Chapter 221: A Heroic Spirit Plans to Teach You a Lesson

Before the two guards could even react, they simultaneously felt a hand suddenly clamp down onto their shoulders.

Both guards immediately felt displeased and turned their heads at the same time.

Standing between them was a young man with black hair and black eyes. A harmless smile hung from the corners of his lips as he quietly looked at them.

“Who the hell are you? Looking to die or what—”

The skinny guard was just about to curse.

But in the next second, both of their expressions changed simultaneously.

To their horror, they discovered that the arm resting on their shoulders suddenly tightened.

The terrifying grip strength transmitted through it made them feel as though their shoulder blades were crying out in agony.

The two men were forcibly pinned in place by that overwhelming brute force. They could not even struggle slightly.

Just like that,

under the stunned gazes of the surrounding pedestrians, these two guards who usually strutted around abusing their authority were dragged away like a pair of chickens awaiting slaughter by the suddenly appearing black-haired man.

They were hauled directly into the corner of a nearby alley.

The instant they stepped into the shadows,

Lance's Dragon Form, accompanied by the slight narrowing of his eyes, instantly erupted with a wave of Dragon Might.

The oppressive aura immediately locked down the two guards.

“Gentlemen, bullying a young girl selling apples in broad daylight isn't exactly admirable behavior.”

Lance maintained his smiling expression, his tone relaxed.

“Aren't you afraid some wandering hero might pass by, decide to uphold justice, and accidentally beat you to death in the street?”

Tilting his head, Lance cast a deep glance at the skinny guard.

Although a gentle smile remained on his face,

the moment the skinny guard met those black eyes, his scalp went numb, and an overwhelming urge to urinate surged through him.

Seeing the two trembling uncontrollably,

Lance slowly turned his head and looked at the burly guard who had been shouting earlier.

Patting the man's fleshy cheek, Lance lowered his voice and said,

“Now then, I just saved your lives. As an equivalent exchange, shouldn't you show a little sincerity and properly express your gratitude?”

At that moment, the burly guard could feel the fat on his face trembling from fear.

He had no idea why, but every time the smiling gaze swept over them, it felt as though even the warm evening sunlight at the alley entrance had been completely swallowed by endless darkness.

“Damn it, we've seen a ghost!”

The two guards wailed despairingly in their hearts as their legs began shaking uncontrollably.

“Yes! Yes! Thank you for saving our lives, sir! Thank you very much!”

The terrified guards moved with remarkable synchronization, hurriedly rummaging through their pockets and pouches.

They pulled out every copper and silver coin they had extorted from market vendors through threats and intimidation over this period, along with the apples they had just stolen.

Without holding anything back, they stuffed everything into Lance's arms while trembling.

After finishing, the two fled the alley like prisoners granted amnesty, scrambling away in panic before vanishing into the sea of people in the marketplace.

【Congratulations! You have gained Generalized Concept Reputation Points +30!】

Listening to the crisp system notification in his mind,

Lance tossed the money pouch into the air and weighed it in his hand with satisfaction, enjoying the pleasant sound of clinking metal.

【Clovis Pendragon, Lothair Nibelungen, and Leonidas intend to discuss the final Blessing they will bestow based on your actions...】

Lance's expression immediately froze.

His actions would affect the Blessing?

Thinking back on everything he had done along the way...

No, with three Heroic Spirits watching him now, he would have to be careful with his words and actions.

He had already suffered enough from the system's twisted tendencies. He absolutely could not let a Blessing end up distorted into something exclusively suited for perverts or villains.

Afterward, he walked out of the alley and looked toward the girl.

The blonde girl was crouching on the ground, her head lowered as she silently picked up the apples scattered across the dirt one by one and placed them back into the wooden basket on her cart.

Lance walked over.

Without saying anything, he naturally crouched down and helped her gather the apples scattered all over the ground.

Only after every apple had been returned to the cart did Lance look at the still-silent girl with her head lowered.

Sighing inwardly, he spoke to comfort her.

“Don't be sad.”

“Your apples still look very fresh. I'll buy all of them.”

As he spoke, Lance casually placed the money pouch he had just extorted from the guards into the girl's palm.

“This should be enough to buy every apple you have. Take the money and head home early.”

But the girl's thoughts were nowhere near the money.

Her gaze passed over the pouch and settled on the pile of apples in the cart.

Although they had been gathered back together, many of the once-plump and rosy apples now had bruised skins and darkened spots because of the rough handling and throwing by those two guards.

She had endured mosquito bites in the mountains while carefully selecting each one.

Even when she went hungry, she had never been willing to eat even the smallest apple herself.

“They aren't fresh anymore.”

The girl still kept her head lowered, her voice so soft that it seemed a breeze could blow it away.

“Huh?”

Lance was momentarily stunned by the seemingly random remark.

“They aren't fresh anymore.”

Her voice grew slightly louder, though it had already begun trembling.

Then Lance saw her lift her face.

The girl bit down hard on her lower lip as if she had suffered an unbearable injustice.

At some point, large crystal-clear tears had already filled her eyes.

“They're already...”

Choking with sobs, she repeated the same words for a third time.

This time, she could not even finish a complete sentence.

“Not... not... fresh anymore...”

The grievances, hunger, and exhaustion that had accumulated over several weeks finally collapsed all at once under Lance's concern.

【Heroic Spirit Clovis is watching you...】

“Oh come on...”

Lance stood there dumbfounded.

Then, exactly as he had anticipated—

“Waaah——!”

With a heart-wrenching cry, the seemingly delicate girl suddenly burst into loud sobs right in the middle of the bustling marketplace.

The volume was astonishing.

It carried incredible penetrating force.

Every vendor haggling with customers and every hurried passerby along the street was drawn by the earth-shattering crying.

They all turned simultaneously and fixed Lance with accusatory looks usually reserved for human scum.

Lance felt like his scalp was about to explode.

He simply could not understand how such a thin and delicate body could produce such overwhelming lung capacity.

【Heroic Spirit Clovis is staring at you intensely...】

“No... I'm not a bad person... I didn't bully her...”

Lance tried explaining to the increasingly suspicious crowd around him.

He was also trying to explain to Clovis Pendragon, who was currently staring at him.

Surely this Heroic Spirit hadn't mistaken him for some sort of pervert?

I know you're not watching me every second of the day, but your timing couldn't be worse!

Unfortunately, such explanations seemed utterly weak and powerless against the girl's emotionally devastating sobbing.

“Can you please stop crying?”

Sweating profusely, Lance hurried closer and tried to solve the problem.

“At worst... at worst, I'll give you more money, alright?”

“With this amount, you can buy an entire cart of the freshest apples from the fruit stall next door!”

Who would have thought—

it would have been better if he had stayed silent.

The moment he spoke, it was like tossing a lit match into a powder keg.

After hearing his words, the girl cried even more heartbreakingly, now accompanied by hiccuping sobs.

The surrounding spectators who had merely been watching now seemed ready to gather around him.

【Heroic Spirit Clovis is planning to teach you a lesson, but the other two Heroic Spirits are holding him back...】

Wait, what?!

Clovis Pendragon had definitely decided he was a pervert, hadn't he?

And with the crowd growing larger and larger—

“Sorry about this. My apologies.”

Lance muttered quietly.

At this point, he could not care less about social propriety between men and women.

He bent down, picked up the crouching girl in one swift motion, and hoisted her directly onto his broad shoulder.

Before anyone could react, he grabbed the groceries he had purchased and immediately fled the scene.

Then, accompanied by the girl's nonstop wailing, the sound echoed throughout the entirety of Golden Harvest City.

She cried all the way from the western district...

to the eastern district.