Chapter 5

That day, I was on my way back from a meeting with other guild masters.

As the carriage returned to the guild, it entered the forest. At that moment, Frederica, who was sitting across from me, suddenly spoke.

"There are monsters ahead."

A pair of wolf ears popped up from Frederica's head. She is a Fenrir, and her senses of smell and hearing far surpass those of humans.

That's why she was the first to notice the presence of the monsters.

"We'll take a detour."

"Wait."

I activated my [Appraisal Eye] and appraised the surrounding area. There was not only a monster but also a human child, who seemed to be under attack.

"I'll go check it out. Follow me later."

"Master, which way?"

I put my foot on the carriage window and jumped out in one swift motion.

"[Unique Time Acceleration]"

S-rank Appraisal Eye [Eye of the Time King]. It's the strongest Appraisal Eye, capable of seeing even the flow of time.

However, reading the information of objects is just one of its abilities.

[Unique Time Acceleration] is, in simple terms, the ability to accelerate my own movements.

It's not a body enhancement technique but a pure ability to increase my speed, which also puts a significant strain on my body.

I accelerated to super speed and rushed to the scene.

"Roarrrrr!"

A bear of immense size was attacking a child.

The bear's massive arm was about to tear the child apart, but it missed.

"Huh...? W-who?"

I had scooped up the child and moved to a safe distance from the bear.

Thanks to the super speed granted by the accelerated internal time, I had saved the child before the enemy's attack could land.

"Grroooaarrr!"

The bear monster, enraged at having its meal taken away, lunged at me.

But the bear was torn apart and fell to the ground.

"Master, as expected. You noticed the child's danger and rushed to the rescue."

Frederica, who had caught up, wiped her blood-soaked knife.

"I just wanted the meat and materials from this [Red Bear]. If I had hesitated, someone else might have taken them."

"Well... Miss, are you hurt?"

Upon closer inspection, the child was a young girl who still retained a hint of innocence. She fainted when she saw Frederica.

"Poor thing, she must have fainted from the terror of being attacked by a monster."

"You're covered in blood."

"I apologize for presenting such an unsightly appearance before my master. I will change immediately."

"That's not necessary. We're going back to the mansion anyway. Rather, go get the carriage."

"Are you taking her back?"

"Look."

In the forest, there was an overturned carriage. The horses were dead, and there was no sign of the driver.

The cargo area had iron bars, which were now crushed by the bear.

And the children were wearing [slave collars].

"I see, it's highly likely that this is a slave trader's carriage and its merchandise."

"Right. If we return the merchandise, we can get a substantial reward from the merchant."

"Are we heading to the town where the merchant is, in the carriage?"

"Idiot. Look, this child is so skinny from not eating for days. First, we'll take her back to the mansion, give her a bath, feed her a full meal, and let her rest. The better her condition, the more reward we'll get... What's so funny?"

"I'm just impressed by your wicked guild master skills."

★

Back at the mansion, I ordered the servants to give the girl a bath and dress her in clean clothes.

Later, in the dining room.

"What an appetite this girl has."

The table was piled high with empty plates.

"Even though the food isn't free, is it okay?"

"It's fine. We'll get it back from the merchant. Eat without hesitation. There's dessert too."

Suddenly, the girl started crying.

"Frederica, why is she crying?"

"Probably because it's the first time someone has been kind to her."

"What? I wasn't being kind."

"Sure, sure. By the way, Master, I found something out. This girl is not a [product]."

Frederica held the girl's original clothes.

"From my investigation, these clothes are the uniform of the [Delphi Orphanage] in the city of [Woz]."

"What? An orphanage? So this girl is an orphan?"

The girl, who was being transported in the slave trader's carriage as merchandise, was actually an orphan from the orphanage.

"This smells fishy."

"Master, what will you do? This girl is clearly a troublemaker. It's best to leave her."

I ignored Frederica and approached the girl.

"What's your name?"

"...[Yui]"

"Yui. Answer me honestly. Was your orphanage involved in human trafficking... selling your friends to bad people?"

Yui's body stiffened and she began to tremble.

"It seems my bad feeling was right."

"Annie. Milda. Everyone... I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Those must be the names of the friends who were sold."

Frederica took out a handkerchief and wiped Yui's tears.

"Do you want to go back to that orphanage?"

She bowed her head and bit her lip tightly.

I grabbed Yui's shoulder and looked her straight in the eye.

"Crying won't change anything. If you want to move towards a better future, you have to make a choice."

"Choose...?"

"Right. You can either go back to the orphanage and be sold as merchandise, or you can run away and gain your freedom."

"...It's impossible. Mr. Delphi knows a lot of bad people. I'll be caught right away."

Frederica squatted down and stroked Yui's head.

"Don't worry. As you can see, Lord Act is an unparalleled villain in terms of being a bad person (laughs)."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Never."

While stroking Yui's head, Frederica said,

"With Lord Act's power, you and your friends can all be happy."

"Really...?"

"Yes. Master is the strongest and most compassionate villain. Choose now. Go back or run away."

Yui looked up at me, tears welling up in her eyes, and said in a choked voice,

"Please... help everyone!"

When asked whether to go back or run away, Yui asked to help her friends. She was thinking of others, not herself.

"Frederica, we're going to the Delphi Orphanage."

"Are you going to save everyone?"

"Don't misunderstand. I just want this girl."

"Wh-what!?"

Yui's face turned red, and she was flustered.

"She has the talent to lead people. It would be a loss to the world to let it go to waste."

"Master, as expected. You even have the talent to charm women. What a splendid villain."

I ruffled Yui's hair and said,

"Leave it to me. I'll solve everything."

"...Why? Why are you helping? Are you... a god?"

"Idiot. I'm just a common villain who gets what I want no matter what."

[To the Readers]

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