Ning listened to the information and thought that made sense. Khrom's men coming to ask for protection money from villagers that needed no protection was clearly a lie.
'These bastards, I should go kill them all,' Ning thought. He was tempted to do that but somehow controlled himself. 'No, I can't do that,' he thought.
It wasn't because the bandits were innocent or didn't deserve to die. He was pretty sure that the system would allow him to kill whoever he wanted as long as they were bandits.
However, getting rid of Khrom didn't fix the main problem that was the underlying cause of the bandits appearing in the first place. It was because the protection system in this area was weak.
The city guards were merely personal guards of the noble Canon who weren't comparable to actual trained soldiers. It was unlikely they were ever going to be strong enough to deter the bandits at all.
If he got rid of a Khrom today, another Khrom would soon realize that there was a power vacuum and just fill the void he created.
'I should go talk to the noble Canon and see if he has any plans for it at all. I can also teach the soldiers how to fight if it were necessary,' he thought.
"I will get going. For now, hide that hand and tell your parents to not let the village people know that it's been healed okay? Act lie I only cauterized the wound and that you don't have any hand left," Ning said.
Jangar didn't dare ask why and simply accepted.
Ning nodded and left. He quickly went back to Famir's house and checked on them. They were still reading the book.
"How's the progress?" Ning asked.
"Oh, senior," Mavenna said in surprise. "I have pretty much learned this absorption art, but brother is still learning," she said.
'Oh, is she more talented than him?' Ning thought.
"Are you sure you don't want to practice it?" Ning asked.
"Yes, absolutely," the little girl said with determination.
"Sigh, okay," Ning said. He could heal physical wounds, but mental wounds were something he couldn't treat. The girl was likely traumatized by using Aether, so she no longer wanted to use it.
It was understandable.
"I'm gonna put him here for protection, okay?" Ning said.
"Put who h— Aah!" Famir screamed a bit. Mavenna got scared as well.
"Don't worry. He is my… pet. He is here to protect you. Aegis, take care of them okay?" Ning said and disappeared before hearing their confirmation.
He suddenly appeared outside of the town and walked a few minutes to enter it. He found a few people and asked for directions to the lord's manor.
They were a little weirded out at first, but once they saw his colorful robe, they didn't hesitate a single second before answering him.
'Color dyes must really be very rare,' Ning thought.
The town wasn't very large and it wasn't protected by any sort of wall. It was fully open and the forbidden forest was miles away from the city so they were probably fine.
Ning walked past a few crosswalks and finally saw a white manor with a rather large iron gate at the front. 'So this is the lord's manor, huh?' Ning thought.
It looked like a normal rich building from back on earth, so Ning was a little surprised. He walked up to the gate and was stopped by the guard at the gate.
"Stop! Who are you?" the guard asked.
"My name is Ning, and I am here to meet with Noble Canon," Ning said.
"Do you have an appointment with the lord?" the guard asked.
"No," Ning said.
"Are you a Noble yourself?" the guard asked.
"No," Ning answered.
"Then, I cannot let you enter. Please return," the guard said.
Ning scratched his head and pondered for a bit. He could easily go in and fight the lord, but sneaking into someone's house and then offering help was… he didn't like doing it all the time.
"Is there any other way I can get a chance to meet the lord?" Ning asked.
The guard thought for a bit, and said, "a week later, Lord Canon is organizing a party where anyone is allowed in as long as they can afford to pay the entry fee. You can go in at that time," the guard said.
"A week later? Urghh… very well. I will try to meet the Lord at that time. Thank you brother," Ning said and walked back.
He got into a remote location and teleported back to the village. For the next week, he would have to somehow spend some time.
"Should I just stop caring and leave?" he thought for a second, but that doesn't seem like the right thing to do. His mind might forgive him if he did that, but his heart would never.
He went to Jangar's house to check upon him. Thankfully, he was perfectly fine now. He was still experiencing a little ghost pain, but that was mostly it. His other problems had all disappeared and could like return back to carpentering if he wanted to.
As he was walking out, the old man appeared once more.
"Young man, wait," he said.
"Yes?" Ning said.
"I- I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I saw you as a foreigner who treated us like nothing but monkeys in a forest. However, it seems I was wrong. You treated my son's hand, and for that, you have my deepest gratitude," the old man said.
"It's okay, Uncle. I wasn't offended," Ning said.
"No, I must apologize. If not for you, I might have lost another one of my sons today," the old man said as tears started dropping from his eyes.
"So many people die in this village every year, and every year I pray it's not my family. My first son, Feroy, already passed away, so I know my prayers are mostly unheard, but today, I feel like someone finally heard it. Thank you for hearing this old man's prayer."
