The Beginning of Deviation (3)

It may be stating the obvious, but our three appearances are far from ordinary. Of course, we dressed somewhat modestly for going out, but even I’m wearing a dress that clearly shows it’s made of good quality material, with a sword at my waist. Elizabeth, though less dressed up than usual, still looks more splendid than me, just in more comfortable clothes, thanks to her dressing skills.

Arpi? In terms of clothing alone, Arpi is the most extravagant among us. The decorations and patterns on her clothes are overwhelmingly impressive.

With us so blatantly showing off our noble status, how can someone approach so nonchalantly and try to hit on us, even if they’re drunk? This is remarkable in many ways. Is this guy brave? Or is he a fool?

“Please step back quietly.”

Elizabeth stood up abruptly before I could say anything. Hey, I was about to step in.

“Oh, you’re even prettier up close!”

“I won’t say it twice. Shut your mouth and disappear.”

“Puhaha! What are you saying? You’re telling me to disappear?”

Hiccupping and tilting the bottle, he was the very picture of a drunkard. Even if a normal person gets drunk, it’s not easy to act this recklessly… Is this the power of a fantasy world? In modern times, we would have called the police immediately to subdue him.

“Hey, friends! This lady here is telling me to disappear!”

“Hahaha! Looking at your face, I can see why.”

“What did you say, you bastard?!”

“Honestly, you look like a goblin would call you ‘big brother’ on the street. No chance.”

“You bastards, really…”

The man, who had been snorting angrily, seemed to notice our silent stares and turned around sharply. His eyes seem a bit more unfocused now…

“Don’t be so stuck up. Let’s have fun together, shall we? Come on, don’t refuse…”

As he finally couldn’t hold back and reached out towards me, Elizabeth couldn’t stand it anymore and stood up.

“That’s far enough.”

A coldly gleaming sword was suddenly pointed straight at the man’s neck. As if to prove this wasn’t a mere threat, Elizabeth’s eyes were coldly sunken.

“Ooh, how threatening. So. What are you going to do?”

But even with a sword at his neck, the man’s attitude remained relaxed. Something’s off. This man doesn’t seem like a simple drunk.

In this situation, normally, it would be standard for a ruffian to hit on the heroine at a bar, get repelled, and run away saying “You’ll regret this!” But the atmosphere here is very strange.

“If you move, I’ll cut you.”

“Cut me? You, miss? Oh, I see. So you noble young ladies don’t care about the life of a country bumpkin like me, is that it?”

Elizabeth’s eyebrow twitched at the blatant provocation. She really has changed. The original Elizabeth might have slit his throat here. Well, even if she didn’t kill him, she might have at least lightly wounded or stabbed him.

But because she was the one who said she had changed after meeting me, and wanted to change more, she seems to be holding back from unnecessary bloodshed.

“How are you going to cut me? Like this?”

As he stepped forward with a sneer, Elizabeth’s hand moved mercilessly.

Slash!

“So you actually do it when you say you will. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

The man muttered expressionlessly while touching the blood flowing from his neck. Elizabeth didn’t completely cut his throat, just enough to leave a light wound as if in warning, but even so, his calm demeanor is somewhat strange.

“Let me ask you one thing, miss.”

“What is it?”

Why are you suddenly calling me? No, more importantly, aren’t you going to treat that? Are you not bothered at all? Everyone around is just watching, and no one is trying to move. Is this right?

“You ordered bread and milk. What about alcohol?”

“I have no intention of drinking.”

“I see. I didn’t realize it until now, is that it? I thought you were customers, but I jumped the gun.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean this.”

Clang clang clang!

Suddenly, the people around us pulled out weapons all at once. Ah, I see. So that’s what this is about. I’m not without experience in web novels, so I had a few guesses.

“I don’t know how you found out, but since we’ve been tailed, there’s no helping it. Regret coming with just the three of you.”

His reddened face is quickly returning to normal. Was he pretending to be drunk? Or was there some other reason?

It’s not just his face. The wound inflicted by Elizabeth was healing rapidly. How is he doing that without using a potion? I have a few guesses, but I’ll stay quiet for now.

“What on earth are you suddenly talking about?”

“Ha, why are you all acting like this when you came knowing everything? You came here knowing this is our [Goblin’s Claw Gang] hideout.”

“…Goblin’s Claw Gang?”

No, wait a minute. Why are you guys showing up here?

The Goblin’s Claw Gang is an organization name that appeared in the original story. Despite its ridiculous name, it’s actually a large force that has spread throughout the empire and has made a name for itself in the underworld. I heard their headquarters was in the capital or some big city or something.

They’re a big player in the underworld, bribing nobles, blackmailing them with their weaknesses, and involved in all sorts of crimes. Well, later they get bewitched by demons and turn into a demon’s den.

For reference, when they first appeared in the original story, they were already in the state of being a demon’s den.

“As expected, you know about us.”

The owner, who had clearly gone into the kitchen earlier, appeared holding a kitchen knife. Unlike before, the ominous atmosphere is unsettling.

“Hmm, do you have any basis for thinking that? Any evidence that we know about you?”

Suddenly, Arpi, who had been quiet, spoke up. Th-That’s right. I’m curious about that too. What’s suddenly going on here?

“The menu that miss over there ordered earlier.”

What I ordered? Why? I just ordered bread, stew, meat, and milk normally.

“We don’t sell bread and milk at our store. It’s clearly written on the menu. Ordering those here means you know the name of this place. That’s why I thought you were customers at first. But seeing that you don’t know the other code, it seems that’s not the case.”

Huh? Really? You don’t sell them? Even if they’re not on the menu, aren’t these basic items that should be available?

“I see your expression hasn’t changed at all. Is this as you expected? Damn.”

No, this is just because I’m too shocked to change my expression! There seems to be a serious misunderstanding.

“Seeing that you couldn’t give the second code, it seems your investigation was insufficient, but regret coming with just three people!”

How did it come to this?! I tried to hide my bewilderment as I looked straight at the men rushing towards us. Well, whatever the case, since they’re coming at us, we’ll have to deal with them.

“Ugh…”

“Ouch…”

To put it simply, nothing much happened. Although the Goblin’s Claw Gang is certainly a huge organization, this isn’t their headquarters, nor is there any proper force stationed here. As such, Elizabeth was able to handle most of the personnel, and with me joining in, we could deal with them even more cleanly.

This is the result.

“Uh, ladies. Is there anything you need?”

“Just stay quiet.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a response that somehow sounded like third-rate thieves, silence suddenly enveloped the restaurant. How did things turn out like this…

Those subdued by Elizabeth and me were huddled in a corner of the restaurant, unable to utter a word. Since we had no intention of killing them, we simply froze their arms and legs cleanly, and they surrendered immediately… I wonder if there are too many amateurs here.

“Was this your intention?”

“Pardon?”

“Coming here. Was this your intention?”

Arpi asked with a meaningful expression. Intentional? No way! I just came here to eat! No, I did want some trouble… right?

When that drunk-acting man came to hit on us earlier, I was secretly impressed. After all, I was able to experience a scene I had only seen in novels.

But in the end, things didn’t go as I had hoped, and although I didn’t intend it, I ended up destroying one of the villains’ bases that was brazenly established in the city where the academy is located.

“Heh…”

Finding my vehement denial amusing, Arpi narrowed her eyes and smiled as if enjoying herself. Wh-What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?

“Lady Philadel?”

“Oh my, didn’t I ask you to call me Arpi?”

Did you? I feel like maybe you did, or maybe you didn’t… My memory is hazy. But given how Arpi shows a surprisingly friendly attitude towards me, it wouldn’t be strange if she had said something like that.

“I apologize, Miss Arpi.”

“It’s nothing.”

This is still burdensome! Not just Arpi, but Elizabeth’s gaze looking at me as if in admiration!

Fortunately, there was a patrol guard, so we were able to quickly hand over the tied-up people and leave. By the way, we managed to fill our stomachs somehow by threatening the chef along the way. Although much fancier dishes came out than what we initially ordered.

“It wasn’t inedible. It’s a bit disappointing. The skill wasn’t bad.”

If Elizabeth says that much, it says it all. I ate quite deliciously too, and Arpi… well, she just ate without changing her expression.

“So, where are you going next?”

At Arpi’s question, Elizabeth’s gaze also turned this way. Where to go next? That’s obvious. How many places can noble young ladies, especially villainess young ladies, go on such a holiday?

“Let’s go to the department store.”

“Sounds good. I was just wanting to go there.”

“I’ll accompany you anywhere.”

Ah, this is what we call a department store. I’m not sure if it fits the fantasy era or not, but it’s something included in the author’s setting. And it’s a very suitable place for spending money extravagantly.

And I came to regret this decision, stomping the ground.