In the middle of the narrow path, just wide enough for a small carriage to pass through, about twenty bandits had illegally occupied the space.

Their faces were covered with headscarves and masks, and the weapons in their hands were rusty spears, with occasional shovels and pickaxes.

What was strange was that they didn’t seem very accustomed to ambushing.

‘What are they doing? Amateur bandits?’

Seeing them falter at the sight of the imperial knights gave a distinct sense of awkwardness.

After staring at them for a while, hesitating, the bandits in the front gestured, and they seemed to make up their minds, slowly approaching.

“We haven’t even traveled that far, and what are these guys?”

Muttering as he watched them, Cassis abruptly dismounted his horse. Then he drew the sword hanging from his waist.

Shrrring-

The blade unsheathed from the newly made scabbard was unsightly and broken. However, the power imbued in the sword was not to be taken lightly.

An A-class sacred artifact from the imperial relic storage – ‘Shadow of Radiance’.

It was the very item Cassis had used splendidly during the previous trial, successfully borrowed thanks to the Council’s cooperation.

But it didn’t seem to impress the amateur bandits.

“Huh? The blade is broken, though?”

“The hilt looks good… but will it be worth anything like that?”

Despite its antique appearance, the broken blade made the flinching bandits relax and whisper to each other.

However, when Cassis fully extended his ability over the broken blade, they froze in their tracks.

A blue beam that stopped just above human height.

He lightly swung it as an example, leaving a deep gash in the ground as if slicing through tofu. Its overwhelming power was enough to crush the meager courage of the bandits.

And soon after.

“S-sorry!”

“We didn’t realize you were such people!”

Whether fortunate or not, there was no opportunity to unleash the sacred relic on them.

The bandit group, overwhelmed by Cassis’s ability, surrendered en masse, dropping their weapons.

Their shoddy banditry and quick surrender made one wonder if they were originally civilians.

Passing by the carriage on her horse, Rosha asked Froy:

“Froy, don’t tell me these are the people you took care of last time? You didn’t really have to kill them?”

“No, they weren’t those people. So please don’t give me such a cold-blooded look.”

“Really?”

“The ones I dealt with were more vicious. They dug traps on the road, attacked the horses first to overturn the carriage, which my coachman barely managed to prevent.”

Lysithea, riding in the same carriage as Rosha, watched their casual conversation with surprised eyes. Well, it was surprising for someone to casually mention a Duke’s name.

Meanwhile, Cassis asked the bandits kneeling politely before him:

“Well, if this is what you’re doing, why be bandits? There must be a reason, right?”

With the air that he would unleash the sacred relic right away if there was no justifiable reason, the old bandit in the front flinched and pleaded.

“In fact, we are miners who have lived our entire lives in a nearby village. But to avoid the village people being killed one by one for not paying the tribute, we had no choice but to resort to such actions…”

According to their explanation, besides the sudden appearance of demons, there was a man named ‘Deron’ who brought the demons and was threatening the people.

He sent his subordinates to demand a weekly tribute, and if the quota wasn’t met, he would capture and kill one village person at a time.

Listening to their story, Rosha thought to herself:

‘The atrocities of someone with innate abilities are clear.’

There were plenty of such people in the previous world too.

Those who took advantage of the world’s downfall to try and make the most of the innate abilities they luckily obtained.

‘My teacher also lost her life because of such people.’

While there were those who strived to protect people even in the face of trials, there were also those who abandoned their humanity.

Rosha hated such people so much.

How miserable the hearts of those killed by their own kind must be, not even demons. Her fists clenched involuntarily.

This must have shown on her face, as she felt Froy glancing at her expression.

It was then that the old man, who had been deeply begging for forgiveness, saying they never intended to take lives, suddenly looked over at them.

Then he blinked his eyes and exclaimed in great surprise:

“Ah, no… You’ve come at last!”

“Pardon?”

“Aren’t you Lady Roshanak, who was awarded the Protector’s Medal? The story of the daughter of Count Aper who defeated the huge serpent that suddenly appeared in the capital has spread widely even in this region. So when the demons first appeared, we immediately sent you a letter…”

“…Ah.”

“You must have received that letter and come here, right? I’m so glad the letter arrived safely.”

Rosha simply gave an awkward smile.

Of course, many letters and gifts had been coming in since after the first trial. So much that they could fill an entire room.

Naturally, she had been too busy to open them all, and she had never read the letter the bandit mentioned.

However, she gradually became aware of the gazes upon her. People were waiting for her response.

“I don’t really care either way, so do as you please.”

Froy shrugged, leaving the decision to her. Hearing his words, Rosha pondered silently.

‘Anyway, to get to the diamond mine, we have to pass through the village. And there’s still some time left before the trial starts.’

Since there would be a death penalty if she failed to resolve the trial within two days of it starting, Rosha had arrived early to face the trial as soon as possible.

Moreover, she now had the power to punish those who had abandoned their humanity…

‘Above all, I don’t want to betray the hopeful expectations of these people.’

Especially knowing how precious hope was in this kind of world.

In the end, there was only one thing she could say.

“…Let’s go to the village first.”

* * *

In the village, there were barricades set up, presumably to block the demons.

The villagers, who had been hiding in their houses, murmured as the two carriages entered, accompanied by the miners dressed as bandits. When the carriages stopped and Rosha got off, the murmuring grew louder.

A brave woman among them cracked open a window and carefully asked:

“Um, perhaps… Are you Lady Roshanak?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The woman with reddish-brown hair that took on a reddish hue in the sunlight and vivid crimson eyes had now become Rosha’s trademark.

There was a brief silence. Then one by one, the villagers began to cheer.

“Oh my! Oh my goodness!”

“Ha, haha!”

“We’re saved now…”

They must have been so overwhelmed by fear, as the people exuded an extraordinary joy.

As if all their fears of the upcoming trial and the evil humans would be completely resolved by Rosha’s appearance.

‘But that’s not the case.’

Just as another trial would come after resolving one, evil humans were bound to appear again. These people needed to find a way to survive in this changed world.

As she was receiving such warm hospitality from the people, overwhelmed by various emotions, it was then that Froy, standing at a distance, approached her and whispered softly:

“Someone is coming.”

Not long after, strange figures emerged in droves at the village entrance. Upon seeing them, the villagers fell silent, as if their earlier cheers were a lie.

This was because behind those men were demons, seemingly brought as a threat.

“Why did those guys come so early?”

“They were supposed to come at night…”

The terrified people murmured. From the looks of it, they seemed to be Deron’s group that was briefly mentioned earlier.

Carefully observing the large man walking in the middle, Cassis muttered quietly:

“Ah, judging by his appearance, I understand now.”

“Understand what? Do you know him?”

“Know him? No, but I’ve heard of the name Deron before. He was a mercenary who made a name for himself in minor conflicts outside the Empire. I never expected to see him here.”

As they conversed, the men approached, looking directly at them. The large man presumed to be Deron spoke with an intrigued expression.

“There were reports of outsiders being brought in here. I came early just in case, and it seems to be true… Hm?”

His gaze landed on the black carriage among the two, or more precisely, on the coachman seated on the driver’s bench.

Deron’s casual eyes widened greatly.

“No way, you’re… the one who killed my men, aren’t you!”