"Grace, if you don't stop waiting and take action yourself, nothing will ever change for the rest of your life."
I kept urging Grace to make up her mind, and the scrawny man—whom I had been completely ignoring—finally snapped.
"Stop ignoring me! Say one more word and I'll do it!"
He pressed the blade tighter against Grace's neck, clearly trying to force my hand with her blood. I had no choice but to comply and fall silent.
Now all I could do was wait for Grace to decide. Hopefully she'd make up her mind quickly—otherwise, there might not be a next chance.
A few seconds passed before Grace finally spoke, her voice trembling yet resolute.
"I… what should I do?"
I couldn't speak, so I made a subtle motion with my wrist, as if it were sore.
In reality, I was signaling her—cut off the hand holding the knife.
Grace understood. Fear still lingered on her face, but determination took hold as she tightened her grip on her sword.
The scrawny man held her ponytail with his left hand and pressed the knife to her neck with his right. His head was positioned just behind the right side of hers.
He was too focused on me to notice anything else. Even if Grace moved within his line of sight, he wouldn't pay attention.
He looked puzzled by my wrist movement, so to avoid suspicion, I deliberately turned my head and scanned the surroundings, pretending to think of a plan.
That's when I saw the obsessed guy suddenly rushing in from behind. Instantly, I realized what he intended—he was about to use magic to save Grace.
I immediately pointed at him and shouted to Jacob, who stood in front of him.
"Jacob, stop him from casting!"
"Huh?"
Jacob hesitated at my sudden command but quickly turned to look where I was pointing. Too late—the obsessed guy had already reached him and was raising his hand.
"Push him!"
"Fire Arrow!"
The obsessed guy finished chanting first. Jacob shoved him, but since magic doesn't form instantly, the trajectory shifted. The spell shot off course and hit a partition, causing a small explosion.
The scrawny man saw the fire magic coming and tried to dodge forward—but Grace was in front of him. He ended up pushing her down as they both fell.
He scrambled back up, furious, glaring at the obsessed guy—who was now unconscious on the ground, probably from hitting his head.
"...You brat, trying to kill me? After I kill this woman, you're next! Die!"
Damn it. He'd completely lost it—he was really going to kill her. Grace hadn't even gotten up yet.
The moment he raised his knife, I lunged forward and shouted in panic—
"Grace!"
At the same time, Grace rolled over swiftly and, with a shout to steel her courage, swung her sword at his arm.
"Hyaaah!!!"
"AAAGH!? My hand!!!"
The scrawny man screamed in agony, dropping the knife. For some reason, Grace's strike stopped halfway—but it was enough to cripple his arm.
She panicked slightly.
"W-why won't it cut through?!"
So she couldn't sever it—but that didn't matter.
"Forget it—get over here, now!"
"O-okay—ah!"
Grace pulled her sword free and scrambled up, but her hair was suddenly yanked again.
"...I won't let you go… Even if my right hand's useless, I still have my left! Die!"
He yanked her ponytail hard.
In response, Grace raised her sword and cut off her own hair. The hair tie slipped free as her shortened hair fell loose.
The scrawny man, pulling too hard, stumbled backward again.
In that instant, Grace turned and drove her sword straight into his chest.
"Ugh… ah… ah..."
After a few agonized cries, he fell silent.
Dead.
It felt like something had been released from my legs. I walked over, relieved, and said to Grace,
"Grace, you did it."
She had finally crossed the line—she could stand on her own now.
Grace stood up, clenched her fist, and replied with a cool, determined expression—
"Mr. Karen, this is my resolve. You've seen it—ugh—!"
…And just like that, the cool moment was ruined.
I was speechless. Wasn't she used to this already? Why was she throwing up again?
Probably her sense of morality. The idea that killing demands a price keeps people from doing it lightly—keeps society stable. Grace simply couldn't handle it physically yet.
Still, she deserved comfort—and praise. After this, Jacob would take care of her.
"...It would've been cooler if you didn't throw up. But I saw it—well done. I'll head back and continue my conversation."
With that, I turned and walked back toward the bearded man.
I'd already wasted too much time.