Chapter 30

I surveyed the assembled crowd before me, a multitude of individuals drawn together by curiosity. Murmurs and hushed conversations flowed among them like a quiet stream.

Driven by my curiosity, I managed to shift my gaze beyond the gathering, my eyes catching sight of the origin of the stir.

It was a modest eatery, akin to a rustic tavern rather than a traditional restaurant.

A duo of brawny men stood facing a mysterious cloaked figure. Their appearance resonated with the archetype of fantasy rogues, fitting the mold of common thugs found in tales of yore.

Loftier in stature than the hooded individual, the two figures seemed to employ their height advantage in an attempt to intimidate the cloaked stranger, their imposing presence creating an aura of pressure.

My attention shifted to the immediate surroundings, where chairs and tables lay haphazardly strewn about the establishment. Among the chaos, a table lay shattered and splintered. The disarray within the eatery bore evident signs of a preceding altercation, hinting at a skirmish that had unfolded prior to my arrival.

My gaze shifted back to the involved parties, and the hushed discussions among the onlookers unveiled that these two individuals were indeed responsible for orchestrating this chaotic scene.

In the face of the towering, formidable duo, an average person would likely have been overwhelmed.

Yet, the hooded figure before them appeared unfazed, standing motionless. Despite the obscured face due to the hood, an air of serenity radiated from the person, their gaze steady and unwavering, fixed upon the two men.

I raised one of my eyebrows, intrigued. 'Who is that?' I thought.

In that instance, an elderly gentleman positioned by the restaurant's counter hesitantly intervened.

"H-hey wh-what is James doing!?" A single murmur escaped from the lips of an individual within the gathered crowd.

It appeared that the elderly gentleman was indeed the owner of the restaurant. He seemed to approach the two tough-looking men hesitantly, perhaps aiming to mediate and prevent further damage to his establishment.

However, the thugs didn't take kindly to his interference. In a burst of anger, one of them shouted at the old man and proceeded to throw a punch, connecting with the owner's face.

Gasp-

The unexpected aggression sent a ripple of shock through the onlookers, prompting concerned gasps to escape from the crowd.

The forceful blow knocked the elderly man off his feet, causing him to crumple onto the floor. He instinctively clutched his bleeding nose, a painful aftermath of the punch.

The thug just didn't stop there. He approached the old man and stomped on him. The watchers grew anxious as the man kept kicking and stomping on him.

But no one was brave enough to just go stop this. Looks like these thugs had a pretty bad reputation for being ruthless. The people were scared to confront them directly.

'Hmm…Should I interfere?' I thought. This had nothing to do with me. And moreover, I am not a messiah who will go around saving people. There is no way I would put myself in a situation that wouldn't bring me any profit…

'Let's just wait for some time and see what happens, or else….'

One of the men in front of me whispered, "Hey! Why the guards aren't coming yet!?"

"I don't know….Didn't anyone inform them about the fight?" Replied another.

"Hey, I guess….I should go and inform the guards about this." Hearing him, other people around nodded their heads. That man swiftly got out of the crowd and dashed outside to find the city guards.

As the thugs were kicking James, an old lady hurriedly jumped toward them and got to her knees, and started pleading to stop assaulting James.

From the looks of it, she was the wife of James. The couple runs this restaurant together.

But the thug didn't care about the pleading. He pushed the woman, causing her to fall.

'I guess I should...' I was thinking of interfering as I saw the other thug was going to hit her. But…..

The moment the thug raised his arm, a cold, crisp, feminine voice sounded,

"Stop!"

It was the robbed person. Looks like she was a female.

She quickly appeared between the thug and the old woman and raised one of her arms at the thug, telling him to stop.

The thug's visibility became angry, as veins popped out from his forehead.

"Shuddup b*tch!! Who d'ya think ya're, huh!?" He shouted at her.

Not caring about the harsh insults, the woman calmly said in a cold tone,

"You had trouble with me…..Don't involve them in this." She said.

The thug trembled in anger, his face became beat red.

"B*tch! Don't mess wid me!!" Saying so he raised his hand and sent a punch toward the woman.

The woman visibly sighed. She pointed her hand toward the thug and mumbled something.

Then it happened. A strong gust of wind blew, and the wind formed a small tornado. The wind was so strong it attacked the thug making him fly away. The thug's body hit one of the walls, causing it to break due to the impact.

Seeing this scene, my eyes grew wide. The people around me trembled in fear as they saw the thug fly away. Many of them were confused as to what happened.

But I know what it was, 'She….she's an elemental mage' I mumbled in my mind.

That was now a spell. It was quite powerful. I looked at the woman. The wind made the hood fall off. Now her face was in clear view. She had black silky hair, pale white skin, and deep blue eyes. There was a hint of coldness in her eyes as she watched the thug hit the wall.

'She….' Upon seeing her face I became confused. Why does she look familiar to me?

I thought for a bit. Trying to gauge her identity from my memories.

Suddenly my eyes widened,

'F*ck!' I cursed, 'There's no way….' Though I was denying it, I knew for sure…. 'That look…that spell,..... She is definitely her!'

But what is she doing here!? Weren't they still ten days away from our territory? So how can they be in this city right now!?

It was highly confusing, I just couldn't figure out what she was doing in here of all places. And why hell she was in this get-up!?

As I was storming my brain out to find the answers to my questions, a loud voice was heard.

"Halt!! What is going on here!?"