The second point chosen was near the fence to the northeast of the village.
From there, the Noshina River could be seen between the trees.
"Around here, I suppose."
Just as he had done with '1', he dug a vertical hole three meters deep and three centimeters in diameter, burying magi-device '2' inside.
In the same manner, he buried magi-device '3' to the east of the village.
Then '4' went to the southeast, and '5' to the south.
Southwest was '6', west was '7', and naturally, northwest was '8'.
"That does it."
It had taken about two hours to walk the village perimeter, but Jin looked satisfied.
"Hey, Jin-san, Jin-san, what in the world did you just do?"
Helga had kept quiet during the work, but realizing everything was finished once they returned to her house, she asked Jin.
"Ah, well, this is..."
Just as Jin was about to explain, a faint light rose into the western sky.
"The place I just buried one!?"
"Father, I shall go investigate."
Leaving behind only those words, Reiko vanished like the wind.
"J-Jin-san!?"
Helga wore a look of utter bewilderment.
"Ah, right, I was in the middle of explaining. Those are magi-devices that light up like that whenever something enters from outside the village."
They would shine whether it was an animal or a human. The device itself was completely harmless.
However, it made dealing with intruders far easier.
"Now we just wait for Reiko's report."
To the west of Taji Village, a deep forest stretched into the distance. This was the very forest where the aragi wood had been felled.
Ten seconds after detecting the light, Reiko was already at the spot.
Standing there was a single man looking completely lost, having stepped into the village only to trigger a sudden, inexplicable flash of light.
"Is something the matter?"
Reiko asked nonchalantly.
Reiko was confident she had memorized the faces of every single villager, and conversely, no villager could possibly fail to recognize her.
This man was neither.
"A-Ah, l-little girl, are you from this village?"
Reiko was dressed in her usual maid outfit, so she figured it was not entirely impossible for someone to mistake her for a village girl.
"Speaking of which, are you from Fan Village?"
Reiko answered his question with one of her own, but the man brushed it aside and changed the subject.
"N-No, I'm just a traveler....What in the world is this light?"
"...It is light from a magi-device that illuminates upon detecting 'bandits'."
Reiko was testing him.
She reasoned that if he truly were a bandit, he would show some sort of reaction.
And her hunch proved correct.
"Damn it!"
Perhaps intending to take Reiko hostage, the man lunged at her.
Under normal circumstances, his attempt would have succeeded.
A small knife gleamed in his hand, and his movements were clearly trained.
However, he had picked the wrong opponent. Far, far too wrong.
"Guebuh!"
Reiko's fist drove straight up into the lunging man's solar plexus—at a mere one percent output.
The man lost consciousness on the spot, spraying vomit into the air.
Deftly dodging the mess, Reiko restrained him.
"Extremely suspicious indeed. Let us take you in."
Meanwhile, back at the village chief's house in Taji Village where Reiko had vanished from...
"Hey, Jin-san, is Reiko-chan going to be all right on her own?"
"She'll be fine. Even against a thousand or two thousand bandits."
"Well, if you say so..."
Jin had deliberately exaggerated the numbers, but thinking it was just a joke, Helga let his words slide.
Kachea offered a wry smile.
Though, of course, even Kachea did not fully grasp the true extent of Reiko's power.
While they were talking, Reiko returned.
"Father, I have captured a suspicious person."
"Wah!"
Helga cried out in surprise.
Reiko came running in holding the man, bound tightly in vines, hoisted high over her head.
"Good work, Reiko....Now then, what should we do with him?"
For the time being, they decided to tie him to a sturdy tree using proper rope.
Then, they waited for him to regain consciousness.
"..."
"......"
Even after waiting about fifteen minutes, he did not utter a single peep. He was breathing, so he was clearly alive.
"...He is not waking up."
"Reiko, you did hold back properly, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then, could you give him just a little bit of treatment?"
"..................Understood. 'Healing'."
Healing magic enveloped the suspicious man.
"...Ngh..."
He somehow managed to come around.
"Wh... Where is this?"
"This is Taji Village."
Jin stepped forward and looked down at the man.
"Are you targeting this place next?"
However, the man feigned ignorance.
"Target?...Whatever do you mean?"
"Playing dumb won't work. You're one of the bandits, aren't you?"
"Bandits? What bandits? I'm just a traveler..."
"A traveler? If so, which village did you pass through before coming here?"
Helga asked from behind Jin.
"Ugh... Well, that's..."
Helga pressed him harder.
"If you're a traveler, you should have come from the south. There is nothing but forest to the west."
"T-That's... Y-Yeah, I-I lost my way..."
"It's a straight road from the neighboring village to here. No matter how lost you got, there's no way you'd end up in the western forest."
"Ugh..."
Realizing that the more he spoke, the more holes appeared in his story, the suspicious man clamped his mouth shut once and for all.