Having secured the Dragon Ball, we decided to head back outside.
Since we had fallen down a pit earlier, we would now need to climb back up, but both Nordura and I had the ability to fly, so returning to the dungeon entrance posed no real issue.
We exited the dungeon without incident.
「Where to next?」
「I’m thinking… it’s time to level you up.」
「Leveling, huh? I believe I mentioned this before, but my leveling speed is excruciatingly slow.」
Dragons begin with high base stats, but their growth rate is slow.
Especially blade dragons like Nordura, being a high-tier dragon, the experience required for each level-up was massive.
Still…
「We’ll head to a high-rank dungeon. That should help speed things up a bit.」
「Hmm… well, I suppose you’re right.」
「So let’s raise your level as much as we can. Along the way, we’ll pick up any valuable loot that, 」
「There they are!」
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
We turned in the direction of the shout,
And saw a crowd of bandits emerging from the forest.
「Bandits again…」
Nordura muttered with a tired look.
We had just dealt with four bandits earlier, but this time the situation was clearly different.
The sheer number of them.
Ten.
Twenty.
No, there had to be more.
We were completely surrounded by a large group of bandits.
「So these are the ones who killed our crew?」
A woman with long blue hair, seemingly the leader, addressed a bald man standing next to her.
The bald man responded at once.
「That’s right! No mistake, it was these two who wiped out my party!」
I recognized that bald man.
He was one of the four bandits we’d encountered earlier, the one who ran away in terror after his comrades were killed.
We’d spared his life.
Apparently, he made it back and told the rest of his bandit crew about us.
Now they were here for revenge.
「I see. Honestly, going after our bandit gang like that… you really are reckless, aren’t you?」
The blue-haired woman said with a smile.
I spoke.
「So you came to avenge your fallen comrades.」
「That’s right.」
She confirmed it plainly.
I offered an explanation.
「What happened earlier was self-defense. They came at us with weapons drawn, so we fought back. That’s all.」
The bald man shouted furiously.
「Don’t give me that crap! You’re the ones who trespassed on our turf first!」
I answered calmly.
「Your turf? You bandits are just making that up. Did the kingdom or a local lord grant you permission to claim this area as your own?」
「Nope, not at all—」
The woman replied.
I shrugged.
「Then we were free to walk in. No law was broken.」
「Sure, if we’re talking about the law. But that’s not the point, is it? You entered our hideout without permission. That alone is a crime. You’ll either pay a hefty compensation… or face a fitting punishment. And since you killed some of our crew, there’s no way we’re letting you walk away.」
Then, with a smile still on her face, she added:
「To put it simply, anyone who mocks us gets slaughtered. I trust you understand now?」
I sighed.
Nordura, too, let out a deep sigh beside me.
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