"A-Are you... are you okay, En?"
"See? Just like I told you, these guys only look at your past. They've already made up their minds... isn't that right?"
"Batz? Sanga...!"
"Wh-Who the hell are you?! Where did you come from?!" Rommelo barked, his agitation clear as the two men shoved past his subordinates and stepped into the light.
Ignoring the officer entirely, the newcomers turned their focus to En.
"You see it now, don't you, En? It doesn't matter what you do—it's all a waste of time. People like us are outcasts for life. No matter how hard you work, these people will never see you for who you are now."
"Come back to us, En. Let the three of us be together again. We can run away to another town and live just like we used to."
"What are you two talking about?!" Melt cried out. "En, don't listen to them! Don't you dare listen to them!"
"Then what's she supposed to do?" Sanga countered. "If En is innocent, there's no reason for her to let herself be hauled off like a lamb to the slaughter. All she'll get for her trouble is the stigma of being a thief. Between the word of someone she doesn't even know and a single, pathetic magic item that barely counts as evidence, she’s already been convicted in their eyes. Isn't it better to just run?! Well?!"
"I..."
"No, En! If you run now, you'll—!"
The desperate pleas of Melt and the Master—the only two who truly believed in her—rang through the shop.
If En succumbed to those sweet words and fled with Sanga and Batz, she would be tacitly admitting her guilt. The Security Force would hunt her with everything they had, and even if she managed to evade them, she would be branded a fugitive—a criminal all over again.
Yet, there was a kernel of truth in Sanga's words.
If En was truly innocent, simply being taken into custody by the Security Force could destroy her life. The mere presence of the guards the previous day had already driven away her customers. If rumors spread that an employee had been arrested, the shop might be forced to close its doors for good.
If that happened, En would have no place to call home and nowhere left to go regardless of the investigation's outcome.
"Let's go, En. It'll be just like old times. While Sanga raises hell, we'll slip away and meet up later. We've survived tighter spots than this, haven't we?"
"Do you think I'll just stand by and let that happen?!" Rommelo roared. "By the honor of the Security Force, I'll arrest the lot of you!"
"Heh! Be my guest... just try it!" Sanga sneered. "I'd like to see a pig fat on authority like you actually try to lay a hand on me!"
As Rommelo and Sanga traded provocations, the air in the shop grew thick with a suffocating tension.
Amidst the chaos and the rapidly shifting situation, En stood dazed, unable to process it all until Melt’s voice pierced through the silence.
"En, no! You can't run! You absolutely must not run! If you run now, you'll...!"
"Melt..."
En raised her head, her voice a mere whisper as she looked toward her friend. Melt was struggling, physically blocked by the guards surrounding En, yet she continued to reach out with a desperate, tearful expression.
Seeing Melt and the Master fighting so hard for her, En felt her breath catch in her throat. Beside her, Batz took her hand, trying to pull her away.
"Come on, let's move. Leave this to Sanga. You've done nothing wrong, so just come with me, En!"
"...Right. I... I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't done a single thing..."
"Exactly! Since you're innocent, there's no reason to let them take you! Only an idiot would let themselves get caught! Now, come on—"
"No," En said, her voice suddenly finding its strength. "That's not it."
She firmly shook off Batz's hand.
Stepping forward until she stood directly before Rommelo and the glowering Sanga, she spoke with a clarity that stunned everyone in the room.
"Officer Rommelo... I will go with you. I won't resist, and you can interrogate me as much as you like. But hear me now... I will never, ever admit to a crime I didn't commit!"