Tranquility and Shadows

In the mountains near the borders of the Remulshil Empire.
They were marching along a narrow trail that branched off from the highway.
They reached a clearing where the trees had been felled by human hands.
It was a plaza overrun with grass, but there once were many buildings built here.
However, in the settlement, neither fields, tools, nor livestock were seen.
Though it was a village, there were no children or elderly people.
There were only traces of people having lived there.
The houses were simple enough to be merely called cabins.
It was the base of a bandit group which was robbing travellers, merchants and surrounding villages.
People who weren’t able to live normally, those became ruined by debt, even soldiers who had deserted from the army, all sorts of people gathered there, committing misdeeds in the village..
They raided the defenseless villages nearby, and robbed the caravans passing through on the highway.
Acquiring provisions like that, while living hedonistically without thinking of tomorrow, it was a collection of those sorts of wild men.
But now, those men of the bandit group had taken up arms, and scattered among the simple huts.
Standing around the huts, the men’s eyes glistened, not missing even the slightest abnormality.
They word uniform armour, gripping the swords hung around their waist.
Somebody who appeared to be the commander, wearing better armour than the rest, was giving out instructions. From his disciplined movements, it was clear that he was a trained soldier.
Five men were within one of the huts, the one that seemed bigger than the rest.
One of the men was tied to a chair, surrounded a middle-aged man and three knights, who appeared to be guarding him.
“Shit… ya bastards. I’ll never forgive ya.”
Though the man was tied up, he glared at the men surrounding him.
He was the leader of the bandit group.
As expected of somebody who had gathered 50 people into the bandit group, even when he was tied up, he wasn’t trembling like a weak-willed person, but rather still intended to fight his way out.^[?1?]
However, the knights did not move an inch.^[?2?]
The middle aged man’s face also didn’t change, simply looking down at the bandit leader.
“Hmmm, for you to not beg for your life even in this situation, you have some courage. However, don’t forget that if we felt like it, we could slaughter you and your cute underlings easily.”
“Damn!”
The leader’s face contorted as he glared at the middle-aged man.
It was true.
If they decided to attack, they could slaughter everybody.
Despite this, these people left those of the bandit group alive.
They must have seen some use in the bandit group.
That’s why, instead of killing them, they were merely incapacitated.
Even they were aware that they weren’t working honestly.
That’s why they were always vigilant.
Nevertheless, they were ambushed, and subdued without a being able to resist.
Even if they had fought back, their opponents were more skillful, so it was better to obediently give in.
With these mental calculations, the leader swallowed his anger, and opened his mouth.

“… Now, what will you do with us?”

“Hou, for a bandit group, your head is screwed on tightly. Getting straight to the point, we want you to become our pawns.”

“…In this situation, I have no choice but to concede. Who should we attack? Do ya wanna kill some nobles or merchants? Or do you want us to kidnap somebody?”

“A wise choice.”

The middle-aged man nodded, and gave the leader several names and places.
The leader heard this, wide-eyed and his mouth opened.

“Hey, are you serious? This is excessive. You, are you planning to start a war?”

“Well, something like that.”

“So, we’re collateral?”

“This way of life as collateral? On that matter, the reward will allow you all to leave your lifestyle.”

“… It’s fine. We’ll do it. It’s fine if we do it our own way, right?”

“Of course. Rather, that will be convenient for us. Moreover, we also have other collaborators, and welcome more people to your business.”

“… I see.”

Those were wise words.

The leader thought about it.

He would be able to gain more subordinates, and expand the bandit group.
And so, the armies raised by the feudal lords in the vicinity, and the soldiers and adventurers hired by the villages came to subjugate them.
If they were in it for quick riches, then they would have changed jobs.
But they would have considerable power, being backed by this middle-aged man.
In these delicate circumstances, it wasn’t a bad gamble.

“First, untie these ropes. You gonna put your words into actions, right?”

The middle-aged man assented, and ordered that the rope behind the leader’s back be untied.

“Huh? Huuh? When did you come back?”

“It has been a long time, Oba-san^[1] I returned just last spring.”

“I see. You were really cute as a kid, I’m really surprised that you grew up to become so beautiful.”

“Ahaha, you’re flattering me.^[2]”

“Speaking of returns, Brave-sama also returned last spring. Brave-sama was also pretty, but I’m sure she’s no match for Leti-chan’s beauty.”

Not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine that Brave-sama and Leti were the same person.

After they finished working at the Wandering Bird’s Mistletoe, Wynn and Leticia walked around the capital.^[?3?]
They were headed to the palace in the middle of the capital.
Cornelia had invited them to tea.
Since the school was still closed, they had nothing else to do in the afternoons, so the two were delighted to accept the invitation.
Locke also planned to join them after he finished all of his apprentice knight work.
As they walked towards the capital, they met the old lady from the apothecary whom they had helped as they acted as adventurers

“I heard that you went somewhere far away, but will you leave again?”

“I won’t I don’t plan to right now. Of course, I can’t say that it won’t happen…”

Leticia peeked at Wynn for a moment, then smiled.

‘Leticia’s in a really good mood today…’

Leticia was having a conversation with the lady from apothecary while laughing.
He was fascinated by her smiling face.^[3]
Locke and Cornelia were actually Leticia’s closest friends, excluding Wynn.
Even when she walked with Wynn and the other two, she had a reason to be in a good mood, but for her, who was often alone as a kid, she wanted to make new friends.
As for Wynn, he enjoyed the rare opportunity to visit somebody he considered a friend.
However, though he thought of her as a friend, she was a princess, and though he looked forward to visiting her, he was anxious about going to the castle.

They didn’t notice, but the people on the street all turned their heads to look at her.

Leticia was extraordinarily beautiful.
Though they were in an inexpensive style, her clothes were clearly made of a luxurious material.
It was natural that she attracted everybody’s attention.
Upon noticing Wynn’s gaze, Leticia bid the auntie farewell, and jogged up to him.

“Sorry, I made you wait, Onii-chan— Huh? What’s wrong?”

“A, ah. No, it’s nothing.”

Feeling that something was amiss, Leticia tilted her head.
Wynn averted his eyes to hide his embarrassment, bowed to the old lady, and started walking.
Leticia walked beside him.

“I got some sweets.”

Leticia chewed on one of the candies in a bag.

“Here, Onii-chan.”

Wynn took a candy from the bag she held out, and put it in his mouth.
He tasted the sweetness of the sugar in his mouth.

“It’s yummy.”

Leticia looked up at Wynn with a smile.^[4]

“Onii-chan?”

“Ah, yes.”

To hide the fact that he was fascinated by her smiling face, Wynn threw another candy into his mouth.

“Speaking of, Leti often brought sweets when we were young, didn’t you?”

Sugary sweets were expensive, so normal people rarely ate them.
When they were young, Leticia sometimes brought sweets with her when she snuck out, eating them together with him.
When he met with Leticia, Wynn, who had never tasted the sweetness of fruits, enjoyed the sweets she brought, but he also enjoyed these sorts of candies.

“Yes, we sure ate a lot after studying.”

They would secretly eat the sweets in Wynn’s hut, or by the riverside while listening to the flowing water, where Mark and Abel from the Wandering Bird’s Mistletoe couldn’t steal them.

“I really enjoyed the sweets that Leti brought back then.”

“It couldn’t be, were you playing with me because of the sweets?”

“Ahaha… No way…”

Wynn averted his eyes.
It was true that he was partly enticed by the sweets.

“Good grief. A cute girl comes to see you everyday, you were so blessed!!”

“No, no, no, I was happy to be together with Leti. But the sweets were hard to resist.”

“Sheesh!”

Leticia, slightly annoyed, lightly pinched Wynn’s arm.

“But I may have enjoyed eating sweets with Onii-chan back then.”

Unlike Wynn, Leticia was never troubled by food.
Though she was neglected by her family and her surroundings, as a noble daughter, she was could get as many sweets as she wanted.
For that matter, she could also get as much money as she wanted.
However, rather than eat sweets alone, or read stories alone, it was much more enjoyable to eat sweets, or read stories with her beloved Onii-chan,

“Even now, I feel more happy eating these sweets than any sort of banquet or feast.”

“Leti…”

Leticia discretely got closer to Wynn.
Her soft hair tickled Wynn’s face, and her fragrance enveloped Wynn.
He gently caressed Leticia’s head.
It was unthinkable that such a slender, soft body had slain the Demon Lord.

“After the journey, it has become calmer.” ^[?4?]

“Is that so…”

It would be great if that moment lasted forever.

Their bodies close together, Leticia smiled softly as she looked up at the slightly red-face Wynn.