The group headed out through the gates, walking on the main road before taking a detour into the forest.

Even though Yuu didn’t have the best memories regarding the pathing, he did take some mental notes when he left the cave since the sight was just too dramatic. As the memories of the bodies and other violence were still stuck on his head, he was able to remember key points, so even if they hid the entrance, he would know the general direction.

After many trials and errors, using Yuu’s half-baked memories to help, they were able to find a small mountain. Even though he had never seen this mountain, it had a familiar sight to it.

“What’s wrong?” Chrisel noticed how Yuu stopped all of a sudden.

Looking at the small mountain closer, Yuu noticed how there was a lot of foliage, bushy trees, and small spikes surrounding it. The forest had a lot of this, trees with leaves engulfing the area, plantlife that would sometimes tower an average human, though a bit hard to find. And even the spiky branches appeared every couple of minutes of them walking, though a bit of an eyesore as it stood out very much.

“This is too strange… there are too many of these in one place, to the point where it does seem natural, especially if you didn’t pay attention, but it just stands out when you really think about it. It kinda reminds me of…” as Yuu was thinking a lightbulb appeared above his head.

He looked towards the three, hoping for one of them to take his request, “I know this may sound strange, but could one of you climb to the top and try and dig through the leaves?”

Indeed being strange, they looked at the mountain and Bedgard made a comment, “It seems like a perfectly normal mountain. Really small in size, but it doesn’t look strange… Kebfa, you go.”

“Huh?! Why do I have to?!” seeing how she was nominated, she immediately rejected the idea. Even though the three of them were trained guards and the mountain really wasn’t large, just really steep at the base; it would certainly be a hassle and annoyance to climb through the plant life and foliage.

Before she could continue being outraged, Chrisel joined in, agreeing with Bedgard, “You’re the most agile when it comes to exploration and scouting, this should be a breeze for you.”

“My appearance will get messy!”

“Don’t you always wear a helmet though?” as they were talking, Yuu butted in, causing Kebfa to blush despite the helmet covering everything.

“F-fine, god damn you all. If there is nothing, you owe me!” letting Leah hop onto Yuu’s head, she stormed off, walking around the base of the mountain, finding a good place to climb that either wouldn’t hinder her due to her armor, or be uncomfortable like the area with the spikes.

“Even though she took her time, it really didn’t take long before she yelled back at them in a slightly hushed yet audible voice, “I did find something! It’s a huge hole leading down to some water and boxes!”

Hearing the report, he clenched his fist and internally screamed “Yes!”

“Is this the entrance Yuu?” Chrisel started to prepare to head up.

“No, well, kind of. When I woke up, this was the place that I started out in. It was just that the sight of the huge gaping hole up above when I landed in this world and how hidden it looked, including the dense foliage, made me put some suspicion on this place. The entrance is close though.”

“What about just jumping in? I can carry you if needed,” Bedgard stood still, not following Chrisel or Kebfa.

“The water looked sort of shallow, so I can’t say whether we will be safe or not. And that area leads directly into the very end of the cave, so if the bandits are back in there, or if the goblins swarmed in and raided the place, it’ll be rough.”

“Good point. Captain, Kebfa, you heard the man.”

Even though he made a wondrous discovery, Yuu looked around with a poker face, trying to understand every single detail. “We should wander around here, I remember some clear landmarks around the entrance, and once we hit that, we can finally mark the location.”

The other three agreed but before they did wander around, Chrisel took a small knife from his waist and started making very visible markings that blended in the surroundings. Asking what these were, Yuu learned that it was a symbol to inform others that this was the place, at least for the mountain area.

Being cautioned to wander around more carefully, he let either Chrisel or Kebfa go up ahead as they traveled at a slower pace. Bedgard stayed all the way in the back as Chrisel explained that he was a tank. Wearing extremely heavy armor, being the one who would crush things if needed or take arrows and magic for them.

As they walked, it felt like it took about half an hour before something was spotted. Yuu told them that when he walked for a bit after leaving the cave, this weirdly shaped rock was definitely what he saw.

As he was explaining, he also saw Bedgard quickly scribbling in notes while Chrisel got the knife and made another marking, slightly away from the rock. Despite making a mark now, he saw them doing the same every few minutes, being super picky about directions. Though he didn’t complain nor think it was weird mainly due to the fact that Chrisel had said that they’ve tried busting in and finding their base for a whole year but they had no success.

According to Kebfa, while the bandits slowly grew in power, the city army or adventurers nearby couldn’t deal with the problem due to so many being summoned due to a major battle that caused many to not be able to return home for a few months.

At least to her words, it wasn’t until a month ago did a lot of adventurers return, and weeks ago did the troops belonging to the city return. Allowing them to finally initiate a plan to get rid of the bandits and cull the wild goblin population down.

Casting a few spells around him, Chrisel told them the next step, “Since you said we’re near, let me scout the area. It’ll be too dangerous to sneak around with you and Bedgard as you weren’t trained and his armor is too heavy to be light. Kebfa, I want you to go around and note down the surrounding landscape as much as possible. I’ll head in that direction,” he pointed against the base of the mountain.

Even though the mountain was small in height, its width expanded a long way, though it was getting less steep where they were.

Taking the spotlight, Chrisel dashed forward, staying against the walls. Yet despite him dashing, he made no noise, not even the leaves cracked. Even though everything looked normal, there was a slight irony smell lingering in the area. “Yuu is right, they really had a big fight with the goblins. It’s frightening how fast the bandits cleaned the bodies and made the forest look natural.”

Pulling out a small pocket-watch, he checked the time. He had been dashing around for five minutes and he could tell he was getting closer. It was a surprise he could even read it as despite being surrounded by a gold-rich plating, the screen that showed the time was almost as small as an adult male thumb.

Placing his watch in his pocket, it didn’t take long for him to hear voices.

“Ah, that bitch was good. Those green short sticks are a goddamn pain, but she relieved everything.”

“Heh, sadly we can only use old rotten goods, haven’t been able to enslave any chicks lately. The boss would cut our throats if we tried to leave.”

“Tell me about it. Either way, it's our lives. We chose to kill and rape others, so we gotta hide, this is just hiding a bit more intensely.”

The two bandits chilling on the rocks near what appears to be the entrance talked and chatted away while Chrisel stared with a sour face.

“These bastards make me remember why I am a guard instead of a lazy noble in the first place. I’ll make sure the troops hit them hard!” while making an oath, he walked away as slow as he could before dashing off once he was far away enough.