Denver, seventeen this year, was the youngest member of a bandit gang based near Black Goat Street.
Like the youngest in any organization, all the menial tasks and annoying chores fell to him.
But that was all over now.
Why?
Because a new recruit had joined the gang today!
"Hey, Denver. Train the new guy right. If he screws up, you're the one who's gonna get it."
"Yessir!"
"You're good at answering, at least."
The bandit, whose name was Nick, slapped the back of Denver's head a few times before heading into the stronghold. Denver should have been annoyed, but his face was all smiles.
'Ah, I can't be like this.'
If he grinned like an idiot in front of the new guy, he'd be looked down on. Denver wiped the smile off his face and looked at the recruit with a serious expression.
'…He's a handsome one.'
It was the first time he'd seen someone who looked so good with red hair.
Feeling inexplicably irritated, Denver spoke in a sharp tone.
"New guy, follow me. I'll teach you what you need to do from now on."
"Yes, big bro."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Sir? I just said 'yes.'"
"No, after that. You added something."
"Oh, 'big bro'?"
…!
Big bro. What a magnificent ring it had.
Denver had spent his whole life calling others 'big bro,' but this was the first time he'd ever been called it himself. He trembled with excitement.
When the new guy looked at him strangely, Denver felt awkward and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, follow me. I'll show you the ropes."
Denver led the recruit into the stronghold and picked up a broom.
"Take it."
"Yes."
The recruit took the broom without a word. Denver had been planning to smack him one if he questioned it, but it seemed the kid knew how to read the room.
"Where should I start cleaning?"
"Where do you think? The entire stronghold."
"This whole place?"
"That's right. Get to it."
The recruit began to sweep. Denver watched him, pointing out a few things, and the new guy immediately corrected his form.
After the sweeping was done, he taught him other chores like mopping and laundry. The recruit was surprisingly good at his work, so they finished quickly.
"Hey, you're better at this than I thought. You done this kind of work before?"
"No. I just got the hang of it as I went. I'm still lacking compared to you, big bro."
"Of course you are, dumbass. I've been slaving away here for years."
By the time they had finished all the chores, the two had grown considerably closer. The new guy was surprisingly obedient, which made Denver open up to him.
"Big bro, do we control everything around here?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I was just curious. We collect protection money from the three villages down there, right? I was wondering if there were other guys who might want a piece of that."
"Ah, so that's what you meant. Of course there are. We've already clashed a few times."
Denver slung an arm around the recruit's shoulder and pointed toward the sunrise.
"Over there, you've got the Skull Gang. A bunch of crazies who take the skulls of the people they kill."
This time, he pointed toward the sunset.
"And over there, you've got the Wolf Gang. They tame and use wolves."
"They both sound strong."
"They are."
Denver glanced around, making sure they were alone, then lowered his voice.
"We used to control about seven villages, you know? But we lost all but three to the Wolf Gang and the Skull Gang."
"Did you lose in a fight?"
"The boss says we reached a compromise, but we were basically pushed back. Ah, don't you dare repeat this to anyone. If the boss hears about it, we're both dead."
"Haha, don't worry. My lips are sealed."
"Good. I'm trusting you."
Denver chuckled as the recruit mimed zipping his lips. Then, he decided to ask something he'd been curious about since they first met.
"Hey, why'd you join up with us anyway?"
"Sir?"
"I wasn't going to ask, but I can't help being curious. With a face like that, you could honestly sweet-talk some rich girl and live comfortably, right? So why come to a place like this to suffer?"
"Ah, that? I just had a bit of bad luck."
"Bad luck?"
"Yes. Like you said, big bro, I seduced a well-off woman, but it turned out she wasn't just well-off, she was the daughter of an incredibly wealthy family. Her father flew into a rage and tried to kill me, but the girl helped me escape. Once I was out, though, I had nowhere to go. I thought about starting fresh in another city, but I was worried her family would send assassins after me. So I was looking for a place to lie low until things blew over, and I thought of becoming a bandit."
"Well, that's a reason to be jealous of."
Having never once been courted by a woman in his life, Denver clicked his tongue in envy at the recruit's story.
"What about you, big bro? Why did you become a bandit?"
"Me? My reason's simpler than yours. My family was dirt poor. So my parents sold me for three rabbits."
"For just three rabbits?"
"Yeah. They had plenty of other kids. Anyway, I was being hauled off in a cage when I got a lucky break and escaped. One thing led to another, and I ended up here."
"…You've had a harder life than I thought."
"Hey, you son of a bitch, are you pitying me right now? Stop it, you're giving me goosebumps."
"Hey! Denver and the new guy! It's your turn. Get in here!"
As the two were shooting the shit, a bald bandit shouted from inside the stronghold. Hearing this, Denver clenched his fists in delight.
"Finally!"
"What do you mean, 'our turn'?"
"You'll see when we get there. You'll see."
Whistling, Denver practically skipped into the stronghold.
The recruit followed behind him.
Denver headed for a room in the deepest part of the hideout.
A muscular giant stood guard in front of the door.
"Denver and the new guy. Go on in."
"Yessir, Big Bro Mark!"
Denver entered the room, ecstatic, with the recruit right behind him.
The room was completely empty.
Except for a haggard woman staring blankly at the floor with vacant eyes.
"Big bro, this is…"
"Ah, shit. A dud…"
Denver let out a deep sigh.
"A dud?"
"Yeah. A dud. Look at her. Does she look like she's in her right mind?"
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Exactly. She's a bitch who's been passed around by everyone. Dammit, we have a new guy, too. It would've been nice if they gave us one who hasn't been touched as much. Should I just quit and join the Skull Gang or the Wolf Gang? I hear they have plenty of new women over there."
Grumbling, Denver laid the woman down on the floor. She didn't resist. She just stared at the ceiling with her dull eyes.
"Where do you get the women from?"
"Where do you think? Those three villages down there? They offer them up."
"Offer them up?"
"Yeah. Sometimes they have a bad harvest and can't pay the protection fee on time. So they give us a woman instead."
"What happens if they refuse?"
"What can they do? We go down there and wreck the place once, and they get scared shitless and beg for forgiveness. That's when we pick out a few pretty ones and bring them back. Anyway, why are you asking so many questions? You not gonna do it?"
"I'm good. You have fun, big bro."
"Well, look at you. I guess a woman like this isn't even worth your time? You fancy bastards are all the same."
Denver grumbled as he took off his shirt. As he was taking off his pants, he remembered something and called out to the recruit, who was about to leave.
"Right, I forgot to ask your name. How could I forget? Hey, new guy. What's your name?"
The recruit paused, turned around, and said,
"Cloud. My name is Cloud."
*
In the dead of night.
Denver woke up. He tossed and turned a few times, trying to fall back asleep, but couldn't.
"…Guess I'll go take a piss."
Denver got up to go outside, but…
"Oh, you're awake."
He met Cloud's eyes.
"…Hey. What are you doing?"
"Hm?"
"The fuck are you doing right now?!"
It wouldn't have been a problem if he had simply made eye contact with Cloud.
But Cloud was holding a sword in a reverse grip, its tip pointed at the bandit sleeping next to Denver.
"Agh… what's with all the noi—"
Shunk.
"Gurgle…?!"
The bandit was stabbed in the neck the moment he woke up.
He died flailing, unable to comprehend the situation.
"You… you…!"
Denver looked around.
Of all the bandits sleeping in the same room, he was the only one left alive.
Only then did he notice the overwhelming stench of blood filling the room.
"You son of a bitch!"
Denver scrambled to his feet and snatched a scimitar hanging on the wall.
"Are you crazy? You think you can get away with this?! You have no idea how terrifying our boss is. Once he gets here, you're…"
"That fleshy, bald pig? He was certainly strong. But that was all."
"…What?"
What did that bastard just say?
Denver couldn't understand what Cloud had said. Or rather, he didn't want to understand.
The boss was the strongest person he knew. And Cloud spoke as if he had killed him. That meant there was no way out for him.
Splash.
As Cloud took a step forward, the pool of blood on the floor splashed.
"D-don't come any closer."
Splash.
"I said, don't come any closer!"
Splash.
"You… why are you doing this to me…? I was good to you!"
Splash.
"I didn't want to do this shit either! I just… I just wanted to live! That's all!"
Splash.
"Stay away… you… you bastard!"
Don't they say even a cornered rat will bite a cat?
But even if a rat bites with all its might, it can only leave a tiny scratch on the cat.
And right now, to Cloud, Denver was less than a rat.
Clang.
The scimitar Denver swung with all his strength was easily parried by Cloud's sword.
Denver's body tilted to the side.
Cloud's sword pierced Denver's heart.
"Gah…"
Getting stabbed in the heart doesn't mean you die instantly.
It takes at least a few seconds.
And those few seconds were enough to reflect on one's life and leave a final word.
"Mom… Dad…"
Those were Denver's last words.
Sold by his parents for the paltry price of three rabbits, he called for them even in his final moments.
Cloud felt nothing.
He simply pulled out his sword and wiped the blood from its blade.
*
"Sob… No… I don't want to…"
A young woman was crying. Normally, someone would comfort a crying person, but no one here did.
Instead, they just got annoyed at the noise.
This was the room of the playthings, located in the deepest part of the stronghold.
Not a single ray of light entered the sealed room, and the stench of filth rising from all corners stung the nose.
'Ugh… so noisy…'
Katie was a woman who had been here for about two years. She wasn't the one who'd been here the longest, but she had managed to survive for a while.
The reason she ended up here was simple.
Her village had a bad harvest, and unable to pay the protection fee to the bandits, they had to send a woman.
As everyone fretted, she, full of compassion and loyalty, had raised her hand.
She had declared it with confidence.
I'll go.
Thinking back on it now, it was truly insane. A foolish act driven by a pathetic sense of heroism. But regret wouldn't change reality.
All she could do now was kill her emotions and live day by day.
And even then, she didn't know when she might die.
"Hic… Mom… Daaad…"
The woman's sobs showed no sign of stopping.
Katie turned slightly to look at the crying woman.
'She's the one who came in today, right?'
The girl who was scheduled to lose her virginity to that pig bastard tomorrow night.
'Too bad for her. That bastard is fucking rough.'
Bruises were the least of it; many women had died after suffering from broken bones.
"Someone… please, someone save me…"
Hearing the woman's whimpers, Katie couldn't help but snort. She wasn't the only one. The other women, who had been muttering in annoyance, also burst out laughing.
It was because they had all been like that once.
Days when they endured, holding onto the hope that someone would come to save them.
But just as their hopes had been crushed, this woman's hope would not be realized either.
Why?
For starters, there were over thirty bandits in this stronghold. And unlike the starving villagers, these bastards were well-fed and beefy.
Even if the villagers decided to fight back, they wouldn't stand a chance.
On top of that, the cities wouldn't send soldiers, claiming that monster appearances had increased recently. In a place like this, where monsters were relatively weak and few, the bandits' power was absolute.
Someone might ask why they didn't just pool their money and hire an adventurer…
'They're selling off their own people because they can't even afford the protection fee. What adventurer?'
It was harsh, so very harsh, but this was reality.
The day would come when that girl would realize it, too.
Katie tried to fall asleep, ignoring the woman's sobbing.
It was then.
Grind. Grind.
The pulley system engaged, and the thick stone door that sealed the room from the outside began to move.
The woman's sobs stopped.
Instead, she stared at the door, her eyes filled with hope.
In contrast, the women who knew reality could only sigh.
"Ugh… so annoying. Which bastard is horny this early in the morning?"
"Damn it, a bunch of animals. I wouldn't complain if they were at least good-looking. But these ugly fuckers just walk around with their dicks all hard…"
As the women grumbled, the stone door opened completely.
In the faint light spilling from beyond the door, a man appeared—so handsome it made you gasp.
'If he looks like that, I wouldn't mind doing it at dawn. Huh? But was there a guy like that among these bandit bastards?'
A question suddenly surfaced.
Something began to tickle inside her chest.
It was something she had given up on and abandoned long ago.
Katie tried her best to ignore it.
She didn't want to get her hopes up only to be betrayed.
It's an impossible dream, she told herself, recalling the cruel reality as she tried to calm her heart.
The other women were in a similar state.
"E-excuse me…!"
The one who spoke up amidst the silence was the woman who had been sobbing just moments ago. With a face mixed with fear and hope, she asked him.
"Are you… here to save us…?"
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard.
Someone clenched their fists, and someone else's legs trembled.
They pretended not to care.
They pretended to have given up.
But they were women who starved for hope more than anyone.
Thud. Something was thrown into their midst.
Clothes, little more than rags, but enough to cover their bodies.
Their disbelieving eyes all turned to the man.
In response, the man—Cloud—gave them the answer they had so desperately longed for.
"Get dressed. It's time to go home."