While the leader of the city watch squad rattled off some more warnings and threats, Henry gave Ash a sidelong glance and couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the rapacious gaze she was throwing the manor in front of them.

  It seemed she had gotten something she really wanted. A duel with the scion of a family against which she held an old grudge. As for the latter, he had disappeared within the mansion, not even looking back once as if what was happening outside his property was below him, and Henry might have believed that, if it wasn’t for the barely visible ripple of a curtain a few seconds later from a room on the second floor.

  Things had escalated, and while none of this was his concern, Ash was Maurice’s friend and well, she was a good kid who—from what he had surmised—had had a difficult upbringing. And considering the other side were uppity, rude nobles, he didn’t mind getting his arms a little dirty. So long as it was reasonable.

  But things… were getting a little spicy and now, a jingle of metal made him look down. Three of the guards were holding some interesting-looking, bulky handcuffs that made his senses tingle in alarm. There was some powerful magic about them, and he had no intent on letting any of them be put on him.

  Hadn’t the leader said something about A-grade measures?

  “We will now put on these skill-suppressing restraints on you,” the man said, his hand tightly wrapped around something on his belt. A protective or alerting measure, Henry assumed. “Comply and we won’t need to escalate. We can talk this through at the station.”

  Ash’s smile slipped as she eyed the manacles, while Maurice eyed the metal curiously, uncaring about the threatening display and whether his carefree attitude was disturbing them or not, Henry couldn’t tell. To his mental sense, they seemed almost entirely alert. Disciplined. They were focused on carrying off their job and impressively, they hadn’t even faltered once. No fear or boredom ever registered to his senses. They weren’t rookies.

  The disguised crab glanced back at him. “[Henry, what do we do?]”

  Henry wasn’t sure exactly how to proceed. They had to keep things from blowing up, as they needed to get the orb from Velistraine’s contact, but he also didn’t really feel like allowing strangers to lock him up and restrain him. Especially if that might interfere with his Skills. And unless they had something against teleportation, he could leave at any second.

  He just didn’t want to make things worse. Becoming a fugitive could end up biting him later on, and while he could always change his appearance, he just didn’t want to have to deal with all that.

  Henry raised his hand, palms forward as he smiled at the tanned man. “Listen, things got a little heated, but no one was hurt. In fact, the citizen you’re accusing us of assault is the one who had started the hostility. Even almost attacked one of your people. And if me and my…” Henry trailed for a second, glancing at the nodding Maurice, “ward hadn’t intervened, she might have been the one harmed. I don’t mind following you to your station to talk things through, but I’d rather not have those restraints on me. This can all be resolved amiably. Maybe there’s a fine we can look into and get this over with?”

  Henry didn’t have that much experience with law enforcement, but he felt that his attempt was reasonable. He wasn’t offering out bribes. But because this hadn’t gone to complete violence, a fine for the disturbance sounded fair to him. Unfortunately, the tightening frown of the squad leader and the tensing posture of the others told him that his offer might not have landed on receptive ears, and half a beat later, a pulse of magic emanated out of whatever it was the man had been holding on his belt.

  Yet another signal, Henry assumed.

  “Unlike the high seas, we have laws and rules on the Emerald Isles. If you think you and your companions are above them, we’ll be forced to show you the error of your ways. Last chance, strangers. Surrender.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Right as the man finished speaking, three mental signatures teleported above them, high enough that Henry didn’t sense them through his main body, but close enough to his clone to register.

  Henry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Now there were three B-ranks watching from above. Mid B-ranks, too, so while he could handily win, it wouldn’t be too quick of a fight unless he really put his back into it. And what if they won? What then? The A-rank would show up?

  It seemed like there was just no clean way out aside from, well, making a quick exit by teleporting away and lying low. Unless…

  Henry looked up at the figures high in the sky, which, for the first time since the specialized squad had showed up, caused a trill of alarm to pulse out of them, and a smile pulled on his lips. What if he just… refused to go along with them? The B-ranks would come down on him, but he could just put them to sleep—without injuring them much, that is. Then the A-rank might show up. And the A-rank was the contact of Velistraine, so they should be able to talk him down and have this whole thing resolved.

  Unless he’s a bastard. Velistraine seems to not like him much, but it’s not outward hate or anything bad, he thought. This would certainly be escalating things and might have him banned from the territory, but honestly?

  He just wasn’t putting Skill-restraining cuffs on. And it was either run away or stand his ground and having done nothing wrong, he was more inclined to do the latter. So looking down at the tanned man, Henry renewed his smile. “What’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  The man seemed to chew on his words for a second before he relented. “Lieutenant Myrril.”

  The kraken in human form nodded. “I’m Henry. This is Maurice, and that’s Ash, from Velistraine’s crew. I see the three floating above us, and I can tell you that they won’t be enough if you force us to violence. Again, I ask that you listen and consider a more peaceful approach than that,” Henry said, nodding toward the cuffs that still made his senses twitch. “We’re being reasonable here, wouldn’t you say? We just arrived on this island, and I’m really not in a rush to see what the inside of station looks like. So how about we just talk?”

  The lieutenant looked him in the eyes for a few seconds and Henry got a whiff of his thought process. There was wariness there. A bit of alarm as well. But also a sense of rigidity—no, a resolve. As if the lieutenant feared bending his word and his laws a bit more than what might happen if things escalated. What it would mean if he backed off. And then it hit Henry.

  They were strangers. They were tourists asking law enforcement to bend the law. And while his telepathic sense weren’t giving him that many details, it felt like it would fit, so it was no surprise when another pulse emanated out of his belt.

  “For refusing the orders of an officer of the law of the Emerald Isles, you three are hereby arrested.”

  As one, all members of the squad immediately moved, magic flaring in their midst as they activated various movement Skills. Simultaneously, far above, the trio of mid B-ranks dove, just as a clatter reached his ears and looking down, Henry saw a rune-engraved conch-shell rolling to a stop. It shone brightly for half a beat and before lieutenant Myrril’s feet even hit the ground some twenty yards away, the item exploded into a flare blinding light that made his entire soul shudder.

  Time slowed as Henry’s eyes widened, motes of light still dancing in his vision. While it hadn’t affected him much, he was shocked by how powerful the little grenade was. If it hadn’t been for his general high stats and from his recent forays into soul reinforcing exercises, he felt it could been even more effective. In fact, Ash was stumbling, barely holding herself up as she leaned on the wall near her, and from how ineffective that was, she would hit the ground at any second. It was as if her sense of balance had been completely shattered. As for Maurice was shacking his head, annoyed, holding an arm out to keep his balance.

  Looking up as the three comets falling down toward him, Henry’s lips pulled into a smile as three little kraken appeared over his shoulders while a fourth shot out toward the lieutenant’s squad. At the same time, his larger arcane arms materialized behind him once more as he spoke to the other two.“[We’re immobilizing them without spilling a drop of blood. Ash, you can stand back. Take it easy. Maurice, still standing?]”

  “[Of course,]” grumbled the crab, tapping the side of his head with a palm. “[My head feels a little weird, that’s all. I’m fine!]”

  Henry cracked his neck the air rippled around as he called on his mana. “[Good. Then let’s show them what we think of their A-rank measures. I’m sure they have more to show us.]”

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