Fifteen days passed relatively quickly. Vesta was finishing packing all the supplies and equipment into an item bag, and the craftsmen had built a carriage. The horse would be purchased in the village Victor had mentioned in the letter.
The general in command of the entire Tower ended up being Lotus. Although Pallas was stronger, Lotus was still the most competent for the role, since he was used to it. The duties of a butler involved a large chain of command and organization that could be applied to leading the Tower, at least that was what Victor had in mind when he chose Lotus for the position. Jasmine was not even considered to remain as leader. Even though Victor trusted her as one of the generals, she was still unfit for the role.
Vesta set out with the alchemist Lyn, the blacksmith Agnus, and the maid Myra. They were on their way to the village of Granforce. The journey was calm and irritating. They went to the village chief and asked him to deliver a letter along with some gold coins to Sandra's family. They also wanted to buy a horse. However, the man simply gave them a horse as a gift. He said he owed Victor many favors.
The man was kind and cheerful, and he spoke very highly of Victor. The others grew curious about how a human could be like that, and also show respect for the Demon Lord. Vesta only laughed quietly, with a hint of joy.
The road to Zhara was not as calm. A group of bandits set up an ambush. There were twenty men armed with swords, four with daggers, three mages, and one leader with nothing in his hands.
"Get out of there!" a voice shouted.
Vesta was the first to step out. The men cast strange looks at her. Then Lyn stepped out, and the looks intensified when Myra left the carriage. The leader licked his lips. Agnus came down last.
"Kill them all and leave only the maid," the leader shouted.
"I will be brief. If you surrender, I promise to let all of you live without a single injury," Vesta said.
The leader laughed loudly.
"You are quite funny, masked woman."
Vesta moved quickly. She did not dodge the attacks from the mages, she took every hit without suffering any damage. She approached the leader, drew her sword, and cut off his arm. He screamed in pain, and the others began trying to attack, but she dealt with all of them. Her movements were fast and precise. She did not want to kill, only to injure and capture them alive in order to claim a reward. She had always enjoyed capturing bandits with bounties on their heads. Sometimes, she also killed those without any reward. At least that way, she felt the world would be safer. Victor did not mind this. She had full freedom to act, since what she did was considered self defense.
Lyn used magic to bind them all with an invisible thread. They were immobilized. Vesta approached the leader and poured a bit of a healing potion on him, ensuring he would not die.
"Now get up, you bunch of losers. You disgust me. Let's move."
The men were ashamed. They had lost so quickly that even speaking about it would be humiliating. Vesta was aware of their shame and did not hold back her criticism, since she wanted their reputation ruined throughout the Kingdom, assuming they were well known. In that case, capturing them would be far more worthwhile than simply killing them.
Myra and Agnus did not like that Vesta had taken all the action, but at the same time, they understood the reason. The men were weak and could have been handled easily by just one of them. Lyn did not feel the same. She did not like fighting, but unlike Vans, she was highly skilled with puppet magic and could defeat several opponents at once.
There really was a reward, but Vesta had to explain the lack of identification and promised she would obtain one at the adventurers' guild. After her explanation, a strong man became angry.
"What a load of lies. Do you really expect me to believe that you, a woman, defeated all these high threat bandits?"
That man was the captain of the royal guard. He did not realize it, but Vesta was furious. The mask hid every trace of her anger.
"Yes, I want you to believe it. That is why I challenge you to a duel," she said calmly, as if she felt no anger at all.
"Well then, if you want to lose in a humiliating way, how about we have an audience?"
"I find that very interesting, but let's make it even more interesting. How about this duel has something of value at stake?" She paused when she noticed he had not understood. "Fighting only for honor is boring. I want the winner to take the loser's sword. What do you think?"
He laughed and agreed, since he was interested in the sword she was carrying. The hilt was unusual, and the weapon was clearly expensive.
"Maybe she is a very rich noble, and that is why she is hiding her identity," he thought.
He was correct. She was indeed a noble, but he was wrong about the reason for the mask. She did not wear it to hide her identity. There was something more.
The duel would take place the next day. He made a point of telling many people that he would duel the woman who claimed to have defeated the Wolf Claws group. There were two reasons for this. The first was that it could improve his image within the city. Defeating someone who claims to be strong, even if they are not, had many advantages. The other reason was that he wanted to humiliate her.
But the one who tasted the bitter flavor of defeat and humiliation was him. Everyone in the arena was left confused. The duel had barely begun, and it was already over. Vesta moved swiftly and, with a single strike, defeated the captain. She cut off his arm, and he fell to the ground in pain, struggling not to show it.
Vesta approached him, handed him a healing potion, then took his sword and stored it in an item bag. She turned and said nothing.
"She should be the new captain," a voice said in the crowd.
"Now we know why the royal guard never managed to defeat that group. They are all incompetent," said another voice.
Many people were talking, and the captain listened in silence. He had no way to respond. He did not understand what had happened.
And that was how Captain Amon became a cook in a restaurant.