You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"Lord Wolf is not an orc."

Farrell stepped forward, but her confidence faltered in the face of the stern-faced commander. Nevertheless, she slammed her chest and declared, "He is human!"

Humans... ha!

The commander narrowed his eyes and gave a cold snort.

Seeing this, Iori couldn't help but smile, and before the other party could speak, she rudely interrupted the commander.

“I know you certainly don’t want to admit that ‘Wolf is human.’ After all, if it’s proven that the information on the arrest warrant is incorrect and the military has mistaken the suspect, not only will the military and your prestige suffer greatly, but it will also involve a very important issue—”

If the barrier wasn't destroyed by the orcs, then why did the defensive magic sealing the city malfunction?

If Wolf is innocent, Your Excellency will have to face this problem. And compared to searching for a clueless answer, isn't it much easier to arrest an orc?

After hearing this, everyone's expression changed, especially the elf lady and Farrell. They first looked suspiciously at the commander with his gloomy face, and then looked at Iori incredulously.

"How dare you! You actually slander His Excellency the Commander!"

The fully armed guards gripped their spears tightly, but the commander stopped them as soon as they made a move.

"Please calm down... Lord Aizen, you are an S-rank adventurer who has made great contributions to the country. Even if you make so many unfounded accusations, I am unwilling to regard you as an enemy."

Since that's how you see me, then let's go along with your line of thinking—

"If I truly wanted to eliminate this trouble, you should know that even if we could prove the orc is human, the outcome wouldn't change. To appease the public and give everyone an explanation, there definitely needs to be a conspirator involved who gets caught and made an example of someone!"

"The defensive barrier was eventually restarted, and it didn't cause any damage. Besides, it's normal for an ancient relic that has been running for so long to occasionally have some bugs and minor issues."

Furthermore, if you insist on capturing him, I won't stop you. But you must think carefully. If he really did break the barrier, you'll have to explain to the outside world 'why an orc was able to get inside the barrier.'

"Well!"

The commander's expression changed.

"Furthermore, since it was damaged once by an external force, how can we guarantee that it won't happen a second time?"

Farrell mustered her courage and said, "Instead of making everyone worry, it's more accurate to say that the program set up by ancient magic just happened to be in its restart cycle!"

"This……"

The commander hesitated.

Actually, he didn't really doubt Yosuke, because after reviewing numerous testimonies, no one clearly witnessed the barrier being destroyed. Besides, Yosuke, this "orc-faced adventurer," was quite famous; he had already verified this with the Adventurers' Guild.

This is most likely a blunder by the commander, who is more inclined to believe that the defensive magic circle had a bad connection—otherwise, how could it have restarted after a while?

Just like Iori said, things will break down after you use them for a long time!

However, directly saying that there was a problem with the defensive barrier would only make the public uneasy and fearful. But by introducing a criminal, everyone would have a target to focus their attacks on, and it could be made to pretend that the problem with the barrier was that it was repaired by the army.

In short, this is a political issue, not a legal one.

The commander didn't intend to kill Yosuke, but he did have the idea of ​​imprisoning him for a few years until things calmed down.

"For your personal safety, I suggest you do not attempt to resolve this issue by force."

Iori chuckled and waved her hand, saying, "Let me teach you a way to appease the people:

At times like these, if something more attention-grabbing happens, the public's focus will naturally be diverted. After a while, as long as the barrier continues to function normally, no one will bother to investigate further.

"..."

The commander pondered for a moment, "But something even more eye-catching..."

"That's your problem. I have no obligation to be so considerate of you."

Iori shrugged: "So, can the arrest warrant be withdrawn now?"

"There is a condition."

The commander looked up and stared at Yosuke: "Although there is no direct eyewitness intelligence, the procedure cannot be so simple as to withdraw it... You need a guarantor."

They cannot be homeless adventurers; they must have a clean background, a clear origin, and a fixed address.

"Ah this..."

"I can!"

Farrell readily agreed: "I'll be the guarantor!"

The appraiser girl turned to Yosuke and said, "Lord Wolf, please don't worry."

"Oh, thank you!"

Yosuke was very happy.

The commander didn't care about these people's love lives. He ordered his men to bring a magic contract and then called Yosuke and Farrell to his side.

"Adventurer Wolfgang Brad, would you be willing to make this woman your guardian and enter into a contract with her?"

"Whether in day or night, whether she is present or not, shall we obey her, revere her, and follow her faithfully forever?"

"I am willing."

Yosuke Shimazaki remained unfazed.

"—!"

Farrell's eyes widened, and she felt her blood boil for a moment.

This, this is... this is like... like marriage—

"Appraiser Farrell, are you willing to make this man your ward and enter into a contract with him?"

"Whether day or night, whether he escapes or resists arrest, watch over him, care for him, take responsibility for him, never leave his side, and imprison his freedom forever?"

"I am willing!"

Without hesitation! Take it!

"Uh, oh..."

"How can anyone get excited about signing this kind of contract?"

The commander cleared his throat and said, "Alright, you can put your fingerprints on now."

After the two men calmly and happily pressed their handprints, the commander also stamped his seal on them.

"Who among you will be the witness?"

"...I'll do it?"

Iori felt something was off, but she still went up and pressed her handprint.

After everything was over, the commander breathed a sigh of relief: "That brings this matter to a close."

"Thank you."

Yosuke, who was the one who caused the trouble, bowed somewhat guiltily.

The commander finally managed a slight smile, but it was mostly a wry one: "I didn't want to be such an annoying character either... I'll let you off this time, but next time you encounter something like this, remember not to run away like a suspect, so as not to make another blunder, understand?"

It wasn't a mistake after all—Yosuke bowed again.

"Originally, you would also have to compensate for the printing costs of the arrest warrant and the soldiers' overtime pay... Never mind."

"Ok?"

Still feeling uneasy, Yosuke looked up and asked, "Do you need me to compensate you?"

"Didn't I say no this time—"

The commander pointed at Yosuke and spoke irritably, but before he could finish, he suddenly froze, because Yosuke had grabbed his hand and put a crystal-clear gemstone ring on his middle finger.

"This is one of only seven celestial stone rings in the world... just a small token of my appreciation."

"……what?"

The commander's mind went blank, Iori facepalmed, the spirit was bewildered, the soldiers froze on the spot, and Yosuke wore a calm and proud smile—

The appraiser's face was shrouded in a dark aura, as if the Grim Reaper had descended!

Chapter 397 You guys better start dating!

"Congratulations?"

clap clap ~

"Congratulations, Commander."

clap clap ~

"Congratulations... that commander who looked like he was about to die has finally met his end..."

clap clap ~

Congratulations, sir.

Iori also clapped without any expression.

Miss Elf followed the crowd helplessly, while the soldiers looked at each other, unsure of what to do besides congratulate and applaud.

"Nonsense!"

The commander took off his ring and slammed his hand on the table: "What a joke! Have you all lost your minds?!"

"But Commander..."

"Alright, get this orc and his companions out of here!"

Even the commander's usually deadpan expression showed signs of collapse. "I never want to see him again!"

"That sounds like something a wronged woman would say..."

"Who said that?!"

……

Iori and the others were eventually kicked out. To be honest, even if they hadn't attacked them, Iori wouldn't have been able to stay any longer...

But seeing Yosuke acting as if nothing had happened, completely unaware of what had occurred, Iori couldn't even find a way to complain.

"By the way, that ring...did the commander leave it behind?"

"Indeed, after all, that's very valuable."

It is said that he is a person who likes to collude with his superiors and is good at using his power to make a profit. However, based on my actual observation and the soldiers' attitude towards him, even if he blends in with the crowd, it is probably to achieve something he is committed to.

That ring is quite valuable; if sold, it could be used as military supplies. Naturally, he wanted to keep it, even if it meant sacrificing his reputation…

"That sounds a bit strange?"

Miss Elf suddenly felt as if something was stuck in her throat, which made her feel very uncomfortable, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"In the end, it's all because someone insisted on doing something unnecessary!"

"that--"

"I'm so sorry, Lord Wolf, for causing you trouble."

Before Yosuke could speak, Farrell apologized, acting as if she had failed to discipline him properly, and speaking as if she were speaking for her own child.

The elf lady couldn't help but chuckle: "What's wrong? Are you already acting like his guardian, Farrell?"

"...I don't care, but since a contract has already been signed..."

The appraiser looked down and fiddled with the hem of her clothes: "What can I do? I'm his contractor."

"Oh dear, you're in for a tough time now."

The elf deliberately raised her voice, "It's all someone's fault~"

"Miss Elf!"

"Well!"

Yosuke's body trembled as he realized that he was now bound to Farel, and he didn't know how much burden he would be adding to the appraiser's burden.

"This, this is indeed my fault. I didn't expect things to turn out this way... Miss Farrell, I'm so sorry!"

“Please lift your head, Mr. Wolf.”

Farrell revealed a compassionate smile that almost radiated holy light. "This is fate. We mortals can only accept the arrangements of fate."

"You are so kind to be so tolerant of me!"