“Young Master. We’re being followed.”
At Tyr’s words, I cautiously poked my head out through the carriage window.
More than a dozen mounted men were pursuing us, kicking up clouds of dust behind them. Judging by their speed, they would catch up with us in about ten minutes.
They had perfectly timed their pursuit for the moment we left the main road connecting the cities and entered a narrow dirt road.
These were not some ragtag group of common bandits.
“What should we do?”
What should we do?
Was there even anything to think about?
They were picking a fight with us.
We should fight back.
“We’ll engage them. Tell the coachman to take the carriage toward a wide-open grassland.”
“What?! But Young Master, there are only two of us who can fight. And we’re both beginners. Shouldn’t we lure them somewhere narrow instead?”
From a tactical perspective, Tyr was absolutely right.
But that was how a warrior thought.
For a mage like me, if I wanted to use wide-area magic, it was much easier to gather everyone somewhere open where I could see them all at once and blast them apart.
“Trust me. Lure them into an open area.”
As expected of Tyr, whose loyalty had completely taken over his brain, he did not ask twice.
While he relayed my instructions to the coachman, I sat cross-legged and began reciting a variety of spells.
Memorize.
It was a technique that allowed a mage to omit the normal casting process, such as incantations or hand seals.
Only extremely high-level mages could use it.
Normally, it required one to hammer enormously long incantations into one’s mind and retrieve them perfectly whenever necessary.
If someone attempted to use it without memorizing the spell completely, they could quite literally burn out their brain.
Naturally, my exceptional mind had never suffered such an unfortunate accident.
After storing several useful spells through Memorize in an instant, I idly touched the sword hanging at my waist.
The carriage gradually began to slow.
Looking through the window, I saw that we had entered a vast grassland.
It looked like the sort of place where several people could die and have their bodies scattered around without anyone particularly caring.
And right on cue, the fellows who were about to become those corpses seemed to have arrived.
The snorting of horses rang loudly outside.
“Greetings!”
What polite bandits.
Tyr and I carefully opened the carriage door and stepped onto the ground.
At some point, mounted bandits had surrounded the carriage from every direction, brandishing all manner of weapons as though showing them off while glaring at us.
Among them, a hulking bald man with an enormous battle axe strapped across his back was greeting us.
Judging by the atmosphere, he appeared to be their leader.
“Yes, hello.”
“Hahaha. This region is under the protection of our Steel Axe Band. But I suppose, being young outsiders, you were unaware of the rules here and made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“That’s right. Since this area enjoys the protection of the Steel Axe Band, you naturally have to pay us for our efforts.”
“Me?”
“Do you see any other outsiders here besides you?”
“Why?”
“…Hah.”
It was a method I had used countless times in my previous life.
A way of infuriating the other person through conversation.
What?
Me?
Why?
Repeat those three long enough, and you could make even a priest of Dmone, the goddess beloved by all, lose their temper.
Sure enough, a vein visibly bulged on the bald man’s gleaming scalp.
He was definitely angry.
Bald men were convenient like this.
Their physiological reactions were so easy to see.
“Listen. We don’t want to lay hands on little brats either. So why don’t you hand over a reasonable amount and be on your way? Judging by your clothes, you’re nobles and probably academy freshmen. Wouldn’t it be unfair to die before you even had a chance to pursue your grand dreams?”
“Unfair?”
“Yes.”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“…You little bastard.”
The thoroughly enraged bald man pulled the massive axe from his back.
The blade gleamed brightly, making it obvious how meticulously he maintained it.
Most of the other bandits were also holding axes of various sizes.
The Steel Axe Band, was it?
At least they were working hard to live up to their name.
Still, why did such an utterly unoriginal bandit-group name sound so familiar?
“This isn’t going to work. If you don’t want to hand it over willingly, we’ll just kill you and take it. Attack!”
At the bald man’s signal, flaming projectiles flew in from both sides.
They were not ordinary flaming arrows.
They were the spell Fire Bolt, imbued with explosive force.
“Barrier!”
* BOOM!
I activated a simple defensive barrier and blocked them.
The magical projectiles exploded with a thunderous roar.
Yet the bandits charged in without the slightest hesitation.
Close combat immediately after a magical assault.
This was surprisingly organized banditry.
They had been trained.
Slightly impressed, I raised an arm and swept it through the air around Tyr and myself.
At the same moment, several enhancement spells erupted one after another.
“Stone Skin! Haste! Heroism!”
They were not particularly high-ranking spells, but all of them enhanced combat ability.
And considering that the one casting them was an Archmage, they were almost too extravagant for a group of amateur bandits to experience.
“Wow! Young Master! What is this? I’m overflowing with strength!”
“So am I! Hahaha!”
Stone Skin hardened our bodies like rock, allowing us to withstand most physical blows.
Haste allowed us to move nearly twice as fast as usual.
And Heroism was a mental spell that ignited the courage and confidence most necessary in close combat.
In my previous life, I had rarely fought at close range, so I had never bothered casting such enhancement spells on myself.
I had not realized they felt this good.
“Hah! The noble brats are certainly enjoying themselves.”
“We’ll teach you how the real world works!”
Apparently, our cheerful laughter was not nearly as pleasant to the bandits as it was to us.
Seeing them charge from every direction while swinging gleaming weapons almost made my knees weaken.
But thanks to the enhancement spells, excitement surged through me instead.
Still, recklessly charging in because I was excited was an excellent way to die.
I shoved Tyr forward by the back and shouted.
“Tyr. Go stop them!”
“Y-Yes?! By myself?!”
“I cast enhancement spells on you, so you can do it! I’ll take care of those mages in the back!”
At my current level, even those small fry would be difficult for me to fight directly.
But even with my limited martial ability, I could easily beat up the mages standing in the rear.
As for Tyr—
Well, Tyr was strong.
“Die, brat!”
The ugly, filthy bandit at the front charged Tyr and brought his axe down.
But Tyr, enhanced by Haste, evaded the axe with wind-like speed and smashed the hilt of his sword into the man’s neck.
“Ghk!”
Bandit Number One collapsed with a bizarre sound.
Bandit Number Two, who charged in immediately afterward while aiming for Tyr’s legs, met a similar fate.
There was nothing more I needed to see.
Convinced that Tyr could subdue them by himself, I turned around and headed toward the rear.
There, roughly five scrawny men were busily muttering something under their breaths.
“Power that ignites, source of all force, come unto me….”
“Burn, O will of destruction….”
As expected of low-level mages, even casting something like Fire Bolt required them to spend ages reciting an incantation.
Anyone overhearing them would think they were preparing Hellfire.
“Hey, gentlemen. It’s over. You can stop now.”
The mages stopped mid-incantation and jumped in surprise at my voice.
But once they realized I was alone, their expressions instantly changed from shock to rage.
“You damned little brat!”
“You made me forget my incantation!”
“I’ll kill you!”
It was admittedly infuriating when you forgot an incantation halfway through casting.
I understood how they felt.
The thoroughly enraged men drew vicious-looking daggers and began rushing toward me.
Of course.
A mage’s close-combat weapon amounted to little more than something like that.
I had carried one in my previous life too.
Although I had mostly used mine to slice fruit.
“Hyaaah!”
Mage Number One charged at me with a furious roar.
His stance was terrible and full of openings.
I might not look like much, but I had spent two whole months learning swordsmanship.
* CLANG!
I casually raised my sword and parried.
The dagger flew from its owner’s hand and landed far away.
Haste was remarkably effective.
It was not quite on the level of Physical Enhancement, but I could move far faster than usual.
Growing confident, I pointed behind Mage Number One, who was trembling while clutching his torn hand, and shouted.
“Next!”
A few minutes later, the situation had been completely resolved.
The members of the Steel Axe Band knelt around our carriage with their heads lowered.
After experiencing the overwhelming difference in strength, none of them seemed interested in fighting us anymore.
They had put down their weapons and surrendered.
I slowly approached them.
“Hey, Baldy.”
“Eek…!”
Unlike his earlier swagger, the bald man now had his head covered in something wet that might have been sweat or tears.
Startled, he slammed his face against the ground.
Complete submission.
“Are you their boss?”
“N-No, sir! We’re just some fellows who came out here hoping to fill our quota!”
“You said you belong to the Steel Axe Band, right? Then what’s your position?”
“I-I’m a Field Captain.”
“Hmm….”
The bald Field Captain kept his forehead pressed against the ground.
I placed one foot on his bald head and slowly ground it down while thinking.
Why did that childish name, ‘Steel Axe Band,’ sound so familiar?
“Then what’s the name of your boss?”
“Y-Yes, sir. Everyone living around here trembles at the mere mention of his name. His name is Britz.”
“Britz…. Britz… Brit…z.”
Wait.
That name—
“Britz Alexion?!”
“Huh? You know the Big Boss’s full name?”
Britz Alexion, the Steel Axe!
I remembered!
Right now, he was merely the leader of a bandit group leeching off some obscure territory.
But in a little over a decade, he would become the chieftain of a bandit organization powerful enough to shake the Empire.
Then I would teach him a proper lesson and have him executed by beheading.
Hearing the name again after so long was almost nostalgic.
“Young Master. Is that a name you know?”
Tyr, who was still standing on guard with his sword drawn, looked surprised by my reaction.
I know him.
Quite well, actually.
I just cannot explain how.
“Well, in a manner of speaking….”
I gave a vague answer.
Then suddenly, an old memory struck my mind and surfaced with vivid clarity.
* THUD!
A massive steel axe crashed to the ground with a deafening roar.
Along with it fell Britz Alexion’s dream of conquering every territory in the southeastern Empire.
“Guh…!”
His axe had crushed and cleaved countless enemies in half, but the Wind Mage had subdued him with astonishing ease.
Both of Britz’s legs were frozen solid against the ground, while his upper body was scorched and covered in hideous burns.
“They call you the Five-Colored Mage. I see the rumors weren’t exaggerated.”
Britz growled while barely managing to cover the enormous wound in his side with one hand.
But the black-haired young man standing before him showed little reaction.
“They call you Britz the Steel Axe. The rumors about you weren’t exaggerated either.”
An enormous number of corpses already littered the ground around them.
The mountain stronghold of the Steel Axe Band, formidable enough to be called a small fortress, had been destroyed by a single mage.
Its elite troops had vanished without even managing a proper resistance.
Britz Alexion had lost everything he had built to the enemy before him.
A complete defeat.
“What a shame. You seem fairly talented. You managed to build enough power with a bunch of thugs to warrant calling me here. Unlike ordinary trash bandits, your men underwent systematic training. More than anything, though, your innate strength is impressive.”
“What?”
Britz’s eyes trembled at the unexpected compliment.
The man had completely destroyed him, and now he was offering this absurd praise?
“You were stronger than I expected. It isn’t as though you possess extraordinary natural technique, either. You just feel… strong as a human being. If we’re talking purely about physical ability, you might even surpass some warriors I know. What did you eat to become that strong?”
Hah.
So that was what this was about.
He was impressed by Britz’s physique.
What a carefree bastard.
Britz silently stared at Ruben.
As expected of someone born to nobility, he was remarkably handsome, but he looked frail.
Whatever his magical talent might have been, his physical ability looked pathetic at a glance.
He was thin as a reed, with chronic dark circles beneath his eyes.
Rather than an Archmage, he looked more like a handsome Lich.
“Hah, is it a complex of yours? Fine. I’m about to die anyway, so what point is there in keeping it secret? I was born near the border with the northern barbarians. It’s a harsh land filled with hunger and brutal people. There is a treasure there, passed down through legend….”
“Get to the point. Just the point.”
Damn bastard.
Swallowing a curse inwardly, Britz did as Ruben asked and went straight to the point.
“There’s a mystical flower said to strengthen the human body beyond its natural limits. Only one blooms each year across the entire northern tundra. They say that if you gather ten of those flowers and eat them, you can obtain a body as strong as steel.”
“Oh, really?”
Ruben’s eyes immediately lit up at the story.
The desire reflected in them was painfully obvious.
Seeing that, Britz began chuckling unpleasantly.
“Kekeke. But collecting ten flowers isn’t even the real problem. How you eat them is what truly matters. You have to chew them together with ice made from pure water. If I had learned that just a little sooner, the entire southeastern Empire would already have been mine!”
Britz’s voice overflowed with bitter resentment.
Yet despite his furious shout, Ruben merely tilted his head and asked with innocent curiosity.
“Huh? What? Then it hasn’t actually been that long since you absorbed the flowers?”
“I already had the flowers when I left my homeland. I stole them before I fled. But I only managed to absorb them properly…. twenty years ago. If I had made that power mine ten years earlier….”
Right.
I definitely remembered that conversation.
Judging from what Britz had told me, he should still possess those flowers even now.
And if I could absorb those flowers now, I could move several steps closer to my goal.
“Good, Baldy. Take me to your boss.”