“It’s them!”
It seemed to be the Red Priest Pirate Gang that Lesa had spoken of.
Just as they say a tiger will appear when you speak of it, these folks seemed no better.
I turned my gaze to the side, looking at the tavern’s wooden door.
The door seemed about to split open, even the firmly fixed latch began to creak.
“Miss, get up quickly!”
Lesa hurriedly raised me up.
Her face, urgent and mixing with tension, and my confusion at her unexpected strength, had me inevitably following her lead.
“I’m going to close up shop now, so it’s okay. Stay in here, alright? You must never come out.”
“Yes, yes?”
“I’ll help.”
Despite Dominic’s heavy words, Lesa quickly shook her head.
“You’re too young! I have a plan, so hurry up and hide inside. I’ll be really angry if you come outside.”
Lesa roughly pushed Dominic and me into the back room of the tavern and locked the door.
We were pushed inside before we could grasp the situation.
“Mel, what’s going on?”
Though we had been pushed inside, I looked at Dominic, who seemed utterly bewildered, and muttered quietly while gripping his arm tightly.
“It seems to be those guys from the Red Priest Pirate Gang.”
“Let’s check.”
Dominic, with a sharp gaze, easily unlocked the doorknob, surveying the surroundings.
Lesa locked the shack’s lock, but it was of no use to Dominic with the master key.
A moment later, a small click noise followed, and the door slightly opened.
“Let’s leave the door open for now. Since there’s a plan, let’s watch.”
“Alright, if there’s a problem, we will… no, you’ll handle it.”
“Right.”
Dominic smiled contently, pleased at the opportunity to showcase his skills.
“It seems we need to go out now…”
“Since the pub owner said he has a plan, let’s wait inside for now.”
I nodded.
I saw the backs of two trembling women and the pub door banging open.
“It’s still so gloomy here.”
Gangsters poured into the pub.
There were about eight of them.
All were so large; it was suffocating from their imposing presence.
Among them, a red-haired muscular man swinging a club over his shoulder spoke.
“Hey. Trying to do business without even paying the protection money, huh?”
“…S-sorry.”
Lesa, with brown hair peppered with white, seemingly almost sixty, bowed deeply in apology.
‘Why is Lesa apologizing?’
Seeing Lesa tremble and apologize made me feel bad. Lesa did nothing wrong.
‘Those gangsters demanding protection money are the ones in the wrong.’
But why does Lesa have to bow her head?
“Just words?”
“Sorry with just words, huh?”
Gangsters, oblivious to my feelings, laughed mockingly.
“Why don’t you kneel and apologize to the boss?”
“Oh, then we might reduce your debt by about a hundred thousand becquerels.”
Their snickering was despicable.
I clenched my fists tightly.
But until then, I had firmly believed in what Lesa had said about having ‘a plan’.
So, I waited, holding my breath inside. I was sure of it, but…
“Lady, what are you doing?”
“…I’m sorry, please just go now. I really don’t have any money.”
Lesa looked down and then suddenly dropped to her knees.
In that moment, murmurs I wasn’t aware of leaked out.
“Are you insane?”
How could these young punks make a woman, old enough to be their mother, kneel?
I gripped the doorknob tightly.
Perhaps it was because of the force, but my knuckles turned white.
Lesa told me never to come out, but seeing this unbelievable scene unfold, I wanted to defy her words.
The gangsters outside, unaware of my thoughts, grew even bolder.
“What makes you so confident in this great spot to act tough, huh?”
Bang! Simultaneously, the man on the left pressed down a huge floorboard with a wooden stick he was carrying on his shoulder.
‘Isn’t that insane?’
Startled, I looked up at Dominic next to me.
Unable to act, I paced back and forth impatiently inside.
But unlike me, who couldn’t stay still, Dominic had a sharp look in his eyes.
A look that was definitely different from before.
If before he always seemed like a trivial younger brother, now he had the look of a prosecutor who seemed like he could cut someone down with his gaze alone.
“What should we do?”
“Hm?”
“It might be good to take action now.”
Coldness dripped from Dominic’s words.
It was the voice of a young knight who had sacrificed himself for a greater cause. For the first time, Dominic truly felt like a hero out of legend.
“…Yeah, let’s go out now.”
I quietly replied and opened the door.
However, it seemed the Red Priest Pirate Gang hadn’t noticed our presence yet, perhaps because they were turned away from us.
“Hand over the money now, while I’m still asking nicely.”
Lesha was not shaking with fear.
She firmly tightened her eyes and spoke softly.
“We can’t give you the tribute. We’re to the point where we could die of starvation. We’re stopping everything, all of it.”
Then, a guy with tattoos even on his face swung a club and split a wooden table in half.
Crash!
The girls covered their ears against the loud noise as glasses from the table rolled onto the floor.
A redhead started to slowly shake Lily’s hair, grabbing it tightly.
“Who said you could just stop, huh? You better bring it regularly, as you’re supposed to!”
…Wow. I absolutely can’t stand it. I’ll take care of these lunatics.
When I couldn’t bear it any longer, Lily, who had been looking in this direction, stiffened with a startled expression and gestured with her lips towards me.
“I’m inside. It’s dangerous.”
Even in this situation, is she worried about me?
As I shook my head, Lily hastily shouted as if to prevent the gaze from turning towards me.
“Please leave! We won’t be treated like slaves anymore!”
The man who was looking down at Lily raised his hand. That’s definitely right before getting slapped.
Without a moment to meet Dominic’s gaze, I quickly dashed out like a bullet. The swaying dress was not something for me right now, as I was boiling with anger like a raging bull.
I shouted loudly, filled with immense anger from the depths of my chest.
“Hey, you crazy bastards!”
Swiftly darting out, I forcefully hit the back of the head of the leader who was showing his back.
“Oof!”
With a loud sound, the leader’s face twisted forward.
‘What’s with this hard head?’
Even though it’s a head, the leader turned his body with a distorted face if it hurt when hit.
I shook my hand a few times and stood still in that spot, solemnly declaring,
“Back off nicely. Then I’ll consider sparing you.”
Their surprise at seeing me dash out so quickly was only momentary. The red Priest pirate gang, including the leader, surrounded me.
“Hahaha… So, the girl’s got some guts. Not understanding the situation and daring to hit me?”
“Starting with this girl, we’ll set an example, boss.”
“Even without many challengers to our authority already, you know.”
I couldn’t focus on their words or Dominic’s.
“Are we going to take care of them right away?”
Dominic’s voice was firm.
I breathed out confidently.
“Yeah. I want them all dead.”
“For now, calm down and take a deep breath.”
Facing the pirates, I followed Dominic’s advice and took a few breaths.
Though a bit nervous, knowing Dominic prioritized my safety gave me assurance that the worst could be avoided.
“I’ll imbue you with my power.”
Dominic spoke softly.
“You’ll imbue me with power?”
As I tilted my head, I felt something entering my body.
It felt invigorating, like becoming an unstoppable force.
Dominic spoke earnestly.
“Now you’ll see their moves clearly. Your skin will be as tough as steel. You won’t even feel pain when hit.”
Ah, so this is how he’s helping?
With arms crossed, I nodded approvingly at Dominic’s sharp gaze.
Perfect. Well done.
“Why are you staring so boldly?”
A commanding man approached, grabbing my chin firmly.
“If I wanted to, I could twist your neck easily.”
How strong exactly is Dominic? He had grabbed my chin, but it felt as light as a cat swatting with a paw.
I smirked and lightly pushed his hand away.
“Then try twisting it.”
Crash!
“What, what?”
I had only pushed him lightly, but he stumbled back more than three steps.
Even the beer bottle at his feet broke with a loud crash on the ground.
“From now on, the situation will turn in my favor.”
I rolled up the frilly lace around my wrist and smirked at them.
“So, you guys are the Red Priest Pirate Gang?”
