In a condescending tone, the female guard who had cast the magic spell earlier added, "Keep your voice down, and if you disturb the young master and princess, I will immediately cut you off." The guard had been referring to Hadrian and Alice.

My head began to spin as soon as I heard the guard's voice. The aura that she exuded was extremely menacing. The atmosphere that the bandit had just encountered was nothing compared to the aura emanating from the guard standing in front of him at that very moment.

The young man froze in place and ceased his conversation instantly, displaying an anxious expression. The young man had no choice but to wait.

Soon after, a number of guards exited their carriage and began walking toward the carriage that was located in the midst of the group.

"young master," stated one of the female guards

An individual who was inside the carriage remarked, "I've heard your story."

"Despite the fact that you've had a string of unfortunate events, you've also had the good fortune to run into me."

Although the young man was aware that the other person had no intention of assisting him in the first place, he still felt the need to express his gratitude by saying.

"I cannot express how grateful I am."

After that, the guards went back to their own carriages so that they could continue their voyage.

In the meantime, the young man was watching them leave while he stood by the side of the road.

After hearing the man's remarks, he was left with no other option but to trust them, and so he escorted his little sister back to the location where their carriage had been plundered by bandits.

_________________

Hadrian Pov

"Big brother, are you feeling upset?" Asked Alice, who was now completely awake.

"me, upset?"

I just gave Alice a glance while smiling slightly, saying.

"Hm, I think I'd like to put my younger sister to the test. Are you still a kid, in which case it's only natural that you don't know what's coming up ahead, or can you see something up ahead?"

as if being treated with contempt, Alice let out a snort as she shifted her position and turned to face the opposite direction. "hum."

Because the young man didn't run very far, the carriage I was riding in was able to arrive at the location where the incident occurred.

The area appeared tranquil and peaceful, but there were no signs of life anywhere in sight. The guards began to dismount the carriage in order to secure the place.

The door to the carriage was knocked on by one of the guards, and then it was opened slowly while the guard bowed her head.

"Young master, there are a few bodies that are believed to be bandits, but it is likely that the rest have already escaped," Reported the guard as they were giving the details of the incident.

I said to Alice, who was still in the carriage as I was getting off, "I will drag you if you don't come down."

"No thanks, I'll get down there on my own," Remarked Alice with a cheery disposition.

My sense of smell was the first to pick up on the scent of blood, and my sense of sight was immediately presented with a corpse that was lying on the ground.

Alice, who had just come down, did not appear to be bothered by the situation and instead put on an expression of interest.

It appeared as though the previous five merchant union guards had been killed, and there was also the body of a commoner who had decided to engage in combat nearby.

In the area surrounding the forest, there are also the bodies of individuals who were attempting to flee the area.

"Alice, what are your thoughts on this?" I inquired about this while lightly petting Alice on the head.

Even though Alice appears to be perfectly fine, I can see in her eyes that she is shaking.

Alice responded as if she had been able to find some sort of inner calm after having my hand lightly stroke her head.

"It does seem odd, they are stronger than typical bandits, and the goods in the carriage are of no value," Alice pondered.

"Are they looking for...?" Before Alice could finish her sentence, one of the security guards rushed over.

"Young master, we located one survivor, but he appears to be in critical condition."

I unintentionally gave myself a small smile before taking a look.

Seen a middle-aged man leaning against a tree with wounds all over his body. Yet, despite the severity of his injuries, he appeared to be still conscious as he looked at me while gasping for air.

"Hey, did the remaining bandits manage to get away?" Asked one of the female guards while keeping a wary expression on her face.

While she was talking, Alice, who was standing next to me, gently pulled on my shirt, "Big Brother, he..."

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

The middle-aged man was about to respond when all of a sudden, a tree root that had been buried in the ground emerged and held him in place.

Even though the guards were also perplexed, it seemed as though they had some kind of epiphany because they suddenly drew their swords from their waists and surrounded the individual.

"what are you doing," Yelled the man as he struggled to get his footing.

"To think that there are humans of such a high level out here in the wilderness is mind boggling," I said in a lighthearted manner while staring intently into the eyes of the middle-aged man.

"I'm just a regular traveler, and I want to get to Zeit City before those jerks in the bandits' camp prevent me from doing so," The gentleman made an attempt to clarify.

The man was astounded after witnessing the magical spell that caused the roots of this tree to bind him. He did not know who had cast the spell, but whoever it was was much more powerful than him.

"Return to the capital with this man, as well as the young man and his younger sister we met earlier," I said while giving the order to four female guards.

To cut a long story short, When I looked into the man's eyes, the middle-aged man who was still trying to explain something instantly became unconscious.

"Come on, Alice, I'm getting bored here," As I entered the carriage once more, I expressed my thoughts.

Alice, who was completely clueless, trailed close behind me.

"Hold on, brother."

Meanwhile, the four guards returned to the capital using the two shabby carriages that we saw earlier. We continued on with our journey.

_________________

Shortly after I continued on my journey, the young man came while still carrying his younger sister.

"blarghhh."

Upon seeing the scene in front of him, the young man immediately threw up, and it was just his luck that his younger sister was riding on his back and couldn't see it.

He had spent a lot of time hunting in the woods, but when he saw this sight, he became weak and could not utter a single word.

Not too far away from there, he saw female guards gathering the dead bodies that were lying in one area, and almost immediately, a fire broke out and consumed the dead bodies.

Black smoke rose to great heights into the sky.

It didn't take long to put out the fire, and there were visible black marks on the road for a moment, but they vanished just as quickly as they appeared.

As if what had happened to me never occurred in the first place.

"Why are you being so quiet? Get moving!" Yelled the guard in a harsh tone.

I, who was surprised, rushed up to the carriage. Inside, there were already two guards with an unconscious middle-aged man.

"is he all right?" I inquired about it with the security guard after recognizing the man as the middle-aged one who had been chatting with me earlier, but he appeared to be in a serious condition with thick tree roots wrapped around his body.

As I watched them remain silent, my own anxiety about getting into trouble increased, and all I could do was hope that the man was all right.