The door was pushed open, and a boot stepped into the house.
"Aaaaah!!"
Ian lunged forward, raising his cleaver to strike!
But before his blade could reach the newcomer, the man reached out and caught it with ease.
With a click, he took the cleaver away with one hand.
Ian froze.
The newcomer was not the bandit he had imagined.
He wore metal armor, with the emblem of a crimson sun on his chest.
"You're..."
Before Ian could react, the knight tossed the cleaver behind him and strode over to the heated brick bed, looking down at the little girl curled into a ball.
He frowned, removed his glove, and tentatively touched Mia's forehead.
"High fever."
His tone barely changed, yet the words sounded like a verdict. Without another word, he bent down and picked up the girl.
"W-what are you doing? Put her down!" Ian instinctively tried to take her back, but the man held out a hand to stop him.
The man's voice was firm. "I'm a knight of the Red Tide Fief. I'm here to save people. There's a physician nearby. It's not too late for your child."
Even as he spoke, he had already turned toward the door.
Ian stood stunned.
The Red Tide Fief? Save people? A physician?
He could barely understand what the knight was saying. His mind was still a tangled mess.
But he had clearly heard those words: "It's not too late."
They were the most beautiful words he had heard in months.
And so Ian released the hand with which he had been holding the knight back.
The knight said nothing more. He simply carried the little girl outside, mounted his horse, and galloped west.
Ian stood dazed for a moment, then snapped back to his senses and rushed outside barefoot.