The Bandit-Hunting Party in the Wasteland

I loaded the adventurers into a four-ton truck and headed for the wasteland to subjugate a bandit group called Shaga.

We would take the highway to get close to their hideout, but this world drove on the left. Just like Japan.

There were fifteen men including me, plus one woman in the truck. Amana, the proprietress of the shop next to mine, had volunteered to cook for us.

We knew the hideout was in a forest about fifty kilometers from the city.

They had made the ruins of an old castle their base and were committing all sorts of crimes. There were about fifty of them.

Apparently, they were a group of vicious men who didn't regard other people as human beings. What had happened to Primula-san after being captured by people like that?

I couldn't help thinking about it as I held the steering wheel, but—no, I had to stop. For now, I needed to focus only on rescuing her.

Apparently, the Adventurers' Guild had planned several expeditions to subjugate them, but each one had been canceled because they couldn't gather enough people.

With so much damage being done, the country ought to have organized a large-scale expedition with the army, but—

For some reason, they said the army was dragging its feet.

"In the end, the bigwigs don't give a damn about people like us commoners."

Amana, sitting in the passenger seat, said that. She had a point, though there might have been some reason for it.

Perhaps Sir Northpole knew something.

"It's amazing that this can travel so fast without horses! Magic really is incredible! It's so comfortable too. If a horse-drawn carriage went this fast, it would be a disaster."

Naturally, a carriage without rubber tires or decent suspension would have a terrible ride on rough ground.

Amana seemed to believe that this vehicle was magic, and the men in the cargo bed thought the same.

It was more convenient for me if they thought it was magic, since there was no way I could explain it.

Once we left the highway, which ran through fields, we reached the wasteland. Perhaps the land had grown barren after being farmed for generations, because an austere landscape stretched before us.

We left the highway and turned into the wasteland. They said the forest containing the enemy's hideout lay beyond it.

The road was quite bumpy, but it was nothing for a four-wheel-drive truck.

Back in my original world, I had driven straight into fields to load farm produce. This sort of rough ground was no problem at all.

It might turn muddy if it rained, but it didn't seem to rain very often, so that probably wouldn't be an issue.

When I looked to the side, I saw the beastfolk running alongside the truck.

They were racing this iron vehicle.

"It really can run fast without horses!"

"Yeah. It can go faster, but the wasteland is so bumpy that I'm driving slowly."

We were currently traveling at about thirty kilometers per hour, having slowed down.

I could have driven faster, but the men in the cargo bed would have had a rough time of it.

Their butts probably hurt even now, so I'd bought large cushions for them to sit on.

After driving for about an hour, we reached a point ten kilometers from our destination and stopped for a while. We decided to prepare food and discuss our next move.

Even calling it a strategy was generous; there was no way a hastily assembled group of adventurers could come up with anything sophisticated.

All we could discuss was when to launch our attack.

"We got here so fast!"

"Seriously, this is incredible. It's even more comfortable than a carriage."

"If this really is powered by magic, it could change the world..."

The old mage seemed to have realized that this wasn't magic, though—

"Old man, this thing guzzles oil. A lot of it. It uses about one large bottle of oil every time you start it."

"What?! At that rate, the oil alone would bankrupt me!"

The old man was stunned by my explanation.

"Ha-ha. Nothing this convenient comes without a catch."

We decided to make this our temporary base. But first, an army marched on its stomach, so I began preparing a meal.

First, soup. I decided to make curry-flavored soup—not thick curry, but actual soup.

But how much should I make? Five hundred milliliters per person would mean eight liters for sixteen people... Should I make a little extra and prepare ten liters?

While I searched Shangri-La for a large pot, I took firewood out of my Item Box and had them start a fire. I had mountains of firewood, after all.

The old man said he would light the fire with magic, so I left it to him.

I found a commercial pressure cooker on the site. It held twenty liters and cost 50,000 yen—bigger was better, so this would do.

We didn't have any stones to build a hearth, so I took concrete blocks out of my Item Box and placed the pressure cooker, which had rolled out and landed, on top of them.

"That's quite an impressive pot."

"Old man, this one's not for sale."

"What a shame."

I filled the pot halfway with water from my Item Box. Since it was a twenty-liter pot, half of it should be ten liters.

Amana and anyone with nothing better to do peeled vegetables and dropped them into the pot one after another.

I brought out a wok on a cassette stove and stir-fried a large amount of meat. I even used the horned rabbit meat in my Item Box.

Once it was finished, I added that to the pot as well, then dumped in a generous amount of dashi powder and seasoned it with salt.

"I've never made this much food before."

"As always, you're awfully skilled at this, boss. Isn't it a bad look for a man to be that good at cooking?"

"If you've been single until my age, you learn how to do things like this."

"Is that something to brag about?"

In this world, people started working at twelve or thirteen, and if they married early, they were often married by around fifteen. Remaining single until my age apparently meant people were justified in thinking something was wrong with you.

"Back in my homeland, there's a saying that anyone who stays single until my age can become a wizard."

"So did you become a wizard?"

"No."

"Honestly, who knows how much of what you say is true, boss...?"

Amana looked exasperated by my careless stories.

The seasoning was just right, so I put the lid on the pressure cooker. With the fire this high, the soup would be delicious in twenty minutes.

Soon, it began making a rattling sound, and steam started shooting from the top of the lid.

"Ooh, it smells good!"

"It'll be ready soon. Wait until it finishes cooking."

They had come without eating lunch, so they must have been hungry.

While talking with them, I took it off the fire after about ten minutes. The residual heat would be enough to finish cooking it.

――Ten minutes later.

With a clack, the pressure valve on the pot dropped.

Then, for the final touch, I bought curry powder from Shangri-La. It wasn't the curry roux that came in a box, but the powdered kind in a red can.

I dumped in the entire can with a rustle, stirred it, and the curry-flavored soup was ready.

I prepared plain plates and spoons for everyone from Shangri-La and ladled out the soup.

There was also a mountain of bread I'd bought from Shangri-La. If we had leftovers, I could put them in my Item Box, so there was no reason to hold back.

Still, if I died in this battle, would everything inside be lost forever, or would the people running this service come to collect it and that would be the end of it?

"Mmm! This is delicious! Is this soup made with spices? What a feast!"

One of the adventurers raised his spoon toward the sky and shouted.

"No, no, the boss's cooking is always like this." "That's right, nya."

Nyakero and the others looked rather proud, but why were they the ones acting proud?

I took four cans of cat food out of my Item Box and handed them to the beastfolk.

"Thanks for being the first to step forward. If we make it back safely, I'll treat you to even more."

"Yahoo!" "Nyaa!"

The beastfolk happily wolfed down the cat food, but seeing it always left me with mixed feelings.

"The beastfolk are eating something that looks delicious."

"Old man, you too? That's food for beastfolk, though..."

"There is such a thing? If beastfolk can eat it, surely we can eat it too, can't we?"

Unable to refuse the old man's insistence, I opened a can of cat food onto a plate for him as well.

"Hmm, it's soft, and quite tasty."

Seriously...? Was this really all right?

"Oh, right. I need to bring out some alcohol too. Hard liquor would be a bad idea, so will wine do?"

In this world, people generally drank wine with their meals. That was because fresh water couldn't be trusted, but even purified water made with a water stone hadn't changed the custom.

There was only red wine here, though, so white would be out of the question. I searched and chose 【Value Red Wine Set, 12 Bottles】. It cost 6,000 yen, making each bottle 500 yen.

"I brought out twelve bottles for now. Since we're about to fight, this should be enough, right?"

I also took out twelve ceramic cups. Everyone seemed confused by the screw caps, so I decided to open them for them.

At this point, I no longer intended to hide anything. If I died here, it was all over anyway. After that, come what may.

Maybe I could use a resurrection spell, but what would I do if I couldn't?

As I pondered resurrection in this world, one of the men drinking the wine raised his voice.

"Hey, is it really all right to serve such fine wine with a meal?"

"Go ahead and drink as much as you like. But it would be a problem if you couldn't fight afterward."

"Hmm, it really is fine wine. It's not much different from what I drank at a great noble's estate."

It was actually among the cheapest red wines sold through Shangri-La, but if Sir Northpole said it was good, he probably knew what he was talking about.

"Come to think of it, I served you commoners' food just as it was. Was it to your taste?"

"Not at all. This would compare favorably even with the food served in the estates of kings and nobles. It's truly splendid."

"Thank you."

Once we'd finished eating and our stomachs were full, we gathered around the campfire to discuss our strategy.

"Should we attack them while they're sleeping?"

Amana broached the subject.

"Maybe. But if we storm the place in this iron vehicle, they'll probably wake up no matter what. Come to think of it, does the fortress have a gate?"

"Well, they're using an old castle as their base, so it probably does."

Nyakero said that and took a swig from his wine bottle.

"If there's a gate, I can deal with it using magic."

"Old man, can you blow things up with magic?"

Was he talking about blast magic—Explosion Magic, maybe?

"Well, something like that."

"Then instead of attacking while they're asleep, why don't we strike when they're drunk and feeling good? If they suddenly have to move, they'll be too plastered to do anything."

I remembered the time Nyakero drank alcohol and tried to swim in the river, only to nearly drown.

"That might be a good idea. Those kinds of people love alcohol and women more than their three meals a day."

The muscular man, wearing armor unlike his usual clothes, agreed with me.

"Yes, I agree. Alcohol will dull their judgment and throw their command structure into disarray."

"Besides, they probably won't be wearing armor while they're drinking and eating."

In this world, people generally started drinking with their evening meal once it grew dark. It would probably take about two hours for them to reach the peak of drunkenness.

Since Sir Northpole agreed, we began working out a strategy based on that plan.

First, Myaree would go out as a scout and take out any guards she found. With their excellent night vision, the beastfolk were perfect for reconnaissance and scouting.

Besides, her body was dark-colored, so once it grew dark, she would blend into the surroundings and become impossible to see.

For Myaree's scouting mission, I bought a five-watt transceiver from Shangri-La. According to the reviews, its signal could travel about one kilometer—30,000 yen per unit.

"I'm lending you this, Myaree. It's a magic tool that lets you talk with someone from far away."

"You can really talk through it, nya?!"

Her ears and tail shot straight up.

I turned it on and taught her how to use it. It was simple; all she had to do was press a button to talk.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

"Nya! I can hear Kenichi's voice coming from inside this, nya!"

"Press that button when you want to talk."

"I can hear you!!"

She was loud! Then Myaree took the transceiver and started running at full speed.

She ran quite far away, and once she'd become a speck in the distance, she spoke into the transceiver again.

"Hey, Myaree, can you hear me?"

'Nyaa! I can hear you! This is amazing, nya! What is this, nya?!'

"It's magic. Magic."

'Magic, nya?! Amazing, nya!'

She kept repeating how amazing it was, so it could hardly be called a conversation.

"You have something like that too...? Even the Imperial mages don't have anything like it."

What do you mean, "too"? You don't have a diesel-engine truck or a Yumbo either.

"Old man, just pretend you didn't see this."

If I had Myaree take this with her while scouting, we'd be able to learn what the enemy was doing.

When she returned, I decided to replace the arrowheads on the arrows for the compound bows and crossbows.

All the arrows used screw-in heads that could be freely changed according to their purpose.

The carbon arrows cost 3,500 yen for twelve. Since I had twelve compound bows and twelve crossbows, and I was giving out twenty-four arrows for each one, that came to 3,500 × 2 × 12 = 84,000 yen.

The hunting arrowheads that looked lethal on impact cost 900 yen for six. Equipping every arrow with one brought the total to 43,200 yen.

I handed out the arrowheads and had everyone replace theirs. Since our opponents numbered fifty, this ought to be enough somehow.

"What are these arrowheads...? Are they works of art?"

Sir Northpole murmured as he picked up an arrow. It was a marvel of the advanced civilization of my original world, manufactured to exactly the same shape as every other one. Made of stainless steel and aluminum, its diamond-shaped design looked like a stealth fighter or a rocket.

Once they'd finished replacing the arrowheads, everyone began practicing their shooting.

Myaree in particular was practicing diligently. She had to snipe the enemy guards, so she needed to be able to shoot over long distances.

A compound bow could easily reach targets over one hundred meters away, so it was more than capable of the job.

"Amazing, nya! It reaches more than twice as far as a normal bow with ease, nya!"

As she said that, she cleanly hit a dead tree about one hundred meters away.

"Myaree, you're amazing."

"This is easy, nya."

"No, seriously, that's amazing."

"Fnya, it's not that much—well, it is, nya..."

She was apparently quite confident in her archery skills herself.

"Oh, right. I promised to give you a shield."

I bought a polycarbonate long shield from Shangri-La. It was the sort often used for riot control. It was incredibly light and durable—40,000 yen apiece.

I bought five for the time being.

"What is this?! It's unbelievably light!"

The muscular man shouted after receiving a long shield.

"It's transparent, but is it glass? It's so light—is it really safe?"

Since they had never seen the material before, I couldn't blame them for being concerned.

"Nyakero, try cutting it."

He raised the cutlass I'd given him and swung it down at the long shield.

The shield flexed with a dull sound, and a white scratch appeared, but the blade hadn't reached through to the other side.

"If you kept damaging the same spot, you could probably break through, but doing that in the middle of a battle would be difficult."

"Whoa! I was worried because it's so thin, but it's pretty incredible! Everything you've got is amazing!"

"With equipment like this, we should be able to stand up to those villains, right?"

"Yeah!"

The adventurers raised battle cries, and their morale was high.

"Heh heh, these would fetch a good price if I sold them."

"Old man, that's no joke. Nothing good comes from getting greedy. If we defeat the bandits, a fortune will come our way soon enough."

The old man admonished the somewhat jaded adventurer who had made that remark.

"What? It was just a little joke."

"Who knows?"

It wouldn't be strange if someone fled from a subjugation mission where they might die, tempted by the small amount of money in front of them.

But if they were caught abandoning their comrades and fleeing midway, the guild could punish them by suspending their access to jobs, for example.

Of course, if they claimed that they had retreated because the entire party was about to be wiped out, that would be the end of it—but if there were survivors to testify against them, they would be finished.

Apparently, there was even a Unique Magic that could detect lies.

Amana, who had come with us this time, wasn't registered as a member of the expedition.

That's why she had openly stated that she would run if things became dangerous.

She would remain at this camp and wait for us to return.

If we hadn't returned after a full day, the expedition would be considered a failure. Amana would return to the city and report it to the guild as arranged.

"Sir Northpole, what about a shield?"

"I don't need one."

"Kenichi, do you have a smaller shield for me? That one's in the way when I move around."

"I see."

To accommodate the beastfolk's request, I bought round shields about half the size of the long shields—bucklers. These were also made of polycarbonate.

"How about this?"

"Oh, this buckler is perfect for me."

Nyakero slipped his arm through the buckler and swung it around. It seemed to suit him quite well—it cost 6,000 yen. Myaree wanted one too, so I bought four of them.

I bought nine long shields in total, for 360,000 yen altogether.

War really was expensive.

But our equipment was ready, and we decided to wait for sunset.