Matthias and Manna sat in a private waiting room inside the guild.

Due to the disturbance and aggression the town guardsmen displayed, Sharon ordered the adventurers to kick them out immediately after they had started shouting at Soleil. However, after hearing of the accusation, the adventurers around them started to act coldly even when the town guards had been removed.

A short while after midday, higher-ranking staff of the guild arrived. They learned of what had happened and took Soleil away to be interrogated. Just in case, they also asked Matthias and Manna, her party members, to not leave the guild premises and spend the night there. What they were given was a relatively spacious waiting room with two sofas large enough for them to sleep in. The guild also let them borrow two small mattresses as an alternative. Though the guild had a barracks, it was a short distance away from the headquarters. In consideration of the others who weren’t involved, Matthias understood why they couldn’t even use the barracks to sleep in.

The guild didn’t want to trouble anyone else.

“What do you think?” he asked Manna. They had been silent for a couple of hours already, but for different reasons. For him, it was out of concern for Soleil, whom he hadn’t seen for several hours already.

On the other hand, Manna was only quietly doing math exercises on the tea table.

“Phew. What do I think? It’s all bullshit.”

She stretched her neck while munching on a fried shrimp croquette.

“What kind of madman would buy over a thousand baskets of fruit?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“I know.”

Throwing a parchment full of scribbling to a corner, Manna exhaled loudly in an attempt to psyche herself up after a while of mental torture. It looked valiant, but Matthias knew better. She had barely gotten through two pages of exercises since she started.

And she had gotten most of her answers wrong.

Regardless of her disappointing performance, Manna didn’t look bothered. For her, being bad at math was probably inherent. As a hunter, she never had to do any complicated arithmetic. She could estimate where her arrows would land with frightening accuracy even during a bad storm. And since they already had a walking calculator like Soleil, she probably felt even less inclined to study.

Typical excuses for someone who didn’t want to bother with the unexciting work of learning off books. At least, that was what she said.

“I’m just worried,” he followed up. “You know how she is. She’s honest to a fault. Those are the kinds of people that are easy to deceive.”

Back in his world, prosecutors were experts in manipulating people into saying things that would get them into trouble. While he knew that such practices haven’t been refined in that era, there were always people who knew their way with words. If someone like that interrogated Soleil, then she could dig her own grave if she talked without thinking.

“Why don’t we just ask? If she says she didn’t kill anyone, we’d be done with that.”

“If only it was that simple.”

Nobody was unfamiliar with how town guards worked. Most of them were bullies. For example, they would gladly take bribes from merchants to let them skip inspections at the gates, which allowed the latter to smuggle goods inside towns and cities. Whenever one of them was caught doing something illegal, they would often set someone up as a scapegoat to avoid punishment. They also frequently stole from shops and would try to eat at restaurants for free. If they were confronted about it by the owners, they would threaten them with violence.

Problem was, it was difficult to get into a fight with them. They were typically backed by a noble, who would use them as one of their limbs to earn extra money and commit dubious things.

Adventurers, in particular, hated them. They were cowards who would run away at the first sight of trouble but would point their fingers at the adventurers for any kind of accident.

“They’re probably trying to set Soleil up as a scapegoat for something. If they say a murder happened, then it likely did. But who did it? If they successfully place the blame on her, a beastkin, then they would not only look like they had done their jobs but would also have a clear conscience. Some people would also be glad to see a beastkin, or even an elf or a dwarf get flogged or even executed for murder. After all, to many, they aren’t “people”.”

Investigating a murder case was difficult during an era with no CCTVs or any kind of knowledge of forensic science. However, to a grieving family, they wouldn’t care if the person presented to them was innocent. All that mattered was that they could vent their anger on someone.

“Why don’t you get your parents to help? Your old man should have no problem getting the town guard off our back.”

“Yeah, well,” he hesitated. Sure, she was right. His father had quite a lot of influence. If he had ordered it, then the town guard would have no choice but to obey, as most nobles didn’t want to start any beef with high-ranking members of the nobility. But that would mean having to run back to his father with his tail between his legs. He wanted to prove himself to him.

“… all right. I will. When it comes down to it.”

Trying to be the big man when someone was in trouble was no use. If they couldn’t deal with the problem, then he would swallow his pride and seek help.

Suddenly, the door opened without a knock and Soleil came in. She had a sullen look on her face, but overall she didn’t seem too bothered by what happened. She even smiled at the two after greeting them.

“Yo. I’m done with that.”

Manna ran up to her and hugged her. After that, she demanded an explanation.

“What happened there? What took you so long?”

“I told them I didn’t do it,” she said casually. “All I’ve done this week was sleep, take care of some kids, and go out with you guys.”

“Kids?” Matthias was suddenly curious. He already knew that Soleil wouldn’t do anything like kill someone without telling them. It just wasn’t her style.

Instead, she would likely just beat them half to death and then gloat about it when they meet again.

“Yeah, kids. Anyway, the guild master told me that the reason I was being suspected was because the three who died were the same guys I sent home in stretchers before I met you guys.”

That was the first time they’d heard of it. He vaguely recalled that Soleil had lost her previous tags because of some incident. But because she never talked about it, he never asked. It turned out that the opposite was true. He should have asked.

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Soleil then told them the story.

Similar to him and Manna, she was a new arrival in town and had come a couple of weeks before they did. At that time she didn’t have much money on her. So the first thing she did upon arriving was to look for a job. Unfortunately, she failed. It was probably because of her slit eyes, but nobody wanted anything to do with her. During that time she would sleep on the streets and alleys. It was only after four or so days that she learned that the Adventurers’ Guild had open recruitment. She was able to register without much trouble. But, she didn’t have a party. The guild only allowed its members to act in a group of at least three members. Back then, there was only one other party that could accept her.

It was a three-man party named “Black Skies”. When she was introduced to them, her first impression of the team was that they were a friendly bunch. None of them looked at her with the same prejudice the populace had. However, she couldn’t get rid of a bad feeling that welled in her chest. She didn’t have a choice, though. She desperately needed money.

To familiarize her with everyone, the party took a relatively easy commission to showcase their skills, similar to what Matthias did. Everything went by without a hitch, and they even earned a bit of money off of the quest. But when the leader claimed the reward, he suddenly said that they would use the money to celebrate her registration as a new adventurer.

That kind of celebration was just a one-time thing, and Soleil admitted that she did feel quite motivated when she heard that it would be a feast for her sake. What she didn’t know was that they were going to say the same thing every day for the next week. They would spend every single bronze on alcohol every night and not leave any as savings. Soleil had never received any money from them. Worse yet, the three men were horrible drunks. They would throw plates, make a lot of noise, and even grope waitresses.

Then one night, the three, in an intensely drunk state, tried to force a particularly pretty waitress to “have fun” with them and even threatened to hurt her family if she did not agree.

And Soleil being herself, beat them up for it.

“Why am I not surprised?”

Matthias palmed his face while Manna laughed. On the other hand, Soleil had a confused look.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Well…” he hesitated. There were several ways one could interpret it, but regardless, the only real problem was that one could argue that she overreacted. He really couldn’t tell. After all, he wasn’t there to witness it.

“Anyway, I unjustifiably got into trouble because of it. The demon lord saved the subject of another country. The state should be grateful to me instead!”

“Because adventurers shouldn’t fight other adventurers. You should’ve just reported them.”

“And let that girl be forced into sleeping with them?”

“Ugh…”

She had a point. By the time the guild acted, it would already be too late. So she simply did what was within her power and ability to do… which was violence.

Feeling that it was useless to continue that line of conversation, Matthias decided to talk about what actually mattered.

“Did you hear anything else? I mean, where they were killed, or how?”

“Well…” she thought. Perhaps there had been too many details given to her, so she needed some time organizing it in her head. Matthias felt that it would be something similar to making a major mistake at work, where one’s nerves wouldn’t be able to catch up to the dressing down their superiors would subject them to.

“I think they said something about that, but I forgot everything!”

“What the crap—“

Manna’s laughter reached a higher crescendo, where she needed to clutch her stomach in pain. Matthias on the other hand, suddenly felt all energy leave his neck and dropped his head.

“Those are the things you should remember!” he exclaimed. There was no shortage of people who would try to take advantage of others, and in a world that lacked formal documentation, video, and other things to rely on to prove their innocence, even information by the worth of mouth was worth gold.

As he struggled with the problem and contemplated going back to his manor, Soleil abruptly stood up. She raised her chest confidently and hit the left part of her torso with her fist.

“A demon lord doesn’t lie. I can assure you, I am innocent.”

… It wasn’t like he doubted her at all. But the issue was that he didn’t think others would do the same.

----------------------------------------

The next day, Matthias woke up feeling somewhat better. Though he was aware that they would have to face the same problems that day, at least he could have some peace in the early mornings. There was a strange weight on his shoulder, though, which was weird. Did he sleep in the wrong position?

They spent the night together in one room, as a sort of security insurance. Because there were only two mattresses, one of them had to sleep on the couch which, while padded, was a good deal harder than the thin mattress the guild provided. But instead of that happening, Manna and Soleil insisted on sleeping on them, so Matthias was the only one to sleep on the floor.

There were no windows in that room, and the only light source was from two glowstone fixtures that they had turned off before turning in for the night. Thus, the room was completely dark.

“Light,” he whispered. A glowing orb manifested on the palm of his hand, illuminating the room dimly. He quickly noticed something on his side that made him sigh warmly.

Manna was sound asleep, breathing softly beside him. She was using his shoulder as a pillow and wrapped her left arm across his chest. She probably came to his bed during the dead of night. If he had slept on the couch, then it wouldn’t be possible for her to cram herself beside him without falling off. Was that why she was adamant about taking the couch?

A smile crept on his face. He let the light levitate a few feet above the floor and used his free hand to tuck her long bangs behind her ear. When she felt his finger on her skin, she smiled and tried to bury her head deeper into his chest.

Then, a weird clinking noise came from her leather collar. When it happened, she immediately stopped moving.

What was that about?

Shrugging it off, he then surveyed the room. Soleil wasn’t on the couch, and the other mattress was still propped up against the wall where they left it last night. As expected, she woke up first and headed out already.

During the past week, Matthias and Manna had never been the ones to arrive at the guild earlier than her. Even when they would wake up exceptionally early to run some preliminary errands, she would always be at the guild waiting for them before they arrived. According to her, “A demon lord shouldn’t make others wait”; this was contrary to what most high-ranked nobility and even royalty do. Being able to arrive at a later time was a show of power. And for her, who claimed herself to be the demon lord, to make an effort to always be early only showed her earnestness towards others.

That was why he could easily trust her and that she wouldn’t lie.

He got up out of bed after struggling to free his arm from under Manna’s head. The weird clinking noise from her collar was heard again, but he paid it no mind. Since it was only early autumn, there was no need to use a sheet to keep them comfortable, so he could leave her as she was.

The nearest place he could wash up was at the back of the guild where the training field was located. He had to go out of the room and walk for a bit to get there. As he did, he heard something drop on the floor. He turned around to see that Manna was in an awkward position as if she had fallen out of bed on her head. It was amusing considering the mattress was only an inch or so off the floor, but she still hit the wooden panels hard enough to make a sound. Shaking his head, he exited the room.

There was nobody in the guild at such early hours besides those who preferred working at night. Of course, since the guild practically never closed, the receptionist area was still manned, though by only one person.

After washing up, he saw Soleil hanging out at the receptionist area with Sharon.

“Yo. Mornin’,” she greeted casually as if nothing had happened the day before. She raised her palm and Matthias met it with his own out of reflex. A satisfying clap resounded throughout the guild’s lobby.

“Looks like I can’t leave the guild anytime soon, at least until this all blows over.” She suddenly dropped a bomb on him. Her face fell from its original cheerful expression to a rather sad one. “But don’t worry. I heard someone registered last night and needs a party. I met him last night and he seems like a good fellow. Wanna try him while I’m stuck here?”

Despite her looks, she was one who always followed the rules. If the guild told her to stay, then she would. But Matthias was worried about losing sight of her. She might do something stupid.

“He’ll be coming back later before midday. Go out and have fun without me for a bit, okay?”

Two guild staff came and told her to come to the interrogation room again. As she walked away, she turned and waved back at him. Her eyes looked resigned with a hint of boredom in them.