The next day, we began investigating the bandits.

That being said, I knew where to go, so I suggested to Sofia that we head to the Guardhouse, the next event location. It’s like a combination of a police station and a government office from my previous life, and the number of soldiers seemed quite high for the size of the town, probably due to the presence of monsters and the bandit commotion.

Entering, I asked the receptionist,

“Do you have any information regarding the bandits?”

“…Have you encountered them?”

The male receptionist asked. I shook my head and said,

“No, I just heard about it and thought I should be prepared for self-defense.”

“You’re a traveler, then. I understand. The circumstances are…”

Just as he said that, the door next to them opened, and a man and a woman appeared from the back.

“Anyway, we’ll handle this matter ourselves…”

“We’ll hear your side of the story another day. For now, please go home.”

It was Nogu and Kyarun. They probably came to town for some business at the Guardhouse.

“Are you suspicious of us, thinking it was our doing?”

“We will re-examine your explanation…”

It seemed like, as the old woman at the eatery said yesterday, the soldiers thought mercenaries were causing trouble, and Nogu and Kyarun came to explain themselves.

It was about to turn into an argument, but Kyarun noticed us first and let out an awkward “Ah,” stopping the conversation.

“Hello.”

I bowed. Then Nogu noticed us too,

“Oh, uh…”

Perhaps realizing they were in trouble, they looked a bit flustered. Since Kyarun had committed a pickpocketing, if I were to bring that up now, Nogu and Kyarun’s explanation would be meaningless. At worst, they might even be arrested.

“Oh, hello to you too.”

Sofia said, and Kyarun and the others froze.

“Are you acquainted with these people?”

The soldier, also intrigued, spoke up. I looked at Sofia. If I were to say they pickpocketed us, the event would be ruined—but she opened her mouth with a smile.

“No, we were lost and fighting monsters, and these two helped us.”

“…Oh?”

The soldier mumbled with interest. Nogu and the others, while somewhat surprised, gave an ingratiating smile, as if they had narrowly escaped death.

“Is that so?… Mr. Nogu. As I said earlier, we will conduct an investigation. Please go home today.”

“…Understood.”

Agreeing, Nogu and Kyarun left the Guardhouse. Sofia and I exchanged glances, and I said to the receptionist,

“…I want to talk to those two, so I’ll ask about the bandits another time.”

“Understood.”

As soon as he agreed, we also left the Guardhouse. Nogu and Kyarun were standing right in front of us.

“…You saved us.”

“No, we also wanted to talk a bit.”

Sofia said. Since the person who was pickpocketed was saying this, Nogu and Kyarun looked suspicious.

“It’s about the bandits… You were falsely accused, and you came to the Guardhouse to explain yourselves as mercenaries, correct?”

“…That’s right.”

Nogu responded politely. Then, Sofia asked further,

“Could you tell me more about that?”

“Are you going to get involved? I think you should stop.”

Kyarun interjected. Nogu nodded in agreement.

… The flow from the Guardhouse, the details of the conversation were different, but it was almost the same as in the game. In the game, a choice appeared here, and if you chose not to get involved, the event would end for a while. However, since they were in the Tavern, if you talked to them there, the event would restart.

“—She and I are traveling for a particular reason, but—”

I spoke up here.

“We’re involved with the Knights and Humans who maintain public order. We’re sensitive to troublesome Bandit Groups and such. If you’d like, we can help in some way.”

At that, Nogu and the others were surprised and their eyes widened. I, on the other hand, continued, seizing the opportunity.

“Since you came to talk to an official, things must be quite troublesome, right? For us, it’s a problem we can’t overlook, and we can’t just leave it… We’re pretty skilled. I think we can be useful.”

“…Could you please wait a moment?”

Nogu stopped us, then immediately turned his back and began consulting with Kyarun.

They must be troubled by such a sudden proposal… but in reality, the in-game event was similar to this. The details of the conversation differed for each Protagonist, but talking to Wind like this was the same.

While they were consulting, a certain commotion would occur in the game—I thought I could verify if the event would proceed as in the game here.

Until now, I had been involved in the main events of the Protagonists in the game. As a result, I learned that if I didn’t interfere too much, it would largely follow the game.

However, for sub-events… and when a person who isn’t a Protagonist is involved, will it proceed as in the game? Moreover, in this case, it’s a different location from the game. Will the content change in this case, or will it be as I know it… It wouldn’t hurt to check.

So far, it’s proceeding according to the script, but I wonder—as I was thinking, a Soldier ran up to the Guardhouse. Oh, could this be it?

“E-excuse me!”

The Soldier apologized to the people around him as he entered the Guardhouse. At the same time, a howl was heard.

“A Monster, huh?”

Nogu also stopped his discussion and muttered.

“Sofia, let’s go.”

I immediately told her and started running. Sofia followed. Along with them, Nogu and the others also moved.

The scene was at the Town’s entrance. From where it came, a Monster with gray fur and dull green eyes was present.

Although it had gray fur, it was clearly not just an animal because some of its fur tips were sharply pointed like a hedgehog. The Monster’s name was ‘Needle Wolf,’ and it was not an evolved form of an animal, but a temporary creature that appeared due to the invasion of the Demon King and the Demon Race.

As a Monster, it was a minion. It was insignificant to me, of course, and to Sofia, but there were quite a few of them. In the game, I’m sure there were four, but what I saw was double that, eight… It seems this part isn’t the same after all.

“For now, let’s defeat them.”

“Yes.”

Sofia drew her sword at my words. I also drew my sword. While the Soldiers were confused, the Needle Wolves noticed us and attacked.

“With Sofia’s current strength, she can defeat them in two or three hits.”

“Understood.”

At the same time as her reply, Sofia rushed towards the leading Monster. The moment that Monster tried to open its mouth wide, she swung her sword vertically.

A slash to the head. It wasn’t a one-hit kill, but she succeeded in greatly staggering it and launched a continuous attack.

This time, a horizontal slash. With that, the Monster easily vanished… While she hadn’t reached the level of a Swordsman or Knight of the Book class, she seemed to have an easy time against Monsters that attacked monotonously. Monsters of this level are no longer a threat.

She dealt a blow to the approaching Monster, then pierced its body with the Magic ‘Aerial Sword.’ She also caught several other Monsters in the vicinity, greatly slowing their movements.

Amidst that, I also moved… I decided to verify how to fight based on my reflections from last time.

I faced the approaching Needle Wolf. Against the Monster attacking head-on—I first responded with Magic.

Light attribute Lower-tier Magic ‘Holy Shot’—a Magic that strikes the opponent with a white bullet of light. Its basic Book power is, as expected, that of a Lower-tier Magic, but for me, it’s a one-hit kill for the Monster in front of me… provided it hits the head or body properly.

My aim was its leg. The Magic, fired to match the Monster’s attack speed, directly hit its right front leg as intended, causing it to lose its balance significantly.

Good. I muttered in my mind and simultaneously struck its head, defeating the Monster.

For example, in the case of Fire Magic, even with a ‘Flame Needle,’ if it hits, the flames will spread across the body. Therefore, there’s a possibility of being engulfed in flames and defeated in one blow, even if it doesn’t hit a vital spot.

However, ‘Holy Shot’ is different. Since there’s no residual effect, it can destroy only the targeted part. Other magic would also work, but I chose Light Magic, which I’m most proficient in, thinking it would be easier to achieve my goal.

The result was a success. Destroying parts appropriately and then finishing with a slash. If I fight like this, at least the possibility of being questioned like in the Ancient Ruins should be low… but it seems I need to think more about this.

Furthermore, Kyarun and Nogu also fought. Kyarun with a Dagger, and Nogu with a Longsword… neither of them used magic, but perhaps because their levels were decent, they were able to deal with the Needle Wolves without much difficulty.

There were eight monsters, but we didn’t struggle much… and in less than five minutes of combat, we succeeded in annihilating them.