[Hachiman, unfamiliar with any secret underworld knocks, simply stepped aside. Emilia's eyes sharpened. With a flick of her wrist, a barrage of ice spears shattered the reinforced door of Old Man Rom's cellar into splinters.]
["Young people these days really have no respect for their elders," a voice rumbled through the settling dust. Old Man Rom stepped out, a mountain of muscle wielding a massive spiked club. Despite his age, his presence was suffocating, radiating the raw threat of a cornered beast.]
["You're Old Man Rom, right?" Hachiman said, strategically retreating behind Emilia's white-robed silhouette. He spoke with a voice that was unashamedly cautious. "Felt took something of ours. We've already checked her place—she's not home. Word is you're close. If you surrender now and have her return the item when she gets back, we can settle this without anyone getting hurt."]
[The spiked club slammed into the ground, gouging a crater in the stone. Rom glared at them like sworn enemies. "Hah! You want your trinket back? Then bring enough coin to buy it. Coming here empty-handed and making threats... is that how you 'negotiate'?"]
["The item belongs to Emilia in the first place, and you have the nerve to demand a ransom?" With a high-tier mage as his shield, Hachiman's usual social cowardice vanished, replaced by a biting boldness. "Your skin is even thicker than mine!"]
["Rich people lose things because they're careless," Rom countered, his teeth bared. "Did the item grow legs and hop into Felt's pocket? No. She worked for it. It's her way of surviving. You people, sitting high on your pedestals with full bellies... how could you possibly understand the desperation of the slums?"]
[Rom expected a stuttering rebuttal or a moral lecture. Instead, Hachiman nodded in slow, deliberate agreement, leaving Emilia and Puck visibly confused.]
["Yeah, you're right," Hachiman said calmly. "A person's first priority is staying alive. If someone is starving or freezing to death, and they steal or rob to survive... well, it's still a crime, but most societies show a degree of leniency. I agree that 'my life' comes before anything else. However..."]
[The air seemed to chill, but not from Emilia's magic. A wave of cold, suppressed fury radiated from Hachiman, crashing against Rom's bravado.]
["I've walked through these slums. I've seen people who genuinely don't know where their next meal is coming from. But that doesn't apply to you or Felt."]
["I'm starting to understand what 'Divine Protections' are. With a gift like the Blessing of the Wind—a literal miracle—are you telling me Felt couldn't find a single honest job to keep herself fed?"]
["With her talent, finding work would be trivial. Yet she chooses to live by theft. I don't care what her reasons are; she chose the easy path of a criminal when survival was already guaranteed. That is a filthy truth no amount of sophisticated rhetoric can wash away!"]
[Hachiman's voice rang out with absolute conviction. He felt a surge of genuine anger.]
[Back in his own world, when he had publicly humiliated Sagami, he had done it to fulfill Yukino's request. He had played the villain, but internally... it had felt incredibly cathartic to tear down a hypocrite.]
[He had a sense of justice, even if he was usually too lazy or too weak to act on it. Before, he had spoken up for Yukino; now, for the girl who had saved his life, he would tear Rom's delusions apart.]
["There," Hachiman finished with a cold sneer, drawing a line under the moral debate. "Don't let him manipulate you, Emilia."]
["Oh my, I was wondering why you were getting so talkative suddenly. Were you actually worried that Lia would be too sympathetic to the thief?" Puck teased, winking at him. Hachiman ignored him, crossing his arms and looking away, pretending he was deaf to the spirit's banter.]
[Emilia didn't know whether to be moved or annoyed. She was kind, certainly, but she wasn't foolish enough to pity a thief who had stolen something so precious to her future.]
["Fine..." Rom rumbled, his voice low. "I can't outtalk you, boy. Let's see if your magic can talk louder. I won't hand Felt over to you!"]
["Hachiman, get back!"]
[Hachiman bolted ten meters away in a heartbeat. When he looked back, the two-meter club was already smashing into the ground where he had stood, the impact sounding like a cannon blast.]
[Emilia remained calm. Her arms moved in a graceful arc, summoning a storm of ice spears that pierced Rom's thick hide. Blood splattered in the air as she moved with a practiced, fluid elegance, her white sleeves fluttering like wings.]
["How... beautiful..." Like an artist seeing a masterpiece just before death, Hachiman watched her. His pupils tracked her every move, a strange, new ache blooming in his chest. Then, he looked at his own trembling hands.]
[He let out a self-deprecating, bitter laugh. "I really am... useless."]
["Give up," Emilia urged, her voice steady. "I don't want to kill you."]
[The battle was a landslide. Emilia and Puck's combined power had Rom completely pinned. His Giant heritage, usually an asset, made him an oversized target for the relentless ice magic. He was on the verge of surrendering when a sharp, panicked scream cut through the cellar.]
["OLD MAN ROM—!!!"]
["What did you... do to him?!"]
[A blur of golden movement slammed into the room. Before Hachiman could even blink, his arms were twisted behind his back with a sickening crack. A cold blade pressed against his throat. Felt, the girl he had seen earlier, held him like a human shield.]
["Let him go!" Emilia shouted, her composure vanishing.]
["Get away from Rom first! If you want to hurt someone, try me!" Felt snarled, recognizing the silver-haired girl she had robbed.]
[Cold sweat dripped down Hachiman's forehead. He was terrified, yes, but the weight of his own inadequacy felt heavier than the blade. I'm not just useless... I'm a liability.]
["Quit your muttering and shut up!" Felt snapped, the blade nicking his skin.]
["Lia, time's running out," Puck whispered, his eyes narrowing. "What's the play? Should I end this with something big?"]