"Reinhard, help!"
With the crowd scattering and the road ahead suddenly clear, Grin lowered his head and sprinted forward, taking huge strides as if he meant to ram the Sword Saint to death.
When he was less than five body lengths away, he jumped and threw himself at Reinhard.
Though Reinhard was caught slightly off guard, he seemed worried Grin would miss his landing and crash to the ground, so instead of avoiding him, he caught him neatly in a princess carry.
"Sword Saint, I need to report something! A spy from the north has infiltrated the capital and is plotting to murder a law-abiding citizen of Lugunica!"
As he spoke, Grin raised one hand and pointed straight toward the smiling figure standing in the shadows at the alley entrance.
It was Elsa.
Because of the position he was in, his voice came out strangely high, almost like a frightened woman's.
The nearby residents began gathering again, and even the people in the surrounding buildings pushed open their windows to look down.
"My goodness, isn't that Lord Roswaal, the Margrave of Mathers Domain?"
"Why is he curled up in the Sword Saint's arms?"
"It may be rude to say, but that's still disgusting."
"The nobility really is rotten. Who would've thought the Sword Saint had tastes like that?"
…
Reinhard paid no mind to the rumors.
His attention was already fixed on Elsa.
Even without drawing his sword, the pressure pouring off the Sword Saint was like a mountain that could never be crossed.
Elsa moved her lips, shaping a few silent words from the darkness too far away to hear.
But Grin understood what she meant.
We will meet again.
After that, Elsa slowly withdrew into the deeper shadows.
The insignia was in Grin's possession, and Grin himself had already reached Reinhard's zone of protection. There was no point staying any longer.
After weighing it all, Elsa chose to retreat.
Reinhard lowered his head slightly and spoke with a gentle smile.
"Fortunately, so many citizens came to our aid. The danger has passed for now, sir. Are you able to stand on your own?"
"Uh… of course."
Grin got back on his feet and gave himself a quick once-over.
Other than the bruise on his stomach from Elsa's kick, nothing felt seriously wrong.
A faint glint flashed through Reinhard's blue eyes.
In that instant, he had already used a Divine Protection to see through the illusion.
As the world's favored child, Reinhard could obtain Divine Protections almost at will, with the will of the world itself granting him whatever ability he needed.
After sensing someone tracking him earlier, Reinhard had realized that someone might be trying to find him for help, so he had deliberately disabled his Protection of Wind Evasion for a time, allowing the magic mirror to lock onto his location.
"Sir, you are not Roswaal L. Mathers, are you? Impersonating another person's appearance and identity without permission is a grave offense."
"Sigh…"
Grin let out a long breath, as though the third strongest man in the world had just emerged from retirement only to be bullied by numbers one and two.
"How is it that everyone can see through this Transformation Magic? I'm genuinely impressed."
As he said that, Grin waved a hand across his face and dispelled the spell.
The disguise shattered like a broken mirror, revealing his true appearance.
He stood at about the same height as Reinhard, with the clean features of an East Asian boy. It seemed the Queen Snow White illustration had sharpened his looks quite a bit.
In truth, Elsa had not seen through the flaw in his Transformation Magic by appearance alone. It was suspicion, instinct, and her monstrous eye for weakness that had exposed him.
Reinhard studied Grin's face for a moment before speaking again.
"Sir, you look rather familiar. Have we met before?"
Grin immediately backed up three steps, staring at him with alarm.
"Wait, Sword Saint, why are you trying to flirt with a man like me?"
Reinhard leaned in a little, carefully confirming what he was seeing.
"Ah, I remember now. I saw your portrait on the wanted notice board in the capital. You are much more handsome in person than in the sketch."
"Really? I'm not that handsome. Hahaha…"
Grin scratched his head sheepishly.
Then his expression froze.
"Wait. Where did you say you saw that again?"
Before he could finish, Reinhard was already behind him.
Thud.
One clean chop landed on the back of Grin's neck, and his body went limp on the spot.
…
Clang, clang.
After going in a full circle, Grin ended up back inside the prison cart.
Reinhard had joined up with the other patrolling guards and was now preparing to send him to jail first.
And Grin was not alone in there.
Another criminal sat inside the cart as well, weeping openly.
"Guards, I know I was wrong! I really didn't mean to! I only pushed them a little, and they're not even badly hurt!"
He was thin-shouldered and light-framed, the sort who looked like he might snap in half if the wind blew too hard. His short gray-brown hair was messy, and he wore only a thin green short-sleeved shirt.
Grin snorted.
"Hmph. Coward. First time riding in a prison cart?"
The moment the man heard him speak, he turned around sharply. His bangs swung aside, revealing a thin silver earring shaped like a crescent hanging from one ear.
"Senior! You sound experienced! Could you teach me how to get out quickly? I'm running out of time!"
The boy dropped to his knees in front of Grin and bowed deeply.
Grin's eyes lit up.
That earring, that look—
If he was not mistaken, this was the unlucky merchant of war, Otto Suwen.
"Hahaha, just as I thought. Your name is Otto, right? I can tell from your complexion. Dark clouds are hanging over your head. You must be bleeding money right now."
Otto's body stiffened.
He looked up, stunned.
"Y-You know that? Senior, are you some kind of fortune teller? That's amazing. Master, please save me!"
Grin shook his head and pretended to think it over.
"It's not impossible for me to save you, but…"
As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
The meaning could not have been clearer.
"Oh, of course, of course!"
Otto, already desperate, fumbled through all his pockets in a panic. After turning nearly everything inside out, he finally scraped together ten silver coins.
Grin weighed them in his palm and gave him a disdainful look.
"That's it?"
Otto looked back at him awkwardly, his voice shrinking.
"That's all… that's really all I have. I'll make up the rest once I earn more money, Master. So what should I do to get out of this situation?"
"Ahem."
Walking ahead of them, Reinhard coughed twice and cut in.
"Mr. Instigator, your existing charges are already quite enough. If you add fraud on top of them, the sentence may become very heavy."
"As for Mr. Otto Suwen, since you merely injured the creditor who came to collect your debt by accident, your sentence should only be three days in jail. There is no need to worry."
"Three days? That's fine, then. I still have time!"
Looking like a man who had just clawed his way back from the edge of death, Otto slumped against the bars of the prison cart and let out a numb sigh of relief.
Clack.
Grin tossed the money back to Otto, then pointed at the setting sun outside and spoke in a deliberately profound tone.
"My grandma once said, when the dragon carriage reaches the foot of the mountain, a road will appear on its own. Why so gloomy, Otto? Just treat these three days like a little vacation."
"Master, you're right. I've regained my confidence. I'll definitely repay the money!"
Otto straightened up and reached to put the coins away.
Then he froze.
The ten silver coins he had handed over had somehow become fourteen.
A tangled wave of pain and gratitude rose in his chest all at once. He sniffled for a while before finally lifting his head to look at Grin with wet eyes.
"What are you staring at?"
Grin clicked his tongue in disgust, then added,
"Treat it as a loan. Don't think too much of it."
"Waaah… My reputation in the merchant world is completely ruined, and yet you're still willing to lend me money. I'm so touched. It really is true that you only see real friendship in hard times!"
The next moment, Otto threw himself at Grin's leg and burst into tears.
It seemed the pressure of that crushing debt had been weighing on him for far too long.