A lone girl stood at the entrance to the alley.
She was a beautiful girl who looked utterly out of place in the filthy backstreet.
Her gorgeous golden hair fell to her waist in loose curls, and her red eyes gleamed with unmistakable intelligence. Her refined features held both the sweetness of a girl just shy of adulthood and the beauty of a grown woman.
She stood a little under 160 centimeters tall, and every movement carried an air of elegance. She wore predominantly white clothing, with a rapier at her waist. Even through her clothes, the generous swell of her chest was evident.
“I cannot overlook any more of this lawlessness.”
The girl leveled the point of her rapier at the men.
“Ghk! A knight? And those clothes…”
The men froze. One of them nevertheless raised his sword.
“Don’t move! Wind Bullet—Vint Patrone!”
The girl drew her rapier and thrust. A bullet of wind shot from its tip, passed beside the man’s face, and struck the wall. It left a small, round hole. Had it hit his face, the attack possessed enough power to punch straight through.
The men exchanged looks and nodded.
“Tch! Let’s get out of here!”
Despite outnumbering her four to one, they fled without a backward glance. Apparently, the organization she belonged to was well known.
The fierce determination in the girl’s eyes softened into a gentle gaze, and she crouched beside me.
“Are you all right, mister?”
“Thank you. You saved me.”
Pain still tore through my entire body, but I somehow stood and thanked her.
“Those are fine clothes. Are you a noble?”
“No, I’m no noble. Now I’m just an adventurer.”
Though I had only become one today.
“Really? Wearing clothes that nice makes you an easy target, so be careful.”
She flashed me a radiant smile. A smile like that could make every man in the world fall in love with her.
“I learned that with my whole body today. My name is Sibyl.”
“I’m Eve. I’m guarding this town at the moment.”
“So you’re one of the town’s knights.”
“…Yes. Something like that!”
The more we spoke, the more she looked like a sheltered young lady rather than a knight. She seemed so gentle that flowers suited her far better than fighting.
“I’d like to repay you somehow…”
“There’s no need! A knight protecting the townspeople is only natural. Ah, I need to get back soon! Goodbye, Sibyl.”
With that, Eve left.
“I suppose not everything that happens is bad.”
I said it with a smile. Five seconds later, I noticed that the pot had shattered, and I burst into tears.
That night, I stayed at the cheapest inn to save money. It cost 3,000 G, but…
“You can’t call this a bed…”
All they gave me was a thin blanket. I had to lie directly on the floor in a crowded room with more than ten men. It was nothing but communal sleeping quarters.
The hard floor hurt, and fear of theft made it impossible to relax enough to sleep. In the middle of the night, the sudden upheaval in my circumstances reduced me to tears. I sniffled until the man beside me shouted,
“Shut up, you damn brat!”
I needed to achieve a decent standard of living as soon as possible. Clutching the last of my money to my chest, I lay on the cold floor.