Rezé had fired the gun without my permission for a simple reason.
There was no way to inform us that someone was approaching.
It was a good decision, but not a perfect one.
‘Might as well have just shot to kill.’
Rezé was a bug-tier character with a 100% hit rate. Yet, Redington hadn’t suffered any damage?
She must have intentionally missed.
‘She probably didn’t want to kill anyone. Well, given her naturally timid nature, I suppose it makes sense…’
Even in a situation like this, she hesitated to take a life. Seriously, what a pathetic Pufferfish Rabbit.
Training could wait. For now, I focused on the matter at hand.
“Phew~ That was a close one.”With his usual laid-back tone, Redington dusted himself off.
His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
‘Looks like he’s searching for Rezé.’
But if even Caron couldn’t find that rabbit, a mere knight had no chance.
Eventually, Redington chose to approach us instead.
That kind of destructive attack would be difficult to use near allies.
‘Ultimately, he must be aiming to take us down.’
It wasn’t particularly strange for Redington to be here.
He was like Schrödinger’s guard—sometimes on duty, sometimes not.
“You’ve got quite the sniper. Very few have ever spotted me in stealth.”
“Keke, a frog in a well might think the sky is vast.”
“Right? Getting caught by some unusual folks… If I knew this would happen, I should’ve just stuck to my post.”
I was mocking him outright, but Redington didn’t seem the least bit angry.
As expected, a real nuisance—both in the game and in real life.
“Hey, old man lying there so pathetically. You still alive?”
“I was until a moment ago. Now, thanks to you, I might just die from rage.”
“Why so grumpy? I even ditched my shift to come here.”
“That’s exactly the problem! You’re only here because you wanted to slack off!”
“Oh no, you got me. But aren’t you happy to see my face?”
“Happy, my ass…”
Bickerd grumbled. But despite his words, he didn’t seem particularly upset.
“I’m attacking. Support me.”
“Can’t you see? I’m tied up.”
“My eyes must be failing me, then. You don’t look restrained to me…”
Redington was right.
In the middle of providing first aid, we had completely forgotten to bind him.
Realizing her mistake, Rodelin let out a soft sigh.
Bickerd waved his arms dismissively, as if it was too much trouble.
“You may not see it, but I’m definitely bound. For sure.”
“What exactly are you bound by?”
“Well… let’s call it the chivalry I buried long ago.”
Bickerd turned his head to the side, looking embarrassed.
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it didn’t seem likely that he would rejoin the fight.
“You crazy bastard. Your brain finally snapped, huh?”
“Oh, and leave that girl alive. Reattach her limbs too.”
“…Is this some new kind of suicide technique? We’re already short on energy, and now you want me to be selective with my attacks?”
“You can do it, so stop whining. Oh, and be careful of that snake mask. He’s quite strong.”
“Argh! How many times do I have to tell you to properly explain enemy abilities?! I swear, I should just leave right now!”
Bickerd and Redington started shouting at each other over our heads.
For us, it was the perfect opportunity.
Noticing the chance, Rodelin cautiously spoke up.
“Could you lend us your aid once again?”
“Keke, asking for help from the very person you tried to arrest just moments ago?”
“Hmph! How could you be a true champion of justice if you get hung up on trivial details? Let’s just move past it!”
Rodelin’s face reddened slightly.
She must have found it embarrassing to act so shamelessly.
“So, if we take that guy down, you’ll let us go?”
“That’s a different matter.”
“…?”
Even if we helped capture Redington, we’d still be arrested?
What kind of ridiculous deal was this?
“I already said, let’s talk about those minor details later. Negotiations can happen after you’re in custody.”
Uh, no. Isn’t that way too late? If things go wrong, we might just get burned at the stake as heretics.
“Don’t worry, I’ll defend you strongly. After all, I am the Vice President of the Student Council—ugh!”
Rodelin clutched her shoulder, groaning in pain.
At the same time, a system message appeared before me.
[Rodelin has left the party due to injuries.]
To be fair, Rodelin was already quite injured.
Not only was there a gap in skill between her and Bickerd, but she had also been fighting with nothing more than a flagpole—a glorified twig. There was no way she could have defended properly.
‘More than that, though, this is just part of the story to increase difficulty.’
If four people ganged up on a knight, it would be too easy for the player. So, the game forcibly removed one of us.
Well, it wasn’t a huge problem. This kind of setback was still within my expected range.
“There’s no other choice, then. We’ll take care of him. You stay here and protect Miss Dolores.”
“But…”
“Keke, no need to worry. We are champions of justice, after all.”
“That’s not it—I was just about to tell you not to think about running away after the fight is over.”
“…”
Are you a T?
Rodelin effortlessly shattered the moment of sentimentality.
Leaving her behind, I turned to face Redington.
“So, you’re down one member too? That makes things a little fairer.”
It seemed their argument had ended as well.
Redington’s gaze locked onto me, his wariness obvious.
Rodelin was watching, which meant I still couldn’t use most of my trump cards.
And now, I had to take on an assassin-type fighter like Redington with nothing but my bare hands? What a nightmare.
‘Well, it’s not impossible if I use our Super Nuclear Warhead Red Revolutionary Rabbit.’
Why such a long title? Because that’s how much I trust and rely on her.
Just as Luna was about to lead the charge—
“H-HIIIIIIIK!”
Rezé tumbled out from a gap between the rocks, rolling over and over.
Her antics didn’t stop there. Suddenly, she started running straight toward us.
On all fours.
‘Why is the sniper… coming this way?’
We were doomed. Completely doomed. This was practically a confirmed Bad Ending.
Should I ask Redington to wait a moment, make some rabbit stew, and then kill me? I was seriously contemplating it when—
“It’s coming! It’s coming!”
What’s coming?
‘No way… Adonis?’
Was he coming to save us? As expected of the Empire’s Hero.
No—starting today, he was my hero.
“N-no! S-she’s comingggggg!!”
Rezé shrieked, convulsing.
She?
Which meant…
BANG!!
The moment Rezé hid behind Luna, the cavern shook violently. Rocks tumbled down from above.
“W-what was that?!”
“I-is it a beast?!”
BANG!
The cavern trembled again.
And then we realized it.
The puzzle at the entrance—someone wasn’t solving it.
They were smashing the door down.
BANG! CRACK—!!
A loud noise signaled the door breaking apart.
TATATATATA—!!
Footsteps followed. Someone was sprinting toward us, practically flying down the stairs.
No—actually, they seemed to stumble a few times. But they never stopped running.
One thing was clear.
They were coming at full speed.
And then, the intruder appeared from the stairway.
“Haa… Haa…”
It was Lowell, the Mad Lion.
Her clothes were a mess—torn and disheveled. She was panting so heavily I wondered if she would collapse. Sweat drenched her entire face.
But what stood out the most was her complexion.
She was deathly pale—so pale it felt like she was floating in the air.
Yet, her sharp gaze erased any sense of frailty.
Instead—
“…I’ll kill you all.”
She looked like a wounded lion.
“…Big Sis?”
At Rodelin’s voice, Lowell’s gaze flickered toward her.
Only then did a bit of color return to her face.
“Put away your weapons.”
At my words, Luna and Rezé immediately stored their weapons in their dimensional pouches.
At the same time, they raised both hands high in the air.
A clear gesture of surrender.
“Tch!”
Redington knew well why Lowell was called the Mad Lion.
Maybe he thought now was his best chance while she was exhausted.
He lunged at her instantly.
And—
CLANG!
“…!”
Redington’s eyes widened in shock.
Lowell had blocked his sword effortlessly.
With her bare hands.
“Hey, suspicious folks. Stay right where you are.”
Yes.
We’ll stay put.
The fight was one-sided.
SMACK! SMACK!
No, calling it a fight was an insult.
This was just a beating.
A completely one-sided beating.
“P-please… stop…”
“You’re already surrendering? Boring.”
BAM!
As she let go of Redington’s collar, Lowell delivered a spinning kick.
Redington’s body slammed into the wall.
“Hey, old man? You dead? No—just knocked out?”
Dolores poked Bickerd’s body with a stick.
He flinched but didn’t open his eyes.
Seemed like he had decided to go quietly.
“Big Sis…”
“You snuck out of town alone at night? Are you out of your mind?”
Lowell roughly shoved Rodelin.
“Ugh!”
Rodelin groaned and clutched her wounded side.
Lowell flinched.
Her eyes slowly scanned Rodelin, as if realizing only now that she was injured.
“…Did you leave your gear behind too? I knew you were dumb, but not this dumb.”
Lowell pulled out a potion and tossed it to Rodelin.
Lowering her head, Rodelin silently began treating her wounds—pouring about half of it on Bickerd.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Lowell turned away.
“And you lot. Who the hell are you?”
“Keke, just passing Champions of Justice. We saved that girl and that student.”
“Oh? That’s strange. You look exactly like Champions of Evil.”
“We get that a lot. Anyway, since things are settled, we’ll be on our way…”
Shuffle, shuffle.
I bowed at a full 90-degree angle and backed away.
Luna and Rezé did the same.
Well, Rezé was on a whole different level—she had flattened herself to the ground, worming backward.
Yet somehow, she was retreating faster than I was.
What kind of insane skill was that?
“Stop right there.”
Lowell’s voice was colder than a winter wind.
We froze in place—mid-escape.
“You’ll cooperate until the investigation is complete. If it turns out you really helped, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.”
“Well, that’s a bit troublesome. You see, Champions of Justice value secrecy above all else.”
“Let’s be honest. I think you’re all suspicious too. So just cooperate.”
“…And if we refuse?”
“Then you’ll have to defeat me.”
RUMBLE—!
Lowell’s mana surged.
Her longsword gleamed with a fierce blue aura.
I could feel it.
The aura Lowell wielded was fundamentally different from what Bickerd and Redington had used.
It was clear she had no intention of letting us go peacefully.
‘Stay calm.’
The simplest solution would be to reveal my identity to Lowell and end this situation.
But that was only a half-answer.
Rescuing Dolores while keeping the Dark Beast Squad’s identity hidden—
That was the condition for obtaining extra rewards.
Clatter—!
A puzzle pieced itself together in my mind.
The Trash Village episode, the relationship between Rodelin and Lowell, the Dark Beast Squad, the main quest to earn Lowell’s emblem, and lastly, the weakness of Lowell—a detail only I knew.
…I found it. The exact action I needed to take.
I whispered to the tense Luna and Rezé.
“I’ll buy us some time. You two, escape first.”
“Will you be okay? Wouldn’t it be easier to just reveal the truth…?”
“Y-yeah! P-please stop playing hero alreadyyyy!”
With Dolores rescued, Luna and Rezé no longer had any reason to continue acting as the Dark Beast Squad.
But I did.
For myself.
And for this world.
Besides, I had already come up with a perfect excuse to get through this situation.
“Keke, it may not have seemed like it, but I was enjoying this hero act too.”
“Huh?”
“This was my first time. You see, the other kids always made me play the villain… or the demon.”
Slit-eyes—the very symbol of misfortune in this world.
People must have instinctively assigned me the villain’s role, bullying me without a second thought.
‘If I had actually been born in this world, that is.’
Luna and Rezé, unaware of that detail, couldn’t help but wipe their tears.
Being friendless was already painful enough, but to be forced into the role of the villain on top of that?
“I get it. The hero play you never got to do before… let’s keep it going. No—let’s do it forever!”
“B-but… h-how do we even…?”
I drew my sword from my dimensional storage.
“No matter what I do, don’t be surprised. Just act like it’s natural.”
Luna and Rezé nodded.
Exhaling softly, I lifted my blade.
“Hmph~ So you’ve decided to fight? I’ll give you credit for your courage. Come at me. I’ll even let you take the first move.”
Lowell was completely relaxed, brimming with confidence.
Well.
Let’s see if she still feels that way after this.
Activating [Divine Imitation], I instantly grasped the skills Lowell possessed.
I mimicked two of them.
And then—
Fwoosh!
A black aura exploded from my blade.
Lowell’s face stiffened—more than I had ever seen before.
“Keke, it seems I have no choice. I’ll have to play with you for a bit.”
The power radiating from my sword—
It was Aura.
And it was clearer than Lowell’s.
–TL Notes–
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