At Levreeshka’s threat, the bandits sheath their ordinary daggers and draw long swords surrounded by a faint gray aura — enchanted weapons forged by House Eisenfaust.

"Cover your son’s eyes. He’s still too young to witness what’s about to happen," Levreeshka says to Lina.

Martin’s wife obeys and pulls little Cedric tightly against herself, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

The bandits immediately surround Levreeshka and point their weapons at her.

And yet, they do not attack — they merely threaten her, as though trying to frighten her and force her to run away. But the truth is that the only ones truly afraid are the bandits themselves.

They have no idea whether that vampire is actually strong or if she’s simply bluffing, but her coldness and complete indifference toward their threats terrify them so deeply that they do not want to find out.

"So, what are you waiting for to attack that woman? Move!" the bandit leader orders in frustration.

Levreeshka gives him an amused look.

"You’re their leader, aren’t you? Then you should set an example for your lackeys. A good commander should stand on the front line fighting alongside his men, not act like a dictator from behind the ranks."

A provocation he cannot ignore without tarnishing his authority.

"You asked for it! Don’t think I’ll show you mercy just because you’re a woman!"

He grips his sword firmly and charges at Levreeshka with strength and speed enhanced by the enchanted weapon’s effect.

But before he can even swing his blade, she strikes him with a kick straight to the face so fast that the bandit never even sees it coming.

His head is reduced to pulp, and the rest of his body is hurled backward by the shockwave. He dies instantly without ever realizing what killed him.

At the sight of this, the six remaining bandits flee, scattering in every direction, but their lives are just as short.

Levreeshka’s whip branches into six appendages, and each one shoots like a swift serpent toward the fleeing bandits. They are reached in an instant and killed by strangulation just as quickly.

Finally, Levreeshka’s weapon dissolves, and without wasting a second she kneels beside Martin’s body.

Besides her, Lina and little Cedric are also bent over the man. Lina cries desperately while clinging to her husband, while her son remains paralyzed by the trauma.

"Do you have a healer in the village?" Levreeshka asks Lina.

"N-No, unfortunately we can’t afford one... ours is a very poor village. W-Wait, does that mean that...?"

"Yes, your husband is still alive, but his heartbeat is getting weaker and weaker. He doesn’t have much time left, and without a healer nearby, that’s a serious problem..."

"A-Are you saying... sob... that Dad is dying...?"

Levreeshka gently places a hand on the child’s head and gives him a sweet smile.

"Do not fear, little one. Your father will not die."

Levreeshka opens the large leather bag she carries with her and pulls out a pouch containing a handful of dried leaves.

She gestures for Lina to cover the child’s eyes again, and once she does, Levreeshka lifts the man’s shirt, exposing the deep bleeding wound in his abdomen.

Finally, she takes the dried leaves and begins crushing them over the wound.

As soon as the tiny fragments begin settling onto the edges of the injury, a horrifying scream of pain erupts from Martin’s mouth despite him being unconscious.

"W-What are you doing to him? W-What are those leaves?" Lina asks in extreme concern, while now covering little Cedric’s ears in addition to his eyes.

"They are sylvirdi leaves — a plant native to the world I come from. They are used to create a blood clot that acts as a plug to stop the bleeding. A wound like this would require a few more leaves, but unfortunately these are all I have left. As you can see, it’s not a painless process... but the worst is yet to come..."

"A-Are you saying my husband will have to suffer even more...?"

"Yes. But it’s necessary to save his life."

After saying that, Levreeshka reaches into her bag once more and pulls out a small glass vial filled with a thick pink liquid.

She carefully pours it both along the edges of the wound and directly inside it.

The man’s face immediately contorts in sharp pain, but Levreeshka had already warned them beforehand, so this time neither Lina nor her son are frightened by it.

"And what... is that?"

"Just a lotion that accelerates the body’s natural healing process. This too comes from my world."

What Levreeshka deliberately chooses not to mention is that the so-called lotion is actually nothing more than the healing saliva produced by succubi. As a woman herself, she knows Lina might feel uncomfortable knowing another woman’s saliva is being spread across her husband’s wound, even if it’s purely to save his life.

Finally, once she finishes applying the lotion, she bandages the wound to prevent further contamination.

"W-Will my husband be alright now...? When will he regain consciousness?" Lina asks, visibly relieved.

"When he wakes up, I can’t say. It could take hours or even days — it all depends on him. The only thing you need to be careful about is cleaning and disinfecting the wound frequently. Since vampires are immune to infections, unfortunately I don’t carry anything for that."

Then Levreeshka bends down and lifts Martin’s large, heavy body from the ground. And yet, she raises him effortlessly, as though he weighed no more than a feather.

"Show me the way to the village. I’ll carry your husband."

Lina does not need to be told twice, and the three of them begin walking toward the village. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Thank goodness... I truly don’t know how to thank you. Not only did you protect us from those bandits, but you also saved my husband’s life. You’re a truly extraordinary woman — we’ll remain forever indebted to you. U-Unfortunately, we don’t have much to offer in return for what you’ve done. The best we can give you is a roof to spend the night under, so you can resume your journey tomorrow morning."

"You know, I was actually looking for a place to stay for the night. According to my map, Flumarx Town is still two days away on foot, and your village is the last settlement along the road there. So I gladly accept your hospitality."

"We would be honored to host such a kind doctor."

"A... doctor?" Levreeshka repeats, puzzled.

"You... aren’t a doctor? Watching you treat that wound with such confidence, I simply assumed you were one. Though admittedly, an ordinary doctor would never have been able to deal with those bandits so easily."

"Let’s just say that the position I held until not long ago required me to know how to treat wounds quickly as well."

After barely ten minutes of walking, Levreeshka, Lina, and Cedric finally arrive at the village.