About five bandits blocked our path.
They were all holding menacing weapons like hammers or axes, which somehow seemed more threatening than just swords.
Each one of them was so burly that if I were alone, I might have been scared.
However…
“Are these people insane?”
“What? Where is Aurora?”
“That’s not it, Arkhangelo. ‘Insane’ is not a synonym for ‘Aurora.'”
(TLN : Seems when someone mentioned about ‘insane, crazy and something like that,’ Arkhangelo will think they were talked about Aurora, lol.)
“Hey, you guys have something to give us. Didn’t you steal a gold box?”
The problem was that they were not at all a threat to the male protagonists next to me.
Raffaelo’s face had already turned extremely fierce. Just like in the original description, he looked fierce enough to kill someone with his expression alone.
Having seen only his relatively gentle demeanor before, I was shocked.
The bandits, who must have also sensed Raffaelo’s deadly aura, momentarily hesitated with their weapons.
Raffaelo cracked his neck threateningly and got off the carriage, followed by the other male leads.
Since I couldn’t stay in the carriage alone, I awkwardly got off with Simone’s help.
“What are you doing? Can’t you hear me? Didn’t you steal a box yesterday? We need that.”
Raffaelo threatened in a low voice.
In response, the bandits frowned as if they were offended. They spun their hammers and axes menacingly as they approached.
“Being a well-bred young lord, you must not know how everything in this world works, do you?”
“Do you want to die here, young lord?”
As they growled and approached, I instinctively took a step back and hid behind Arkhangelo. Not because he seemed reliable, but simply because he was in front of me.
However, Arkhangelo stared at me hiding behind him and then lightly pushed me towards Ghieuspe.
“It’s safer back there.”
“……You really don’t intend to protect me at all, do you?”
“Of course not, I’m just a frail singer. For your safety, it would be better for you to be back there too.”
It was absurd, but not wrong either.
So, I decided to hide quietly behind the big Ghieuspe, who glanced at me but said nothing.
“Raffaelo, do you need any help?”
Simone asked, and Raffaelo grinned as he looked our way.
“Hey, stay put. I’m enough on my own to handle it.”
“Alright then.”
Simone took a calm stance, truly not intending to help Raffaelo.
Raffaelo, for his part, didn’t spare a glance back at us and slowly took something out of the carriage.
It turned out to be a sturdy-looking club.
“Alright, shall we begin?”
As soon as Raffaelo finished speaking, the bandits screamed and rushed at him all at once.
Watching the scene unfold before me, I couldn’t help but gape.
In action movies, I always thought the villains were stupid. Why do they attack one by one? Why not all at once and fight dirty?
But I just realized that even attacking all at once and fighting dirty wouldn’t work against some opponents.
Despite the bandits wielding terrifying weapons and Raffaelo holding only a club, he was holding his ground and fighting them off.
Bang!
A bandit holding a hammer was knocked away by Raffaelo’s club.
“Ugh!”
Two more bandits immediately rushed in but were quickly subdued by a swift kick.
“Ah!”
One bandit tried to ambush Raffaelo from behind.
But Raffaelo quickly spun around and dodged, having sensed it.
His movements were so subtle that an ordinary person like me couldn’t even tell what he was doing. However, I could see that every time he moved, the bandits would fall one by one.
Even though his weapon was just a club, not something capable of inflicting lethal damage.
Yet every time Raffaelo struck a vital point, the bandits fell to the ground, unable to get up.
“Ugh!”
Some of them groaned and tried to get up again, but they were still no match.
Raffaelo easily slammed them back to the ground with a loud noise.
“Ugh…!”
Sensing their impending defeat, the bandits supported each other and quickly fled.
Raffaelo did not chase after them.
“Since those underlings have been handle with, their boss will come soon. When he arrives, we should take Aurora’s belongings.”
From behind Ghieuspe, I poked my head out and watched the scene unfold.
By now, I felt a sense of awe toward Raffaelo.
How could a human fight so well? Not everyone could fight like this just because they trained. Not every soldier fights this way.
“Raffaelo, you were amazing,”
Arkhangelo praised him in a satisfied voice.
“To fight this well without using a gun, that was impressive.”
Wait, a gun?
Come to think of it, Raffaelo usually carried a gun inside his jacket. Why didn’t he use it? If he had just fired a single shot into the air, they would have all run away, wouldn’t they?
“Raffaelo, why didn’t you use your gun?”
“Ah, if I recklessly draw my gun outside, it could cause problems later. It’s better to knock them down without it.”
“Wow, I see. You must have fought a lot outside, but I won’t ask why. People can have a bit of a rough past.”
“…You really know how to treat people.”
Raffaelo let out a long sigh again.
“Wait a minute.”
At that moment, he looked towards a particular spot with irritation in his green eyes.
He was looking at the place where our carriage was. Why? The carriage seemed fine… Wait.
“My luggage!”
Our luggage was gone!
When did it disappear? The bandits were fighting with Raffaelo the whole time.
“Damn, it was a trick.”
Raffaelo ran his hand through his red hair in frustration.
“While they were distracting us, other bandits took our luggage and ran away. That must have been their goal from the start. I didn’t notice because I was too busy fighting….”
With a look of disbelief, he glanced at Arkhangelo, me, and Ghieuspe in turn.
“Well… Arkhangelo, you’re not exactly experienced with this kind of thing. Seraphina, you’re a novice magician who has just awakened. Ghieuspe, do you have anything to say?”
“Combat is not my field.”
“Ah, right. You’re more specialized in magic than martial arts, so you might not have sensed it. Then….”
Raffaelo looked at Simone with an incredulous face.
“Simone, why didn’t you notice?”
“I deeply regret it. I was too focused on your magnificent battle.”
Simone spoke smoothly without a change in expression.
Something seemed off. Simone Monteverdi he….
At that moment, a realization hit me like lightning.
There was something incredibly important in the bag they took!
Yup! He did it on purpose🙃