"No?"
When they heard Kiriko's reply, the expressions of the three heroes turned extremely ugly.
"Kiriko-san, why must you stubbornly persist in this?"
"The stubborn ones here are you guys, aren't they? You're all deceived by that bitch and Trash King. Think about it carefully—this entire incident reeks of suspicion. Are you really blind enough not to see it?"
The three heroes fell silent.
"Motoyasu-sama, Itsuki-sama, Ren-sama, please don't listen to her one-sided story!"
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Myne quickly tried to provoke them again.
"Myne, don't you have even a shred of shame? Just what did I do to offend you, that you'd go so far as to frame me like this?"
Kiriko just watched this clownish woman jump around coldly without saying a word, but Naofumi Iwatani couldn't endure it any longer and shouted at her.
"Motoyasu-sama…"
However, instead of responding to Naofumi's accusation, Myne pretended to be frightened, quickly hiding behind Motoyasu Kitamura and trembling pitifully.
"What are you doing, Naofumi?"
"That's my line, Motoyasu. Just how long are you planning to protect that woman?"
The two seemed about to argue further when Itsuki Kawasumi, who had apparently made up his mind, interrupted them.
"Kiriko-san, I've thought it over. About the matter of whether Naofumi really attempted to assault Myne or not—there are indeed some suspicious points..."
Myne, hiding behind Motoyasu, quickly tried to explain herself.
"Itsuki-sama, I—"
But Itsuki gave her no chance to speak, continuing instead.
"Even if there are doubts, and even if His Majesty was careless and allowed you two to suffer injustice—if you and Naofumi cooperate properly and accept an investigation, the truth would eventually come to light."
Itsuki shook his head gently, eyes closed.
"No matter how greatly you've been wronged, it still doesn't justify humiliating the king. If you insist on refusing to apologize..."
He opened his eyes, raising his bow.
"Then I'm forced to use violence."
"Oh? That suits me perfectly—I dislike sermons anyway. Motoyasu, Ren, if your thoughts match Itsuki's, then come at me together."
Kiriko pulled Naofumi behind her.
"Naofumi, you stay out of this."
Naofumi was unwilling.
"Why? I want to fight too, Kiriko-san. I can't just stand here watching you fight alone!"
"Your level is too low, Naofumi. Sit on the sidelines and play with your eggs or something."
After an entire day's grinding yesterday, Naofumi's level was only 2, while Motoyasu Kitamura had already reached level 6. Ren Amaki, the highest among them, had even reached level 8.
Using Status Magic, Kiriko could easily check these basic stats, like level and HP.
Of course, others probably couldn't see her level. If these heroes—whose intelligence could rival three huskies pulling a sled—had seen her stats, even with divine courage, they wouldn't dare raise weapons against her.
Yet, while Kiriko spoke with Naofumi, Motoyasu had already charged forward with his spear aimed directly at Naofumi behind her.
Truly worthy of a man who, in his previous life, ended up meeting a yandere's blade.
Even at this critical juncture, instead of attacking Kiriko—clearly the easiest target—he bypassed her entirely, targeting the Shield Hero behind her instead.
Kiriko-san is so pretty and cute! There's no way she's evil!
Naofumi must've tricked her!
"NAOFUMI, YOU BASTARD, I'M GONNA KILL YOUUUUUUUU—!"
The cold tip of the spear arrived first, followed swiftly by the spear itself, striking toward Naofumi's chest with astonishing momentum.
By the time Naofumi noticed, it was already too late to raise his shield.
In truth, even if he'd raised it in time, at a mere level 2, he probably couldn't defend against it unscathed anyway.
However, the spear—filled with the Spear Hero's furious strength—was stopped nonetheless.
A delicate hand caught the spear tip, slender and pale, yet gripping it so firmly Motoyasu couldn't move it an inch.
"Ki... Kiriko-san, you..."
Kiriko ignored him completely, pulling Naofumi to the side first. She then released her grip on the spear, causing Motoyasu to stumble forward a few steps from inertia. Kiriko lightly tapped his back—
And the Spear Hero flew like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a pillar before heavily collapsing onto the audience hall floor, unmoving.
Whoosh!
Kiriko deftly caught an arrow shot toward her. As if foreseeing the future, she turned around and deflected another attack.
Clang!
The arrowhead collided with the incoming blade, producing a brief spark.
But in the end, it was just an ordinary arrow purchased from a weapon shop. When faced against the Sword Hero's Legendary Weapon, it barely lasted a second before shattering from the iron tip onward.
Yet, by the time Ren's sword slashed through, Kiriko had already elegantly evaded, butterfly-like. Grabbing Ren's head, she mercilessly slammed him into the floor.
BANG!
A heavy thud echoed through the hall. Expensive ceramic tiles shattered, spiderweb cracks radiating from the resulting pit.
"Still wanna fight?"
Kiriko stood up, looking toward the Bow Hero, who had already fallen to the ground in shock.
"You... How can you be this strong...?"
Itsuki stared at Kiriko, utterly stunned.
Among the three of them, Ren's level was highest because he had the most followers. Motoyasu, despite having the same number of followers as Itsuki, refused to let all his female companions fight, so his monster-hunting efficiency was slightly lower. But even so, he had still reached level 6.
As for Kiriko...
They had only seen her once yesterday morning, and afterward, she wasn't seen grinding anywhere. By logic, her level couldn't possibly surpass theirs.
From Itsuki's gaming experience, the best strategy at the beginning was to grind levels nonstop in the beginner area—unless someone used exploits or glitches to kill high-level mobs.
But Kiriko had just arrived in this world, like them. How could she possibly know strategies even these three gaming pros didn't?
Seeing Itsuki's shattered worldview and stupefied expression, Kiriko casually picked up the fallen king's crown and tossed it lightly.
Itsuki immediately collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
After all, he was part of Motoyasu's and Ren's group, wasn't he? Even if he seemed unwilling to fight now, it's important for friends to stay together neatly.
By the way, there were actually other people in the audience hall—
The knights who'd escorted Kiriko and Naofumi, as well as the guards standing at attention.
However, from the moment Kiriko accused Trash King of "using his shoulder to hit her hand," they'd all been too stunned to move.
Especially when witnessing the three Hero-sama being effortlessly beaten by Kiriko, they were all so deeply "touched" that they didn't dare move an inch.
But after taking care of Motoyasu and the others, Kiriko didn't leave. Instead, she turned back, walking once more toward Trash King.
---
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