The time rewinds slightly.
Around the time Rei had emerged from the Guild to throw off whoever might be watching him, Marina was working at the treatment center as usual.
People who had fallen from high places or broken their leg bones when building materials slipped and struck them—she had been treating such patients with Water Spirit Magic.
"Phew, I think you'll be fine with this. Still, make sure to rest for the rest of the day."
"Eh? Ah, um... understood. Thank you very much."
Marina's attire today was a party dress with a deeply plunging neckline.
It was by no means appropriate clothing for a place like a treatment center, and the man she had just been treating had been so captivated by the soft-looking cleavage visible through the deep neckline that it was only when Marina spoke to him that he finally snapped back to his senses.
Among the other injured patients, many also had their eyes drawn to Marina's outfit, which could only be described as out of place—or more precisely, to the sight of her exposed back and chest. The staff working at the treatment center, however, did not seem particularly bothered.
When Marina had first started working at the treatment center, there were indeed some who had been surprised by her attire.
But people grow accustomed to anything.
Moreover, after witnessing Marina's Spirit Magic up close so many times, the overwhelming gap in skill made them feel that her choice of clothing was perfectly natural.
By now, they had convinced themselves—half by force—that it was actually convenient, since it meant they could quickly call for Marina whenever someone with severe injuries arrived, making it easy to assess the severity of a case.
In any case, while Marina was treating the minor injuries, a sudden sound rang out—the door being slammed open.
Rather than opened, it would be more accurate to say it had been struck with the intent to smash it.
"What is the meaning of this! There are injured people here, so please do not behave so violently!"
One of the treatment center staff shouted at the man who had just barged in by violently throwing the door open.
But the man who had been shouted at simply wore an unpleasant expression and glared back at the staff member.
"Shut up. Don't you dare talk back to me with that attitude!"
So saying, he swung down an arm that looked capable of beating a person to death with ease—
"What do you think you're doing?"
Right before the blow could land, that voice echoed through the room.
The voice itself was not particularly loud.
But it carried enough weight to stop dead the movements of everyone who heard it.
The man who had been about to strike the woman who had admonished him turned his gaze toward the source of the voice—and a leering grin spread across his face.
His eyes crawled over Marina's face and the chest visible through her revealing party dress with a licking stare before he spoke.
"So you're Marina. Truly a top-quality woman. And a capable Spirit Mage, too. Very well. From now on, you belong to me."
The man spoke as though he believed his words would absolutely become reality.
Seeing a man like that, Marina let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Good grief, it's always a hassle when the population grows because people like this start appearing. Still, this is the first time I've seen one quite this bad."
An increase in people due to the expansion construction naturally meant an increase in problematic individuals as well.
The man at the center of Marina's gaze was unmistakably that type.
Finding his gaze disgusting, Marina flatly rejected his proposition.
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of going anywhere with you. Your business here is finished, isn't it? Then please leave."
At Marina's blunt dismissal, the man for a moment failed to comprehend what had just been said to him.
He was originally known as a skilled adventurer in his hometown, and with his actual strength, no one back home had ever been able to defy him.
He had taken the wives or lovers of men he disliked by force more times than he could count.
Because such a situation had persisted for so long, the man had come to believe he could do anything—to the point where it was fair to say he thought there was no one who would dare disobey him.
The reason the man came to Gilm was a recommendation from the people in his hometown.
They told him that with skills like his, he could thrive even on the frontier.
In reality, the ones who gave him that recommendation were mostly people who wanted to drive him out of his hometown. Unfortunately, the man failed to realize this, and he came to Gilm while working as a merchant's escort.
But what the man could do in Gilm was, at best, help with the expansion construction.
He lacked the skill to subjugate monsters alone, and no one would add a man with his personality to their party.
He considered forcing his way in with strength, but the adventurers who had been in Gilm from before were stronger than him, and the guards were stronger too, so he could not pull off such a thing.
Still, because of the strength that had made him unbeatable back home, he did have a few subordinates.
What he heard from those subordinates was that a skilled healer worked at the treatment center—and not just any healer, but a Dark Elf of incredible beauty who wore a highly revealing party dress.
The misfortune of these men was that they had barely gathered any information at all.
They knew nothing of the fact that the Dark Elf they sought was the Former Guild Master, that she had deep connections with Daskar, the lord of Gilm, or that she was the woman of Rei, an alias-holding A-Rank Adventurer—though that last part wasn't technically true, it was the perception of those who knew the circumstances. Not knowing any of this was significant.
She was the kind of opponent who could bring about the worst possible outcome for someone of modest skill who tried to lay hands on her. But ignorant of this, the man directed an irritated glare at Marina for so casually refusing what he considered his command.
The reason he didn't immediately resort to force was perhaps because coming to Gilm had made him realize there were people above him.
"What did you say? Did I mishear you? It sounded like you just refused me."
"Yes, that's right. I'm already in another party. I have no intention of leaving it."
Crimson Lotus Wings, led by Rei. Marina had no intention of acting alongside the man before her, even if it meant leaving that party behind.
Especially since Rei was not just another party member to her.
He was someone she held affection for as a man—someone extremely precious to her.
Given that, she had no intention of obeying the man's words.
"Try again, little boy."
Marina delivered those words with a gaze of pure contempt, yet at the same time, she exuded an intense feminine allure.
Not only the man who had been called a little boy, but his companions—or rather, his underlings—also had their senses stolen by Marina's feminine charm.
Even among the bystanders watching the scene unfold, there were those whose awareness was captivated by it.
The first to snap back to his senses was the man who had demanded Marina become his companion.
Upon coming to his senses, he felt a surge of irritation at being called a little boy, while simultaneously the sight of Marina's allure convinced him that he absolutely had to make her his.
"You bitch... do you think you can talk to me like that and get away with it? I'll let it go if you do it now. Be a good girl and become my woman."
His reason for pursuing Marina had completely shifted from party member to woman, though he himself did not seem to realize it.
Seeing and experiencing Marina's feminine allure right before his eyes, talk of party members no longer mattered—he had been driven purely by the desire to satisfy his lust.
"I already told you I refuse, didn't I? Unfortunately, I have no interest in a boring man like you. If you're injured, I'll treat you. If not, then hurry up and leave."
"Shut up! I said, come with me!"
At this rate, there was no sign that Marina would become his woman.
Filled with irritation at that fact, the man forcefully reached out to grab her.
Once he grabbed her, Marina wouldn't be able to do anything about it—or so he thought when he acted.
In reality, even if he had grabbed her, the guards would have come and arrested him on the spot.
But his greatest miscalculation was that the hand he reached out with was effortlessly evaded.
"Huh?"
The only information the man had about Marina was that she was a healer.
He never imagined such an opponent would dodge his hand; he let out a startled sound, clearly caught off guard.
In reality, Marina was a Spirit Mage, and above all, she possessed first-rate skill as a bow user.
Evading a carelessly extended hand was not particularly difficult for her.
"I told you to try again, little boy."
So saying, in the next instant, wind spirits blew the men outside the treatment center.
With impressive control, she directed the wind spirits so that the men were not slammed into any walls—they were blown straight through the open doors in a single group.
The reason they didn't crash into walls, however, was not out of concern for their safety, but because she thought it would be troublesome if the walls were damaged by the men being hurled into them.
"Guboah!"
"Gyan!"
"Byowah!"
Each letting out such screams, they were hurled outside the treatment center.
Naturally, Marina was not the type to let things end there.
The Marina who had acted as the Guild Master might have let them off with just that.
But the woman here was not Marina the Guild Master—she was Marina the adventurer, Rei's companion.
Given that, there was no way she could tolerate having her body targeted by such a man.
She chased after the men who had been blown outside.
Stepping out, she found some onlookers directing questioning looks at the men, wondering what on earth had happened.
The treatment center where Marina worked drew many visitors due to the effectiveness of its Healing Magic.
Also, many people knew what kind of person Marina was, which was exactly why they never expected to see someone come flying out from inside the treatment center like this.
"You bastard... I'm not done with you! I'll make you feel my power! You lot, how long are you going to lie there! Get up, now!"
Although they had been blown away by the wind spirits, ultimately, that was all it was.
Their limbs had not been severed by Wind Blades, nor had they been pummeled all over their bodies by lumps of compressed wind.
That was why the man stood up immediately and tried to charge at Marina to strike her—
"Cool your head."
With those words, Marina swiftly issued instructions to the spirits.
In the next instant, water balls materialized in midair—directly above the shouting men.
The onlookers watching from a distance could clearly see the water balls appear above the men's heads.
But the men, with blood rushing to their heads, never imagined that water balls had materialized right above them. The spheres collided with their heads, plunging them into confusion once more.
Having their heads suddenly engulfed in water was something they had never expected at all.
Unable to comprehend what was happening, the unlucky ones tried to scream in that state, only to have water rush into their mouths.
Some flailed about desperately, trying to escape, but no matter how much they moved their heads or bodies, the water balls around them showed no sign of disappearing.
It was right at that moment that Rei appeared on the scene.
"Oh my."
Naturally, Marina recognized Rei instantly and let out a surprised voice.
If she had been outside, she might have heard talk that Seto had returned. But unfortunately, she had been devoted to treating patients, so she hadn't known about Seto.
With a snap.
When Marina lightly snapped her fingers, the water balls covering the men's faces dissolved into ordinary water and spilled onto the ground.
"Cough, cough, gah..."
The man, perhaps having the water he was forced to swallow go down the wrong pipe, dropped to all fours and coughed violently.
His subordinates were all on all fours coughing in the same manner, making the scene look as though they were bowing down to Marina.
"I don't know what backwater you came from, but these half-skilled types are the most troublesome. Understood? If you want to stay in Gilm from now on, you'd better reexamine your own abilities more objectively. Though it seems your personality needs even more reexamining."
So saying, in the next moment, many of the onlookers began to clap and cheer.
Most of them probably didn't understand at all why this situation had come about.
Even so, they clapped and cheered because those who knew even a little about Marina could feel she was not at fault, and for those who didn't know her—like the men coughing on the ground—it was obvious whose side they would take between a beauty like Marina and those grimy men.
Marina smiled at the onlookers, then glanced meaningfully at Rei before turning back inside the treatment center.