"Get your dirty hands away from my girlfriend's breasts!"
Liel growled, wrenching away the stranger from Naomi. He shoved the stranger to the nearest brick wall, holding him there with one hand and landing a solid punch on his gut with the other.
"Gah!" the stranger bowled over, clutching his stomach. But Liel didn't let him rest, he sent another hit. Right to his eye, this time.
"Stop it!" Naomi snapped, suddenly on the white-haired shirtless man's side, calloused hand gripped Liel's wrist – halting him from making the stranger's other eye black.
"He dared to touch you."
"He ran into me and accidentally touched me." Naomi reminded, "He doesn't mean to."
"Tch!" Liel let him go with a glare, looking down at the stranger who then slid to the ground, now clutching on his eye, breathing heavily.
"I didn't mean to, I swear!" the stranger said, peering up at him and Naomi back and forth. He looked miserable, with tears on the brink of falling.
"Are you going to cry just after two punches?"
The stranger sniffled. Snots disappearing back to his nose, disgustingly. "You're not the only person who punches me today."
"Oh?" Liel caught on to that, "What crime have you done? Peeking into women in the bath house?"
"No! I'm not a pervert!" the stranger hastily said, his visible eye was wide in protest. "But, please, you have to help me hide."
Right on cue, they heard several stomping footsteps coming from where the stranger had run earlier. Faintly, they caught threats and swear words directed to the stranger.
This made Liel grin. "Tell you what, why don't we call them over? I bet they'll be thrilled to find you here."
"Please, please, please, you can't do that!" The stranger begged, "I've been wronged by the others. They'll hurt me for fun!"
"I don't believe you," Liel uttered, eying the stranger with careful eyes.
He didn't look much with an average face and small stature. Shorter than Liel's current body, the stranger totally fit someone who usually fell victim to bullying. The only noticeable feature was a barcode-like tattoo under his right eye, swollen shut thanks to Liel's punch.
Naomi instantly gasped when she saw the tattoo, prompting Liel to ask why. "It's a prison tattoo. A brand impossible to remove, only reserved for prisoners with severe, vile crimes."
"No, that's not right!" the stranger denied, terror in his eyes. "I- I mean, I don't deny ever going to prison, but that's not something you should define me with! Please, don't let them see me! I'll do anything you want, just don't call them here. It's only been a week since I got out of prison!"
That revelation made Liel stop. A strange look crossed his face. "What have you done?"
However, before the former prisoner had the chance to answer, they were spotted. "Hey! He's here!"
"Catch him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
"I won't let you go again, you vile bastard!"
It was no use hiding or running away. They wouldn't let them flee after this. Even if Liel tried to help, he was pretty sure that this stranger would come off unscratched. So, they let the people drag the former prisoner away, and watched with conflicted emotion as they beat the shit out of him.
Beside him, Naomi gasped at the brutality. One of the people hunting this former prisoner looked up and caught their gaze. "Don't feel bad for him."
"I'm not," Naomi replied, "I saw the brand, he must have deserved it. He can just die, for all I can."
That confused Liel. For all of this Naomi's exact appearance with his girlfriend, turned out she was not entirely the same. His own Naomi would never say such a thing, he knew for sure.
"So what if he's a former prisoner? He might change to be better." Liel muttered, without really meaning to.
"Better? He kidnapped children from this town. Tortured them for fun and killed them in front of their parents. Do you think he'll change after doing those heinous things?"
Red eyes widened, Liel could not believe what one of the people beating the former prisoner just said. He was appalled, sickened by the revelation of what this short, average-looking man could do to children. He thought he could sympathize with a fellow former prisoner – but he wouldn't even think of looking at him with anything except disgust.
[Warning.]
[You failed quest no. 4: Help Ruis Bagfort to hide.]
[Penalty: Stone Fang Dagger withdrawn.]
[Loser.]
The Stone Fang Dagger previously stored inside the invisible pocket universe – or something like that – was gone. He knew from the red cross that appeared on the dagger's icon in the floating purplish screen in front of him. It was a pretty big loss, considering the dagger was the only weapon he had.
Even so, he would trade it any day instead of helping a vile person like that former prisoner. He was just miffed that there was penalty for failing a quest.
'That was Ruis Bagfort?'
[Is it not obvious?] The System replied sassily.
Liel sighed, watching as the people stopped kicking Ruis and went to drag him somewhere.
"They'll kill him," Naomi muttered, watching with no sympathy present in her eyes.
But he wondered, 'Why do you want me to save him?'
Because somehow, the last three quests given by the System correlated with what happened with him. Like it or not, it seemed that something would occur in accordance to the quest. If that was true, he wondered what he would acquire if he helped Ruis to hide.
'Hey, System, did you hear me or not?'
[The System heard you just fine.]
[But the System chooses to ignore you.]
'Fucking prick,' Liel sighed, glaring at the proverbial being in displeasure. 'At least, there's no way he's the mage we're looking for.'
[…]
The silence from the System prompted a heavy frown on Liel's face. 'You've got to be joking.'
[The System did not joke.]
[Every quest may or may not relate to what you are going through at the moment.]
'And when are you going to tell me that Ruis Bagfort is a mage whose power can lift Melva Saunders' curse from the village?'
[The System has no obligation to inform you of that.]
'Bastard.'