'That guy is huge... Is he on steroids?' Arlo wondered, his eyes fixed on the unfolding event before him. 'Either way, he's a B-Rank hunter. Better to just sit quiet and not get involved. I'd rather not draw any attention to the two of us. Sorry, waiter.' he thought to himself, quickly averting his gaze.

Arlo wasn't alone in his decision; the other customers silently observed the commotion, their expressions filled with a mix of concern and reluctance to intervene.

"I-I am really sorry for my mistake, I—" the waiter began, her voice trembling with fear and remorse.

The man on the left cut her off. "Sorry's not going to cut it. Is this how you treat your clients?! We better receive some compensation for this!"

"B-But sir—"

"What?! You still got something to say?!" he shouted, his face reddening with anger. "Is it our fault you don't know how to do your job?!"

The waiter bowed her head even lower, her voice barely above a whisper. "I-I am very sorry. I am very sorry!

The man on the left scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. "Like I said sorry’s not going to cut it- hurry up and-”

"Hey, Arlo," Vielle interrupted, her voice cutting through the tense atmosphere as she pointed at the men. "Is that human a noble of some sort?"

Arlo's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening at Vielle's words. He had hoped that she would simply ignore the situation, but it seemed that it wasn’t in her nature.

"N-No, he's not. This society doesn’t revolve around nobles like in yours. Most people here are commoners including them.'" Arlo muttered nervously, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Then why is he making such a fuss? You'd think he was the young lady of an esteemed household with the way he's complaining," she said mockingly, her gaze fixed on the men. "Well, I suppose that much is to be expected from a man with such a repulsive appearance."

As her insults rang out, Arlo narrowed his eyes, a sense of dread washing over him. He slowly glanced back, only to find the nerdy-looking bald man glaring at Vielle, his face red with fury.

"W-W-What did you say?!" the bald man yelled, his voice trembling with rage as he stood up, his fists clenched at his sides.

Just as he was about to storm over to their table, Michael, who had remained silent until now, abruptly stood up and grabbed the bald man by the shoulder. Without a word, he sat the bald man down and began to walk, heading straight towards Arlo and Vielle.

The waitress and other staff could only watch, their legs trembling with fear as the imposing figure approached Arlo and Vielle.

'Well, shit. Looks like this can't be avoided...' Arlo thought to himself, a nervous smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 'Do we run? There's no way we can beat a B-Rank Hunter without using magic...'

As the B-Rank hunter drew closer, Arlo's mind raced, desperately searching for a way out of the situation. He knew he couldn't simply tell Vielle to run, as her intention was likely to help the waitress.

Vielle seemed to have a good impression of Arlo, and for the sake of their budding business partnership, he had no intention of lowering her opinion of him. With that in mind, he decided to sit quietly and watch, resolving to step in and take the beating if necessary, knowing he could heal himself afterwards.

Michael's heavy footsteps echoed through the restaurant as he reached their table, his eyes burning with a barely contained rage.

"Stand up." he growled, his voice low and menacing. "I will show you what happens when you don't mind your own business."

The man towered over them, his imposing figure forcing Arlo to crane his neck upwards just to meet his gaze. Meanwhile, Vielle stood there, a smile on her face as she seemingly ignored the looming threat.

In a single, swift motion, Michael's bear-like arms swung down, slamming into the table and shattering it into pieces.

"Don't make me repeat myself, you brat," Michael commanded. "Get u..."

His words trailed off, his body flinching as Vielle turned to stare at him. In that moment, a surge of bloodlust emanated from her, her slit-pupiled crimson eyes glaring at him like a predator eyeing its prey.

Michael instinctively took a step back, a cold bead of sweat trickling down his face as he felt the weight of Vielle's gaze upon him.

'T-This pressure... is it magic? N-No, this must be because of her bloodline... the pressure of a Pureblood Vampire...' Arlo thought to himself, his eyes widening as he stared at Vielle nervously. 'Looks like I was worried about her for no reason.'

"Arlo." Vielle said, suddenly turning to him with a smile, the pressure and bloodlust she had been exerting vanishing without a trace. "That impertinent fool just called me a brat. May I teach him a lesson?"

Arlo stared at Vielle, with a look of surprise. Despite having gotten involved in the problem itself, she seemed reluctant to take any action that might inconvenience him without his permission.

"Isn't it too late to be asking me that?" Arlo asked, a nervous smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "But yeah... you may—"

Arlo's voice was abruptly cut off as Michael's fist instinctively swung towards them, a desperate attempt to strike out against the fear that gripped his heart.

In a blur of motion, Vielle's hand shot out, catching Michael's fist mid-swing. The impact sent a shockwave through the restaurant, rattling the tables and causing the other customers to gasp in surprise.

"You dare raise your hand against us?" Vielle asked, her crimson eyes boring into Michael's. "I was willing to forgive your impertinence had you apologised, but to think you’d try to attack Arlo… It seems that there’s only one way to deal with people like you."

Michael's eyes widened, a nervous grin forming on his face as he realized that he had underestimated her. He tried to pull his hand back, but Vielle's grip was like iron, her small, slender fingers wrapped tightly around his fist.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

With no other choice, Michael swung his other fist with all his might, aiming directly at Vielle's face. However, before his punch could even reach halfway—

Wham!

Vielle's leg shot up, her foot connecting with Michael's chin in a devastating rising kick. The impact sent him flying across the restaurant, his body crashing into a nearby table, dishes and cutlery scattering in all directions.

The other customers watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe as Vielle stood there, her silver hair swaying gently in the aftermath of her attack.

Arlo, who had witnessed the entire scene from beside her, stared at Vielle in disbelief, his mouth agape. Not only had she managed to stop a swing from a B-Rank Hunter, but she had also sent him flying with a single kick.

'She's this powerful, even without magic...?' Arlo wondered, his gaze fixed on Vielle. 'Now that I think about it, she never told me what tier her Mana Core was... Just how powerful is she?'

Vielle, who had been staring at the knocked-out B-Rank Hunter, turned her attention to the nerdy-bald man, who had been watching the scene unfold in disbelief.

"From now on, make sure you treat others with proper respect. Tell that to your friend when he regains his consciousness—"

Vielle's words were cut short as the sound of someone giggling echoed through the restaurant. She quickly turned to the source, only to find the man she had attacked slowly getting up, a wide grin on his face as he laughed.

"Regain consciousness...? I'm still awake, though..." he muttered, rubbing his chin where Vielle had struck him. "You pack a powerful kick, little miss," he said, his grin widening.

A strange brown aura enveloped Michael's body as he stood up, his muscles bulging and growing denser with each passing second.

Vielle stared at him, her brow furrowed with concern. Through her vampiric eyes, she could clearly see a strange source of energy flowing from the center of his body.

'That's not magic...' she thought to herself, her mind racing as she studied the phenomenon. 'It's a different source of energy, similar to the one I saw flowing through Arlo's body... Just what is that?'

Vielle's mind raced as a realization dawned on her. She recalled Arlo mentioning that something similar to magic existed in this world, and this must have been what he was referring to.

'Let's see just—'

Vielle's eyes widened, her thoughts abruptly interrupted as Michael appeared before her within a second, his fist already in motion.

Vielle had initially raised her guard to block the attack, but at the last moment, she changed her mind and swayed her body, avoiding the punch by a hair's breadth. As his fist passed by her, she countered with another kick to his chin, sending him sliding back a few meters.

Michael slowly turned his head back towards Vielle, wiping a drop of blood from his mouth before grinning and charging at her once more.

"An attack that weak isn't enough to beat me!" he yelled, his laughter filled with a manic joy.

Arlo and the other customers watched in awe as Vielle and Michael fought, the vampire girl easily avoiding the man's relentless attacks. He tried everything from punches to grabs, but Vielle swayed past them with grace and ease, the restaurant turning into a mess of overturned tables and chairs.

'I see... This source of energy reinforces his body and strengthens it...' Vielle thought to herself as she dodged yet another attack. 'Unfortunately for him, he's not the only one who can do that.'

As Michael prepared to launch another assault, Vielle struck first, launching the same kick that had connected with his chin before.

Seeing this, Michael grinned, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He planned to take the kick and then grab her leg, believing that victory would be his—

Bam!

A thunderous sound roared through the room as Michael's body went flying through the air, skidding past tables before crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

His nose caved in and blood flowing down his face, Michael lowered his head and sat there motionless, cleanly knocked out by Vielle's devastating blow.

"You should have blocked that kick," Vielle muttered, glancing down at her leg, which was sticking out of her robe.

Just like Michael had been using his power to strengthen his body, Vielle had also used magic to enhance her own. She had been holding back at the start to avoid killing him, but it seemed that her concern was needless.

After casting one more glance at Michael to confirm that he was truly knocked out, Vielle turned back and walked over to Arlo, a smile on her face.

Around them, the customers who had witnessed the fight were watching, some with their phones out, recording the aftermath, while others stood there in disbelief.

"W-Wow... that girl just took out a B-Rank Hunter...!"

"H-How is that possible? He's like double her size!"

"I can't wait to post this online!"

Seeing this, Arlo quickly grabbed Vielle's hand and ran out of the restaurant, eager to escape the growing commotion.

"Thank you!" the waitress called out, her voice trembling with emotion.

As they ran, Arlo and Vielle overheard the waitress's heartfelt gratitude. With a glance back, they saw her standing there, her head bowed and her eyes brimming with tears of appreciation.

Vielle showed her a faint smile before the two disappeared into the staircase. Their footsteps echoed through the stairwell as they made their way down.

"Sorry, Arlo," Vielle said, adjusting her hat as they ran. "It looks like I've placed you in a troubling situation..."

Arlo shook his head, a reassuring smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. You did the right thing," he said. "You were able to help her, just like you wanted."

Vielle looked away, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I wasn't really trying to help her, though." she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just wanted to teach those guys a lesson..."

Hearing this, Arlo's smile grew wider as he stared at her. After entering the elevator with Vielle, he began to contemplate what had happened.

Despite his reassurances, Arlo couldn't help but think about the potential consequences of the fight. Not only were there cameras in the restaurant, but there were also people who had recorded the altercation on their phones.

He was certain that the incident would draw unwanted attention, and he could only hope that it wouldn't come back to haunt them later.

‘At least she didn’t use magic… she probably looked just like another awakened.’ Arlo thought to himself.

The elevator doors opened, and Arlo and Vielle stepped out into the lobby. As they made their way out of the building and into the streets, Arlo quickly called for another cab to take them far away from the place.

While waiting for the cab, Vielle turned to Arlo, her crimson eyes filled with curiosity.

"Hey, Arlo," she began, her voice low and thoughtful, "aren't there guards in this world too who deal with people like them?"

Arlo's expression grew somber, his gaze drifting into the distance as he contemplated her question.

"There are." he said, his voice tinged with a hint of resignation. "In the past, they were reliable, but now, ever since the gates emerged, society has changed. Those with power, such as hunters, are able to get away with doing what they want."

Vielle tilted her head to the side, a confused look spreading across her face. "Gates? Hunters?" she asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the unfamiliar terms.

She recalled seeing these words mentioned on the many billboards they had passed while in the cab, and on quite a few of the screens inside the 'Shard.' However, she still didn't fully understand what they meant.

Arlo, realizing his oversight, offered her an apologetic smile.

"Ah, right. I still haven't told you about them," he said. "Gates don't exist in the other world so it’s no surprise that you don’t know. I'll explain it to you while we wait for the cab."