Slander

The deafening explosion and burst of flames instantly woke everyone in the inn. Chaotic footsteps, startled cries, and the sound of doors opening immediately filled the corridor.

"What happened?"

"What was that noise?"

"It sounded like an explosion! It came from over there!"

"My God, are monsters attacking?"

Soon, a crowd of awakened guests and inn attendants who had rushed over at the noise gathered outside Chuan Wenwu's door.

This was the scene that greeted them:

The room's wall was scorched black, wisps of smoke rising through the dust still hanging in the air. Chuan Wenwu had one knee planted on a red-haired woman's back, her arms twisted behind her as he pinned her firmly to the floor. Beside them, a large brownish-yellow dog bared his teeth and growled menacingly at her.

"Sir Hero? Wh-what happened here?" One of the inn attendants recognized Chuan Wenwu.

Then Ren Amaki, Motoyasu Kitamura, and Itsuki Kawasumi pushed through the crowd to the front. All three stared in bewilderment at the wrecked room and the two people grappling on the floor.

Motoyasu Kitamura could hardly believe his eyes. "Wenwu, what are you and that companion of yours doing?"

Chuan Wenwu took a deep breath. Keeping Myne pinned down, he explained clearly to everyone outside the door, his voice calm but edged with anger:

"There's no need to panic, everyone. This woman is Myne Sophia, the companion who changed her mind and joined my party earlier today. But she had malicious intentions. She sneaked into my room in the dead of night to steal from me. Fortunately, my partner Bruce noticed her and woke me with a warning, allowing me to catch and restrain her. But she tried to resist and even used offensive magic, causing the damage you see here."

"If possible, please call the town guards to take her away." He took the coin pouch from Myne's hand and held it up. "Here's the evidence. I caught her red-handed, with the stolen goods on her."

An uproar broke out. Everyone turned their eyes toward Myne, who lay pinned to the floor in a miserable state, their gazes full of contempt.

Just then, however, Myne suddenly lifted her head. Blood and tears streaked her face, and her expression instantly changed from vicious resentment to utter terror and hurt. She began to cry out shrilly:

"Lies! He's lying! Don't believe him! That's not what happened! It was him! The Shield Hero... he called me to his room late at night, saying he wanted to discuss something, but then... then he tried to force himself on me! I fought back as hard as I could, and when he couldn't get his way, he beat me and took my coin pouch to frame me! That explosion was magic I had no choice but to use to protect myself! Help! He almost raped me! He's a shameless, perverted hero!"

Her words were like a boulder hurled into a still lake, instantly stirring up an even greater commotion.

Whispers rose from every direction. People's gazes shifted back and forth between Chuan Wenwu and Myne, filled with doubt, shock, and all manner of complicated emotions.

Sexual harassment and attempted theft were two very different accusations.

Motoyasu Kitamura and Itsuki Kawasumi froze. They looked at the tearful Myne, then at Chuan Wenwu's cold expression, unsure whom to believe. Ren Amaki furrowed his brow, his sharp gaze sweeping over the two of them.

"What a splendid attempt to turn the tables." Chuan Wenwu's voice remained steady, cutting through the noise. "Unfortunately, Miss Myne, your lies are full of holes from beginning to end."

He began laying out his analysis methodically, his gaze passing over the people at the door, particularly the three heroes:

"First, timing and motive. It's the middle of the night. If I really had ill intentions, why would I choose such an odd hour to invite a female companion I only met today and barely know into my room? That would only invite suspicion. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't do it. It makes no sense. On the other hand, you chose this hour to sneak in precisely because everyone was exhausted and less likely to notice, giving you the perfect opportunity to carry out your scheme."

"Second, the evidence at the scene. If I really tried to assault you, why is my bed so neat? Why are the clothes I took off still neatly arranged at the foot of the bed? Instead, there are signs that the door was quietly opened."

Chuan Wenwu directed everyone's attention to the evidence around the room. Although Myne's explosion had caused quite a commotion, it had not reached the bed on the other side. They could see that Chuan Wenwu was neatly dressed in a thin set of close-fitting underclothes, while the clothes he had taken off were folded neatly and left ready at the foot of the bed.

"Now look at yourself. If I tried to rape you, why are your clothes perfectly tidy, without any signs of tearing or pulling... hey, hey, hey. No matter how much you tug at them now, I'm not accepting that."

Chuan Wenwu stopped Myne from secretly trying to fabricate evidence of an assault. Everyone present saw what she was doing.

He sneered. "Surely you aren't suggesting I was dressed like this when I came to invite you? A man wearing nothing but his sleepwear invited you over in the middle of the night, and you agreed?"

"Third, the money. You claim I stole your coin pouch to frame you? Then let me ask you this: why does the amount in 'your' pouch exactly match what remained of the support funds the king gave me after today's expenses? Where did you get that money? And why does my coin pouch happen to be missing?"

"Fourth, the logic of our actions. I'm a novice hero who was only just summoned to this world. My starting level was only 1. Thanks to my efforts hunting monsters and improving my strength all day, I managed to reach level 9-that's the progress I made in one day. Motoyasu, how about you guys?"

Caught off guard by the question, the three looked a little startled. Motoyasu Kitamura scratched his head. "I'm actually two levels behind you. How did you manage to level up so fast?"

"He used the advantages of his [Shield] to draw in a large number of monsters at once and kill them together, earning experience quickly that way," Ren Amaki explained, though he was also somewhat shocked by Chuan Wenwu's progress. "I went to a harder area to train, and I only reached level 8. You're really something, Wenwu."

"Well, I just got lucky." Chuan Wenwu waved a hand modestly, then grew serious again. "So, after a full day of adventuring, hunting monsters, and pushing myself hard enough to make such a huge improvement, I was already exhausted. I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed. I imagine you were much the same?"

"That's true. After celebrating a little with my companions, I was completely worn out. I went straight back to my room to rest. If it hadn't been for that explosion, I probably would've slept until morning."

"Yeah, exactly. I'm still a little sleepy now."

Chuan Wenwu yawned as well and continued, "Tell me, after spending an entire day hunting monsters and using up so much energy, what kind of tireless superman would still have the desire and strength to prey on a woman? Motoyasu, you've got plenty of experience. Could you manage it?"

"What do you mean, I've got plenty of experience... all right, there's a pretty girl in my party too, and I've gotten along well with her, but today really wore me out. I wouldn't even think about anything like that."

Motoyasu Kitamura looked a little embarrassed, but he still spoke up loyally. "All right, everyone, isn't the situation obvious now? This nasty woman is throwing around false accusations to slander the Shield Hero. With this much evidence, what else is there to see? She can't even answer him!"

He pointed at the bedraggled Myne. "There's nothing else to do here now. Everyone, head back to your rooms and get some rest. We'll stay here and wait for the guards to take her away."

(A quick note here: in the original story, Myne successfully stole items from the original protagonist and gave them to Motoyasu Kitamura to build a relationship with him, earning his trust. In this novel, however, Myne clearly had no opportunity to establish a connection with Motoyasu. His impression of her was only that she was a fairly attractive girl, since she had already switched to Chuan Wenwu's party back at the castle. Besides, Myne looked miserable now, making it even harder for her to win the Spear Hero's sympathy.)

Left speechless by his questions, Myne could only keep crying and screaming. "You're twisting everything! You're using your status as a hero to bully me! Don't believe him! Everything he says is a lie!"

But no one listened to this woman whose mouth was full of lies.

Just then, a squad of guards from the royal capital arrived.

After assessing the chaotic scene and hearing the conflicting accounts from both sides, the squad leader looked troubled.

Naturally, he recognized the identity of the woman using the alias Myne. Realizing how serious the situation was, he was even less willing to make a decision on his own.

"Sir Shield Hero, from what we can currently see, you do appear to be the victim. However, this is a serious matter, and I must ask your forgiveness for being unable to pass judgment lightly. Please allow me to take her away first. Once we have established the truth, we will certainly see that justice is done for you."

The guard captain addressed Chuan Wenwu respectfully, but left no room for argument. He also summoned the innkeeper and asked him to arrange another room for Chuan Wenwu so the Shield Hero could get a proper night's rest.

"..."

Chuan Wenwu gave the guard captain a long, searching look, then snorted coldly. He released Myne from beneath his knee and stood up, his words carrying a pointed implication. "Of course. I believe that if this country is fair and reasonable, it will clear my name. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah, haha, naturally. Naturally."

The guard captain gave an awkward laugh and exchanged a look with the men at his sides, who promptly escorted Myne away.

"Wenwu, you've really had rotten luck. Someone finally chose to join your party, only to turn out to have bad intentions. And that king, honestly! What sort of people did he pick?" Itsuki Kawasumi was still indignant on Chuan Wenwu's behalf.

Motoyasu Kitamura, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased. "Whatever the case, Wenwu caught her before she could carry out her plan. That's lucky. I imagine this is all over now. The king might even give you extra compensation tomorrow!"

"Well, that's that. I'm a little sleepy, so I'll head back and rest." Ren Amaki yawned, then turned and left with an aloof air.

Seeing him go, the others said their goodbyes to Chuan Wenwu one after another and returned to their own rooms.

They really had been busy all day. Even if they were heroes, they were still novice heroes, and they got tired too!

With the innkeeper's arrangements, Chuan Wenwu gathered his belongings and moved into a new, empty room to enjoy the rest of the night's sleep. But after what had happened, he could no longer fall asleep at all.

Yet had this theft case really come to such a peaceful end?