"What was that about?" Lavender demanded, her arms crossed to emphasize how furious she was. "Do you realize how reckless that was? Have you noticed the men he came in with? They had augmented limbs, Douglass. Augmented! Shattering your skull would've been as easy simple as crushing a tomato in your bare hand! Hey, are you listening to what I'm saying here?"

I couldn't really deny any of that, but that didn't mean I was going to take it laying down either.

"It's your fault saying he had a gun, though. I just reacted on instinct..." I squeezed out that halfhearted answer.

Although I didn't know for how long, being a part of the Underworld taught her how to react under pressure. With each problem we found ourselves in, I became more convinced of that.

"Don't blame it all on me," she hissed as she pressed her finger into my forehead. "You went out of your way to tick him off! That remark of yours was completely unnecessary! There was no need to mock him in front of everyone, especially not when he was completely out of it. I would've handled the situation just fine if you only kept your mouth shut and waited for me to deal with him."

Not necessarily. Although there was a small chance things would've ended peacefully if I hadn't provoked him, you don't know him as well as I do, Lave. I knew he was too prideful to back off unless he came on top.

"What will happen to him now?"

She didn't answer, which told me everything I needed to know.

"I-I guess it's my fault for bringing Melody into—" Lucas tried to defuse the tension between us, but the beast tamer had no idea that might have a negative impact.

"Shut it, Lucas."

"Be quiet."

"O-okay..."

"I only did it because that midget picked on Melody," she chirped as I said that. "See? She, too, agrees with me."

"Not really," whispered the beast tamer, which went unnoticed.

"Did you see how many people were in there? He couldn't have possibly done anything," Lave went on, uninterested in hearing any more of my explanations. "We could have resolved the problem a lot more peacefully if you just behaved. What if he actually managed to draw that gun on you instead, huh? What then?"

It wasn't me he was about to shoot, I wanted to argue, but I grumbled instead, "It's a taboo. He probably just wanted to intimidate you," which made her face twitch.

Not only that but the entire time I hoped I'd be his target.

"And you assumed a drunk person would have the foresight not to use it? This is not like you, Douglass. That was dangerous, and you know it—yet you behave as though it's not a big deal," the waitress grumbled. "Remember the prank we did a while back? Consider how you lashed out at me just because I made light of the whole situation. Don't you despise it when things go out of control?"

Similarly to how I built my impression of her during our time together, she drew some errored conclusions on her own.

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Judging and being judged. Humans do both unconsciously.

I frowned, finding her assessment of me unpleasant as I said, "Don't talk as if you know me, Lavender."

"I don't know you very well," she admitted, her expression cynical. "But what I'm certain of is that you're not yourself, Douglass. Did the alcohol get to your head already? Both of us know there was no need to act like such a macho man."

Lucas only gave me an odd look, implying that she was correct.

"Fine," I said, sighing. "I found him annoying and provoked him. Happy now?"

"Why?" Lavender pursued further.

"I've already told you—"

"Douglass, although I appreciate you've been my 'knight in shining armor,' I'm the one who would've been shot if things went awry. Please be honest and take me seriously, you owe me that much."

Why aren't you pursuing a career as a detective if you're so excellent at interrogating others?

"I wouldn't have allowed that to happen," I retorted. "That's why I knocked the living daylights out of him before he could even point it toward you."

My original goal was to have him draw his gun at me in front of everyone, giving me an excuse to fight back without worrying about the other punks.

Throughout the thrashing he gave me, I understood he wasn't someone to be concerned about. At that distance, I should've been able to easily smack his wrist away.

Under those conditions, the odds were stacked in my favor. If I had portrayed the dwarf as the assailant and even compelled him to expose his weapon, the other customers would have pounded him and those that stood by his side.

Yet our waitress intervened.

That megalomaniac's noxious attention would have been focused on me if Lavender hadn't spoken out.

I couldn't deny she was good under pressure, but I never got the chance to evaluate her combative ability. That's why I took matters into my own hands a little faster than I would have liked. To prevent anything bad from happening as a result of my actions.

"I can't figure out whether you're drunk or an idiot, Douglass," Lave spat out.

I shrugged.

"You're sick in the head," she uttered with disgust. "Why would you risk getting in the line of fire like that—"

"I didn't think you'd step in on our behalf, Lave," I blundered.

My plan was based only on the premise that Melody would be enough to capture his attention, and that my provocations, along with the use of alcohol, would irritate him enough to do something risky. I never considered Lavender's presence in the plan, nor did I expect Lucas to be able to repel that dwarf on his own, leaving only me to be a target.

And if I hadn't knocked him out, there was a good chance he'd go after Lucas so he could get Melody. That's why I had to deal with that thug as soon as possible; otherwise, we'd have fought in the open. I couldn't even protect myself, let alone the beast tamer.

"What gives you the impression that I wouldn't have assisted you?" Lavender scoffed, jolting me out of my reverie. Then, with a sour expression on her face, she added: "That's correct. How could I have forgotten? We met up in the Underworld. Sorry, I'm the moron here. There's no way you would assume I'd help you."

"It's not like that; I just didn't want either of you to get injured, so I dealt with his as swiftly as possible to ensure that didn't happen," I told them, trying to divert the conversation in a different direction. "I never did it because I wanted to be a macho man or something as sleazy as that. I'm not intoxicated, either. I'm sorry if the way I behaved upset you, Lave..."

"No, I just overthought everything," Lavender said quietly, shaking her head, then smiled at me. "I should apologize for interrogating you in that manner."

Although sour, this appeared to be the end of our conversation—

"Sorry for interrupting, but," the beast tamer, surprisingly, was the one to speak. "As I said before, it appeared to be a personal matter. Douglas, have you met him before...? Before you met me...?"

What are you doing, Lucas? Why are you bringing that into the conversation? My silence seemed to encourage him to keep digging in the direction I had been trying to avoid at any cost.

"If that's the case, then you didn't warn us and pretended everything was normal, despite knowing who he was and how that dwarf would act..." he paused, gathering his thought before meeting my eyes. "...Since you used Melody as bait to draw him in when you could've easily avoided the whole charade altogether, saying you didn't want either of us to get hurt is just hypocrisy at this point..."

I just stared at him, unable to articulate any words.

"...I had to give you my opinion, even if it was difficult to hear. You did the same, remember?"

Just what do you think you're doing?