It was obvious that Felt had a lot of confidence in Old Man Rom.
But in Satoru Gojo's eyes, that confidence was lacking by quite a bit.
"Felt."
Gojo lowered his head and spoke to her out of the blue.
"If I help you deal with this woman, can my debt be reduced?"
"Huh?"
"You trying to take advantage of the situation now?"
"Old Man Rom is more than enough to handle her. At most, and that's really pushing it, I'll knock off one silver… no, eighty copper coins, just because you pulled me out of danger earlier."
The moment money came up, Felt shot Gojo a guarded look, the kind that said she counted every coin and valued money more than her own life.
"Really?"
"But from where I'm standing, it looks like Old Man Rom is about to lose."
"That's impossible…"
Felt whipped her head around and looked back at the fight.
On the surface, it still looked like Old Man Rom had the upper hand.
The woman never dared to take his club head-on, constantly dodging and retreating.
But the warehouse was only so big.
Soon, she was forced into a corner, her room to maneuver shrinking by the second.
"Go down!"
Old Man Rom seized the opening. With the woman pinned against the wall, he raised the wooden club high over his head and brought it crashing down without the slightest hesitation.
At that exact moment, a faint, blood-red glint flickered through the woman's pitch-black eyes, and the smile on her lips turned icy.
A flash of cold light cut through the air.
Even Felt's heart leapt into her throat. She could tell something was wrong.
The woman had not been retreating because she was losing.
She had been creating distance, setting up a moment where no one could rush in to help.
Now that everything was in place, it was time to bare her fangs.
Old Man Rom clearly had not expected this.
By lifting his club so high, he had exposed far too many openings. By the time he saw the blade closing in, it was already too late to defend.
The only thing he could do was slam the club down with everything he had, hoping to force her back… or take her down with him.
It was a good idea.
Unfortunately, the gap in strength could not be bridged by desperation alone.
"Crack."
The moment that sound rang out from his hands, Old Man Rom knew it was over.
His plan, his attack, meant nothing to this woman who moved like a venomous snake.
She was far stronger than he had imagined. Stronger by far.
"Old Man Rom!"
Felt screamed his name in panic.
The woman gripping the curved blade was already anticipating the rush of hot blood.
"I think this should be worth at least one Holy Gold Coin, don't you?"
Just as Subaru Natsuki and Felt braced themselves for a gruesome scene…
A head of white hair suddenly popped into view in front of Old Man Rom's massive body, and Gojo spoke cheerfully to Felt.
"I'd say this has to count for at least one Holy Gold Coin, right?"
"Uh…"
Staring at the Gojo who had appeared out of nowhere between them, the deadly tension that had filled the warehouse was instantly washed away.
For a moment…
Whether it was Subaru and Felt watching from the side, Old Man Rom who had nearly lost his life, or the woman who had been a heartbeat away from striking, all of them wore strange expressions as they looked at him.
When did he get there?
The same question rose in everyone's mind at once.
Not only had the two fighters failed to notice it, even Felt and Subaru, who had been standing right next to Gojo, had no idea when he disappeared.
"This really isn't the time to space out."
Gojo's voice sounded again.
Along with it came the noise of Old Man Rom's thick wooden club being split clean down the middle and dropping to the floor.
Seeing that, Felt did not hesitate for even a second.
To her, saving money was for the sake of leaving the slums with Old Man Rom and living a better life together.
If something happened to him, then none of it mattered anymore.
"I don't care if it's one coin or ten. I don't want anything to happen to Old Man Rom!"
"OK!"
Gojo flashed a wide grin, white teeth gleaming, and gave Felt an exaggerated OK sign.
"Leave the rest to me."
As he spoke, Old Man Rom's massive body suddenly felt weightless and was gently pushed aside, landing back beside Felt.
"Old Man Rom, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Felt rushed over, her voice tight with worry.
Rom looked down at his chest. The thick chest hair he had thanks to his giant bloodline was noticeably thinner now, as if something had sliced straight through it.
He lightly brushed his hand across his chest, still shaken.
"Good thing Gojo stepped in. I wasn't hurt. If he hadn't… I probably would've already…"
Hearing that, the tight knot in Felt's chest finally loosened a little.
Thank goodness Old Man Rom was safe.
Otherwise, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.
On the other side…
After taking Old Man Rom's place, Gojo stretched lazily, his joints popping.
He looked at the woman, twisted his waist from side to side, bent his knees, and started warming up right in front of his enemy.
"You don't mind if I do a quick warm-up, right?"
Gojo spoke casually, but his tone made it clear he wasn't asking for permission. He was simply informing her.
"What an interesting man."
Unfortunately, the woman had no intention of giving him that chance.
The instant Gojo lowered himself, she swung her curved blade and lunged at him like a specter.
And Gojo, as if completely unaware, continued his warm-up without a care.
"Gojo, kid—"
Old Man Rom's eyes went wide as he was about to shout, but Felt tugged on him, signaling him not to interrupt.
She did not fully understand how strong Gojo was.
But there was one thing she knew for sure.
Satoru Gojo was absolutely not an idiot.
If he was acting like this, then he was confident he could handle it.
And sure enough…
The moment the woman closed in and slashed at Gojo with her blade, something bizarre happened.