As the somewhat childish voice faded, Rin stood atop the snow hill.
Wrapped in a dark purple fur coat, his small face was expressionless as he stared at the rough-looking bandits not far away.
"Clang!"
The men, clad in thick animal skin coats, suddenly drew their blunt knives, looking warily around.
Seeing that only Rin was there, the burly men burst into laughter.
"Pfft... Shinjirou, look at you getting all tense just now. You got scared by a little kid?"
"Damn it, you drew your knife too! Who would be afraid of such a brat? I was just worried about an ambush!"
The group of burly men laughed heartily, not taking Rin seriously at all.
The young girl, worriedly glancing at Rin and then thinking about her own plight, began to cry, apologizing to her mother in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Mother. It's my fault..."
The haggard woman gently patted her daughter's hand, her eyes also red.
Rin first glanced at the crying girl, then looked back at the burly bandits, speaking in a calm, low voice.
"Can you answer a question for me?"
The bandits were momentarily stunned, then exchanged glances and burst into laughter again.
"Haha... This kid must be scared out of his mind!"
"Really, are kids these days so weak? Back in my day, I wasn't even afraid of Lord Yumen!"
"Hey, didn't you wet your pants back then? Stop boasting!"
"What are you talking about, Shinjirou? Want me to cut you down!?"
The bandits continued to joke around, paying no attention to Rin. Rin ignored their noise, calmly asking,
"Robbing women... This isn't your first time, is it?"
The bandits smirked at his question, and Shinjirou grinned maliciously, mocking, "Of course not, kid. Then again, someone like you wouldn't know about such things, would you? Hahaha!"
Rin's eyes lowered slightly, his small hand pressing against his forehead as he muttered,
"Idiots... Of course I know... But... never mind..."
"Kuroro, spare their lives. I'll use them as real training dummies later."
As Rin finished speaking,
"Whoosh—"
A shadow suddenly appeared on the white snow, charging at the bandits!
"What!?"
The bandits, initially gathered together, quickly drew their knives in a panic to defend themselves!
But it was like a lion charging into a flock of sheep. Faced with the calm, relentless attacks of Kuroro, they had no chance to resist.
In just a few blinks, the bandits were all down, groaning and clutching their legs or arms.
The shocking scene left the girl and her mother wide-eyed in disbelief.
However, upon seeing Kuroro, the girl was startled and quickly said,
"Sir! I... I followed your instructions..."
The girl stammered, too excited to speak properly.
Kuroro merely glanced at her, then turned back to walk towards Rin, casually saying,
"You are no longer needed. Go back."
Kuroro's simple words struck the girl like a blow, leaving her bewildered.
Rin, who had slowly walked over, was surprised by the conversation between the girl and Kuroro and asked in amazement,
"Eh? Kuroro, you know her!?"
He then curiously glanced at the uneasy girl standing by the cart. The girl, upon seeing Rin's clean face and luxurious coat, quickly realized this was the "Rin" mentioned by the person who had saved her.
Thinking of this, the girl knelt and pleaded, her voice trembling yet firm,
"Lord Rin! Please take me in... I can do many chores, just please give me some medicine to treat my mother's illness..."
The girl's sudden kneeling startled Rin, and he quickly waved his hand,
"You don't need to do this. Just tell me what's going on, and I'll help you as much as I can. There's no need to kneel."
As a modern person, Rin was still not used to such gestures.
Kuroro, standing nearby, frowned slightly, glancing briefly at the girl but said nothing.
Perhaps fearing rejection, the girl cried softly, looking utterly helpless.
Seeing this, Rin scratched his head and sighed,
"Alright, get up. I agree to your request."
The girl's tear-streaked face lit up with disbelief, but she quickly stood up, using her dirty hands to wipe away her tears, looking like a little beggar.
Rin glanced at the uneasy girl and the pale woman on the cart, roughly understanding the situation.
He nodded slightly and said softly,
"Don't worry, I won't go back on my word. I need to deal with these guys first."
He and Kuroro then approached the fallen bandits.
"Monsters...!"
"Please, don't kill me!"
"Sir... We're sorry... We shouldn't have come... Please spare us...."
The bandits, who had been vicious just moments before, were now pleading desperately.
Rin, though hesitant, glanced at Kuroro and then, with a firm gaze, calmly said,
"Rest assured, I'll give you a chance to live... But for now, you'll come back to the village with us and behave."
He then instructed Kuroro to line them up and march back to the village.
Faced with Kuroro, the wounded bandits dared not disobey, obediently forming a line and heading towards the village.
...
By evening, when Rin and his group returned, the villagers of Snow Village were taken aback.
The villagers, worried about what had happened, whispered among themselves.
Kouichiro squeezed through the crowd, quickly running up to Rin. Glancing at the injured bandits, he whispered to Rin,
"Lord Rin, what's this?"
Rin glanced at him and calmly replied,
"These bandits were planning to raid the village. We caught them."
Hearing they were bandits, Kouichiro's face changed, his eyes glaring at them with hostility.
In these chaotic times, small villages like theirs feared nothing more than marauding bandits who would kill and plunder without mercy.
Rin, seeing Kouichiro's reaction, said calmly,
"These guys are temporarily under your control. I'll need them in a few days, so don't let them become too weak to fight."
He then headed towards Eiji's house with Kuroro and the girl.
Kouichiro, left in a daze, didn't understand why they needed to keep the bandits able to fight.
But since these hateful bandits were now at their mercy, they wouldn't have an easy time.
He instructed the villagers to spread the news and let those who had suffered from the bandits come to pay back their pain, emphasizing it was on Rin's orders, which greatly boosted Rin's reputation in the village.
Though Rin didn't care about this at all, it couldn't be denied that Kouichiro's sycophantic skills were excellent.
Back at Eiji's house, Rin now had to figure out how to accommodate the girl and her mother.
Though Kouichiro's help had significantly expanded the house, adding two more people felt a bit odd.
"Lord... As long as my mother can stay, that's enough... I can stay outside!"
Seeing Rin's dilemma, the girl hesitated but spoke softly.
Hearing this, Rin was stunned, then chuckled bitterly,
"Do you want to freeze to death outside in this winter...?"
"Don't worry, there's plenty of space. You don't have to worry about that..."
He glanced at the pale woman on the cart and said softly,
"Take good care of your mother these days. There's enough medicine and food here. If you have any problems, tell me. Don't worry about anything else."
The girl, hearing Rin's words, couldn't hold back her tears. She couldn't believe her luck in meeting such a kind lord.
Although Rin was shorter than the girl, in her eyes, he was a giant.
"Thank you, Lord Rin!"
She was about to kneel again, but Rin quickly stopped her.
"Don't do that again. Once your mother is well, I'll find some work for you, so this is your deserved reward. Don't feel indebted."
"Yes..."
Seeing Rin's young face frowning, the girl nodded quickly, her tear-streaked face breaking into a sincere smile.
How fortunate to meet such a gentle and kind Lord Rin...