attention to his book.

“Heinz, you seem so relaxed.” (Lux)

I remarked.

“I told you before, right? Our family home is far away. With such long journeys, weather like this is bound to happen.” (Heinz)

He replied.

“That’s true. Even during hunting, I sometimes get caught in heavy rain. Considering that, it’s not so unusual.” (Lux)

Sonia seemed intrigued by my words and asked.

“What do you do if such rain comes during a hunt?” (Sonia)

“Hunters always secure a few rain-shelter spots just in case. You go to the nearest one. It’s absolutely no good to take shelter under a tree. Lightning might strike.” (Lux)

“What happens if lightning strikes?” (Maria)

Maria asked, seemingly curious to see what would happen.

“I’ve only seen it up close once, but it was intense. When it strikes, it doesn’t make a rumbling or clattering sound; it just comes with a sudden ‘Boom!!’ The lightning struck a tree beyond the rock where I was taking shelter. It was quite a thick tree, but it split in two and flames erupted from it.” (Lux)

“…” (Maria)

Maria, looking as if she regretted asking, seemed close to tears.

Huh, is it my fault?

At that moment, the window outside lit up again with a flash, and after a moment, a thunderous bang followed.

“Kyaa!!” (Maria/Noris)

A louder scream than before erupted, and Heinz’s eyes seemed to convey, “This is what Lux does to scare us”.

Ugh, that’s so unfair.

The torrential rain, as if a bucket of water had been overturned, continued for a while, but as the sound of thunder faded away, its intensity decreased. The driver opened the small window again.

“We’ll be setting off soon, so please be careful.” (Driver)

 

—

 

That night, after being hit by the heavy rain, we gathered at an inn for dinner. As we talked about how intense the thunderstorm had been today, Sebas approached from a different table.

“Sorry to interrupt your conversation. May I have a moment?” (Sebas)

“What’s wrong, Sebas?” (Maria)

Maria asked on behalf of everyone.

“Actually, I just heard from the inn that the original route over the mountain pass has had a landslide due to today’s rain.” (Sebas)

To reach Maria’s family home in the town of Stola, it was necessary to cross the mountain pass, but the road had been closed.

“So, we can’t go home?” (Maria)

Maria’s face looked sad.

“No, if we wait for 2 to 3 days in this town, it should be restored. Alternatively, we could take the old road. We need to discuss that.” (Sebas)

“The old road?” (Maria)

“Yes, unlike the currently cleared route, this road follows the terrain and will be a bit of a detour, but it should still be usable. It might delay us a bit, but we should be able to cross the pass by tomorrow.” (Sebas)

Having said that, he added.

“However, the road is narrow and overgrown, so honestly, I would recommend waiting 2 to 3 days for safety.” (Sebas)

At that moment, an unfamiliar man interjected.

“Hey, hey, it’s impossible to restore that landslide in 2 to 3 days.” (??)

Sebas looked at him with suspicion.

“Excuse me?” (Sebas)

Sebas prompted.

“I’m a traveling merchant. I saw the landslide today and barely escaped. It would have been dangerous if I had been a little earlier. In that condition, it will be impossible for at least a week.” (??)

After hearing the man’s story, Sebas made a grim face.

“Let’s take the old road.” (Maria)

Maria murmured.

“However, Ojou-sama…” (Sebas)

Sebas began to speak but was stopped by Maria.

“If it takes a week, Otou-sama and the others will start to worry. They’re already going out of their way for us, so I don’t want to cause too much trouble.” (Maria)

I had heard that Maria’s family was quite distressed about sending her to the military academy. To reassure them, Maria had asked us to accompany her. Maria had 3 older siblings, the eldest brother and an older sister, making her the youngest. In any noble household, the eldest son usually would not enter a military academy unless it was a desperate situation. The path ahead was a battlefield. Moreover, in the Bell Household’s case, the older sister was already married and could not be sent to the academy, so they reluctantly sent off their youngest daughter, who was precious to them.

The longer the delay in arrival, the more anxious her parents would become. Maria seemed to want to avoid that. Sebas understood Maria’s feelings and agreed to prepare for departure the next day without further objection.

When I looked around, the peddler who had been there earlier was nowhere to be seen.

 

—

 

As Sebas had said, the old road was narrow and winding, and since it was not often used, branches grew freely across the path. The coachmen of the leading carriage were cutting them down as they went. Though progress was slow, the 3 carriages moved along the old road, which was not so bad as to be called a rough road. The first sign of trouble came from one of the horses pulling the leading carriage.

With a loud “Hee-haw!!” the horse reared up, causing the driver to shout in surprise, “Whoa!”.

That seemed to be the signal, as from the gaps in the forest, men who were clearly bandits appeared and began to approach us.

“Bandits!” (Driver)

The shout of the driver echoed through the forest.

 

—

 

“Bandits!” (Driver)

The driver’s shout was also heard inside the carriage.

We quickly took up our weapons. This time, except for Sonia, everyone had left their own weapons behind. The reason was simple. Except for handguns, the others were unsuitable to carry around. The scout’s handguns were 2. I had a slingshot, so we had 3 weapons. Sonia, without hesitation, handed one of the handguns to Heinz.

It was a noble’s carriage. Of course, there were guards, but their numbers were few. Hana peeked out from the carriage window.

“I could see 5 people coming from the mountain side, degozaru.” (Hana)

On the opposite window was Sonia.

“It looked like there were none on the valley side. I couldn’t tell the number of enemies stopping the carriage in front, but I estimated about 10.” (Sonia)

“Let’s take care of the 5 on the mountain side first. I would go outside and take aim.” (Heinz)

“Then I’d head there too. Sonia, please handle things from the window.” (Lux)

“Okay. Be careful.” (Sonia)

Heinz and I opened the valley-side door and quietly slid out. Our carriage was in the middle of 3. Heinz, as a Shooter, moved forward to support the front line.

I put my hand on the edge of the window of our carriage and jumped onto the roof. From the roof of the carriage, looking at the situation, our guards seemed to be fighting at the very front. Just as Hana had said, 5 men were coming down from the mountain slope and trying to attach themselves to each carriage.

The man who approached our carriage was instantly shot by Sonia and was already writhing while holding his arm. He probably hadn’t expected a counterattack from inside the carriage.

I used the slingshot to snipe off the 2 men who had attached themselves to the 3rd carriage, one after another. To ensure a kill, I aimed precisely at their eyes. The distance to the target was negligible for me. I didn’t miss.

Two bandits, suddenly shot in the eyes, collapsed and writhed in agony. To be sure, I fired a few more shots and confirmed they had stopped moving before shifting my gaze forward. The slingshot was powerful, but since I adjusted the strength, I didn’t think they were dead.

Probably.

It looked like we were winning in the front as well. Then, at the edge of my vision, something moved. Looking over, I saw someone peeking from the shadow of a tree. On closer inspection, it was someone I had seen before. It was the traveling merchant from the inn yesterday.

Without hesitation, I shot him as well. With a “fugyaa” sound, the traveling merchant fell from the tree. I quickly moved to that spot to prevent his escape.

Approaching the traveling merchant, who was writhing in agony with his eyes shot out, just like the other bandits, I used the restraint techniques I had learned in class to secure him. It seemed the fighting in the front had been settled. Some had escaped, but I could ask this traveling merchant for details.

Casting a cold glance at the traveling merchant, who continued to shed tears from his swollen right eye, he let out a small shriek.

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