But
immediately after,
"Quick!"
"It's just up ahead!"
a clamor of footsteps suddenly came from outside the alley entrance.
Then,
Lili's expression changed.
She saw
that the Soma Familia Adventurer, who had seemingly been on lookout duty outside, had brought reinforcements after seeing things go south.
Behind him
followed a squad of Adventurers in uniform.
Their uniforms bore a striking emblem on the chest: an elephant's head on a shield.
—The Labyrinth City military police.
—The Ganesha Familia.
"Help! Murder!"
"Someone is fighting in the streets!"
"Lord Guards!"
"You must seek justice for us!"
It had to be said that
while this guy couldn't fight, his voice was certainly loud.
With that one shout,
the entire street, which was originally bustling, instantly fell silent.
"We... my brothers and I were just chatting here peacefully..."
"These two crazy women... suddenly rushed in and started hitting us!"
"Look at what they did to us... my hand is broken!"
"And..."
"And this was just our Familia disciplining a newcomer..."
"They maliciously interfered! This is violent assault!"
"You must arrest them! Throw them in jail!"
Who knows where he got the strength,
who knows where he got the strength,
but the guy who was playing dead on the ground just now scrambled over to the Ganesha Familia Squad Leader and began his tearful complaint.
His act of being the first to complain was so practiced it was nauseating.
"Ouch... my leg is broken..."
"It's murder... there's no justice..."
The other two lackeys who had been lying on the ground also caught on, rolling around and wailing in unison, playing the part of the victims to the hilt.
...
The Squad Leader leading the Ganesha Familia was a serious-looking middle-aged Adventurer named Robert.
He frowned as he glanced at the Soma Familia members lying on the ground.
A flicker of disgust passed through his eyes.
—These guys were repeat offenders in this area.
Because the main god of the Soma Familia basically didn't care and their internal management was a mess,
extortion and bullying of newcomers had become common occurrences.
However, because there was never any physical evidence and the Guild had a consistent policy of not interfering in a Familia's internal affairs, these matters usually ended up being dropped.
But this time...
Robert glanced at the guy buried in the rubble of crates with only his feet showing, then at the cracked stone slabs on the ground.
They were beaten quite badly.
If it really was unprovoked assault, it would indeed be difficult to handle.
After all,
according to Orario law, as long as it doesn't result in death, outsiders have no right to interfere when a Familia disciplines its own members.
Furthermore, being the first to strike and causing damage in the streets was indeed a violation of the public order regulations.
Under the watchful eyes of the public, as a member of the military police, he had to provide an explanation.
Upon hearing these twisted accusations,
Rin's face beneath her mask turned red with anger.
"You're lying!"
Rin couldn't help but step forward, pointing at the accuser.
"It was clearly you guys who were bullying her first!"
"That girl was beaten so badly by you!"
"I was acting out of justice!"
"What justice? She is a Supporter of our Familia!"
"How we choose to discipline her is our business!"
"What does it have to do with you?"
"Doesn't your Familia have rules?"
"Or does your Familia just enjoy poking its nose into other people's business?"
"You...!"
Rin was still young, after all; she had never encountered the shameless face of a veteran scoundrel from the bottom of society.
She was flushed with rage but didn't know how to retort.
Because
what the other party said was actually true.
She had indeed struck first, and she had indeed meddled in another Familia's internal affairs.
At this thought, Rin felt somewhat at a loss.
This was going to be troublesome.
If she were really taken in for investigation,
not only would she have to pay compensation,
—it might even damage her Lord God's reputation in front of the other gods!
Thinking of this, the confidence brought by her sense of justice instantly deflated by half.
"Um... Lord..."
"The truth is..."
However,
before Rin could lower her stance and explain,
the Ganesha Familia Squad Leader, Robert, looked past the babbling Soma Familia Adventurers. When his gaze fell upon the iconic Hannya mask she wore and Inaba Tsukuyo, who had her eyes closed quietly,
the expression beneath his mask shifted quite spectacularly.
Black short hair, ogre mask.
A blind girl with silver hair in twin tails and closed eyes.
Weren't these...
the people Lady Shakti had specifically and repeatedly emphasized during the morning meeting, even showing portraits and ordering everyone to remember them?!
—The members of the Haimo Familia.
That God's Familia that arrived in Orario just two days ago, broke record after record in the Dungeon, and even had the Captain and Lord Ganesha personally come to apologize!
Thinking of this...
Robert felt his brain throbbing, and his temples were pulsing.
Orario was so large, with its four main streets in the north, south, east, and west.
Why did something have to happen right in his jurisdiction?
If this wasn't handled properly...
Robert felt he wasn't far from being sent home to farm.
He might not even get the chance to farm, and instead be banished directly to the Dungeon by Lady Shakti.
"Sir? Sir?"
"What are you waiting for?"
"Hurry up and arrest them!"
The Adventurers from the Soma Familia hadn't noticed the change in the Ganesha Familia Squad Leader's expression. They were still recklessly urging him on, thinking the military police were on their side.
"Violent elements like this must be severely punished!"
"Shut up!"
Robert gave a sudden roar.
It made the Soma Familia Adventurer, who was still calculating his compensation, flinch so hard he nearly bit his tongue.
"Who gave you the nerve to be shouting in the middle of the street?"
Robert turned his head, his gaze so fierce it looked as if he wanted to devour someone.
"Huh?"
The Soma Familia Adventurer was stunned.
He hadn't yet reacted to the direction the plot was taking.
"But... Sir, we're the ones who were beaten..."
"The ones lying on the ground are all our people..."
He still wanted to argue his case.
"Shut up! Didn't you hear me say shut up!"
Robert gave him no chance to speak at all.
After all, since it involved the Haimo Familia...
...then things were easy to handle.
Robert took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the irritation in his heart, and then gave a large wave of his hand to his squad members.
"Take all these Soma Familia people away!"
"The charge is... uh..."
The Squad Leader stumbled for a moment, and then had a flash of inspiration.
Robert had frozen for a second.
At a scene of such one-sided battery, finding a crime for the victims was indeed a bit difficult.
But he had been an old military police officer for over a decade, and his mind worked fast.
With a flash of inspiration, he pointed at the pile of shattered boxes and the cracked stone slabs on the ground, shouting righteously:
"The charge is picking quarrels and provoking trouble! And damaging public facilities!"
"Look! Look at this perfectly good pile of boxes! What have you done to them by crashing into them!"
"And these floor tiles! They're centuries-old antiques! They're all cracked!"
"This is a serious destruction of Orario's city appearance! It is an unforgivable crime!"
"You lot not only shouted loudly in the street and disturbed the peace, but you also attempted to stage an accident!"
"Take them away! Take them all away! Lock them in the Dungeon for three days of reflection! Double the fines!"
"Eh? EH?!"
The Soma Familia Adventurers were completely dumbfounded.
This wasn't the right script!
Clearly, it was that little girl who kicked and smashed the boxes!
She used their boss's body as a cannonball to smash them!
They were the victims!
"Sir! You must have made a mistake! She's the one who attacked first!"
"We've been wronged, Sir!"
"Enough nonsense! You dare to talk back! That's an even greater crime!"
Robert didn't listen at all, stepping forward to kick the man right in the backside.
"Take them away!"
The Ganesha Familia military police didn't say a word either, rushing forward to pin the still-dazed Soma Familia members to the ground and clicking the shackles onto them.
Even the unconscious boss buried in the pile of boxes was dragged out like a dead dog and hauled away.
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