"Wh-What?"
"What happened?"
"A private fight?"
"Hurry and notify the Knights or adventurers on night patrol duty!"
The nearby pedestrians seemed to have finally noticed the commotion. They were startled at first, then quickly began to stir.
Shien paid them no heed. He did not even spare Edel and the others a glance, merely turning to look at Merika and Lumya behind him. After giving them both a once-over, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you two all right?"
Shien stepped forward and asked.
That familiar voice finally made Merika and Lumya realize that they had been saved.
"M-Mr. Shien!"
"Mr. Shien!"
The next second, both girls threw themselves into Shien's arms.
"Uh..."
Shien had never expected the usually nervous and timid pair to be so emotional that they would throw themselves at him, and he was briefly startled.
But soon, all that remained in Shien's heart was pity.
Because the two girls in his arms were trembling nonstop.
It was easy to imagine just how frightened they had been.
Merika especially looked like someone who had narrowly escaped disaster, crying tears of relief.
"Mr. Shien... Mr. Shien..."
As though clutching something precious she had nearly lost, Merika tightly embraced Shien. Even as she held him, she kept murmuring his name through sobs, making it easy for Shien to imagine the turmoil she had just gone through.
Elves already valued purity, and Merika had previously been harassed by people like Magray. Given that, it was entirely understandable that she would react this way upon encountering something like this again.
So Shien could not help softening. He patted Merika's back, then Lumya's shoulder, offering them comfort.
"All right, it's over now. Don't be afraid."
Shien was unusually gentle.
Only then did Aiji and Red, who had shakily climbed to