On the outskirts of Nisir.
Guarded by nearly a hundred soldiers, the water transport convoy was heading toward His Majesty's summer villa.
Alongside the wagons carrying the water, the carriage carrying Brother Henry rolled parallel to them.
I was riding a horse right beside it.
I was accompanying him part of the way to see him off as he transported the water.
"Hmm."
"What is the matter, Brother?"
"Noah, you truly look the part on horseback."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes, it is practically mesmerizing to watch. Do you ride often?"
"Fairly often. The Empire is a 'nation of warriors,' after all. You must have been disciplined since childhood to at least know how to ride a horse, Brother."
"Even so, those who do not ride simply never do. Both Oscar and I are quite terrible with horses."
"Brother Oscar, too?"
Is that so...? I thought, but it made sense.
Oscar was, in a word, a gentle, refined soul.
It was completely understandable if someone like him was bad at riding.
As I was chatting with my brother, the soldiers guarding the water suddenly grew restless.
"What is happening?"
As the man responsible for the transport, Brother asked his subordinates.
A soldier reported with a grimace.
"Report! A cloud of dust is rising from the south. In all likelihood..."
Brother and I turned south at the same time.
From beyond the horizon, a group approached, kicking up dust clouds in their wake.
They charged straight toward us, encircling our column in the blink of an eye.
"Bandits?"
Brother's tone shifted.
His expression hardened, his brow furrowing so deeply you could have held a slip of paper between the wrinkles.
"To think they would appear in a place like this..."
"Leave it to me, Brother."
Saying that, I leaped down from my horse.
I walked toward the several hundred bandits surrounding the halted column, specifically toward the man who seemed to be leading them.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Heh-heh! With such a flashy escort, you must be haulin' some seriously valuable goods."
"..."
I glanced behind me.
Indeed, to deliver this to His Majesty, I had increased the number of guard soldiers compared to a normal transport convoy.
So they had misunderstood, then.
My eyes met Brother Henry's, who was looking on from behind.
We exchanged wry smiles.
"Hand over the cargo quietly, and maybe I'll let you keep your lives, eh? Well?"
The man tapped a longsword against his shoulder, sneering smugly.
Ignoring his "warning," I drew Leviathan from my bracelet.
The magic sword trailed a light blue luminescence.
The moment I drew it, both friend and foe turned their full attention to the blade.
"What's this? Wanna fight?"
"—Hah!"
Stepping forward, I cut down the three bandits behind the man in an instant.
With bewildered expressions, completely unaware of what had just happened, the three dropped their weapons and collapsed.
"..."
I glanced around the perimeter.
Perhaps because it had happened in a flash, neither friend nor foe could react.
"Wha—! Y-You bastards! Get him!"
The bandit leader was the first to regain his senses.
The moment he gave the order, the bandits rushed me all at once.
Completely forgetting about stealing the cargo, they swarmed toward me.
Having drawn their attention just as expected, I swung Leviathan, cutting down the bandits one after another.
With all SSS stats, I was in the invincible mode of my acting Prime Minister bonus time.
One slash per person, felling them in rapid succession.
It took less than thirty minutes to cut down all three hundred bandits.
After defeating them all, I ordered the soldiers to tie their arms with ropes to restrain them for now.
Brother Henry stepped down from the carriage and came over to my side.
"Incredible, Noah. To think you took down every last one of them by yourself."
"If we took any casualties, it would only delay the delivery to His Majesty, after all."
"Indeed. Even so, it was a magnificent display of skill."
Nodding, Brother praised me to the heavens.
I looked at the man who had been tied up and forced to his knees.
The man was glaring at me while blood gushed profusely from his shoulder.
After observing him for a moment and thinking it over, I asked him:
"What is your name?"
"I'm Jerry Eisen of the White Tigers! Remember it!"
Jerry answered with defiance.
"Jerry, is it? Do you understand what you've done?"
"Hah! I'm in this line of work, so I'm prepared for whatever comes. It's the death penalty anyway, right? I'm not soft enough to be scared of that!"
"An admirable resolve. But it's utterly meaningless."
"What?"
"By the way, how many people have you killed as a bandit?"
"Hah! What's the point of asking that? If you're tryin' to pile on more charges, forget it! I'm gettin' executed anyway! If you're gonna kill me, do it right now!"
Jerry spat out all in one breath.
His expression truly looked like that of a man who did not fear death.
...Hm.
After thinking for a moment, I changed the subject.
"This transport convoy is carrying an imperial tribute for His Majesty. In other words, imperial property. What do you think happens to someone who tries to rob the Emperor of his possessions?"
"Like I said—"
"The maximum sentence is waist-severing execution."
"Waist... severing?"
Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar term, Jerry was visibly bewildered.
"It is just as the words imply. Instead of the neck, it is a method of execution where the torso is chopped completely in half. When the torso is sliced through while avoiding the heart, one does not die immediately. It takes about thirty minutes, dying slowly in agonizing pain."
"..."
Jerry was left utterly dumbfounded.
"Thirty minutes of the agony of having your body cleaved in two. And gradually, your body stops moving. Even if you try to struggle, you lose even the strength to do so. Yet the pain remains the entire time."
"..."
Jerry turned pale. His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and he started to tremble violently.
"How many people have you killed up until now?"
"I-I haven't killed anyone..."
In an instant, even his lips turned stark white as he answered in a trembling voice.
"Why is that?"
"In the past... there was a famine. The magistrate didn't do a damn thing for us. Before we knew it, we were completely backed into a corner, and we ended up turning our hands to this kind of work..."
"So you are saying you did this against your will?"
"O-Of course... If we could earn an honest living, nobody would choose to do this kind of work..."
Jerry answered, gradually hanging his head.
His words were filled with genuine emotion.
After a brief pause, I asked with a straight face:
"Do you want a chance to start over?"
"—!"
Jerry snapped his head up, staring at me with a look of utter shock and disbelief.
"S-Start over!?"
I looked around at Jerry's men.
Both he and his subordinates were staring at me with the same desperate look in their eyes.
"If you are merely bandits, I can sentence you to penal military service."
As the Imperial Prince Minister of Justice, I spoke while recalling Imperial Law.
It wasn't limited strictly to bandits; it was a punishment applied to youths who narrowly avoided a death sentence.
"It is a punishment where you are literally thrown into the army to fight on the frontiers. Depending on the military achievements you earn there, it is not impossible to have your crimes erased and even rise through the ranks."
"S-Such a thing exists!?"
Light returned to Jerry's eyes. He latched onto my words completely.
"I will not go easy on you—however, if you achieve proper military merits, I will promote you. What will you do? Will you take the offer? Or would you prefer waist-severing execution?"
When presented with the choice, Jerry and all of his subordinates...
Without hesitation, bowed to me with such force that their foreheads slammed into the ground.
Leaving a portion of the soldiers behind to escort Jerry and his bandit gang back to Nisir, I watched them go.
After seeing them off, Brother, who had been listening silently the entire time, spoke up.
"Your eloquence is truly remarkable."
"Do you think so?"
"Terrifying him thoroughly with the waist-severing execution, and then completely breaking his spirit in one fell swoop—it was magnificent. But was he really someone worth going through all that trouble for?"
"People are treasures, and they are hope, Brother."
"Even scoundrels like that?"
"Even scoundrels like that."
"Heh, to be able to state it so definitively is just like you."
After parting with Brother, I returned to the estate in Nisir, arranged for additional guard soldiers, and handled the aftermath regarding Jerry.
Jerry and his men were overjoyed.
What I had offered them was, in essence, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their lives around.
Of course, they might die; they would be fighting as soldiers, after all.
However, the Empire was a "nation of warriors," where military merit surpassed all other achievements.
If they survived and distinguished themselves in battle, even rising to nobility was not a pipe dream.
Having been presented with an opportunity for a massive life reversal, Jerry and his men thanked me almost relentlessly.
Once that business was taken care of, the reception maid, Cecily, entered the study.
"Master. A gentleman named Lawrence has arrived to see you."
"Lawrence, is it? Send him in."
"Right away, Master."
Cecily left, and after a moment, Lawrence entered.
The moment Lawrence stepped into the room, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head to me.
I stood up from my chair, took Lawrence by the arm, and helped him up.
"Is your body feeling alright now?"
"Thanks to the Thirteenth Prince, I am completely well. To have Your Highness personally come to my rescue... I do not even know how to express my gratitude."
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, what do you plan to do from now on? Are you willing to become my subordinate?"
"I am terribly sorry. However, I am already in the service of Lord Pascal."
"..."
I furrowed my brows.
I gave voice directly to the emotion welling up within me at that moment.
"I am disappointed in you."
"Huh?"
What are you saying so suddenly? Lawrence looked at me with a face full of shock.
"You are a capable man. Do not be humble; I have looked into you thoroughly."
"Ah..."
Lawrence bowed his head slightly.
"You are a capable man who can accomplish great things for the people. So why are you clinging to such trivial nonsense?"
"That is... betraying Lord Pascal would be..."
"You simply don't want to become a traitor. That is nothing more than selfish desire—valuing your own reputation above all else."
"—!"
"If Pascal were someone who worked for the sake of the people, that would be one thing. But he is a man who does not care about the populace in the slightest. You know that yourself, don't you?"
"..."
"Returning to the service of such a man, simply because you do not wish to be called a traitor. That is why I am telling you I am disappointed."
I let out a sigh.
"Enough. Go wherever you please."
The instant I turned my back, Lawrence dropped flat to the floor in prostration.
Placing both hands and knees on the ground, he slammed his head against the floor.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"I... I was mistaken."
"..."
"It is just as Your Highness says. Before I realized it... I was only thinking of my own reputation. Without even realizing it myself... No, that is merely an excuse."
"Your Highness's magnificent words have opened my eyes. You alone are the master I truly ought to serve. I may be a flawed man, but please, take me into your service!"
"I beg of you!" he added at the end, slamming his forehead against the floor so hard it made a loud thud.
"You will work for the people, then?"
"Yes!"
"Very well. Then I forgive you."
"—! Thank you very much!!"
The status in the corner of my vision remained fixed at SSS without moving.
Had that not been the case, my stats would undoubtedly have risen.
Such was the man who had now joined my ranks.