Mivana ventured deep into the snow- and leaf-covered mountains. Just as night began to fall, she finally discovered a small village.

The Lady Knight began to observe it carefully, as was her habit.

’A poor village. It looks like they’ve just finished the harvest, and the tax collector hasn’t come yet...’

Mivana was slightly surprised to find people with weapons patrolling the village perimeter.

’They actually have a clearly trained militia? This doesn’t seem like a precaution against wild beasts. Could there be bandits nearby? No... wait, those weapons... Aschena and the others made those!’

The standard-issue weapons of the Dusk Lamp Territory’s Beastmen all came from the same school of smithing. Mivana recognized them at a glance.

’But why... can’t I see a single Beastman? Are they inside the village? Or have they already left?’

Mivana felt this was quite normal. After all, the existence of Beastmen occupied a gray area; an encounter with a patrolling Knight would be hard to explain.

Confirming that her companions had been in this village, Mivana immediately moved forward.

The moment the Wolf-eared Maiden, her body concealed by a hooded cloak, drew near, the villagers guarding the perimeter shouted:

"Who goes there?"

But when they caught sight of the gleaming, exquisite scabbard of her Knight’s longsword, their attitude shifted instantly. They hunched over and spoke respectfully,

"Ah, my lord... are you a Knight Lord?"

Mivana remained noncommittal. ’Being mistaken for a patrolling Knight would be quite convenient. As long as I don’t confirm it, it’s not a lie.’

She asked directly,

"Have a group of Beastmen been here?"

Normally, such a question would be met with a staunch denial. However, to Mivana’s surprise, the villagers’ faces showed a mixture of panic and relief as they nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes! My Lord, did you come here because you heard about it?"

"Oh, this is... Please, don’t misunderstand. We are absolutely loyal to the Lord. We’ve done nothing disloyal."

"Please, come in! Come see our spoils of war!"

’Spoils of war?’

Mivana, who had been about to remove her hood and reveal her identity, frowned. She detected a strange undertone in the villagers’ words.

Therefore, she released the brim of her hood, grasped the hilt of her sword, and followed them into the village.

In this impoverished village, it seemed the harvest had just ended. The people’s faces still bore weary expressions, but upon seeing a Knight Lord arrive, they immediately grew excited.

"The Knight Lord is finally here!"

"My Lord!"

"A Knight has actually come to our village! You must have heard..."

"See, I told you it would be fine. Good thing we acted quickly."

"..."

Mivana’s gaze swept over the villagers. They all showed signs of having been trained, and their excited whispers only deepened her confusion.

The Lady Knight thus grew even more silent. When she reached the center of the village, a village elder hurried out to greet her with a large group of people, his face wreathed in smiles, stopping just short of kneeling to Mivana.

"Oh, Knight Lord, what brings you to a small place like ours?"

Mivana lowered her eyes slightly and said flatly, "I followed the trail of a group of Beastmen here. Where are they now?"

"Ah, your timing is perfect!"

The village elder’s face twisted into an ecstatic expression. He turned his head and barked:

"What are you waiting for? Bring them out for the Knight Lord to see!"

They were all holding wooden boxes wrapped in blood-soaked sackcloth, which made Mivana’s eyebrow twitch violently.

"We were planning to deliver these to a nearby post after winter, but since you’ve come in person, we can hand them over to you now."

Accompanied by the village elder’s fawning smile, the boxes were opened in unison.

Inside the dozens of wooden boxes, without exception, were severed heads.

The severed heads of Beastmen.

And in the box before Mivana lay a head stained with blood and dirt. It had brown fox ears and a pretty, fair face that was incredibly familiar. It was none other than the classmate and compatriot she had been searching for.

"Aschena..."

Mivana’s pupils contracted sharply as she let out a nearly inaudible whisper.

The village elder said smugly:

"My Lord, this group of Beastmen came to our village not long ago. They were all carrying weapons, they stole our food, and they even wanted to take over our village and make us their servants! The nerve! How hateful! My Lord, how could we let those Beastman mongrels succeed?"

"So we rose up and fought back, and we killed all of these Beastman mongrels. See? They’re all here."

Mivana slowly lifted her gaze, looking at the villagers with utter indifference as she asked:

"Are you sure you killed them? Are you sure you’re telling the truth?"

The village elder nodded hastily.

"Every word is true! How would we dare deceive you?"

Then, he pursed his lips and looked at Mivana with a gaze full of hope.

"My Lord, we’ve killed so many Beastmen. Can we be granted the title of Knight for this? This is a military achievement, right? We’ve performed a great service, right?! I’m not asking for much, just one spot for a Knight. My grandson... just let my grandson train to be a Knight!"

The village elder waved his hand, beckoning over the most robust young man. He patted the latter’s back and said in an even more excited, rapid tone:

"The leader of these Beastman bandits—he’s the one who took him down! My Lord, these Beastmen heads... these heads should be useful, right? They can be exchanged for a chance to become a Knight, right!?"

In the Country of Yonglan, serfs had one and only one path for social advancement.

That was military achievement. Killing bandits, participating in expeditions, slaughtering Demon Beasts, or even defeating another Knight—all of these could earn one the qualification to become a Knight and join the ruling class of Yonglan.