After a heated dispute between the Archon siblings, they made the call to stay in the ruins of Peony Village. Or, more like Anatoli and Neoma made that decision. Sol expressed his immediate displeasure in the idea, but the older sisters stayed united and outvoted him. They would stay the night in the village and look after the wounded bandit.

Sol wouldn't have argued so much if his sisters hadn't wasted the last of their medical supplies on the bandit. The monster raided the village, murdered people, and brought Varvara along to join in on the massacre. He caused so much destruction, and yet his sisters ignored that and helped him. He couldn't understand it.

Now, if any of them suffered any injuries, they wouldn't have anything left for them.

Things only got worse for him when the bandit tried to tell the group his name. But thankfully, Neoma had the common sense to shut that down immediately. They couldn't do it. Learning his name would've made them form a connection, no matter how small.

Neoma understood her desire to help people was one of their greatest strengths, but it also was a significant weakness. It wasn't in the girl's nature to abandon or ignore people in pain. Even though the bandit was responsible for the destruction of the village, he was still a human being—a person.

People had to help people.

That was the only way humanity would continue to thrive in times of crisis. Anatoli preached that to her adorable little siblings over and over, but only Neoma retained that information. Sol, on the other hand, wasn't too keen on their ideals. His sole focus was on keeping the family alive through any means necessary.

That's what they loved about their little brother. He was ambitious and driven to keep them safe. However, that was also a fatal flaw of his.

He only cared for his family.

Others held no place in his heart. He was so detached and heartless about the beautiful world around him. The sisters tried to change his mind several times, but he was far too jaded and warped.

"This is a waste of time," Sol complained as he sat around the campfire with Anatoli and Neoma. "How long as we going to stay here, waiting for that bastard to get better?"

"With the severity of his wounds, he won't be able to walk properly for at least a few months," Anatoli informed.

"We won't stay here long. We'll leave first thing in the morning after we get what we need from him." Neoma announced. "He's a member of Rogue Roses. So, he must know the location of their current hideout."

"We could've gotten that information before you wasted our medical supplies on him," Sol proclaimed.

"Just drop it already, Sol. It's over now," Anatoli came to her sister's defense.

"I know you're upset about my decision, but you're just gonna hafta deal with it," Neoma spoke with great conviction. "I helped him because it's the right thing to do. Maybe my act of kindness will get him to reveal everything he knows about Rogue Roses."

Sol nodded his head, somewhat in agreement with his older sister. But his retort proved otherwise. "Yeah, or maybe it'll get us all killed. If any of us get wounded from here on out, it'll take more than our Praus to keep us alive."

"I know." Neoma balled her hands into fists. She prepared herself to accept full responsibility for whatever happened to them in the future. She'd carry the burden and consequences on her back. It was her duty as an older sister.

Sol clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked off to take the first watch for the night. Anatoli fell asleep shortly afterward, leaving Neoma alone to stare at the campfire in silence.

As the embers danced above the flames, Neoma contemplated on the group's next course of action. There was no guarantee that the bandit would give up any precious regarding Rogue Roses. But regardless of that fact, she took pity on him anyways. She took the chance that treating him with kindness would appeal to his better half. Her optimism was all she could rely on for a sense of comfort.

Good things happen to those that do good.

With that mantra in her mind, Neoma stood up and approached the bandit the trio kept tied up nearby. Even with the man patched up, they couldn't risk the chance of him trying to escape in the middle of the night.

"Hello!" Neoma cheerfully called out to the bandit. He looked over at the young woman for a second but quickly turned his head away.

"You again? Come back to try and talk me into snitching on my comrades?"

"Yup," Neoma felt no need to hide the intentions behind her confrontation with the bandit. She smiled and took a seat in front of him.

"Well, you can forget it! You can go ahead and threaten me, torture me, or kill me! It doesn't matter! I won't give you anything!" The bandit raised his voice and glared at the girl before him.

Neoma brought her index finger up to her lips. "Settle down and use your inside voice. Your anger could draw the Varvara here."

Horror filled the poor bandit's eyes upon the revelation. After his last encounter with the creatures of destruction, he'd do anything he could to avoid crossing them again.

"So, what's your plan? Threaten to use the Varvara to get me to talk?" The bandit assumed.

Neoma shook her head in response, her smile never fading. "I have no intention of threatening or torturing you. I wouldn't use all of our medical supplies to heal you just to waste it on getting you killed."

"...True..." The bandit reluctantly saw things from the girl's point of view. But it still begged the question as to what his captors had planned for him.

"Since we put our necks on the lines for you, the least you can do is tell us where your friends are," Neoma said.

The bandit scoffed at the girl's stupidity and ignorance. She expected too much out of her captives. "You don't understand, girlie. If my friends find out that I ratted them out to a couple of brats, they'd have my head for sure."

"Why are you protecting them? Aren't they the ones that abandoned you here, leaving you for dead?" Neoma called the man out. "Some friends they turned out to be."

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. The bandit gritted his teeth and lowered his head in regret. "Leave me alone. Thank you for helping me. But, I can't return your kindness."

"Yes, you can." Neoma countered.

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't."

"Yes--"

The bandit raised his head and hollered, "I SAID I CAN'T!"

The horror that once filled his eyes vanished, allowing nothing but a pure rage to replace it. The direction of the conversation distressed the bandit, but Neoma didn't care. The man's troubles weren't any real concern of hers. She wasn't going to let the man settle until she got what she wanted.

"Why can't you?" Neoma asked, not understanding the point in defending a bunch of cowards that would abandon their friends in a heartbeat. "Why go to great lengths to protect people that left you for dead?"

"I'm not protecting them. I'm protecting myself," The bandit solemnly answered. The fires of rage in his eyes long extinguished at that point. He lowered his head once more in defeat as he continued, "Rogue Roses isn't for the faint of heart. Especially not since our new leader took charge of the guild. If she finds out that I snitched, she'll have my head on a pike for sure."

"Your leader, is she that scary?" Neoma seemed dubious of the man's comments about his leader.

"Terrifying," The bandit trembled.

"What if I promised you that you wouldn't need to worry about her?" The girl asked.

The bandit raised his head again. His eyebrows arched high above his eyes as he responded, "What do you mean by that?"

"Tell us where your boss and friends are so that my siblings and I can take them down. We're bounty hunters, after all. Hunting down criminals is what we do best," Neoma proudly boasted her status.

The bandit stared at the girl in disbelief. He could see it, the utmost confidence shining in the eyes of the bounty hunter. He couldn't believe that such a little girl could make such a daring declaration without a hint of fear.

She was a fool.

That's how he saw her. No sane person would dare try and hunt down their leader unless they were stupid, or had a death wish.

The bandit threw his head back and laughed at Neoma's expense. "You? A couple of brats taking down our leader?"

"We're not brats! I'm sixteen years old! I'm an adult!" Neoma adamantly tried to shut down the bandit's blatant show of mockery. "And for your information, my family is super powerful! We can handle anything!"

"You won't be able to handle our leader. You'd get wiped out before you know it," The bandit dismissed the girl's obnoxious claim. How could he rely on the words of a little girl when compared to the amazing feats he witnessed his boss perform?

"We won't know until we try."

"Good luck with that. Even some of the best bounty hunter guilds failed to track us down." The bandit took his turn to boast about his friends arrogantly.

"It's a good thing we aren't associated with any guilds. They're far too much trouble with all their rules." Neoma commented.

"Whatever you say, girlie."

"So, tell me, why'd you stoop so low as to become a bandit? Why are you making so much trouble for people that want to live nice, peaceful lives?" Neoma decided to ask the hard-hitting questions.

"Because I want to live," The bandit answered without hesitation. There wasn't any hint of joy or satisfaction behind his words. "Money, food, shelter, any necessity that I desire, Rogue Roses provides. If not for them, I'd be dead on the side of the road or in the belly of some monster."

"Don't you understand that your way of life isn't right? You're destroying the lives of others to preserve your own. How can you live with yourself?" Neoma continued to degrade and ridicule the man's lifestyle.

"I'm a bandit. What do you expect?" The bandit shrugged his shoulders, unfazed by the girl's comments. "It's every man for themselves out here. You have to do what you gotta do to survive. I may not like it, but that's just the life I live."

Neoma shook her head. "It doesn't have to be that way. You're capable of change."

"It's far too late for that. Not after everything that I've done."

"It's never too late to change!" Neoma brought her face close to the bandits. They were locked in a seemingly endless stare-down.

Neoma saw it, albeit it was a deep down. But there was still a sliver of goodness left in the bandit. She just had to draw it out of him.

"What are you doing?"

Neoma reached out and poked the man's nose with her index finger. She giggled and said, "You can turn over a new leaf and become something more than a bandit! Leave behind your life of crime and seek redemption!"

"Are you stupid?" The bandit scoffed again. The girl never quite seemed to understand the severity of his situation.

"No, I just believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself. There's some good in you, somewhere deep down in your soul. I can see it. I wish you could see it too," Neoma sighed and backed away from her captive.

"Your sweet talk won't work on me," The bandit shook his head in dismissal of the girl's words. He couldn't let himself get suckered into her pace. It would take a lot more than words of encouragement to change him.

"It's not sweet talk. I'm speaking honestly here. As a member of the Archon Family, my word is everything to me." Neoma brought her hand to her chest and smiled.

"Archon Family?!" The bandit exclaimed. "You're from the Archon Family? That Archon Family?!"

"Uh-huh," Neoma nodded her head.

"If you...no, never mind. It's stupid," The bandit avoided making eye contact with the girl.

Neoma moved in closer and asked, "What? What is it that you wanted to say?"

"Well, if you're legit, then I'd be willing to take you to my boss."

"Really?"

"Definitely. My boss is terrifying, but if you're truly an Archon, then perhaps you could take her down." The man enthusiastically said. Some light returned to his eyes as he looked at Neoma with hope.

"Glad that you've come around," Neoma placed her hands on her hips and laughed triumphantly. Another day, another victory for the glorious Archon Family. She loved it when a plan came together. "Tomorrow morning, you're going to lead us to your boss. Afterward, I'll help you turn over a new leaf as a reward for your good deed."

"You defeating my boss would be payment enough," The bandit assured the bounty hunter.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning." Neoma turned on her heels and headed back to the campfire.

"Hey! Mind sharing some of your food with me as well? I'm starving over here," The bandit complained. Right on cue, his stomach grumbled.

"Sorry, but there's only enough food for the three of us. You'll have to wait until the morning when we go out hunting." Neoma said, not bothering to turn around and face her captive anymore.

"Wait, how does that make any sense?!"

"Good night, Mr. Bandit!" Neoma called out before she reached the campfire and joined her older sister in peaceful slumber.