Because There Were 100 Goddesses in Charge of Reincarnation, I Received 100 Cheat Skills - Chapter 86

Chapter 86 - Bandits

Ouka took us sightseeing around Hanato the day after the feast.

“That’s a beautiful flower.” said an impressed sounding Thira. Ouka nodded proudly.

“Hmmm. That’s a cherry tree, native to this island. In the spring, they have beautiful peach-colored flowers like this.”

Apparently, there are cherry blossoms in this world too.

“So pretty! Amazing!”

“Can I eat it?”

These trees were in a large garden.

There were dozens of cherry blossoms planted there, and it seemed to be in full bloom right now, so the whole area was covered in a peach-like color.

“My name, Ouka,  comes from the name of this flower. It’s a special flower for me too… I’m glad you guys got it when it’s most beautiful.”

“Okay, let’s go and see them then. Do you mind getting me a drink while you’re at it?”

”… Didn’t you just drink a bunch last night?

Thira looks at me in disbelief at my rebuttal.

“By the way, I don’t remember what happened after that…”

“… Oh, I don’t think you need to remember then.”

It looks like she doesn’t remember molesting people last night. 

“I just drank too much!”

“It’s not your fault you had the wrong drink Ellen.”

Although it’s not a mistake she would normally make, it can’t be helped because at times Ellen is a fool. Meanwhile we were having such an exchange, a messenger arrived.

“…Ouka-sama, I have some news.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I heard they showed up again last night.”

“What, again?”

Ouka frowned acerbically after receiving the report from the samurai.

“What’s going on?”

“I’d rather not say. It’s a disgrace to our tribe. I regret to say that I can’t say much to my guests.”

“…….I see. So it’s the bandits causing issues again.”

“How did you know that!? Wait, it’s you. I shouldn’t be surprised by every single thing, should I?”

Ouka then told me the whole story with a sigh.

“Shion?”

“That’s right. It’s the name of a professional bandit who’s been forcing his minions to be rather active as of late.”

Sounds like a rather feminine name.

“What’s he like?”

“Unfortunately, he’s been lurking in the mountains near the capital for such a long time that I’ve never seen him before. His minions have been hard to catch too. They tend to run back to the mountains before the soldiers can rush in.”

“Why can’t we just go hunting in the mountains?”

“They might give you a hard time if you do that. They actually use the dungeon in the mountains as their base. The ground advantage there is completely on their side, and if you might be screwed if you try to escape.”

Ouka herself once led a team to enter the dungeon.

However, the interior was so wide and complicated that they had to give up the search halfway through.

“But we can’t leave them alone any longer. I’ll get him this time…”

The capital of the Demons was located in a basin surrounded by a mountain range.

Located in the northeast of the city was an area called Pluto Mountain, where the bandit gang was said to be using the dungeon as their base.

“Are you sure it’s alright? Honestly, nothing’s more reassuring than you lending a helping hand.”

“Oh. It’s not a huge deal. Besides, it’s my way of saying thank you for playing[1] with me in the bath.”

“Don’t say ‘play’! That makes it sound like I did something disgusting!”

“Preeee[2]? What’s a preru[2]?”

”… Something that’s still too early for Filia-chan to learn about.”

We had come to Mount Pluto accompanied by Ouka, who was determined to capture the bandits this time.

The entrance to the dungeon came into view – a huge hole in the mountainside.

“That’s the dungeon. It’s a frighteningly vast and complex labyrinth. Some say it’s even connected to hell.”

There were some bandits guarding the entrance who were paying attention to us for quite some time. Bandits are generally a bunch of mavericks, but these look like loyal warriors.

“In the meantime, let’s take down those guys.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Thira fired a thunderbolt directly at the bandits, knocking them unconscious in a matter of seconds.

We stepped into the dungeon.

The atmosphere inside was similar to a generic cave type dungeon.

However, it was as outrageously large as Ouka said.

Even though I maxed out the range of the Detection, I still couldn’t get a full picture. That means it’s at least three-kilometres in radius.

“It looks like the bandits aren’t located that deep in the mountain.”

I’d already located them.

They seem to have multiple bases in a relatively small area. The path to those bases seems quite complicated though, so they might be difficult to reach it if we proceed forward brashly.

But if you go deeper in this dungeon, you’ll probably encounter a lot of dangerous demons.

《This is one of the most dangerous dungeons in the world. The monsters don’t seem to enjoy the fresh air, so they usually only live in the depths of the dungeon. It’s because of that that we’ve been able to avoid any actions that would cause them to come above ground,》

said Nabiko.

Yes. That’s probably why the bandits are able to live in the shallow area, huh?

When we reached an intersection, Ouka pointed towards the right-most path and opened her mouth. “Turn right at the fork in the road.”

“… I wonder how you knew where to go…”

We proceeded through the dark cave after being surprised by Ouka’s surprisingly solid sense of direction.

“There are bandits hiding in the side roads. Be careful.”

“I’ll take care of them.”

A few bandits attacked us along the way, but Ouka took them down almost single-handedly.

A hero of the Demon Tribe would be incomparable in strength to the average bandit.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why do they call you a hero?”

“That’s probably because we took down a sea demon that was severely affecting the island’s fishing industry. I did that a few times afterwards, and I was being called a hero before I knew it.”

It was said that her sex and achievements were major factors in her promotion to the guard of the Demon Princess at the court.

“Since then, we suffered a painful defeat from the Rain Empire and were made into a vassal state. If it weren’t for your help, I’d still have to do what that tyrant told me to do,” said Ouka self-deprecatingly. “This incident has made me realize once again how unworthy I am. On top of the fact that I can’t even defeat the bandits in my own country without your help,  I’m not the hero I used to be either. I feel bad for all the people who are counting on me.”

Oh, she’s serious. She’s so serious about this even though she’s only twenty! That’s younger than me! What a responsible child. 

Personally, I’m the type that loses motivation when there are great expectations placed on me.

“If you get too stressed out, your shoulders will get stiff. Although your boobs would contribute to that even if you weren’t stressed.”

“Hey! Don’t stare at my chest!”

We eventually arrived at an area where a number of small tents were set up in a small space while casually chatting.

It seems like they knew that we were coming, because we were greeted by a group of armed bandits. There weren’t many bandits that came to obstruct us earlier, but that was probably because they had all gathered in this place. They might have planned for us to get this far.

A man was sitting alone on an altar, scratching his head in the deepest part of the room. 

“You were rather determined to come this far without hesitation, eh? I guess that’s what being a Hero-sama is all about.”

He was a beautiful looking young man with long dark hair.

There was a slight flush on his cheeks, probably from drinking alcohol.

Ouka opened her mouth to ask:  

“You’re Shion?”

“That’s right. My name is Shion. The boss of this gang.”

This guy’s the boss of the gang? He doesn’t look the part at all.

[1]: play – Said in english

[2]: preeee, preru – She’s just trying to say ‘play’ in English.