Chapter 342: The Appearance of Bandit Monsters
It was now time for the midday break. The caravan found a spot shaded by leaves and brought the ox carts to a halt. They let the oxen graze while the people began to rest and recuperate, gathering dry wood and setting up iron pots to build fires for cooking.
Seeing the cooking in progress, Shirou wanted to lend a hand, but since it was someone else's caravan and he had matters of his own to attend to, he decided against it. The cooking was handled by one of the caravan's drivers who was skilled at it.
Afterward, the various classes of the caravan stood in their respective groups, holding bowls as food was distributed. By this time, everyone was already getting along quite well with Musashi.
Although the pink-haired woman hadn't emerged from the bushes initially—leading people to first think it was a robbery and then a large wild beast—they realized upon contact that she was just a hungry young lady who was actually quite easy to get along with. Thus, the group accepted her as a new member.
"Musashi-chan, sister! You sure have a great appetite!" For the drivers who performed heavy physical labor, being able to eat well was considered a talent.
"Ehehe, it's nothing really, I've just been hungry for too long," Musashi said somewhat bashfully. However, she didn't hesitate when it came to eating. Knowing the merchant harbored ill intentions toward her, she felt no guilt about consuming his supplies.
The woman quickly emptied a bowl that was nearly double the size of an average person's.
"Come, come, there's still plenty of meat soup, drink more! We're only getting a chance to eat meat today thanks to you," a driver said, using a large ladle to scoop a generous portion of taro and minced meat soup into the large bowl held by the pink-haired woman.
"Mmph, mmph! Thanks everyone, it's so great to have met you all," Musashi replied with her mouth full, gulping down the taro and meat soup. Though there wasn't much meat, and most of it had been distributed earlier, the hot taro was delicious. It paired perfectly with the steamed buns—whether dipped in the broth or eaten alongside the fragrant taro.
While the lead merchant seemed untrustworthy, the rest of the working folk were easy to talk to.
Originally, Musashi was supposed to receive the highest hospitality from the fat merchant, meaning food better than anyone else's. However, for a Musashi who had been starving for three days, food that was large in quantity and filling better suited her needs. Furthermore, the merchant's excessive friendliness was truly suspicious.
So, when the merchant said, "Miss Musashi, if you want to eat, I have the finest cuisine here—Silver Shari rice and matsutake mushrooms to make matsutake rice for you!"
"No, that would be too embarrassing. I'll just eat the same as everyone else," Musashi replied. She knew he had ulterior motives; besides, while matsutake rice sounded delicious, she wouldn't be satisfied unless she had a whole tub of it.
The merchant regretfully put away the matsutake and instructed his subordinates to tell the cook to add a portion of dried meat for everyone today as an extra treat, and to just steam a bowl of brown rice for himself.
However, seeing Musashi's unfathomable internal capacity now, the merchant felt only relief and shamefully retreated back into his carriage.
Regardless, the fact that everyone got to drink meat soup was indeed thanks to Musashi, so it was only right to praise her.
"Here, this is for you." Shirou handed a steamed bun to the gluttonous Musashi.
"Eh? Is it okay!?" Musashi happily accepted it. For some reason, receiving a bun from Shirou's hand made it taste especially sweet.
The surrounding drivers and lower-level members of the caravan saw the girl's expression and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, that reaction is too much! Sister, you aren't actually interested in the young man, are you?"
"I am not! Uncle, if you keep saying things like that, I'll eat all the remaining meat soup!" Musashi shouted, waving her fist in mock embarrassment.
Everyone laughed.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the two bodyguards squatting together and gnawing on dried meat were scanning Shirou and Musashi with cold, dark gazes.
After that, having finished lunch, everyone packed up and continued driving the ox carts toward the city ahead. The merchant's destination was the capital of Mikawa Province.
"Alright, everyone pull yourselves together! Work hard! Let's try to reach the city before dusk, otherwise, there are said to be black man-eating monsters on these mountains."
It was exactly because of these monsters that the two regions were isolated. The merchant, who relied on the strategy of buying low and selling high, saw this as an opportunity. He profited from the price difference by transporting local cheap goods to remote areas where they were considered precious.
Ideally, they would see the city after crossing two more hills. However, at that moment, the sound of many horses trampling the earth and human shouting erupted—bandits had appeared!
A group of about ten fierce-looking bandits, dressed in animal furs and either bare-chested or heavily tattooed, arrived on horseback and surrounded them.
"Bandits! What do we do, Master?" a driver cried out in panic.
"So many of them! This is bad!" Hiding inside the carriage, the merchant calculated how much of the goods he would have to give to the bandits to make them leave. Even if it meant he was the only one allowed to go.
The bodyguards, the scarred bald man and the bearded man, drew their swords and pointed them at the people below their horses, waving them randomly and shouting:
"Everyone get off the carts! Get back and huddle together!"
"Hurry! Hurry! Forget the weapons, throw them all away and squat down with your hands behind your heads!" the bearded man cursed.
"Hey, bring some rope and tie them up," the scarred bald man said, waving to the bandits approaching on horseback.
"Yes!" A bandit climbed down from his horse and ran toward the back.
"That... brave warriors? May I ask what exactly is going on? Why does it seem like you know these bandits?" the merchant asked in confusion.
"Hahaha!" The surrounding bandits and the bearded man laughed in unison.
"Hahaha! Don't you understand yet? You idiot! If you're looking to hire only two guards for a caravan, anyone with a brain wouldn't take such an obviously unreliable job! But we really have you to thank, Boss! You delivered so many good goods to us."
"You no longer have the right to bargain with us." The bald man looked at the merchant as if looking at a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
"Hey, blacksmith kid, hand over your sword and we'll give you a pass. I was thinking of finishing you off earlier, but you were surprisingly sharp and we never found an opening. We happen to need a blacksmith, so we want you to join us."
"Oh, well thank you for that," Shirou replied casually.
The bearded man turned his head again toward the pink-haired woman standing next to Shirou, revealing a greasy, lecherous grin. "And you! Woman, though you were quite strange, suddenly appearing in the bushes and making us think the plan had moved up—nearly ruining the main event—you're so beautiful. We'll take you back. As long as you perform well, we won't kill you."
"Oh, stop it! Telling me I'm beautiful at a time like this~!" Musashi laughed triumphantly and teased.
The bearded man smiled foolishly, looking like he wanted the woman to "perform" immediately.
"I'd also like to ask, what do you plan to do with the others?" Shirou raised his hand and asked.
"Naturally, we'll chop them up to feed the monsters on the mountain! Hahaha! As long as we keep it full, we are invincible on this mountain!" The bandits laughed wantonly, making the bound drivers tremble in fear.
The scarred bald man then ordered: "Alright! Let's wrap this up quickly so we can push the goods away!"
"Wait! At least leave one cart for me! I promise I won't report it to the officials, you can have everything else, just let me go!"
"No, you have plenty of meat; stay and feed the monsters!" the bearded man said with a laugh.
They had been driven here from elsewhere. Because the area they were previously in was frequently traversed by armies sent out by the daimyo, the mountains they occupied were passed over by large forces. The local bandits had no choice but to migrate to avoid being wiped out in passing.
After all, they were just bandits; they were nothing compared to a fully equipped regular army.
However, these bandits, who were usually good at avoiding danger, never imagined they would encounter warriors more terrifying than an army—and two of them at that.
"Well, though I knew it would turn out like this, it can't be helped. You praised me, but I really have to cut you down after all," Musashi drew her twin blades, settling into a combat-ready stance. Though she was easygoing, informal, and friendly, cruel and tyrannical villains were an exception.
Fighting on a battlefield or a duel between samurai was one thing, but a one-sided slaughter was the lowliest behavior. If one didn't even spare the old, weak, sick, or disabled, they were the trash among trash.
Right now, on one side were bandits with katanas, and on the other were honest, simple drivers who didn't even know how to resist. No matter how you looked at it, it was an unfair match.
Streaks of light flashed, and the bandits, who had been laughing thinking victory was assured, fell to the ground one by one.
Shirou and Musashi stood back-to-back, easily defeating the bandit gang that had surrounded the caravan. They prepared to tie the thieves up to take them to the city and hand them over to the authorities.
However, the truly terrifying enemy was not the bandits, but the fierce, evil ghosts that appeared at dusk.
Having suffered multiple sword wounds and being pinned down, the scarred bald man's eyes suddenly turned blood-red. He let out a roar, and his body began to swell. His entire form
turned a dark grayish-black and became incredibly hard; except for that scar, his original appearance was no longer recognizable.
"Human flesh! Human flesh! Human flesh!"
The black monster grabbed the bearded man, who was closest to him on the ground.
"Wait, wait! Big brother, we're sworn brothers! Waaaaagh!" Before the bearded man could finish his sentence, he was torn in half by the black monster.
The monster bathed in the blood, and the wounds on its body were repaired bit by bit.
"So you really are a monster!"
Shirou gripped his hilt, and a red arc of light flashed by. Shirou's posture remained exactly as it was before the attack, but the monster enemy stopped moving. Only then did a fine line of blood appear at its throat.
"Shiro! That strike just now was beautiful, and this blade is a rare, fine sword!" Musashi praised.
"Well, my sword is a bit special. It must draw blood once unsheathed, but because of that, it can slay demons and monsters," Shirou explained.
Hearing Shirou say his sword could slay evil ghosts, the merchant who had just been saved widened his eyes and stared at the weapon as if looking at a glowing treasure.
'No matter what! I must take him to the Castle Lord!' The merchant made up his mind and began to vigorously invite Shirou to accompany him to the capital in Mikawa where the Tokugawa resided. If he was willing to forge weapons for the nobles there to defend themselves...
The merchant knew very well how much those nobles feared death. To live longer, they would ride in carriages or be carried in litters just to go to mountain temples to burn incense and pray. Even if sauces and seasonings were delicious, they would only add a bit of oil and salt to boiled vegetables to eat with white rice.
Since ancient times, people had been plagued by demons and monsters—especially those death-fearing nobles—but ordinary people had no way to deal with these mysterious ghosts. They could only seek help from passing high-level monks or priestesses, but only a few of them were actually effective.
If he could supply every noble household with one—even if no one could use it, just using it to guard the house would be a good idea.
"Brave warrior—no! Shirou! You must meet the Castle Lord here no matter what! Only you can save them!" the merchant said, holding his hands high.
"What exactly is going on?" Shirou asked, surprised.
"They need your skills there too! If you don't go, the whole city might be beyond saving," the merchant said exaggeratingly.
Although his motives were clearly not very noble, the fact that there was "something dirty" around didn't seem like a lie.
"Is that so? It's not impossible to go with you, but I have one requirement," Shirou said.
"Name it! What requirement?" the merchant agreed; he had been a businessman for many years.
"Give me some of the ingredients and white rice on your cart," Shirou said.
Several hours later, just before nightfall, the caravan finally reached the city gates. Musashi chose to part ways with Shirou here; after all, she was destined to be unable to stay in one world for long.
"Well then, Shirou, let's meet again if fate allows," Musashi said with a laugh, waving to Shirou. Holding the bundle she had received from him, she walked in the other direction.
"Oh, and don't collapse on the ground from hunger again after this," Shirou reminded her.
"I know! I know~! Don't I have the rice balls you made for me right now?" Musashi patted the bundle on her chest, waved with a smile, and gradually walked into the distance.
She didn't know yet that in her next destination, via an unknown route, she would go to the Kyoto of an unknown era to meet the universally acknowledged great swordsman Yagyu—and would be defeated and forced to flee, but that is a story for another time...
Thus, Shirou set off and followed the caravan into Mikawa Province.
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