Annoyance will be dealt with (part 3)

"..."

Medea didn't give any other instruction and simply waited while keenly observing the four paralyzed men, awaiting the effects of the pellets he used on them to subside.

Throughout the whole scene, the owner of the place seems to want to intervene a few times, but the white-haired hired guard approaches him in a great hurry and stops him.

Similarly, the woman with a scar and the large man who got treated with the healing pellet approached the other patrons and convinced them the situation was under control and it would not escalate into a larger event...

Although it was kind of scary to imagine how it could escalate even further...

"All of you, join him."

Seeing the twitching and first slow movement from the most affected bunch, Medea ordered in a serious voice.

After getting burnt, paralyzed, and beaten up – not always in the same order – the four youngsters were meek like hand-fed sheep and complied without voicing a word of complaint.

"...I guess that I need to explain something before the next step so there would be no misunderstanding..."

"...?!"

Medea tilted his head and sighed with the same serious expression making the five kneeling men flinch and tremble fearfully.

"You five have been granted the chance. If you will apologize earnestly and earn the forgiveness of young Miss Zorivia Rotteloss, you shall be spared. The rest of your friends who ran away will be killed for their disrespect towards her. That is the Rotteloss way."

"!!!"

The black-haired man declared without a shred of warmth in his voice, cleaning up the blades of his knives before securing them back inside his sleeves.

"Think things through, do not try to speak at the same time, and most importantly, do not raise your voices at the young Miss. Making any of those mistakes will get you executed on the spot."

Medea added, lowering his glasses and smiling refreshingly, causing the kneeling five to suddenly feel as if the cold hand of death was seizing their hearts.

The black-haired man nodded at the result o his words and turned around, leaning towards the blond-haired girl and tapping her shoulder,

"...? Ah, Medea!"

"...~"

Zorivia cowered and dared to steal a shy glance at whoever was trying to get her attention and brightened into a beaming smile the moment she saw it was her personal assistant – whose serious eyes' seriousness melted away seeing the girl's adorable reaction.

"My lady, there was a little accident, and some of that loud bunch will be punished a bit later, but five of them stayed behind to apologize. This lowly servant hopes you will listen to their heartfelt apologies."

"...e-eh...? Umm... O-okay...?"

Medea bowed down and asked in a servile voice, taking Zorivia by surprise but still succeeding in making her go along with his games.

"..."

"...!"

"!!!"

As the young lady turned around and faced the direction her bowing assistant was pointing at, two of the kneeling men opened their mouths at the same time just to shut them up at the glimpse of the knife that reappeared in Medea's hand behind his back.

"Young lady, please forgive this fool for this shameful misdemeanor. I... I swear that nothing of the sort will happen again!"

The blond-haired youth decided to use this window of opportunity and spoke up while kowtowing and pressing his forehead to the damp floor.

"...what do you mean...?"

Zorivia was bewildered by the apology and leaned back while looking around, trying to piece together what could have happened while she was doing her best to not pay attention.

"..."

"!!!"

Medea tilted his head just slightly and smiled, clenching his hand on the handle of the knife behind his back, which was enough to convince the blond-haired youth that he was in grave danger and cause him to shiver.

"D-disturbing your leisure time is the grave sin that I will do my very utmost best to make up for!" *thump*

The horrified man cried out and raised his head a bit just to slam it against the floor again for a greater effect.

"Umm... Excuse me... But... what do you mean...?"

"!!!"

Zorivia shook her head and furrowed her brows in genuine confusion, but to the blond-haired youth as well as his comrades and everyone else present, she appeared to be only acting innocent while reveling in the panic and misery inflicted upon the ghastly pale man drenched in sweat.

Normally things would be different, but with things set up by Medea, there could be only one outcome.

"I... I'll change my ways, I swear...!"

The youth cried out while trembling like a fall leaf in a hurricane, seemingly unable to come up with anything better under the scrutinizing eyes of the black-haired man brandishing a knife behind his back.

"Okay... I guess that if you promise not to do bad things anymore, everything will be good."

"YES! I SWEAR!"

Zorivia tilted her head and said, assuming that the whole thing was about the ruckus that caused the part of the inn to be flooded, and received tearful gratefulness from the man who felt that his life was just spared from the maws of a monstrous beast.

"...?"

"..."

The blond-haired man glanced over at the black-haired man, silently inquiring whether he could leave or not, but Medea slowly shook his head from side to side, implying that nothing was over until others were judged.

With the extreme set, the remaining four weren't stupid enough to fumble the chance, and they all presented a slightly altered version of the oath that earned their comrade the mercy of the noble lady.

"...Is there something else that you want...?"

Zorivia glanced over at Medea, but the bowing black-haired man didn't give her any clue whatsoever about what she should do next, so she looked back at the kneeling five and asked in a confused voice.

"I... We would like to cover for the costs of your stay in this place, young lady, please!"

The blond-haired youth gasped and exchanged glances with the rest of his comrades – all of them nodded in agreement, completely misunderstanding the question as cunning coercion made as a final test before they could really be safe.

"Oh! That's very nice of you."

Zorivia raised her brows when she noticed Medea nodding his head discreetly– she had been worried about the expenses of the journey, so nice people making an earnest offer like that, and since Medea didn't seem to be against it, she accepted it with a smile.

"No, no...! That's the least we can do!"

The five breathed out in relief in unison, and the blond-haired one gasped in exasperation.

"Such earnest! Even though my lady enjoys lavish meals that are of the highest quality... My lady, you really have a good eye for judging people; those five do appear to be able to change their ways."

"Oh, um... y-yeah...?"

Medea straightened his back and gasped in ave, making Zorivia blush and fidget as she agreed, slightly unsure what exactly he meant.

The five followed up on their promise and then hurriedly left after offering Medea two big silvers that were already spent by him beforehand and then paying upfront for the dishes that Zorivia and Medea ordered. Staying in place all that time turned out to be beneficial for some of them, too - the blond one was kneeling so long that the wound on the back of his knee clothed up; he still limped out but was in no danger of bleeding out immediately, as long as he wouldn't be moving around too much.