Chapter 40: The Old Man Commits Sexual Harassment

I cried out and scrambled to stop Fel.

In that instant.

The taut thread of tension in the room snapped.

It seemed my action had been the signal for the men in black to begin their attack.

“You—!”

The men in black moved as one.

Multiple shadows rushed toward me, their sharp swords flashing.

In response, Emma-san and Mira-san also moved to engage them.

Damn it. I cursed internally.

That was careless of me in this situation…

Well… can’t be helped now.

Time for me to fight back… or rather, time to use the usual.

I focused my mind and activated the byproduct of my unique skill, ‘Flee’… “Standby Time.”

shing—

The world’s color and sound rapidly faded, and everyone’s movements but my own slowed to a snail’s pace.

Seriously… why is everyone so quick to throw hands?

They should try talking things out a little… or, well, maybe think about running away first, like me.

I guess the strong really do prefer to solve everything with force…

I grumbled internally, surrounded by a slow-motion world.

Okay… first up is the quickest and nimblest of the bunch, Fel.

I glanced her way and, just as I expected, she was already on the move.

And at a ridiculous speed, at that—one I could barely follow even in this slow-motion world…

She had silently circled behind one of the men in black and was about to bring her abnormally long, silver-gleaming claws down on his neck.

Do all beastmen grow such dangerous-looking claws?

Besides, she seems way too fast…

Eh… details later.

Just as Fel’s claws were about to touch the man’s neck, I swept in from the side and scooped her small body into my arms.

She’s probably going to be mad at me for touching her without permission again… but it can’t be helped.

I carried her over to a far corner of the room and gently set her down.

Next, I checked on Emma-san and Mira-san.

Their movements were as incredible as expected.

Each was closing the shortest distance to their targets, their daggers flashing as the hems of their dresses swirled around them.

They looked to be just a moment away from cutting their opponents down.

Emma-san and the others are totally going for the kill…

I mean… it’s clearly self-defense, and they’re fighting to protect me, their guest, but…

If there are casualties among them, this situation will spiral completely out of control.

After getting kicked out of the guild, the last thing I want is to become a wanted man by the Church.

The Holy Church has its roots planted not just in this kingdom, but across the entire continent…

Besides, having Emma-san’s beautiful home stained with blood because of me would leave a really bad taste in my mouth.

Well… if I just take their weapons, they won’t be a threat, and I can probably negotiate.

Right then… last up are these trigger-happy, mistaken men.

I moved between the attacking figures in black, deflecting their attacks one by one and throwing them off balance.

Then, I closed in and confiscated their weapons.

Just in case, I groped their bodies over their black robes, checking their waists and chests for any hidden weapons.

Emma-san and Mira-san’s example was fresh on my mind.

Honestly, I have no desire to be touching a bunch of beefy guys’ bodies…

Huh… for what it’s worth, this body feels softer than I expected.

Just then, as I was patting down one of their chests, their hood slipped off.

Revealed was the profile of a young woman with a well-featured face, framed by long eyelashes, her white skin beaded with sweat from the heat of battle.

The contrast with her black robes was strangely alluring.

Wait… a woman…?

Startled, I hurriedly pulled back the hoods of the others, and sure enough, there were the faces of young, and surprisingly beautiful, women. Face after face after face…

They’re all… women…?

Why would women be dressed up like assassins?

No… maybe they’re nuns from the church?

And they’re all… so young, quite beautiful, and their figures are…

Whoa… not the time for that.

More importantly… if that’s the case, then what I was just doing was…

Blatant sexual harassment, wasn’t it…?

This unexpected revelation threw my mind into turmoil.

Influenced by my mental shock, “Standby Time” ended unexpectedly early, and real-time began to flow again.

The black-robed sisters, who were now scattered on the floor or slumped against the walls, looked up in shock as they realized they’d been disarmed.

Furthermore, because I had been unapologetically patting them down to confiscate hidden weapons, their black robes were in complete disarray.

Areas of white skin that would normally be concealed—from their parted collars to their exposed thighs—were now on full display.

And from their displaced hoods, their beautiful, uncovered faces peeked out.

Their cheeks flushed a deep crimson, perhaps from the humiliation of being caught off guard, or perhaps from the shame of having their skin seen by a man.

“…!!? Wh-Who are you… I thought you were just some common fool… To neutralize our movements and take our weapons… a-and… this outrage…”

In that instant, the sisters’ cheeks burned even brighter, but their voices held more rage than before as they glared at me with gazes sharp enough to kill.

“How dare you… For a vile man like you to touch these bodies, dedicated to God, with such wicked intent… Do not think you will be forgiven for this humiliation!”

“Wh-… Ah, no, um… I was just trying to take your weapons… I-I swear, I didn’t mean anything else by it! Really!”

My stammering excuse, however, seemed to have absolutely no effect in placating their murderous intent and suspicion.

The sisters quickly straightened their disheveled clothes and assumed a defensive posture.

Meanwhile, Emma-san and Mira-san, still holding their daggers, muttered something as they watched this unexpected development with surprise.

“This is… Shuzo-san’s usual… Still… to think that in a situation like this… he would try to end it without bloodshed, even against the ‘Shadow Needles’…”

In the corner of the room, Fel, after a moment of stunned silence, twisted her face in irritation and began muttering complaints under her breath.

Sorry, Fel… but I can’t deal with you right now.

I felt a pang of guilt for exposing their skin… no, for touching their bodies without permission, but the killing intent they were directing at me was real.

If I let my guard down now, I’m dead.

“Silence! You vulgar man! Receive divine punishment!”

The lead sister issued another command.

Her shame seemingly transformed into rage, her movements appeared even sharper than before.

More than ten beautiful sisters rushed at me all at once.