## Chapter 351 – Kim Katz and the Forty Bandits
About an hour after finishing breakfast. We were hiking quietly when one of the adventurers spotted something and shouted.
—Rustle, rustle!
An unnatural sound echoed. It was clearly the sound of someone running away. I checked, and the back of the fleeing figure looked more like a person than a monster.
Bandits!
“You little shit!”
How dare you turn your back on me? Unforgivable.
After shattering a man’s armor like that, you run away the moment you see your master? It’s a miracle I’m keeping my cool right now.
If they’re bandits, even better.
I’ll catch them and interrogate them.
“We must catch them!”
—Celestial Demon Descent Steps.
To respond to the merchant’s desperate cry, I immediately used my ultimate footwork to chase after him.
—Thwack!
My legs, made of surging mana and extremely honed muscles, slammed down like lightning, launching my body forward. I can feel the power of the Precambrian era again.
This is runner’s high…!
“The other way! There are more on the other side!”
“Chase them!”
Apparently, there are more escapees on the other side, but I can’t worry about that. I kept chasing the guy running in front of me, sprinting along the ridge.
I kept an eye on the ground and between the trees, wondering if there might be traps, while holding my sword ready. It wasn’t a particularly dense forest, and the ground was solid, so it didn’t seem like there were any traps.
“Hey, hey! You there! Stop if you’re not a bandit! We’re adventurers!”
The guy was definitely human.
I realized that and shouted as a formality, but he ignored me and kept running. Well, even if he wasn’t a bandit, it’s natural to run if someone’s chasing you with a sword.
—Thump, thump, thump!!
I sped up a little, and the distance between us closed in an instant. It’s only natural. There’s no way a normal person could survive a death marathon with me.
“The boogeyman will get you!!!!!!!!!!”
“Ughaaaak!!!! What are you!!!”
“Kim Katz Drop Kiiiiiiiiick!!!!”
—Whoosh!
With a familiar floating sensation, my body shot forward. It would be unfair if he wasn’t a bandit, but I had no choice but to subdue him, so I apologized in my mind and launched a kick.
—Thwack!
“Kugh!”
—Thud!
The dropkick landed, and he screamed as he flew forward, tumbling before crashing into a tree. I landed steadily and immediately ran to him, pressing my blade against his neck and shouting.
“You bastard! Are you a bandit or not! Answer me!”
Looking at the guy clutching his head, he looked like a typical bandit from head to toe, dirty and evil.
“You son of a bitch, what do you think you’re doing! Kugh…!”
“Damn it! Stop talking nonsense and answer! Are you a bandit! Are you a bandit!”
“I, what bandit am I, you crazy bastard!!! Get away from me!”
Even with a knife to his throat, he’s putting up a fight. He’s not fearless, just stupid. Usually, stupid guys become bandits.
This guy… he’s really suspicious.
My suspicion is growing.
“Why are you running if you’re not a bandit!! This guy is suspicious!”
“W, well, if someone chases you, you have to run! With a sword! Get that sword away, you idiot! I’m an adventurer!”
“This guy… I can’t reason with him.”
Even though I kicked him first, I got angry because he wouldn’t cooperate even with a knife to his throat. Enraged, I immediately lifted him up and twisted his arm.
“Kk, kkaak! Don’t do this! It hurts! It hurts!”
“Be quiet. Calm down. I might really break it.”
I put a little more force into it, and he started to become polite.
“Heeik! Please don’t do this!”
Now he’s cooperating.
I escorted him with his arm twisted behind his back.
“Good. I’ll check you out, and if you’re not a bandit, I’ll let you go. Just bear with it for a moment, you little shit. These things happen in life. Please cooperate.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not…! I’m not a bandit!”
“That’s for me to find out, you little shit.”
Around that time, the adventurers who had belatedly chased after me greeted me.
“Oh, you caught him. You were so fast, I thought you were a wolf.”
“I am a bit fast. I’ve lived in rough lands, you see.”
Indeed, my speed was superior. I had outrun all of them.
And so, I brought the guy, who was squawking like a baby duck seeing its mother’s foie gras being extracted, to the merchant. Over there, other adventurers had caught the guy who had run away in the opposite direction.
“L, let me go! I’m an adventurer!”
The dozen or so adventurers surrounding the captured guys already had their swords drawn.
Looking at them eager to show off their cooking skills, it was like I was at some dark cooking competition. You crazy culinary serial killer wyverns.
“Why are you doing this to us! Let us go!”
Of course, there’s a possibility that these guys aren’t bandits, as they say.
However, this is a point where bandits have appeared. It’s almost inevitable that the guys lurking around there are suspicious.
It’s only natural that the adventurers are becoming aggressive.
“Can’t we just kill these bastards?”
“Let’s extract information first and then kill them.”
“Good idea.”
The adventurers were already thinking of torturing them, muttering one thing or another as they approached the guys. The merchant seemed to be thinking the same thing, crossing his arms and looking down with a solemn expression.
“Please wait a moment.”
Elise stopped them.
“It is true that these men are suspicious, but that does not mean that they are confirmed to be bandits. It is not right to use violence indiscriminately.”
That’s right.
I also think we should interrogate them before torturing them. One of the adventurers questioned her words.
“You’re the nun from the back. What you say is true, of course, but is there any other way? These guys are definitely bandits based on the circumstances.”
As Elise was about to answer, the restrained guy started to freak out again.
“I’m not a bandit! Let me go! You son of a bitch! Let me go! I’m an adventurer! Don’t do this!”
Why does he keep rushing his own death?
In this situation, the only outcome for not cooperating is getting beaten to death.
“Shut up! Seeing you act like this, you’re definitely a bandit!”
“Let’s kill him!”
The adventurers seemed annoyed by his foolishness and were about to lash out with curses. Elise stopped them.
“Calm down. It’s not too late to start with a simple interrogation. Merchant, have you seen this man’s face during the last attack?”
“…No.”
“Then it is not certain that these men are bandits, so I will interrogate them for a moment. Is that alright?”
“…Do so. Since you say so, Sister, I will give you some time.”
With the merchant’s permission, the adventurers had no choice but to step back.
They surrounded Elise and the two suspicious individuals, guarding the area and watching the interrogation.
“Bandits have been rampaging in the vicinity, so we had no choice but to treat you harshly for acting suspiciously. First, I would like to apologize for that. Of course, if you are not bandits, we will release you.”
“…”
“…”
The two suspicious individuals closed their mouths at Elise’s polite attitude.
“Simple question. Who are you?”
“…Adventurers.”
“I see. Do you have badges?”
“I lost my badge.”
“What rank of adventurer are you?”
“F rank, F rank adventurer.”
“What brings you here?”
“To work… Ah, damn it, I’m telling you I’m not a bandit… Sister. Please don’t do this to me. I’m not a bandit.”
The interrogation continued in that manner.
The guys seemed reluctant to answer, as if they had something to hide.
As expected, without using violence, there was no way to know the truth. Elise probably has her own ideas, but… the adventurers are starting to get frustrated.
“Hey, darkie. Can’t you tell they’re bandits just by looking at them?”
Winia said, frustrated.
“That’s true, but it’s not certain.”
Elise, like me, has principles and doesn’t kill based on mere suspicion.
Hmm…
I’ll just do it myself.
“Elise. Step aside for a moment. I’ll do it. It won’t end if you do it that way.”
“I understand. I have no worries if it’s you, Seongdo-nim.”
I exchanged places with Elise and stood in front of them. Then, I stuck the sword, which I hadn’t put away yet, into the ground and said in a threatening tone.
“Friends, hello? What are our friends’ names?”
“…”
“…”
No response.
“Ah, shit. We’re doing this because of the bandits, but you’re not cooperating. If you don’t want to talk, I have no choice but to torture you, you bastards. I’m thinking of cutting off your ankles first… Elise. Take off their shoes. It’s not good for your health to have cold feet.”
“C, Carter! I’m Carter!”
“I’m called Dorit!”
“Good.”
As expected, nothing moves people’s hearts more easily than intimidation. The guys answered immediately.
“Then Carter and Dorit. I’ll ask you just one question. Do you two know each other?”
When I asked that, they tried to check each other’s faces, so I immediately grabbed their hair and yanked it.
“Keuk!”
“Don’t look at each other.”
I cut off the guy’s beard with a knife, continuing my words. It was an act to threaten them, but it worked well, and the two terrified guys answered at the same time.
“N, no! We don’t know each other!”
“We don’t know each other!”
They don’t know each other… What were two strangers doing in the mountains?
Did they meet through random chat?
Or did they hide the player’s information?
“You don’t know each other? Why were you two here together if you don’t know each other?”
“Th, that’s…”
“It’s a coincidence! I didn’t know that guy was here. I, I just ran away because you guys were chasing me! I swear on my father’s name!”
Seeing him sell his father like that, he must be a bandit.
“Okay, let’s say it’s a coincidence. But you two said you were F-rank adventurers, right? If you don’t know each other, that means you came here alone, so why did you come alone?”
It’s dangerous.
“I came to catch goblins!”
“I came to catch kobolds… I’m really not a bandit! Please let me go!”
“They said they’d let you go in a bit if you answer well, you son of a bitch. So, you came hunting? Did you get a quest or something?”
To my question, the two of them answered that they didn’t receive a quest, but simply came hunting alone because they couldn’t find a party.
What a coincidence.
Despite the rumors that bandits were rampant, they came all the way here, a day’s walk away, to hunt kobolds and goblins alone, even though they were F-rank adventurers.
And coincidentally, they didn’t know each other, but they were in close proximity. Moreover, they were so close, but they didn’t even know each other’s existence.
But their purposes are similar, and surprisingly, they both don’t have any luggage.
If you’re going to walk for more than a day and then walk back for another day, you should have a backpack.
Do they have a base somewhere?
“What kind of coincidence is that? Mr. Black Hair. It seems like a lie to me. These bastards are bandits. It would be faster to just break their limbs and ask them.”
After summarizing it like that, a martial artist who couldn’t stand it anymore stepped forward and said. Of course, I think the same thing.
“It’s true! It’s really a coincidence!”
“It’s true! We’re not bandits!”
“We? Why are you saying ‘we’ when you don’t know each other? Did you become friends already?”
Silence fell when I pointed that out.
Ugh, damn it.
I knew it. There’s no way an innocent person would be lurking in a place like this. Above all, there was an attack once before. It’s no coincidence that we found them.
These guys are just bandit scouts.
I showed the merchant, who was about to give a murderous order, the palm of my hand and clapped once to get everyone’s attention.
And I said.
“Now, here we have a liar who only tells lies and a truth-teller who only tells the truth.”
“Darkie? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Listen.”
It’s a logic puzzle called angels and demons.
Basically, you stand in front of the gates of heaven and hell, and an angel and a demon who look exactly alike like twins appear. The angel tells the truth, and the demon tells lies.
You have to ask them a question to find the gate of heaven.
If you get the answer right, you go to heaven. If you get it wrong, you go to hell. Something like that.
“Anyway. There’s a logic puzzle where one guy only tells the truth, and the other guy only tells lies. I’m going to use that to solve the problem from now on.”
If I use this, I can easily solve this bandit problem. When I said that while posing, everyone showed interest and listened to me.
“Now, let’s think about it. We have to interrogate them to find out the truth. First, there’s a proposition, so let’s examine it one by one.”
From now on, Kim Katz’s brain is running at full speed.
“So, to solve that problem…”
But.
“Ah, shit.”
I can’t think of a way.
“How did I do it? This.”
Damn it, I forgot.
“I forgot, damn it.”
Winia’s face turned sour when I said that after gathering everyone’s attention, and Elise made a strange expression. And the adventurers erased their interest and took out their daggers and knives.
Damn it!
How dare you make me look like this!
“Ah, damn it! Hey! Tell me the truth! Asura Bloodshed Fist!”
—Thwack!
Enraged, I impulsively slammed the Asura Bloodshed Fist into the bandit’s face.
“Ka-haaak!!!”
“Heueooooeok!!!”
Immediately, a scream erupted along with bright red blood.
“Keuhaaaak!!! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you, so don’t hit me!”
He was a bandit, you son of a bitch.
It wasn’t an angel and a demon, but just a demon and a demon.
That’s why I couldn’t solve the problem, damn it.
