## Chapter 348 – Kim Kat and the 40 Bandits
Elise, who had suddenly appeared, proposed that we go on a killing spree together.
Saying it like that makes us sound like some kind of bizarre people, but I figured it’s okay since we’re doing the right thing.
Catching bandits is a pretty lucrative business, too.
Since the damage to small merchants and travelers is severe, they must have looted a lot of goods and piled them up in their hideout. And since they’re committing robbery, they’ll be armed as well.
I remember the ambush when I first came to Isvant. Their combat power and armament level will probably be about the same.
Bandits are generally not good fighters.
Life in the mountains is quite uncomfortable. They have to fight monsters and attack people. All income and livelihood are left to chance, and fatigue accumulates every day.
They don’t even eat properly. They need to eat something to gain strength, but their nutritional status is so bad that they live with chronic illnesses. Unless they loot groceries or something.
That’s why only pathetic lives who can’t survive without doing such things become bandits. In a world where you don’t have to live uncomfortably if you have skills. Even a rank E adventurer can live reasonably well in the city, though it’s tough.
To make matters worse, they’re a bunch of criminals who are terribly uncoordinated, so despite being a group, they show a very weak side in group battles.
They only attack a small number of weak people like small merchants or travelers who they can overwhelm with numbers.
They’re good at ganging up, but their combat power drops sharply from the moment things become equal.
Explaining it like this, they really are morons.
There’s no other way to explain these guys except to say they’re real morons. If they’re not morons, then they’re just psychopath rebels who are inherently unable to live without committing robbery.
Of course, as Elise said, they could just be deserters from a cult.
As always, they’re guys who can’t be my opponents, even if they can be for most people.
“After gathering information from the Adventurer’s Guild, I learned that small merchants who have been victimized and survived are hiring adventurers to take revenge on the bandits. They will probably lead the adventurers themselves to subjugate the bandits. I believe it would be good to take advantage of that.”
Elise added that explanation.
“That sounds good. When are they leaving?”
“It seems they plan to recruit people until tomorrow and depart the morning after tomorrow. I hear that about ten people have already been hired.”
That’s quite a large group.
“Over ten people, huh… What’s the size of the bandits?”
“I don’t know the details, but the surviving merchant said that a group of less than twenty attacked.”
The numbers seem almost equal, so there’s no problem.
“Is that so? With that number, we can execute justice sufficiently. If we hire a few more people by tomorrow, we’ll have enough numbers on our side too. Heh heh, let’s deliver a stern judgment to those vermin, Elise.”
“I am most encouraged that you are already so motivated.”
If the work starts the day after tomorrow, it’s not bad.
Since I still have a day left even after buying new equipment today, I have plenty of time to prepare. This bandit subjugation will probably take a few days as we have to keep climbing the mountain and tracking them.
It’s perfect to prepare today and tomorrow, check my skills a bit, and then depart.
“If you’re done eating, let’s go.”
“Understood.”
I finished my meal with Elise and went outside.
“Then, Saint. Are you going to meet the merchant now…”
“No, wait a minute. There’s somewhere I need to stop by first.”
“Is there somewhere you need to go?”
“I need to buy some new equipment. Look, I don’t have any armor.”
“Come to think of it, you don’t have a breastplate. What happened?”
“While fighting against evil villains, my armor was completely smashed.”
Hearing that, Elise exclaimed in shock.
“That can’t be! What kind of heinous people were they!!!”
“Heh heh, they were evil robbers. Well, it’s okay since I’ve already killed them all and judged them. Don’t get excited.”
For now, I’ve decided to turn a blind eye to the problem with Lisette, so the responsibility naturally shifts to the robbers in the slums.
“But I almost died. I was surrounded too. But I survived in the end.”
In the end, it’s as if the robbers smashed my armor. Next time I go with Lisette, I won’t be able to forgive them unless I kill them all and steal their money.
Rage is rising.
In a broad sense, these bandits are also accomplices in breaking my equipment.
No, not accomplices, but the main culprits.
Slum robbers = same as bandits.
How dare… How dare these bandit bastards inflict property damage on me?
I felt like I couldn’t stand it unless I killed them all and judged them.
“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t see the scene of the judgment with my own eyes. To fight even with your armor smashed, you are truly a strong person.”
“Then shall I shout strongly? DIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!”
“F, FRIEEEEEEEEEND!”
Anyway, I have to go buy equipment.
I went to the commercial district with Elise, shouting slogans. I’m thinking of buying a steel breastplate and gauntlets. I have time, so I asked her to hang out for a bit.
“I can feel the heat. Hmm, the armor on display looks ordinary.”
After arriving in the commercial district, I took a quick look around the blacksmiths lined up. It would be good to go to a place that specializes in making armor.
“Ordinary?”
“I know that my brothers’ armor is bizarre.”
“Ah, the Arkhio brothers.”
“He is even more outstanding.”
The paladins of the Holy Light Cross boast a sense of armor that is truly like hellish demons. Spiked, hideous pauldrons and gauntlets. And helmets and pointed sabatons born from nightmares, there’s no room to skip, but in reality, their chests and bellies are always exposed, and they’re only wearing underwear.
On the other hand, it’s amazing that nuns like Elise are properly covering their entire bodies.
I talked about armor with Elise appropriately and went into a place that looked good. As soon as I entered, I saw armor with practical designs on display.
“Welcome. A nun and a well-built warrior, I see? What are you here to buy?”
“I came to buy a steel breastplate. Can the owner pick one that fits my body?”
“I understand.”
“Ah. I don’t want any decorations. I like practical things.”
“You seem to know a bit about armor. Heh heh, I understand.”
The owner, who said that, measured my body size and then moved busily, picking out armor. Meanwhile, I looked at other equipment with Elise.
“Ah, Saint. I found a gauntlet that looks very punitive.”
“What do you mean by punitive?”
“If you look at it, you’ll probably know too.”
What Elise pointed to was indeed.
“It really looks punitive.”
It was a steel gauntlet that really looked punitive.
Unlike ordinary gauntlets, the fist part had four thick spikes. It’s a nightmarish, practical design that looks like a combination of a brutal knuckle and a gauntlet.
If I wore this and used Asura Bloodshed Fist, it seemed clear that most guys would go straight to hell.
Because there would be four holes.
“This is a gauntlet that highlights the righteousness of the craftsman who made it. Even if you lose your weapon, it must have been made with the idea of judging the villains with this.”
“You’re right.”
I can’t agree with Elise’s words, but I like it a bit.
Let’s buy this.
As I picked it up, the owner brought a breastplate with a crude design.
“This is made from mass-produced goods, and it was originally made assuming that you would wear a cloth armor underneath, so it will fit the body of a large warrior like you. And as you requested, it’s an item without any decorations. Here, the side is a belt type, so it’s easy to put on by yourself.”
I accepted it and put it on, and it was quite good.
It’s not much different from what I used to use.
“Are you really thinking of buying that gauntlet too? You have an eye for things. It’s an item that can kill monsters with your bare hands.”
Of course, it would.
“I’ll buy both the breastplate and the gauntlet. How much is it?”
“If you buy both at once, I’ll give you a small discount and sell it for 20 silver.”
It was so damn expensive that tears were about to come out. Armor is not a cheap item in the first place.
ㅡDamn bandit bastards!!!!!!!!!!!!
I barely suppressed the screams that were bursting out and took out 20 silver from my wallet and handed it to him. Anger churns in my brain.
“Have a good day!”
“You too, owner.”
Still, investing in equipment is essential, so there’s no choice. In fact, I’ve saved a lot of money, so it’s not that fatal of an expense.
“Then Elise. Let’s go to the guild now.”
“Understood.”
I went outside and headed back to the guild.
I have to go to the merchant who is hiring adventurers.
Elise said that he’s been holed up in the guild all day, interviewing applicants.
If so, the scrubs will be filtered out first, and then the heinous guys who are eager to make money by killing will gather.
If we gather those guys, the subjugation of the bandits is already a certain future.
“Heh heh, you look even more pious now that you’re armed, Saint.”
“Heh heh heh, you too. Let’s go and show the bandits that justice and order are alive.”
“Of course. That will be a really rewarding thing to do.”
There’s nothing more rewarding and profitable than killing bad guys.
As we walked along, having such murderous small talk, we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild. There were fewer people than before.
I went inside and looked for the merchant.
“There, the one sitting over there is the merchant.”
“He seems very angry.”
“He lost all the property attached to his wagon, so it’s natural to be angry.”
I approached the gloomy-looking merchant with Elise.
“Are you the merchant who is requesting bandit subjugation?”
“M, Mirkesha? Th, that’s right. I’m the one who requested the subjugation.”
“I’m Kim Kat, a rank D adventurer active in Isvant. A foreigner who flowed in from that barren land. If it’s okay, I’d like to negotiate the reward.”
I started talking, pretending to be a barbarian warrior appropriately.
If I bluff like this a bit, he will have more trust in me, and the reward might increase as a result.
In fact, my equipment, impression, and physique are quite effective.
“Reward… Show me your hand first.”
“Heh heh heh, look as much as you want.”
A rank D adventurer is the core force of the guild. Of course, this rank D badge is only valid in Isvant. It is also accepted to a limited extent in Krassheim, but anyway.
It loses its effect the moment you go to another city.
But at least here, it’s proof of trust.
“Y, you’re right. You certainly seem to be quite skilled… I’ll pay you 30 coppers per day.”
“Merchant, didn’t you say you wanted revenge? If I go, those bandit bastards will all be dead. I think 30 coppers is not enough.”
“My story is not over yet. Of course, 30 coppers a day would not be enough to hire a warrior like you. Of course, there’s more.”
The merchant added.
“If you kill a bandit on the spot, I will pay an additional 70 coppers for each of their heads.”
Then the story changes.
30 coppers is just the money they give you every day, and it seems like they give you an additional fee when you kill a bandit there. If you combine that with the spoils of war, it will be a pretty good income.
“Then that sounds good. But what about the spoils of war?”
“I have the ownership of items with my seal on them. I’m a merchant, after all. Other than that, does it matter who takes what?”
Reasonable.
“Good. From now on, you are my employer.”
“You have a cool personality, probably because you lived in a cool place. Then I hope you will follow my command after we depart. I plan to depart the morning after tomorrow, so come to the guild before sunrise. If you don’t come, the contract will be broken.”
I signed the contract and reported it to the guild window. Elise also agreed to 30 coppers per day. After that, I heard the details of the forces, and there was one rank D and eleven rank E adventurers hired.
In addition, rank E is 10 coppers per day.
A total of thirteen people.
This much force should be enough.
“Elise. Where are you staying? I’ll take you there.”
“I’m staying where I stayed last time… Then thank you.”
After finishing the story, I went outside.
