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Chapter 382 Part 2

「It depends on what the girl thinks, but in my opinion, that’s better than being handed to the guards.」

According to Corneal, if a traveler with an unclear identity is caught by the guards for theft, 『they will be beaten with a wooden stick until he has bruises all over his body, and then thrown out of the royal capital』.
In contrast, if the traveler is caught by the victim as is, they might be beaten, in another meaning, but they won’t get injured and they still can stay in the royal capital.

「It helped that the girl has a good face. If they didn’t find her attractive, she’d be on her way with the guards by now.」

By the way, 『Grabbing her arms from both sides』 when taking her away is said to be quite gentlemanly.
In Corneal’s opinion, those brothers must be 『an enjoyer of natural forced play』.

「There’s something like that in some brothels too, but those are just acting.」

“I see”, I replied and nodded my head. Maybe as a result of having that kind of imagination play every time at the brothel, they might have reached the level where they can see the 『rough edges in the acting』.
If they like it that much, then it makes sense that they would even leave the 『food that they can eat anytime』.

(….A natural-situation brothel! Wait, no, it can’t be called natural anymore since it’s a brothel huh?)

For a moment, an idea flashed in my mind, but it fizzled out as quickly as it came.
As I groaned, a dignified voice that seemed to belong to a boy echoed through the stalls here in the central square.

「What are you doing!? Let go of her!」

I looked around and found a boy in his early teens standing in front of the small girl who is sandwiched between the two burly men who were about to leave the stall area.
And so began the exchange of 『She’s a thief』 and 『That’s a lie!』.

「This is getting nowhere.」

I look at him with cold eyes and said those words.
The boy just keeps demanding one-sidedly to let the girl go and has no interest in listening to the burly men. So the situation doesn’t advances at all.

「Since he only came just now, he’s only judging by how it looks. If he looked around before making a fuss, he would’ve known what had really happened.」

The slightly unattractive, muscular young man shakes his head lightly. In fact, the onlookers at the table who knew about the situation were criticizing the boy.
Soon, however, the voices turned to murmurs.

「Uwa, he pulled out his sword, that young boy.」

It seems that the pressure from the voices of the onlookers worked in the wrong direction. In the boy’s eyes, everyone here must seem like a bad guy.
Even if it’s just a dagger for self-defense, it’s still a blade that can kill. As expected, the burly men let go of the girl and took a stance at that.

「If he was carrying a sword around, that means the boy was also a traveler. 」

Most of the locals here, including myself, Corneal, and the burly brothers, aren’t carrying weapons. We don’t need them as long as we are in the royal capital, and having them would just get us into trouble.
The reason the boy has no luggage on him is probably because he has left it at an inn.

「That was a bad decision.」

Corneal pointed out the girl’s actions after the men let her go. She moved behind the boy to be protected.
I agree with him, the girl is now on the side of the 『the boy who suddenly lashed out and brandished his weapon』.

「Don’t move!」

The boy and the burly brothers glared at each other for a moment, and then, with a sharp warning, two spearmen in light armor appeared, as expected. They were the guards, someone must have called them over.
I could see the relief on the faces of everyone except the girl at the arrival of the guards.

「Lies!」

They were then interrogated in front of everyone. The cry, of course, belonged to the boy who interrupted the burly brothers mid-sentence.

「It’s not like that!」

It was the petite thief girl. I and Corneal can’t tell what she meant by “it’s not like that” though.
The guards are asking the stall owners and customers around, but they seem a bit hesitant. It seemed that they could not get any credible testimony from them.

「That was surprising, I thought everyone knew what had happened.」

At my murmur, Corneal replied, 『I also only noticed because I followed your gaze, Tauro-san』, and continued, 『As expected of you』.
I just happened to notice when I was taking a deep breath as a change of pace, but I decided not to tell him that since it made me feel like an observant man.

「Well then, I guess this is where we should come in.」

After he said that, Corneal got up from his seat and went to the pair of guards. He then presented what appeared to be his ID card from his pocket and his cheerful voice echoed through the stall area.

「I’m Corneal of the Kingdom knight order. I can testify that what these young men said was right. The girl certainly stole the purse and was captured by those young men.」

The testimony of a person in a trustworthy position. This is big.
A member of the knight order is sometimes referred to as 『first generation noble who was acknowledged for their merits』. The weight of the words of a person in this position is on a different level.

「Now then, you should say something too, Tauro-san.」

Corneal turned back to me, who was following closely behind him, and urged me to tell them what I saw. I doubted if they even needed an explanation from me at this point, I opened my mouth with my chest puffed out.

「Ehem, my name is Tauro, a pilot of the merchant guild. I also testify that they’re telling the truth.」

My rank is considerably lower than that of a member of the knight order, but I’m still a Knight pilot. My statement should still have more value than an ordinary person.

(Everything should clear up with this.)

I don’t have any ID, so I showed him my guild card, which I use like electronic currency. The guards nodded, so I guess it suffice as proof.
By the way, many people around us looked at us with surprise, saying something like, 『What? They’re someone like that?』.

(I guess it can’t be helped.)

Even if the Knight is well-known, it’s almost impossible to recognize the face of the old man who is piloting the knight from inside the chest.
And even though I am famous as 『Dr. Slime』 no one but the gentlemen who hang out in the lobbies of high-class brothels would recognize my face.

「Just what is wrong with the Kingdom that even a member of the knight order is colluding with the bad guys!?」

The boy, on the other hand, still seems unconvinced and shouted. It’s amazing, or rather terrifying, that he can so stubbornly believe in his justice to this degree.

(Would it have been different if me and Corneal had been a cool-looking handsome young man? No, I guess not huh, since what he needs is an affirmation of his righteousness.)

As I was thinking this, the boy’s cry turned into a muffled scream. When I looked to see what was going on, I heard that one of the guards had struck the boy hard in the chest with a spear butt.
The boy, who had rolled on the ground, was coughing painfully as if he was having trouble breathing.

「Thank you for your cooperation.」

The two guards tied the boy and girl’s wrists behind their backs, bowed to us, and left.
As the commotion on the street gradually subsides and things return to normal, I heard the burly brothers speak in a disappointed tone.

「Even though I tried to end everything peacefully. Now, no one is benefitted. 」

The burly brothers won’t be able to enjoy 『natural forced play』, the guards will have extra work to do, and the girl is bound to receive heavier punishment.
And it will be the boy who receives the heaviest punishment.

「I wonder what is going to happen to them.」

I asked my best friend after I returned to my seat and grabbed a refill of the beverage I had bought at the food stand while I’m on it.
Corneal, who knows this kind of situation better than I do, didn’t give a clear answer and just shrugged his shoulders, perhaps on purpose.

(Whatever it is, it can’t be anything good then.)

I won’t ask for details either. All I know is that this is the end of the story for that girl and boy.
Then I opened my mouth to break the heavy atmosphere.

「It’s getting late now, so we should hurry and decide on a store to visit.」

Time progresses regardless of the commotion. We can’t waste any more time in order to make the most of this day.
The two of us spread out the magazine on the table and resumed our discussion.