Over the next few days, I collected my reward for the quest with Mary and even ranked up from E to D after the guild confirmed the plate from that bandit. It felt so lovely to be free from responsibilities again as I breathed in the city's air from atop an abandoned building. I remembered the scary lecture that Mary gave me about Mythril coins when I pulled them out, causing me to shudder.

Mary forced me to divide my coins into gold, silver, and bronze denominations. At the same time, the adventurer’s guild bank held the majority of them. So, I guessed this was an actress’ passive income. 

I put mana into my eyes and looked down at the city from my vantage point. The mana signatures of most were dim. Flying up higher on my broom, I got a better view. Everybody looked like ants from up there, and I could see the reckless city planning. Most things made sense, but the slums were the worst offenders—piles of rubble and stacked shacks. 

Heaving a sigh, I looked down at another cliche occurring. In an alleyway, a thuggish ruffian had cornered a small girl. I noticed I had seen the girl before but couldn’t pinpoint where. She had a little creature beside her that was hissing at the guy. Looking closer, it was an ominous-looking black bat.

The man wore a black outfit and held crimson daggers as he talked to her. I put magic power into my ears to hear what he was saying. 

“...after that, my promotion will be guaranteed at the assassin’s guild.”

I knew someone needed to protect this girl, but I was not a hero. As time seemed to slow, I thought about what I should do. 

Quickly flying to the guild popped into my mind. There were strong adventurers there who’d be willing to help. But I shook my head. If I flew to the guild, that girl would surely be kidnapped or killed. Thinking about it, he was probably a weak ruffian who preyed on little girls, and I just ranked up. So, I might have been stronger than him. 

I steeled myself and flew down on my broom, landing between the girl and the bandit. My robes flapped in the breeze with some wind magic for dramatic effect, and then I pointed at the hooded man. 

“You! Preying on little girls in broad daylight. You should be ashamed of yourself!” My hero’s entrance had been completed. I’d hoped this would give me a boost to my acting career. 

“H-how did you?” He asked.

I smiled at the perfect reaction. Indeed, this was how it was supposed to be. A hero shows up exactly when they mean to, and then the villain is surprised. 

“Fufufu,” I laughed. “How dare your vile deeds go unpunished while I am in this city, villain! I’ll forgive you for not knowing Eerie vo—”

His reaction made me realize that the man was a B-list actor at best. Every good actor knows that a speech should not be interrupted. Even though it would be a perfect speech full of heroism, the man charged at me. 

He aimed a dagger straight for my neck at the speed of a turtle. However, I could tell it was a feint. His real aim was throwing the other dagger at the girl behind me. I was just in his way. 

As I blocked the dagger aimed at my neck by grabbing his wrist, the dagger in the air was quickly deflected with my staff into a nearby building. What amazed me was the dagger that got deflected pierced deep into the structure—some of the bricks falling away. 

The man tried to pull his hand away from my grip, ultimately failing. 

“Why?” 

“Surprised?” I asked. “The answer is obvious. I am a D-rank adventurer.”

“Huh!?” He pulled even stronger away from me, but the grip would not relent. “How!? I am an A-rank assassin! This would have promoted me to S-rank!”

“Maybe your acting skills are better than I thought?” I looked back at the little girl who’d been standing there watching along with her bat. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t ignore me!” The bandit tried to kick my side, but I blocked it with my staff.

The girl nodded and smiled at me. “I’m okay.”

“Good,” I said and turned back to the bandit. “There are many things I could forgive. I could forgive your lousy acting skills. I could even forgive a bandit that pretends to be an assassin.” I paused and let out a wave of magic power. “We all want to be special, right?” 

He nodded fiercely, unable to speak.

“But there is one thing I can’t forgive,” I said, putting magic into my voice. His body began to shiver as I smiled. “I can’t forgive people who prey on innocent children.” 

A black sphere coalesced around my staff and grew bigger before moving to the trembling bandit. By the time it was in front of him, it had grown to the size of a basketball. 

“N-no! Please, wait! I have money!” 

His cries fell on deaf ears. The black ball sucked his entire body inside in an instant. Only his daggers remained, the one in his hand falling to the ground. 

When I turned to see if the girl was okay, she ran up to me and hugged me. I smiled and gently patted her head. 

“Witch,” she said, hugging me even tighter. 

“There, there, it will be okay now. What’s your name?” 

“I am Sine! What about witch?”

I smiled tenderly. “I am Eerie von Witchhat. Where are your parents?”

“In a different place.”

I frowned. Sine’s parents must have passed on, but I wondered if she was an orphan here if that was the case. “Where are you staying?”

“I stay in the castle.”

The royal family here must have been good people to take in such a girl. “Allow me to take you back. Or I can bring you to—”

“No! Stay with witch," she said, clinging onto me even more.

“Huh?”