Click… Clack…
The sound was very faint, yet in the quiet of the night, it was crystal-clear—and extremely familiar to Kiriko's ears.
Thanks to thousands of hours spent playing Skyrim and Fallout, Kiriko recognized the sound instantly—it was someone picking a lock.
She clearly remembered locking the door before going to bed.
Apart from herself and the innkeeper, no one else had a key.
And it was the middle of the night. Why would the innkeeper randomly use a key to unlock her room at this hour?
To talk about life? Dreams? Or perhaps the origins of life itself?
Kiriko remained motionless, pretending to sleep.
Click.
The lock opened softly, and the door gently creaked open. She heard quiet footsteps creeping toward her bedside.
Now!
Kiriko's eyes shot open. Swift as lightning, she grabbed her longsword from beside the bed, pressing the blade firmly against the intruder's neck.
"Can I help you?"
Thanks to the moonlight filtering through the window, she could easily see who had entered.
The uninvited guest was none other than Myne Sophia, the female adventurer accompanying Naofumi Iwatani.
Seeing Myne, Kiriko froze slightly in surprise.
Don't misunderstand—it wasn't because the girl was particularly beautiful. Well, to be fair, judged by the standards of her previous life, Myne was indeed attractive enough to turn heads.
But unfortunately for her, Kiriko's own appearance after transmigrating surpassed Myne's by a wide margin.
Sometimes, just seeing her own reflection in the mirror filled her with an irresistible excitement…
A smart person like you can guess exactly what kind of excitement:
Yep, the kind you feel when you desperately want to brag to someone about it.
What truly surprised Kiriko wasn't Myne's beauty—it was the fact that Myne was here, and not currently in Naofumi's bed.
Or… Could it be that the mighty Shield Hero turned out to be just a flashy-looking quickshot?
"You… you don't recognize me? It's me, Myne! Myne Sophia…"
Myne forced an awkward smile, attempting to avoid the sword blade and throw herself into Kiriko's arms. Kiriko was faster, though, swiftly moving her sword in front of her.
If Myne continued, she'd impale herself on that cold, steel blade.
Realizing this, Myne reluctantly stepped back.
"I know who you are. Whatever it is, save it for tomorrow. Get out, and close the door behind you."
Kiriko's expression was colder than the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
"Zero Hero-sama! You have to help me! The Shield Hero suddenly went crazy and tried to force himself upon me…"
Myne abruptly covered her face with her hands, sobbing dramatically.
From Myne's tearful, broken explanation, Kiriko roughly understood what had happened.
Apparently, Naofumi had gotten impatient and rough, causing Myne to flee to Kiriko's room for help.
But…
Although the woman was clearly portraying herself as a helpless victim, Kiriko hadn't forgotten how she'd entered the room—not knocking politely, but by quietly picking the lock.
Clearly, things weren't as straightforward as they appeared.
Kiriko smiled faintly, sheathed her sword, calmly stepped out of bed, leisurely dressed herself, and attached her Intermediate Dimensional Bags to her belt.
"In that case, stay here tonight and we'll discuss everything tomorrow."
Without waiting for Myne's reaction—whose expression had turned rather stiff—Kiriko exited the room, closing the door behind her.
She wasn't sure exactly what Myne was plotting, but her instincts warned her the situation wasn't simple at all.
Originally, after leaving the room, she'd intended to find Naofumi immediately. But then, she reconsidered—regardless of whether or not the Shield Hero was guilty, confronting him directly now might not be the best idea.
It seemed wiser to give both parties some space until morning, then gather the other three Heroes to sort everything out. Emotions would cool down by then, and a calmer discussion would likely lead to a better solution.
After all, people tended to do irrational things when emotions ran high, creating even greater trouble—even normally calm people could lose control in the heat of the moment.
She knew this from experience.
And even in the worst-case scenario—if Myne's claims were entirely true and Naofumi had genuinely attempted such a beastly act—
The presence of the other three Heroes tomorrow would surely help in finding a fair resolution.
Thinking along these lines, Kiriko walked downstairs and knocked on the innkeeper's door.
At this hour, the innkeeper obviously wasn't at the front counter, but asleep in his own quarters beside it.
After knocking for quite a while, the innkeeper opened the door with a drowsy, irritated expression.
"Sorry to disturb you so late, but I need another room."
The innkeeper was understandably annoyed by being woken up, but he still fetched a spare key from behind the counter for Kiriko.
Naturally, Kiriko had no intention of paying this additional fee from her own pocket. Even though it was only thirty copper coins, she was just temporarily covering it.
She'd make sure the Shield Hero reimbursed her tomorrow.
With a new key in hand, Kiriko went back upstairs and finally slept peacefully—so peacefully, in fact, that she didn't wake up until sunlight streamed directly onto her face.
However, as soon as she opened her eyes, she heard loud arguing from downstairs, as if someone was engaged in a fierce dispute.
After a while, someone started knocking heavily on her door.
Goddammit, who the hell is making trouble so early…?
Kiriko, who'd planned to sleep in a bit longer, kicked off her blanket irritably.
This was her personal invention for waking up, far more effective than any alarm clock—especially in winter. One swift kick, and even terminal laziness was instantly cured.
Fully equipped, Kiriko went to open the door. To her surprise, she found herself face-to-face with a fully armored royal knight.
Looking past the knight into the hallway, she saw Naofumi, clad only in his underwear, pinned to the ground by several more knights in full armor.
What the heck was going on?
Why had the cops shown up?
Standing at her doorway, the knight stared at Kiriko with a complicated look mixed with disappointment and other emotions.
"You must be the Zero Hero. By order of His Majesty, you and the Shield Hero are summoned to the castle. Please come with us."