Lori rushed forward with a roar, swinging her fist at Zlatan's midsection. Her arm swung faster than any human should be able to move, and she threw a strike at him.

It hurt my neck just watching her punch that guy. But apparently, Zlatan was expecting that and dodged it easily. He caught her wrist in his own hands, pinning her arms against her body while twisting around to bring one knee up between her legs. She fell backward onto the ground with a thud, groaning loudly.

The catboy stepped forwards, grabbing the hilt of a short sword hanging from his belt. He drew it smoothly, pointing the blade directly at Lori's throat.

"You're making quite a mess," he said calmly. "Are you planning on cleaning this up yourself, little missy?"

I swallowed hard. This was bad...really, REALLY BAD!

If I hadn't known better, I might have thought this was part of some sort of trap.

I decided to try and help out anyway. Maybe I can distract him somehow?

I coughed, clearing my throat loudly so he'd notice me. "Um, excuse me..." I called out in a girlish voice, stepping closer.

His head snapped towards me. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of me in the shadows, and he started to speak, but I interrupted him. "Uh, sorry to bother you sirs, but I think you may need medical attention. Soon."

I stepped out of the shadows and glared at Zlatan.

Oh shit! Why did I say THAT?! Now he's going to kill me too!

I crossed my arms and tried to project as much confidence as possible. My arms just started trembling. I could feel my heart racing away from me as my pulse picked up.

Even if it was on a reckless, unbalanced attack, there was no way I could defend myself against them if Lori got taken down that easily.

The elf and brown-skinned looked at each other confusedly, and Zlatan paled visibly.

"Men. That's the girl from Rivershire Crossing..."

The elf stared at my arms, trembling. "T...This bloodlust..." he muttered, staring at my trembling arms.

At that statement, all three of them took a step back.

"Well, if you insist, I guess I don't mind helping you clean up your mess," I continued. I gave my best impression of a serene anime protagonist and flicked my stupid ahoge while walking forward.

I took a deep breath and held it for several seconds before letting go, exhaling forcefully, and staring at them. Hard.

"Stealing from the Adventurer's Guild...is strictly forbidden."

The background started ghoulish red and hazy. Everything distorted and twisted. Wait, was that me doing it?!

It was clearly a group hallucination, but ghosts and ghastly creatures began screaming in our mind's eyes. A witch's laughter went off, and my face projected into an abstract, laughing face with a cut-out mouth, empty cut-out eyes, and a matching hat.

My heart continued to pound in my chest. I was scared stiff, but I refused to show it. I was determined not to give them any reason to suspect that I wasn't a threat.

I focused my will on my staff, focusing on the enchanted crystal core. I only had the one levitation spell, but I focused on it with all the energy I had.

"Ahahahahahah AHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed as the hallucinatory caricature of my face with a witch's hat cackled.

All the crates began to levitate in the air at once, and the dumbfounded catboy watched his loosely-held sword lift into the air.

And then I heard it. And smelled it. The sound and smell of the men collectively pissing themselves.

In a flash, Lori grabbed the catboy's sword out of the air and turned to wrap Zlatan in a chokehold.

"Hah! That's my sister!" Lori smirked.

Then she brought her elbow down sharply into his jaw. With a loud crunch, his head snapped back, knocking him silly. Stars began to spin around his head too as his eyes widened and his mouth leaked blood.

The catboy stumbled for a few moments, staring blankly ahead. Then, he slumped onto his knees before collapsing entirely to the ground, sobbing and pissing himself.

That was the first time I ever saw someone pee themselves like that.

I turned back to Zlatan. He was lying on the ground, clutching his bleeding mouth with both hands. Blood trickled through his fingers and soaked the dirt beneath him. He stared up at me in sheer terror.

"Wh-what are you?!" he cried out, trying desperately to stand up.

Lori stepped up beside me, glaring down at him. "What does it look like she is?"

She smiled and then offered me a fist bump.

My heart was pounding so fast I thought it would explode out of my chest. I was terrified, but I couldn't allow myself to show weakness. I put on my poker face, stared coldly down at Zlatan, and painstakingly returned Lori's gesture.

"Good work," she whispered. "Let's turn him in."

I nodded silently and winced as Lori kicked Zlatan in the ribs, sending him slamming into the alley wall. The blow knocked him unconscious instantly, and yellow stars began spinning around his head. She dragged him by his arms to the front door of the Adventurer's Guild.

I leaned down to look the catboy square in his heterochromatic eyes. My lips twitched as anxiety almost overwhelmed me entirely, but I held it in.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"You'll be a good boy for us, won't you? Your friends too? Yes?"

I asked softly, tilting my head.

"Y-yes," the three of them replied weakly. The catboy wiped tears from his eyes with his shirt sleeves.

"Thank you very much."

With that, we walked inside and handed the unconscious Zlatan over to the receptionist. Seeing us walk in with Zlatan's unconscious body in tow, the imposter manager immediately began to try and run, as well as all the (presumably) Picaroso gang members in the crowd.

They quickly scattered when they realized who was there. Chaos erupted as officials and adventurers alike began to chase them down.

We sat at the bar and ordered drinks. Lori seemed particularly happy about something, but she didn't tell me what was happening. Instead, she told the bartender to buy everyone that caught a Picaroso member a round. I sniffed the mead here and was definitely tempted, but I thought better. I stuck with some floral tea instead.

As the chaos died outside, the mood inside gradually shifted to a celebration. Everyone cheered, drank, danced, and sang songs together.

I felt anxious, uncomfortable, and awkward, especially since I had nothing else to do besides drink and watch people dance. I wanted to leave right now.

But Lori insisted on staying until everything settled down. So I stayed with her, pretending to enjoy myself while secretly wishing I could escape.

After a long period of raucous drinking and adventurers making crude jokes and sharing war stories, the party finally calmed down. Most of the Adventurers were gone, and those that remained mostly hung around in small groups talking quietly among themselves or drinking. Some even passed out drunk on tables.

There weren't many of the original crowd left either; most of them were adventurers that came here after their missions ended. A handful of patrons had also come in specifically because of the incident earlier. They seemed more interested in the spectacle than anything. Soon, Lori was passed out drooling by the bar, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I sat alone at the end of the bar, sipping my tea. It was late enough that I should probably call it quits soon—it was getting close to morning. Stepping to the back of the adventurer's guild, I stepped out onto a walkway, and gazed out at the harbor from a balcony overlooking the capital city.

[https://i.imgur.com/TLFnFxU.png]

A cool breeze blew past me, ruffling my hair gently. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Standing to peer over the railing, I enjoyed the momentary peace and quiet. The sound of birds chirping and waves crashing along the harbor was oddly comforting.

A gentle wind blew past me again and rustled through the trees nearby. I opened my eyes and glanced back at the Adventurer's Guild. I hadn't seen anyone for a good bit now and the noise had died down. The place must have been cleared out already.

I sighed and moved to leave. Lori wanted me to celebrate like an adventurer and mingle with the culture, and I really wasn't enjoying myself in this strange, strange world and lifestyle. It was way, way past my bedtime, and I hated staying up this late for any reason. My muscles were aching, and I was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation kicking in.

Just then, I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. Something had moved across my field of vision.

My gaze swept across the streets below, and looking closely, I spotted a figure standing in the shadows near the edge of my vision down below. It was a vaguely humanoid silhouette that blurred and shimmered against the street lights. The figure was carrying a yellow lantern.

I froze and stared intently at the person. The figure looked like it wearing a hood and cloak, making it hard to see details. But whatever it was, it had a terrible, primal wrongness about it. It looked like it was corrupted and glitching, as if it belonged in a horror movie or something…

The figure slowly raised its hand into the air and pointed directly at me. Its finger was extended, aiming straight at my face. The shadow of a smile crept across the dark figure's hooded face.

Suddenly, I felt sick. Sweat dripped down my forehead, stinging my eyes. I backed away instinctively, tripping over the edge of the balcony and falling backwards, landing heavily on the walkway behind me.

Something strange was happening to me. My skin was tingling, and I struggled to breathe normally. I looked up just as a shadow flew over the balcony and reached down toward me, reaching out to grab me. I flinched as I threw up my hands and closed my eyes.

Bracing myself, I stayed there for a second, and opened my eyes. I looked around in confusion: I was still on the balcony and there was zero trace that the shadow had ever been there.

I blinked rapidly. What had happened? Where did it go? What the hell was that?

I gasped, suddenly realizing that I'd stopped breathing completely. I forced my lungs to inhale deeply, filling my entire body with oxygen. After several minutes, my heartbeat slowed, and I regained control of my limbs. I looked back over the balcony, and the hooded figure was gone.

Rubbing my eyes and fighting away the fatigue, I picked myself back up and went back up to my room.

◆◆◆

After waking up late the following day, I headed straight to the guild office to see if anything new had come up regarding Zlatan or the case. When I arrived, I found out that Zlatan had been formally arrested by a pair of guards, along with a dozen other Picaros, after being caught breaking into the Adventurers Guild. There were a lot of witnesses to testify that he'd stolen some items.

I sighed in relief and let out a small laugh. It felt good to know that one of the ringleaders of the people that roofied me was locked up safely. Hopefully, he wouldn't escape jail.

When I finished talking with the receptionist, I left the guild. As soon as I stepped out of the building, I spotted a familiar figure waiting patiently.

"Hey there, Alice-chan!" Lori grinned at me cheerfully, waving excitedly. Her face lit up even more when she noticed my bag.

"Where'd you get those?" she asked, pointing to my bags.

"Oh, these? Well, uh...I got some basic spellbooks," I said sheepishly. "I figured I'd retrace some of my fundamentals, you know?"

She gave me an odd look before flashing me a bright smile.

I shrugged noncommittally and started with her towards the struthid rental service.

"So...whaddya think of yesterday?" she asked casually.

I stopped walking and turned to her. "Why do you ask? What did I miss?"

Her smile grew wider, and she answered with a cheerful tone. "Nothing really big happened last night. But apparently, Zlatan and his crew is officially indicted now. That was quick!"

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "How many charges did they throw at him?"

That was....a little too quick for my comfort. What was the criminal justice system in this place like? That gave me a very uneasy feeling.

Lori shook her head. "They say he broke into the Adventurer's Guild and stole a bunch of stuff. But that's nothing compared to the news coming from the castle today!" Lori exclaimed happily.

A chill ran down my spine. I don't know; I just had a gut feeling. "News from the castle? Is everything okay?"

She giggled, shaking her head. "Not exactly...but it seems like the king's finally decided to take mobilized action against the Picaroso Gang next month."

"Is he mobilizing the army to arrest them already?!" I gasped in surprise.

Lori shook her head again, grinning mischievously. "Naw, they're not taking any direct military actions yet. Just arresting their known leaders and money movers. Hopefully the whole gang might end up getting wiped out without any innocents dying."

"Huh...so that's good, isn't it?" I asked curiously.

Lori gave me another smug grin. "Yep! Low casualties, low bloodshed Hopefully. If anything happens, it'll just be a few head honchos."

"Right..." I muttered uncomfortably. "Well, thank you for letting me know."

"Sure thing! Oh yeah, the two of us are getting formal public credit for this whole crackdown because we brought in Zlatan. Can you believe it?"

She swept her hands across the air and began to do her rambling thing again.

"The Liddell sisters. Responsible for finally initiating a crackdown on the Picaroso Gang! Dealing a fateful blow to one of the most sinister and notorious organized crime syndicates in the Kingdom of Cheshire! I mean, they gave me the option to opt out, but I felt like we could use the rep boost. Especially with my little sister just coming on as an adventurer."

I just stopped walking and stared at her. The implications of Lori's actions and what she did came crashing down on me.

She'd just flipped off a giant middle finger to the Mafia!

"Lori..." my eyes darkened, and that ghoulish miasma I had been leaking last night came back.

"A-Alice-chan?!" she shrank away.

"Are. You. For. Fucking. Real?!??!?!"