Chapter 55: Bear-san Arrives At The Royal Capital!
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When I returned with the cage that was being pulled by the bear golem, all of the members were already awake.
「What, everyone was awake?」
「”Everyone was awake?” is not the right response! There’s no way we can sleep while knowing that fifty thieves are headed this way, right?!」
「That’s right. As expected, there’s no way we can sleep in the middle of a probable attack by fifty thieves.」
Gran-san was also awake.
Even though it’s bad for the elderly if they don’t sleep.
「Yuna-san, in the end, even I don’t think I can remain silent on this matter.」
「Big Sis Yuna, as expected of you, this time as well…」
「Even though I caught the thieves, you’re going to get angry at me?」
At my words, everyone’s line of sight turned towards the bear golem and the cage of thieves. However, they were troubled about which one they should look at.
「Erm, what would be a good starting point to retort with here?」
「That’s a good question. For now, shall we listen to what happened with the thieves?」
Everyone’s gaze rested on me.
「As you can see, since I caught them all, I put them in a cage.」
「How did you capture them all by yourself?」
「With a bit of magic.」
「What about that cage?」
「I made it using a bit of magic.」
「Finally, what about that bear?」
「I made it with a bit of magic to pull the cage.」
The people around me had various reactions: from sighs to looking amazed, to being troubled over what to say.
Why?
「With each question, the number of things I want to retort to increases.」
Marina looked at me with an astonished expression.
「So then, what are you going to do with the thieves?」
「Well, what would be good? Bring them to the Royal Capital? Kill them all here?」
The thieves reacted to my comment about killing them.
「Could it be, that those thieves are the Zamon band of thieves?」
Elle, who was looking at the thieves while standing behind Marina, asked.
「The Zamon band of thieves?」
If I remembered correctly, the people in question had also identified themselves as such.
「They are a band of thieves that have been rampaging in this area.」
「You’re joking, right? To have caught that Zamon band of thieves single-handedly?」
「Is it that amazing?」
「They loot and torture people to force them into emptying their item bags. I heard that they also rape any women they find. A ghastly band of thieves.」
「In that case, should I kill them?」
It was a natural reaction, after hearing that they had raped women.
「Though it’s troublesome, it would be better to deliver them to the Royal Capital so that the location of their hideout can be extracted. There might be some captured women at their hideout. Normally, it would be better to go rescue them immediately, but we don’t know how many are still at their hideout. Even if we questioned them now, it might take a long time and we won’t even know if it’s accurate or not. In addition, not only are you in the middle of guarding us, but there are also the thieves you captured, which is why it is better to go to the Royal Capital instead.」
Naturally, I had no objections to Marina’s explanation.
It was troublesome, but I decided to transport the group of thieves to the Royal Capital.
「Now then, since our future actions have been decided, let’s sleep. It’s still dark.」
It was still late at night. Usually, at this time, we would be in dreamland.
「You can sleep in this situation?」
「With this many thieves nearby, I don’t feel like sleeping at all.」
「Me neither.」
「Yuna-san, I also cannot sleep.」
「Big Sis Yuna…」
「As expected, even we are unable to sleep.」
There wasn’t a single person who approved of my proposal to sleep.
Although everyone said that they couldn’t sleep, they would still end up sleeping next to these thieves tomorrow.
In addition, even if they said they couldn’t sleep, there were still many hours until daybreak.
「In that case, should we depart instead?」
「Gran-sama?」
「I feel a bit sorry for the horses, but since even those like us are unable to sleep, let’s have them do their best. If they get tired along the way, it will be fine to let them rest.」
At those words, everyone began packing up the camp.
Are you all serious?
In the end, in spite of it being in the middle of the night, we decided to depart for the Royal Capital.
Well, I could just sleep on top of the bear, though.
After we departed, at around sunrise, we decided to have breakfast, for the sake of also giving the horses a break.
At that point, the thieves started to raise a commotion.
「You ought to send us food too, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!」
「That’s right! That’s right!」
「You won’t die if you don’t eat for a few days.」
「Don’t screw around with us!」
I sprayed water on the noisy thieves to shut them up.
By the way, I had confiscated all of the item bags the thieves were carrying.
Even if there had been food inside, they wouldn’t be able to eat it.
Those who were able to use magic were only able to summon water.
The thieves gradually began to weaken.
This was nothing though, when compared to the terrible acts the Zamon bandit corps had committed.
At noon, three days after I hunted down the thieves, we could finally see the walls surrounding the Royal Capital.
Numerous wagons and carriages converged from the various roads that led to the Royal Capital.
On this occasion, the bear golem, summoned bears, and thieves attracted many curious looks.
As we neared the Royal Capital’s gate, several soldiers, who had been guarding the gate, rushed over.
「Hey, what’s this?」
A gate guard questioned us.
The person who was chosen to deal with the gate guards was Gran.
I thought that an explanation from an aristocrat, rather than an adventurer, was more likely to be accepted, so Gran presented himself.
「We are Gran Faren Gramm, the earl! This is the Zamon group of thieves. We captured them when they attacked us. That bear over there is the product of this young lady’s magic.」
Gran explained about the thieves and the bear golem.
「Furan Gram-sama, is it? I deeply apologize for this incident. I am Zell, the vice-commander of the 15th Company in the Royal Capital.」
The soldier saluted and properly introduced himself.
As I thought, Gran was great.
「Is it alright to hand over the thieves here?」
「Of course. So these are the Zamon group of thieves? It’s great that you were able to capture them.」
「Well, yes. Now then, what should we do?」
「Yes, please come this way. We will take the thieves into custody here.」
We followed Zell, completely disregarding the long queue into the Royal Capital.
All of the people lined up to enter were looking over at us.
More precisely, they were looking at the thieves in the cage, the bear golem, the summoned bears, or me, since I looked like a bear.
「What is that? That bear…」
「It’s a bear.」
「It’s a giant bear.」
「It’s a bear, hmm.」
「It’s a bear-san, right?」
「k.u.ma~」
The carriage was stopped near the gate.
A lot of soldiers were gathered.
Even if they were weakened from the lack of food, it was still fifty thieves. It would probably be bad if they escaped or became violent.
「Now then, could you open the cage?」
I detached some of the earthen rods.
The thieves gave up, came out one at a time, and were taken away by the soldiers.
It was probably because they were weakened from hunger, so they didn’t have much strength to resist.
When everyone had been taken out, I returned the cage and the bear golem back to the earth.
Also, even though I wasn’t sure if it would become evidence, I turned over the item bags that the thieves had been carrying.
「Thank you for your cooperation. So then, to whom should I report to regarding the processing of the thieves?」
「About that, please report to this young lady, because she was the one who single-handedly captured the thieves.」
「I-Is that the truth?」
「Yeah, the young lady is also a bodyguard for the Foschurose family, which is why the reports should be sent to her.」
「The Foschurose family, is it?」
「You should come to me if there is anything you don’t understand.」
「Yes, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation.」
「So then, is it fine for us to enter the Royal Capital? As expected, the long journey has left this old man exhausted.」
「Yes, please go ahead and enter. However, that bear…」
He looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
As expected, they weren’t allowed to walk inside.
After telling Fina and Noa to dismount from the two bears, I unsummoned them.
We walked to the reception desk, showed our guild cards, and pa.s.sed through the gate.
「Noa, where is your house?」
「It is in the upper-cla.s.s district, so it is a considerable distance from here.」
「Well then, shall we head there while leisurely sightseeing along the way?」
「In that case, young misses, you should take my carriage there.」
「But, the place we’re going to…」
「It’s all right, because we are going to disembark here. I need to sign off on the completion of the bodyguard request, you see.」
「Marina, thanks for putting up with me.」
「No, it wasn’t like that at all. If Yuna wasn’t there, the two of us would have died.」
「It could not be helped this time, so you don’t need to be discouraged. We shall be counting on you for the return trip as well.」
「Yes, thank you very much. We were also working while antic.i.p.ating the birthday festival.」
Marina’s group bowed before leaving.
「Well then, it’s fine to get on board, since we’re all headed to the same place.」
Since we had no reason to refuse, we decided to take their offer to give us a lift.
The Royal Capital as seen from the carriage was exuberant.
「Due to the birthday festival, people have gathered here from far and wide.」
Certainly, when we entered the Royal Capital, the queue was long.
「Yuna-san, I can see it! Mother is there, in grandpa’s house.」
It was larger than the feudal lord’s manor back in town.
How many humans lived in this enormous mansion?
「Well then, Noire. It’s fine if it’s only while you’re in the Royal Capital, but if you have time, please come and be Misa’s playmate.」
「Yes, I will certainly come and play.」
「Big Sis Noa, come and play, okay? You have to!」
After we disembarked from the carriage, it raced off.
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It’s the Royal Capital~