The scrawny beggar, covered in bloody welts, was still groveling and whimpering, his body trembling on the icy street. He only knew the whip's lashings had stopped, unaware that the Re-Estize's most revered princess was right beside him.
Princess Renner crouched down, taking a red potion bottle from her personal guard, the blond, blue-eyed Climb. She twisted off the copper cap and gently poured the liquid into the beggar's cracked, blackened lips.
A few drops of the costly potion trickled down the beggar's chin, but the princess didn't care, feeding him the entire bottle.
Barrett, watching from the sidelines, let out a gasp. EeDechi tilted her head at him. "What's with the yelling?"
Barrett leaned in, whispering to his adventurer captain, "That's a top-tier healing potion, insanely expensive! This beggar could scrounge for a hundred years and still not afford it! The Golden Princess's kindness and wisdom really live up to her name!"
"She's the Golden Princess?" EeDechi said, a bit surprised.
Back in Baharuth, she'd often heard tales of the Golden Princess's beauty and smarts, and she'd been curious about the Re-Estize's royal. Now, seeing her in the flesh, Renner made a hell of an impression—high Justice Value, kind-hearted, and devoted to her people, way better than that emperor back in Baharuth.
The memory of running into that undead creep in the imperial palace, with a Justice Value of -500, still pissed EeDechi off. The thing had claimed it was in charge of recording the emperor's every word and deed.
The emperor turned out to be decent enough later, gifting her a chest of gold coins that shot the Last Defender of the Way adventurer squad's finances to a whole new level.
But Princess Renner's Justice Value floating above her head was all over the place, and that threw EeDechi for a loop. Just moments ago, when facing Kurar, Renner's Justice Value had plummeted from 167 to -92, but now, as she tended to the beggar, it spiked back up to 240.
EeDechi's Innate Talent let her see people's Justice Values, a number that reflected their moral compass. From her experience, most folks' Justice Values wobbled a bit, maybe shifting ten points up or down, but nothing drastic in a short span. Renner's, though? Dropping from positive to negative and bouncing back to positive in a flash was unheard of—it damn near rewrote EeDechi's entire worldview.
Thankfully, Renner's Justice Value usually stayed at a high positive, which put EeDechi's mind at ease.
The beggar's whip-lashed wounds healed before their eyes, knitting together fast. When he saw the finely dressed, beautiful girl crouched beside him, realizing she'd saved him, tears welled up. He collapsed, sobbing softly, "An angel's come down…"
Princess Renner slipped a few silver coins into his hand, unbothered by the beggar's grimy, muck-caked palm. The crowd around them gazed on with awe and adoration, some of the devout quietly clasping their hands in prayer.
A crowd of ragged folks surged forward, facing the princess and half-crawling on their knees, reaching out as if Renner were their sun, as if touching her would banish all the world's poverty and sickness.
This was a slum-like street, and from all sides, a few tattered-robed beggars shuffled out from alleys, shoving into the crowd. Their filthy hands clutched at the princess's pink gown, desperate for coins.
Renner's kindness was real, but these beggars were pushing it. Even so, she didn't get mad. With an angel's gentle smile, she handed out silver coins to their grimy palms.
Then, chaos erupted.
The brown-robed beggar closest to Renner, half-kneeling, reached out with a trembling left hand for coins. But his right hand, hidden under his tattered robe, shot out, a black dagger aimed straight for the princess's gut.
The clearly poisoned blade tore through her pink dress but clanged against a layer of silvery Adamantite armor beneath.
The assassin's eyes widened—he hadn't expected Renner to be wearing Adamantite under her clothes.
His frail-looking body sprang up, dagger raised to slash at her neck. But before he could fully rise, Climb, her ever-present guard, smashed a fist into his heard.
The robed beggar staggered and fell, still trying to swing his dagger at the princess. Climb knocked the blade away, drew his gleaming Adamantite sword, and drove it through the beggar's heart. Blood gushed from the sword's blood groove, spurting like a small fountain.
Behind the shaken princess, another ragged-robed beggar rose, a short sword thrusting toward her neck.
Climb grabbed Princess Renner's arm, yanking her back. His longsword darted under her arm, plunging into the second assassin's chest.
The crowd and beggars scattered in panic. Two more assassins appeared, lunging forward with slender blades aimed at the pair.
Renner spun, her pink skirt swirling, half-crouching as Climb shielded her. Her wide-brimmed white hat tumbled off, and her vibrant blonde hair spilled out like rippling water.
Facing the two incoming rapiers, Climb didn't budge an inch. He unleashed a flurry of Martial Arts, his longsword parrying left and right.
In the clash of steel, he hacked off half an arm from one assassin. Crimson blood sprayed, splattering Climb's silver armor and Renner's golden hair. His bloodied blade swung diagonally, slicing open the maimed assassin's throat.
Only one assassin remained. Climb stepped forward, briefly leaving Renner's side. He dodged the flashing blade, found an opening, and thrust his sword, piercing the last assassin's chest.
As the final foe fell, Climb started to relax—then a sharp whistle cut the air. A black-feathered arrow tipped with Adamantite hurtled toward Renner's face.
Too late to block with his sword, Climb acted on instinct, throwing himself in front of the princess.
The steel arrow, charged with thunderous force, was about to bury itself in Climb's neck. Behind him, Renner screamed, "NO! Clim—"
A hand snatched the arrow mid-air, gripping it tight.
The Adamantite arrowhead quivered wildly in the fair hand, struggling to break free. Faint runes glimmered like scales on the black fletching, revealing low-level flight magic.
EeDechi, holding the arrow, flashed a grin at Renner and Climb.
On the other side, Barrett vaulted up, chasing the archer-assassin—a figure clutching a short crossbow in the street's corner. The assassin didn't dare fire back, bolting in a blind panic.
Most times, Barrett wouldn't bother with this kind of mess, but with his captain already in the fray—and the target being the Re-Estize's Golden Princess, no less—nabbing the assassin would mean a fat reward, no question.
To Barrett, the fleeing crossbowman was just a pile of gold coins on legs.
Barrett ducked down, snatching a broken brick from the street. With his honed throwing-axe skills, he hurled it, nailing the assassin's right calf. The man howled, collapsing, his crossbow skidding far across the ground.
But before Barrett could close in, the assassin tilted his head back, chugged something from a vial, and went still. Barrett approached cautiously, flipping the body over with his sword.
The assassin's eyes bulged, reddish-brown pupils protruding, foam spilling from his bluish lips. No breath, no life—stone dead.
A small glass vial rolled beside him, its dark, inky contents sloshing. Barrett's brow furrowed deep.
A suicide assassin.
Suicide assassins were elite killers raised by high nobles, skilled in combat and fiercely loyal, tasked with dirty work. If they failed, they'd off themselves to avoid capture and spilling their master's secrets.
Only the most powerful nobles or filthy-rich merchants could afford to train suicide assassins.
The Princess Renner being targeted by one meant she'd tangled with some serious players. Barrett didn't know the ins and outs of Re-Estize's politics, but as a freedom-loving adventurer, he knew better than to get mixed up in it.
He turned to warn his captain, only to see EeDechi, arms crossed, standing over a snapped black-feathered steel arrow, already chatting with Princess Renner.