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If we continue like this, it’s dangerous, so let’s stop the carriage.

“Guel-san! Please stop the horse!!”

‘Why? Did something happen?’

‘I don’t know if they’re monsters, but there are enemies ahead!”

“Stop the carriage and be on guard!!”

Upon hearing that, Guel-san looked at me, then widened his eyes. After giving instructions to his subordinates around him, he stopped and everyone took out their weapons. However, there was one person who reacted differently.

“Don’t lie! Captain, we don’t need to stop; let’s keep going!!”

Huh!? Wasn’t that Aid-san? What are you saying?

“Aid, what are you talking about? She doesn’t seem to be lying!”

“I agree with Amy. Besides, I was hesitating on whether to stop or not, but I could faintly smell human scent from the direction she’s talking about. So, I decided to stop. It’s better to proceed safely.”

After hearing that, Aid-san furrowed his brow, gave me a strange look, and then turned to Guel-san.

“It might just be adventurers hunting monsters.”

“Hmm… it’s possible, but adventurers can be troublesome.”

Feeling like it might become a long discussion, I decided to get off the horse and took out binoculars. I turned towards the direction indicated by the radar, looked through the binoculars, and confirmed the precise position and number of enemies.

‘Hmm? … It’s strange. There are five people over there, but they’re all hiding behind trees and in the grass, looking at us as if they’re targeting us…’

Turning my face to the side and moving my lips meant we were having a discussion. Are these five people allies? Wait, one of them turned around. Could there be allies behind them?

While confirming the situation of the enemies about 200 meters away, someone approached behind me.

“Elrina-san, is that true?”

Oh, the one who came to me was the unfortunately handsome Keith-san.

“Yes, I think the people we see now are probably scouts. Keith-san, wasn’t there a gentle right curve ahead?”

I had already confirmed the route on the map, so I knew which way to go.

“Oh, right. What about it?”

I continued to explain to Guel-san and the others.

“There’s a forest on the left side along the road, and on the right side, there’s an open grassland with no hiding places. It looks like an ideal ambush point. Probably, the enemy is planning to block our path in the middle of the curve, engage in a battle with the force that blocks the road, and attack the carriage from the side while we’re distracted.’

The most efficient method is what I just described. Well, if the opponents are ignorant, they might just rush at us from the side. With their numbers, we would definitely win!!

‘…………’

Huh? Everyone is silent. Moreover, the Duke Valdeck, who was on the carriage, got off without us noticing. Wouldn’t it be safer to go back to the carriage?

“Um, are you all okay?”

“What!?”

Guel-san noticed and started giving orders to his subordinates.

“Keith, use your magic eye to check if those we see are enemies. Lizlina, summon your beast and scout. If what she says is true, there may be other enemies.”

“Yes, sir!”

Keith-san and Lizlina-san started moving as Guel-san instructed.

— Guel’s Perspective —

“Hey, Guel… Can I ask you something?”

Amy asked Guel with a puzzled expression.

“What’s up, Amy? I’m the captain now.”

“Sorry, Captain… What do you think of that girl?”

“What do I think…”

The two looked at Elrina, who was doing something in the grass on the right side of the road.

“I honestly don’t know what to say. Who is she?”

“An assassin from another continent?”

“She wouldn’t approach us if that were the case, right? Besides, there’s rarely an assassin who wouldn’t try to kill us with such a big shot nearby.”

Amy closed her eyes and seemed to be thinking for a while, but she still had a face that couldn’t be convinced.

“That’s true. She was also concerned about it, but something is off with Aid today.”

“Yeah, I felt that too. I’m planning to talk to Aid later.”

“I’d like to ask too.”

While the two were talking, Keith and Lizlina returned after finishing their reconnaissance.

“Captain! My summoned beast, Ritt, has returned!”

“I’m done too. I found out something amazing.”

“Good. Call Elrina, and when she comes, we’ll start the strategy meeting.”

“Got it. Elrina-chan, come over here! We’re going to have a strategy meeting!!”

Amy shouted loudly in the direction Elrina was, but wouldn’t that be too loud for the enemies over there to hear?

“Yes! I got it!!”

After responding, Elrina, who had been doing something in the grass, ran back to the group. You guys are too loud! The enemies might hear you!!

— Elrina’s Perspective —

“First, let me start. Those people who were watching us from behind the trees are most likely adventurers based on their equipment. When I used my appraisal skill, all five of them had a criminal history.”

It’s convenient to have an appraisal skill that can see that much.

“On my side, including the five Keith-san saw, there are thirty people. Ten of them are lying down on the spot or hiding in the shadows with weapons ready. Also, for some reason, they don’t seem to have horses.”

After hearing the report, Guel thought for a moment and then said to lizlina.

“They probably didn’t have horses because they couldn’t borrow them from the stable. It’s common for adventurers, unlike the escort class. So, do you know their positions?”

“Yes, the enemies are hiding. Five are behind the five who just appeared at the beginning of the curve, ten are hiding in the middle of the curve, and another ten are waiting on the side of the road ahead of the middle. If we continue like this, we’ll fall into the tactics Elrina mentioned.”

“Captain, let’s go from the right side of the grassland. That way, we can avoid engaging with those guys.”

“The grassland won’t work. I checked when I went into the grassland earlier. The ground was soft in many places. If the carriage enters the grassland like this, it might get stuck and unable to move.”

Aid suggested a plan, but I opposed it with a reason. Yeah, I went into the grassland earlier to check if that plan was feasible.

At that moment, Aid stared at me again.

Why does this person keep staring at me? Does he want to say, ‘Don’t interfere, little girl!!’?

“Let’s go back to the royal capital. It’s tough to deal with thirty people.”

Upon hearing Amy’s words, Guel said, ‘However…’ and crossed his arms, deep in thought.

Huh? … What? The radar is moving. What the hell!?

“Enemies are running towards us!!”

“What!?”

“Captain, it’s true !The Adventurers are running towards us with weapons!!”

Keith reported in a panic, pointing to the forest side.

“Everyone, take combat positions! Let’s confront the adventurers!!”

All the escort members took out their weapons to confront the approaching adventurers. I also had to cooperate, or else…

“Elrina-san, step back, it’s dangerous!”

Although Amy said so, I had no intention of stepping back.

“Please step back, it’s dangerous.”

“The one in danger is you! You only have a knife, right?”

… It’s probably better to show them than explain.

I changed the selector of ACE32 from safety to semi, took a kneeling position, aimed at one of the enemies about 170 meters away, and fired three shots. The bullets hit the man exactly—two in the chest and one in the head. After that, the man’s body lost strength, his balance collapsed as if stumbling, and he rolled, not moving.

Among the enemies watching, one person stopped and shouted loud enough to be heard here. The others stopped, turned around, looked at their fallen comrade, and started to panic.

My first kill… But if I worry about that now, I’ll be killed. So, without hesitation, I shot at the enemies.

“They’re completely open.”

I aimed at one of the standing enemies and fired three shots, a so-called triple tap. Then the bullets hit the man. As planned, two shots in the chest and one in the head. Immediately after, the running man’s body lost strength, his balance collapsed, and he stumbled as if tripping, not moving.

“Second one!”

A shield-bearing enemy realized that the attack was coming from here, hid behind the shield, and ran towards us. I aimed at the likely location of the man’s body and fired five consecutive shots. The bullets penetrated the shield, hit the enemy hiding behind it, and were crushed against the shield.

“Enemies are starting to notice what just happened.”

“What’s going on? Enemies are suddenly falling and dying.”

“Could it be that you just killed them?”

“Are you the one who did it?”

I don’t have time to explain the situation to Guel and the others. The enemies are regrouping and running towards us again, so those with bows are stopping and shooting arrows. However, the bow’s range doesn’t reach us, and the arrows get stuck in the ground before hitting us.

To be prepared in case an arrow comes, I changed my kneeling position to standing, switched the selector from semi to full-auto, aimed at one of the enemies, and fired in bursts. The bullets hit the enemy’s abdomen and shoulder, causing him to stop moving. Then, I fired another burst to finish off the enemy.

“Fourth one!”

But with this method, I won’t be able to finish them off before they reach us. Nothing to be done!

After defeating the fourth person, I changed my goal from killing enemies to stopping their movements.

I changed my aiming method, tracing the enemies from right to left as if drawing a point, aimed when the reticle aligned, and fired in full-auto. If I ran out of bullets, I reloaded, and from where I left off, I aimed and shot again.

About 25 meters away, most of the enemies were either injured, stopped moving, or fallen and unable to move, stopping them from coming towards us.

Whether they felt at a disadvantage or were scared, the enemies started shouting and began to run away. One person’s knee was shot, preventing them from escaping.

‘Well, let’s pick up that person and hear what they have to say. They might have a different story or say it’s not worth it, so they were hired by someone.’

“… Ah, right. Your iron rod is a weapon, isn’t it?”

Guel asked me, so I answered briefly.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a weapon only I can use.”

Everyone else was looking at the scene in front of them in astonishment.

“No way… Is it true that one person faced thirty adventurers alone? Who are you?”

I smiled at Amy, who asked the question.

“Um, I’m probably just a normal person… maybe?”

“Why are you asking me about it?!”

Well, because I’m not sure if I’m even human, considering that my body was made by a god… right?

After that, Amy’s loud voice echoed across the grassland.