RFC-ARC 2-Summoner's Revenge-Part 4 (Patreon)
Content
The sun is starting to set when we come to a sudden stop. Father moves to brush aside the windowâs shutters but is interrupted by Potter throwing open the door. I frown at the clear tension in his face. Something tells me that our peaceful ride is about to come to an end.
âIf I could have your presence outside, my lord.â
Father sniffs, features creased in annoyance, but leaves the carriage, shutting the door firmly behind him.
âAt attention, Lou.â I look over to see Kierra grabbing her bag. The one with the weapons. Meeting my gaze, she taps my ear and makes a circling motion with her finger. âWeâve got visitors.â
Really? Is the Kingâs Road cursed? Twice in a row, traveling on it has led to unfortunate circumstances. Iâd have thought as the main way of transportation between the major cities, the kingdom would put some effort into ensuring the safety of travelers.
Then again, such a road would also draw the biggest marks for bandits. And with the glaringly bright colors of the Tome family crest painted on the side of our carriage, itâs practically daring someone to attack us.
Sigh. I take it back. I blame my Father for everything.
Quiver slung over her shoulder, Kierra reaches around my waist to tie off a sheath that holds one of her favorite hunting knives and slips a pair of smaller throwing knives into my palms. âIâll be getting into position. You know what to do.â
My stomach does an anxious little flip-flop but I donât hesitate to step out of the carriage. A quick glance up the road reveals a thick trunk of a felled tree has been laid across the road. Ah, how unoriginal. Iâm a bit embarrassed to be waylaid like this. If we had a pair of competent knights, they could have blown something like that out of the way without slowing the horses. I guess itâs a good way to separate the good prey from the powerhouses.
Maybe itâs a better tactic than I think.
Or maybe our knights are especially pitiable. Sigh.
I turn back to see our âvisitorsâ. Living out of the way where we do, Iâm no stranger to bandits. Mainly, theyâre a collection of a few criminals, a handful of dreaming farmer boys, and a majority of pitiful orphans with the odd ex-soldier. They come to our village in hopes our proximity to the capital means our peasants are richer than other peasants. Which makes them idiots, beginners, or idiotic beginners. Rabble passing through the Ironcast brothers can easily drive off.
These bandits donât look like rabble. Theyâre mounted and wear fine leathers. Their leader especially defies the dirty bandit stereotype with his slick black hair, polished shoes, and saints witness, a little cape over his shoulders.
Why? Either heâs a joker or a wannabe knight. I donât know which is sadder. Or funnier. Not that Iâd laugh right now. His people have us surrounded.
Several eyes move to me as I slowly approach, including my exasperated fatherâs. The bandit leader gives me an appraising look. He doesnât look very impressed. Sigh. Bastard. Not that I want the silly man interested in me but itâs a blow to the ego. Bards sing about these types as lecherous fiends whoâd harass even grandmas. Iâd think I should get some reaction.
Oh, wait. One of the guys behind the leader is leering at me. Our eyes meet and he flashes a menacing smile made of crooked, yellow teeth. It suits his bruised, pudgy face and not in a flattering way. Bile tickles my throat but I swallow it down.
Guess I donât want attention after all.
âWell, well,â the leader says as I come to stand just behind Father, ignoring his heavy glare. âYou must be Lady Tome. What a lovely father-daughter pair.â
What kind of bandit says lovely? I hold back the urge to sneer and incline my head. âGood evening to you, sir. Just came to ask why weâve been stopped.â
âAs I was explaining to your father, you can all be on your way after handing over your valuables. We will leave you with enough supplies to reach the capital. A good deal, no?â
Father opens his mouth but I talk over him. âGenerous, but weâll have to decline. Donât feel like losing my stuff to some ragtag thieves. It would be best for everyone if you left us alone.â
Some of the bandits chuckle as a heavy hand lands on my shoulder. I refuse to meet my fatherâs eyes. After all, I know exactly what he wants to say. What are you doing? Just hand over the stupid things and let the city garrison deal with these thugs!
Sigh. Would that I could.
The bandit leader lets out a put-upon sigh. âLook here, princess. This isnât a game. Iâm a bit more lenient than others in my profession but you shouldnât try and take advantage of my virtue. Iâll only make my offer one more time.â
Virtue, huh? Thatâs like a murderer praising his restraint for only murdering people one day out of the week.
Kierra should have had enough time by now.
Flicking a wrist, I throw one of the knives at the leader. After hours of practice, it flies true. Too bad heâs not a wooden target. He jerks his head to the side. Instead of going through his eye, a red line appears on his cheek. He scowls. âYou fucââ
Despite everything, he notices the follow up, practically throwing himself off his horse. The arrow still hits him in the side, evidenced by his scream. His men start to react but before they realize whatâs happening, two more are hit, falling off their horses with heavy thumps. As they search for the threat, I dash off into the forest where more of them are waiting.
Fighting bandits is also nothing new to me, as there are few things scarier than boars near our village. Their current tactic is common. The heavier forces directly waylay the target while their weaker members hang in the wings, ready to ambush stragglers.
As expected, the group I charge toward is comprised of boys barely out of childhood, thin and dirty, armed with weapons better left as scrap. Attention caught by what has to be a massacre behind me, theyâre caught by surprise as I plow into one of the larger boys, knocking him to the ground.
As the air is knocked out of his from the fall, Iâm pulling the big hunting knife from its sheath and drive it into his side. He squeals like a stuck pig. Really. Itâs grating enough that I want to punch him in the throat to shut him up but I relent, getting to my feet. I donât actually want to kill him and there are plenty of others to deal with.
Their friendsâ screams jostle the others out of their stasis and they run at me with more enthusiasm than anything else. Slow. Compared to my maniac of a spouseâs flurry of attacks during our spars, the bandits are ridiculously slow and clumsy.
I take swipes at them with the knife, drawing blood. Honestly, my attacks probably arenât much better than theirs. We havenât quite gotten into proper fighting technique. Not much need with my other abilities, that I unfortunately canât use now. I am, however, an expert of scrambling out of the way of danger.
âAaaaagggghhhh! Devil!â
The scream is filled with so much terror, the boys pause in their assault to find the source. I bite my lip to keep from laughing as I watch my wife causing havoc in the midst of the bandits. She ducks a fireball that looks close enough to singe her skin before grabbing the leg of a braying horse and throwing it at the panicked caster. While the surrounding bandits are reeling at the ridiculous sight, she jumps at another group, tearing through them and leaving screaming, broken men in her wake.
Wow. I know sheâs a nightmare to fight but I canât help but be impressed watching her in action. I clear my throat to grab the attention of the terrified boys. I point at her. âYou should surrender before she makes her way over here.â
They look at each other, then to Kierra as she decapitates a bandit with his own sword, and back to each other. As one they take a step back, lowering their weapons. I nod. No shame in surrendering when someone like that is your opponent. âGreat. Weâll justââ
The young bandits take off, each going in a different direction as they crash through the trees. Sigh. Should have expected that. With a grunt, I grab the boy bleeding out on the ground and make my way towards my elf.
Kierra is finishing up. Most of the enemies are laid out on the ground, groaning from their injuries. The few who can stand are corralled to kneel in the middle of the road, my wife standing over them.
ââmay escape. After all, Iâll only be able to catch one of you. But whoever I do catch, youâll die slowly. Iâll tear little pieces of you away until you are begging for death. Then, Iâll choke you with your own guts. So, come on. Is anyone of you willing to sacrifice yourself for your comrades? There must be one hero amongst such noble thieves.â
I lay down my burden before walking away as she continues to deliver horrifying and mocking threats to the shaking bandits, heading for my father. The Ironcast brothers have him shielded between them, their nice new armor covered in dirt and gore. They nod to me in a rare bout of seriousness.
âPete, Pot, go handle that tree. Lady Atainna seems to have the bandits well under control and we need to clear the road for the soldiers.â As the two knights jog off to do his bidding, Father raises his hands. âAs our contract demands, obey my call.â
I canât help being a little excited as the air stirs and four barely visible rings appear around my father. Each of them are slightly tinted; green, blue, red, and a silvery gray, resenting the four elemental affinities.
This is the culmination of his lifeâs work, the Zero Affinity Theory. It says that when incorporeal elementals are born, they have no affinity at all but are shaped by their home realm. If a caster were to make a contract with those beings at the time of birth, they could technically have an elemental with any affinity despite their own after time for development.
The downside? Incorporeal elementals rarely have intelligence. Contracting one at the birth stage means no intelligence at all. Besides that, the zero doesnât just stand for affinity but also for their mana. When he contracted them, their mana coefficient was 1. Seriously 1. The plus side is that he can contract four, no problem. The downside is that theyâre useless for years until their coefficients develop.
This is the first time Iâve seen them in action.
âRock, fix the road and check for any other traps. Wind, carry a message to the guards in front of the largest wall down the road. Tell them bandits have been caught and we need help transporting them. Aqua, source of water. Flame, go high in the sky and flare to draw attention.â
They move on his orders. Aqua and Wind quickly disappear, one going into the trees while the other disappears down the road. Rock starts hovering over the dirt road, the shape of it becoming more definite and the ground more compact.
Flame hovers by Fatherâs hand. He mumbles under his breath and a small fire appears in his palm. The elemental moves into it, sucking the flames into itself. Then it moves into the air and begins to pulse with a bright red light that I know can be seen for miles.
Itâs amazing to watch. I remember seeing them when I was younger, when just appearing exhausted them. I can only imagine what theyâll be able to accomplish in another ten, twenty years. Hmph. Father may be annoying but thereâs no denying heâs a genius for his work.
Yet, even something like this is drowned out by the Grimoire family simply because they were born with greater affinities.
I really hate them.
âThe two of you did good work today,â Father calls out to the brothers. âIâll be sure to add a bonus to your pay this month.â
Kierra comes jogging toward us. âThe bandits are all down. If you want them to live, Iâll need your knights to help me clean them up and bind them. Otherwise, Iâll have them dig a big enough ditch to toss them in.â
Fatherâs eyes widen when he takes in all the blood covering her. Hehe. Theyâve never seen her outside a civilized conversation. Poor men have no idea what sheâs capable of. âAh, the city will reward us for the live capture of criminals, so weâre saving them. You two, go help her. If you can keep them corralled for a bit, my summons will be along.â
âNot a worry, Honored Father.â She heads back to the captives with a smirk, all of which obediently stayed where she left them.
âYour wifeâŠis quite capable.â
âUh huh. I told you, she took care of me in the Enchanted Forest. Compared to that, a few bandits are nothing.â
âI see.â From the gleam in his eye, this is going to be something thatâs spread around at the parties in Summer Spire but whatever. He doesnât need my confirmation to see how strong she is and this is only just the surface. âWell, Aqua is bringing back water for the captives. I suppose we should set up camp.â
He says that but makes no move, giving me a look. Sigh. âIâll handle it.â
âAs expected of my daughter.â
As expected of my father, pushing the heavy work onto someone else. Bet he takes the coach too. What you donât know is that I like sleeping under the stars. You can take the cushioned bench, Iâve got a beautiful woman to cuddle me. Hehe.