Houka looked at the bloodied corpses scattered across the ground. It was his first time killing someone, but he didn't feel the slightest discomfort. After nearly a year of training with Might Duy, his mental fortitude was already extraordinary. A little scene like this couldn't faze him.
The troublesome one was that Root member!
It had been kill or be killed, but the trouble afterward might never end.
Houka returned to the town and told the mayor that the bandits had been eliminated. Their bodies were on the mountain road, so he should take some people to deal with them and then write Houka proof that the mission was complete.
The mayor nodded hurriedly and sent a few townspeople to check the mountain road. Then he asked about the goateed man.
"Foolish humans, that guy was in league with the bandits!" Seeing the townspeople's disbelieving expressions, Houka decided to expose the truth. "Think back. Wasn't the goateed man there every time you were robbed? And wasn't he always the one who got away unscathed?"
The townspeople exchanged glances and thought it over. It seemed that really was the case.
A few of them seemed to remember something and rushed into the goateed man's house. After searching it, they found a huge amount of cash—enough to make even the richest person in town drool.
The goateed man made his living from the little bit of mountain produce he gathered, just like everyone else. Where had he gotten all that money?
He'd obviously earned it by acting as the bandits' inside man!
The townspeople were furious. They swarmed into the goateed man's house and started smashing things... well, all right, they started moving out.
"I saw that table first!"
"Bastard, that iron pot is mine!"
"I'm taking this tatami mat. Nobody try