"Are they... here to rob us?" Rhode frowned at the approaching Defias members.
"Rob us?" Lilia jumped up. "Fantastic! I've never been robbed before!"
Rhode smacked Lilia on the head. "Silly girl, who actually hopes to get robbed?"
Archmage Marin shook his head. "No, they aren't here to rob us."
Rhode agreed. "Exactly. They haven't even shouted, 'I paved this road, I planted these trees...'"
"No, that's not it," Marin said. "You can tell from their masks. Most of them are high-ranking Defias members. They wouldn't personally handle something like highway robbery."
"You can tell all that?" Rhode looked at Marin in surprise.
This Archmage knew everything. Why did he seem less like a court mage and more like someone from SI:7?
"Although I'm a court mage, I often take part in military operations, so I know quite a bit about them," Marin said gravely. "Ordinary Defias bandits generally wear masks made of coarse hemp or linen. But these people are wearing leather or silk."
"Oh, you mean the material of their masks symbolizes their rank within the organization?" Rhode asked.
That was quite a distinctive way to tell them apart.
It was probably much like how armies and royal courts used hats to distinguish ranks.
By now, the dozen or so Defias bandits had drawn close.
Their gazes seemed fixed entirely on Marin, ignoring Rhode and Lilia beside him.
As they approached, they shouted:
"Heh, the credit's mine this time."
"Damn it, didn't we agree I'd go first? Don't steal this from me!"
"Stop fooling around. Can you even beat him alone?"
Marin's expression grew even graver at their words.
Clearly, they weren't here to rob anyone. They had come for him.
That also meant someone had leaked news of his return.
They might even have started watching him