Meena told the soldiers what had happened, and they let me go.
"I'm sorry."
Shiraishi bowed to me. I've brought her to my inn to discuss the situation at length, since it's no use for her to be there.
I've got to get revenge on this lousy woman.
The injury to my arm was healed with a potion that Shiraishi had, but that didn't make it go away.
"Huh. If we could just say we're sorry, we wouldn't need the police or the courts, would we? It's a case of injury and attempted murder."
"Th-that's because you..."
"Is it my fault that you misunderstood what was going on?"
"No. It's my fault. ......"
"I know. It's not surprising that you suspected me of being the culprit in that situation, and you could have questioned me or acted with all your might to protect the woman, but the decent thing to do would be to confirm the circumstances, right?"
"Muurgh, that's..."
"Am I wrong? If you see a guy who looks like a suspect, do you just attack him with a knife without asking any questions without calling the police?"
In this world, self-defense is the rule, so it's inevitable that we overreact. But I'm the victim here. I won't let you say that.
"If it was in Japan, I'd report it..."
"So you want to do it the Japanese way. Meena, what would happen in this world in this case? I was almost killed."
"I think you can appeal to the lord or talk to the adventurer's guild, but an eye for an eye. I don't think there's a problem with cutting her off. If that's what you want, I'll do it."
Meena is also quite angry at her for hurting me. It's natural.
But killing her would be a bad idea. It's not that I don't have my reasons, but what will the soldiers and townspeople think when they hear about this? At the very least, there will be an interrogation, and I don't want to get into that kind of trouble.
I told Shiraishi, who was looking at the floor with a reluctant face.
"Let's not kill her life. I'm not a savage who kills others without question."
"Kughh!"
"But let's see what happens if we take this case to the prison. Will she be thrown in jail?"
"Ehh?"
Shiraishi also looked a little uneasy.
"What should I do~?"
"I understand. I'll give you some of my money as an apology――."
"Hey, hey. You hear that, Meena? This guy's gonna pay for it."
"You're a scumbag. Even though You tried to kill Master."
"Guh."
If Ione were here, she might say that money would be fine, but she still seemed to be looking for the bandits and chasing them.
"...,Then, what can I do to get your forgiveness?"
What should I do?
I can't just cut off her left arm with a sword and call it even.
I think I'll just humiliate her to the hilt. She's beautiful.
I'm not going to argue with her about the money, because I can make a fair amount of it myself.
"Right. I'll let you pay for it with your body."
"Ehh? That's ... kughh... you're not asking me to join your party...."
"No, that's fine. I don't know why, but you seem to be all alone right now. I'll add you to my party. But I'll be the leader."
"Mm, murghh, that's..."
"Well, I won't force you there. But, Shiraishi, didn't you just have a naive thought that maybe I am is a good person and will forgive you if I just use you at the party?"
"I don't think so..."
"You're right. If I hadn't, You'd be dead, and I'm not going to let that happen."
"Murghh. Then, what do you want me to do?"
"It's a rape. Let me rape you once. and I'll forgive you."
"H-huuh!? Hey! Why do I have to do that! It's natural to say apologize, but I don't remember doing that much."
"No, you do. It's that okay? I can file a complaint against the soldier for attempted murder."
"Murghh, that's..."
Shiraishi is not familiar with the judiciary and laws of this world, and she shows her concern. Well, my guess is that the crime was negligent but not heinous, so they won't take her life. I'm not going to tell her that, of course. I'm just going to make sure she's scared out of her wits.
"Meena, what does attempted murder mean under the laws of this country?"
"It's a serious crime. If you're a commoner, you can be flogged or jailed. If you have a criminal record, you can be executed."
"Wait. But that doesn't mean, murgh, that rape is worth it."
"Okay. So, do you have any atonement that you can offer me?"
It's true that she cut me, and that's already a crime. I'll get right to the point. Fufu, There's also the [Deceitful Argument] skill over here.
"Murghh... Then, I'll let you add me to the party and I'll help you for a while for free. However, I will not help you with any sexual or criminal activities."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you hear that, Meena? She's making it sound like I'm a criminal."
"You need to be reminded of that. My Master is an honorable man."
"What? Come on, Meena, you're being tricked."
"No, I'm not!"
"I'm not tricking her. You're rude. That's slander."
"Uuuhhn, I'm sorry..."
"Your offer is completely off the table. If you were attacked out of the blue, Shiraishi, and the man smiled and said, "I'll be your friend and ask for your forgiveness," would you be okay with that?"
"No, that's, I'm not smiling...like that"
Fufufu, I think you're starting to understand your place, little girl.
"Then, let's see if you can make some worthwhile amends that I can live with."
"Well, I'll try, but rape is a crime."
"So the one who committed the crime doesn't like it when it's about to happen to her and uses morality and the law as a shield? You're a horrible person."
"She's a terrible."
That said, Meena is actively covering for me.
"Muurrghh...I'm really sorry. But I didn't mean to offend you..."
"Hey, hey, hey, If you didn't have any bad intentions, you'd be forgiven? If I had failed to take your swing at the time, I would die by now."
"Well, that may be true, but I didn't try to kill you..."
"Well, I'm not going to kill you either, because we're both Japanese, so I'm not going to accuse you of attempted murder."
"..........Thank you very much"
"I just can't get over the fear of being almost killed and the insults I've been subjected to, because I'm not a very good person either. So, if you don't want me to rape you, can I at least see you naked?"
"Muurgh, why are you going that way..."
"Because I know you won't like it. I'll tell you what, I have Meena. She has a much better body than you do."
Shiraishi's breasts are clearly larger than Meena, but I'll say so. Meena is also a little proud of her breasts.
"Huh? You made a move on this slave, didn't you?"
"It was consensual. Right, Meena."
"Yes. Because, It's my role."
That's not a good answer, but it's okay.
Shiraishi glared at me, but I didn't care what she said about Meena.
"It's the way of the world. Shiraishi, if you want to do things the Japanese way, you'll have to go back to your former world and then stand trial for attempted murder, okay? But the police won't be able to collect any evidence from the case here. It's a huge disadvantage for me as the victim. Am I right?"
"That may be, but... no, it's not a disadvantage for me, it's..."
"Maybe, but the fact is, in reality, it's impossible. You're not going to ask me to shelve it until you can go home, are you?"
"That's... that's what I'd like if I could, but you don't agree, do you?"
"Of course not. I don't want to do it again, and I want to get it over with. By the end of the day."
"I think it's too soon, but yeah".
"You got a problem with that, there?"
"No, I'm not."
"Then, I'll tell you what you can do today. You really don't want to be raped, do you?"
"Of course not. It's a crime, muurghh."
"That's right. It's a crime. Attempted murder and rape are both felonies, I suppose, but criminals usually blame the other person's crime rather than their own."
"Gughh."
"Well, I'm not a demon either. I'll compromise a little. I'll cut you some slack on the rape, but in exchange, I'll touch your body."
"Hey. That's the same thing, isn't it?"
"No, thanks. I'm not going to do the real sex. I'm going to compromise and forgive you for that. You can't resist. I almost got killed, but I fought back and got lucky."
"Muurghh....Then, no kissing, one hour time, you don't get naked, you don't bite or hit me, I don't get naked either――"
"Wait, wait, there are too many conditions. Your nakedness is fixed. This is the least you can do."