4 The Woman (?)

Bladeswinger was taken aback as the sole occupant of the coach stepped out.

Although she was wearing a men's cloak, the loose fabric could not hide her beauty.

The young woman had a delicate face with long eyelashes and eyes the color of ice. She had long black hair that was left loose, and when she moved a hand as white and flawless as snow to push aside a few strands, he could feel his heart race.

Compared to all of the young ladies he had seen over the course of his life, this right in front of him was a true perfect beauty.

"How much is the toll?"

Her voice was cold, colder than the winters he had spent up in the northern mountains, but to him it sounded lovelier than the songbirds sold in the exotic markets of Viera.

Bladeswinger put on his best charismatic smile.

"For you, who is lovelier than the first flowers of spring, no charge. As long as you allow me to escort you for the rest of your journey."

His brothers were not surprised by his actions. This was not the first time their leader had chosen to accompany a beauty instead of taking her valuables.

"Hmph, I'm afraid that I have no need for an escort. Kavi, ignore them and let's continue."

The old man holding the reins of the coach tried to guide the horses past the group of bandits but was quickly forced back by their drawn blades.

Bladeswinger frowned when faced with the beauty's refusal. Usually, the ladies would not refuse his offer.

He liked to think it was because of his handsome appearance and charisma, but his men all knew it was usually because the women were either afraid of the large group of bandits or they didn't want to pay the so-called toll.

"This road is quite dangerous for a young lady like yourself who's traveling without an escort, or even a single guard. You should reconsider-"

Before Bladeswinger could say anything more, the beauty spoke again, interrupting him.

"I believe you may be misunderstanding something, sir, but I am a man."

Her, or rather, his words broke the bandit leader's heart. Bladeswinger could practically hear it shattering in pieces like glass and he choked, his face turning red in embarrassment.

Rain frowned as he faced the bandit leader, his expression turning dark. This wouldn't be the first time he had been mistaken for a woman, but it was always an annoyance whenever it happened.

The bandit drew his sword, his face now as red as a tomato from anger.

"You! You dare lie to me and make me look like a fool?"

Rain calmly sidestepped the blade being swung wildly around while ridiculing the bandit leader for his unreasonable logic. It wasn't as if he said he was a female.

Although he wasn't unwilling to wear female outfits if it was more useful to pretend to be a female than a male in certain circumstances, and he didn't mind being called a beauty, he was definitely not a girl.

And right now, he wasn't even wearing female clothes, this bandit leader was just that unreasonable.

After another minute of easily dodging the bandit leader's sword, he finally got tired of playing around.

"Kavi, deal with the mobs."

The nightstalker saluted and his figure shifted, transforming from an elderly gentleman to a burly knight in a suit of pitch black armor, a giant broadsword comparable to the lead bandit's held tightly in his gloves hands.

With only a couple of swings of the giant sword, most of the bandit group found themselves laying on the ground, their swords either completely shattered or tossed to the ground a distance away from them.

The rest, immediately sensing the danger of the knight in black, all surrendered by dropping their swords or fled back to where they came from in a panic.

Meanwhile their leader Bladeswinger was frozen in shock.

From an seemingly harmless elderly man to a knight overflowing with dark mana, the feminine man's escort proved his identity was anything but ordinary.

"You... Who are you?"

His panic and fear grew as he noticed his group of bandits abandoning him without hesitation.

Rain glared at the unreasonable bandit leader with a bit of anger and frustration.

"I should be the one asking who you are. After all, you and your men threatened me first. Kavi, come back."

The last sentence was directed at the nightstalker who was about to go chase after the fleeing bandits. Kavi obediently returned to stand by his master's side, though his head did not turn away from the bandit leader his master was facing.

Rain thought for a moment, muttering to himself quietly.

"What should I do with him? I don't need any more minions right now, but since he attacked me first, I can't just let him go..."

Finally, he thought of a plan.

"Well, just take him back to the old fortress with us for now and see if anyone needs an assistant or food."

Before the bandit leader could say anything, Kavi stepped forward and knocked him out with the pommel of his sword.

Rain calmly returned to sit in the black coach as Kavi easily lifted the unconscious bandit leader, tied him up, and placed him with the rest of Rain's luggage.