Exclamations of surprise rose one after another. Ryan Bennett looked up and saw a young, beautiful girl. Her pointed ears indicated she had elven blood, and her delicate features seemed sculpted by an artist. As a fan of fantasy novels, Ryan Bennett had long wanted to see an elven beauty with his own eyes. He hadn’t expected that, just after arriving in the imperial capital, he would be so lucky.

To be honest, his luck was really quite good. Although, thanks to thriving trade, elven merchants were never lacking in the capital, elves were still a relatively conservative race compared to humans. Most elven merchants were men, and it was rare for women to appear in public.

From the crowd, whistles sounded from time to time, but there was no excessive behavior. First, the Empire and the Nature Alliance were currently in a honeymoon period, so elven merchants enjoyed the same treatment as humans in the Empire. Second, as the capital, Alsace had excellent public security, and in such a bustling marketplace, no one dared to cause trouble.

But there are always exceptions. Hailan Star was still in its medieval era, and besides ordinary civilians, there was also the noble class.

Nobles, as the name suggests, had privileges. In theory, they were not above imperial law, but in reality, powerful families paid little heed to the law.

Baron Carl was one such person. Although, in terms of rank, the Empire had six noble titles—duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, and knight—with baron being the second lowest and not very prominent, he was born into the Bitthos family. His ancestors were founding heroes, and his father controlled the Empire’s finances. Carl was one of the most notorious playboys in Alsace.

He was neither scholarly nor martial, but he excelled at eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, always getting into trouble with a gang of disreputable friends. At this moment, he was also among the onlookers. Ever since the Empire and the Nature Alliance signed a friendship treaty a century ago, the slave trade of elves had been strictly forbidden. This was the first time Carl had ever seen an elven woman.

Chapter 9: Hmm, a Very Cliché Scenario

Beautiful—there was no other word for it. The baron swallowed hard, his heart already restless. After a few of his lackeys egged him on, he couldn’t restrain himself and immediately stepped into the street.

A very cliché scene of a villain harassing a beauty unfolded, but the people around only dared to be angry, not to speak out. Who didn’t know the power of the Bitthos family? Besides, the other party was a noble—how could ordinary people dare to meddle?

“What do you want?” The elven girl’s face showed a trace of shame and anger. Emily Brooks was already regretting her decision. She had come to the capital with her brother to do business. Her brother had warned her not to wander off, but Emily Brooks hadn’t taken it seriously. She had grown up in the forest and was visiting a human city for the first time. The word “prosperous” summed it up. Although elves loved tranquility, the beautiful exotic scenery deeply attracted the young girl.

So, while her brother was busy, Emily Brooks slipped away from her maid and snuck out. She’d heard that human girls loved shopping, and she wanted to experience what that felt like.

The enthusiasm of humans startled Emily Brooks, but things weren’t too bad. Although some people threw flowers and whistled at her, no one behaved excessively.

“Actually… humans aren’t as scary as the legends say!” Little Emily Brooks thought so. She didn’t know if fate was playing a joke on her, but just as her guard was dropping, a pervert appeared.

If nothing else, when it came to harassing girls, Baron Carl was a master. The sight of this frightened, bird-like girl made Carl burn with desire. He had bullied and ruined the innocence of countless human girls, but he had never tried an elf before.

Now that he had seen one, how could he let this little lamb escape? A lecherous grin appeared on the baron’s face.

“Young master, isn’t this a bit…”

One of his lackeys frowned. Usually, snatching a common girl was nothing, but this girl was an elf, and this was in broad daylight. The impact would be terrible. The Nature Alliance would never let it go, and this could affect the Empire’s foreign policy.

“What are you afraid of!”

Unfortunately, the baron was an idiot, only capable of thinking with his lower half. He had no understanding of how this could affect relations between the two nations. In his mind, with his family’s power, snatching an elf was no big deal.

“You guys go block the road. Don’t let her get away.”

The other lackeys responded and fanned out, blocking the road behind the girl. Seeing the nobles closing in step by step, Emily Brooks was filled with fear. She wished she had listened to her brother and not wandered off, but in this world… there’s no medicine for regret.

The silence of the crowd only emboldened the villain, but not everyone would pretend to be deaf and blind. Ryan Bennett was the exception. Of course, he didn’t want to play the hero and understood the consequences of offending a noble. After all, he’d been here a month and had learned a bit about Hailan Star’s ways. But none of that was reason enough to stand by and do nothing. Some things just had to be done.

Knowing it was impossible but doing it anyway, Ryan Bennett simply couldn’t stand to see a villain bullying a weak girl right in front of him. Of course, the other side had numbers, so fighting head-on wasn’t smart. Ryan Bennett began to think about how to outwit them. He glanced around and noticed a restaurant nearby, with a recycling bin full of rotten eggs.