Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Bandit Suppression (1)

Two days later, the mana car carrying Loren and Silvia arrived.

“Eung, there’s a lot that needs fixing on this thing.
Even though we only brought the urgent things, so we don’t have much luggage, it’s already showing quite a few minor problems.”

At Loren’s words, Mitchell looked at the mana car.

For someone who said they did not have much luggage, there was a huge wagon attached behind the mana car.

But that was only Mitchell’s opinion.

For merchants who had to transport a lot of goods, one wagon’s worth really was not much.

Especially when compared to a mana car that was far more expensive than a horse.

“At its current state, it wouldn’t be very useful for merchants.
Mitchell, you said the facilities will take three months to complete?”

“That’s right.
We’ll keep expanding afterward, though.”

“Then we need to finish the blueprints within that time.
Let’s meet that dwarf chief right away.”

“Yes…….
But when we go there, please don’t call him ‘that bastard’ or anything like that…….”

“Enough.
Don’t worry about that.”

Mitchell was relieved that Loren understood him and took the two of them to the tent where Toolgram was staying.

As soon as Loren entered the tent, he immediately shouted.

“You stupid bastard, you got tricked by humans again.”

“Loren?
What brings you here?”

“I’ve been staying as a guest of the Runei family for some time now.”

“I suppose someone as eccentric as you could never survive in elf society.
I always thought you would eventually live among humans.
I just didn’t expect it to be the Runei family.”

Mitchell’s eyes widened at the conversation between Loren and Toolgram.

He had never expected the two to know each other.

As he quietly listened, Loren smiled and looked at Mitchell.

“We met when I traveled to the east a long time ago.
I saved him from humans back then too, and now he’s ended up in this state again.
Tsk, tsk.”

“I lived peacefully after that without leaving the tribe.”

“Right.
That’s why you became the chief.”

“What chief…….
How can I call myself a chief when I couldn’t even protect my tribe?”

Toolgram’s face darkened at Loren’s words.

“As long as you haven’t given up on your people, you’re still their chief.
Don’t worry too much about your people.
Runei will take care of everything.
And when the time comes, I’ll lend a hand too.”

“Thank you…….”

“Then let’s quickly make the blueprints first.
Mitchell, you can leave now.
If you’re the person in charge, you must have a lot to do.
Silvia, this is my old friend…….”

Mitchell was pushed out of the conversation in an instant.

The three had exchanged brief greetings before immediately spreading out the blueprints and beginning their discussion.

‘Thankfully, they’ll get along well.’

Toolgram, Loren, and Silvia.

Seeing the three people of different races discussing things together made Mitchell smile.

While they worked on their tasks, Mitchell paid close attention to information about Braxton.

Among the information he received was news that Braxton had declared war on the Winslow and Ashton families.

The news of such a sudden war made Mitchell question its reliability.

But after hearing reports of battles from all directions for an entire week, he soon realized that a real war had begun.

[Those idiots.
They’re fighting among themselves.
It’s good for us, though.]

“They must have thought Winslow and Ashton were the ones who took the chief away.”

[It probably isn’t only that.
Looking at the information you brought, the two sides were practically already at war, even if they hadn’t used their military forces.]

“That’s true.”

[Braxton already had enough strength not to be pushed back by the two families.
And with the Imperial Family unable to pay attention to the north right now, they probably thought this was the perfect opportunity to make their move.]

“Then this is an opportunity for us too.
An opportunity to save up our strength and grow.”

Mitchell nodded and turned his gaze toward the enormous procession approaching them.

Just as the Golden Pillar Guild Master had promised, exactly one week had passed, and a large number of workers and construction materials had arrived.

[But aren’t there way too many workers?]

“We can’t help it.
We have more money than we know what to do with, but we’re short on time.”

Since they had no time to spare, they decided to bring in more workers and supply construction materials directly to the site.

This was only possible because Mitchell had given permission to ignore the cost.

Thanks to that, everything proceeded smoothly.

But things could not remain smooth forever.

One month later.

Eventually, trouble broke out.

The twin brothers who came to report the problem looked at Grant and spoke.

“The workers are being attacked, and merchants who came here to do business are also being attacked.”

“Hmm…….
It seems those bandits who had been quiet lately smelled money.”

“What do you mean?”

Mitchell asked after hearing Grant’s words.

“There are no cities or large villages around here, so security isn’t very good.
That’s why this area is also crawling with bandits.”

“Really?
Why didn’t I hear about that?”

“They don’t attack the iron mine.
That’s why the family keeps a large number of martial artists stationed here.
It’s basically a show of force telling them not to even think about touching the iron mine.”

Mitchell frowned.

Even after hearing the explanation, there was something he could not understand.

“There are bandits robbing people around here even though Runei’s martial artists are here?”

“Because of the Raphel family, it was all we could do to protect the iron mine.
Things became a little quieter after the Raphel family collapsed recently, but I guess seeing all these people coming and going made them greedy.”

At Grant’s words, Rydrick became serious.

“This time seems different.
Unlike before, some of them are apparently moving in an organized manner.
I think we should strengthen our patrols immediately and protect the people.”

“They’re even organized…….
But, uncles, Mitchell is the person in charge here, not me.
You should ask Mitchell.”

Grant turned his head and winked with one eye.

Meanwhile, the twin brothers were staring only at Mitchell.

Mitchell looked over them and gave his orders.

“We’ll suppress the bandits as soon as possible.
I have something to tell you about it today, so gather the family’s martial artists first.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Wait a moment.
There’s one more thing I want to ask.”

The twin brothers were about to leave after answering loudly when Mitchell stopped them.

They waited to hear what was going on.

Mitchell stared at Rydrick before speaking.

“Do you have any kind of feeling about this?”

“Huh?”

“Do you feel uneasy about it or anything?”

“Ah…….”

[You idiot!
If you had that kind of feeling about everything and were always right, you’d be living comfortably in the Imperial Palace instead of being here!]

In the end, Mitchell only sent the twin brothers away after getting an earful from Kalian.

Only then did Grant speak.

“I didn’t expect you to go as far as suppressing them…….
Wouldn’t it be better to simply strengthen the patrols like the twins suggested?
It’ll be quite a burden to launch a full suppression operation.”

Grant was right.

If they were talking about a suppression operation, it meant moving a large number of people.

And when that happened, there was a high possibility that someone would be injured or killed.

There was also the problem of weakening the defenses of the iron mine.

But under the current circumstances, completely eliminating the bandits was much more beneficial than those concerns.

“I learned something while gathering information about the Braxton family.
Bandits are running rampant throughout the north.”

“……Because of the war.”

“Exactly.
But there are also people here who are moving in an organized manner.
If that means someone is unifying the bandits, they’ll become much harder to deal with as time passes.
Once they are prepared enough, they’ll begin serious raids.
That would be a problem too.”

Grant nodded.

After hearing Mitchell’s reasoning, he could clearly see how things would develop.

This was exactly the period when bandit groups could grow rapidly.

“What should I do?”

“When the suppression operation begins later, you stay here, Grant.
Loren and Silvia are here, but they’re focused on the mana car.
So you need to handle things here.”

“Tch.
I’d feel more reassured if I could go with you…….
But you’re right.
This place is important too, so I can’t help it.”

After finishing his persuasion of Grant, Mitchell walked outside the tent.

Nearly fifty martial artists had gathered there.

Including those who had originally been stationed here and the reinforcements sent by the family, there was now a considerable force of martial artists.

Mitchell looked over them.

There was a strange excitement in the air.

Even the twin brothers were in the same state.

“We’re not setting out to suppress the bandits right now, so don’t be too nervous.”

Yet even after hearing those words, the martial artists’ excitement did not disappear.

Just as Mitchell wondered why everyone was acting this way, Bendrick whispered quietly.

“They’re all curious about you, Lord Mitchell.”

“Huh?
What do you mean?”

“A rumor has spread throughout the family’s martial artists.
They say Lord Mitchell is a genius no less talented than Lord Grant and possesses incredible martial prowess.”

“……Who on earth started such a rumor?”

Mitchell asked in disbelief.

Bendrick proudly puffed out his chest.

“That would be me.”

For a moment, Mitchell nearly punched him with his tightly clenched fist.

But he somehow held himself back.

“Don’t spread embarrassing rumors like that from now on.”

“Hehe, you’re embarrassed.
But even if I hadn’t started it, that rumor would have spread eventually.
You must have put on quite a show during the last attack on the iron mine.
More than a few people saw Lord Mitchell’s performance that day.
You’d better get used to it.”

Mitchell sighed.

Seeing that, Kalian burst into laughter.

[In the end, the awl always comes through the pocket.]

‘Should I wear a mask……?’

Mitchell seriously considered it.

He was not going to live in hiding forever, nor did he intend to keep hiding his strength.

If that was the case, perhaps he should at least wear a mask.

Especially during this suppression operation, where he would officially be acting as a member of the Runei family, a mask might be necessary.

‘I should ask Toolgram later.’

But that could wait.

There was something more important right now.

Mitchell turned his gaze toward the martial artists and spoke.

“Have any of you fought against Raphel before?”

At Mitchell’s words, most of them raised their hands.

Seeing that, Mitchell thought it would be easier to explain.

“The formation technique used by Raphel’s martial artists.
I’m going to teach it to you.”

The martial artists’ faces immediately brightened.

The martial artists of the Runei family had also learned formation techniques, but theirs were ordinary techniques that could easily be purchased on the market.

But Mitchell was going to teach them Raphel’s formation technique.

Naturally, they could not help but be delighted.

However, that happiness lasted only for a moment.

“One week from now.
That is when we’ll go out to hunt those bandits.
So, for the next week, you must master that formation technique as perfectly as possible.”

“O-One week?”

At those thunderstruck words, the martial artists began murmuring among themselves.

A formation technique was not simply about arranging people into a formation.

It included the flow of aura and even breathing and energy circulation methods.

In other words, it was essentially a martial art.

And Raphel’s formation technique had a depth that made it extremely difficult to imitate.

Mitchell looked at the martial artists with a bright smile.

“There’s no need to worry too much.
I’ll make sure you learn it somehow.”

Even though Mitchell was smiling, the sight alone sent chills down their spines.

The martial artists thought that perhaps hell itself was about to unfold.

And their sad premonition was correct.

“AAAAAGH!”

“Are you not going to do it properly?!
Are you saying you’re fine with a sword flying into your comrade’s back?!”

“P-Please go a little easier…….”

“You’ll learn faster if you train as if it were a real battle!”

Mitchell swung his wooden sword wildly at the martial artists whenever they left an opening.

Kalian clicked his tongue as he watched.

[He thinks everyone is just like him.
By the way, this really is hell training…….
It’s a shame I didn’t put Mitchell through this kind of training back then.]

“Are you not going to do it properly?!
First one to finish!
Run all the way to the iron mine and back!”

And so, one week passed in the blink of an eye.

The eyes of the martial artists who had undergone Mitchell’s training were now filled with a fierce determination.

Only then did Mitchell decide that all preparations were complete.

He looked at the martial artists standing silently before him and spoke a single sentence.

“The bandit hunt begins.”