I walked into the tavern with the owner. Right at the entrance, I spotted a blonde knight girl at the counter glaring at me.

I glared right back fiercely.

For a villain like her, I had to retaliate hard. Otherwise, she’d only get bolder next time.

"Alright, alright," the tavern owner sighed with a bitter smile. "As a gentleman, you must show chivalry to ladies."

"Uncle," I said seriously, holding up three fingers. "I showed chivalry three times to a certain flat-chested, muscle-headed girl. Guess what happened?"

"She must have fallen for you," the owner glanced at Anjelit, who was pretending to drink.

Anjelit’s ears perked up.

"Three times."

I stated the number.

"I was beaten up three times. And rushed to the Sanctuary for emergency treatment three times."

"..." The owner fell silent. Anjelit almost spat out her ale.

"Do you know the phrase for my tragic story?"

"What?"

"I wasn’t close to the Sanctuary priest at all. But in one day, I started calling him ‘Grandpa’."

"...That is rough," the owner rubbed his nose awkwardly.

Later, I sat at the counter.

Since the owner was treating me, I couldn’t shamelessly take a whole dining table.

Besides, he needed to run his business. This spot was perfect.

But Anjelit sat right next to me. I was seriously annoyed.

"Here, ale," the owner placed two large wooden mugs before me.

I don’t drink, as I’ve said.

But now, I really wanted to.

They say drinking drowns sorrows.

I was incredibly sorrowful.

I grabbed the mug and chugged it down. My first drink hit hard. The burn slammed my stomach, making me cough violently.

"Tch, weakling," Anjelit the seasoned drinker sneered.

I glanced at her. She sneered back, downed her mug in two gulps, belched loudly, and flipped her cup to show it empty.

I didn’t want to deal with her. Not at all.

"I think there’s a misunderstanding between you two," the owner tried to mediate.

But—

"Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Anjelit and I shouted together.

We glared, signaling not to copy each other.

"The fact I was beaten by a certain flat-chested, unqualified knight is undeniable. No misunderstanding!" I said.

"The fact I was defiled by a certain Rog Wolf is true. No misunderstanding!" Anjelit retorted.

I turned to her. She looked at me.

I got furious.

"Hey! What do you mean?!"

"What do you mean?!"

"When did I defile you?! And what’s a ‘Rog Wolf’? I’ve never heard of that wolf breed!"

"When was I unqualified?! My adventurer’s license says I’m a knight! And ‘Rog Wolf’ is short for ‘Rogied is a pervert’!"

I slammed my fist on the table in rage.

Slander! Pure slander!

I stood up. "Anjelit, are you asking for death?!"

"Ha! You dare?!" Anjelit mimicked me, slamming the table and standing. She planted a foot on her chair, rolled up her sleeves. "You sure you want to fight?!"

"You insulted my character! I can’t accept that!"

"Enough!!!" the owner yelled, rubbing his temples. "Talk calmly! Sit down! Customers are here!"

"Hmph!"

We snorted together, sat down, crossed our arms, and turned our backs.

The owner massaged his temples.

He realized this was a real fight, not childish play.

What to do?

His eyes darted between us. After a while, he had an idea.

If he couldn’t solve it together, he’d tackle us one by one.

He turned to me first.

"Tell me why you’re angry."

"Who wouldn’t be angry after three unprovoked beatings? And she yelled at me after! I’m fed up!"

"...I see," the owner nodded, remembering his wife. "And you?" He turned to Anjelit.

Anjelit blushed. "Well... my body was defiled by a certain Rog Wolf, and he won’t admit it!"

"Excuse me?! Explain clearly! Who’s a Rog Wolf? Who defiled you?!"

"You!"

We started arguing again. The owner snapped, slamming his fist on the counter.

"Crack!" Spiderweb cracks spread across the fragile wood.

"Shut the hell up! I’ll ask one by one!"

His outburst silenced us. We nodded obediently.

"Rogied, did you really not defile little Anjelit?"

"24k pure gold truth—I didn’t!"

"Then, little Anjelit, why do you insist he did?"

"...When I woke up, my clothes were off... there was blood on the bed... and Rogied was lying beside me..."

Anjelit looked embarrassed but spoke to make me confess.

The owner thought carefully, then looked at me.

"Rogied, even if you confess, you’d gain something. Just admit it."

"Objection!"

"...Then, little Anjelit, can you compromise? You clearly like Rogied."

"Pfft..." Anjelit spat out her ale. "W-What are you saying?!" She turned away, blushing.

The owner looked pained. "I mean you two are in love..."

"We are not!" we shouted together, slamming the table.

"Alright, alright... Calm down."

The atmosphere turned icy.

Anjelit and I ignored each other. The owner pondered again.

After a while, a forgotten memory resurfaced.

Maybe from too many beatings, my memory was failing.

It was a fragment from seconds before I blacked out—the key to our argument.

Remembering it, and linking to Anjelit’s evidence, I understood.

So this girl thought I undressed her while unconscious and... raped her?!

Please! By the gods, would I dare?!

I shared my guess.

Anjelit shook her head, disbelieving.

"Even if I undressed myself... how do you explain the blood?"

"That was my blood."

"Huh?" Anjelit froze, then blushed after a moment. "Do... boys bleed after that kind of thing too...?"

"It was my nosebleed!!!!"

"Ha! So you got excited seeing my naked body, unable to resist my charm?!"

"It was a nosebleed from your punch!" I snapped. "You were undressing yourself. I tried to stop you. But you’re so violent—even asleep, you punched me in the nose and knocked me out!"

"Proof?!"

"Proof is my clothes were intact! And my nose was injured!"

"..." Anjelit fell silent. She lowered her head. After two seconds, she buried her face on the table. Then, grabbing her Knight Sword, she threw a silver coin, wailed, and dashed out of the tavern.

Anjelit and I stared, dumbfounded.

"Sigh..." the owner sighed again, pocketing the coin. He looked at the ale mugs, a faint smile on his lips. "Seems little Anjelit really likes you."

"Uncle, where do you get that she likes me?"

"She paid for your drinks." He held up the silver coin.

"But you were treating me."

"But she didn’t know that."

"..."