"...I have no idea what you're talking about."

"There's no point in pretending. I know everything."

When you operate in places outside the law, you inevitably lose the protection of that law. As a result, deception and fraud run rampant in these shadows, and... situations like this tend to happen.

"You dared to mess with an Academy student?"

Games without randomness can become quite dull in multiple playthroughs. Perhaps that's why the developers often included random elements in side quests outside the main story. Even if you played the same character with the same choices, a bit of randomness could change the experience.

And after countless playthroughs, I knew what this scene meant.

When a tavern is in such a state of disarray, there's usually only one reason behind it.

Accepting a certain request triggers this kind of scenario.

Of course, each quest has its own difficulty and reward.

And the quest Leo probably accepted was one of those high-difficulty quests that even I sometimes failed if I wasn’t well-prepared.

At first glance, it seemed like a straightforward mission to exterminate beasts influenced by demons around someone's home, but if you accepted it without knowing the full story, you were in for a rough time.

I remembered getting blindsided the first time, thinking it was just an ordinary quest, only to be caught off guard.

...Thinking about it again makes me mad. These bastards tricked me.

"Sensei, what do you mean by 'tricked'?"

"Can't you see? Look over there, at that corner. See those pieces of armor?"

"...Isn't that the kid's stuff?"

They tried to hide it by shoving it in a corner, but there's no way I wouldn't recognize that distinctive armor.

And it's not like the full armor set is here—some pieces are clearly missing.

"So, what's your excuse?"

"..."

The request itself wasn't the problem. On the surface, it was just a simple request to deal with beasts near someone's home.

The problem was that accepting the request triggered a betrayal.

"...Are you a teacher from the Academy?"

"And if I am?"

"Sorry, but we really don't know where Leo is. I think there's been some misunderstanding. Maybe we can talk this out—"

"Lies, without even pausing to catch your breath?"

Anyone experiencing this trigger for the first time is almost guaranteed to get a game over.

After completing the quest, they offer you a drink out of 'kindness,' but it’s laced with drugs. With your stats lowered and the ambush that follows, it’s hard to survive unless you’re either incredibly strong or knew what was coming.

I could still vividly remember the shock of seeing the wrecked tavern in the game over screen. That memory fueled my growing anger.

Apart from what they did to Leo, these guys had screwed me over many times.

"There's no way Leo would take off that armor willingly. He wore it all the time, even if it made him look shorter."

The reason they targeted Leo was simple.

The war hadn’t ended that long ago, and the political situation was still unstable. The royal family was embroiled in power struggles, so they needed strength.

The royal family was hoarding relics that made their users stronger, so naturally, the price of relics had skyrocketed.

These guys must have figured out that Leo had a relic and set up this scheme to steal it.

There was a risk in targeting an Academy student, but they probably thought they could handle it if they just overpowered him.

"It seems you’re not interested in talking. I guess there’s no choice."

"...Hey, Sensei."

"I know."

I scanned the surroundings. Someone had to be watching us, hiding nearby.

I wasn’t a combat expert like some of the others, so I couldn’t spot them, but I knew they were there.

"Stay behind me. You might get hurt if you're not careful."

"Wow, are you actually going to protect me?"

"Shut up. This is no time for jokes... We'll deal with that kid later."

I felt a swell of emotion as Orca roughly pushed me behind her.

Who would have thought I’d end up being protected by Orca?

My little Orca has grown so much...!

In the original story, I would never have seen this side of her. It was touching.

Up until now, Orca had been cautious, considering the tavern’s shady background, but now she was stepping up to help me.

It meant she trusted me. Honestly, I was thrilled.

"I don’t know who you people are, but if you hand over the armor and the kid, I’ll let you go without any trouble."

"...Heh, are you out of your mind? I gave you a chance to walk away. You’re the ones who threw it away."

"Is that so? Then I'll give you a chance."

Orca’s eyes glowed red, and a menacing aura began to emanate from her.

"Bring the kid here right now, or things are going to get painful for you."

"A-A demon possessor...?! She’s insane! Kill her! Kill her now!"

"You’re treating me like a cockroach? You really want to die, don’t you?"

"Orca, bad language."

"...You wanna get scolded?"

That’s not what I meant.

But I didn’t have time to correct her slightly off-target language, as the people hidden in the shadows suddenly emerged, brandishing their weapons at us.

"Don’t even think about letting her live! If she goes berserk, this place will collapse! Just kill her! We’ll deal with the body later!"

"Now they’re treating you like a bomb?"

Orca seemed annoyed by their continued insults.

The haze of power that had manifested behind her pulsed with anger.

"You’re not getting out of here in one piece. I’m going to kill you all—"

"Bad language."

"...I’ll send you all to the hospital instead!"

Boom! Boom!

The sound of the manifested haze’s fists slamming into the ground was like a bomb going off.

As the building shook violently, making it seem like it might actually collapse, Orca quickly slipped out of the encirclement and grabbed the man she had been talking to by the collar.

"St-stop—!"

"Die!"

With a resounding thud, the man was slammed into the ground, his lips meeting the filthy tavern floor.

The loud noise, accompanied by the sight of white teeth and blood scattering everywhere, made even me flinch.

...His teeth were nice, too bad they’re useless now.

I shuddered at the sudden impromptu dental surgery I’d just witnessed.

It wasn’t just me; everyone in the room seemed shaken by the brutal display. Orca’s menacing glare as she scanned the room only made them more fearful.

"S-Stop her! Stop her!"

"I’ve been holding back lately, but this is perfect. If you want to leave here, you’d better hand over your teeth first."

...She’s ruthless.

Apparently, she liked the sight of teeth flying, as she openly declared her intention to smash everyone’s teeth.

Despite their fear, the remaining men charged at her, but the fight was already lost.

Combat is all about momentum.

If you’re scared and forcing yourself to attack, you won’t get good results.

They hesitated, trying to attack from a safer distance, which created huge openings for Orca to exploit.

"Ugh!"

"S-Save me...!"

"I won’t kill you! But I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

"Aaaaaagh!"

Crunch, crack, snap.

The sound of bones breaking echoed through the room as blood stained the floor, and shattered pieces of white flew through the air.

"Next."

"Eek!"

"Run! She’s a madwoman!"

"Oh, so you want to be the first? You should’ve just said so."

"Aaaah! Spare me—"

It didn’t take long for the people who had ambushed us to be reduced to a bunch of groaning, toothless wrecks.

Orca, tossing another unconscious body across the room, grumbled softly.

"That kid got taken down by these guys? Why?"

"They caught him off guard, drugged him with paralyzing agents, laxatives, alcohol, hallucinogens, and sleeping pills, and then ambushed him."

"...How do you know that?"

"Here, it’s all written in their plan. They were going to do exactly that."

After rummaging through the bartender’s pocket, who was still twitching on the floor, I pulled out a document I recognized from the game.

Mixing laxatives and sleeping pills together... these scumbags are the worst.

They deserve every bit of this.

"But you should have left at least one of them conscious."

"What? Why?"

"We don’t know where Leo is."

"...Oh, right."

"I figured you’d forget."

So, what do we do now?

With Orca’s help, things had gotten a bit complicated.

I could have just used hypnosis to get Leo out quietly, but now the situation had escalated.

Just as Orca had feared, the backers of this tavern would probably show up soon.

We needed to get out of here before things got even more annoying.

"Should we take one of them and make them tell us where Leo is?"

"No need."

"...!"

"When did you arrive? Who sent you?"

I hadn’t even noticed when they appeared. A figure in a black hood suddenly lunged at Orca.

The hooded figure swiftly pressed a dagger to Orca’s neck, lowering their voice to threaten us.

"If you don’t talk now, I’ll slit your companion’s throat—"

"...?"

Why did he stop talking?

Just as I was about to express my confusion at the sudden silence, the hooded figure dropped their dagger and rushed at me.

"Boss!"

"Wait a minute. That voice..."

"It's been a while! Have you been well?!"

"...Boss?"

As the hood slipped off in the scuffle, revealing the face underneath, I realized the situation had taken a turn I hadn't expected. I rubbed my face in exasperation.

Why are you here...?