Vandalieu looked at those around him as he answered. “You do have a right to decide,” he said. “But I have the right to decide whether or not to accept your decision. Even if your crimes were committed in another nation, I have no intention of welcoming evil criminals.”

These criminals had been exploited by the Hartner Duchy that had done horrific things to Talosheim, but that didn’t make them good people.

Vandalieu had no intention of bringing them to Talosheim unless they had some extraordinary circumstances.

“I see,” said the bearded slave. “Then I’ll bid you farewell here. Won’t you at least let me take some of the soldiers’ equipment and the food in the dining hall as a farewell gift?”

“Very well,” said Vandalieu. “Hannah-san, he wants to bid farewell to this world.”

“What?!” shouted the slave. “Wait a second, I didn’t choose anything like –”

“Okay. I understand~♪”

The scarred man screamed as the Flame Ghost Hannah enveloped him, surrounding him in flames. Before long, he collapsed and stopped moving.

“Alright, next person –” Vandalieu began.

“W-wait a second! What are you playing at?!”

“Why did you burn him to death?! He didn’t disobey you or demand that you give him money, right?!”

The criminal slaves were shocked and frightened.

Vandalieu blinked at them a few times before answering. “I did say that I have the right to decide whether to accept your decision, didn’t I? Based on that right, I decided that I wouldn’t accept that person’s decision,” he said.

“S-so then, why did you kill him?!”

“I mean, if I gave a former bandit weapons and food and set him free and then he returned to being a bandit and harmed more people, I’d feel bad for his future victims.”

The spirits of those who had died at the mine had been purified by the priest, but the spirits haunting the criminal slaves were still there. Thus, Vandalieu was able to tell which of them were evil people by listening to the spirits behind them.

Vandalieu had given up on the Hartner Duchy, but he wouldn’t consider releasing evil people into the wild. And if he did let evil people go free here, they might cause trouble for the nearest place where people lived, the cultivation villages.