The dwarf was so short he didn't even reach the tall guy's waist, or to be more precise, he was a midget.
Looking at such a distinctive trio, Subaru Natsuki scratched his cheek and looked at Satoru Gojo beside him.
"Inexplicably triggering a forced battle... Satoru, you should be able to handle this..."
"Oh, as long as they don't hurt us, we'll do whatever they want."
"It's also perfectly fine if you want to give him a beating."
Satoru Gojo ignored Subaru's words, pretending to be frightened while exaggeratingly twitching his body.
"..."
"What do you mean 'give him a beating'?! In a situation like this, shouldn't you coolly step up and take care of them?!"
"Eh?"
"Is that how it is? But I saw you looked quite disappointed earlier, so I was planning to give this chance to show off to you."
"Huh? You want an ordinary high schooler like me to deal with three guys? I don't have any abilities!"
"What if you awaken them during the fight? According to you, those protagonists usually break through their limits when they're on the verge of death, don't they?"
"Who purposefully lets their teammate reach the verge of death?! Am I not the supporting character?!"
The trio looked at the two people arguing in front of them and exchanged glances.
Gaston, the tallest and most burly one, said in a muffled voice, "Is something wrong with these two guys' brains?"
"Chattering away to themselves in words I can't understand... they're completely ignoring us!"
Hanbari, the one with the dwarf-like appearance, looked displeased.
As for Rachins, the thin youth with silver-gray hair in the middle, he was more direct than his two companions. He walked toward Satoru Gojo and Subaru with a look of impatience.
"I'm telling you two, if you can't understand human speech..."
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"Get out of the way up ahead! Don't block the road!"
A crisp voice suddenly rang out in the alley.
The trio instinctively turned their heads and saw a petite, blonde-haired girl dressed in practical clothing running toward them at an extremely high speed.
Who else could it be but Felt, who had met Satoru Gojo once before?
"Great chance!"
Seeing the silver-gray-haired youth turn his head, Subaru's eyes lit up. He lunged forward and threw a forceful punch toward the other man's cheek.
Even though he had been bickering with Satoru earlier, there was one thing that had piqued his interest.
Maybe he really would activate a special ability during a fight.
With Satoru Gojo nearby, he wouldn't let him get beaten too badly, right?
If he wanted to become the hero who slays the Demon King, he couldn't do it without undergoing the baptism of battle!
Caught off guard, Rachins was directly knocked to the ground by Subaru's punch.
"Rachins!"
Hanbari shouted and hurriedly ran forward.
"Hiss, every action has an equal and opposite reaction; that really hurts."
"But my strength seems pretty good."
Having succeeded in his strike, Subaru Natsuki didn't push his luck. He shook his hand and spoke with some self-satisfaction.
On the ground, the fallen Rachins stood up with Hanbari's help. His face was dark, and his already somewhat sinister expression became even colder.
"I told you, don't use my name when we're working!"
Rachins said irritably before pushing Hanbari aside.
He then reached for his lower back as if grabbing something. When his hands appeared before Subaru again, two glinting daggers were held in his grip.
Subaru, who had been a bit smug just a moment ago, immediately froze when he saw the daggers. He took a sudden step back, returning to Satoru Gojo's side just as quickly as he had lunged forward, and whispered.
"Shouldn't we be running away now?"
"The escape option seems to depend on the success rate, doesn't it?"
"This isn't an RPG! We just need to run to a crowded place, okay?!"
Subaru was quite nervous.
While they were talking, the girl who had rushed into the alley behind the trio was getting closer and closer to them.
Seeing that the trio had no intention of clearing the path, Felt had no choice but to increase her speed. She kicked off forcefully against the wall on the right and then, with agile movements that seemed to defy gravity, leapt onto the left wall.
Kicking off twice, once on each side, she directly bypassed the trio like a light butterfly, leaving Subaru somewhat dazed.
"Honestly, don't you know you're in the way?"
Felt grumbled mid-air. If she weren't in such a hurry, she really would have wanted to say more.
However, just as Felt prepared to rush out of the alley and lose her pursuers, she saw an impressionable figure in the alley.
It was the guy who hadn't let her steal yesterday and had instead snatched away her coins!
That shock of white hair was something she would never forget!
Even though the candy he gave her afterward was quite delicious, it was absolutely no reason for forgiveness—that was three whole silver coins!
Even if completing today's single job would net her twenty holy gold coins, thinking back on those three silver coins made her heart ache.
"You!"
Felt glared at Satoru Gojo with some anger.
At the same time, she quickly understood the situation in the alley. It looked like the guy who robbed her yesterday was in trouble.
"Hey, you three, work hard! Don't let people look down on you!"
Felt gloated.
Being robbed today after committing robbery yesterday—it really was karma.
But at the thought of the money that originally belonged to her being snatched away, Felt felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart.
"Yo."
"Isn't it the person from yesterday?"
"I didn't expect us to meet again."
Hearing Felt's words, Satoru Gojo wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he grinned and waved at Felt, greeting her.
"I didn't want to meet you!"
"Enjoy your lesson! If you don't want it to be too painful, just hand over the money..."
Felt curled her lip and quickened her pace.
But as she was passing over Satoru Gojo's head, she heard his voice from below.
"Leaving without catching up? How disappointing."
The moment those words rang out, Felt suddenly felt weightless and began to fall downward.
She looked down and saw an infuriating scene.
That annoying white-haired brat was currently holding her ankle, a loathsome smile on his face.