Deep into the night,

  the entire camp was nearly asleep—except for the rotating sentries on guard duty.

  It was then that a sneaky figure approached the caravan’s supply storage area.

  “He” first scanned the surroundings carefully, confirming no one was watching, before springing into action.

  “He” rummaged cautiously through the supplies, stopping only after prying open several large wooden barrels and seeing their contents.

  “He” glanced around again to be doubly sure, then took the next step.

  Pulling a bottle from “his” bosom, “he” removed the cork and poured its contents into each barrel. Once a sufficient amount was added to every barrel, “he” tucked the bottle back, gently replaced the lids, and restored the rummaged supplies to their original order before slipping away quietly.

  After the figure was long gone, a group of people suddenly emerged beside the supplies.

  “Chandel was right—there really is a bandit spy among us!”

  “I’ll go catch him right now!”

  “Wait——!”

  Chandel spoke up to stop them.

  Everyone paused and turned to him.

  As the initiator of this operation, the other merchant leaders naturally wanted to hear his opinion.

  “Chandel, why wait? We have him dead to rights—why not arrest him immediately?”

  Chandel thought for a moment, then turned to Hulim Heyerar.

  “Miss Hulim, you provided this information. What do you think we should do?”

  Hulim glanced at the poisoned stored water, then looked up and asked: “Mr. Chandel, does the caravan have a traveling healer?”

  “Naturally we do!”

  Chandel nodded in response.

  “Then could you ask the healer to identify what poison this is and what effects it has?”

  “Oh? Miss Hulim, are you suggesting that......”

  Chandel narrowed his eyes, already guessing Hulim’s plan......

  Soon, the caravan’s men removed the inner compartments from the wooden barrels. Having anticipated the spy might target the water supply, Chandel had taken precautions in advance.

  The spy thought “he” had poured poison into the water—but in reality, it was only small water-filled compartments that were contaminated. Most of the water remained untouched beneath the compartments, unspoiled.

  The caravan disposed of the poisoned water, took samples for the healer to analyze, and then waited—no longer making any hasty moves or attempting to arrest the spy, only keeping “him” under secret surveillance.

  As Hulim saw it, the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light. If they arrested the spy, the bandits would surely be alarmed and abandon their attack tomorrow. But knowing bandits’ ways, they’d never give up on a target they’d set their sights on—who knew what dirty tricks they might pull later.

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  Instead of waiting for an unexpected attack from an unknown direction, it was better to keep this “bait” and fish in the open.

  ......

  The next day,

  the caravan’s leaders gathered all the adventurer teams and the passengers who had fought bravely against the goblins the day before. They publicly thanked everyone and promised additional monetary rewards upon reaching their destination.

  Everyone dispersed “satisfied” after the meeting and began eating breakfast.

  In an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, one person’s gaze remained fixed on the meeting spot. Seeing the people leave and overhearing snippets of their conversation about the “meeting,” the figure felt slightly reassured.

  But it wasn’t until the entire caravan—including all the adventurers—ate breakfast made with water provided by the merchants that the last of the figure’s doubts vanished.

  With a little time left before the poison was supposed to take effect, “he” quietly headed toward the edge of the forest.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Ah——!?”

  The figure jumped in shock, turning around nervously. Seeing it was a familiar young girl, “he” calmed down slightly, forcing a stiff smile: “I’m going into the forest to answer the call of nature. Do you want to come?”

  The young girl craned her neck to look at the forest ahead, saying timidly: “No, thank you. I heard there are dangerous demonic beasts in there. Don’t go too far!”

  “Thank you for your concern, little one. I won’t go far—I’ll be right back!”

  The middle-aged woman who shared Hulim’s cart smiled, then hurried into the forest.

  Hurry...... I hope you really do come soon.

  Watching the middle-aged woman’s figure disappear into the trees, Hulim thought to herself.

  ......

  Deep in the forest,

  “You’re here. Did you do as I told you?”

  As soon as the middle-aged woman arrived at the agreed spot, the bandit from the night before was already waiting for her.

  “I poured the poison into the water like you said. This morning, I watched them eat breakfast made with that water with my own eyes.”

  “Oh~, is that so?”

  The bandit stroked his chin, not rushing to order an attack just because of the middle-aged woman’s words.

  “Hey, someone come over here!”

  Rustle!

  The bushes behind them shook, and a lean man stepped out.

  “Second-in-command.”

  The bandit glanced at the lean man. “Go check and verify.”

  “Yes!”

  The lean man replied, darting toward the caravan camp and disappearing from sight in an instant.

  Shortly after the lean man left,

  “......I did what you asked. Aren’t you going to return my son as promised?”

  The middle-aged woman stared fiercely at the bandit second-in-command.

  “Heh~!”

  The second-in-command scoffed, but replied anyway: “Don’t be in such a hurry—we haven’t confirmed it yet~! Besides, your son won’t lose a piece of flesh if he’s a little late~! Hahaha~!”

  “You——!”

  The middle-aged woman’s eyes turned red with anger. “Are you planning to break your promise?!”

  At those words, the bandit gang’s second-in-command narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning cold instantly.

  He stared at the middle-aged woman coldly.

  “What are you talking about at this point? Who partnered with us in the illegal slave trade? Do you remember how many people you abducted? Do you really think you’re innocent?”

  The middle-aged woman stumbled over her words, but quickly regained her resolve: “If you still recognize me as your business partner, then why did you kidnap my son!?”

  “Aww~! Did we do that~? When we saw that boy with you, we thought he was a new commodity you’d acquired. Sorry about that—we took him without verifying~!”

  “You——, you——, utterly shameless!”

  The middle-aged woman was so angry she could barely speak.

  But the bandit second-in-command didn’t care at all—instead, he teased: “Likewise~!”

  Rustle!

  There was movement in the bushes.

  “Second-in-command——!”

  The lean man ran back excitedly.

  “It worked, it worked! The camp is full of people lying on the ground!”

  The bandit second-in-command’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”

  The lean man nodded repeatedly. “Positive! I saw several adventurers holding weapons and shouting anxiously in the camp, but their bodies were swaying—they won’t last more than a few minutes!”

  “Hahaha!”

  The bandit second-in-command laughed loudly, then shouted upward:

  “Boys, let’s move out! Everyone, charge!”