Zero Delicacy

The young man who'd been crying out in that pitiful voice seemed to give up and stopped resisting.

I loosened my hold slightly.

"So this is the one you mentioned yesterday, the guy who was trying to peep on your room."

"No doubt about it."

"I wasn't trying to peep…"

"But you came pretty close, didn't you?"

"That… yes."

He seemed wishy-washy about the whole thing.

Come to think of it, he had said something about wanting an autograph.

Whatever the case, I should hear him out first.

I looked down at myself.

Restraining a man while I was in a swimsuit, in a place like this… it did look rather ridiculous.

"I'm going to let you go now, but don't try to run. Alexia-san can use magic, so it won't end pleasantly for you."

I lowered my voice a bit for extra intimidation.

I'd already memorized his face, so running now would be pointless.

He seemed to understand that, nodding frantically.

I asked Alexia-san to keep an eye on him and went back into the shower room to get changed.

I made the young man sit in seiza and had him explain everything from the start.

Alexia-san and I stood over him with our arms crossed, looking down.

As intimidating as possible.

This was something Master had taught me.

"My name is Nigd. I'd heard the rumors about you, Azu-san, ever since you became famous as adventurers, and when I saw your merchandise being sold, I became a huge fan."

"Merchandise? You mean that portrait thing you're holding?"

"Yes. There are other things too. Little figurines made to look like you and everything…"

"I never authorized a single one of those. So someone's been selling people's portraits and such without permission. And you, don't go buying illegal goods like that."

"I'm sorry."

When Alexia-san scolded him, Nigd wilted visibly.

There were even figurines.

I couldn't believe someone would actually pay money for a portrait of me.

The portrait was somewhat stylized but remarkably well done.

I didn't particularly want to know how he'd been using it.

"Well, we'll look into those goods in due time. Right now, the issue is why you were following me around."

"When I heard the real deal had come, I got so excited I couldn't control myself… I thought about going to see you at night, but I realized that would be wrong and turned back at the last second."

"Ah, so that's why no one was there when I opened the curtain. I thought whoever it was had gotten away impossibly fast."

"Turning back 'at the last second' is already questionable. Think whatever you want inside your head, but you clearly lack self-control."

She was right.

It had been genuinely unsettling, and depending on the circumstances, I might have cut down the intruder with my sword.

"What about challenging me over and over during training?"

"I just figured an opportunity like that might never come again, so I wanted to spar with you for as long as possible…"

"I see."

And here I'd thought he was just enthusiastic about training. Turns out his motives were impure.

My opinion of him had bottomed out, so naturally my gaze turned cold.

He clearly sensed it, shrinking further into himself.

"And coming to the shower room?"

"I figured it was the one place I'd definitely be able to find you for an autograph. I swear, I wasn't thinking anything beyond that!"

"Oh, really? You're telling me the thought of 'maybe if I'm lucky' never once crossed your mind? You're the worst. You might be young, but you have absolutely zero delicacy. You didn't spare a single thought for how the other person might feel, did you?"

"If you'd just asked Moomya-san, I would've given you one. But showing up in person like this is just a nuisance."

"… Yes."

He did seem to be reflecting, at least.

Maybe the repressed environment of the barracks had caused something to snap all at once.

"Well, everything was creepy, but at least it stayed at the attempt stage. If you'd actually done something, we wouldn't be having this calm little chat."

"Haha. If he'd tried that on me, I might've burned him already."

This was a military barracks, and a city we were visiting for the first time.

Besides, it wasn't our place to pass judgment on this young man.

Everything had remained at the attempt stage; I was just uncomfortable. No actual harm had been done.

"I'm going to go get Moomya-san. Understood?"

"Uugh. Yes."

It seemed best to leave this to his superior, Moomya.

I felt like punching him once, but not like cutting him down.

"Um, by the way."

"What?"

"About that autograph…"

That finally made me snap. I snatched the portrait away from him and tore it into pieces too small to ever reassemble.

That seemed to be what hurt him most, judging by the anguished wail that followed.

I'm not an idol.

"I'm truly sorry!"

When I brought Moomya back and explained the situation, she slammed Nigd's head into the floor while bowing alongside him.

There was an audible thud.

"Nigd is a quiet, serious kid. I never would've expected him to do something like this. I apologize for the trouble."

"Well, as long as he reflects on it, that's enough. He didn't actually do anything to me directly."

"I can't let it go that easily. No matter how much stronger you are than him, having someone of the opposite sex corner you while you're in bed or in the shower is frightening. He may not have intended it, but he targeted you when you were vulnerable."

I'd been worried she might try to sweep it under the rug, but that concern proved unfounded.

And hearing it put into words like that, the vague unease I'd been feeling finally crystallized.

"That said, regarding punishment… I promise to retrain him thoroughly so nothing like this ever happens again. Could you let this end quietly? As a fellow woman, I understand how you feel. But losing even one soldier right now, even a recruit, is a matter of public safety for this city."

"Hmm."

That was their problem, not mine.

But in terms of punishment, tearing up the portrait had already been quite devastating for Nigd.

The proof was that he'd gone completely blank.

Demanding some harsher penalty seemed difficult at this point, and I didn't want to cause a scene either.

Alexia-san leaned in and whispered to me.

"Why not let it go and put them in your debt? Unless it's something you absolutely can't forgive."

"Honestly, I just want to forget about it. Let's do that."

The truth was, I didn't want to spend any more time on this.

Especially with the undoubtedly exhausting meal with the viscount coming up.

"All right. We'll leave it at this. I won't report him to the authorities, but in exchange, please deal with him thoroughly."

"I see. That's a relief."

"Oh, and one more thing. Could you ask him about our merchandise? If someone's selling it without permission, we need to do something about it."

"Understood. You have my word."

And with that, the matter was settled.

"If he'd actually laid a hand on me, I would've burned off an arm without a second thought. With Elza here, doing that much would've taught him a good lesson."

"Please don't say that so gleefully… Sigh."

"Sounds like you had a rough time."

"This is youth… or maybe not."

Elza-san and the others cheered me up when we regrouped.