The officer almost dropped his gun. Was he hearing things because he was drunk, or had he really gone mad?

But it was clear. The woman in front of the officer was pressing her head against the muzzle of the gun, telling him to shoot if he could handle it.

Her eyes, visible between her hat, were both sparkling and fierce. The officer could barely stand straight, let alone shoot.

The crowd surrounding them could only roll their bewildered eyes, not knowing what to do.

The mercenary group was equally perplexed. One wrong move and that mysterious woman facing off against the imperial guards could get hurt.

‘Getting hurt would be the least of our worries…’

The worst case scenario would be a hostage situation. Eddie rolled his eyes, the only part of him that could move, scanning his surroundings. He was ready to draw his weapon and subdue her at a moment’s notice.

Just then, Eddie spotted a familiar figure.

It was definitely that pretty man he had met here before. Allen, was it?

Allen also made eye contact with Eddie. What a reunion, taking place in such a tense situation. Though they were glad to see each other, they couldn’t show it given the circumstances.

Suddenly, Eddie noticed the plate in Allen’s hand. Perhaps they were thinking the same thing. As their eyes met, a single plan flowed through their minds.

This was the perfect opportunity, while that strange woman in the hat was buying them time.

“What are you going to do?”

Ilarid was still standing with her forehead pressed against the gun barrel. Taking advantage of the officer’s trembling hesitation, someone shouted.

“Now!”

A white object flew in an arc towards the hand of the officer holding the gun. At the same time, Ilarid’s body was shoved to the side.

She thought she would roll helplessly on the ground, but someone must have caught her as she didn’t feel much impact.

Worried her face might be seen, Ilarid pressed down on the brim of her hat to cover the front.

With a dull thud, the gun fell to the floor. The officer collapsed, clutching his hand, and Eddie didn’t miss his chance.

“Got you, you scoundrel!”

The officer who was subdued in an instant struggled a few times but soon quieted down.

Since guns had been involved, the officers began to look at each other warily as they helped up those who had fallen.

Ilarid realized she was being held by someone. Judging by the smaller than expected build, was it a woman? She slightly lifted the brim of her hat and looked to the side.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?”

It was a man with quite an ambiguous aura. At first glance, she thought it might be a young girl, but he was undoubtedly male. His hair was a common brown, but his clear lime-green eyes definitely resembled someone.

As Ilarid gathered her thoughts, Lynette approached from the other side with a face that looked like she might cry.

“My lady…”

“I’m fine. And thank you for your help. If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask your name…?”

“Allen. That’s what everyone calls me here.”

Allen winked slightly at Ilarid and got up. It was supposed to be a festival, he had come in to enjoy some rare freedom, but to think he’d get caught up in such a commotion.

One wrong move and someone could have really been carried out. Allen let out a soft sigh.

“Hey you, you’re quite skilled for someone so young?”

Eddie called out to Allen. In his hand was the white plate. It was the same plate Allen had been holding a few minutes ago.

“Wow… It survived this chaos without breaking. Maybe we should switch to these at home. Boss, what company makes these plates?”

“I don’t know. More importantly, is anyone else hurt?”

“Doesn’t seem so.”

“You used that plate well, boss.”

Eddie handed the uncracked plate to the owner with a respectful attitude that belied the fierce way he had subdued the officers just moments ago.

Watching this, the owner let out a hearty laugh as he looked at Eddie and Allen.

“You two work well together. A match made in heaven.”

“No way.”

Eddie and Allen glared at the owner with serious faces. This was only the second time they had met since their last encounter. They may have been on the same wavelength for a moment, but soulmates was going too far.

“You seem quick-witted enough to be useful, but for the mercenary group… you’re too skinny. You look like a young master raised delicately in a noble house.”

“What! You think you have such a great body?”

“Why are we talking about bodies now? Don’t make me feel bad for no reason. You think I don’t want to grow bigger? My life goal is to get as big as our captain.”

The two started bickering immediately, making a mockery of the assessment that they worked well together.

People around them began cleaning up the overturned chairs and tables, bringing brooms to sweep the floor. The commotion that had filled the tavern was gradually subsiding.

“Lynette, let’s go back.”

“My lady.”

Her voice trembled as she called out to Ilarid, whether from anger or something else. Lynette tightly grasped both of Ilarid’s hands as she spoke. It was an entreaty not as a maid, but as a longtime friend.

“Please… don’t ever risk your life like that again.”

Lynette hung her head low after finishing her words. Soon, tears began to fall in drops onto the back of Ilarid’s hands.

“…I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”

“If I lose you too, I’ll truly be all alone.”

Ilarid gently embraced Lynette’s shoulders. A soft cloth touched Lynette’s cheek. It was the thin scarf that Ilarid always wore.

The scarf she always kept tied was to cover the scar on her neck. Whenever Lynette saw that scar, she was overcome with guilt.

“Let’s go back quickly. If we delay any longer, we might run into the imperial guards.”

Whether they had heard about the commotion at the tavern, people were now crowding into the place. It was just the right amount of people to hide among.

Ilarid and Lynette held hands as they slipped out of the tavern.

Lebel’s gaze followed them. He searched through a piece of his past, remembering a familiar silhouette and scent.

“Where did she go?”

“Pardon? Who are you referring to, sir?”

“The woman who confronted the imperial guards in the tavern.”

“…With the sudden influx of people. It seems she’s already left this place.”

Lailo, who had approached Lebel, also added his gaze but couldn’t find her. He thought he was used to finding one person in a crowd, but it seemed he was mistaken.

Lebel heightened all his senses to find the person he had let slip away, but he couldn’t locate someone who had already vanished.

He closed his eyes and pulled out a piece of memory. Roses blooming under the summer sun. If you were to pluck those petals and crush them finely along with the vines, perhaps it would smell like that. He could almost sense the raw, crushed scent right in front of him.

Lebel’s blue eyes, gripping a sense of longing, began to burn fiercely. Eddie, interpreting the captain’s gaze as concern, added his words.

“That lady should be fine. But she was amazing. I’ve never seen anyone confront someone with a gun like that before.”

The imperial guard officers who had been soundly beaten by the mercenary group glared at them while trying to surreptitiously leave. Luth, who had been glaring at them, poked Lebel as if he had heard something.

“Luth. What is it?”

“…They’re coming.”

No sooner had Luth’s short, gruff words ended than the sound of whistles was heard. The tavern door burst open with a bang, and a group of people rushed in.

“Captain. We’ve got trouble.”

Lebel’s brow furrowed deeply at Lailo’s words. They should have left immediately after causing the commotion and subduing the officers, but they were too late.

The ones who appeared with loud whistle blows were the patrol, who had come in response to a report.

**

“Captain. May I ask one thing?”

“Speak.”

“Is this also part of the plan? Or is it one of the missions?”

“Neither.”

That’s right. Getting caught by the patrol was not included in Lebel’s plan.

The mission they had been commissioned for was to ’cause an appropriate disturbance by entangling officers at the capital’s festival’. Was getting caught part of the mission? Of course not.

There were protests from people during the arrest, but since the mercenary group was also identified as one of the causes, they naturally had to be taken away by the patrol. They were helplessly arrested and now confined behind iron bars.

And that too, together with the officers they had been fist-fighting with just a short while ago.

Lailo, hanging onto the iron bars, whispered to a patrolman.

“Hey, everything else is fine, but I don’t want to be in the same space as those officer bastards. Can’t you move us somewhere else?”

“Hey, we don’t like it either. Even breathing the same air is uncomfortable!”

“Oh yeah? This time, I’ll make sure you stop breathing altogether. Come at me, you bastards!”

“Will you please be quiet!”

The patrolman, unable to bear it any longer, banged on the iron bars loudly to warn them. Lailo and one of the officers glared at each other and exchanged insults with their fingers in a friendly manner.

Lebel just leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, making no protest. Lailo, seemingly frustrated with the captain’s behavior, scooted over and sat next to him.

“Captain. At least tell us there’s a bigger picture for completing the mission. That way, we might feel less embarrassed.”

“…Agreed.”

“See? Even Luth, who’s usually silent, agrees. When does he ever express his opinion? Ask any of the mercenaries. Have you ever seen anyone get caught like this while on a mission? We’d rather die!”

“Don’t die though.”

Lebel muttered quietly, sitting with his knees up. Lailo groaned and hit his own forehead. What could the captain be thinking? He had been silent since earlier, and it was quite unsettling.

Lailo started rambling next to Lebel, half-joking and half-resigned.

“What a state we’re in, oh my. There’s no shame like this. If Lady Turgel knew, she’d faint and not wake up for three days.”

“And then?”

“She’d chase after us with an axe, saying the Rikas Mercenary Group has brought shame upon itself.”

Even amidst the noisy chatter of the members, Lebel maintained his silence. He quietly turned his head to look at the officers outside.

The officers who were being interrogated first were loudly protesting to the patrolmen.

“Look at my face! We were just getting beaten one-sidedly, okay? Those ignorant and barbaric guys, they just started throwing punches…”

“Now that’s rich… Hey, that ‘barbarian’ label should be applied to you guys. You were the ones making a fuss, grabbing the waitress’s wrist and telling her to sit on your lap and pour drinks!”

“Even so, is that a reason to beat someone to this state? What am I supposed to do with my face!”

“We deliberately aimed for the face.”

Lebel finally spoke. His expression was serious, as if he wasn’t joking.

“Only the body is needed for combat, the face is unnecessary. As you are valuable military assets of the empire, we intentionally avoided causing harm to your bodies.”

“That’s our captain for you. Always thinking deeply.”

“…Agreed.”

“That’s right, that’s right! Why should we be responsible for that? Besides, you were ugly even before we hit you.”

The expressions of the imperial guard officers became even more twisted. It was bad enough that they had been beaten, but now their appearances were being attacked too.

Lailo smugly grabbed Lebel’s chin next to him and turned it slightly towards the outside. It was his idea of a trump card. The captain’s handsome face, which couldn’t be hidden even by the iron bars, began to shine on Lailo’s hand.

“Honestly, ask any passerby. Who’s more handsome, our captain or you?”

“Lailo. Put your hand down.”

Lebel, who had been marked as the comparison target, muttered indifferently. The officers, thoroughly provoked, raised their voices roughly, asking what was so handsome about him.

The patrolman watching this childish fight slammed his desk and gave a warning, but the officers paid no heed and persisted stubbornly.

“What a commotion.”

“Huh? Allen? Why are you here…?”

“Why else? I came to help.”

Allen waved his hand lightly towards Eddie and the mercenary group behind the iron bars. Allen’s expression looked confident, like someone with a trump card.

Someone peeked out from behind him. It was the waitress whose wrist had been grabbed by the officers in the tavern.

“Thank you all for your hard work. I’ve brought an eyewitness.”