Re:Zero -Starting Life in Zero

Green subtly curled the corners of his mouth and released Mary.

"Those two kids look so skinny, how much did you spend on them?"

Mary proudly held up two fingers.

"Two gold coins! I haggled with their bastard father for ages over that price!"

Green stared at Meryl with some suspicion.

"Was it just bribery? Was there any coercion?"

"Ah...this...this..."

Seeing that something was wrong, Mary quickly took off with her short legs and hid behind Elsa.

Feeling safe, Mary poked her head out and made a face at Green.

"Hehehe—that guy is even worse than you. I just gave him a little lesson, what's the big deal!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp and sarcastic male voice rang out from not far away.

"It's her, sir!"

A large group of people walked over in a grand procession.

There were about five or six royal guards, and in the middle stood a middle-aged man dressed in tattered clothes but reeking of alcohol.

"That damned little bastard stole my child!"

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Mary's eyes.

Yesterday, Elsa, under the pretext of helping her get some exercise, took Mary to the front of the brother and sister's house.

The two little ones were beaten by their father because they tripped over food and got home a little late.

Mary's short temper flared up instantly, and she controlled several bat-like magical beasts to chase and bite the man.

If he wasn't worried about getting into trouble and getting beaten up by Green, that guy would have gone to the field to cosplay as a ginseng root long ago.

Later, at Elsa's suggestion, he bought Mia and Atto and brought them home to be his little followers.

Seeing that Melie was dressed elegantly and didn't seem like an ordinary person, the guards spoke to her in a much better tone than they had to the drunkard.

The leader's helmet seemed a bit too big; he had to raise his hand to adjust it every two steps.

After approaching Elsa, he said, "Madam, we received a report that your daughter is suspected of assault and human trafficking. Could you please explain the details?"

Elsa slightly turned her body and stretched out her arm to wrap Merry behind her, protecting her tightly. Her black dress accentuated her tall figure.

A habitual, alluring smile played on her lips, but her eyes held no warmth whatsoever.

She slowly glanced at the man reeking of alcohol, then looked at the lead guard, her voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable aura.

"Sir, you jest. My child is kind-hearted; he wouldn't even step on an ant. How could he possibly do such a thing?"

As she spoke, she pointed at Green, a smile spreading to the corners of her eyes, her tone lazy and casual: "If you have any questions, you can always ask the child's father."

Following Elsa's instructions, the lead guard looked over and tried to pull open his helmet visor to get a clear view.

Green rolled his eyes at Elsa, then greeted the leader of the guards with a friendly smile.

"That's right, I am that gifted father."

"what?"

The lead guard let out a bewildered "Ah!" after recognizing Green's appearance.

He quickly fastened the helmet visor and turned to walk out of the alley.

The middle-aged man panicked and quickly pulled him back.

"Sir, what are you doing? Arrest these wretched fellows right now! And you must compensate me with 10 gold coins for the loss of family affection."

He could sell his daughter on the black market in a few more years, and the mere two gold coins that Melly gave him made him feel like he had been ripped off.

During the struggle, the guy spotted Mia and Atto inside the house.

"Sir, look! My child is in their room!"

The two little ones also spotted their alcoholic father and were terrified.

The older brother quickly stood the bed board up to block the door frame where there was no door.

The guard leader avoided eye contact, as if he didn't want to stay there any longer.

He could tell at a glance that the drunkard in front of him was lying. This guy used to come here often to drink and cause trouble, and he had been to jail quite a few times.

He even beat his wife to death last year.

The poor woman was a vagrant without a registered residence, and there were no witnesses or physical evidence at the time.

The two children were too afraid to speak because of their father's violence.

The man insisted that the woman committed suicide by jumping off a building, claiming that the beating was merely a trigger, and was ultimately only sentenced to three months in prison.

If it weren't for the necessity of responding to citizens' requests for help, the guards wouldn't want to bother with this kind of person at all.

"Stop nagging me. If I remember correctly, you didn't register those two brats' household registrations to save money on alcohol, did you?"

"They're doing just fine now, what's wrong with saving you a couple of meals? Get out of our way and stop interfering with our business!"

The captain of the guard increased his strength and pushed the old drunkard to the ground.

Seeing that no one was helping him, this guy immediately started throwing a tantrum on the ground.

"Oh dear, this is outrageous! Come quick, the guards are beating people! Our poor, loving family has been cruelly torn apart!"

The sound was so loud that all the neighbors in the neighborhood heard it.

Splash!

A bucket of cold water fell from the sky, drenching the drunkard completely.

"Ugh! That son of a bitch dared to splash water on me!"

The old drunkard scrambled to his feet, looking disheveled, and pointed upstairs, cursing viciously.

The person who splashed water upstairs was none other than the kind-hearted old lady from yesterday.

This time, the splash hit the bullseye, which cheered the old lady up.

"Who do we have here? Isn't this that scoundrel from next street? Get the hell out of here, or I'll throw boiling water on you next time!"

The old drunkard scoffed, "Boiling water? Can you even afford charcoal? Try splashing me with it!"

The old woman gave a cold laugh and left with the words, "Just you wait."

The mother and daughter downstairs brought her a lot of supplies today, including high-quality pine charcoal. A kettle is currently heating water on the stove.

The old lady wouldn't have poured all the boiling water; that would have probably killed someone.

She simply filled her water glass, took a sip, and returned to the balcony.

"Don't dodge! I can still get splashed even if you do!"

Whoosh!

With a precise prediction, boiling water spread out in mid-air, pouring quite a bit onto the old drunkard.

"You filthy bitch, just you wait, I'm burning your house down tonight!"

The old drunkard screamed in agony, tearing at his clothes as if ants were crawling on them.

Green felt a pang of guilt and slowly moved closer to Elsa.

The old lady had already seen him and waved the water cup in her hand.

"See? This is what happens to guys who abuse their families on Iron Bucket Street! I'll be watching you."

After saying that, the old woman returned to the house, satisfied.

The old drunkard rolled around and finally lowered his body temperature, leaving him covered in patches of white and red.

"Guards, guards! That vile woman tried to murder me right in front of you, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Ahem, my helmet was blocking my view, I didn't see it just now. Should I call her out and splash it again?"