They don't want me to try anymore.

Richard was speechless with frustration as he looked at Zoe, whose eyes had lost their sparkle, and at Katyusha, who had pulled out a comb.

Let's not talk about such trivial matters.

The group finally returned to the village.

"They're back! But they're not followed by any soldiers!"

"Mom!" "My child!"

"Thank you for your help!"

The healthy child was returned to its mother's arms, and the villagers, who had been living in fear, breathed a sigh of relief.

David came out of the inner room and thanked Richard solemnly.

Richard just sniffed and asked with a smile, "Is it almost lunchtime? Do you have any empty plates we can use?"

"Of course!"

"I have eggs!"

"We have dried meat at home!"

At this point, the villagers completely accepted Richard, and even though they were short of money, they all brought out their best food to treat them. Richard could not refuse, so he could only leave the silver coins behind.

Before long, the fragrant dishes were placed on the table.

But before Richard could even eat, panicked shouts came from the village entrance.

"Groundhog! A real groundhog is here!"

Everyone peered out the window and saw a dozen or so thug-like men approaching from a distance, half of them carrying weapons, including long knives and pistols...

The old man Richard had met before walked out and said in a deep voice:

"We've already sold you all the land we could. What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid of a lose-lose situation?"

The leader of the "Groundhogs," a burly man resembling a butcher, stepped forward and smiled, saying, "Old man, you've misunderstood. We're here to do serious business..."

"?"

"Lord Follett has decided to organize a new round of military operations to wipe out the bandits."

After finishing his sentence, the man admired the villagers' surprised expressions for a moment before slowly continuing, "As for us, we accepted a mission to find those in nearby villages who colluded with bandits and eliminate them before the army sets off! That's why we came here looking for clues."

"I...we don't have that kind of person here..."

"That's not up to you to decide."

The man's sinister gaze swept over all the villagers present, and he said dismissively, "I've heard that those bandits' accomplices are extremely rude and violent thugs, so..."

He approached an old man, snatched the pocket from his waist, poured out a silver coin that had recently belonged to Richard, and stuffed it into his own pocket.

"...As long as everyone behaves well, I will naturally not wrong anyone."

"you!"

The villagers glared at them angrily, but no one moved for a moment.

"Ha, it seems you understand what I mean."

The man laughed loudly and led his men into the village.

Some of them picked up sausages made by the villagers and put them directly into their mouths, while others kicked over the firewood piled up against the wall and laughed loudly as they watched the wood spill all over the ground.

"Stop! You...stop!"

The little boy, who had just returned to the village, couldn't help but shout, but his mother covered his mouth from behind.

But the leader had already noticed this side, walked over with a grin, and lifted his foot, hovering it above the child's head.

The people around were momentarily stunned.

The person said, "Don't be angry, I was just joking~"

"So, you can't take a joke and you want to attack me? Huh!"

He yelled and rolled dramatically on the ground: "Help! It hurts! Bandits are attacking innocent citizens! I'm injured! Please, summon the Baron's army to help me uphold justice!"

His men burst into laughter, while the villagers remained silent, too terrified to move.

After pretending for a while, the man got up and sneered, "That's right, if you can't resist, then come and hit me. Since you can't hit me... then you'd better hold back!"

The little boy's face was full of anger, but he was held back by his family and could not move. He gritted his teeth, tilted his head and looked into the house inside, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Inside the back room.

“These people cause trouble like this every now and then.” David noticed the little boy’s gaze, sighed, and said to Richard, “Your Highness, this is none of your business…”

Richard raised an eyebrow: "Don't you want my help?"

"Hope, but..."

David said sincerely, "You have already helped us a lot, and you are just a student passing through. You have no obligation to confront the local nobles directly for our sake."

"In the end, you still feel that Nyon's affairs have nothing to do with me, right? I heard something similar this morning, although that person's motives were different from yours... but they all seem to make sense."

But ah...

Richard chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Then I thought about it again. If you're going to look at it this way, you've already left Connaught, so you have nothing to do with me anymore. Why should I make any promises to you? Even if you're from Connaught, you're not family to me, so you have nothing to do with me. Why shouldn't I go along with Standard Fruit? That way, my life will be even more comfortable."

"Your Highness, this..."

Richard shook his head, looking out the window at the people deliberately picking a fight, his confusion gradually dissipating and his mind becoming clearer.

"Ultimately, what determines whether it matters or not is not Daniel's words, nor my status as a student, but my conscience... damn it!"

How could we possibly ignore such a trivial matter?!

Under David's astonished gaze, Richard no longer concealed his anger and walked out the door.

"Oh? Someone actually came out on their own initiative... Ah!"

He walked straight up to the leader of the "groundhogs" and slapped him with 20 points of power!

It sounded like a gong being struck!

Unsurprisingly, the man was sent flying, crashing to the ground with a mouthful of blood and a missing tooth!

"Boss!"

His men hurriedly helped him up, his face contorted with rage: "You...you dare hit me! Fine! I see you're a bandit! I'll take you to the sheriff!"

He immediately made a gesture as if to draw the pistol from his waist, and his henchmen also raised their weapons.

Just then, two figures flashed by...

But Zoe and Katyusha ran over, one on each side, and in just a few seconds, they shot down all the gunmen.

Richard shook his wrist and said nonchalantly, "Hit you? Who said I hit you?"

"Are you lying through your teeth?!"

"You hit my hand with your face! It hurts so much..."

"Are you kidding..."

“My name is Richard Targaryen, a student of St. Goethe. Are you questioning my credibility?”

Richard said, his palm gleaming with magical light: "You openly attacked a nobleman; you're the real bandit!"

The village entrance fell silent.

The "groundhogs" could no longer make a sound.

They might not understand anything about Saint Goethe, but they could comprehend the two girls' skills and the magic Richard used.

While they can use their status as lackeys of the coal mining company to bully the ordinary villagers, when faced with professionals... they become no different from the villagers.

Richard grabbed the man by the collar and shouted, "Come with me, we're going to see the sheriff, to see the Baron!"

"Sir, I..."

"What do you mean 'big'? What do you mean 'people'? Just leave!"

Considering that Richard's strength attributes also surpassed those of ordinary people, the other party's half-hearted struggles were futile, and he was thus dragged out of the village.

The rest of the "groundhogs," without their leader, were at a loss and were also dragged out of the village by Zoe and Katyusha.

Before leaving, Richard turned back and happened to meet the worried David's gaze. He then mouthed:

Leave the rest to me.

At that moment, David felt as if he had stepped into the stories of the bards.

He now completely believed Richard's vow; he believed that this man before him would one day defeat Standard Fruit and allow him to return home!

Before he knew it, a tear flashed across the corner of his eye...

soon.

Richard and his party then led the moles back to Nion.

Along the way, the gophers begged for mercy several times, but Richard sprayed them back each time while rubbing his hands. Some tried to sneak away, but were beaten up by the girl who was like a pair of shrewd warriors and became obedient.

Richard, meanwhile, took the opportunity to think about how to handle the situation satisfactorily.

Taking down Daniel on the spot is definitely out of the question, but it's possible to create a huge scene and punish the "gophers." The key is to be careful to prevent retaliation from them afterwards...