As she wallowed in despair, her eyes met those of the instigator.

“Why are you doing this? Don’t you think it’s absurd, even to yourself?”

Grinning, the woman crossed her arms and replied.

“Why is it absurd? I was in a bad mood, and you ruined it.”

“Is that… a reason to do this?”

“Do I need a reason to educate an inferior foreigner?”

Riley sighed briefly.

Trying to converse was absurd. They weren’t doing this out of anger. They acted like they were stepping on ants, all for trivial amusement. No rational or justifiable reason would be found here.

Her mind went numb. This baseless bullying was different from what she had experienced before.

Although she didn’t want to justify what Claire and the servants of the Eadalin family did, their bullying had a reason, at least from Riley’s perspective.

Claire disliked the stranger who had suddenly entered their lives. Sharing parents with a sibling who wasn’t a true sister must have been horrendous, something Claire often expressed.

As for the Eadalin family’s servants, they were initially half-forced into bullying, as they had to be mindful of Claire’s mood. Over time, the bullying became a way for them to release their stress, which was why they naturally accepted it as part of their daily lives.

But now?

The one she had argued with was Gibnen. The one who should be angry at her was also Gibnen.

Yet, she chose to vent her anger on an ‘inferior foreigner’ because she couldn’t confront Gibnen. The reason was simply because she was there, and she was a foreigner who could be picked on. Was this reason acceptable?
Harassment was unacceptable for any reason, of course, and could not be justified. But this…

“I’m scared.”

Her heart trembled at the dizzying height.

That’s when she closed her eyes tightly.

“!”

Something flew quickly, catching Riley, who was suspended in the air, and whisked her away.

The speed was so fast that only after being caught did Riley realize someone was carrying her. The gang that had been tormenting Riley had long disappeared from sight. The desolate storage shed for magical tools was also out of view.

Only then did Riley open her eyes wide and look at the person who had whisked her away.

“……You were that time.”

The man who had helped her during the scuffle at the shop. The handsome man who had enjoyed a hearty meal after telling her to buy food.

After running for a while, the man set Riley down and sighed as if disgusted.

“Why do you always look like this every time I see you?”

“……Well, thank you for helping me.”

The man looked at Riley as if he couldn’t understand her.

“Why do you just let them pick on you like that? Use magic to knock them down or get out of there.”

Riley hesitated as she was about to reply that she didn’t know how to use magic.

It might be suspicious if a student of the academy couldn’t use magic. Of course, it felt true in her case, but… An academy student unable to use magic would be strange.

Glancing around, Riley finally responded.

“Unauthorized magic use would result in a penalty.”

“So what? They used magic first. It’s self-defense.”

“But you never know.”

“Are you worried about such a penalty? Were you planning to hang on that tree all day?”

“Did you hear everything?”

“Would I not?”

“Anyway…… thank you for helping me. How can I repay you?”

The man looked at Riley and replied while folding his arms.

“Buy food.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah. What else can you do?”

“……I could pay you with money?”

“Do you have a lot of money? Doesn’t look like it.”

Riley rummaged in her sleeve, pulled out a purse and laid it out before him.

“I don’t know if this is a lot or not.”

The man opened the purse, looked inside, and then sighed deeply.

“You don’t know if this is a lot or not?”

“I’ve been saving my allowance, and since it’s enough to buy meals… But the cost of living here is different from where I lived before.”

“……Allowance. Ah, yes. Allowance.”

The man eyed Riley up and down before asking suspiciously.

“You didn’t steal this, did you?”

“Of course not.”

“Don’t show this around. Unless you want to be completely robbed.”

“You’re going to rob me?”

“Not me. Other people.”

The man sighed, not knowing where this girl had come from, and handed the purse back to Riley before leading the way. Seeing Riley stand there blankly, he turned around and glared at her.

“What are you doing? Not coming? You’re not planning to dine and dash, are you?”

Ah, he wants me to buy him food.

Realizing the man’s intention belatedly, Riley scurried to follow him.

·

·

·

“What’s your name, anyway?”

The man paused while eating.

“Why do you need my name?”

“I just want to know. You’ve helped me twice, so calling you ‘you’ feels strange.”

“I don’t care whether you call me ‘you’ or ‘that person.’ And I don’t think we’ll meet again, so why bother with full names?”

“But you helped me twice.”

“Because you annoyed me twice.”

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I’m Riley Eadalin.”