They were dressed so extravagantly, they were all new faces, and they had an atmosphere that was completely out of place here, yet they claimed they weren't from the Overworld?
If not the Overworld, then they must be from the Underworld? They couldn't be aliens, could they?
This confusion swirled in Seele's mind for a moment.
But, relying more on intuition than logic, she didn't question it. Instead, she nodded decisively.
"I believe you. I'm sorry, I misunderstood before. That's why my attitude was so bad. I hope you can forgive me!"
She lowered her head in shame, bowing apologetically to Su Mo's group.
If they weren't from the Overworld, then her earlier emotions had been directed at the wrong people.
To have wrongly accused the benefactor who saved her... for someone who was clear about her debts and grudges, this was a huge mistake.
"Huh, why did you believe us so quickly?"
Seeing the girl's embarrassment, Topaz was a little curious.
She had misunderstood so deeply before, how did she change so quickly?
"It's simple."
Seele glanced around, looking at the happy smiles on the faces of the residents who had received food, then at the calm expressions of Su Mo and Topaz, whose eyes showed no hint of anything unusual. The butterfly-like girl's expression softened considerably.
"When you face the people of the Underworld, you don't show any disgust or disdain from the bottom of your hearts. It might sound a bit extreme, but I think that's something those lords from the Overworld could never do."
Seele knew her words were a bit much, lumping all the Overworlders together.
But her experiences from childhood to adulthood made it hard for her to have a good impression of them.
Back when the Overworld and Underworld weren't completely separated, the people from the Overworld had come to do charity work. But their condescending attitude and their disdain for the people of the Underworld were still fresh in her young mind.
Therefore, just by comparing the details, she immediately understood that the two people before her were definitely not the kind who looked down on others.
"I see."
Topaz nodded, gaining a further understanding of the harsh internal situation in Belobog.
As she continued to distribute supplies, she blinked and deliberately teased the girl before her.
"So, you almost attacked us because of your own misunderstanding, and now you just want to solve it with an apology?"
If apologies were useful, what would be the point of the Interastral Peace Corporation?
In reality, Topaz was just trying to scare the girl a little so that this local would become their guide.
But she didn't expect Seele to take this issue more seriously than she thought.
She immediately flushed and explained flusteredly, "No! I mean, if there's anything you need help with, just tell me! To express my previous apology, I'll do anything!"
It had to be said, this girl was still too naive.
In just a few short sentences, she had already incurred three almost impossible-to-repay debts: five million Winter City Shields, the debt of saving her life, and the apology for misunderstanding her benefactor.
But these three things were clearly all one and the same.
Even Topaz, seeing Seele's naive behavior, subconsciously felt a little embarrassed.
In this day and age, there were very few such naive children in interstellar society.
However, although she thought so, she didn't show any shame.
On the contrary, she casually teased, "You said you'd do anything, right?"
There was nothing wrong with a girl saying this, but Seele suddenly recalled Su Mo's previous request and her mind went astray.
"Um, if it's a joke about paying with my body, please don't say it again... I won't do that kind of thing. Besides, no one would be interested in someone like me, right?"
More than anger, the girl felt confusion and discomfort.
As a member of Wildfire who often darted through the night like a butterfly of death to maintain order in the Underworld, Seele's combat power and status were both extremely high.
Coupled with her seemingly grumpy personality, almost no one in the entire Underworld treated her like a girl.
So, glancing at Su Mo, who seemed even better-looking than her, she highly doubted that someone surrounded by so many beautiful girls would really be interested in a tomboy like her.
He must be deliberately teasing me!
"Hmm?"
She's such a cute girl, why would she doubt that?
Faced with Seele's lack of confidence, Topaz was a little puzzled.
Even by her standards, Seele was a natural beauty, cute enough even without makeup.
If she didn't know her personality was rather honest, she would have thought she was humblebragging.
Just as she was about to ask a few more questions, suddenly, a commotion came from not far away.
Everyone followed the sound and saw a dozen or so vagrants threatening the ordinary residents who had just received food with weapons in a corner.
They didn't dare to provoke the well-dressed Su Mo and his group, but they dared to provoke other weaker people.
If they queued up normally, one person could only get a month's worth of food. But if they robbed others, they could accumulate a year's worth of food in one go.
With such a profitable, no-cost business, when else would they do it?
"Damn it! These bastards!"
With just one glance, Seele understood what was happening.
She sympathized with the residents of the Underworld, believing they had been treated unfairly. But as a member of Wildfire who had maintained order for years, she knew very well that the Underworld was not lacking in scum.
Even among the miners with stable jobs, there were a considerable number of rotten people, let alone the vagrants who had lost a steady income and could only rely on theft and robbery to survive.
Not to mention, the few who dared to set up a roadblock were familiar faces to her.
"Mr. Su, Miss Topaz, leave these bastards to me. I'll make them confess their crimes properly and regret what they've done!"
Seele clenched her fists, took a step forward, and intended to use her fists to maintain order as usual.
Although she didn't know where Su Mo and the others came from, seeing the actions of the vagrants, as someone from the Underworld, she still felt extremely ashamed.
"Wait!"
Before she could take a second step, Su Mo stopped her.
"Don't worry, Saber can handle this small matter."
"Saber?"
Only then did Seele realize that the ahoge girl in the magnificent armor wasn't here.
"Wait! Don't attack them directly! These guys have a big gang behind them. If you don't deal with them in a way that convinces them, the hundred or so people behind them will cause trouble, and that will be a huge mess!" the girl immediately warned anxiously.
With her personality, she didn't actually like to compromise.
But long experience had taught her that if she just dealt with the few troublemakers, without using the long-term deterrence of Wildfire's reputation, the effect would be counterproductive.
To survive, vagrants often huddled together, and they didn't care about right or wrong, only their own side.
If she didn't handle it properly, it could lead to an entire vagrant group of over a hundred people, or even other nearby groups, gathering to cause trouble.
That would be a huge problem!
Seele's reminder was not without reason. Governing at the grassroots level often couldn't be done cleanly.
After all, you couldn't just kill everyone, could you?
However, faced with this situation, Su Mo had no intention of stopping.
"I know you're anxious, but don't be."
"Because... it's already over."
The moment his words landed…
"BOOM!!!"
A huge storm kicked up a sharp explosion, like a bomb detonating. Accompanied by a violent sound, a strong shockwave accurately sent all dozen or so vagrants flying at once, directly plastering them against the nearby mine wall, imprinting spiderweb-like cracks.
The crisp sound of bones breaking rang out, accompanied by the wails of these vagrants.
Some vagrants were screaming and howling, while others fainted directly. The comminuted fractures all over their bodies were an injury that tested their willpower too greatly.
"Master has ordered that plunder is forbidden here."
A clear and stern voice sounded, like the blooming of a noble knight's flower. Artoria raised her longsword high and announced her rule.
Seeing the miserable state of the vagrants, most residents looked at the ahoge Knight King standing proudly on the battlefield with admiration and gratitude.
The miners had been attacked by vagrants many times before. Seeing Artoria strike down these criminals, they naturally didn't fear her.
On the contrary, a normal person would only feel a great sense of relief.
After the gratitude, a few also felt worried, not that Artoria would attack them, but that she wouldn't be able to handle the subsequent situation.
Sure enough, witnessing the miserable scene, the vagrant groups not far away exchanged glances. Although their eyes were full of fear, encouraged by the crowd, the hundred or so of them still marched menacingly towards Artoria.
"Be careful!"
"What do you think you're doing? Do you want to defy the order of the Underworld and make an enemy of our Wildfire?"
Faced with her question, the vagrants sneered and collectively pressed forward.
"We just want to seek justice. This woman is bullying the weak like this, and you Wildfire are just going to stand by and watch?"
Faced with such moral blackmail, a flicker of anger flashed in Seele's eyes.
"You were the ones who broke the order first! Don't push your luck!"
Faced with the girl's intimidation, noticing that she had no intention of attacking directly...
The leader of the vagrants boldly took a step forward, directly meeting the edge of the scythe.
"Like I said, we just want to get justice. As a member of Wildfire, you wouldn't attack us unarmed vagrants for such a reason, would you?"
Faced with such moral pressure, Seele's grip tightened, but she couldn't bring herself to strike.
Just as she was so easily toyed with by Su Mo and Topaz before, she, with her simple sense of justice, couldn't bring herself to kill people who hadn't committed an unforgivable crime, even if she knew they were bad people.
Seeing this, a flash of delight crossed the vagrant leader's eyes.
Just as he was about to open his mouth and demand that Artoria compensate them with all the food...
Behind Seele, the petite Knight King tilted her head and asked in confusion, "So, Miss Seele, why can't we attack them?"
Hearing this question, the two were slightly taken aback.
Seele immediately gave a reason.
"They haven't really committed a crime yet. We can't just arrest them all, can we? If we arrest them, we have to feed them. We don't have that much money."
This reason was incredibly real.
After hearing this, the vagrant leader also showed a triumphant expression.
"I know you can fight, and I know we can't afford to provoke you. But you can't just kill us all, right?"
"In that case, rather than wasting time meaninglessly, why don't you compensate us with the remaining food? We'll figure out how to get back the food given to others ourselves. You don't have to worry about it."
"You rich young masters and misses can just pretend you've successfully completed a charity act, and we wild dogs can also get enough supplies. How about it? Isn't this a good win-win?"
It had to be said, he was very clear about his troublemaker nature. No one wanted to be entangled with him, so cutting their losses and leaving was the best choice.
Even if they had no combat power, others wouldn't be willing to get their blood on them... With this, he had led his extremist vagrant group to great success, and their numbers were constantly expanding.
Although it caused a lot of complaints, as long as one didn't have the resolve to kill them all, there was no way to stop them from using their own lives as leverage.
Having had smooth sailing so far, he felt that the current situation was also an opportunity.
If he could get his hands on so many hard-currency supplies, then he could continue to recruit and expand his forces.
Faced with such shameless behavior, Seele cast a look of disgust and anger.
"A win-win? What about the old, the weak, the women, and the children you robbed? Do they deserve to die?"
"That's none of my business. Who told them—"
Who told them to be weak? Before he could finish the sentence, the vagrant leader suddenly fell silent.
Not just him, but the entire vagrant group fell silent at the same moment.
Because hundreds of golden sword lights had appeared at their necks at some unknown time, like the Sword of Damocles, piercing through the skin of their necks and revealing specks of blood.
"Wait! Don't be rash! What are you trying to do?"
Feeling a life-threatening danger, the psychological advantage the vagrant leader had built instantly collapsed. He immediately looked at the master of the golden sword lights, Artoria, who held the lives of all the vagrants in her hands.
At this moment, this petite, beautiful, blonde knight girl was also looking at them, her eyes still somewhat puzzled.
"Seele, there's still something I don't understand."
The girl who bore the name of King Arthur spoke slowly.
"What is it?" Seele asked back in surprise.
She wasn't surprised by Artoria's strength, just that this girl, who looked so petite, was actually so decisive in her actions.
The vagrant leader also suppressed his fear and glared at the knight girl before him, as if betting that this little girl wouldn't dare to make a move.
Faced with everyone's gazes, Artoria said bluntly, "Just as this vagrant leader said, if there isn't enough food, why not just kill them all?"
"Huh?"
"???"
The moment these words were spoken, both of them were shocked.
They had never expected Artoria to say such terrifying words with such a nonchalant air.
"That's over a hundred people! How can you kill them all?" Seele asked, suppressing the trembling in her heart.
To this, Artoria's answer was even more direct.
"Since resources are insufficient, someone will inevitably have to die. Since someone must die, why can't it be these villains?"
For her, this was a very simple choice, with no reason to hesitate.
"Because—"
Seele was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer this question.
"Who the fuck are you trying to scare? There are over a hundred of us—"
The vagrant leader couldn't believe this little girl was telling the truth. With a faint sense of panic, he desperately raised his voice to prove the absurdity of her statement.
However…
Thud!
A flash of a sword, a head fell to the ground, and a life was snuffed out on the spot.
Then, Artoria spoke in a slightly strange tone, "It's just a hundred people. Is that a lot?"
As a knight who had experienced many battlefields, she was a king accustomed to life and death, not a little girl like Seele who still had reservations about killing.
To this day, the souls under her sword numbered in the tens of thousands, and the people who had died under her command were over a hundred thousand. In that case, a hundred people was just a small squad of enemies.
Not to mention, the vagrants before her could only be considered local thugs, not even worthy of being called enemies.
For a wise king, cleaning up such existences was a completely benevolent act.
Let alone a psychological burden, this matter should even be proclaimed as a meritorious deed.
As she spoke, she slightly raised her wrist, and the remaining sword lights aimed at the remaining hundred or so vagrants.
"Master once said, 'To kill a life is to protect a life; to sever karma is not to sever a person.'"
"Although I don't quite understand, the general meaning should be, if I kill the hundred or so of you, more than a thousand people will be saved... Is that right?"