Upon arriving at the church, Ryu encountered Bolt, surrounded by guards, shouting, "Bring out Ryu!"

Ryu: "What do you want?"

Guard: "You are Ryu! Hey, arrest him!"

The guards surrounded Ryu, spears pointed at him.

Ryu: "Arrest? What crime have I committed?"

Guard: "You assaulted and extorted yesterday. You took money from a passerby in that alleyway, claiming it was a 'toll,' didn't you? And then you attacked four men who tried to stop you!"

They must have listened to the thugs I caught yesterday and were trying to frame me, probably to win favor with Four Night Butterflies.

Ryu: "I have no idea what you're talking about. The story is completely backward. I just punished a group of four who were extorting people."

Bolt: "Don't try to fool me with your lies."

Ryu: "You should be under arrest yourself. You were caught taking bribes from the criminal organization. The Third Guard should be coming to arrest you any minute now."

Bolt: "What are you talking about? Don't try to deceive me! What are you doing? Hurry up and arrest him!!"

But in the next instant, all the guards surrounding Ryu fainted, collapsing to the ground. It was Ryu's carotid artery block.

Feeling it was too cruel to kill the soldiers who were only following orders, I quickly released their blood flow. Recovering consciousness, the soldiers were confused about what had happened. As Bolt urged them to capture Ryu again, they fainted again, losing consciousness. Eventually, the soldiers gave up, no longer moving.

"Damn it! What are you doing? Useless bunch! Fine, I'll take care of him myself!"

Bolt drew his sword and attacked.

But his foot faltered as he took a step forward, and he collapsed. Bolt, too, had lost consciousness, his carotid artery blocked.

Just then, Goran and the Third Guard arrived.

Before heading to the church, Ryu had asked Doug to call Goran, and Doug had teleported himself to the Third Guard's headquarters.

Recovering consciousness, having his blood flow restored, Bolt saw Goran and shouted.

Bolt: "What are you doing here? This is out of your jurisdiction! But it's convenient. Arrest him!"

Goran: "No, you're the one getting arrested, Bolt."

Bolt: "What?!"

Goran: "The boss of the Four Night Butterflies confessed everything. A guard captain colluding with a criminal organization is absolutely unforgivable!"

The Third Guard members surrounded Bolt.

Bolt: "These guys are in league with criminals too! You guys, arrest them!"

Bolt called out to the First Guard members, but they hesitated, unable to move. Then, Goran spread out a sheet of parchment so that the soldiers could see it.

Goran: "This is a formal warrant for Bolt's arrest from the Lord! Anyone who resists will be considered a criminal and arrested!"

No one in the squad moved.

Bolt: "Damn it!"

Bolt drew his sword, preparing to resist. It was a sorry sight. Feeling it would be too cruel for the soldiers who were apprehending him to get hurt, Ryu once again rendered Bolt unconscious.

Bolt, safely knocked unconscious, was bound and taken away.

.

Later, I heard that Bolt and the Four Night Butterflies boss were both executed. (Ryu never learned the boss's real name, but he heard it was actually “Boss.” )

However, for some reason, the boss begged to be spared the execution by beheading, pleading for a hanging instead. It was apparently so traumatic for him to have his head cut off. Ryu was a little surprised.

.

―　―　―　―　―　―　―　―

The day after Bolt's arrest.

The threat of the Four Night Butterflies to Border Town was gone, and the church/orphanage was safe for now.

The slums, with the disappearance of the Four Night Butterflies, saw the remaining two criminal organizations battling for territory. However, the emergence of this new territory dispute meant that they would not be venturing out for a while.

Ryu, as usual, brought snacks to the church, having tea with the sisters, when Layla, the receptionist from the Adventurer's Guild, came to visit.

She explained that Ryu hadn't been to the Adventurer's Guild for a long time, so the Guildmaster's proxy, Catherine, had sent her to fetch him again.

Even though it had only been three days since they parted ways, it was obvious how desperate Catherine was for Ryu's presence.

Thinking it was a bit of a nuisance, Ryu decided to go to the Adventurer's Guild with Layla.

.

―　―　―　―　―　―　―　―

Ryu was taken to the Guildmaster's room.

The conversation began with an apology for the former Guildmaster's actions, but Ryu told Catherine that her apology meant nothing to him.

Ryu: "The person who needs to apologize is Daniel, the one who screwed up, isn't it? No matter how much a proxy bows their head, the real culprit isn't reflecting on his actions."

Of course, Catherine agreed, and she sent for Daniel.

Daniel, sporting a weak, strained smile, arrived and prostrated himself before Ryu, beginning to apologize.

Daniel was severely punished, essentially becoming a slave to the Adventurer's Guild.

It was only fair.

After all, this whole situation wouldn't have happened if Daniel had acted properly from the beginning.

He was the Guildmaster who had dismissed Ryu's complaints about being robbed by a senior adventurer.

Seeing Daniel on his knees, Ryu felt a sense of satisfaction. But the entire organization, for letting someone like him stay as Guildmaster, was something that bothered him.

Catherine, representing the guild, apologized profusely about that point as well.

Honestly, if things continued this way, the Adventurer's Guild would be doomed.

Adventurers were disappearing, and there were hardly any requests coming in. If this continued, the Adventurer's Guild in this town might have to shut down soon.

However, Catherine said that they would improve the situation, making sure it wouldn't happen.

Catherine spoke passionately about the Adventurer's Guild’s significance and necessity, pleading for its survival.

While Ryu did not have the power to decide the fate of the Adventurer's Guild, he was, in fact, the key player who had brought about the current state of affairs.

Catherine pleaded with Ryu to help ensure the Guild's survival.

Catherine believed that if Ryu became their ally, they could turn the situation around.