That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

"The principle is similar to Sasaki Kojiro's signature move, 'Swallow Reversal.' It's amazing that she can use it."

Without the Mystic Eyes, Shinji Matou might have been caught off guard and suffered a great loss. Since he saw through Elsa the Bowel Hunter's intentions at the first moment, he thought about how to turn the tide of her deadly trap.

"She has the advantage in speed, so she uses the tactic of striking and disengaging to wage a war of attrition. She has to lure the enemy deep into her territory to find an opportunity."

The battle situation was changing rapidly, and Matou Shinji did not want to waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so he pretended not to have reacted.

"You are not an opponent I can underestimate. I can only kill you first and then take out your intestines." Elsa murmured, her legs suddenly kicking and shattering the stone slab beneath her feet. She burst with terrifying speed as she approached Matou Shinji, swinging her left hand and mercilessly slashing at Matou Shinji's neck with her recurve blade.

"Watch out!" Emilia couldn't help but exclaim in alarm.

"ended."

Sword Saint Reinhard remained calm, having already foreseen this perilous scene.

Shinji Matou's reaction was too natural, as if he hadn't anticipated the Bowel Hunter's actions from the beginning. Such a reaction would be perfectly normal for an ordinary person, but it was the biggest anomaly for someone as powerful as Shinji Matou.

Swish!

At the critical moment, Shinji Matou took a step back, a graceful arc of light passing across his neck. Elsa met Shinji's calm gaze in astonishment, and she instantly understood what was happening. This time, retreating would not be so easy for her.

Shinji Matou swiftly grabbed her right arm, his palm flashing with a blue arc as he activated Body Transmutation Technique.

Alchemy, which should be used to save lives, is just as efficient at killing.

Snapped!

After the eerie sound, Elsa landed a short distance away and steadied herself. Her arm exploded, flesh and blood flying everywhere, revealing her stark white bones.

Shinji Matou stood bathed in blood, calmly watching the Bowel Hunter escape at the cost of an arm, and nodded in praise: "Truly excellent judgment, worthy of your identity as an assassin."

If Elsa had hesitated even slightly, or hadn't realized Shinji Matou's intentions and had run away immediately, Shinji Matou wouldn't have grabbed her left hand, but rather her neck or chest.

"Fantastic! Fantastic! An opponent like you is simply irresistible." Elsa, who had lost both arms, smiled gently. The muscles in her severed arms tightened to stop the bleeding. Her right hand had also been destroyed by alchemy. Without hands and weapons, she was like a wild beast without its fangs.

She shook her body, and another short sword fell from her waist. She crawled forward and bit the hilt of the recurve dagger.

"Do you still want to fight me? I advise you to give up. If you're willing to give me some useful information, I might let you go." Shinji Matou raised an eyebrow. Despite being injured to such an extent, she hadn't lost her will to fight. This woman was more dangerous mentally than he had imagined.

Elsa, biting the knife handle, couldn't answer; her morbidly intoxicated gaze said it all.

Not far away, Emilia and the others watched in disbelief as Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, still wanted to fight. What kind of monster was she, wanting to fight even with such severe injuries?

"The outcome is already decided; we cannot let them continue."

Sword Saint Reinhard made his decision, leaping into the battlefield and standing between Shinji Matou and Elsa the Bowel Hunter, shouting, "This is the end!"

The red-haired swordsman bowed to Shinji Matou and said, "My lord, I am a knight of the royal capital. Please leave this thief to me."

He then bowed to Elsa, saying, "Gut Hunter, your injuries are quite severe. Continuing to fight will only lead to your death, while surrendering will give you a chance to live."

Chapter 106 If I snap my fingers, you might be burned to death.

Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, squinted her delicate, long phoenix eyes at the knight who had suddenly barged in. She recognized him by Reinhard's distinctive features and felt more resentment than surprise.

The strongest knight in the royal capital, the swordsman Reinhard.

She was so focused on hunting down Shinji Matou that she ignored her surroundings and didn't notice that Reinhard was also there.

Elsa bit down hard on the hilt of the recurve dagger, which creaked as she did so. No matter how unwilling she was, there was no point in continuing this battle. Even if she won against Shinji Matou, she would not be able to get past the Sword Saint.

Upon realizing this, the assassin began to consider backing down.

She released the knife handle from her mouth, nimbly leaped backward, and stood on the roof of a slum, declaring to Shinji Matou from afar: "One day, I will personally remove your intestines."

"I was looking forward to it... Did you think I would say that? I'm sorry, you probably won't have that chance." Shinji Matou smiled calmly, his right hand pointing in her direction, his thumb and middle finger clenched together.

You refuse to give out information and you refuse to die. With so many people watching, don't I have any face to save?

Snapped!

The moment the snap was made, the swordsman Reinhard sensed it.

Boom!

Before Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, could even let out a scream, she was engulfed by a sudden burst of flames. Her body turned into a giant fireball and fell from the roof to the ground, rolling and struggling to extinguish the flames on her body.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

Shinji Matou snapped his fingers three times without mercy, and each snap caused the Bowel Hunter Elsa's body to erupt with even more intense flames.

In a short while, Elsa the Bowel Hunter stopped struggling, her body burned to a crisp from the inside out.

"Just as I thought."

Reinhard opened his eyes and sighed softly. He had foreseen this outcome from the beginning, sensing the abnormal flow of fire element, which was gathering around the ruins of the building.

Life forms within this range inevitably become contaminated with a large amount of fire element. The element itself is harmless, but once activated by a certain spell, it will release terrifying elemental properties, which is a trick that mages are good at.

Elsa the Bowel Hunter was nothing more than a wild beast that had stumbled into the hunter's trap.

Reinhard said with pity, "Although the gut hunter deserved to die, such a death is too cruel for a woman."

Shinji Matou glanced at the Sword Saint a few times, then asked with a puzzled look, "Being burned to death is very consistent with the way female assassins die. Putting her case aside for now, esteemed knight, what brings you here?"

Reinhard nodded to Emilia, "Magician, this lady Emilia has informed me that a valuable item has been stolen. It is a badge that is of great importance to Miss Emilia. The thief has been caught, and according to the thief's confession, the stolen item seems to be in your possession."

"You mean this?" Shinji Matou asked, pulling out a badge from his pocket, seemingly unsurprised.

Reinhard bowed his head humbly and asked, "Yes, Mage, could you please return the badge to Lady Emilia?"

The silver-haired girl Emilia rushed over and overheard the conversation between Matou Shinji and Reinhard. Her soft hand clenched, and her voice, gentle and sweet yet tinged with nervousness, said, "Mr. Matou Shinji, this badge may be useless to others, but it is very important to me."

"Emilia, do you remember the concept of equivalent exchange that I mentioned to you?"

“I remember, but the badge originally belonged to me, so there’s no question of an equivalent exchange.”

“That’s not right. Legally, I’m a bona fide third party. You should hold Felt responsible and only return the stolen goods after she compensates me for my losses.” Shinji Matou pointed to Felt not far away and smiled slightly.

“That’s just sophistry,” Emilia said angrily.

Beside him, Reinhard stood with his arms crossed, deep in thought, and explained with a wry smile, "Lady Emilia, the Trade Act clearly mentions similar legal provisions. Mr. Matou Shinji's request is entirely legal. Although I also want to help you retrieve the badge, forcibly taking it would be against the code of chivalry. The badge is of great importance. You can also make a special application to the Judicial Council to retrieve the badge."

Does this law really exist in this world?

Shinji Matou was taken aback, not expecting that his fabricated statement based on Earth News would be accepted.

"How could this be..."

Emilia hesitated for a while before finally asking, "Mr. Shinji Matou, what will it take for you to return the badge to me?"

“I was just an innocent bystander caught up in this incident. The price I paid for the badge was to eliminate a dangerous assassin, and she seems to be the one who hired Felt to steal the badge. It can be inferred that she was after you.”

Reinhard suddenly interjected, "Excuse my rudeness, Mage, there is a bounty on the head for this assassin in the Imperial City. She is known as the Gut Hunter. She is extremely cruel and powerful. The current bounty is five thousand Saint Gold Coins."

"I do not pursue material possessions; I travel between different countries for the purpose of acquiring knowledge."

Emilia nodded: "Wait a minute, let me discuss this with Parker first."

She turned around, muttering something, but the talking cat was nowhere to be seen.

After a long while, she turned to Shinji Matou and nodded: "I already know your thoughts. Retrieving the badge and eliminating the assassins are immense favors to me. If what you seek is knowledge about magic, we can certainly fulfill your needs."

"Why are you so sure that the price of getting the badge back is not as high as the lives of two robbers?"

Reinhard chuckled and explained, “My lady, you have absolutely no need to worry about that, because she is Lady Emilia, the owner of this badge, and one of the candidates for the 42nd King of Lugnica, the Dragon Kingdom. Furthermore, supporting Lady Emilia is one of the few mages in the kingdom, the chief mage of the capital, Lord Boroswaal L. Mezas of the border region.”

“I can take you back to the mansion where Roswaal lives, to fulfill our promise.”

"Here you go." Shinji Matou tossed the badge to Emilia.

"Huh, so straightforward?"

“I only got involved out of curiosity. Since the badge is useless to me and you are willing to pay me, I have no reason to refuse.”

Emilia stared at the badge in her hand, then clutched it to her chest and let out a long sigh: "That's great!"

From a distance, Felt jogged over and, seeing Emilia's tearful joy, scoffed, "It's just a badge, what's the big deal?"

Reinhard patiently explained in a gentlemanly manner, "Miss Thief, it seems you don't know what you've stolen. This badge is proof of your eligibility to be a candidate for king. It contains the essence of the dragon. As long as it is held by an heir recognized by the dragon, the gems inlaid in the badge will shine as proof. Because it is a treasure bestowed by the dragon, it is very difficult to replicate, and its symbolic significance is immeasurable."

"Huh? The gems on the badge are always glowing, aren't they? They're quite pretty."

"How is that possible? Only the acknowledged Dragon Priestess... Wait, what did you just say?" Reinhard's expression froze as he looked at Felt in disbelief. Golden hair and red eyes—there weren't many people with such features, and coincidentally, the royal family of this country was one of them.

“The badge is beautiful.” Felt replied guiltily, feeling guilty under the Sword Saint’s gaze.

"The previous sentence... no, I'll find out once I try it, Lady Emilia. Could you lend me the badge for a moment?"

"Sure, is there a problem?"

Reinhard handed the Dragon Emblem to Felt: "Miss Felt, please hold the emblem for a moment."

"What are you doing? I don't want this kind of thing that will only bring trouble and has no value." Despite saying that, Felt still obediently did as she was told in front of the Sword Saint.

The badge fell into Felt's hand, the gem emitting a soft glow that was very conspicuous in the dark night.

“The gem… is glowing.” Emilia was stunned.

Reinhard grabbed Felt's right hand abruptly, his handsome face trembling violently as he whispered, "How could this be..."

"It hurts! What are you doing all of a sudden, you bastard!" Felt struggled violently, feeling as if Reinhardt's hands were a pair of metal handcuffs, from which she could not break free.

Reinhardt pressed anxiously, "What's your family name? How old are you?"

Sensing the strangeness of the situation, Felt was bewildered and honestly replied, "I'm not a nobleman, I don't have a family name, I'm about fifteen years old, I don't even know my exact birthday, let go!"

"Sure enough, the hair color and eye color match..."

Shinji Matou, who was standing to the side, observed this strange situation and asked, "I say, isn't it inappropriate for a knight to abduct a girl in front of so many people?"

"Feru!"

Not far from the slums, a robust old man named Rom noticed the strange occurrence and rushed over.

Chapter 107 Maid and Loli

"What do you want to do, Sword Saint Reinhard? Didn't you already promise not to pursue this matter? Is the knight's promise worthless to you?" Lord Rom stared at Sword Saint Reinhard and questioned him in a deep voice.

Reinhard shook his head and said decisively, "That's a completely different matter. Besides, what does a knight's honor matter compared to ignoring the current situation?"

Beside her, Emilia stepped forward, her face full of worry as she pressed, "Reinhard, may I ask what happened? You are an upright knight, and you did promise me that you would not pursue her. Now that you are in such a hurry, there must be a very important reason."

"What reason do you have to punish me!" Ferut shouted, still trying to break free.