After wandering around the city for dozens of minutes,

Yumo's brows gradually knit tighter and tighter.

After finishing the barbecue, she visited several more shops and ordered quite a few local specialties. Yet almost every single time, the shopkeepers would freeze the moment they saw her.

At first, they always looked as though they wanted to say something.

But soon afterward, her attitude seemed to make them doubt themselves instead. After struggling internally for a while, they ultimately chose to remain silent...

This left Miss Yumo thoroughly puzzled.

Those looks...

They must recognize me.

Or rather, they recognize the identity I'm currently using.

But if they recognized me...

Why wasn't anyone saying anything?

Besides, why would so many people recognize an ordinary slave girl?

Not to mention...

she had made a few adjustments to her appearance.

'Strange...'

Still confused, Yumo slowly walked over to a nearby vendor selling cotton candy.

This time, instead of speaking in her usual adorable, childlike tone, she simply stood expressionlessly in front of the stall.

The moment the young vendor noticed her,

his face instantly filled with horror.

He staggered backward in fright.

"Miss Yuan'er?!"

His voice was filled with fear and apprehension, as though Yumo had once done something utterly terrifying to him.

The moment she heard that title,

Yumo's sapphire-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

He said...

Yuan'er?

"Um... who is Yuan'er?"

Yumo slowly stepped forward and asked curiously.

Hearing the question, the young man froze for a moment.

After carefully studying the pink-haired little girl for a while, surprise gradually appeared in his black eyes.

"Y-You're... not Miss Yuan'er?"

"I'm not."

Yumo answered without hesitation.

"So, who exactly is this Yuan'er you're talking about?"

"Miss Yuan'er... sh-she's..."

However,

just as Yumo was finally about to obtain the answer,

the young man's words abruptly stopped.

His face suddenly became terrified as he stared uneasily behind Yumo.

At the same time,

a deep voice, dripping with provocation and thick with lust, slowly sounded beside Yumo's ear, causing her to bite her lip involuntarily.

"My, my~ Where did such an adorable little girl come from?"

"..."

The instant she heard those familiar thug-like lines, Miss Yumo's little face darkened.

Seriously...

Just when I'm finally about to get the answer, someone has to come cause trouble?

What kind of cliché is this?!

Letting out a helpless sigh inwardly,

Yumo slowly turned around and looked at the man standing beside her.

He was a burly, bearded giant standing around two and a half meters tall, clad in brown leather armor and carrying an enormous warhammer.

Obviously,

he was the one who had just spoken.

Meanwhile,

the moment the bearded man appeared, everyone nearby instinctively retreated, looking at him with fearful eyes.

The nearby shopkeepers and residents all knew who he was.

He was an A-Rank adventurer who had only arrived in Wind Facing City recently.

He was extremely powerful.

Unfortunately,

his character was utterly rotten.

Ever since the main force of the Blizzard Knights had left Wind Facing City, leaving the city somewhat understaffed and public security slightly weakened, this bearded man had become completely lawless.

Just a few days ago,

over a trivial dispute,

he had beaten the old butcher at the end of the street until he was half dead.

And now?

Looking at the wine bottle in his right hand, along with the overwhelming smell of alcohol surrounding him,

it wasn't difficult to guess.

The bastard was drunk again...

Once drunk,

he became even more unrestrained.

Rumor had it that he was especially fond of little girls.

Back in the Sadik Empire, he had supposedly abused an eight-year-old child to death, earning himself a wanted notice before fleeing to the Snow Night Empire.

Which meant...

wasn't that little girl now his target?

Looking at the petite little girl, who wasn't even one meter thirty tall,

the surrounding crowd couldn't help but look at her with sympathy.

If such a delicate little girl fell into that beast's hands...

there was no way she'd survive.

With such a tiny body...

she would probably be torn apart.

Imagining the girl's likely fate,

everyone around them shuddered.

Although someone had already gone to notify the city guards,

they probably wouldn't arrive in time.

And even if they did,

their strength likely wouldn't be enough to stop this drunken A-Rank mercenary.

However,

at that very moment,

two men with an especially strong sense of justice stepped out of the crowd.

Standing beside the bearded man, they sternly rebuked him, seemingly intending to stop the impending atrocity.

"This is Wind Facing City! Don't think you can just—...?!"

Boom—!

Before either of them could finish speaking,

the hot-tempered brute suddenly swung his massive arm.

In an instant,

both men were sent flying.

They smashed violently into a distant wall, blasting open two enormous holes.

For a moment,

everyone held their breath.

No one dared say another word.

The bearded man had already lifted his spiked club.

Anyone who dared speak again would undoubtedly be sent flying by that merciless weapon.

The strongest person among the gathered civilians was only Fourth-Tier.

None of them dared confront a Fifth-Tier mercenary head-on.

Seeing the crowd suddenly fall silent,

the bearded man grinned smugly.

He then turned back toward the adorable little girl who already seemed like prey trapped in his pocket.

Just imagining the sweet cries she'd make beneath him filled him with excitement.

"Heh heh... Little girl, come on. Uncle will take you somewhere fun~"

As he spoke,

he slowly reached out his right hand toward the girl, revealing what he believed to be a handsome smile.

In reality,

it was nothing more than a nauseatingly lecherous grin.

Seeing this,

a faint crimson glow appeared within Miss Yumo's sapphire-blue eyes.

A dangerous aura gradually spread around the young girl.

This man...

was absolutely disgusting.

Yumo's eyes were filled with contempt.

If she were still inside the Great Winter Forest and encountered someone like this,

there was an eighty or ninety percent chance she'd simply summon the Abyss Demons to tear him apart and devour him.

Emm...

No, wait.

A rotten pile of meat like this would probably upset even the Abyss Demons' stomachs.

Better to just erase him with a Nihility Cannon and turn him into ashes...

Unfortunately,

they weren't inside the forest now.

She couldn't act so openly.

She needed to resolve this quietly.

'How about...'

Thinking this,

Miss Yumo narrowed her eyes slightly.

A butterfly marked with crimson patterns slowly fluttered down from the branches of a nearby tree.

I'll just knock him unconscious.

Everyone can assume he passed out because he drank too much.

That was Yumo's plan.

Once the crowd dispersed...

or after night had completely fallen...

she would simply send another Blood Butterfly to quietly kill him.

Trash like this was nothing more than wasted resources.

Besides,

he wasn't even particularly strong...

Thinking that,

a cruel smile slowly appeared on Yumo's little face.

However,

the bearded man remained completely unaware that death had already descended upon him.

His eyes stayed fixed greedily upon Yumo.

Seeing that she still hadn't answered,

the drunken brute finally lost his patience.

He directly reached his greasy hand toward her.

Everyone watching held their breath.

The smile on Miss Yumo's face grew even brighter.

And just then,

Yumo's sapphire-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

'Hm? Someone's coming?'

The next instant,

under the astonished gazes of everyone present,

a brown-haired woman dressed in elegant noble attire suddenly burst into view, wrapped in blazing orange battle aura and moving with incredible speed.

"You filthy pig!! What do you think you're doing to my granddaughter?!"

Along with the woman's furious roar,

her fist, wrapped in overwhelming battle aura, slammed directly into the bearded mercenary's face.

BOOM!!

Blood exploded everywhere.

Accompanied by a deafening crash,

her iron fist buried itself deep into his face.

Blood and shattered teeth erupted from both his mouth and nose.

The next instant,

driven by the terrifying force,

the enormous man was blasted straight through the air.

He slammed violently into a distant bronze statue.

With a thunderous CLANG!

the bearded man collapsed and never got back up.

'Wow~'

Witnessing the scene,

Miss Yumo revealed a slightly surprised expression.

Clearly,

this unexpected intervention by the unknown noblewoman had caught her completely off guard.

However,

what surprised her even more

came immediately afterward.

The very next moment,

just as Yumo was about to politely thank the noblewoman out of courtesy,

the woman suddenly turned around and pulled her tightly into a warm embrace without any warning.

"Yuan'er! You've finally come home!!"

"Huh?"

??!

"Uh... th-this... what's going on?!"

For a moment,

Miss Yumo stood there,

completely dumbfounded.