The first thought that came to mind was.

"Again?"

Yes. It was 'again'.

And for good reason, the place he was in was very similar to the slave ship that he had raided with Aman not long ago.

To think that he had been captured and brought to such a place?

"I'm at a loss for words."

Moreover, as if they didn't know he was a mage, they had tied his hands and feet with ordinary rope, not even a mana control bracelet.

Even though he had taken off the blindfold, the surroundings were so dark that his eyes didn't hurt, and when he looked around, it was so similar to the environment that he wondered if he had really destroyed the ship, and it even gave him the creeps.

The only difference was that there was no water tank with a siren in it.

As he heard a human presence, the captured elves began to stir and murmur.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

"Wait."

"Mmph! Mmph!"

When he looked at the place where the whining sound was coming from, there was, as expected, a Toto tribe.

"They've gathered a variety of them."

The elves' movements were filled with anxiety at Lucas's small mutter.

"Don't worry. I'll save you."

Then the group of elves instantly regained their composure.

"Can't you not trust humans for once?"

He felt sorry for them.

-Clank! Clank!

As he released their restraints, the elves, who had taken off their blindfolds and gags, trembled and bowed their heads.

"Thank you."

"Wait here."

As the elves nodded, Lucas also unlocked the cage where the Toto tribe was trapped.

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

The Toto tribe also bent their small bodies and expressed their gratitude.

"Stay with the elves."

The Toto tribe also nodded at Lucas's words.

-Clank! Clank! Clank!

This time, the dwarf who was tied in the corner was diligently making his presence known.

"I'll release you. But promise me one thing. That you'll wait here quietly."

Lucas, who knew the fiery nature of the dwarves, first asked them to promise.

Then the dwarves also nodded their heads eagerly.

Lucas, who had released all three dwarves from their restraints, checked his surroundings again.

Three elves, three Toto tribes, and one pixie.

It was a definitely smaller number than last time, but the fact that there was a pixie among them bothered him.

"Are you the only ones who were caught? And do you know where this ship is heading?"

A Toto tribe stepped forward at Lucas's question.

"This ship departed from Ignos. We were caught on Trin Island."

"And our other kinsmen have already been sold."

"There are twenty of us in total."

The Toto tribes, with their small bodies, each said a word.

"The same goes for us. We were caught in Ignos."

"Five of our kinsmen have already been sold to Morain."

Ignos was a dwarf autonomous region on the continent located in the southeast.

Ignos, known as the region loved by the god of fire.

There was an active volcano in the center of it.

The ever-boiling lava and sulfur were a suitable environment for the dwarves to burn their artistic souls, so they had settled there and lived.

"Ignos. Then where are we now?"

"I heard that the port where you came in is the Raskan North Port."

"How long has it been since we departed?"

"About... two days."

"Phew..."

He had lost his touch, too much.

'Am I grateful that I didn't die?'

The poison they had used on him was a poison that would have sent an ordinary person, no, even a decent monster, to the afterlife in one go.

That meant that the artifact that Amore had planted in him had played a big part.

"Two days."

The ship that had departed from Ignos was sailing from the southeast to the northwest.

"Do you know the destination?"

"I don't know the details..."

Lucas, who had nodded with a serious expression, cast a detection magic and observed the situation inside the ship.

'...I don't know.'

Perhaps because a blocking magic was cast on the basement floor where he was, he couldn't easily observe the situation outside.

"Everyone, don't run wild and stay still. Even if a dangerous situation comes, absolutely."

Was it because he had released their restraints so casually?

The nine other races just nodded their heads with worried expressions.

Lucas was now very, very displeased.

His mind was also confused by the series of incidents that were happening without a single one being resolved.

'It's been a while. A whirlwind of an excursion... no, a situation like this.'

Lucas, who was looking at the stairs leading up for a moment, thought.

'How can I... get the most fun out of this.'

It felt as if he had gone back to his past life as a dragon.

The best way and solution to relieve his displeasure.

'There's nothing better than a true education for the arrogant.'

-Swoosh

Mana began to gather in Lucas's hand.

-KABOOM!

The mana that had been gathering in his hand grew larger and larger, and it was shot up to the deck as a huge storm.

"D-duck! Duck! We'll all die if we do this!"

The elves and dwarves all gathered together and covered each other at the Toto tribe's shout.

-KABOOM! KABOOM!

"Gaaah! The Toto tribe is dying!!!"

The other races, who were surprised by the mana storm that had pierced through to the top floor in one go, cowered, covering their heads.

"A-an ambush!!! It's an ambush!!!"

A sailor who had not been caught in the storm shouted.

"Everyone, get a grip!!! It's an ambush!!!"

Then the sound of busy footsteps was heard on the deck.

"Right, that's it."

The sight of Lucas standing still and listening to the footsteps was as relaxed as if he were listening to an orchestra performance.

-Pssss

Then a white light began to pour down on Lucas.

"Things are getting interesting."

He knew well what the light pouring down on his head was.

"I didn't like it anyway..."

-Flash!

Lucas, who had teleported to the deck in a flash.

"...It will become a light!"

The man in the gray robe who was facing Lucas was a priest of the Demon God Cult who was casting a wide-area buff.

"There's another dog of Taras here."

"A-attack!!!"

The priest hurriedly ran back to create a distance from Lucas.

"Right. You have to run away."

Lucas sneered as if he were enjoying the sight.

"That's how... the hunt becomes fun, isn't it?"

-Bang! KABOOM!

Then, the explosion of the sunburst that had flown behind Lucas.

"I-it hit!"

The power of the sunburst cast by the buffed mage was great. The mage, who saw that his magic had accurately hit Lucas, dusted off his robe.

"He must be dead. The magic I'm most confident in is the sunburst...!?"

But Lucas calmly walked out from between the flames that had not yet subsided.

"It's a shame. That I didn't die."

Lucas, who smiled slyly, dusted off his sleeve.

"The magic you're most confident in..."

Lucas raised one hand.

-Swoosh

"But your skills are a little lacking."

The flame that was gathering at Lucas's fingertips. The mage who had shown the magic he was most confident in thought.

'I'm f-cked.'

"If you have any mana left, run away. If not..."

-KABOOM!

As the flame began to swirl, the others on the deck also thought.

'I'm going to die here.'

"R-run away!!!"

A sailor who had sensed his death threw himself into the sea.

"You will all die."

-KABOOM!

Hellfire. Was this it?

The flame that had instantly covered the deck. The one person standing on it was smiling.

"Are you watching, Taras? I'm sending one up today."

Lucas's hand, which had looked up at the sky once, cut through the air, and a bolt of lightning struck down.

-Crack!

"Gaaah!"

The priest of the Demon God Cult, who had wrapped himself in a defensive buff and had jumped into the sea, was hit squarely by the thunder spear and became an electric barbecue.

Lucas, who smiled with satisfaction at the sight, cut through the air with his hand again.

-Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

There was no mercy for the sailors who had thrown themselves into the water either.

"I feel so refreshed."

Taras must have been watching all of this.

Thinking of that, Lucas felt as if a ten-year-old burden had been lifted from his chest.

As he went down below the deck, he saw the other races who were still trembling, covering their heads.

"You also need some special education."

"P-please spare me! I'm a Toto tribe with no skills! My ears are useless!"

The Toto tribe quickly hid his ears and shouted.

"That's right! My feet don't bring good luck!"

"Phew... so you need special education. I won't eat you, and I won't enslave you."

"R-really?"

A dwarf stepped forward at Lucas's words.

"Right. If you want to go home, everyone, stick together."

The other races exchanged glances and then nodded their heads and huddled together.

'You pitiful races.'

-Flash!

The place he teleported them to was Lake Mare.

"...Where is this?"

"It's Lake Mare. From now on, we'll start a special education course, so everyone, listen carefully."

The other races' eyes trembled at Lucas's answer.

'He's not going to eat us, right...?'

'It's not that it's better to be sold as a slave, is it...?'

"This is the first lesson. There are no kind humans in the world for no reason. No, even if there are, be suspicious first."

And so, Lucas's essential lecture began.

***

Lucas, who had finished all his lectures, sent them home one by one.

The other races who had returned home expressed their gratitude and took out their precious belongings and handed them over.

But Lucas, who had refused all their favors, gave everyone the same request.

'Don't trust humans.'

It would surely take a long time to find the other kinsmen they had lost.

But they were all members of this world, and no one was meant to be enslaved or to be killed with their body parts cut off.

He had often saved such people in his past life, but no matter how much he saved them, he could not stop the evil deeds of humans forever.

Compared to humans, they were too naive, and that fact did not change even after generations.

In the immigrant village that Aman had saved, there was even someone who vaguely recognized him.

'Then what. They were caught again.'

Although he felt uneasy because he couldn't save all the kinsmen who had been caught, the situation was urgent now.

'Two days have passed...'

Lucas, who had tracked the Veneta party's traces, was now standing in front of their carriage.

-Neigh!

The coachman quickly pulled the reins and stopped the carriage at the sight of the figure standing tall in the middle of the road.

"Hey! What are you doing in the middle of the road? Do you want to die?!"

The coachman shouted sharply.

"I'd like to get a ride on the carriage... I'll pay."

"Ha! This person? If you want to get a ride on the carriage, you should stand on the side of the road and wave your hand! What are you going to do if you get hit!?"

"What's going on?"

The man, who had heard the coachman's words, asked from inside the carriage.

"He says he wants to get a ride on the carriage. It's good for me to have one more customer..."

"The carriage is small, but still..."

The man, who was talking to the coachman from inside the carriage, opened the window and peeked his head out.

"Where are you going...!?"

The man, who had met Lucas's eyes, turned pale as if he had seen a ghost.

"What's going on? If it's okay, let's give him a ride... t-that bastard!"

The man who had peeked his head out next also looked at Lucas with wide, surprised eyes.

"Where are you going..."

Lucas slowly walked toward the carriage.

"I'll see you off to the afterlife where you're going."