At this point, the burly man has processed the female traveler's insult and is not happy about it.
"Hey wud yewd say to me!? I guess wer' gon' teach yeh some manners lil' lady, but don't worry we'll keep yer face pretty for later, m'kay? Err' one, yeh can kill the guy, but just beat the lady enough to shut her up." (burly adventurer)
Gross. A round of cheers follow his declaration, and they start to walk further into the alley. Yup, time to move.
I spring toward the big guy first while I apply max body enhancement on top of my invisibility spell, and I close the gap in a second. I take a flat palm and slam it into his gut, just above the belly button area. He crumples around my hand with a hard yelp, then goes limp and drops. Without hesitating, I move to his two friends past him and take both out together with one palm to the gut each.
At this point, the last two in the party have caught on and are staring at their friends in bewilderment, scanning for an attacker. I lunge across the alleyway and 'push' them both in the chest. They're launched into the alley wall and knocked unconscious against the stone.
I quickly cast a healing spell on each of them in case they got a serious head injury. Concussions are no joke.
I cast a glance at the two travelers, and they have their weapons drawn and are scanning the area near me. It looks like they're just guessing and can't see me. Nice, time to wrap this up and lay the foundation to get something I want.
I sprint back towards the door to the tavern, drop my spells, and fling open the tavern door loudly. Then turn around like I just left the tavern.
"Hey what's going on out there?" (Mizuki)
I mean, look…I get that it's sloppy, and it's more than a little juvenile, but I'm improvising here.
I lightly jog with heavily audible footsteps towards the alley and stop when I round the corner. I survey the scene, as though shocked by what I'm seeing. I direct my gaze at the two travelers, who still have their weapons drawn but are now staring at me.
"You two want to explain this to me?" (Mizuki)
I put on my most alarmed voice, demanding an explanation while I look around at the bodies.
"These men attacked us when a business negotiation didn't go their way, and you can see how that turned out for them. Rest assured, none of them are dead. I promise that we only drew our weapons in self-defense." (male traveler)
Wow, I'm impressed. Literally every word of that is true, but it conveniently doesn't mention the most suspicious sounding part – the invisible third-party attacker. Instead, it makes it sound like an open and shut case of self-defense. This guy is quick on his feet.
As if to illustrate their good intentions, he sheathes his short sword. Glancing at his companion, she then sheathes her small dagger. He gestures with his hands as if to say he's not armed anymore.
"Well, that's certainly been known to happen. Given the numbers difference, it would make sense to protect yourself. However, I must make some effort to confirm this. It helps that these guys aren't permanently injured." (Mizuki)
As I say this, I make a show of going around and inspecting the adventurers to make sure they're okay. They're all breathing at least. I wouldn't lose much sleep if the burly guy had brain damage, though. Well, more brain damage than he started with, at least.
"Of course. What would that involve, exactly? After this stressful event, we'd like to turn in for the night, as I'm sure you can understand." (male traveler)
His voice is even and calculated, but I get the impression that if I ask too much they might misbehave.
"Hmm…well I suppose we can try and not get you involved directly, but I need to let the guild know where these guys are so they can check on them and get their side of the story later. How about you follow me to the guild and wait outside while I let them know the situation. On the way, you can tell me about this business deal that went wrong." (Mizuki)
The man glances at the female traveler and she gives a slight nod. Interesting. He's doing all the talking, but is she in charge?
"Certainly, please lead the way." (male traveler)