"P-Please, s-spare us!" "W-We're just hired men!" "We d-don't even want the carriage, w-we were just meant to attack it!" Yelled the bandits with terrified expression as they knelt while constantly begging, earning Vanye's ire, though I think that's more so from the fact that she refrained from killing them. "Speak again and you'll lose a limb." Said Vanye threateningly as she swiped her blade through the air, causing a tree in the distance to lose its branches, further terrifying the bandits. Shaking my head, I left the bandits in Vanye and Talis's care while I returned to the carriage, which was in pristine condition courtesy of Yuki protecting it. 'Not like any of the bandits even got close to reaching her.'
Nonetheless, I gave Yuki a thumbs-up before standing adjacent to Fashu, who was still sitting atop the carriage; delivering the information the bandits had willingly gave us without the need to question then, I already had my theory, but figured the one in charge would probably have a bit more in-depth knowledge about everything. "Tsk, stupid bastards." Said Fashu with an unsightly expression as she clicked her tongue while glaring at the bandits, who Talis was forcing to call her 'Queen'. "Are you willing to share whatever information you seem to have discovered, Fashu?" Faintly smiling, I leaned against the carriage while Fashu furrowed her brows before nodding.
"Our company's competitors are more than likely the ones who hired these bandits; however, this was just a test… There will most likely be a few more tests along the way to gauge further how difficult it will be to destroy or even steal this carriage before they decide to finally strike at the last moment." Stated Fahsu with a frown, sharing highly detailed information that caused me to raise an eyebrow. "Heh, seeing how you seem more than familiar with this situation, this must not be your first time dealing with this." Fashu certainly wasn't a fan of chit-chat as she blankly looked at me. "Prepare for more attacks in the near future." Nodding to Fashu, I turned around and approached the bandits, passing Yuki, who was quietly snickering, causing my expression to twitch.
"What shall we do with them?" Asked Jasmine anxiously as she stood beside me while glancing between Vanye, who hadn't released her hilt, and me. "Well, what do you think we should do with them?" With a raised eyebrow, I folded my arms and looked at Jasmine, who was slightly taken aback, but she quickly responded. "Um, well, since they're already defeated, we could just let them go; with how easily we beat them, they're no threat to us." With a slightly hopeful expression, Jasmine looked at me with her bright golden eyes, while Vanye scoffed at her words but remained silent.
If I hadn't known which continent Jasmine was from, I would've called her naive, not like I was too much better, but I knew she wasn't being naive, that was just her personality, and to be honest, I personally agreed with her; if I could, I wouldn't mind letting these fools go, but I've lived long enough to know, I could only be so merciful before it came to bite me and everyone else in the ass. "You're incredibly sweet, Jasmine, but unfortunately, we're not allowed to do things you're way." With a wry smile, I gently rubbed Jasmine's shoulder while she lowered her head with a sigh. "I-I figured. I wanted to try at the very least."
"So, Vanye, what do you think?" "Kill them all." Vanye was straight to the point as she pointed her blade at the bandits, terrifying them while Lazuli backed her up with a nod, though Talis didn't seem so keen on it. "No! They're my guards!" Said Talis as she vehemently shook her head, though no one took her seriously right now. Aside from my personal distaste, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Vanye's statement, but since it was two against two, I decided to meet in the middle. "Okay, how about this, we–" "We're on a tight schedule here, hurry up!" Yelled Fahsu firmly as she eyed me while I waved before clicking my tongue.
"Alright, let's strip them of everything they've got and send them into the forest… If they live, they live, they don't, well, that's unfortunate." Although Vanye was a bit dissatisfied, she didn't argue. "Tch, you heard Alex, you've got thirty seconds to drop everything before I drop your limbs!" Stated Vanye fiercely, causing the bandits to quickly do as she said while dropping their weapons, clothes, and satchels onto the ground, prompting Jasmine to avert her gaze. "Hehe, what, never seen a naked man before?" With a teasing smirk, I nudged Jasmine, who remained silent, with my elbow before shifting my gaze to the bandits.
"What are you waiting for? Run into the forest; anyone still here in ten seconds will be killed." Gazing at the nude bandits with a raised eyebrow, they hesitantly turned around, facing the forest, though the moment Vanye started to count, they quickly dashed into the forest, causing me to chuckle in amusement. "W-Will they live, Alex?" Asked Jasmine as she, Vanye, Lazuli, and Talis followed me back to the wagon. "Eh, maybe; this forest isn't that dangerous, so they've got a decent chance so long as they don't run too deep… They're lucky the month of Chloe passed, they don't got to worry about wandering horny Orcs." Shrugging my shoulders, Jasmine, Lazuli, and I returned to the left side of the wagon, prompting Fashu to snap the reins as we began moving.
"Eh, wandering horny Orcs?" "Oh, you're young, Jasmine; you'll come to experience what I'm talking about soon enough; just pray you're with one of us… Seriously." Faintly smirking, I gently tapped her shoulder before narrowing my eyes, causing her to hesitantly nod while I faced forward. With the bandits having been dealt with, Fashu continued towards the destination while we protected the wagon, though for the remainder of the day, despite Talis observing our surroundings, there wasn't another attack, and we camped off the side of the road a little before midnight; I would've preferred going deeper into the forest, to better conceal ourselves, but Fashu refused on the basis the wagon could get damage.
As Fashu retired into her tent closest to the wagon, we stayed up a bit later, well, except for Jasmine, who wasn't used to this, though soon enough, everyone else also fell asleep while I remained awake, acting as the guard, and although Yuki, Lazuli, and Vanye had agreed upon a watch shift, I let them sleep the night; after all, I saw no need to force them out of their sleep when I didn't need it at all, sleeping was merely a luxury for me, one I immensely enjoyed.
'Hey Master, if you had to choose between Zartha and I, who would you pick?' Asked Trina, and although I couldn't see her, I strongly felt she was smirking. 'Depends, what the circumstance is, is it to keep you two as my swords, or something different?' 'Duh, of course, Master, what other question could it be? I'm not going to ask you who you'd rather marry or sleep with… We already know you'd pick Zartha.' Said Trina with a mock hurt tone, causing me to roll my eyes. 'I don't know, honestly; you two are both invaluable to me.' 'We know… We're crafted from unalloyed Pulsar, even Gods would be tempted by us.' Said Zartha coldly, causing me to nod lightly. 'You know, I think I'd choose you, Trina; I'd much rather listen to the voice of an energetic young girl than an indifferent ice-beauty.'
At my words, I felt Trina, who resided in my heart, tremble, while Zartha remained silent; lightly chuckling at my weapons personality, I yawned and took watch until sunrise, prompting me to shake the branch Talis was sleeping in before leaping off the tree and landing on the ground. As per Fashu's words, I entered her tent to wake her up, only to freeze when I saw her messy and disheveled appearance. 'Ahh, so she's one of those kinds of sleepers.' Nodding to myself, I gently stirred Fashu awake, causing her to snap her eyes open as she looked at me with an irritated expression before sitting upright. "We will leave in ten minutes, now leave." "Aye, aye, captain."
Exiting Fashu's tent, I went around and woke everyone else up, with Yuki being the hardest as she was a heavy sleeper, both literally and figuratively. "Mhm, that was a wonderful night." Said Yuki with a refreshed smile as she stretched her body while I gently poked her thigh. "I-I'm glad you had a nice sleep, Dear, but can you please get off me now?" Usually, I wouldn't complain about being crushed by my sexy wife sitting on me, but there was a time and a place for everything. Dusting myself off, I kissed Yuki and did the same to Lazuli, as for Vanye, she averted her gaze, but it allowed me to kiss her cheek, which both angered and embarrassed her.
"Um, w-what about me?" Asked Jasmine meekly as she gently pulled the hem of my shirt, causing me to kiss her cheek while Vanye. "Quickly get ready, we've only got 8 minutes to get ready– Well, 7 now."