Chapter 105. She still Couldn't Understand
"Damn it!"
A man who seemed to be the leader jumped at me, wielding a weapon.
His weapon was a large, thick sword, which, combined with his size, he wielded with ease.
Leviathan's volley of attacks wounded him, but the wound was minor enough that it didn't interfere with his movement.
{Impudent…}
"Control, Livyathan."
I restrained Livyathan from shaking with my presence, took it back to its original form, and held it as a sword.
I then used Livyathan to catch the man's slash.
The sound of sword fights rang out, and sparks flew.
The man was startled momentarily when he saw the sword appear out of thin air.
Just as we were about to engage in a sparring match, the man gritted his teeth and pushed me aside, still competing with me, and came at me with his great sword swinging wildly.
"Uh-oh, oriyaaah! You little bastard!"
He slashed at me several times with such force that it seemed to create a whirlpool of air currents.
I caught and parried them with my leviathan.
The man was not focused solely on slashing.
Sometimes he would thrust his great sword into the ground, causing sand to roll up, or he would aim to distract me by sending spilled blood at me.
"... I see, a good boss."
"–!"
The man is confused and startled by my words.
"Stop him Livyathan, just hold his feet."
{As you wish.}
Leviathan's blade shuddered.
It was the same feeling as before, but a far thinner pillar of water – a needle of water was sent flying all at once.
I stopped all the bandits who were trying to escape while the man was distracting me.
"Y-You saw ...'
The man stopped attacking, glared at me with his arms ready, and twisted face.
"It was because your movements were unnaturally loud and over the top."
"Damn."
"When did you give the orders?"
I asked the man.
To tell the truth, I didn't realize at first that he was attacking me to get my attention.
It was just after he attacked me. I had never seen a bandit decide to retreat so quickly.
"I didn't give them any orders."
"Hou?"
"Life is the most important thing. I always tell them to run away when things go wrong."
"I see. You care for your men, huh"
"They're not my subordinates, they are my brothers."[TN: DOM?]
"Fumu."
I nodded slightly.
It was a relationship that was difficult for others to understand.
"Why didn't you take the girl hostage?"
I asked again.
Peiyu and Ivy shuddered and stared at the man, holding up their hands in a gesture of reassurance.
"That's not the kind of power difference that would help, you know"
"Fumu, quick assessment of the situation."
I looked at the man again.
What he was doing was the wrong thing to do, and it was the wrong way to meet him, but…
The man in front of me is definitely a talent.
I turn my head to Peiyu and instructed looking over my shoulder.
"Peiyu, give me the potion."
"Eh?"
"Heal the most severely injured first."
"Y-Yes!"
Peyre was puzzled for a moment, but still obeyed my order and took a potion out of her baggage.
A newly developed potion, a precious commodity that can even be a strategic supply.
Unlike Livyathan's water, it was made to be used immediately and carried in physical form.
Peiyu brought it out.
Then, like a senior, she asked Ivy to help her.
Ivy didn't know what was going on, but she helped Peyre nonetheless.
"T-The wound was healed in an instant. ...!"
Ivy, seeing the potion for the first time, was astonished.
"This is something Master made."
"He made it?"
"Yes, isn't it amazing? It can cure any kind of injury."
"That's ... but it's true .... Amazing ...."
Ivy is speechless at the potion's potency.
And she wasn't the only one surprised.
Even the bandits who had experienced the instantaneous recovery from injuries with the potion were astonished, and many of them didn't know what had happened.
On the other hand, the man who was looking at the "whole" situation from a distance was surprised but was able to grasp what was going on.
He looked at me with a face that was half surprised and half cautious.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because you are not a threat."
"What?"
"You decided in an instant that you were no match for me. Then even if I heal everyone's wounds, they won't attack."
"..."
"And people are treasures. There's no reason to let them die unnecessarily."
"It's a robbery."
"There is no death penalty for banditry. Under Imperial law, no matter how severe the sentence, it can't even reach life imprisonment for it."
In some cases, it's a few hundred years in prison, but that's still a different stage from life imprisonment or the death penalty.
"Even so."
The man asks me, still wary.
"There's no reason to go to the trouble of fixing it. So why are you doing this?"
"To ask a question."
"What?"
"Your men – your brothers, I should say. If I heal their wounds, you will hear me out, won't you?"
"... what do you want to know? The weather? Or the location of the nearest oasis?"
"Ha-ha-ha, I see, the weather is worth talking about here."
I laughed happily.
From the man's tone, I felt that "the weather" was not a casual remark.
It's true that the weather in this desert, in this poor environment, can be life-or-death information in some cases.
I understood that if he was willing to give it to me, we could talk.
"First, why do you do this kind of work?"
"What else is there to do besides make a living?"
"Fumu."
"There's no such business that doesn't need money."
I nodded my head.
It is said that the two oldest professions of mankind are mercenaries and prostitutes.
Men as mercenaries and women as prostitutes.
Both are things that can be done with just one's body.
In that sense, it could be said that being a thief or a bandit is a 'business that requires no capital' that can be done with only one's body.
"Have you thought about becoming a mercenary?"
"You can't become a mercenary. Without proper armaments, you can't even find an employer. Even if you are lucky to find one, you will be a pawn."
"Yeah, ..., I see, that's the way it is."
I nodded and agreed.
I didn't think of it that way, but it is true that employers usually look at equipment and weapons as part of the force.
In that sense, mercenaries need to have the "original capital" if they want to do it right.
However, if you are a bandit, you only need a minimal amount of weapons.... I see.
"Is that all you want to hear?"
The man said with irritation.
He looked as if he didn't want to talk about how he ended up as a bandit and a thief.
Well, I guess so.
If it weren't for a painful past, you wouldn't have fallen into this line of work.
Especially a man who is as talented as he is.
"No, there's one more thing."
"Ask me quickly."
"Are you willing to stop being a bandit?"
"Ha!"
The man snorted.
"If I could quit, I would have done it by now."
"Listen to the question carefully. Are you willing to stop being a bandit?"
" ...if I could quit, I would have already quit."
The man toned down.
It was the same word, but it had a different meaning.
The first time it was meant to be mean and contemptuous, but the second time it was more like an expletive ... of bitterness ....
"Do you want to join the army?"
"I ain't getting in, ... only guys from decent backgrounds can get in."
"Not a problem if you get a good introduction."
"What?
"...."
The guy looked at me.
I stared back at him silently and waited for his reply.
"You are... just a ...."
"That's not important. I'm asking you your intentions."
The man's demeanor softened considerably.
He looked at his "brothers" around him.
The ones who had been cured by the potion had the same look of bewilderment on their faces as the man.
And the man turned to me.
"B-But. We've already been tagged and known to do this kind of thing."
"That's not a big deal. Tell me honestly, how many people have you killed?"
"K-killed ... um not more than ten…"
"As a group?"
"Yeah, ...."
"Then it's easy to talk. That's 30 years of imprisonment or three years in the military, respectively, for that number."
Under imperial law, the military sentence is often one-tenth of the imprisonment sentence, although it depends on the amount of punishment.
There are several reasons.
First, the empire is a "nation of warriors," constantly at war with smaller neighboring countries that need to replenish their ranks.
Then there is the idea that if a person can be made a soldier with a military sentence and survive for several years, it is better to promote him to a soldier or general rather than as a prisoner.
In the first place, some believe that since soldiers are "expendable" and will die soon, the length of the military sentence does not mean much.
Having worked for both the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Justice, I understand this very well.
"If you get a military sentence, you can legally serve in the military."
"Well, it's not decided that it will be done."
"That's why I'm introducing you."
"–!"
The man was taken aback.
He looked at me.
"Who the… hell are you ...?"
"Let's just say I'm someone who's in a position to make sure you're sent to the military."
"Can you really ... do that?"
"Don't be fooled, brother! That's just an attempt to screw us over!
"That's right, that's right! They're trying to trick us and throw us in jail!"
His men shouted at the wavering man.
Hearing this, the man sighed weakly.
"Why would a man who could annihilate us here need to go through such a roundabout process?"
"Uuh. ...."
"T-That's ...."
Everyone fell silent at the man's point.
He looked at me again.
"Is it really ...?"
"Peiyu."
"Yes!"
Peiyu pulled out a piece of paper, a pen, and a small board from the luggage.
She took the board and stood in front of me, using it as a makeshift desk.
I took the pen and began to scribble a few sentences on the paper.
"Seal."
"Yes."
I took it and marked the end of the paper, near my signature.
After reading the text one last time, I handed it to the man who looked at me blankly.
"Take this to the governor or the secretary of state, and don't make it any worse."
"... you."
"I've paved the way for you, now it's up to you to do your best."
" ...Thank you, I appreciate it."
The man bowed deeply and clutched the letter I gave him carefully.
☆
After the men left, Peiyu asked me.
"Was it all right, Master, to let them go?"
"They are effectively turning themselves in, it won't be a problem."
"But they are going into the army. If they did the same thing in the military, they would have ..."
I understand what Peiyu is trying to say.
That is because the military also has an image of looting.
"No problem."
"N-No problem, is that sure?"
"That's right. If a civilian kills someone for banditry, they are only imprisoned, but for unauthorized looting, the minimum penalty is death according to military law."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Military law imposes heavier penalties than the common law in order to maintain discipline in the army.
Of course, it is not only about the punishment, but also there's a candy that says "defeat the place and you are allowed to loot for a few days" which is added when going to war, but there is no need to tell that to her now.
"I just laid out the path for him. What happens from there is up to him."
"I see. ... That's as expected of you, Master. Although the form is different, it is the same as mine, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
I took Peiyu in as a retainer and protected her.
The men were taken in and protected by the nation.
The form is a little different, but it is essentially the same thing.
I was a little happy to know that Peiyu is also a smart woman who understood this.
☆
Ivy was trembling.
She couldn't understand what Noah had done at all.
Why would he not punish the bandit, but instead heal them, release them, and to top it off, offer them a job?
She couldn't understand it.
People fear what they do not understand.
Ivy was still at that stage where she couldn't understand Noah and was afraid of him.
"..."
At the same time, she began to be more curious about Noah than before.