The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"..."

It has been a few hours since we departed.

Currently, we're in a mountain forest.

Nothing much has happened, and I'm not complaining.

Including me, there are a total of eight escorts guarding the five carriages we have.

So I'm not really pressured to take action all the time...

And so, the peaceful travel continued.

Or so I wished...

"Bandits!"

We were ambushed by mountain bandits.

"Let's work, Pyro."

I said, glancing at the cute slime perched on my right shoulder.

And brightly...

-Meep!

Pyro responded.

I immediately left the carriage after that.

And outside...

"..."

Chaos was unfolding.

There were more than 20 attackers, and our side was quickly being pushed back!

'Shit.'

I thought as a frown appeared on my face.

And not long after...

"HAAAHHH!!!"

A bandit came charging in my direction.

He was swinging a bloodied sword in the air.

"Haaa..."

I sighed.

"[Wind Blast]"

Fwoosh—

"GAAAHHH!!!"

And then I sent him flying away.

Bam!

"Urgh...!"

He slammed into a tree and passed out.

Just then...

"Young sir, please help us!"

The merchant appeared, exclaiming that.

Looking at him, I could see how stressed he was at the situation.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

I reassured him.

'I need a ride, after all.'

Tap—

And then I stepped down from the carriage.

"..."

I scanned the surroundings.

I marked the positions of my allies.

Each of them was fighting at least three enemies at once.

After that, I turned my hands into finger guns, carefully aiming them at the enemies.

"Haaa..."

I exhaled deeply, closing my eyes.

And after opening them back...

"[Bang]!"

I cast my first spell.

"Gurgh?!"

It hit an enemy fighting one of the escorts in the right leg.

And because of that...

Slash—

"Gah!"

The escort on my side was able to take him out.

I didn't stop there...

"[Bang]"

"Ugh?!"

I shot another enemy in the hand as he tried to swing at one of the escorts.

Unable to complete the swing...

Phuck—

The escort stabbed him in the stomach, killing him.

After that...

"[Bang] [Bang] [Bang]—"

I continued assisting the escorts from the back.

And before long...

'We're winning.'

I thought of that as the tide of battle shifted in our favor.

However...

"Target that white-haired bastard! He's the one attacking from a distance!"

I had been discovered by the enemies.

"GAHHHH!!!"

"So it was you, you fucker!"

"Bastard!"

Five bandits immediately rushed at me.

And looking at them...

"What a pain."

I muttered that to myself.

And when they got close...

"[Gust]"

I cast that spell.

SWOOSH—

A powerful gust of wind swirled around me...

"WAHHH?!"

"The fuck?!"

"Ugh?!"

Thud—

The wind knocked them off balance, leaving them on their butts.

And before they could get back up...

"So, you're the leader."

I pointing my index finger at the one who had given the order to attack me.

And immediately...

"[Bang]"

I shot him.

"Gagk!"

The spell struck him between the brows, piercing his brain.

Thud—

His body collapsed on the ground, dead.

And the bandits, seeing their leader defeated...

"..."

"..."

"..."

Froze in shock.

And not wasting that opportunity...

"[Bang]"

I shot another bandit in the head.

Thud—

He dropped dead as well.

Then...

"[Bang] [Bang]—"

I continued shooting at them nonstop!

"Gahhh!"

"Run back!"

"Retreat!"

The bandits turned to flee.

But when they turned their backs against us...

Slash—

"Keuk!"

Phuck—

"Argh...!"

The escorts finished them off, not letting a single one of them escape!

And seeing that...

"I'm done here."

I muttered, walking back to the carriage I was in earlier.

"Oh, thank you, young sir!"

The merchant praised me.

"..."

Tap- tap- tap—

But I just ignored him and walked past.

"I'll be resting."

I said.

Fwip—

And then I entered the carriage.

Not long after...

"We're leaving!"

I heard the merchant shout behind me.

Then the noncombatants started moving and cleaning up things so we could leave.

...

...

...

As soon as I sat down inside the carriage...

"Ugh..."

I let out a quiet groan.

"Huuuu... Huuu... Huuuuuu..."

I tried to steady my breathing.

My heart was racing, and I couldn't focus.

Sweat then began dripping down my face.

And this was all because I wasn't used to killing people.

"Urgh..."

That's why I left the killing to the escorts earlier, only taking out the leader and two others to end the fight.

Don't get me wrong...

I've killed before—back when I was in the military in my world.

I was deployed in a small war, I shot down enemy soldiers.

But that doesn't mean I can take a life without guilt!

As a matter of fact, I hesitated earlier, and because of that...

'An escort died!'

I failed to save him!

He was decapitated.

And remembering that scene...

"Ughhh..."

My stomach churned, and I felt like vomiting.

Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.

"Haaaaa... Haaa... Haaa..."

I worked hard to calm myself.

But I just can't stop thinking that I was the one to blame why one of the escorts died!

'I'm so stupid!'

I thought.

And just then...

-Meep...

Pyro approached and rubbed his head against my cheek.

"Huh?"@@novelbin@@

I glanced at him.

And there he was, looking at me, worried.

-Meep...

He chirped, trying to comfort me.

"..."

And because of him...

"Fuuu..."

I was able to calm down.

And after that...

"..."

I patted Pyro's head.

-Meep!

"Thanks."

I whispered softly.

"Haaaa..."

And then I closed my eyes, trying to rest.

*****

A few hours after the encounter with the bandits, we decided to settle in the forest and set up camp.

We were exhausted, and several escorts were wounded earlier too.

It was also getting dark, so continuing our travel is just plain stupid.

And since I wasn't injured or particularly tired, I helped build the camp.

Then afterward...

"Let's eat!"

We all gathered for dinner.

The merchant's group had a cook, so we were served a warm meal.

And as I was eating...

"Thank you for earlier, you saved my life."

One of the escorts approached me and said that.

I looked up at him. He was older, but clearly fit.

"You're welcome."

I replied casually.

But the thanks didn't stop there.

"You were incredible earlier!"

"Yeah, so strong despite being so young!"

"Thanks for covering our backs."

The other escorts joined in, voicing their gratitude.

"..."

I was caught off guard.

And hearing their words...

"It was nothing."

I simply responded, though deep down, their appreciation made me happy.

-Meep!

Pyro chirped, clearly pleased that I wasn't feeling down anymore.

And with that...

I enjoyed my meal with the other escorts, feeling a rare sense of camaraderie.