In the southwestern region of the Calandra Empire, the capital of the Nova Empire, Orias.
In the crowd at the gateway to Orias, a silver-haired woman in a maid outfit wearing a thorned crown was mixed in.
“This is Orias… the place the Lord commanded me to go.”
“Pass. Next.”
A knight guarding the largest gate of Orias, the east gate, spoke to Saula.
“Where are you from?”
“Um…”
“Oh no, I made a mistake. Because of the Lord’s command, I was so focused on entering the city of Orias that I just walked straight through the gate. I should have snuck in while hiding my appearance!”
“…Why are you silent? Judging by your attire, you seem to be a maid who lost her master?”
“Um, Sir Knight. It looks like you have lost your master, but I’ll help you look for them.”
Just then, a mustache man who was waiting behind the maid butting in.
“Huh? Is it you? …Hah. Are you going to do that again?”
“Hehe. You don’t have to trouble yourself, Sir Knight. Take this… I won’t forget the hard work you always do.”
The mustache man discreetly handed a small pouch to the knight, who accepted it and tucked it away into his clothing.
“Okay. But be careful not to draw attention. It’ll be troublesome if you get caught. Pass.”
“Thank you, milady! My lady, I will help you find your master. Let’s go together.”
“…Uh, okay?”
‘A man helping me in a tough situation… is this part of the Lord’s arrangement? If so, I think it would be wise to follow for now.’
The mustache man walked ahead into the depths of the city of Orias.
Saula silently followed behind him.
At first, the man walked on the main street, but gradually he fell back and headed toward the filthy back alleys of the city.
“We just need to go a little further. You should be able to find your master there.”
“…Is that so?”
Passing through an alley, he knocked on a small door in a secluded spot.
Knock, knock.
Creeeak.
Then a small window above the door slid open, and a pair of eyes appeared.
“Laserface. It’s me, Adey. I brought the new thing.”
“Alright, I checked it.”
Click.
Creeeak.
The window closed again, and they heard the sound of the lock being released before the door opened.
“Alright. Come in. Your master should be inside as well.”
“Hmm…”
Saula slowly walked inside the door.
The mustache man followed her in and…
Click.
The door locked behind them.
Inside the room were about ten men with fierce expressions and a dozen women tied up, kneeling.
“Kuhuh. Silly girl. Even if you wanted to find your master, to follow me to such a strange place is quite lacking in intelligence compared to your outstanding appearance.”
“Adey. You brought some great goods!”
“Ah yes. Who knows what foolish noble lost such a maid? She even paid a knight at the gate! If this girl had just had a bit more brains and ran away instead of following me, I’d have been in deep trouble, but she followed me here.”
“Kuhuhuh. Pretty girls are usually not very bright. That’s how we could bring in girls like this. By the way, can’t we try a little before the boss arrives?”
“Are you insane? Such high-quality goods are meant for the boss and special clients.”
“…Well, they are indeed high-quality goods. Lucky for you, Adey. You’ll receive a nice reward.”
“Exactly. With this much, the boss might even give me a spot of my own, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Kuhuhuh. Silly girl. You still don’t realize your situation? You’ve been kidnapped.”
“Laserface, we should tie her up with some ropes. It would be troublesome if she causes a ruckus. Go get some ropes.”
Saying that, the mustache man approached Saula.
“If you behave, I won’t hurt you. You’re a valuable item after all.”
As his hand reached towards Saula’s arm…
Before his hand could touch her, it turned to dust and scattered in the air.
“…Huh? My, my hand… Aaaaaaaah! My hand!”
Hearing the mustache man’s scream, the other men rushed over.
“What, Adey, what happened!?”
“This girl! She blew off my hand!”
“You blew off your hand?”
“Was she a wizard!?”
“Damn it. A wizard maid! How ridiculous!”
“She could be a ‘Gift’ user! Everyone, spread out!”
As the men encircled Saula cautiously, keeping their distance, she opened her mouth.
“I still don’t quite understand.”
“…What?”
“Are you a wizard who’s an idiot?”
“The Lord guided me here. But I still don’t understand. What does the Lord want me to do? Did the Lord not want to convey a message to me? Why have you directed me to such trash.”
“What absurd nonsense are you talking about?”
“No matter how magical she is, she’s alone! A wizard without protection is weak! We can overwhelm her before she can chant a spell!”
“Right, don’t be scared! Let’s go, guys!”
“Yyeeahhh!”
Boom!
As the men charged at Saula, an invisible, powerful force suddenly pressed down on them, slamming them heavily to the ground.
“Gravitation magic!”
“This girl… used magic without chanting!”
“Shut up.”
Snap.
As Saula frowned and snapped her fingers, the men could move their mouths, but no sound came out.
“I still don’t understand. What was the Lord’s intention in sending me here…”
At that moment, one of the kneeling women on the floor cried out.
“P-Please, save us!”
“…Huh?”
“We’re originally free people but were kidnapped by these bastards! Please save us!”
“Save us!”
“I miss my mom!”
One after another, the other women began to lift their heads and raise their voices together.
“…I see. I think I understand to some extent. So, is that why the Lord sent me here.”
Snap.
As Saula snapped her fingers, the ropes binding the women were all released.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, our savior!”
“Um… what should we call you, savior?”
“I am Saula… Call me Paulah. Yes, I am Paulah. A servant of Lord Deus.”
“I am Barnabas. Before Paulah arrived, I thought I would be sold as a slave without moving. I was in despair, subjected to humiliation by those guys, and nobody was helping me. Thank you for saving us, Paulah!”
“Thank you, Paulah!”
“Don’t thank me, thank Lord Deus.”
“L-Lord Deus?”
“Yes. The Lord who sent me here. He loves this world and will redeem the sins of this world in the future.”
“Lord Deus…”
“Yes, it is Lord Deus. Lord Deus will…”
Boom!
At that moment, the locked door burst open.
“What is everyone doing without welcoming the boss?! …Huh?”
A fierce-looking, furry, muscle-bound man entered with several subordinates behind him.
“Oho. A top-quality product. Huh? What are you doing? Did you lose to her? …Damn useless fools. I can’t trust any of you.”
“T-that bastard is the boss!”
“Aaaaah, what do we do! The boss is here!”
Seeing the boss, all the women appeared terrified and either closed their eyes tightly or curled up in fear.
“You, girl. You seem to have some skills, but you’re no match for me.”
The boss drew a massive sword from behind him. Then, he coated it with a shimmering mana blade.
“I am a sword expert at the utmost level!”
“Expert? Utmost level?”
“Yes. I am a swordsman beyond what is called a disaster for wizards!”
The boss shouted as he lunged at Paulah.
In an instant, the boss disappeared and suddenly reappeared in front of Paulah.
“Here it comes! The Boss’s Charge Combo!”
“The strongest technique that no wizard can respond to!”
“Though I shouldn’t harm the goods, I was told to ensure the customer doesn’t get hurt… guuark!”
Suddenly, the boss, who had been swinging his sword like a club towards Paulah, was launched upwards, stuck to the ceiling.
“Boss!”
“What the hell! This… is insane!”
“I don’t understand this ‘disaster’ talk. You seem weaker than the knight serving the Lord.”
“Y-yeah! Do you know who our boss’s backer is? The Duke of Naisher, who can take down flying dragons!”
“Really? He says he can take down dragons?”
“Hiiik! She’s insane!”
Boom!
The newcomers were suddenly hit by the same powerful force of gravity and slammed to the ground like the others.
“I see. The Lord desires me to save those suffering from evil here and to convey His word.”
“Um… Paulah?”
The woman who identified herself as Barnabas approached Paulah and spoke.
“Yes?”
“Can I follow you, Paulah? I want to be of help to you.”
“…Alright. I will share the Lord’s message with you.”
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