"Peh! What a penniless bastard…"
The man spat a thick wad of phlegm onto the corpse and grumbled.
He had a cross-shaped scar on his face, one blind eye, and despite the freezing winter, he wore almost nothing—bare arms showing off bulging muscles and a menacing presence.
"Not many folks travel in winter, boss! The ones who do are desperate—they're the type who can't survive where they were. They're probably heading to the Capital, hoping for a better life."
"You're right, Ain. I figured as much."
Even without being told, the bandit leader knew why these people traveled in winter.
Starting the journey now meant reaching the Capital in spring—a good omen. And with many dangerous beasts hibernating, the roads were relatively safer.
But they'd underestimated the danger of bandits. Choosing to travel in winter was their own gamble—and their own fault.
"Heh, instead of handing their money over to nobles, they might as well give it to me. Consider it an early ticket to the afterlife."
"Yeah, Boss is right!"
The five or six bandits flattered their leader while looting the corpses.
They pitied the dead… but who would pity them?
With that thought, their guilt vanished, and they continued stripping the bodies.
Crunch, crunch—
"Something's off! Stay alert!"
"Who's there?!"
They froze, weapons raised toward the rustling bushes.
After a few tense seconds, only a small rat scurried out.
"Phew, just a rat—"
Whizz! Thunk!
Before he could finish, an arrow shot from afar pierced straight through his chest.
The bandits turned in shock as a figure dropped from a tree.
"It's a woman! Get her! We'll all have some fun!"
"Yeahhhh!!"
"Hehehe, it's been so long since I've seen a woman!"
Four or five bandits rushed toward Sayo.
Glancing back and seeing them in pursuit, she exhaled in relief.
She pulled arrows from her quiver, firing them as she ran—intentionally making it seem like she was running out.
"Haha! She's out of arrows!"
"She must've been with those dead travelers!"
"Too bad for her! Shouldn't have traveled in winter!"
"Ahhh!!"
"A trap!!"
"She's got backup!!"
Sayo sprinted across the snow, leaping over hidden tripwires and traps. When she heard the bandits' screams behind her, she turned back, muttering to herself.
"Just as Tatsumi predicted…"
She pulled out another pouch of arrows hidden in the grass and fired again.
Meanwhile, Tatsumi and Ieyasu had already engaged the remaining bandits, cutting them down in moments until only the leader was left.
Seeing this, the bandit boss immediately raised his hands.
"I surrender!!"
As the saying goes—live to fight another day.
He began pleading, "We're villagers from nearby… The taxes were too heavy, we had no choice but to do this…"
Slash!
Tatsumi cleaved the man's head in half, wiping his blade on the corpse's clothes.
Looking at the red, yellow, and white fluids staining the snow, he said coldly,
"What a coincidence… The last guy I killed said the exact same thing. Can't you bandits think of a new excuse?"
"Well, it's not like your weapon gives them a chance to!"
Sayo commented while retrieving her arrows.
"Yeah, yeah, if only I had enough ore to make one like that! Imagine how glorious Lord Ieyasu would look with such a sword!"
Ieyasu grinned, practically drooling as he admired Tatsumi's weapon.
"Alright, pack up the loot and move. Let's try to get out of this forest before nightfall."
Tatsumi smiled faintly as he spoke, the other two nodding eagerly.
"Understood!"
"Got it!"
---
Crackle~~! Crackle~~!
The night covered everything. I was the last ray of light, breaking the darkness with a campfire!
Well, fine, I was just an ordinary campfire.
The important ones weren't me, but the two boys and girl sitting around me.
The yellow glow illuminated their faces.
"Are all the traps set up?"
After lighting the fire, Tatsumi asked Sayo.
"Yeah, all set. Four layers inside and out! I also checked the surroundings and planned escape routes in case of attack."
"That's good... then let's take turns keeping watch."
Hearing her answer, Tatsumi nodded.
"Then Lord Ieyasu will sleep first! Otherwise, I won't wake up for the middle shift!"
Pulling a blanket from his backpack, Ieyasu instantly fell asleep, leaving the other two twitching their mouths in disbelief.
"Unbelievable he can say that with a straight face... then I'll leave the first half of the night to you, Tatsumi!"
"Yeah, rest easy, Sayo."
Tossing another stick into the fire, the boy waited as time passed, watching his two friends drift into dreams.
'System, open personal panel.'
[Name: Tatsumi
Age: 13
Race: Human
Abilities: None
Skills: [Imperial Military Swordsmanship LV3], [Cooking LV4], [Trap Making LV3], [Blacksmithing LV3], [Martial Arts LV3], [Weak Poison Resistance LV1]
Worlds Available for Travel: None [Time in original world will pause after crossing]
"When will this 'available world' finally appear... This is as nerve-wracking as waiting for a delivery..."
Looking at the panel before him, the boy couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Over the years, the only things he'd managed to improve were his age and his skills. As for world travel—nothing, not even a hint.
Sure, seeing his skills grow was satisfying, but with none of the system's features working, it was pure torture.
After a sigh, he dismissed the system interface and pulled out a map of the Empire to study.
"Our current position should be here... The number of bandits we've run into keeps increasing. The next area will probably be an uninhabited forest."
"Places like that usually have a lot of danger beasts... Guess we'll need a new travel strategy soon."