32: Trouble at Work - Part 2

Liam worked the rest of his shift without much problem. The scammer did not come back to chew him out, which likely meant that he had been dealt with.

Not that Liam cared much.

There had been a time when Liam would have been afraid of the scammer and done as asked, but now he had magic at his disposal.

If everything else failed, he could always use magic and blame Asger for it… or something.

Liam reached his bike, and he immediately saw what had become of the bike that was just adjacent to his own. It had been reduced to ashes, and Liam felt thankful for having used magic on his bike to disguise it as something else.

This looked like an angry scammer's work, and Liam had a feeling that he was being watched.

[System Alert: User is being watched by someone right now. What would the user like to do?]

The system asked, and Liam felt a hint of irritation build up behind his eyes. His first instinct was to try and find the person stalking him and have a 'small talk' with them.

But the more Liam thought about it, the worse that idea seemed to him. So he decided not to do anything and leave the ball in his stalker's court.

He mounted his bike, and he was about to start it when he felt someone approaching him.

[System Warning: User is being followed. Confrontation happening in 3…2…1…]

A bandaged face appeared in front of Liam, and the scammer from the morning stood before him.

He was not the only one who appeared, as he had about a dozen more people with him. This could get dangerous fast.

'System, call the police and make sure to tell them that this is an emergency.'

[Understood. Calling the police. ETA: 5 min]

"Hey man, do you remember me? I told you that you would regret making enemies with me, right? Do you have any last words you would like to say to me?"

The man asked as he cracked his knuckles maniacally. He looked like a low-level grunt from a low-budget movie, and Liam could not even take him seriously. Just looking at that man was enough to make him break out into laughter.

But it did not sit well with the scammer. Instead of finding this funny as well, he looked pissed, and he cracked his knuckles in an attempt to intimidate Liam.

"Do you think this is funny? Should I show you what is so funny by breaking your face in? You made a mistake crossing us, kid."

The thug spoke in a harsh voice.

Liam was about to stall for more time when he felt a strong presence heading toward him. It caused him to groan in annoyance, but he did not show it on his face.

"What is going on here? Liam, did you not head home yet? And who are these people? Your friends? Are you playing something?"

Aria asked as she walked over to the small group.

Had someone else been in her position, they would have noticed the tension in the air and realized that this was a confrontation and not a pleasant meeting.

But Aria was too much of an airhead to have realized this.

Her sudden appearance caused a few people to stop and look at her, and they instantly liked what they saw at first glance.

After all, Aria was a good-looking woman with all the right curves. She just… lacked some common sense, but that hardly mattered to people who wanted to take advantage of her.

"Tsk, so you called your girlfriend over as well? Not that it matters. Once we are done with this, we will take her with us. She'll make a good gift—"

"Sorry, but I am not interested. I need to go hunting today, so I can't hang out either. I should get going."

Aria spoke in a calm voice, and she even turned around to leave. It stunned everyone, especially the thugs who were threatening her and Liam.

The scammer was especially affected, and he instantly decided that he needed to regain his authority.

"Hey girl! Just where do you think you are—"

Aria turned around and kicked the man in the knees before she grabbed his arm and threw him behind her back.

The scammer landed heavily on his back and was unable to move. Not only was he too stunned, but everyone else looked shocked at what had happened as well.

"I told you that I was busy and don't have time. If you continue to irritate me like this, then I will be forced to take action. Liam, you should get better friends. These ones are too dumb."

Aria spoke with confidence as she pulled herself up. She looked unharmed and unbothered by what had just happened.

"W-What the fuck… how did that girl—!"

The other thugs wondered, but before they could finish speaking, the police arrived.

"Don't move. We will be taking you all into custody. Miss, may we ask what happened?"

The police officers asked, turning toward Aria first to ask for her statement. She seemed like the likely victim of this case, and she looked like an important person.

Aria did not hesitate to answer truthfully, but she did omit a lot of truth, making her statement work out more in her favor.

"I called out to my coworker, and this man tried to grab me. I used self-defense and managed to take him down."

The police officer looked taken aback as he looked at Aria's size and then at the man she had taken down before noting something. Then, he gestured toward the crowd behind him.

"What about these people? Did they do anything?"

The officer asked, and Liam felt the need to interfere and speak up before Aria somehow said something she was not supposed to and caused Liam to get implicated as well.

Thankfully, luck seemed to be on his side because Aria did not mention him at all. Instead, she looked at the group with a confused look.

"I don't know. You arrived before anything could happen. So, am I free to go now? I need to get back home soon."