No one had anticipated this turn of events—not Sunny, not the bandits, not the captured children, and certainly not Shoot himself.

(Ah, I killed him. Even in another world, this is my first time killing someone.)

Shoot was surprised by his lack of remorse. He’d committed his first murder, yet he remained largely unaffected. He'd treated the bandits as if they were monsters.

Seeing their leader dead, the remaining two bandits panicked. Shoot ruthlessly attacked them.

SLASH, WHACK! ““Gyaaa!! (Goooaaah!?)””

He severed their leg tendons with his knife, crippling them. Then, he cut off both their hands.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaah…!”

“It hurts, it hurts so much…!”

The bandits, having lost their hands and ability to flee, cried out pathetically. The children in the wagon were horrified by Shoot’s actions.

“I cut off their legs and hands… What did I say I would do next…? Oh well. I’ll leave them here.”

After wiping his knife clean and sheathing it, he approached the wagon. The children cried at his approach. Grumbling about the noise, Shoot destroyed the cage with fire magic.

Despite their freedom, the children didn't leave; they were afraid of Shoot, and the dead boy's body was nearby.

“E-everyone, it’s alright now! I defeated all the scary bandits! I’ll take you all home!”

Sunny, regaining her composure, reassured them. Shoot stepped back, silently observing the children calm down.

Why had Shoot, despite the hostages, acted without hesitation? Because the bullying at middle school had warped him.

When Shoot was bullied, no one helped him (Kumi tried, but ultimately failed). Everyone ignored his plight. Some even enjoyed or laughed at it. They claimed it was none of their business, preferring not to get involved. No one extended a helping hand.

This had profoundly twisted Shoot’s mind.

(No one helped me… tried to help me, when I was being bullied. Some even enjoyed watching it. This is the world… Helping others is pointless.

I won’t help anyone else. It’s none of my business if someone unrelated to me is in danger. Helping others has no benefit at all.)

(Therefore, I won’t help strangers, not unless I want to. Why would I help someone I don’t care about?

I’m not a bystander. I’m not like them…)

Therefore, Shoot decided that the plight of the children was none of his concern. He stopped helping others unless he personally chose to.

He vowed not to repeat the mistake he'd made with Gohara.

This oath was deeply twisted, something Shoot wouldn't fully understand for a long time.

“—… —You. Shoot-kun!”

“Ah… Sunny-san.”

Brought back to reality by Sunny’s voice, Shoot checked on the children. They had stopped crying but remained shaken.

“Can we leave now? What about the children?”

“…I wanted to return them to their village immediately, but the children said their village… is gone.

So, I’m going to bring them to Todd Village for protection. I think it’s better for them.”

“Okay. Shall we take them back in the wagon?”

“Yes. But first… we need to properly mourn for that child. It’ll be too awful for these children if the wagon remains as it is…”

Sunny pointed to the wagon; the dead boy's body and blood remained, posing both a physical and psychological hazard.

“Yes, you’re right. Let’s do it quickly.”

“…Right. Please.”

Sunny faltered at Shoot’s nonchalant demeanor, noticing his unusual behavior. She watched, with mixed feelings, as Shoot calmly removed the body and cremated it using fire magic.

(He attacked without hesitation, even though there were hostages… and they were children. But if we’d obeyed the bandits, I and Shoot-kun would have died. It’s fortunate that only one child died… but…)

After the cremation, Shoot cleaned the blood-spattered wagon. The children kept their distance.

(But still, what Shoot-kun did wasn’t right… But I can’t say anything, not having done anything…)

Sunny ultimately remained silent. As they were about to leave, the injured bandits cried out for help.

“P-please! Don’t leave us in the forest!”

“Strong monsters will appear at night! We’ll be killed!”

“We won’t do anything bad again! Please, take us with you!!”

The bandits, desperately pleading, waving their armless stubs, received only Shoot’s cold gaze.

(They’re not worth saving. And the words “we won’t do anything bad again” are the most unreliable words in the world.)

Ignoring their pleas, Shoot set off. Their cries of regret and pleas for mercy turned to angry curses, but Shoot remained unmoved until they were inaudible.

Driving the wagon, something he’d never done before, was difficult at first, but he quickly mastered it, acquiring the “Horsemanship” skill.

“Ah… !”

Fifteen minutes into their journey, a girl spoke to Shoot. Shoot turned slightly.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you save Kelly!? You were strong enough to defeat all those bandits!”

The girl, tears welling up, confronted him. Shoot remained silent. Kelly was the boy the bandit leader had killed.

“Why did you charge towards the bandit leader even though Kelly was a hostage!? If you hadn’t, Kelly wouldn’t have…”

“Then you think I should have stood there and done nothing? I might have been killed!”

“Th-that doesn’t… mean you should have let them kill you… But you could have done something! You’re strong!”

The girl’s outburst caused the other children to try to calm her, fearing Shoot's anger. Sunny watched them both, unsure what to say.

“…”

Shoot considered his response. Explaining his thoughts to a young girl would be pointless; she wouldn’t understand or accept it.

“When you’re my age, you might understand why I didn’t save him. Probably.”

“…?”

The girl, unable to comprehend his answer, continued to press him, but Shoot remained silent, leaving her to cry over her loss.

(They wouldn’t understand anyway. I won’t say anything unless they ask.)

As dusk fell, they returned to Todd Village. Temuji, angry at their late return, quickly changed his tune upon learning about the children, dedicating himself to their protection.

Leaving the children in Temuji’s care, Shoot was about to leave when the girl called out again.

“Um… I still can’t forgive you for not saving Kelly, but I’m glad you saved us… So, thank you…”

The children thanked Shoot and Sunny.