To the bandit’s surprise, the imagined scene of blood splattering as his cleaver fell never came to pass.

A watery barrier shimmered into existence, effortlessly blocking his strike.

The spectacle instantly drew the other bandits’ attention. Every eye locked onto the pitch-black room.

They’d clearly heard the magic incantation emanating from within just moments ago.

“A mage!?”

One bandit furrowed his brow, muttering under his breath. Around him, others drew their cleavers, eyes fixed warily on the petite figure inside.

Sophia adjusted her hood and stepped out slowly, her gaze cold as she observed their tense, guarded stances.

“M-Mage, Your Excellency, please—save us!” The homeowner recognized the magic that had shielded him.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, bowing deeply to Sophia.

Before she could reply, a bandit barked, “Bullshit mage! What ‘mage’ crawls out of this dump? At best, a second-level apprentice. Watch me slice her down!”

He charged, cleaver raised.

A third-level warrior—his raw power alone could bisect a man.

Yet Sophia let out a faint scoff at his clumsy form. With a sharp tap of her staff against the ground—

Another watery barrier bloomed, deflecting the blow without effort.

In that split-second of shock, jagged water spikes erupted from the barrier’s surface. Before he could flinch, several pierced his body.

Crimson blood seeped out, staining the clear shield a chilling red.

The bandits recoiled several steps, eyes wide with renewed wariness.

Hope flickered in the homeowner’s despairing heart—as if he’d glimpsed salvation.

“Great Mage, save us! I—I’ll give you everything I own!”

Thud—

“Shut your mouth, begging for death?!” A boot slammed into his gut, choking back his plea.

Sophia lifted her gaze. A towering man wielding a massive axe loomed over her, eyes sharp with contempt.

From the reverence in the others’ stares, she knew: this was their leader.

“Heh. Never thought a high-level mage’d hide in this backwater,” the leader sneered, glare locked on Sophia.

Unshaken, she met his stare. The dragon scale atop her staff glowed with a faint crimson light.

Wisps of mist coiled gently around her.

“Boss… what now?” A one-eyed man whispered, stepping closer.

The leader’s eyes swept the burning huts, the bound villagers at the square, then his own men.

Sophia remained silent, her expression steady, calm, unreadable.

After a long pause, he spoke. “How ‘bout this? You walk. We pretend we never met.”

“Boss! No! She killed two brothers!”

“Yeah! I’ll gut her!”

“Silence!” he roared, cutting them off. “Who’s leading this crew? Me or you?”

His gaze returned to Sophia, waiting.

“What a coward. If it were me, I’d have cut you down already. Heh.” An’s voice echoed in her mind.

Before leaving the room, An had reshaped into a bracelet clasped around her wrist.

Sophia ignored the taunt, inwardly rolling her eyes at his foolishness.

The leader wasn’t reckless. He knew Sophia was high-level. Even if they overwhelmed her eventually…

…they’d lose at least ten men.

Bandits weren’t stage heroes. They feared death—and losing comrades most of all.

One less fighter meant vulnerability in the next raid, the next defense.

And for bandits, defeat wasn’t a game. No “I surrender” would save them.

Sophia had expected this. “No. Release the villagers.”

Her words ignited outrage.

“Don’t push your luck! Boss offered mercy!”

“I’ll avenge my brother!”

She ignored the clamor, eyes fixed solely on the leader.

He remained silent, studying her with quiet calculation.

“Little princess,” An chimed again, “since when so kind? I don’t recall ‘nun studies’ in imperial princess curriculum.”

Sophia replied dryly, “An, I truly wonder—when dragonfire struck you… did it hit your heart… or your brain?”

“…”

Silence. She’d landed the jab.

The leader shook his head. “No. Think we came for nothing?”

Sophia held his gaze. “One hundred gold coins. Release them.”

“!!!”

One hundred gold coins!

Even the leader froze. Looting this whole village rarely netted fifty.

Now a mage offered double… for peasants’ lives?

Temptation flickered across every bandit’s face.

But the leader’s mind snagged elsewhere.

Willing to pay a hundred gold for worthless lives?

No sane mage would be this generous.

Either a fool… or a sheltered noble lady from some gilded house.