In the back alley, six men in their twenties surrounded a man in his forties or fifties wearing a suit. No matter how you looked at it, this was a clear case of extortion in progress.

"Tch, what a disappointment. You’ve only got thirty thousand yen on you!"

Yeah, that confirms it. I’d better hurry up and help that man. But I need Mogi-san to stay here and wait.

He’s been seriously practicing for the tournament, so it wouldn’t be good for him to get involved here. If he seriously injures one of them, even if it’s to protect someone, his tournament participation could be revoked. In the worst case, he might even get arrested.

Luckily, my danger-sensing skill isn’t reacting, so that man’s life isn’t in immediate danger. And six guys like that aren’t really a big threat. Just last week, I caught a group carrying guns and katanas.

"Mogi-san, with the tournament coming up, I'll handle this. Please wait here and call the police."

"Aniki, sorry!"

"Huh? Wait, hey!?"

Mogi-san broke into a run, ignoring my instructions. Whoa, hold on a second!

"Eeeek!"

"Dieeee!!"

Crack!

"Gwaaah!"

"Wait, wait! I told you to stay put; I was going to handle it!"

Despite me trying to stop him, Mogi-san delivered a powerful punch straight to the face of the guy who had been about to hit the man.

"Even if it’s a direct order from Aniki, I can’t sit this one out! I can’t stand scumbags who gang up on one person!"

"Yeah, but if you get involved now, it’s going to be a problem!"

I can’t say this in front of these guys, but what about the tournament? What if you get disqualified or end up injured?

"That's that, and this is this! I can’t leave that old guy hanging, and if it costs me the tournament, so be it!"

...Damn, even though it’s Mogi-san, he's pretty damn cool right now!

"Hey, who the hell are you guys? Ugh, one of our guys is already down."

"What are you, wannabe heroes or something? Guess we’ll have to squeeze some compensation out of you, too. You really think you two can beat us? One of you is just a kid."

"Oi, make sure that old man doesn’t slip away in the confusion."

"………………"

Seriously, scumbags like these are everywhere. Ganging up on one person pisses me off too—I totally get where Mogi-san is coming from. It reminds me of when I used to get bullied...and that memory's making me mad.

"Please don’t overdo it. And focus on not getting hurt rather than worrying about these guys."

"Ossu! I’m not worried about you, Aniki, but stay sharp."

"Huh? Are you guys seriously going to fight us? Are you stupid or something?"

"Die, you bastards!"

"Alright, that’s the last one."

"Damn, Aniki! You didn’t even get hit once while taking on two guys. That’s incredible!"

The group split into pairs and attacked us. I dodged their attacks using my foresight skill and delivered measured blows to the attackers—no magic this time since I’m not wearing my usual black mask.

Looks like Mogi-san took a few punches but nothing too serious. One of the guys tried to run, but I caught him after taking care of my two opponents. Now the only one left is the guy watching the man to keep him from escaping.

"Wh-Who the hell are you guys!?"

He was clearly losing it, unable to process what had just happened.

"D-Don’t come any closer!"

"Eek!"

The last guy yanked the man to his feet and pressed a knife against his throat.

"Mogi-san, stay back."

Hmm...after all the stuff I’ve been through, a knife doesn’t even faze me anymore. Honestly, I’m even a little glad he pulled a weapon—this just makes their charges worse.

Still, I can’t get careless. A knife is always dangerous, especially for Mogi-san, who’s just a regular guy. If he tries to jump in again, I’ll stop him, no matter what.

"D-Don’t come any closer! Can’t you see the knife!?"

"Eeeek!"

I cast a protective barrier around the man's neck, just in case. Then I dashed forward and struck the thug’s wrist with a knife-hand chop.

"Gyaaah!"

Probably fractured the bone with that hit. He collapsed, cradling his wrist in agony.

"You're safe now. Can you stand?"

"Y-Yeah. Thank you, really. You saved me."

Looking more closely at the man, his glasses were broken and blood trickled from his nose and mouth. It wasn’t life-threatening, but these guys had done a number on him. I’d like to heal him with magic, but I can’t without my mask.

Well, time to call the police and wrap this up. But first, I need to have a little chat with these guys.