As soon as we exited the room, the commotion outside became evident. Though we were some distance from the castle gates, the scene of knights and mages surrounding the area had naturally drawn onlookers. Beyond the ranks of the soldiers, curious townsfolk peered cautiously toward us.

“They made it out unscathed!”

“What happened to Alain and the others?”

“What’s going on!?”

The knights in the perimeter, swords drawn and brimming with intent, looked visibly shaken to see us emerge unharmed. Answering their bewildered cries seemed tiresome, but what should I do here?

“Wait!”

Before I could decide, Tobil rushed out of the room after us, shouting to halt the situation.

“Ah, Tobil. Sorry for causing such a fuss,” I said, though my tone carried no trace of actual remorse. Still, I figured a token apology might ease things.

“That’s not what matters… Are you sure this is okay?”

His concern was touching, though truthfully, I had no real idea if we were “okay.”

“Who knows?”

“Hey, Shu? You do have a plan, right?” Rio asked, fixing me with a skeptical glare.

“The knights and mages themselves aren’t an issue,” I admitted, shrugging. “The bigger question is whether we can still move around the city after this.”

“Ah… You’re right.”

Would they put out a wanted notice? It’s hard to say. Without photos or advanced identification methods, maybe I didn’t need to be overly worried.

“If it comes to that, we can just disguise ourselves,” Rio suggested.

“Yeah, maybe magic could help with that.”

“Could be.”

“I’ve never heard of magic like that,” Tobil interjected, clearly exasperated by our casual conversation. Around us, the soldiers were anything but relaxed, their focus razor-sharp on our every movement.

“Tobil, you might want to distance yourself. No need to get dragged into this,” I advised.

“…Understood,” he muttered, stepping away reluctantly.

“Tobil! Are you alright?”

Two knights hurried toward him as he backed off.

“What happened inside?”

“Are Alain and the others safe?”

“They’re fine,” Tobil assured them. “No injuries that I could see…”

The knights continued questioning Tobil, but it was time for us to leave.

“Hey, Shu. There’s already enough of a scene—why don’t we just head straight to Princess Lilia now?”

Rio’s question was reasonable enough. Behind us, the knights yelled things like, “Surrender quietly!” and “Listen to reason!” but we paid them no mind. Why should we listen to people who refuse to hear us out?

Rio’s magnetic field still held the knights at bay, and I activated a magic disruption field around us in a donut shape to avoid interfering with her spell. A few mages were still lingering in the room, but they weren’t a threat.

“I considered that,” I replied, smirking. “But I’d rather take them on when they’re fully prepared.”

“Huh?”

Rio blinked, her expression blank. Then, glancing around at the scene, she turned back to me.

“You’ve got plenty of opponents right here, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but these are just grunts.”

“Ha! What did you just say!?” one of the knights snarled, their composure visibly cracking.

“Enough! If you won’t listen, we’ll handle this our way!”

Ah, here it comes. I crossed my arms, standing ready as the knight delivered his ultimatum.

“Finally willing to talk?”

No, not really. I was just finishing a strategy discussion with Rio.

“Drop your weapons and surrender!”

Rio and I exchanged a bemused glance. Weapons? We didn’t have any. What were we supposed to drop, our fists?

“I’m not going to be arrested for crimes I didn’t commit.”

“So that’s your answer…”

The mages behind the knights began chanting in unison.

“Looks like we’re leaving now,” I declared, stepping forward.

“Then we’ll stop you!”

The knights and mages launched their attacks almost simultaneously.

“Dark Bind!”
“Earth Bind!”
“Ice Bind!”

The mages called out their incantations while the knights charged forward. From behind, the mages in the room cast Flame Javelin to catch us off guard. Predictably, nothing happened within the disruption field.

The Ice Bind spell did manage to activate, sending frost creeping toward our feet. A simple stomp, infused with magic, shattered the ice effortlessly.

The six knights pressed forward, but four were caught by Rio’s magnetic field, their armor pinning them to the ground as if glued.

“What… What is this!?”

With most of the opposition neutralized, I turned to Rio, grinning.

“Alright, I think we’re done here. Let’s head back to the inn.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rio said, following me as we strode through the encirclement. Behind us, the remaining soldiers and mages could only watch, stunned and defeated.