Someday Will I Be The Greatest Alchemist?

Chapter 378: Cleaning up afterwards is troublesome

The bandits were surrounding the carriage that stopped because of a dislodged wheel. We made it in time somehow.

Even so, I’ve never heard of a bandit group having horses for all its members.

Tsubaki roared coercively.

In doing so, the horses that the bandits were riding all bucked up in surprise, then fainted where they stood in fear.

Yep yep, this is convenient.

Kaede disappeared from Tsubaki’s back unnoticed. At the same time, the thieves that fell from their horses were incapacitated. It did not take long for all the thieves to fall to the floor like caterpillars.

Yep, good job, Kaede.

◇

A giant horse-like(?) thing roared.

「Kuh!」

I, who once served as a commanding officer for the Templar Knights, was immobilized in terror. I tried to check on my subordinates, but I couldn’t even move my neck.

Looking as far back as I could with my eyes, I somehow managed to figure out that the thing that roared was Dragon Horse, but it was completely different from the Dragon Horse in my memory.

Its imposing gigantic body, long sharp protruding horn, scales that gleam in the sunlight, and glowing red eyes.

I could tell it was a monster that was in no way the level that should be pulling a carriage. Even if it was, it only increases my despair. The Dragon Horse was unbelievably pulling a large metal carriage. That meant that, inside that carriage was the outrageous person who could control a Dragon Horse. I shouldn’t care for how it looks and just give my subordinates the signal to retreat, but……

「……kah, my body won’t move.」

The shock and panic caused my body to stop moving.

It was likely the same for my subordinates as I could hear them fall from their horses, one by one.

And I realized the blow my body had received. Ah, so I also fell from my horse…… I don’t get it.

The fate of the thieves had been decided. I could tell because of those fact alone. But that doesn’t mean that I accept it.

Ahh, I don’t want to die……

When I got out of the carriage, it seemed like everything was already over. The bandits who fell from their horses were all bundled up like caterpillars on the floor. Kaede bound them in threads and even used paralytic poison.

「Takumi-sama, what will we do with these bandits? Should we kill them?」

「No, I think it’s fine even if we don’t kill them.」

Sophia, who escorting me like always even though it’s our honeymoon, was about to draw the sword on her hip, so I quickly stopped her.

Now, while I was wondering what we should do with these bandits, the knights who were protecting the attacked carriage came by.

「We are grateful that you saved us from danger. I am the the commanding officer of the 2nd order of knights of the Arenberg Margravery, Roger. I beg your pardon, but may I ask for your names?」

「Yes, I am Takumi Iruma. Beside is my wife, Sophia. We are traveling from Volton in Valkyra Kingdom to Gnomstoll Kingdom when we coincidentally spotted the attack, and though it have been meddlesome, we helped out.」

Speaking of the Margrave Arenberg, I recall he’s an authority even in Lomaria Kingdom. It was okay that we helped out, but I just hope we don’t get into anything troublesome.

Before I knew it, Kaede was already riding on Tsubaki’s back again and was waving her hand. I have to praise her later. When I waved back at her, a girl and her attendant alighted from the attacked carriage.

「Iruma-dono, how do you intend on dealing with these bandits?」

「About that.」

If there was a city nearby, I’d be fine with the option of escorting them there, but if not, it was common in this world to hand in only their heads to the Adventurers Guild, just as Sophia had tried to finish them off.

There’s a lot of them, and when I think about the time it would take to bring all of them, it didn’t seem like there was much option, but it might be possible if it’s me..

「Thank you very much for saving us from danger. I am the second d aughter of the Arenberg Margravery, Rosali von Arenberg.」

「Not at all. It was truly just by chance, so please don’t worry.」

While I was troubled by how to deal with the bandits, the girl alighted the carriage with the broken wheel and came to thank us for saving them. Then I caught site of the carriage’s broken wheel.

「Doganbo-san! Golan-san! Could we ask you to service the carriage?」

When I called out to the two inside the carriage, they came out.

「Huh? The wheel’s broken?」

「That much can be fixed in a jiffy. Summon Titan so it can lift the carriage.」

「Understood.」

I summoned Titan and asked him to help Doganbo-san and Golan-san.

I could tell that the people from the Arenberg Margravery were surprised to see the two Dwarves come out of the carriage. The instant Titan was summoned, they froze, but our first priority was to repair the carriage.

「Oh yeah, I suppose I could transmute a simple wagon with Earth magic.」

We considered killing all of the bandits, but there should be a town if we go back bit, and we’re not travelling in a rush, so we could take them that far. If we couple the wagon to the back of the carriage Tsubaki pulls, it probably wouldn’t even take 2 hours to get to the town.

While Doganbo-san and Golan-san were quickly finishing the repairs on the carriage that Titan lifted, I would cast my alchemy skills on the dirt and wood I had on hand to make a solid wagon.

「Transmute!」

Maria, Marnie, Laeva, and Lulu-chan alighted from the carriage and threw the bandits into the completed wagon. Akane was inside the carriage, drinking tea so nonchalantly.

「Now then, what do we do about the horses?」

『Master, Please entrust it to me. I will instruct them to follow.』

「Heh~ then I’ll entrust it t」

『Yes, I will not let you down.』

The horses ridden by the bandits which recovered from their trance will now be led by Tsubaki. I see, so they’ll follow obediently.

「Ou, the wheel’s fixed.」

『Ｍａｓｔｅｒ， ｒｅｐａｉｒ, ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ.』

「Good work.」

Titan returned to the Subspace, while Doganbo-san and Golan-san returned to the carriage, saying that that was an easy job.

Okay, lets hurry up and hand in the bandits. …was what I was thinking when I returned to the carriage, but the dumbfounded Rosary-san and Roger-san hurriedly stopped me.

「「P-please wait!」」

Haa, this is such a pain, I would have liked it if we parted ways here. Of course, that wouldn’t happen, huh.

***