Free Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 by Fujino Omori Page B

react—yes, that was the key.
    Completely ignoring the elf’s request, the thief made a break for it.
    “Draw.”
    The air in the alley cracked.
    “……?!”
    “I only know of one person who wields a weapon engraved with hieroglyphs.”
    It was as if a blade of ice were pressed against the thief’s neck. The thief’s ankles felt frozen.
    Even the human girl drew back in shock. The elf was just that intimidating.
    Can’t turn to face her. Don’t want to turn and face her.
    “Be still.”
    The thief’s jaw was locked in place, breath ragged and shaking, heart beating fast enough to break ribs.
    The elf’s footsteps drew near. There was no longer much distance between them now.
    It’s do or die. No time for a plan, just get away.
    The thief’s knees bent, ready for action. Suddenly, the elf’s foot slammed down onto the road just ahead, cutting off the escape route.
    “I warned you.”
    The thief ran to the nearest corner and was just about to turn when a strike of terrible force hit the thief’s hand dead-on.
    “Gwahhhhh!”
    An apple?
    It
exploded.
    The red fruit hit the thief’s left hand, which was carrying the knife. The shock sent pieces of the apple soaring in all directions, so fierce was the impact.
    “You may wish to brace your stomach.”
    “—”
    The knife fell from the thief’s hand. The thief looked back.
    Calm, sky-blue eyes looked down from above, her leg bent far behind her body.
    So that’s how it is. I’m the ball. You’ve gotta be kidding me.
    Her leg swung forward and hit, just as she warned, right into the small of the thief’s back.
    “Hnggaaah?!”

    “Wh-what was that?”
    He heard it when he was running like a maniac down West Main in front of Guild headquarters.
    A piercing scream, echoing from the backstreets.
    Bell was retracing his steps to see if the Hestia Knife had fallen on the street somewhere, but he knew in an instant that what he heard was not a normal scream, and he stopped on the spot.
    The demi-humans in the area all followed suit. The next moment, a large number of cats came pouring out of one backstreet entrance, running as if their lives were at stake. Bell looked down that alleyway as far as his ruby-colored eyes would allow.
    “Meow! Meow!”
the wave of cats cried as they ran away from whatever was inside. The panicking felines weaved in and out of the legs of people on the busy street, turning the whole area into chaos. Bell carefully worked his way through the throng of people toward the backstreet, sweat rolling down his cheek.
    Bracing himself to face whatever was coming this way, Bell inched into the alley. All of a sudden, a small shadow collapsed with a loud
thud
at his feet.
    “L-Lilly?”
    “Haa-aah?”
    Jumping back for a moment after finding one of the most unlikely of people, Bell kneeled next to the girl.
    “Hey, what happened?! What’s wrong?!”
    “Th-that voice…Mr. Bell?”
    Her small body shook as she tried to get up, like a newborn fawn trying to stand for the first time. Her face looked frightened at first, but she soon showed him her usual smile.
    “Actually, I was attacked by a violent lady…Er, I mean, a stray dog…”
    “A-are you okay?!”
    “Somehow…”
    Her cream robe wasn’t all that dirty, but it was obvious to Bell that Lilly had taken some serious damage. For now, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped her out of the middle of the street and off to the side.
    Just when Bell was reaching for his leg holder to see if he had a spare potion…
    “I cannot believe he managed to escape…”
    Crick, crick.
The sharp sounds of shoes on stone accompanied the elf, Lyu, as she turned the corner.
    “You too, Lyu?! What the hell’s going on back there?”
    “Ah, great timing. I just happened to have found your…”
    Lyu had said that much before her eyes found a hunched-over Lilly sitting on the ground.
    Lilly was shaking like a scared child, rubbing her hands over the hood covering her face.
    “Mr.