"Hey! Adventurer over there!"
"What are you doing!?"
"What happened?"
At that moment, a jumble of hurried footsteps and shouted reprimands came from nearby, making Shien, who had been dusting himself off, turn toward the source.
On the other side of the street, a group of fully armed knights was approaching at a brisk pace.
The frightened citizens were still keeping their distance, pointing this way and talking among themselves.
Given the situation, Shien was not surprised to see the Knights hurrying over.
After all, the commotion here had grown this large. The Knights responsible for protecting the town could not possibly ignore it.
Especially after the strange phenomenon that had occurred not long ago, they were even less likely not to be on edge.
Thus, Shien watched as the knights from the Knights surrounded the scene.
Then a middle-aged man, whose bearing was clearly different from that of the ordinary knights, stepped forward.
"I am the captain of the Seventh Squad of the Third Knights of the Marquisate of Mulow!"
The man first glanced at the massive crater occupying the middle of the street, his heart skipping a beat, before fixing Shien with a stern gaze.
"What happened here?"
Hearing that, Shien answered without hesitation.
"A suspicious man suddenly accosted me just now. He seemed to mean me harm, so I subdued him."
Shien actually said that with a perfectly serious expression.
"A suspicious man?"
The knight captain immediately looked doubtful.
"Yes." Shien said earnestly, "I was merely passing through when he suddenly pulled out a portrait and asked me some strange questions, trying to force me."
Those were all facts, without even the slightest hint of falsehood.
At least, judging from those words, Shien was completely the victim.
"Is that so?" The knight captain glanced at the crater,