Chapter 15: I’m Super! Bronze!

“Oh, you’ve been so helpful! If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t know what I’d have done.”

Vic eyed the black-haired girl’s silly smile, a secret thrill bubbling in his chest.
Pretty and dim-witted—that’s just the boss’s type.
“I’m Vic, and this big lug next to me is Lu. What’s your name, Miss Adventurer?”

“Just call me Xiao Yi.”
Xiao Yi pointed at herself, smiling.
“Thanks for helping me, Mr. Vic, but I’ve still got a commission to gather moor grass, so I’ll take my leave…”

“If it’s moor grass, we can help.”

“Tch… You think I’m letting you walk away now?”

Vic smacked his lips, his smile vanishing.
He waved a hand, and his men drew weapons, encircling her.
“Too late to bail! Come quietly, or you’ll get hurt!”

“Ah!!!”

Xiao Yi trembled, seemingly terrified.
“Mr. Vic, what’s going on…?”

“Can’t you tell?! We’re bandits, you idiot!”

A feral grin twisted Vic’s gaunt face, his voice laced with impatience.
“Don’t keep the boss waiting! Move it!”

“Boss! Look what we snagged!”

Vic’s excited shout echoed from outside the cave, lingering in the dim chamber.

“What’s the racket?”

The Black Hand Bandits’ leader lounged on a crude stone throne, eyes closed, head propped.

At Vic’s voice, the boss cracked her eyes open, taking in Vic, Lu, and the unfamiliar black-haired girl.

“D-Don’t… don’t kill me…”

Xiao Yi, dragged roughly into the cave, crumpled to the ground, head bowed.

“Oh? A girl… and such a unique one.”

The boss’s voice reached Xiao Yi’s ears, stunning her into looking up.

Female?!

Before her stood a brown-haired woman in skimpy, ragged clothes and simple hide armor.
Her build was sturdy yet balanced, radiating robust health.

Her face was average—above ordinary, but nothing striking.
A vertical scar marred her right eye, likely from some blade.

Her voice was gravelly, but unmistakably feminine.

“What’re you staring at? This is our boss, Okolis. She’s got a thing for cute, airheaded girls like you.”

“Hey, Vic, don’t spook the little thing.”

Okolis sauntered over, crouching to inspect Xiao Yi closely.
“Black hair on a girl this pretty? Rare sight—”

“I’ve decided! You’ll marry me—be my wife!”

Okolis seized Xiao Yi’s hand, her tone brimming with affection.

“Ha?”

Xiao Yi was so floored she couldn’t muster a word for minutes.

Isn’t this progressing way too fast?!

Even shotgun weddings aren’t this rushed!

Vic chuckled, reading his boss’s intent.
As a loyal underling, how could he not assist?

He waved casually, signaling Lu and the others to clear out of the cave and wait outside, lest they cramp her style.

But as they reached the entrance, a cloaked figure appeared—seemingly out of nowhere.

From her slight build, she looked like a young girl.

“Huh? What’s with today? Good luck in doubles?”

Vic licked his lips, not bothering to ask who she was.
He directed Lu and the men to surround her.

“Perfect! Boss gets one—so I’ll claim you for myself!”

Cynthia clapped her hands, surveying the bandits bound by her blood magic.
She turned to Vic, who’d boasted the loudest moments ago.
“Where’s the one you just brought in?”

“Inside…”

Vic, battered and bruised, could barely slur the word.

Cynthia didn’t linger, striding into the cave.
She immediately spotted Ina, entangled in a struggle with Okolis.

“From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was utterly captivated—”

Okolis clutched Ina’s hand, pouring out her affections, oblivious to Cynthia’s arrival.

“No, no, no! Big sis, you deserve better than me! I’m nothing special!”

“Shh, I get it—you’re shy. That’s fine. Once we’re closer, you’ll see how great I am—”

“It’ll be too late by then!”

“No! Love’s never too late! How could it be?!”

“Will you listen to yourself?!”

“Pfft…”

Cynthia couldn’t stifle her laughter at the scene.
To avoid interrupting, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

But her giggle reached Ina, teetering on the edge.
Ina whipped around.
“Cynthia-chan! Save me!”

“Eh, nothing to say. Wishing you a happy marriage… I’ll leave you to it.”

“It suits you perfectly!”

“Who dares interrupt my romance?!”

The exchange finally snapped Okolis from her fantasy.
She yanked the twin silver swords from her waist, leaping up and leveling them at Cynthia.

Only then did she see her clearly:

“Oh? A vampire?”

“Heh… No clue how you slipped past Vic and the rest.”

“But since you’re here, let’s see how my silver-plated twins fare against you!”The current date is September 25, 2025.

After ignoring the manager’s kind words, Cynthia and Ina quickly reached the base of the mountain where the bandits lurked.

Gazing at the lush vegetation covering the slopes, Ina felt a bit lost on where to begin.

Compared to other peaks, this mountain was small, but searching for a group of bandits in such dense foliage was like finding a needle in a stream—if not a haystack.

The difficulty was no small feat.

“So, how do you plan to find those bandits?”

Ina looked around but saw no trails leading up.
She spread her hands and asked Cynthia.
“Don’t rely on me—my dark magic can’t track people.”

Cynthia didn’t reply immediately.
Instead, she lifted her nose slightly, as if sniffing something.
“It smells like human blood.”

“Are you a dog? Why’s your sense of smell so sharp?”

Obviously skeptical, Ina questioned her, but recalled Cynthia was a vampire—smelling blood seemed normal.
“Where exactly?”

“Follow me. It’s not far.”

Without another word, Cynthia pushed aside the bushes ahead, diving into the woods toward the blood scent.

“Wait for me! Damn it! Why are you so fast?!”

Following the blood trail, Cynthia hacked through thorns and soon reached a clearing.
The charred remnants of a campfire suggested recent visitors.

“Huff… huff… I’m exhausted…”

Ina emerged behind Cynthia after a while, panting.
She wiped sweat from her brow and asked unhappily.
“Why’d you stop? Tired?”

“…So polite.”

Cynthia shot Ina a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow.
“The blood scent and energy vanish here. Someone covered it up.”

“Oh, got it.”

Ina nodded and sat by the campfire.
“If we can’t find them, let’s rest and head back.”

“Worst case, borrow from that uncle, or return to Tara and shake down Mayor Pop. There’s always a way.”

Hearing Ina’s mutterings, a cunning idea sparked in Cynthia’s mind.

She stepped forward, knelt on one knee, patted Ina’s shoulder, and flashed a sincere smile.
“Hey, Miss Ina, I just thought of a brilliant plan. It’ll let you rest and find those bandits.”

“Oh? Really? Tell me!”

Ina’s face lit with hope at the dual promise.

Cynthia leaned in, whispering softly in her ear:
“We do this… then you do that… and I finish with this… done~”

As Cynthia explained, Ina’s expression shifted from eager to uneasy, then horrified.

“Come on, Cynthia-chan.”

Ina forced a smile, scooting away.
“That kind of thing… isn’t for me. Why don’t you do it?”

Cynthia, anticipating this, twisted her sincere smile into a smirk.
“Think about walking to Barlia—on foot!”

“Imagine reaching the kingdom broke, no food or bed, sleeping on streets, scavenging garbage!”

“And! If you’re penniless, you’ll—”

“Stop! Devil! Fine, I’ll do it!!!”

Boom!!!

A massive explosion rocked the silent woods, startling birds into flight.

“What’s that?! What happened?!”

The Black Hand bandit gang was equally alarmed.

“Boss, it came from an outpost!”

“A raid? Vic, Lu, take men to check!”

“Yes, Boss!”

The wiry Vic acknowledged loudly, then kicked the hulking, snoring Lu in the hall’s corner.
“Lu! Still asleep? That blast didn’t wake you?!”

“Huh? Dinner?”

“Idiot, all you think about is food! Gear up and move!”

Vic, Lu, and a dozen bandits cautiously approached the explosion site.

A huge crater loomed, making Vic swallow hard.

“Damn… what caused this hole…”

“V-Vic, look—something in the pit!”

Lu, hefting his iron rod, pointed.

“Something? What?”

“Looks like… a person?”

“A person?”

As Vic’s curiosity peaked, a desperate female voice rose from the pit:

“Anyone—can someone help?!”

“A woman?”

Vic and Lu exchanged glances.
Lu’s eyes screamed hunger for food; Vic’s, suspicion.

No help from this fool.
Vic waved his men forward.

“Brother Vic, it’s a dark-haired woman—pretty, no threat.”

“No danger?”

Vic edged to the pit and looked down.

A dust-covered black-haired girl sat helplessly, gazing up.
“Kind sir, can you save me?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m an adventurer. Took a herb-gathering job, but accidentally triggered a fire crystal from a friend—blew this crater.”

“You survived that?!”

Vic eyed her doubtfully.

“…I fell in checking the size.”

“…”

Silence fell.
Vic scanned the edge, spotting broken ground from a misstep.

Seems legit…

His gaze returned to the girl.
Adventurers had cash…

And she was pretty.
Bring her to the boss—promotion material.

With their numbers, no tricks possible.

His face softened, a fake smile emerging.
“No problem! Wait—we’ll pull you out!”

“Oh, you’ve been so helpful! If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Vic eyed the black-haired girl’s silly grin, secretly thrilled.
Pretty and naive—boss’s type.
“I’m Vic, and the big guy’s Lu. What’s your name, Miss Adventurer?”

“Just call me Xiao Yi.”
Xiao Yi pointed at herself, smiling.
“Thanks for the help, Mr. Vic, but I’ve got a commission for moor grass, so I’ll be off…”

“If it’s moor grass, we can help.”

Vic quickly blocked her exit.
“There’s a big patch up the mountain—great for stopping bleeding.”

“Really?! But I hate to trouble you more…”

“No trouble. Our Black Hand… Adventure Group’s motto is helping others. It’s close—let’s go.”

Seeing her waver, Vic pressed on, not giving her a refusal chance.

“Well… if you insist.”

Xiao Yi relented, following the group up the mountain.

After some time, Xiao Yi noticed the thickening vegetation, unease growing.
“Mr. Vic, where are we? This doesn’t seem like herb territory…”

Before Vic could reply, Lu blurted dumbly:

“Huh? Back for dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Ah—yeah—”

Vic kicked Lu hard, forcing a wry smile for Xiao Yi.
“We’ve gathered plenty. They’re at camp—you’ll see soon.”

“I… suddenly remembered something. Maybe I shouldn’t go?”

“Tch… Too late to bail now!”

Vic’s smile vanished.
He waved; his men surrounded her with weapons.
“Cooperate, or get hurt!”

“Ah!!!”

Xiao Yi trembled, seemingly terrified.
“Mr. Vic, what are you doing…?”

“Can’t you tell?! We’re bandits! Idiot!”

Vic’s thin face twisted viciously, his tone impatient.
“Don’t keep the boss waiting! Move!”

“Boss! Look what we got!”

Vic’s excited shout echoed through the cave.

“What’s the ruckus?”

The Black Hand leader lounged on her stone seat, eyes closed.

At Vic’s voice, she opened them, eyeing Vic, Lu, and the unfamiliar black-haired girl.

“Don’t… don’t kill me…”

Xiao Yi, dragged in, fell to the ground, head bowed.

“Oh? A girl… quite special.”

The boss’s voice hit Xiao Yi’s ears, stunning her into lifting her head.

Female?!

A brown-haired woman in skimpy clothes and animal-hide armor stood before her.
Her build was balanced, exuding health.

Her looks were average but above par, marred only by a vertical scar over her right eye.

Her voice was rough but distinctly female.

“What’re you staring at? This is our boss, Okolis. She loves naive pretties like you.”

“Hey, Vic, don’t scare the girl.”

Okolis approached Xiao Yi, bending to inspect her.
“Rare to see such a beautiful black-haired girl—”

“I’ve decided! You’ll marry me—be my wife!”

Okolis grasped Xiao Yi’s hand, gazing affectionately.

“Huh?”

Xiao Yi was too shocked to speak, frozen for minutes.

Isn’t this too fast?! Even flash marriages aren’t this quick!

Vic chuckled, eyeing his boss.
As a good subordinate, he knew to read the room.

He waved subtly, signaling Lu and the men to exit, giving the boss space.

But as they reached the cave mouth, a cloaked figure blocked the way—seemingly a young girl by her build.

“Huh? What’s with today? Good things in pairs?”

Vic licked his lips, surrounding her with Lu and the men—no questions asked.

“Perfect! Boss has one—I’ll take this!”

Cynthia dusted her hands, eyeing the bandits bound by her blood magic.
She turned to Vic, the loudest braggart.
“Where’s the person you brought back?”

“Inside…”

Vic’s face was battered, his words slurred.

Cynthia didn’t linger, striding into the cave.
She immediately spotted Ina entangled with Okolis.

“From the moment I saw you, I was captivated—”

Okolis held Ina’s hand, pouring out her heart, oblivious to Cynthia.

“No, no! Big sister, you can do better! I’m plain!”

“Stop—once we know each other, you’ll see my good side—”

“It’ll be too late then!”

“Love’s never late!”

“Listen to me?!”

“Pfft…”

The scene cracked Cynthia up; she covered her mouth to stifle laughs.

Her chuckle reached Ina, on the brink.
She turned.
“Cynthia-chan! Save me!”

“Uh, congrats on the marriage… I’ll leave you to it.”

The exchange snapped Okolis from her reverie.
She drew her silver-plated twin swords, standing and pointing them at Cynthia.

Only now did she see the intruder clearly.

“Oh? A vampire?”

“Heh… Don’t know how you slipped past Vic’s crew.”

“But since you’re here, taste my silver-plated blades!”