-948- Naive girls?

"Accidenti(Damn)!"

The short pickpocket, with his face twisted in frustration, saw a well-dressed kid not only ignoring his charge but leisurely stepping forward, blocking his way and taking the young boy's luggage.

Following this, the short man directly pulled a small dagger from his pocket, and the gleam on the knife's edge shimmered.

"Be careful! It's dangerous!"

The young boy chasing the pickpocket shouted from behind.

Not only the boy but also the tourists witnessing this scene in the airport started screaming, causing widespread panic.

The pickpocket charged at Rozen, not bothering about anyone else, and swung the dagger without hesitation.

"Swish!"

The sharp sound of the dagger cutting through the air was clear.

However...

"So slow."

Facing the pickpocket, Rozen had somehow sidestepped at some point, effortlessly evading the direct swing. While Rozen was a standard magus without magical or jutsuryoku enhancements to physical abilities, he possessed the power of Mind's Eye. Faced with an ordinary person's attack like this, it was no different from playing with a child.

Even without the "Mind's Eye," Rozen's reflexes and conscious will could keep up with the level of a Servant in a fierce battle. He had demonstrated this prowess in games like SAO, where he easily discerned and dodged attacks.

However, due to the limitation of physical abilities, these reactions might seem hasty.

Now, with the power of "Mind's Eye" to see through the trajectory of attacks, how could an ordinary pickpocket's strike escape Rozen's notice?

As the pickpocket swung the dagger overhead, Rozen sidestepped effortlessly and subtly extended one foot. The pickpocket, still reacting, stumbled over Rozen's foot, losing balance in mid-air and falling to the ground.

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, the pickpocket crashed heavily onto the ground, groaning in pain.

This pickpocket failed to notice that, during his airborne moment, the luggage had already fallen out and was caught by Rozen.

Furthermore, holding the luggage, Rozen had somehow moved to stand beside the pickpocket, who was grumbling and attempting to get up.

"Sorry, you better lie back down."

With these words, accompanied by the heavy luggage bag, like a judicial hammer, Rozen smashed it down.

"Clang!"

No one knew what was inside the luggage, but upon hitting the pickpocket's head, it produced a metallic sound, much like metal striking metal.

"Pfft...!"

The poor pickpocket let out a pig-like squeal and collapsed, unconscious, on the spot.

The twelve-year-old boy had effortlessly dealt with an evil pickpocket.

"Whoooo...!"

Onlookers were astonished by the scene, some gasping and others cheering, and applause erupted in the airport.

In the airport, the applause resounded.

In response, Rozen almost instinctively revealed a perfect smile, bowing gracefully to the surrounding spectators.

This was the result of Natsuki's training.

Regardless, in public, Rozen's performance was required to be perfect and humble. Coupled with his attractive appearance and the attire resembling that of a wealthy young man, the applause around him grew louder. Some foreign women even screamed, seemingly charmed by this little noble-looking fellow.

Observing this scene, Natsuki in the crowd nodded in great satisfaction.

As for the boy who had chased the pickpocket, he had been dumbfounded for quite some time.

At this moment, a panting voice sounded from behind the boy.

"K-Kojou-kun!"

Amidst this shout, a breathless girl ran over.

She was an extremely cute girl with long, pitch-black hair and large eyes, seemingly only a year younger than the boy she was chasing.

"Nagisa...?"

Only after being called, Kojou turned around to see the girl running towards him.

"Are you okay?! Kojou-kun!"

Nagisa, now by Kojou's side, shouted loudly.

"How are you? Are you injured? Why did you chase after the pickpocket? It's so dangerous! If something happened to you, how can I explain it to Dad Gajou and Mom Mimori...?! Geez! You're too impulsive! I'm getting mad, you know!"

Nagisa bombarded Kojou with a rapid-fire of questions, leaving him slightly dizzy.

However, the boy seemed accustomed to the girl's behavior. Once he understood what she was saying, he quickly intervened.

"I'm fine! Look, I'm perfectly fine, right? Besides, someone helped me catch the pickpocket!"

Kojou pointed ahead.

There, amidst the lingering applause, Rozen walked towards Kojou and Nagisa.

"Hello."

Rozen greeted them with a friendly smile, extending the recovered luggage towards them.

"This is your luggage, right?"

Upon hearing this, Kojou and Nagisa simultaneously looked at Rozen.

"Y-yes, this is our luggage. Thank you."

Kojou, oblivious to the fact that the conversation was in Japanese, received the luggage with a puzzled expression.

Nagisa, on the other hand, looked at Rozen, who was displaying an extremely humble and polite smile. Somehow, her cheeks turned slightly red.

It had to be admitted that Rozen, in the past, was somewhat wasteful of his handsome appearance. Despite having a handsome face, he often seemed indifferent or lazy, failing to fully utilize his good looks.

But now, in this world, after being thoroughly trained by Natsuki, at least outwardly, Rozen had transformed into a well-mannered noble. As Natsuki rightly pointed out, blending in with such behavior would eventually become a thing called "charisma."

So, at least in public, Rozen's refined appearance, coupled with his attractive features, made him an undeniable heartthrob. This quality had caused countless young girls to develop crushes on him during his elementary school years, and it seemed to continue causing havoc among naive girls in this world.

"Please be careful. Being in a foreign land, especially when the adults are not around, you must be cautious to avoid trouble."

Rozen said in a polite tone, bowing once again to the two before withdrawing.

"Well then, I'll take my leave. I wish you a pleasant journey."

Having said that, Rozen left with a perfect smile, showcasing impeccable manners.

Watching this, Kojou and Nagisa reacted differently.

"He's... so cool..."

Kojou murmured.

Even Nagisa, usually full of energy, was excitedly pulling Kojou's sleeve, her face beaming.

"Hey, Kojou-kun, who is that person? Do you know him? He's so handsome! Could he be some noble young master? Is he here for tourism? Ah! I forgot to thank him! What should we do now? Will he think we're rude? Oh no! I'm so frustrated!"

Nagisa alternated between excitement, disappointment, surprise, and frustration, her words firing like a machine gun. She appeared to be an extremely lively girl.

Kojou sighed.

"Never mind, we can thank him another time."

With that, Kojou and Nagisa left together.

Unaware, their fates had just begun to intertwine.