-258- An innocent scapegoat

"Let's have a talk."

As this sentence came from Rozen's mouth and entered the ears of the rapier wielder, she remained silent, but her head was slightly lifted.

Regrettably, even so, the hood of their cloak still obscured her face, preventing Rozen from getting a clear look at their appearance or confirming if the rumored "beautiful female player" matched the description.

Rozen was curious, but he also had self-awareness, knowing that now wasn't the time to focus on that.

In response, Rozen continued.

"Did you happen to be surrounded by a frontline player group while in the Labyrinth Area, and were they accusing you as an orange player who attacked them?" Rozen's words prompted the rapier wielder to remain silent.

Soon after, she nodded slightly.

"Although the process wasn't that concise, that's essentially it."

The rapier wielder spoke with a pleasant voice, causing Rozen to shrug.

"I thought as much," Rozen said as if to himself, "in that situation, anyone would assume it was you who attacked, right?"

Rozen's muttered words seemed to furrow the rapier wielder's brows.

"What's the whole story?" The rapier wielder asked in a hushed voice. "Please explain in a way that can be understood."

Hearing this, Rozen rubbed his nose before speaking.

"Simply put, you were framed."

Indeed, that was a clear enough way to explain it.

"..."

The rapier wielder fell into silence once again.

But this was likely the truth.

In fact, Rozen had already started suspecting when he encountered the player group gathered in the safe area.

Admittedly, encountering a player with an orange name in the Labyrinth Area, someone who had committed a crime, made it impossible for anyone to peacefully level up. This information would undoubtedly spread among players in the area.

However, hadn't Argo mentioned something before?

About a beautiful female player.

"That's been quite the topic among the frontline player group lately." That's what Argo had said.

In other words, among the top-level players in the frontline group, everyone already knew about a beautiful female player in the Labyrinth Area who had attacked someone out of anger due to her hood being lifted, inadvertently causing her to become an orange player.

Knowing this, the other players probably wouldn't be so surprised to this extent.

While it was understandable that others might be suspicious, even the axe-wielding player Agil, who seemed rather composed and open-minded, warned Rozen to be careful. This could only mean one thing.

"An orange player appearing in the Labyrinth Area is dangerous."

So, Rozen had already kept this matter in mind.

When he was ambushed by that unknown rapier wielder from behind, Rozen initially thought that the player was a criminal who attacked others from behind in the Labyrinth Area, not a female player who became violent due to her appearance being seen. The tense atmosphere in the safe zone indicated that some players had been attacked by the rapier wielder. But upon encountering the female player before him, Rozen's perspective changed.

"Perhaps, the rapier wielder who attacked players in the Labyrinth Area is a different person?"

Rozen spoke in this manner.

"You're merely a scapegoat for that rapier wielder."

Both being rapier wielders, both wearing cloaks, which obscured their appearances, and both being orange players—how could they not be mistaken for one another?

In other words, the supposed beautiful female player before Rozen was indeed an orange player due to an unintentional mistake. Meanwhile, the rapier wielder who attacked others in the Labyrinth Area, including Rozen, was a different player.

"No wonder..."

The girl murmured softly.

However, if that were the case, then a question arose.

"How do you know that I'm the other rapier wielder who was framed, and not the criminal who attacked many players in the Labyrinth area, including you?"

The girl naturally posed this question.

However, this question was rather straightforward.

"There are four reasons."

Rozen raised four fingers.

"Four?"

The girl seemed surprised that there were so many reasons and appeared somewhat stunned.

Rozen didn't mind and began explaining.

"First: I had a confrontation with the other player, and I managed to lower it's HP by a quarter, but it's HP gauge should still be green, as I didn't bring it down below half. However, your HP gauge is yellow. That's the first reason."

"Second: I was chasing after that rapier wielder and entered the area you were in, but you immediately rushed out again, as if you had no idea I was coming from the outside. We collided as if by accident. If you were the criminal rapier wielder, even if you were to rush out again, you should have used a sword technique to directly reduce my HP, rather than colliding with me. That's the second reason."

"Third: At that time, my familiar, this Rainbow Butterfly, also chased after that rapier wielder into that area. If the criminal had turned around, my familiar would have immediately used a special skill on that guy, stopping their movement. There's no way my familiar would have just let him confront me face to face. That's the third reason."

"As for the fourth reason..."

Rozen extended his hand, allowing the Rainbow Butterfly to rest on his arm, while he smiled at the girl.

"Although your weapons are the same and you both wear cloaks, and you're both orange players, from appearances alone, it's impossible to distinguish. However, the difference between your sword skills and the other rapier wielder's is like night and day. I find it hard to believe that a criminal would execute such elegant sword techniques, don't you think?"

One by one, these reasons left the rapier girl speechless and contemplative.

But Rozen hadn't finished explaining yet.

"I don't know who that other rapier wielder is, and I have no idea whether they dressed similarly to you intentionally or coincidentally, pushing the blame onto you. Nor do I know if their actions were deliberate or not. But there's one thing I do know."

Rozen looked at the girl.

"If things continue like this, you probably won't be able to stand among players for long."

That was only natural, right?

Framed to be an actual dangerous orange player, how could the girl possibly find a place among players?

Leaving aside the future, even now, players in the Labyrinth Area already considered her a criminal who attacked others. They had formed a group to capture and pursue her. Her HP gauge entering the yellow zone might even be a result of the player she thought she had attacked retaliating.

Moreover, players wouldn't turn orange after attacking orange players. Perhaps, she might face punishment from the self-proclaimed just player groups.

In this situation, it wasn't just about finding a footing; her safety was also at stake.

"By the way, you might not know this because I've heard you're a newbie, but orange players can't enter towns. They would be suppressed by NPC guards if they tried."

Crossing his arms, Rozen addressed the girl, who had remained silent for most of the time, with this statement.

"What are you planning to do?"

As the words fell, the girl lowered her head.

Just as Rozen thought she was considering how to overcome this situation, her response came from her lips.

"...It doesn't matter."

Her emotionless words made Rozen narrow his eyes.