Tilea's Worries

Miless-chan said she was going to the restroom and dashed outside the shop. I waited for a while, but she still hadn’t returned.

The restroom is located right next to the shop. Unless someone is incredibly absentminded, there’s no way they’d get lost.

What’s going on?

Did she get a stomachache?

Concerned, I decided to go check on her.

I arrived at the restroom and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

“Miless-chan, are you okay?”

I called out.

No reply at all.

Conclusion: It seems Miless-chan isn’t here.

Just in case, I opened the door and peeked inside.

It didn’t look like the restroom had been used. She never came by here.

Worried that something might have happened, I started searching the area around the shop.

“Miless-chaaaan, where are you?”

I called out while looking around.

And then, in less than a minute, I received some crucial information.

Apparently, Oru had taken Miless-chan to the Underground Empire. One of the soldiers, Ouhon, had witnessed the scene.

Oru again—what did that guy do this time?

Feeling uneasy, I hurried to Oru’s room, where the Second Division was stationed. I descended the stairs that led to the Underground Empire and arrived at the Second Division’s quarters.

I knocked lightly and opened the door.

Wha—!? What the hell is he doing!?

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and shut the door, rubbing my eyes.

There’s no way this is real, right? Impossible. That’s got to be some kind of criminal syndicate. I must be hallucinating from overworking.

Calm down.

I took a deep breath in and out. I repeated the process several times.

Alright, I’ve calmed down.

I opened the door again.

Nope, nothing’s changed.

There he was, Oru, putting a bag over a helpless girl’s head and acting completely deranged.

*Sigh*… Seriously, this guy never changes…

I adjusted my shoes, tapping them against the floor to make sure they were secure.

Then…

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”  

“Hogeeee!!”

I launched a flying kick at the perverted Oru. He crashed into the wall from the force.

Miless-chan coughed as she removed the bag from her head.

Phew, I made it just in time.

If I hadn’t shown up, Miless-chan would’ve been traumatized by Oru’s actions. If I’d left them any longer, who knows what Oru would have escalated to.

Oru was unconscious, foaming at the mouth.  

Miless-chan, shocked, was sniffling, her eyes filled with tears.

I walked over to Miless-chan and gently hugged her.

“I’m sorry, Miless-chan. You must have been so scared.”  

“Uuuh, hic, T-Tilea-san…”

Miless-chan was sobbing uncontrollably…

She must have been really frightened. She clung tightly to my back, and I gently rubbed her back like a mother soothing her child.

As I comforted Miless-chan, Oru eventually woke up.

It seemed his friend Gil had given him a potion. Oru staggered to his feet, looking confused as to why he’d been kicked. He tilted his head in bewilderment.

This feels like déjà vu. It’s the second time since that incident with Jessica-chan. I thought Oru had learned his lesson. Using violence against girls is the lowest of the low.

I bit my lip, glaring at Oru. He trembled, clearly terrified by my expression.

“Oru, I told you there wouldn’t be a second time. I can’t believe you made the same mistake again. I won’t forgive you for betraying my trust.”

“T-This is a misunderstanding! There is a deep, deep reason behind this!”  

“Oh really? What reason? Oru, I’m pretty angry right now. I’m not going to let this slide like before.”

I clenched my fist, blew on it, and cracked my knuckles.

“T-T-Tilea-sama, th-this is a misunderstanding. I swear it’s a misunderstanding!”  

Oru began frantically explaining, claiming it wasn’t violence but healing. He desperately tried to plead with me, his voice trembling with tears.

Hmm. He really seems like he doesn’t want to get punched. It’s hard to believe someone this scared would intentionally break a promise with me.

Could it really have been healing and not violence?

But then, why is Miless-chan hiding behind me, trembling in fear?

“Hic, i-it’s true! I just wanted to heal her, to make her better…” Oru insisted, sobbing.

Hearing him sound so desperate did tug at my heartstrings.

“What nonsense are you spouting!? Tilea-san, this guy is lying! He kissed me, tried to grope my chest, and then put a bag over my head to kill me!”

Miless-chan, seemingly at the end of her patience, snapped. She raised her voice, shouting at Oru from behind me.

I didn’t realize she could be so feisty. She must have been really, really angry.

Oru, undeterred by her protests, kept insisting, “It’s not like that! It’s not like that!”

Miless-chan, meanwhile, shouted, “You pervert! You creep! I’ll have you brought before the royal family!”

The two of them were shouting back and forth, and it was getting out of control.

“Hey, both of you, calm down,” I said, trying to intervene.

“It’s this jerk!”  

“It’s you!”

“I said calm down!”

I raised my voice a bit, and that seemed to get them to stop. Though they were still glaring daggers at each other, at least they had stopped arguing for now.

“Can you both explain what happened?”

I asked gently, trying not to rile them up again.

“I was trying to heal her,” Oru claimed.

“He was trying to mess with me and kill me,” Miless-chan countered.

Hmm, their stories couldn’t be more opposite.

“Tilea-sama,”

At that moment, a third party spoke up. It was Gil, Oru’s quiet, serious friend. Despite being a bit reserved, Gil was the most level-headed member of Oru’s unit. I knew he’d explain the situation calmly.

“Gil-kun, can you explain what happened?”  

“Yes, ma’am.”

Gil began explaining what had happened.

Miless-chan interrupted several times, shouting “That’s not true! He’s lying!” but I managed to calm her down.

Normally, I’d side with Miless-chan without question. She’s a girl, and more importantly, she’s Timu’s friend.

But in this case...

Oru’s actions were… things I had actually suggested to him.

After hearing the whole story, it boiled down to this:

Miless-chan met Oru and they got into an argument. I’ll skip over why they argued—Oru, being his usual chuuni self, probably provoked her. If I got into the specifics, we’d be here forever.

Anyway, during their argument, Miless-chan tripped and scraped her leg. Seeing this, Oru panicked and threw her into a potion bath. There’s so much to unpack here.

But the most important thing is this: Oru was trying to help. Sure, if you dig deeper, this is all Oru’s fault in the first place…

But if I scold Oru now, he might become hesitant in a real emergency. If he starts doubting whether it’s okay to help, wondering if he’ll be scolded again, he might hesitate when someone truly needs rescuing.

If someone’s drowning, you need to act without hesitation. That decisiveness is what matters.

I need to praise Oru for his quick response. Sure, his method was clumsy, but I’ll give him a thorough lecture on that later.

“A-Am I in the wrong again, Tilea-sama?”

Oru asked, his face filled with anxiety, as if the world were about to end.

Just as I thought. If I scold him here, he’ll probably never attempt a rescue again. That’s unacceptable.

I smiled brightly. Like when a failing student finally scores 30 points on a test. Even if the student is terrible, there are times when they deserve praise.

“No, Oru, you did well. That quick thinking is exactly what’s important.”

“Hah! I am truly honored. So, I was right after all!”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll teach you the proper method later, though.”  

“What!? You’ll once again personally bestow upon me the wisdom of Tilea-sama?”

Oru’s mood changed instantly. He was practically skipping with joy. To think my words alone could cause such a drastic shift. Simple, or maybe just obedient?

What was that saying about crying one minute and laughing the next?

Wait—whoa!

I turned around to find Miless-chan shaking her head in disbelief.

…Oops, I forgot.

I’d been so focused on handling Oru that I completely ignored Miless-chan.

Miless-chan looked like someone who had just found out their lover was actually their worst enemy. She was shaking her head, as if rejecting the entire situation.

Yup, she’s completely misunderstanding this.

It must seem like I’m condoning Oru’s perverted behavior.

“Uh, um…”

I instinctively reached out to grab Miless-chan’s sleeve.

“Let go of me!”  

“W-Wait, calm down!”

“I-I trusted you… I trusted you!”

This is bad. She’s seriously misunderstanding.

“U-Uh, Miless-chan?”  

“…Excuse me.”

Miless-chan, biting her lip and looking frustrated, tried to run off. If she leaves now, my relationship with her will be over.

I quickly dashed ahead to block her path.

“Move!”  

“W-Wait!”  

“No!”

Miless-chan tried to run past me.

I immediately sidestepped, stretching my arms out to block her.

“Grr, move!”  

“No.”  

“Move, I said!”  

“I’m not moving.”

I blocked her attempts to escape, moving side to side like a game of dodgeball.

“Hah… hah… If you keep blocking me, I’ll use magic,” she threatened.

Uh-oh.

Miless-chan started generating a magic orb in her right hand. I could see flames swirling, coalescing into a single fiery ball.

This is bad.

Miless-chan was a student of the Magic Academy. If she got serious, I’d be toast in an instant.

“I don’t want to use magic on a civilian, but if you keep getting in my way…”

Miless-chan’s eyes were deadly serious.

This is dangerous.

If I take a hit from that fireball, I won’t walk away unscathed. I might even die.

Oh, but she doesn’t want to use magic on civilians, right?

That’s probably why she didn’t use magic against Oru earlier, even after he put her through so much. Miless-chan has a strong professional ethic.

So maybe it’s just a bluff?

No, that’s not it. The only reason she didn’t use magic before was because she was choking and couldn’t breathe. There’s no way she would’ve tolerated that much abuse without defending herself.

She must have wanted to use magic back then. And now, with her calm but angry expression, there’s no doubt she’ll use it.

I could feel cold sweat running down my back.

Miless-chan wasn’t some amateur magician like me. She could cast real, professional-grade spells. It was like facing someone constantly armed with a gun in the modern world.

Angering someone like that...

Miless-chan’s misunderstanding ran deep. If I failed to clear things up, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Wait… now that I think about it, Miless-chan is a noble, right?

She might have the legal right to execute someone on the spot. Oru’s actions were bad enough that no one would blame her if she did.

But wait, Oru’s a noble too, so he should be fine. It’s just me, a commoner, who might end up executed.

The cold sweat wouldn’t stop.

“Hahaha! You’re so ignorant. You’ll never escape from Tilea-sama!” Oru cackled.

Completely ignoring my panic, Oru laughed maniacally.

Who does he think I’m doing this for? I’m cleaning up *his* mess! Maybe I should just leave him here. Offering him up as a sacrifice to Miless-chan might not be such a bad idea after all.