"General, the person has been captured!"

  In a camp, a man in light armour reported to another man dressed in solid, heavy armour.

  "I told you not to call me ‘General’ outside."

  "Ah! Apologies!"

  "…Take me to them."

  "Yes!"

  The two men walked out of the tent and arrived at an open spa the camp where an iron cage had bee up.

  "Well, this is a good catch."

  "Because we passed through several settlements, and fortunately, the fighters weren’t around, so we managed a successful ambush."

  "Mm, for such lowly creatures, there's o ourselves with honourable bat. 'Human rights,' as the name suggests, are meant for 'humans.'"

  The man looked at the creatures ihe iron cage, those with animal ears, tails, and other such features, a sneer crossing his face.

  "You despicable human-like creatures will eventually face retribution!"

  "…Deal with them."

  "Ahh!!"

  One of the demihumans lu the edge of the cage, cursing the humans outside with a twisted expression, but the colr around her neck sent a powerful electric current through her body, shog her into a state of agony.

  "Lowly creatures should behave like lowly animals. If you weren’t of any use to us, I’d have you taken away for the soldiers to enjht now."

  Faced with this, the other demihumans fell silent.

  They couldn’t remove the colrs around their necks, nor could they resist.

  "Mm? What’s wrong with you?"

  Suddenly, the man noticed demihuman girl with white hair ihe cage.

  Uhe others, who were either too afraid to move or desperately trying to hold back tears, she dispyed no fear at all, gring at him with hostility.

  "…Iing. Take her out."

  "But, she’s…"

  "I said, take her out."

  Upon receiving the order, the soldiers had no choice but to open the cage and drag the demihuman girl out.

  "She’s quite attractive for a lowly creature, though still a creature of the lower races, I suppose she’s passable."

  The man looked at the girl, who was barely two-thirds his height, his gaze filled with a certain desire.

  Without hesitation, the man grabbed one of her hands, easily lifting her up with the strength and size differeween them.

  "Ugh..."

  The girl gritted her teeth, her expression pained as she raised her free hand, repeatedly pounding on the man’s grip in an attempt to make him let go.

  "You dare resist? Seems like I’ll o train you."

  The man raised his other hand, moving it towards the thin garment the girl was wearing.

  "Ahh!!"

  Suddenly, a pierg scream echoed through the camp, halting the man's movements.

  "What’s going on?"

  The man looked toward the source of the scream, and the soldiers stationed around the camp and the cage began to part, clearing a path.

  In the distance, a small figure, cloaked in white, around ore forty i, calmly walked towards him. Half of a youthful fad green hair peeking out from beh the hood indicated that it was likely a girl.

  "How could a child... Wait, that is...!?"

  Behind the white-cd girl were several soldiers lying on the ground, pools of blood f beh them.

  "...Dare to attack us? Am I to assume you wish to oppose us?"

  The white-cd girl made no respoo the man’s question, tinuing to walk towards him.

  ‘Just by looking at half of her face, I tell she’s a gem. I was starting to think one would not be enough—would soon spoil—but here’s another, ing to me. It must be a blessing from the gods!’

  The man thought to himself and then issued an order.

  "You, capture her! Whoever succeeds will be generously rewarded. Do not harm her!"

  However, strangely, none of the soldiers moved at the and or the promise of a reward. Instead, they all seemed to be under some sort of pulsion, simply stepping aside to make way for the girl.

  "You! Are you refusing orders? Now! Immediately! Capture her, or I’ll have you dealt with acc to military w!"

  Even as the man shouted this, not a single soldier made a move. The white-cd girl was now standing directly before him.

  "Tch! A bunch of useless fools! Wait until I deal with you all ter!"

  The man cursed his subordinates, looking down at the white-cd girl, who was barely taller than the girl he had been holding.

  "If you surrender now, I’ll be geh you. Otherwise, don’t bme me for being harsh."

  The man drew his sword, pointing it at the white-cd girl. A powerful aura emanated from him, making both the girl he was holding and the demihumans in the cage struggle to breathe.

  "Feel that? That’s my strength. I’ve reached the fourth rank. I’m several levels above the ones you just killed—something you’re not capable of resisting."

  "…"

  The white-cd girl remained silent in the face of the man’s aura and words. To him, it seemed as though she was thteo speak, and his desire for her grew stronger.

  "Scared, are you? Strip and kneel before me to apologise, and I’ll let you experience pleasure..."

  Suddenly, a fsh of white light appeared, followed by a sharp, intense pain shooting through the man's arms.

  "Ugh! What did you do!?"

  The pain caused the man to scream, involuntarily dropping his sword. Only then did he realise his arms had vanished—or rather, been severed, now lying on the ground.

  The girl he had been holding also dropped to the floor, but as she shut her eyes, brag for the pain of hitting the ground, two gentle hands caught her with perfect ease.

  "Eh?"

  The demihuman girl opened her eyes to see a face partially obscured by the hood of the white robe, its features set against the sunlight. The face was strikingly handsome, yet youthful and endearing.

  In that instant, her heart raced wildly, as if about to leap from her chest.

  "You…! I'll kill you!"

  Just as the demihuman girl was distracted by the white-cd girl, the man, naining his bearings, rushed toward them, his severed arms reag out as if to grab them.

  "Ah! Watch out!"

  The demihuman girl tried to warn the white-cd girl holding her, but it was too te. The man had already lu them.

  "It’s fine."

  The white-cd girl calmly spoke those two words.

  In the instant, blood erupted from the man’s body, and his vicious eyes rolled ba their sockets, his body colpsing to the ground.

  Despite the se unfolding before her, the white-robed girl remained unscathed, not a drop of blood on her pristiire. Even the demihuman girl she held was untouched by the blood.

  "Don’t worry. It’s over now."

  "…Wuu… Wuu…"

  The white-cd girl gently spoke these words, and the demihuman girl, held in her arms, felt something heavy drop from her heart. Her tense nerves finally rexed, and the tears she had been holding back began to spill freely.