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–––Bandit’s viewpoint

We arrived at Versis’ capital without trouble. Not like we were expecting any, we were not enemy countries, and we had not committed any crimes traveling here. Though that could change depending on how Annero was being treated. He had become more than acquaintance, he was one of my best friends now. I was ready to do anything for my friend.

“We made it to the capital without problem… but what should we do now?”
“We’ll just go straight ahead. Anyone in a high position should be aware that we were traveling together with Annero. We’ll just say we came to visit him.”
“Will that work though..?”

My sisters sounded worried, but I just walked on toward the palace. As we got closer, I spotted some guards standing near the garrison. They obviously noticed us as well, and seemed slightly wary. They formed a half circle around us, spears and swords ready, but I did not care.

“Stop. What business do you have here? You don’t seem like merchants…”
“I’m Bandit, Barius’ hero. They are part of my party, and my sisters. We were just passing through Versis, but we decided to come visit our brother in arms Annero. Could you tell him we’re here?”

They seemed a bit surprised hearing all that, and quickly began discussing what to do in a low voice. We had seen countless posters announcing Annero’s arrest on our way here, but I pretended I had not seen any. The guards were discussing for a long time, but they could not come to any conclusion, so eventually one of them ran into the palace. They probably would have shooed me away if I was a regular person, but they had to be more careful when dealing with the hero from another country.

How was Versis going to respond? I waited impatiently for a while, and then the same guard returned, together with two other reptids. One of them looked like a soldier, the other had silver scales which stood out more.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Bandit. I’m this garrison’s-”
“Nice to meet you, Hero Bandit. I’m Sherpa, the new hero.”

The soldier tried to say something, but the silver scaled reptid, Sherpa, interrupted him and introduced himself instead. It was rare for me to dislike someone this much so soon after meeting them for the first time. Just the way he introduced himself made me hate him. I did not let that show on my face though, I knew how to restrain myself. I pushed those uncomfortable feelings away and smiled.

“Nice to meet you Sherpa. I’m Bandit. These are my sisters, Avenis and Epsilon. And excuse me if I misheard, but did you say you’re the hero now? As far as I knew Annero was the hero of Versis.”

Sherpa puffed his chest in an exaggerated manner when I asked that. Maybe he was just doing that trying to appear larger than he was, and that annoyed me even more.

“Annero opposed the king and was imprisoned, stripped of his position as hero. Now I’m the hero here. I’m far stronger than him anyway, so don’t worry.”

I was trying to figure out what had happened with Annero, but he just kept talking about himself. I tried my best to stifle my anger, somehow managing to keep smiling.

“I see, that’s impressive. Please do your best for the people then. So about Annero-”
“He’s set to be executed. Anyone who opposes the king gets the death penalty.”

My reaction was so different from what he had been expecting that Sherpa got tired of changing the topic and said that. I could not ignore what he had just said. Annero was going to be executed? I disliked talking to Sherpa, but I could not just walk away knowing that.

“…That sounds like a rather harsh punishment. I also find it hard to believe Annero would oppose the king, he always seemed like a collected and thoughtful friend?”
“He defied the king, so that’s what he deserves. Versis is busy preparing to join Leble and fight against Bordaule for the safety of the world. A coward like him would only get in the way anyway.”
“Fighting Bordaule? So you’re going to war? Are you insane?”

Are they really trying to fight amongst themselves in these times? Not to mention they want to join Leble. They are the ones who are likely working together with demons..!

At least I could understand why Annero was arrested now. I knew him, so I could easily see him being honest to a fault and insisting the king steps back from the war. If he was just a little smarter he would have retreated, gathered enough supporters, and then tried to convince the king… It seemed like Annero’s honesty had worked against him this time.

“We are about to fight the demons soon, for our survival. This isn’t the time to go warring with-”
“It seems you’re more ignorant than I thought! Bordaule used Brave, who now goes by the name of Lapis, to cause chaos all over the world. Do you really believe we can trust such scheming b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲? They’ll just stab us in the back!”

Sherpa interrupted me again, and shouted angrily… He was really pushing me to my limits. First Annero, now he was badmouthing Lapis. She was the one working the hardest to protect us. But this guy who never did anything is acting like he is more important..!

“That’s not true! Lapis nearly gave up her life to save our country! I won’t allow you to talk that way about her!”
“Yeah! Take your words back!”

Just when I was about to snap, two others reached their limits first. I turned around and saw my sisters, their faces red with anger. Sherpa glanced at them, then shrugged in a mocking way.

“Oh man, there really is no point in arguing with a bunch of ignorant pirates. It’s almost funny how much Lapis deluded them.”
“What did you call us..?”

Our attitude quickly changed, the tension rising. Did he really call us a bunch of pirates? Barius might be a seaside country, our economy largely supported by the sea, but there were no pirates amongst us. Any pirates in our territory would be hanged on the spot, and while sailors and fishermen might be a bit rowdy, they were all good natured. I loved my people, and my sisters did too. We would not tolerate someone who insulted our country like that.

“I can’t pretend to overhear that. Did you really just call us a bunch of pirates? Are you trying to pick a fight that badly?”

We glared at him, full of enmity, but Sherpa just sneered at us. The nearby guards all went stiff, too nervous to say anything. This really was a dire situation. A fight could break out at any moment, but Sherpa looked unbothered, seemingly trying to provoke us further.

“Why did you come here, Bandit? If you want to fight so badly then I’ll gladly oblige, if not, then please go away. I can’t afford to waste time entertaining you. Or are you so intent in setting off a war between Versis and Barius?”
“!”

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I hated to admit it, but he was right. If we lost our temper here, we would not only fail to rescue Annero, but we would cause trouble for Barius too. I somehow stifled the anger swelling inside me, and after a deep breath, I bowed to Sherpa.

“…My apologies. We have no reason to be here if we can’t see Annero, so if you’ll excuse us.”
“Bandit?!”
“It’s okay, we’re going back.”

I ignored my protesting sisters, turned around, and walked away. I felt Sherpa’s uncomfortable gaze focused on my back.