「o— shu— it!」

「Don't— f— — me! 」

Muffled cries of frustration grow louder as Percibell slowly regains consciousness.

「Oi, what the fuck do we do now?」asks a crass, angry male voice.

Another immediately replies, 「Tch, relax, we just gotta wait it out. She can't keep it up for long anyway. Oh, the other cutie has awakened!」

The elf flutters her eyes open, her mind feeling like a swirling vortex of confusion still trying to make sense of things. The first thing to appear in her vision is a moldy and gray wall of a building, the stones slick with rainwater and grime. She realizes she is surrounded by walls on all sides, like some kind of prisoner. The light drizzle of rain seems to have passed since she was last awake.

Percibell tries to recall the last thing she saw, but her mind is racing back and forth. After preparing her bow for battle, she slipped and... fell! How could she still be alive? Where is Miss Melan?

Just then, something nudges her back. A whispering voice sounding like the sweet melodies of a morning chorus over a Wilderness meadow reach her ears, 「Percibell? Are you alright?」 She knows that voice.

「M-Miss Melan...?」 the elf probes back, sighing thankfully that her dear friend is still with her.

「Thank Goddess you're okay, Percibell,」 Miss Melan, gentle in her voice, breathes a sigh of relief, 「Just hang in there and keep quiet, help will come soon.」

But her friend's statement confuses the elf. Furrowing her brows, she attempts to move around, which, she notices, helps return the feeling in her limbs — initially, she didn't even notice she had lost it. Her confusion turns to horror as she realizes she can't move any of them. Her hands are tied behind her back, and her knees are bound together with rough ropes. They were caught and bound, her mind finally realizes. She failed to save Miss Melan and now they're both captives and at the mercy of those thugs... of... of an orc!

A wave of pure panic washes over her, and she struggles desperately to rip herself free, to escape, climb the wall, and shoot some arrows, but the only thing she musters is a very vigorous wiggle, like a squirming butterfly caught in a spider's web.

「Percibell,」 Miss Melan calls out, but the elf doesn't listen, still trying to free herself.

Percibell only vaguely hears her companion calling out to her and telling her to relax. What does she mean relax? They're caught!

「Ya promised sum real good pay outta' this!」

Only when the goons' argument reaches a high point does the elf come to her senses, and she realizes that she's putting Miss Melan in danger. Her head sways from side to side, and her vision turns blurry. She can't think straight. Is she still drunk? Even if she escaped, her weapon is nowhere to be found.

Biting her lip in lament, Percibell sinks her head, ears drooping, 「Miss Melan, I'm sorry...」

And as expected, her friend, in ever the kind voice, replies, 「For what, dearie? There's nothing—」

「I-I failed!」 the elf cuts her off, 「I had the perfect vantage point, saw them coming, but...! then... then I slipped and...! Awwuu...」 her cheeks turn rosy, the unshakeable feeling of failure and shame, and the nagging thought of such an embarrassing event. Good thing their backs are against each other. The last person she would want to face right now is sitting right behind her.

Just when Miss Melan is about to comfort her, Percibell feels a harsh tug on her hair, yanking her head back painfully.

「Iaaargh—!」 she cries in agony as she's forced up onto her bound feet. She's turned around and her eyes take in the ominous sight unfolding before her.

Four men are blocking the only exit of the narrow alley, their forms looming like dark shadows in the late evening. Two of them she has already seen. The scrawny thug and the repulsive orc from before are there, looking at her menacingly with their weapons drawn. But there are two new faces as well. The first, a man with an eyepatch, tall facial features, and slightly pointy ears that grow out to the sides — Percibell reckons he's a half-elf. He's standing next to her with his hand firmly grasping her hair in a painful hold. The last guy has light green skin with small tusks poking upwards — a... half-orc. Where are all these orcs coming from? Percibell feels a bad taste fill her mouth. He's crouching in a self-important pose, his feet firmly on the ground and back bent. His arms are resting on his knees, and each hand holds a shiny dagger.

Their gazes lock and his lips curl up in a sinister grin, revealing sharp teeth as he speaks, 「Now, you've had your lil' reunion, how 'bout ya start co-operatin' and we shall' make dis' a quick job, missy Melan?」

Miss Melan sits, bound similarly and looking equally helpless, body exposed to the cold, wet ground. Her head is exposed, free from her scarf and hood, revealing her golden locks shimmering in the dim light. Her beauty takes the breath out of Percibell's lungs, even in this precarious situation. Her long and expensive black coat has been dirtied, most likely from the rough handling by their perpetrators, but the air of ethereal importance and class still hasn't left her.

Miss Melan scowls at the half-orc crouching in front of them, 「Ah, Patrak...」 she spits out in disgust. 「Is this really your idea of respectable work? What is it you want? Money? I thought those Hebra juices were on your tab.」 Her voice is laced with venom as she glares at the orc.

Patrak's eyes smile and he throws his head back, bellowing with laughter, 「Gyahahahaha! Ya always did have a sharp tongue! But let's stop pretendin' yer innocent. Ya knew the risks when ya decide to go alone. And now, here we are.」

He then looks back at her, still grinning and relishing the sight of her unamused face as he chortles, 「Now, I'm happy ya can still joke around in this situation, but yer sure that's a good idea?」 he nods to Percibell whose ears and face twitch in agony in the grasp of his companion. 「I actually went and tried giving ya a chance before. Ya see, if ya accepted my offer of protection and paid me fairly, this wouldn't have happened. I was gonna save ya from stickin' out like a sore thumb!」 Patrak continues in a tone of conviction that he's doing her a favor. He signals to his companion and adds, 「Now, as it 'appens, my time is money, so...」 the half-elf with an eyepatch pulls Percibell's head further back, causing her to groan in pain.

Melan gives him a defiant look, hate evident in her eyes, 「I swear if you just as put a—」

「Nah-nah-nah!」 Patrak cuts her off, shaking his head playfully. 「Little missy, ya got it all wrong!」

He rises and quickly closes the distance between them, making sure to cross over the small puddles of water in his path with one hop. He then gets down to her face level and eyes her from close enough to almost bump their noses. With one of his daggers aimed at her, he slowly moves it toward her face.

「Ya in no position to make demands, bitch. We both know the drill,」 he says as the tip of his dagger touches her chin but instead of cutting into her, a small sizzling sound rings out, and tiny white sparks fly about. 「Drop whatever this stupid barrier is!」

「Miss Melan!」 Percibell jerks her body, 「Stop! Don't touch her!」 she pleads, however, this makes the orc who's guarding the exit angry. He strides forward, teeth bared and brandishing his club, menacingly hitting the palm of his other hand. The petite elf shrieks in terror, tears streaming down her face. 「Uwe n-no—!」 she cries, desperately trying to jump back, with no success. This continues until the orc stands between her and Miss Melan, looming over Percibell. She feels helpless against the huge enemy, and with her mind and body still affected by the beers she drank earlier, she can neither think of nor do anything to help. To make matters worse, this all happened because of her stupid antics, and it caused her to even involve her kind and graceful savior. After her big talk about how great adventurers were, she could only present a shameful display of an adventurer's capability.

Percibell then notices Patrak's gaze fixed upon her, malevolent desire in his eye. She wonders if the half-orc knows of her internal turmoil, but it matters not — he must know whatever barrier he's trying to force Miss Melan to drop by threatening Percibell, will lead to Miss Melan's inevitable suffering, which effectively adds to her torment.

The next words to come out of Patrak's mouth confirms this, making her heart drop, her conscience feeling like it's made out of lead.

「Oi, you, tell yer human friend here to drop her shield, or else!」 he commands.

Percibell squirms and closes her eyes in despair, 「N-no... p-pleasee...」

The eyepatch man behind her tugs her hair painfully, as if yanking a chain, and directs the petite elf's frame towards Miss Melan as he cackles with glee, 「Don't forget that your little elf friend here doesn't have the same protection!」

What hurts Percibell the most is not the thugs' cruel actions, but how Miss Melan is forced to cave under Patrak's commands, clearly unable to bear the torment any longer. Miss Melan speaks through clenched teeth, her spirit broken, 「Alright, alright! I will do it! I'll give you all my belongings!」

As if they had rehearsed their next move, all four men look at each other and exchange their most wicked and greedy grins yet. The spear-wielding man still guarding the exit approaches, eager to not miss out on the spoils. Meanwhile, the eyepatch man once more savagely yanks on Percibell's hair, this time sending her flying into a murky and muddy puddle. Unable to steer herself, the elf takes the fall with a painful groan.

「Just promise me you will let us go!」 Miss Melan pleads, not wanting any more harm to befall her and her friend.

Patrak nods at her and gestures the orc to get ready, 「Relax, just give us everythin' ya got, and yer will nevah see us again,」 he responds.

Miss Melan bites her lips in vexation and, within a few moments, a flash of light shines over her briefly, as her protective shield dissipates, exposing her vulnerable form. Meanwhile, Percibell struggles to move her body out of the puddle. The orc starts ransacking with feverish greed. He rips off Miss Melan's coat and checks every one of its pockets.

「Woooooh!」 the orc growls in a guttural voice, 「Right on mark! I knew she filthy rich!」 he gleams inside the pouch he managed to pull out and starts counting the gold coins. 「'nuff to feed a whole fam' for years!」

Patrak lifts Miss Melan's head by her chin using the tip of his dagger, and mockingly says, 「Gotta give it to filthy rich people. Bitch ain't got no sense for money! Who walks around with this much gold?」

The eyepatch man and the spear wielder both rub their hands with lecherous looks on their faces as they ogle the blonde, who has been left in a black skintight blouse accentuating her full breasts. There's nothing to hide her curves now, and with her black leather pants covering her long legs together with knee-high boots, she looks like an alluring high-class woman — even in such unassuming clothing.

「Hey, when can we do her?」 one of them asks with a whistle and licks his lips salaciously, struggling to hold himself back.