"Hmm? Aunt Clea, over there——"

  "Shh! Alice, be quiet! Let’s leave quickly!"

  "Um...... Alright."

  Clea was about to push the wheelchair back the way they came.

  Alice was still watching the fight ahead. Suddenly, a flash of white entered her field of vision. Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, Alice immediately thought of someone.

  "Wait, Aunt Clea, it’s her! It’s that sister!"

  Clea froze.

  "That sister? What are you talking about, Alice?"

  "The sister who helped our orphanage before!"

  Due to her mobility issues, Alice spent most of her time in the orphanage. She had accidentally come face-to-face with Miko once when Miko came to deliver money to help the orphanage.

  Even though Miko had been wearing a hood, Alice had seen her face back then.

  And because Alice was young, seriously ill, and looked so pitiful, Miko couldn’t bear to leave immediately and comforted her for a few words. That’s how Alice got to know Miko.

  She had told Arthur and Clea about this, but Alice only knew Miko had white hair and couldn’t describe most of her other features. So Arthur and the others had no idea who the righteous thief helping the orphanage really was.

  Clea was in a dilemma. If it were just a regular gang fight, she would have immediately taken Alice and fled far away. But the person being besieged now was the benefactor who had helped the orphanage—she really couldn’t just walk away.

  However, neither she nor Alice had any combat power. Moreover, in such a remote place, the guards would never come, nor would they dare to.

  "If only Arthur were here......"

  Because he had to take care of Alice, Arthur hadn’t chosen a research destination outside Langard. But even without leaving Langard, he came back to the orphanage much later now. It would be a long time before he returned—there was no way he could make it in time.

  But just as Clea hesitated, the situation took a new turn......

  "Bastard! What the hell is wrong with this woman? How can she be so agile!?"

  Nearly a third of the men besieging Miko had fallen, but Miko was still bouncing around, not even slightly injured.

  "Damn it! If this goes on, are we going to get counterattacked!? We have to change our strategy!"

  One of the robed men struggled to think of a plan. At that moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of Clea and Alice not far away.

  "Hmm, those two...... Is that woman wearing clothes from someone the church sent to the orphanage?"

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  "Wait! I remember...... There is an orphanage nearby. And according to intelligence, this thief seems to have connections with that orphanage......"

  "......I have a plan!"

  The robed man’s malicious gaze fixed on Clea and Alice.

  "Hey, you guys hold her off!"

  He shouted and ran toward Clea and Alice.

  Miko naturally heard this. Following the direction he was running, she saw Clea and Alice.

  "No! That child is the one from the orphanage——"

  "Don’t you dare!"

  Miko used her fastest speed, trying to catch up and stop him.

  But after hearing the man’s words, the others directly blocked his path. Unlike before, when Miko could wander around aimlessly, she now had a clear target—and was thus targeted. Her pressure suddenly increased, and she was held back, unable to move forward.

  "Run——!"

  She could only shout loudly at Alice and Clea.

  And when Clea saw one of them charging toward her and Alice, she immediately realized the danger. This was no longer a time to hesitate about leaving. She quickly grabbed the wheelchair and tried to run.

  But she might not even be able to escape alone—under such circumstances, it was even more impossible!

  "Aunt Clea, run! Leave me behind!"

  Alice shouted anxiously.

  "No! How could I abandon you! Damn it, if that’s the case——"

  Clea pulled out a small knife and stood in front of Alice.

  "D-Don’t come any closer!"

  "Ha! What are you going to do with that toy-like thing?"

  The robed man rushed in front of Clea and swatted the dagger out of her hand with one sweep.

  Then he kicked out, hitting Clea in the abdomen.

  "Ah——!"

  Clea fell to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

  "Aunt Clea——!"

  Tears almost fell from Alice’s eyes.

  The robed man glanced back and forth between Clea and Alice, then chose Alice, who seemed more likely to arouse sympathy.

  He grabbed her right hand and lifted her out of the wheelchair.

  "It hurts! Let me go, let me go!"

  Alice struggled to break free from his grip, but his hand clamped down on her wrist like an iron clamp—no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

  The robed man held Alice up in the air and shouted at Miko:

  "Hey, you little thief! If you don’t want her to die, stop resisting immediately!"

  As he spoke, he waved his sword in front of Alice’s face, the threat obvious.

  "You dirty scoundrels!"

  Miko glared at him angrily, her eyes almost blazing with anger.

  "Hehe, that’s right, we’re dirty. So what if we’re dirty? As long as being dirty helps us win, then being dirty is the best!"

  "You——"

  "Oh my, still going to resist? Do you think I’m joking with you~?"

  With that, the robed man tightened his grip.

  "It hurts, it hurts! Let me go!"

  Alice cried out in pain, and the area around her wrist quickly turned black and blue.

  "You shameless bastards!"

  Miko gritted her teeth in anger.

  But the robed men only looked at her mockingly. They didn’t rush to attack now—they just wanted to see what the "Righteous Thief" would do.

  "What’s wrong? Aren’t you a righteous thief? Aren’t you a hero? This poor little sister is suffering! How can you bear it, huh?"

  "......"

  "......I understand......"

  "Huh~? What did you say? I can’t hear you!"

  "I understand! Let her go——!!!"

  "Hahaha~!"

  The robed men laughed triumphantly.

  "Now that you understand, what are you waiting for? Put down your weapons immediately! And then——, kneel on the ground!"

  "Sister, don’t...... don’t do this for Alice......"

  Alice begged, being held captive.

  "Hmm? You little brat, do you know your place!"

  The robed man immediately tightened his grip further.

  "It hurts——!"

  "Stop! Don’t hurt her!"

  "You want me to stop? Then show me some action!!!"

  The robed man roared loudly.

  "......"

  Clang, clang!

  With two clear sounds, Miko let go of her short knives, letting them fall to the ground.

  "Hehehe! Bastard, you fought so hard earlier. Now we’ll show you how powerful we are!"

  The surrounding robed men rubbed their hands and approached Miko.

  At that moment.

  "Ah——!!!"

  The robed man holding Alice let out a scream.

  Everyone turned their eyes to him.

  They saw that Clea had hugged his leg at some point, and had stabbed a dagger into his thigh.

  "Let Alice...... go!"

  "Bastard, bastard! I’ll kill you——!!!"

  The robed man flew into a rage, raised his sword, and was about to slash at Clea.