**Episode 041: Beware of Complacency**

“Mmmmm!”

I immediately thought of drawing my sword and cutting down those guys, but a woman’s voice brought me back to my senses. When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw Yuna shaking her head, facing me.

Ah, so Yuna stopped me. I should be grateful for that. Even in a world where such laws may not apply, taking a life is not a good thing. Of course, if necessary, there might be no choice, but for now, I know it’s still an attempted act, and above all, if the parties involved stop it, it would be wrong for me to harm them.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath to calm down.

“Hey, who the hell are you? How did you get here? There should have been guards at the entrance!”

“Shut up.”

The two men who had restrained my legs shouted at me, but I had no obligation to listen to such things.

I immediately jumped into their embrace and lightly knocked them away.

“Guhh!!”

The two ended up embedded in the wall of the infirmary.

“Hey, you, how dare you touch our underlings!”

“You won’t get away with this!”

“We are among the top Awakened in this community, you know? Do you understand?”

“Hahaha. After knocking you down, I’ll violate these two right in front of you!”

The guys who had restrained one of my legs and the ones who were covering Yuna and Kana finally freed them and approached me.

“That’s my line!!”

Thanks for underestimating me. It was worth holding back with the first two.

While silently thanking the foolish men in my heart, I moved a bit closer to them.

“What!?”

“Are you stupid!?”

“You didn’t see us!?”

“When did you!?”

The men, unable to catch my speed, stared at me in shock as I appeared in front of them. Their faces were beyond silly, bordering on pitiful.

“Hu. Ha. Sei! Yaa!!”

I lightly punched each one of them.

“Ugh!” “Ugha!” “Ugho!” “Ughi!”

The four were successively slammed into the wall and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Hey, are you two okay!?”

I ran to Yuna and Kana and called out to them.

“Mmm.” “Mmm.”

Both of them had their mouths gagged, but they nodded, indicating that they were fine. Tears were welling up in their eyes.

It must have been quite terrifying. Being restrained by multiple people and facing the fear of being violated is unimaginable.

If this had actually happened, they would have carried an unimaginable trauma.

“Ha~… Thank goodness…”

I breathed a sigh of relief that I made it in time. At the same time, I felt a bit deflated.

Regardless, the two were not completely stripped of their bodysuits, but the protective gear and chest armor they had on top were gone. It made it difficult for me to decide where to look, feeling like my goddess heroines were descending before my eyes.

However, I couldn’t leave them like that. So, I reluctantly imagined something I absolutely didn’t want to, maintained my composure while suppressing a sob in my heart, and first untied the cloth playing the role of a gag.

“Ah, thank you. You saved us.”

“I never thought you would come. Thank you so much.”

While shedding tears, the two thanked me with smiles.

“No, don’t worry about it. I told you to contact me if anything happened. Helping you is only natural.”

Feeling thanked, I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

I just kept the promise I made. I don’t have the memory of being thanked.

“Hehehe. It’s really amusing how you don’t act high and mighty there.”

Yuna laughed as she looked at me.

If my existence could even slightly alleviate her fear, I’m happy.

“Yeah. If I were Kotaro, I’d demand something from the girl I just saved.”
“Do you think I’d do something like that!!”

However, Kana, still skilled at teasing people, said something like testing me.
She was scared just a moment ago, but now she’s back to her usual self…

But something feels off.

“I get it. Kotaro is not that kind of person. But is it okay? We can’t resist now, you know?”
*Gulp*

The sight of the two, their arms tied to the bed railing with only their legs free, is very provocative, making me almost react involuntarily.

“Don’t act tough.”

However, I finally noticed the discomfort.

“What are you talking about…”
“You’re trembling so much.”

I could hear that voice in my mind, urging me to stop talking, but I took her hand and pointed out her trembling.

“I don’t need to be tense up to this point.”
I held her hand, looked into her eyes, and conveyed my message firmly.

“Ugh…”
Tears overflowed in her eyes, and she was left speechless.

“You contacted me even in such a situation. It must have been scary.”
I smiled reassuringly and spoke to comfort her.

“Uwaaaah! It was terrifying!”
She distorted her usually composed face, clung to me, and started crying loudly.

“Kotaro, look out!!”
“Guah!”

However, right after Yuna’s voice, I heard a voice, and when I turned around, an impact hit my side.

What I saw when I turned around was the man I should have defeated.

“Heh. You let your guard down, that’s why.”
The man, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, said triumphantly with a pained expression.

“Kotarooohhh!!”
“Kotaroooooo!!”

The two’s agonizing screams echoed in my eardrums.