As the Demon King, I have married a slave elf. How should I express my love?

He had no intention of using the guise of protection to impose anything on others.

While such an attack spell might frighten Nephi, if even mere bandits were this afraid, her mental fortitude would crumble. They were like roadside stones or weeds; there was nothing to fear.

So Sagan wanted to try to make her understand that bandits were just insignificant bastards.

However, even this insignificant bandit seemed to know that he had encountered an enemy.

"Don't panic! Even if the magician comes, he can't perform magic continuously. Let's take him down before he uses his magic again!"

At the command of the man who appeared to be the leader, the bandits rushed forward with their weapons.

"Owner."

"Stay behind me."

After Sagan finished speaking to Nefi, whose voice was trembling, he stepped forward.

The most recent bandit was a burly man, two heads taller than Sagan, with muscular arms that were probably even thicker than Neferpitou's waist.

The burly man swung his axe. It was a ferocious blow that seemed capable of splitting a tree in two; to it, Sagan's head was probably as vulnerable as an egg.

The axe came crashing down on Sagan's head.

"H-How is this possible...?"

But it was the burly man who exclaimed in surprise next.

It turned out that Sagan caught the burly man's axe with his bare hands, and even when the burly man continued to exert force, the axe remained unmoved.

"You actually want to arm wrestle with a magician? Looks like you're a bunch of idiots."

When magicians are mentioned, most people imagine them as slow-moving guys who spend all their time hiding in dark research labs full of books.

In fact, they can use magic to summon lightning, control flames, and even create invisible shields. Since they are also human, they naturally know to use this omnipotent power to protect themselves.

Thus, their skin becomes so tough it can withstand ordinary blades, their foot speed is fast enough to outrun a horse, their arms can tear steel with their bare hands, and their hearts never tire even after a day and a night of fighting. Magicians, tempered by time, can further unleash the various supernatural abilities found only in adventure stories.

A monster that even a seasoned knight could not defeat with his bare hands—that is the existence of a so-called magician.

Sagan applied force with his palm, causing the steel axe to crack and burst open, leaving the burly man staring in astonishment.

"No, impossible..."

The axe shattered like glass with a snap, and the burly man muttered in disbelief before kneeling down.

Then, with the force of swatting away mosquitoes, Sagan flicked his finger at the burly man's forehead.

"Pfft?"

With a squeal like a pig, the burly man was sent flying by a single blow to the carriage, with the unfortunate bandit lying beneath him.

"Eek, the boss was actually...!"

...And that unlucky fellow happened to be the leader of the bandits. Seeing their leader knocked down, the other bandits scrambled to hide behind the carriage or in the bushes.

"Cough, help, help me... buddy! Help me!"

That sounded like a plea for mercy, but it wasn't being said to Sagan.

Sure enough, a man dressed in a long robe, whose whereabouts were unknown, gracefully appeared before Sagan.

magician.

It seems that the bandits hired a magician beforehand.

"Hmm... As a magician, you actually stepped forward to help others? You're really strange."

The magician rested his chin on his hand in surprise, while shielding his face with his other hand.

"But I'm bound by a contract. Although I don't know who you are, you're just unlucky to have appeared before me."

Then, as soon as a magic circle appeared in his palm, flames burst forth in the next instant.

The heat was suffocating, and the surrounding grasslands burst into flames, burning the bandits hiding inside into wailing fireballs.

Sagan carefully observed the magician's movements with the flames, muttering to himself.

"I see, so you're using fire as a medium to draw a new magic circle?"

It turned out that the flames weren't spreading randomly, but rather radiating outwards from the magician's center. This wasn't an attack, but rather a way to create a magic circle that also served a restraining effect.

This engulfed the carriage and Sagan in succession, and the magic circle expanded ever larger.

Judging from the looks of it, the opponent must have thought Sagan was a formidable opponent to have used such a large-scale magic spell.

However, I have no reason to wait for him to make his moves slowly.

The flames were already right in front of them.

Neferi gasped nervously behind him, but Sagan was guarding him from the front.

With an impatient wave of his arm, he caused the flames to melt away, even those that had spread to the grass and the carriage, leaving only the glow of the magic circle lingering at his feet.

Despite this, the magician still raised his arms and shouted:

"He had some skill, but it's too late—may he return to dust!"

The magic circle emitted light—

Then, nothing happened.

"H-How is this possible...?"

The magic circle still shines brightly to this day.

However, it seems that it is no longer a magician's magic circle.

He just sighed, pretending to be serious.

"If you didn't draw such a large magic circle, you wouldn't be able to perform even a single magic trick?"

The moment the flames were extinguished, Sagan had already seized control of the magic circle from the magician—just like Barbaross had teleported into Sagan's barrier yesterday.

"Returning to dust and earth should be like this."

Sagan raised his index finger to the sky, then brought it down vertically.

Then, the magic circle emitted a bright light.

"What?"

Then, a straight spear of light descended from the sky.

That was a strike condensed from lightning. It wasn't a high-level magic, but the power of Sagan's attack was enough to shatter even city walls.

The magician was blasted to obliterate his body after taking this blow.

The remarkable thing about this attack was that, despite its immense power, the surrounding carriages and passengers remained completely unharmed.

The magician's attack with fire accidentally injured our own magician, while Sagan precisely annihilated his target. The difference in strength between the two was laid bare here.

Sagan slowly approached the carriage. Some of the remaining bandits were still there.

"What's wrong? Bring it on! Since you dare to come out and snatch someone, you should be prepared to be the ones getting snatched, right?"

"Ee, ee...you, you tell me, what did we do wrong!"

He really has the nerve to say that.

Having finally broken free from the burly man, the bandit leader shuffled backward.

"Who knows? Maybe your mistake was that you were just an eyesore just by being there. You guys are just like him, aren't you?"

"Eee-yaa ...

After a series of screams, the leader rolled his eyes and fainted... Then came a foul smell; it turned out he had wet his pants.

Seeing their leader's fate, the other bandits also surrendered.

Once he was sure no one was resisting anymore, Sagan turned to face Nefertari.

This was meant to tell her that the road ahead was safe, but Neferi just stared wide-eyed and remained motionless.

--Huh? Did I mess up again?

Despite breaking out in a cold sweat, Sagan cleared his throat and tried to appear calm.

"Nefé, listen to me. Now you see, these so-called bandits are just a bunch of harmless trash. They won't harm you, and if they find you annoying, a little lesson will make them behave."

"But they just robbed a carriage, so how can they be considered harmless...?"

"Ugh..."

Despite his expressionless face, his reply was incisive.

—Unexpectedly, once she's stunned, her replies are quite ruthless.

However, although she is now dumbfounded by her own actions, discovering another side of her is a welcome new discovery.

Faced with these two, someone burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Then, laughter erupted like a bursting dam.

"That's amazing, Mr. Magician!"

With that remark, passengers gathered around Sagan.

"Aren't you the customer who didn't get a ride?" "Thank you for helping us all." "So magicians can be good people too."

Surrounded by the crowd, Sagan was momentarily at a loss.

Actually, this wasn't the first time he had chased away bandits; he had also saved passersby on occasions, but he had never been thanked like this before.

Sagan wasn't the only one surrounded by people.

"You're this magician's entourage, aren't you?" "She's so beautiful." "I envy you for having such a good master."

"Well……"

Neferi was caught in the middle, just like everyone else.

Now Sagan understood.

--Perhaps it's because Neferpitou was also there?

If I were all alone now, everyone would probably run away in fear, just like in the past.

Although it's unclear what they think about Neferpitou's presence, it seems to have become a factor that brings them feelings beyond fear.