The moment the four hulking men appeared, Nanoda threw four gold coins from her pocket. In an instant, the gold coins struck the four men in their vital points. By the time the four hulks reacted, they only felt a sharp pain in their crotches, immediately bending their legs to cover their groins, unable to move from where they stood.
The dark-skinned man at the bar froze for a moment. Feeling the sharp tip against his neck, he hurriedly changed his tune.
"Fi— Fi— Fi— Free! You ladies have truly misunderstood; I meant 'free of charge'!"
He had assumed they were three frail women he could easily extort, but he hadn't expected to kick an iron plate.
"So, do you have intelligence regarding this item?"
Yuna asked while still holding her staff in place.
"Yes, naturally I do."
Glancing at the staff that looked like a spear, Yuna slowly lowered it, awaiting his answer.
"This is something a group of adventurers brought back from a certain ruin. They sold it to a smuggling ring, and it quietly circulated to various places. However, due to the potion's side effects, various countries have already begun to take action. Some members of that smuggling ring have already been arrested, and it is estimated that the source will be traced soon."
Pausing for a moment, the intelligence merchant added:
"Regarding this magic potion, the rumors released by the Goddess's Order after their research suggest that the Demon Race is behind it."
Hearing the words 'Demon Race', Nanoda's interest was piqued. Was this magic potion made by Demons to control humans?
Nanoda had already witnessed people in Gaderia's dungeon going mad because they didn't continue taking the magic potion. This kind of addictive, madness-inducing potion was terrifying.
Could the remnants of the former Demon King's Army have started moving in secret again?
In order to achieve her goal of ruling and civilizing the Demon Race, Nanoda decided she needed to meet the Demon, or group of Demons, producing this magic potion.
Seeing that Nanoda wanted to ask questions, Yuna yielded her position to her.
"Do you have intelligence on that group of adventurers or the ruin?"
"No. All external trade is handled by that smuggling ring. For specifics, you would have to catch one of them and ask. I only provide intelligence that is relatively easy to obtain here."
The intelligence merchant shook his head, indicating this was a domain he could not touch.
Nanoda nodded upon hearing this and continued to ask:
"Do you have intelligence on that smuggling ring? Didn't you say some were arrested by various countries?"
"I have this. Recently, a band of bandits appeared near Nava Town. Some of them have taken this drug. Ordinary guard squads can't handle them at all. I suspect there are fellows among them who moonlight as smugglers."
"Consider those four gold coins as the fee."
Having obtained the intelligence, and not wanting to make things difficult for the intelligence merchant, Nanoda left with Yuna and Aura.
Seeing the three leave, the intelligence merchant breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the corners of his mouth lifted into an arc. There were still four gold coins; he had made a profit this time.
After exiting the tavern, Nanoda spoke to Yuna.
"Leave the rest to Aura and me. It might be somewhat dangerous later, so you go to the Continental Magic Association first."
"But…"
Yuna wanted to say she could help too, but Nanoda's hand was already resting on her head.
"I am very strong, you know."
Looking at Nanoda's eyes, Yuna nodded.
"I will definitely pass the Mage rank exam! I won't let Lady Nanoda down!"
"Is that so? Good luck."
At their parting, Yuna gave Nanoda a big hug, took one of the horses from the carriage, and headed towards the Continental Magic Association.
"So, we are going to bump into bandits again?"
Aura, who had been silent the whole time, spoke from the side.
"Well, let's go try our luck. I'm also very curious about how strong that group of bandits is after taking the magic potion."
"They are ultimately just weaklings relying on magic potions. Let me just use the Magic of Obedience to interrogate them directly."
"That's a good idea."
Nanoda found that Aura's Magic of Obedience was indeed very convenient; subduing enemies took no effort at all.
After Yuna left, the task of driving the carriage was handed over to Nanoda. Having learned some rudimentary riding skills, she could barely manage to control the carriage.
Nanoda's idea was to continue posing as a merchant caravan and wander around the vicinity to attract the bandits' attention.
However, the originally confident Aura suddenly began to tremble halfway through the journey.
"Um… Should we separate for a bit right now…"
"Hmm?"
"My Mana Perception seems to sense the Hero's mana…"
Freezing for a moment, Nanoda also sensed that familiar mana.
"Aura, don't…"
Before the word 'run' could leave her mouth, she only heard the sound of the carriage canopy being thrown open. Aura, using some unknown magic, ran as fast as the wind, leaving only a sentence lingering in her ears:
"Let's split up! I'll go check over there."
Nanoda was rendered utterly speechless. Every time she encountered the Hero, Aura would run faster than anyone. She also hadn't expected to meet the Hero here again. Why was the probability of running into the Hero Himmel so high?
Driving the carriage for a distance, she saw Himmel by the roadside, surrounded by a group of bandits, a smile hanging on his face.
Hearing the sound of the carriage, the bandits shifted their gaze to Nanoda. Looking at Himmel and then at the carriage, the group released their encirclement of Himmel and crowded towards the carriage.
"Please do not hurt innocent people."
Seeing the passing carriage being surrounded, Himmel spoke gently.
One of the bandits, seeing that Himmel actually hadn't taken the opportunity to flee and was instead playing the hero, sneered.
"Haha, we let you live, yet you're unwilling to take it? Want to be a hero? Who do you think you are? The Hero?!"
That bandit drew the curved sword in his hand and walked towards Himmel.
Nanoda also stopped the carriage, frowning slightly as she looked at the bandits surrounding her. Without Aura, if she struck too hard and beat them all to death, how would she ask for intelligence?
Greedy gazes converged on the carriage canopy. This group of bandits completely disregarded Nanoda, who was draped in a cloak and looked small in stature. Some bandits were already attempting to open the carriage curtain to check the goods.
There was even a bandit approaching Nanoda, his hand reaching towards the motionless Nanoda, intending to pull off her cloak's hood.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out; Himmel's hand rose and the sword fell.
The bandit who originally held the curved sword had his hand tendons severed. The curved sword fell to the ground, and he groaned while clutching his profusely bleeding arm.
Following that came the scream of another bandit whose hand had been severed.
Himmel, who had just wanted to stop the bandits surrounding the carriage, froze for a moment, then realized. No wonder he felt this coachman looked a bit familiar.
"This really is a long time no see."
Amidst the surprised gazes of the bandits, Nanoda took off her hood, revealing the face of a Demon. At the same time, Severance Magic spread out and activated. The bandits who originally surrounded her were instantly cut into cripples missing arms and legs, and wails immediately resounded through the air.
The other few bandits who were further away and escaped the disaster turned around and attempted to flee.
____
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