"This is why I don’t like getting involved in other people’s business."

Nox finished the sentence while staring at the chaos unfolding on the stone bridge.

The girl in the yellow hood was still surrounded by wolves.

The bearded merchant trembled behind Misty.

Audrey kept her bow ready.

And Tessa was still tied up on Claws’ back.

Then something clicked in the demon’s mind.

’Wait... wasn’t this woman able to detect lies?’

Nox turned toward the inquisitor.

"Tessa."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"If you really want me to consider letting you join the group someday, help me with this."

Tessa stared at him in silence.

"Figure out who’s lying."

The merchant’s eyes widened.

"W-What are you people doing?!"

He pointed at the hooded girl.

"Just look at her! She’s covered in dirt! She lives with a pack of wild wolves! She’s obviously the crazy one!"

Nox slowly turned toward him.

His gaze alone made the man swallow nervously.

"Shut up."

"W-What?"

"I don’t actually care who’s right."

The smile disappeared from Nox’s face.

"I’m just trying to do the right thing."

The demon rested a hand on one of his daggers.

"But if you interrupt me again..."

His red eyes glowed.

"I’ll cut your head off."

The merchant instantly turned pale.

Misty burst out laughing.

"That was pretty extreme."

"I’m practicing my social skills."

"You’re getting worse."

Audrey sighed.

"I can’t tell whether the wolves are lying."

She looked at the animals.

"But that’s what they’re saying."

She pointed toward the carriage.

"They claim the man has their little brother in there."

The girl in yellow nodded frantically.

"It’s true!"

The wolves growled.

Tessa observed the entire scene.

Then she sighed.

"Fine."

"You’ll do the test?"

"As long as I still have my Title, I can."

Claws slowly advanced while carrying her.

The giant bear approached the merchant.

The man looked ready to faint.

Tessa crossed her arms.

"I’m only going to ask once."

The merchant swallowed.

"W-What?"

"Is it true that you have this group’s younger brother inside the carriage?"

Tessa smiled.

"And is it true that you abuse young animals?"

The man opened his mouth.

But no words came out.

Tessa frowned.

"I don’t have all day."

The merchant began sweating.

"N-No..."

His voice trembled.

"It’s not true."

Misty looked at the inquisitor.

"Is he telling the truth?"

Another smile appeared on Tessa’s face.

"He’s lying."

The bridge fell completely silent.

"What?"

The bearded man stumbled backward.

"That’s impossible!"

"No."

Tessa smiled.

"It’s actually very possible."

"You’re all insane!"

Nox let out a deep sigh.

Then he turned around.

"Alright."

He started walking.

"Misty. Audrey. Tessa."

All three looked at him.

"Let’s cross the bridge."

The cat girl’s eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"This is why people shouldn’t get involved in other people’s problems."

The young woman looked completely confused.

Then she understood.

A huge smile appeared on her face.

"Mister Demon!"

She bowed deeply.

"Thank you so much!"

The wolves immediately lunged at the merchant.

The man screamed.

"Help!"

And at that exact moment...

A flash shot across the bridge.

It happened so fast that nobody managed to see it.

A line of white light sliced through the air.

And the next second...

Several wolf heads went flying.

Blood stained the snow.

Their bodies collapsed onto the stone.

"..."

Nox’s eyes widened.

The cat girl froze in place.

A blond man now stood in the middle of the bridge.

He wore spotless white armor.

As if he had appeared out of nowhere.

He smiled while holding a sword of light in one hand.

"Finally."

He looked at the corpses.

"I found the pack that has been raiding merchants for weeks."

The remaining wolves began backing away in terror.

The blond man spun and unleashed another slash.

A wave of light expanded outward.

Audrey and Misty managed to dodge.

But Nox reacted purely on instinct.

He grabbed the cat girl around the waist and jumped off the bridge.

"W-What?!"

The girl screamed.

The icy water exploded beneath them.

The impact rattled Nox’s entire body.

But something even worse happened above.

"Tessa!"

The inquisitor didn’t have time to react.

The wave of light struck Claws’ back.

Tessa’s arms were severed instantly.

The woman crashed onto the snow, and the ground around her turned red.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Claws roared in fury.

◇◆◇

Meanwhile, on the bridge...

The bearded merchant ran toward the blond man.

"Thank you!"

He dropped to his knees.

"Thank you so much for saving me!"

The hero tilted his head.

"Saving you?"

"Yes."

"How strange."

The blond man’s smile widened.

"Because it looks to me like I arrived too late."

The merchant blinked.

"Huh? I don’t understand, Sir Hero."

"I know."

And then...

The sword of light sliced through his neck.

The merchant’s head rolled across the bridge.

The blond man wiped the blood from his blade.

"What a shame."

He looked at the corpse.

"That filthy girl ended up murdering a respected citizen."

◇◆◇

A shout came from the river.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Nox emerged from the freezing water.

The cat girl was clinging to him, crying.

Beside them landed the severed head of one of the wolves.

The girl hugged it tightly.

"No..."

Tears began falling.

"No..."

Nox looked up at the bridge.

"That guy is seriously strong."

He clenched his teeth.

"Where the hell did he come from?"

The girl trembled.

"H-He’s..."

"Who?"

"Lucien Light."

Nox immediately cursed.

"Shit. The way you said that makes him sound important."

The girl lowered her gaze.

"He’s one of the Church’s heroes."

"Yeah, I figured."

Nox sighed.

"These people with Titles never leave me alone."

Above them...

Lucien looked down at the river and smiled.

"Incredible."

He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I can’t believe my luck."

His eyes gleamed.

"Something interesting finally happens in my life."

He looked directly at Nox.

"And it turns out I run into the famous demon."

His smile grew wider.

"The one those useless inquisitors couldn’t deal with."

A blast of wind exploded behind him.

Misty appeared.

Her kick seemed to crash directly toward the hero’s head.

At the same time...

Audrey emerged from the opposite side. Her knife, wrapped in dark energy, descended toward the blond man’s neck.

But Lucien raised both arms and stopped both attacks.

With his bare hands.

Misty’s kick.

Audrey’s blade.

Everything.

Without taking any meaningful damage.

Silence spread across the bridge.

Lucien looked at both women.

Then he started laughing.

"Oh..."

His smile looked like that of a child who had just received a gift. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"This is getting more and more entertaining."