More guards of Realight City pour in from alleyways and buildings. The streets which were barren til now are filled with soldiers armed with swords and shields. The captain who shot the arrow speaks up loudly.

Guard Captain 「 Cheshyr Realight! Under order of the city guard, you are under arrest. Submit peacefully and no blood will be shed. 」

The guards are attempting to arrest Cheshyr but something seems off. They’re practically emitting a thick air of malice around them and their glare is serious.

Guard Captain 「 You are wanted for crimes against the Baroness and her citizens. Larceny, burglary, assault, accessory, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, kidnapping, harassment. The list is as you know. 」

I think the rumors are getting out of control and starting to take a life of their own. Or rather, that’s how serious the charges are currently. What is Cheshyr’s reaction to these accusations?

Cheshyr 「 Fuhahaha! I see my evil deeds have reached far and wide. Yes, it is I who is so responsible. What can you mortals do to me? 」

She is relishing in the attention even if a bit misplaced.

Guard Captain 「 Naturally, we will carry out the death penalty! 」

Cheshyr 「 Eh? Wha – ?! 」

Cheshyr’s wide grin collapses and only a frightened expression remains. She finally realizes that this isn’t a game anymore. But she already admitted to it in front of the guards.

Becca 「 Sir, do you have evidence of these crimes? I don’t doubt you, of course, but the law is the law after all. Oh and don’t believe what this fool says, she isn’t quite there in the head you know. 」

Cheshyr looks offended by my words. Hey I’m just trying to help you out.

Guard Captain 「 We’ve a witness testimony most crucial and trustworthy. And a confession from co-conspirators held in jail. 」

Becca 「 Let me guess. The witness is Alice isn’t it? And I have a guess as to the conspirators ratting Cheshyr out. 」

Guard Captain 「 !! How did you know? No, more importantly, you are to address her with respect. 」

He’s directing his glare at me now. Looks like I hit the mark, but man, that is some impressive loyalty. I expected something like this but I wonder how Alice managed to convince the guard captain to believe her. Maybe she’s good at faking tears.

Becca 「 Having one witness is fine and all, but have you considered the possibility that their testimony is unreliable or biased? Make sure you have all the facts straight. Are you sure about this? This seems hasty to me. 」

Guard Captain 「 Quiet! Her highness Alice is the most trustworthy individual in the whole city. Her word is more than enough to establish guilt. 」

The other guards whisper similar positive things about Alice this or Alice that. Nothing negative at all, just endless praise. Compared to that they vomit insults at Cheshyr like she’s not related to Alice. This is some impressive mob mentality at work.

Becca 「 Arresting her I have no problem with, but that attack just now was clearly over the line. You should be aware of what your job as guard is, right? 」

Guard Captain 「 You saw what that scoundrel was up to, stalking after her highness. Aiming to kill is what is expected in the face of such transgressions. 」

This guy is insane.

Becca 「 I guess talking won’t solve this peacefully. What happens now? 」

Guard Captain 「 For aiding a criminal, we will now execute the both of you. Men! Take up position. 」

The battle against the city guards begins. I use a new skill I just made called Analysis. It lets me peek at the statuses of other people without any signs. A text screen appears above their heads with their name, race, level, stats, and skills. Only I can see it.

Disregarding their names and races, the levels are on average 15 with stats in the 15 to 20 range. At level 15 it seems the stats grow by increments of 1 for every level.

As for skills, it seems to be generally just Swordsmanship Lv1, and Minor Vitality Up. The minor vitality skill is increasing their durability so they are tilted more to defense than offense. The sheer number of soldiers make up for this attack deficiency however.

Still, having only 2 dozens of level 15s seems like a piece of cake. My level is still at 1 but not counting levels my stats are already past 2 digits. It’s comparable to a level 100.

The guard captain is slightly higher at level 23, and his status seems strange. Not sure about what to make of this. Oh, I should focus on the fight now.

I dodge the attacks that seem slow to me. In reality it’s just that my perception and senses are heightened due to my high dexterity. I lightly knock a shield out of one guard’s hand, but his hand makes a cracking noise and bends down limply.

Sorry, still not used to controlling my strength. I might have used too much. The shield falls into my hands and I use it to block the majority of attacks. The shield gets dented by the sword swings but I hold steady with my feet not moving an inch.

I stealthily cast a healing spell that I gained from Basic Elements Magic. His injury should be better now. Sorry but I have no time to issue a formal apology or properly fix it.

I don’t necessarily want to hurt the guards since they’re just doing their jobs and following orders. Well the guard captain I want to punch for being so unreasonable but that’s a separate thing entirely. The question is how do I stop them without damaging them too much.