"Dammiiiit!"
The man who seemed to be their leader leaped at me, brandishing his weapon.
His armament of choice was a thick greatsword, which his massive frame allowed him to swing with ease.
Though he had sustained wounds from Leviathan's opening volley, the injuries were minor enough not to hinder his movements.
『Insolent—』
"Hold, Leviathan."
I checked Leviathan as her presence flared with bloodlust, made her revert to her original form, and took hold of her hilt.
Using Leviathan, I caught the man's strike.
The clatter of steel rang out, throwing off a shower of sparks.
Seeing a formidable blade appear out of thin air, the man faltered for an instant.
I expected us to lock blades in a contest of strength, but gritting his teeth, the man shoved against me just enough to break the bind and immediately unleashed a wild flurry of slashes.
"Oooorrrraaaah! Take this, you bastard!!"
He swung again and again with such ferocity that his blade practically whipped up vortexes of wind.
I parried and deflected every strike with Leviathan.
The man was not merely relying on brute slashes, either.
Occasionally, he plunged his greatsword into the dirt to kick up sand, or flicked his own spattered blood toward me in a bid to blind my eyes.
"...I see. You're a fine boss."
"—?!"
My words left the man looking utterly bewildered.
"Halt them, Leviathan. Pinning their feet will be enough."
『As you command.』
Leviathan's blade hummed.
Just as before, a volley of water was unleashed all at once—this time narrowed into needle-thin streams.
They pierced the feet of every bandit who had attempted to slip away while their leader kept my attention.
"Y-You saw through it...?"
Lowering his sword slightly, the man glared at me with a twisted scowl, keeping his guard raised.
"Your movements were unnaturally broad and exaggerated, after all."
"Tch..."
"Where did you give the signal?"
I asked.
To tell the truth, I hadn't realized at first that his offensive was purely a diversion.
Part of it was that the ambush had only just begun. I had never seen bandits decide on a full retreat so swiftly.
"I didn't give no damn signal."
"Oh?"
"Can't do nothin' if you're dead. I always tell 'em to run if things go south."
"I see. You care deeply for your subordinates."
"They ain't subordinates. They're my brothers."
"Hmph."
I gave a faint nod.
It seemed they shared a bond that outsiders would find hard to grasp.
"Why didn't you take the women hostage?"
I pressed further.
Peiyu and Ivy trembled slightly behind me, but I kept my eyes fixed on the man while raising a hand to signal that they were safe.
"Ain't no hostage gonna bridge a gap in strength like this."
"Hmph. You assess situations quickly, too."
I looked the man over once more.
Setting aside his current occupation and the poor circumstances of our meeting...
The man standing before me was undeniably talented.
Turning just my head toward Peiyu, I gave an order over my shoulder.
"Peiyu, bring out the potions."
"Huh?"
"Treat them, starting with the most severely wounded."
"Y-Yes, Master!"
Though bewildered for a moment, Peiyu obeyed my command as her master and retrieved the potions from our baggage.
These were potions I had developed only recently—precious goods valuable enough to serve as strategic military supplies.
Unlike Leviathan's water, these were formulated for immediate, portable use.
Peiyu brought them forth.
Then, taking charge as the senior maid, she instructed Ivy to assist.
Though Ivy had no idea what was happening, she dutifully helped Peiyu.
"T-The wounds healed instantly...?!"
Seeing a potion for the first time, Ivy was utterly astounded.
"Master made these, you know."
"He made them?"
"Yes, isn't he amazing? Apply this, and any injury will vanish in no time."
"No way... but it's true... Incredible..."
Ivy was rendered speechless by the potion's potency.
Nor was she the only one in shock.
Experiencing their injuries mending in a heartbeat, the bandits were equally stunned; many could hardly comprehend what had just happened.
Meanwhile, watching the entire scene from a step back, the leader grasped the situation despite his astonishment.
With a mixture of shock and wariness in his eyes, he looked at me.
"Why're you savin' us?"
"Because you pose no threat."
"What?"
"You determined in an instant that you stood no chance against me. That being the case, even if all your wounds are healed, you won't turn around and attack us, will you?"
"..."
"Besides, human lives are valuable. There is no reason to let them go to waste."
"We're highwaymen, you know."
"Highway robbery does not carry the death penalty. Under Imperial Law, no matter how severe the sentencing, it does not even warrant life imprisonment."
If offenses piled up, one might receive several centuries of penal servitude, but that remained on an entirely different level from life imprisonment or execution.
"Even so..."
Keeping his guard up, the man pressed on.
"Ain't no reason to go outta your way to patch us up. What's your angle?"
"Answer my questions."
"Say what?"
"Your subordinates—ah, your brothers, was it? If I tend to their wounds, surely you can spare the time to talk."
"...What do you wanna know? The weather? Or maybe the way to the nearest oasis?"
"Hahaha, I see. So in these parts, even information about the weather carries a price."
I gave a light chuckle.
From the weight in his voice, I could tell that bringing up "the weather" was no idle jest.
Indeed, out in this desert, it was easy to see how weather conditions could mean the difference between life and death.
If he was offering that up front, it meant he was truly prepared to converse.
"First off... It's a standard question, but why take up this line of work?"
"Because we can't eat otherwise. What else?"
"Hmph."
"Ain't many businesses out there that don't need start-up coin."
I gave a quiet nod.
It is said that humanity has two oldest professions:
for men, the mercenary; for women, the prostitute.
Both, ultimately, were trades one could pursue with nothing but one's own body.
In that sense, banditry and highway robbery could also be seen as "businesses requiring no capital," open to anyone with two hands.
"Did you never consider becoming a mercenary?"
"Can't just go and be a mercenary. If you don't got proper gear, no employer's gonna hire you in the first place. Even if you get lucky and find someone, you're just used as cannon fodder."
"Ah... I see. That makes sense."
I nodded in understanding.
That perspective hadn't crossed my mind, but from an employer's standpoint, gear and armaments were naturally factored into combat value.
In other words, doing mercenary work properly required initial capital.
Whereas highway robbery only demanded the bare minimum in weaponry... I see.
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
The man asked, his irritation mounting.
His face made it clear that the circumstances leading him to fall so low were not a past he cared to dwell upon.
Well, that was only natural.
Unless driven by hardship, one rarely sank into such a trade.
All the more so for a man who demonstrated this degree of capability.
"No, I have one more question."
"Ask it already."
"Do you have any desire to quit being a bandit?"
"Ha!"
The man scoffed.
"If I could quit, I'd have done it long ago."
"Listen to the question carefully. Do you have any desire to quit being a bandit?"
"...If I could quit, I would've."
The man's tone softened.
The words were the exact same, yet the nuance had shifted entirely.
The first was laced with stubborn defiance, but the second carried the weight of a raw, weary confession.
"Do you intend to join the military?"
"Can't get in... Only folks with decent backgrounds can get into that kind of place."
"Not necessarily, if you have a recommendation."
"What?"
"..."
The man stared at me.
I met his gaze in silence, waiting for his response.
"Who... the hell are you...?"
"Let's just say I am in a position to guarantee your enlistment."
"...Can you really do that?"
"Don't fall for it, Boss! He's definitely tryin' to play us!"
"Yeah, damn right! He's just gonna trick us into a dungeon!"
As the man wavered, his subordinates raised their voices.
Hearing them, the leader let out a tired sigh.
"Why would a guy who could slaughter every last one of us right here bother with such a roundabout trick?"
"Ugh..."
"T-That's..."
Silenced by their boss's logic, the men fell quiet.
The leader looked back at me.
"Are you... for real?"
"Peiyu."
"Yes, Master!"
Peiyu retrieved paper, a pen, and a small wooden board from our luggage.
Holding the board flat to serve as a makeshift desk, she stepped in front of me.
Taking the pen, I wrote out a brief missive across the paper.
"The seal."
"Right here."
Peiyu offered the seal she had prepared, and I stamped it at the bottom of the page, right beside my signature.
After glancing over the text one final time, I handed it to the bewildered man.
"Take this to the magistrate or the governor. They will see that you are treated fairly."
"...You..."
"I have paved the road for you. The rest depends on your own resolve."
"...Thank you. Truly."
The man bowed deeply, his fingers clutching the letter tightly.
☆
Once the men had departed, Peiyu spoke up.
"Was it all right to let them go like that, Master?"
"It amounts to a voluntary surrender; there shouldn't be any issue."
"Still, they're joining the military, right? If they carry on like that in the army..."
I understood Peiyu's concern.
The military, after all, often carried a reputation for pillaging.
"There won't be a problem."
"T-There won't?"
"Indeed. If commoners kill someone during an act of banditry, they get off with imprisonment, but unauthorized looting under military law carries a minimum penalty of death."
"I-Is that true?!"
"Yes."
To maintain strict discipline, military law imposed far harsher penalties than civilian law.
Of course, fear alone was never enough; during campaigns, one also had to offer incentives—such as permitting a set number of days for looting once a city fell—but there was no need to burden Peiyu with those realities right now.
"I have merely paved a path. Where they go from here is entirely up to them."
"I see... As expected of you, Master. In a way, it's just like what you did for me."
"I suppose it is."
Peiyu was taken into my household and protected.
Those men were taken into the state's custody and protected.
The framework differed slightly, but the essence remained the same.
Seeing that Peiyu understood that proved once again how sharp she was, leaving me feeling quietly pleased.
☆
Ivy stood trembling with shock.
She could not comprehend what Noah had just done in the slightest.
Why spare bandits, heal their wounds, set them free, and go so far as to arrange legitimate work for them?
It defied all understanding.
People fear what they cannot comprehend.
Ivy was still at the stage where she feared Noah simply because she could not fathom him.
"..."
Yet at the same time, she found herself far more intrigued by him than ever before.