January 24th.
We returned once again to the front gate of Laje Turin's residence, and just as luck would have it, the guard on duty was the same one from yesterday.
"Excuse me, is Young Master Laje Turin in? I'm the one who came looking for him yesterday."
"Oh, it's you again. The third young master isn't here. He hasn't come back since he left yesterday."
"I see. Thank you."
"No problem."
After learning that Rajer Turin was still absent—and hadn't returned overnight—we moved to a building some distance away where we could still keep an eye on the entrance, and began discussing our next move.
"Out all night… was he drinking, or steal chickens?"
Those were the only two possibilities that came to mind. If it were something serious, he wouldn't have hired some shady organization instead of relying on his own knights.
At that moment, Alice, Grace, and Jacob looked at me in confusion.
"Steal chickens? Why would a noble need to steal chickens?"
"Yeah, it's not like they can't afford chicken meat."
"Karen, what does that mean?"
…Crap.
"Steal chickens" was crude slang—something only commoners used. The three nobles, along with the sheltered and innocent Alice, naturally took it literally.
Ethefelis didn't say anything, but she was definitely curious too. Realizing I'd just exposed them to something unnecessary—and frankly inappropriate—I sighed and decided to explain.
"Sorry. 'Steal chickens' is slang. It means… visiting prostitutes."
"V-Visiting prostitutes!?"
Grace suddenly repeated it loudly in shock, and I quickly covered her mouth.
"Shh! Shh! Shh! Why are you yelling?!"
That word wasn't something you could just shout in public—especially not coming from a girl. It immediately drew attention. The men nearby looked over with curiosity, while the women stared with obvious disapproval.
Grace pulled my hand away, her face flushed red as she stammered.
"S-So visiting prostitutes means… that kind of thing, right? Like… men going to find girls dressed in… re-revealing clothes to do… those shameless… things?"
"Yes. And since you know it's shameless, don't say it out loud."
Grace really was a sheltered noble lady—completely defenseless against topics like this.
Meanwhile, Alice—who truly had no idea what it meant—turned to Jacob.
"Mr. Jacob, what does visiting prostitutes mean?"
Jacob, being a man, obviously understood. There was no way he hadn't heard about such things growing up. Still, he looked uncomfortable explaining it to someone as innocent as Alice.
"...It's a bit complicated. You're better off not knowing."
"Then I don't want to know. It sounds like it'll give me a headache."
She gave up immediately. Looks like Jacob had figured out how to deal with her. Besides, topics like that were better discussed among the same gender anyway.
"Still, Karen… why call it 'steal chickens'?"
"You already understand the meaning. No need to dig deeper."
I wasn't about to explain that. It would only be humiliating for them—and frankly, I needed to reflect on myself. I'd gotten too relaxed, letting crude expressions slip out so easily.
Just then, a male voice—one that didn't belong to anyone in our group—called out.
"Hello. We received a report about a male adventurer harassing a woman."
I turned around to see who it was. Two men in brown uniforms stood there, a national flag stitched on the left side of their chests—a yellow background with three white stars forming a triangle. Batons hung from their waists.
Police.
Back to the issue—why were they here? I was clearly dressed as an adventurer, but harassment? That had nothing to do with me. They must've gotten the wrong group.
They glanced at all five of us, visibly confused, but since they were just following a report, I decided to clear things up quickly.
"I don't know who reported it, but nothing like that happened here."
The moment I denied it, a heated voice suddenly cut in.
"He's lying!"
"Huh? …Ah, it's you."
I looked toward the source—is the fox-eyed knight who had blocked us at the border before losing his job. What was he doing here? He looked somewhat disheveled—and was glaring at me with obvious hostility.
"Officers, I saw and heard everything. When that girl mentioned prostitution, he immediately covered her mouth and looked around. He must have been eyeing her body—then humiliated and threatened her."
"What is he even talking about…"
Jacob muttered under his breath, sounding utterly dumbfounded.
Complete nonsense. Even if Grace and I were strangers, she was wearing armor—how was I supposed to "notice her figure" like that?
And he clearly knew we were companions, yet twisted it into harassment. Was his hatred for me so strong that he'd abandoned all logic? Though honestly, his brain probably wasn't working right to begin with.
The officer looked skeptical, but still turned to Grace.
"Miss, is what he said true? Were you humiliated or threatened?"
"No, we're together—"
"Please don't interrupt. I'm asking the young lady."
Before I could explain, they cut me off and even pulled me a bit away from Grace.
Grace then calmly replied,
"You've misunderstood. I wasn't humiliated or threatened. We were just talking."
The officer didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he observed her carefully. The other officer leaned in and whispered,
"Sachi, her behavior is natural. She's probably telling the truth. Looks like that guy just made assumptions."
After hearing that, the officer folded his arms, glanced at the fox-eyed knight, then turned back to Grace and pointed at me.
"Miss, what's your relationship with him?"
"We're companions escorting a merchant."
"Where is the merchant?"
"This is him."
Grace pointed at Jacob, and the officers turned to him.
"Show me your merchant identification."
Jacob handed it over. After a brief check, they returned it.
"It checks out. In that case, this gentleman has been falsely accused. Since nothing happened, we'll be leaving."
"Wait! I really did see and hear it!"
The officers were about to leave, but the fox-eyed knight refused to give up.
I could see the annoyance on their faces, but they still turned back to question me.
"Sir, is what he said true?"
"It is—but messing around between companions isn't a crime, right?"
"No, it isn't. Just be more mindful next time. Don't act suspiciously."
"Understood. Sorry."
"Wait! He definitely has ulterior motives! You should arrest him!"
The officers ignored him this time, treating it like background noise as they walked away, even casually scratching their ears.
Clearly, he was only targeting me. He didn't mention Jacob or the others at all.
I turned to him, my tone cold.
"Hey, fox-eyes. Weren't you in Bares? What are you doing here?"
"Commoner—if you can be here, why can't I?"
He glared at me, equally irritated. The tension between us sharpened, but I had no intention of arguing with someone clearly unhinged.
"Fair enough. But listen carefully—if you slander me again, I won't hold back next time. Let's go."
I turned and left. I didn't want to stay in the same place as him any longer. Just being near him was irritating.
I let him off this time—he was still a noble, and I didn't want unnecessary trouble. But judging from his hostility, this wouldn't be the last time. Next time, I'd treat him as an enemy.
What a mess. The person we were looking for was nowhere to be found, and instead we ran into someone wasting our time.
I pulled out my pocket watch.
12:26.
Time for lunch.
After we'd walked a fair distance away, Grace suddenly spoke up, her voice full of guilt.
"Karen… I'm sorry. It's my fault for shouting like that. You got misunderstood because of me."
It wasn't a misunderstanding—that fox-eyed knight had twisted the situation on purpose. Still, I kept it simple.
"Just be more careful in public next time."
"…Yes."
Grace was just overly sensitive to those kinds of topics—it wasn't entirely her fault. Still, given the situation, it was better to stay cautious.