Lyu recalled the girl as well. Alize had pulled her out of the way of a horde of stampeding civilians after one of the Evils’ attacks had caused a panic in the streets.
Just then, the girl’s mother came over. “Oh, you don’t know how grateful we are to you, Miss Adventurer,” she said, bowing her head respectfully. “How can we ever repay you…?”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Alize. “I was only doing what’s right! We’re always happy to help!”
“Thank you for saving me, nice ladies! Bye-bye!”
The girl waved one of her teddy bear’s arms as she and her mother departed. Lyu watched, astonished, as they left.
“…I don’t believe it…”
“Those are the smiles we’re fighting for, Leon. There may not be many of them, but they’re out there. We shouldn’t forget that just because not everyone has the strength to smile all the time. That’d be an insult to the work we do every day.”
“.….…. ”
“We’ve seen what change justice can bring. All we have to do is keep fighting the good fight, don’t you think?”
“…You’re right, Alize. Of course you are. There’s no time to be standing around feeling sorry for myself when we have a job to do.”
Looking at her leader’s gentle smile, Lyu couldn’t help but feel heartened herself. It was as if all the fear and doubt was banished from her mind at once. She lifted her head and, in a proud voice, declared, “We need to do all we can for the sake of peace in—”
“Ohhhh noooo!”
It was at that very moment that a melodramatic male voice called out, and the two girls turned to see a low-life hoodlum running away.
“Ha-ha! Yoink!”
“My 444 valis! But that’s my entire life savings!” the man squealed. “Somebody, stop that thieeef!!”
“Huh, is that a god?” observed Alize. “What’s the world coming to when even the divine have to worry about getting their purse snatched?! Also, how is 444 valis your entire life savings? You’re a god!”
“Now’s not the time, Alize! Let’s go!”
Keeping her partner from uttering any more tactless remarks, Lyu leaped into action. The street was busy, despite the city’s languor, and the hoodlum wove his way through the crowd with practiced ease. However, he hadn’t counted on Alize and Lyu. Without hesitation, they cut through the sea of people, sometimes leaping up onto buildings and running along walls to gain on their quarry. The man very quickly found the pair closing in on him.
“You can’t escape us!” Alize yelled. “Prepare to be cuffed!”
“That girl in the red hair…That’s Scarlett Harnell?! Dammit, why did I have to run into Astrea Familia?”
The opportunistic mugger cursed his rotten luck. He had skimmed a truly pathetic sum off his witless mark only to be spotted by perhaps the most famous pair of vigilantes in the entire city. When the alternative was confronting the physical prowess of a couple of upper-class adventurers, the hoodlum had no choice but to disappear down a side road in an attempt to get away.
“Gweh?!”
However, he wasn’t prepared for someone to be standing right there, which explained why he ran straight into them before falling to the ground.
“Come on, stealing isn’t right. We have to work for our money, don’t we?”
The girl who cut off the thief was just a little too young and adorable to be called a beauty like her sister. If Alize was a bouncing bundle of sunshine, then this girl was the calm spring breeze. Even her soft, sonorous voice exuded a natural gentle quality.
“Ardee!” said Lyu with surprise.
“That’s right!” said the girl the pair had met the night before. “Who’s your fellow Level Three adventurer and the kind and upstanding Shakti Varma’s younger sister? It’s me, Ardee!”
“Who exactly needed that exposition…?” said Lyu with a fed-up look.
Displaying a sunny disposition that seemed a little strange coming from a member of the city watch, Ardee bounded over to Lyu like an excited puppy.
“Hey, Leon. You’re looking pretty as ever. Sniff…and you smell nice as well. Mind if I hug you?”
“Listen to me when I’m talking.”
“He-hem!” Came Alize’s proud, boastful voice. “I got to hug her yesterday when I slept in her bed! You should have seen her blush, it was adorable!”
“Both of you, focus on the job!” yelled Lyu, but she was hopelessly outnumbered, with the triumphant red on the one side and the touchy-feely blue on the other. Tears formed in her eyes as she was reminded of the embarrassment of the previous night while Ardee grabbed her with both arms.
She heard the voice of the little girl, Leah, who had apparently run after them to watch the chase. “You’re all such good friends!” she cried. That only made it hurt even more.
“Ah-ha-ha. Well, enough playing around,” said Ardee, releasing Lyu and spinning to face the mugger. “Let’s see that wallet you stole, mister.”
“Guuuh…”
The hoodlum had taken a big fall and was only just now scrambling to his feet.
“Argh, dammit!” he cursed, beating his fists against the earth. “I’m screwed! My life’s over! Just throw me in a cell and leave me to rot already!”
“Wow! What a refreshing change of pace!” said Alize, awestruck. “I’ve never met a criminal who volunteered to be arrested before!”
“Please don’t make this worse than it already is,” Lyu muttered at her. The hoodlum, meanwhile, continued his rant.
“The strong could never understand what we gotta go through just to put food on the table! We can’t work, we can’t sell shit, and we can barely breathe without someone blowin’ up a buildin’ halfway across town!”
The human man’s clothes were nearly as ragged as his outlook on life. He was fairly old, with a stubbly beard, and while he clearly wasn’t an adventurer, he wore armor across his shoulder and stomach, presumably to defend against a stray knife on the street. It was a wise choice during times like these.