As we entered the village near Ortysia, the sun dipped low, casting an amber glow across the land. The dusty air was thick with the smell of animals, stale hay, and sweat, filling my senses with an earthy discomfort. I had hoped this stop would be uneventful—a brief pause to adjust our carts and check supplies. But as my eyes swept the village square, my attention snagged on a sight that made my stomach twist with unease.
There, in the center of the square, bound to a post like an animal, was a man whose face I remembered vividly. The scars on his jaw, the strength in his build, even in chains… he was the same man I had fought in the tournament in Zeonica. Back then, he had been a towering, armored force, his strength nearly unmatched. But now, without the gleaming armor, without any semblance of freedom, he looked worn, beaten, and somehow… smaller. Two children were chained beside him—a girl barely a teenager and a boy, no more than ten, with wide, frightened eyes. They huddled close, bound with thick iron cuffs that seemed absurdly oversized on their frail wrists.
The sight made me grit my teeth. I could feel the burn of anger rising in my chest, and a heaviness settled over me like a dark cloud. What happened here? Why was he—a man I knew to be formidable—reduced to this?
I moved closer, my footfalls barely audible over the soft murmurs of villagers who had gathered to watch. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to indifference, with only a few showing any hint of pity. A middle-aged man in a tattered coat, grinning in a way that made my skin crawl, sauntered over to me.
“Quite a sight, eh?” he said with a lecherous grin, gesturing to the girl. “Pretty little thing, isn’t she? Would’ve bought her myself, but the price was just too high.” He chuckled, his eyes lingering on her in a way that made my blood run cold.
I could see the man in chains tense, his jaw clenching so hard I thought he might snap his teeth. Despite his weakened state, the fury simmering in his eyes was unmistakable. If he’d had any strength left, he would have torn that man apart—and honestly, I was tempted to help him do it.
But instead, I forced myself to remain calm. “What’s going on here?” I asked my voice level despite the rage simmering beneath the surface.
The villager shrugged, still grinning as though he were sharing a particularly juicy piece of gossip. “Well, it’s simple. That big one,” he said, jerking a thumb at the man in chains, “his family took out a loan a while back. Needed food, tools, you know how it is. But they got caught in the debt trap set by Mento, our landlord. Interest kept piling up… by the time they paid three times what they owed, it was still nowhere near enough to close the debt.” He laughed, the sound hollow and heartless. “Parents couldn’t take the shame of it and… well, they took the easy way out.”
The words landed like stones in my gut, and I could feel the anger building, hot and relentless. But I stayed silent, listening as the villager continued, unaware—or maybe just uncaring—of the disgust building in me.
“Mento seized their property and took the kids to pay off the rest. Bit of a prize, really. You don’t see a good stock like them every day.”
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By now, my recruits, Sora, and Silvana had gathered around me, listening in stunned silence. The air around us felt charged, and tense, as though everyone was waiting for a spark. But it was Sora who spoke, her voice slicing through the thick, sickening atmosphere like a blade.
“I order you to release them this instant!” she commanded, her voice carrying a fierce authority I hadn’t heard before. I turned to look at her, surprised, and saw a fire in her eyes that was unmistakable. It was easy to forget her noble background, especially since she rarely leaned into it. But now, her voice, her posture, even the way she held herself… it was clear she had no intention of backing down.
The villagers stirred, exchanging nervous glances, whispering among themselves. Their faces showed a mix of confusion, fear, and the slightest glimmer of hope. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an elderly man moving toward us, flanked by some younger men who appeared to be armed. He held himself with an air of authority, even arrogance, but as he took in the sight of our armed recruits, a flicker of uncertainty passed over his face.
This must be Mento, the landlord who had orchestrated this nightmare. His eyes swept over Sora, taking in her regal stance, then shifted to me with a sneer. He had likely expected us to back down, but seeing Sora’s fury and our numbers, he seemed to reconsider.
Before he could speak, Sora’s voice rang out again. “Augustus,” she commanded her gaze steady and unyielding, “free these slaves. Trust me. He won’t dare challenge us.”
There was a pause, and at that moment, I saw the glimmer of hope in the chained man’s eyes and saw the way the children looked at Sora with a mixture of awe and confusion. With a nod, I turned to my men. “Do it. Free them.”
The villagers watched in stunned silence as my recruits moved forward, cutting the chains that bound the man and the children. The iron shackles hit the ground with a dull, metallic thud, the sound echoing across the square. I noticed Mento shift uncomfortably, his face contorting with barely concealed rage waiting for more of his henchmen to arrive.
Suddenly, he stormed through the crowd, his face twisted in fury. Dressed in expensive, embroidered robes, he looked every bit the part of a wealthy landlord, and the arrogance in his gaze was unmistakable. This, no doubt, was the infamous Mento.
“What is the meaning of this?” he snarled, his voice laced with outrage. “This is theft! These are my slaves, my property! Everyone don’t just stand there—do something!”
It seemed that Mento was not very liked by the villagers; apart from his henchmen, no one came to his aid.
Sora stepped forward, a smirk playing on her lips. “What we’re doing isn’t theft. It’s justice,” she retorted. “And as for you, your actions are in direct violation of the laws of the Western Empire. Branding someone a slave after they’ve repaid their principal debt is a crime. Seizing children as collateral? That’s another crime. You’ve broken more laws than you can count.”
Mento’s face twisted with contempt. “And who are you? A mere woman to lecture me on the Empire’s laws? Just because you have a few soldiers at your back doesn’t give you the right—”
“Oh, I’m more than just a woman with a few soldiers,” Sora replied, her tone cold and cutting. She met his gaze with an intensity that sent a chill through the square. “I am the one who wrote those laws.”
The crowd gasped, the weight of her words settling over them like a blanket of shock. Mento’s sneer wavered, his eyes widening as he took in the full meaning of her words. For the first time, the arrogant landlord seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.