Under the blazing sun, an old man dozes off with a blade of grass in his mouth. Half of the old man was hidden in the shadow of the leaves, but the other half was scorching in the sunlight.

He didn’t intend to photosynthesize only halfway, so he must have initially sat comfortably in the shade. However, as the sun moved, the shadow shifted, and he ended up in such a state.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

A carriage passes by him. It wasn’t particularly large, but a closer look revealed it to be a luxury item.

A noble young lady peering out of the carriage window saw the old man and smiled faintly. In an hour, he would become a ridiculous sight, half white and half black.

Unless a kind passerby woke him up, or he got up on his own.

If the young lady had the power to stop the carriage… she would have paused her journey for the old man, suggesting he find a more spacious shade.

But the young lady had no authority. She wasn’t traveling; she was being isolated far away by her family. She didn’t even have the right to offer the smallest kindness.

Jingle.

Dressed up prettily, disguised as jewelry, she was also shackled by a restraint that tightly bound her magic. The young lady couldn’t exert any power.

Farewell to the homeland where ice glistened.

Farewell to the reindeer that gave warm glances to the bustling humans passing through the snowfield, to the coniferous forests that stood tall even in the bitter winter, farewell to all.”

Far away, so very far away, in a place where only the goddess knows of her existence. In a secluded, rarely visited monastery on the outskirts. The young lady will end her life.

She has no regrets.

Born with blue blood, she enjoyed many good things. The rest of her life will be painted over with dull, joyless, sorrowless grey… but the sparkle of her 15 years spent in her homeland will forever remain in her heart.

And yet, it’s unlikely but.

Perhaps a prince on a white horse might appear by chance to rescue her?

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

The carriage carrying the young lady passed by.

The dozing old man immediately opens his eyes stealthily. Under his wrinkled eyelids, a well-honed dagger-like malice shines.

He was only pretending to sleep, never having fallen asleep for a moment. His job is to pick out prey.

The carriage was luxurious, but the family crest was nowhere to be seen. There were no knights, and the coachman looked like a greenhorn who had never tasted steel.

The mercenary sitting next to the coachman seemed to know his way around a sword. The crystal ball in his possession was floating a single star.

A one-star realm. A bronze-tier mercenary.

Those who possess a metal badge, not a wooden one, are undoubtedly elites. A fairly capable fellow, but in this village, there is a ‘paladin’ who has reached the mature realm of three stars. He would be no match.

Then it’s worth a try. This is a secluded path rarely trodden by people. One carriage can disappear without a trace. The old man signaled.

“Pull the rope.”

Whish──!

The rope stretched across the path was pulled taut in an instant. It was high enough to reach the knees of the horses.

“Whoa, what⋯⋯?!”

It was too late by the time the coachman sensed something was amiss and tried to change direction.

Heeheeheeheeng⋯⋯!!

Thud, thump!

The horses screamed as they fell, and the carriage shook before toppling over. The young lady, who had been reminiscing inside, rolled across the floor, bumping into all sides.

The pain followed belatedly after the sudden incident. When the young lady came to her senses, her whole body ached. An ambush, was it an ambush? But why?

Wasn’t being dumped in a monastery enough to be safe?

“Ugh, sob⋯⋯.”

Her vision spun, and she felt dizzy. Maybe she hit her head in the middle of it all. The young lady staggered as she poked her head out of the carriage.

The poor coachman was dead, his neck broken. The young lady felt pity but forced herself to look away. Now was the time to identify the attackers. Who could it be?

She looked up.

There, the villagers, armed with tridents and rakes, surrounded her in a circle. And then, clang-! Clang-! The sound of metal rang out.

It’s not uncommon for the residents of a poor mountain village to turn into robbers, but she never thought she would experience such a thing.

To ensure the secret of Young-ae being expelled from the convent remained hidden, the coachman chose a secluded, shadowy forest path for their route. That decision would be the root of trouble.

There was a guard… rather, a watcher on the carriage. I heard he’s been a mercenary for ten years. He should be able to handle poorly armed villagers with ease.

But Young-ae’s expectations were abruptly shattered.

A man in his mid-thirties, about two meters tall, his body filled with muscles like marble, was toying with the hired mercenary, quite literally.

The difference in magical power, control of magic, and hand-to-hand combat was overwhelming. The mercenary quickly found himself cornered, his left arm severed. In a face clouded with confusion, he cried out.

“…This, this way of using a sword. Why would a paladin be with a backwoods village bandit group──!”

“If you’ve realized it, I can’t let you live. Everything is for my noble goddess, so don’t resent your death.”

The paladin lifted his heavy greatsword. Under its massive shadow, the mercenary left his last words with a face stained by rage and grief.

“You never intended to spare me from the start, did you… guh.”

With the swing of the greatsword, the mercenary was cut in half from the waist, along with the trees in its path. All too effortlessly.

Thud. The severed trees fell, creating a green grave atop the gruesome corpse. The sound of bones and flesh being crushed echoed.

The villagers came and forcibly lifted the petrified Young-ae. Having caught their prey, they had to drag it back to their nest. Young-ae resisted, but…

“Let, let me go…!”

“You’ll see no harm if you come quietly. Or what, would you rather crawl like a dog, whipped into submission?”

“Your skin is so fair, a slap on the cheek would leave a mark for sure. Heh heh…”

The crude rudeness and blatant desire cut through Young-ae’s heart with a sharpness she had never imagined. She felt her strength drain away.

Even without restraints, the thought of eluding that monstrous paladin was unimaginable. There was no resistance. No escape.

Young-ae was dragged into the village, thrown into a filthy underground dungeon.

—

“Finally struck gold today, cheers!”

“Heh heh heh… cheers!”

The villagers sat around the bonfire, raising their glasses in celebration. The girl they had captured looked to be of high status, and they figured they could make a hefty profit from selling her.

Lately, there had been no passersby at this crossroads, no harvest to reap, but fortune had smiled upon them. Today was indeed a lucky day.

Or rather, the lucky day wasn’t today… but a week ago.

Amidst the excited atmosphere, a young villager cautiously asked the chief.

“Brother, how did that paladin end up getting involved in our business? I just can’t make sense of it.”

“I don’t know, lad.”

“You and the paladin had private talks. After all that lengthy discussion, you’re saying you didn’t catch a single reason? If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so. No need to embarrass me.”

“No, really… I don’t know. The reasons he gave were all nonsensical, what can I do? Right, you try making sense of it.”

That bear-like paladin had arrived in the village from the Elmest territory a week ago. The middle-aged chief, fearing their human trafficking was finally caught, had gathered all the village’s money to offer as a bribe.

The knight declared, ‘I already knew that.’

Moreover, he proclaimed that this human trafficking was a sacred act, greatly pleasing to the Goddess, and urged that all efforts should be made to continue capturing and selling people.

(While the knight offered various explanations, claiming the Goddess purified the world through pure souls, the villagers only heard what they wanted to.)

He then commanded that since he had duties to perform here, the villagers must prepare ‘the Goddess’s vessel’ to follow him.

“The Goddess’s vessel, you say…?”

“People are saying the Goddess is dead. That bear-like man was sobbing, ‘Mi, Miu?’ The followers couldn’t do anything, and now they say the Goddess has died. They claim she must be resurrected.”

“The Goddess, dead? Isn’t she immortal, being a deity?”

“I wouldn’t know. I only know how to snare a woman by the neck.”

The village chief thought either the knight had gone mad, or the world had.

But regardless, it was to their advantage. A monster of unknown strength was offering to help with the village’s business.

Even the task of finding ‘the Goddess’s vessel’ was enjoyable.

The knight, seeking the pinnacle of beauty in a female form, casually discarded the less attractive prey to the villagers for free.

He only requested that if they died during their play, their bodies should be returned to him.

Such vile behavior was well-known. That knight must surely be a dark sorcerer, rumored to perform all sorts of terrifying deeds, like extracting human souls.

Yet, he wasn’t as frightening as the stories suggested. Communication was smooth, and cooperation posed no issue.

Sometimes, seeing him weep profusely over a glass bottle filled with some liquid while praying… And muttering about ‘nests’ and ‘pleasure,’ one couldn’t help but feel a chill at his fanaticism.

But for now, wasn’t he an ally? And a powerful one at that.

“You know that level detector the knight gave us? I secretly used it on him. Three stars were floating above. That means he’s a 3-star, gold-badge level.”

“A gold-badge mercenary… Aren’t those the kind that nobles pay a fortune to employ?”

“Yes. He could slice an ogre with a single stroke, and if he wished, he could wipe out an entire village cleanly. A true monster. I think he might even be the strongest in the world.”

“Isn’t there something above 3-stars? The empire boasts about having something… I’ve heard them bragging about it.”

The village chief scoffed.

Fables are false. Such things couldn’t possibly exist. Even this knight was so strong it seemed like a dream; how could anyone be stronger?

They must be trying to intimidate people into submission with empty threats. Making a fuss over nothing. Tales of a single person destroying mountains and bringing down the sun are for children’s bedtime stories.

If it were true, then those so-called ‘fables’ could destroy the world if they wished. They could demolish ten, a hundred villages on their own.

It’s nonsensical.

The frogs in the well gulped down their beer. They were drunk on romance. They believed this cycle of capturing people, making money, and continuing this beautiful cycle would last forever.

As they laughed and chatted, a scout came running in haste.

“A carriage is coming this way again!”

“What’s the old man talking about?”

“Over there, uh, what’s it called… they say you can’t see the stars? And there are three women, even. There’s one man, but he’s frail and skinny as a twig. And, they say all three are drop-dead gorgeous.”

“Today must be the day. Hey, stop eating and grab your tools! And tell the knight sir to come!”

The village chief laughed heartily as he gave the order. If there were three women, the villagers would have more than enough to go around. What a beautiful life this is!

They hurriedly moved towards the forest path.

—

As they had always done, they timed it perfectly, pulling the rope taut as the carriage approached. The tightened rope tripped the horse’s legs.

With the horse’s cries, the carriage flipped over and rolled on the ground.

While the knight stood frozen with his arms crossed, the villagers cheered and approached the carriage. But then…

Something was off.

From the overturned carriage, an all too calm conversation could be heard.

“I told you to be careful. I told you to be careful!”

“…No, I thought they’d serve us drugged food once we entered the inn room. If you flip the carriage like this, what if the hostage breaks their neck and dies? If you had any sense, obviously—”

“Dumb brutes don’t think about that, do you get it? You lost the bet. You listen to my command now! Euhaha!”

“Ah, damn it… So, what now. You wanna do it, or shall I? Oh, is the tower master angry? Got flipped over just 10 minutes after using your lap as a pillow? Poor thing.”

Silence.

After a brief silence, the villagers surrounding the carriage felt an itch in their heads as if termites were crawling through. And then.

With a whisper-like incantation.

“…Gather the light, close your eyes. ‘Blackout.'”

The world was dyed pitch black. So black that one couldn’t even tell where their own limbs were.

Night had fallen upon night.