The Young Bandit and Mia’s Conviction
“Nnh… Uuungh?” Mia thought she heard a distant voice as she slowly opened her eyes.
For some reason, it felt like she had just woken from a bad dream—a dream featuring a really scary-looking Rafina scolding her.
How frightening! All I was doing was enjoying butter-fried mushrooms, yet Rafina got so upset at me just for eating too many. Well, at least it was just a dream.
Mia shook her head, trying to rid herself of her bad dream. She attempted to stand up, but…
“Huh? Where am I? Ow!”
She immediately winced in pain. She could feel the pain not in her head but rather throughout her body, as if it were being pricked with thin needles. Looking down, Mia saw a bunch of twigs sticking out of her clothes, and she suddenly remembered what had happened.
Th-That’s right. I hit my head on that tree branch, and then…and then…I fell from my—
It was close, but Mia managed to hold back her voice. The bandits that had been chasing them might be nearby. Mia couldn’t casually let her voice alert them to her position. Holding her breath, Mia carefully moved only her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings. To her surprise, she found herself in the forest, nestled into a small clearing.
It doesn’t seem like I’m hiding, does it?
Mia had been sure that she and Rafina had been hiding somewhere after falling from their horse, but… This doesn’t really seem like a hiding place, and Rafina is nowhere to be seen.
Mia briefly wondered if Rafina had left her to escape alone, but she quickly dismissed that idea.
Impossible! Miss Rafina would never leave a friend! It’s much more likely she hid me in the forest to call for help by herself, or that she offered herself as a distraction. Hm… I’m not sure what to make of all this.
Should she get up to find help? Or should she stay hidden? Faced with these conflicting options, Mia couldn’t keep her head from spinning. Just then, she heard a man’s voice.
“Hey. You awake?”
Moons! It’s over. I can’t pretend to be asleep any longer.
Accepting her fate, Mia tried to sit up.
“Ah! Mia. You shouldn’t be moving just yet.”
“My! Is that you, Miss Rafina?”
Rafina approached Mia, taking off the damp cloth that had been on Mia’s forehead and replacing it with a fresh one. The overthinking from earlier had left Mia’s head on the verge of overheating, but the cool cloth slowly brought its temperature back down to a normal range.
“Ah, this feels excellent,” mumbled Mia, still in a daze.
“Haven’t I told you, miss? You can’t be looking the other way while you’re riding.”
It was the same male voice from earlier, but now, Mia realized she recognized it after all.
“Huh? Is that you, Malong? What in the moons brings you here?”
“Ha ha ha! That should be my line,” said Malong, a hearty grin on his lips. But to Mia, it looked completely unnatural, as if he was trying to hide something.
Oh, my! N-No way! Was Malong the one chasing after us?! Great Detective Mia’s erudite cranium had just hit upon quite the preposterous theory.
Th-That’s out of the question! If it was Malong, he would have caught up to us before we could even enter the forest. I’m also pretty sure that bandit was quite a bit smaller than him.
Taking another look at Malong’s grin, it now looked as it always had. Yup, there was nothing unusual about it.
Then, just what exactly is happening here? What brings Malong to a place like this?
Mia crossed her arms and let out a thoughtful groan. After contemplating for a few seconds, she turned to face Rafina.
It’s not like Mia thought deducing it herself was too much work. No, she had simply surmised that asking someone who already knew the answer would be the fastest route to a solution. This act was completely based on the logical judgments of the Great Wisdom of the Empire.
Receiving a look from Mia, Rafina gave a slight nod of her head. “It seems that during our earlier escape, more bandits hadn’t approached us from head-on. No, they were simply warriors from the Equestrian Kingdom, and it was Malong who had taken their helm.”
“We’d gotten reports of a gang of horseback brigands attacking the villages around the outskirts of Sunkland’s borders. A group of my clan’s bravest men were patrolling the area, but thanks to you two ladies, we were finally able to capture one.”
Malong cast his gaze to the tree beside him. Mia followed it to find a single girl sitting against it. Her hands had been bound behind her back, holding both her arms hostage. She seemed to be about the same age as Mia, if maybe a tad older. A red scarf was wrapped around her head, beautiful black hair peeking out from beneath it. But it was her violet eyes that stood out the most distinct, which gleamed with a cutting light that resembled that of a Lulu hunter trained on its prey. That, and they were glaring right at Malong.
“Is she one of the bandits’ accomplices?”
“Yup. She’s the one who was pursuing the two of you.” Malong’s facial features slightly stiffened. “And…she’s a distant relative of ours from Equestris.”
“A relative? What do you mean by that?”
“What a joke! Warrior of the Forest Clan, you call yourself our family? As if you have the right.”
The captured bandit had remained silent, but now, she spoke. Her gaze was filled with enmity, still fixed on Malong. She opened her mouth to continue, only…
“Grrrrrr…”
A heartrending sound interrupted her. Mia quickly brought her hands to her own stomach, only to discover that the sound hadn’t come from her. She turned to look at the girl in front of her, only to find her awkwardly averting her gaze.
Oh ho! For some reason, I get the feeling that this girl and I will get along.
Mia’s chest was filled with that conviction.
