Chapter 777: Knight In Shining Armour
Olivia's thoughts were still tangled, Kafka's strange blind spot, the women's longing stares, the weight of questions she hadn't asked yet.
She wanted to press him, to dig deeper into this mystery he seemed so casually to ignore. Her lips had just parted when—
"I told you to leave us alone, right?! Why can't you understand that? Just leave us alone!"
A sharp, panicked voice cut through the evening air and both Olivia and Kafka turned their heads toward the commotion a little ways down the sidewalk.
There, near the edge of a side street, a confrontation had broken out.
Two young men, clearly college age, tourists from the way their clothing and backpacks looked, were standing far too close to a small group of girls.
The men had broad, cocky smiles plastered on their faces, their body language loud and careless. The girls, however, were anything but comfortable.
Three of them were huddled slightly behind, timid, whispering anxiously to one another, their eyes darting like frightened deer.
One girl, though clearly frightened herself, had stepped forward just enough to face the two men, her shoulders trembling but her mouth clenched with determination. It had been her voice that rang out just moments before.
From where Olivia and Kafka stood, the words carried clearly.
"Come on, don't be like that." One of the men drawled with a smirk. "We're just here visiting. We don't know the town that well. You're locals, right? You should help us out."
The bolder girl lifted her chin, though her voice wavered. "We're not your guides. You can look around yourselves...We have our own things to do."
"Aw, don't be so uptight." The second guy chimed in, leaning forward with a grin that dripped sleaze. "Loosen up a little, huh? You're locals, you should show us the sights. You help us out here, and hey, if you ever come to our city, I'll show you around."
"...Fair trade, right?"
As he spoke, his hand darted out, aiming to grab hers. But she yanked her arm back sharply, smacking his hand away.
Her voice cracked but rang out strong. "I-I said leave us alone! We don't want anything to do with you!"
The atmosphere on the street shifted, bystanders slowing their steps but not stepping in, watching with that detached curiosity of people unsure if they should interfere.
The men, however, only chuckled, exchanging a glance as if the girl's defiance was some sort of amusing challenge. The tension simmered, seconds away from boiling over.
Beside Olivia, Kafka let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing at his temple.
"Again…" He muttered aloud, his tone weary. "These sorts of situations keep happening lately. Tourists coming in, acting like they own the place, misbehaving with the locals...It's absolutely ridiculous."
He shook his head, clearly frustrated but resigned.
But when he glanced to his side, Olivia was gone.
He blinked, startled. "Mom?" His eyes swept the sidewalk frantically.
And then he saw her.
She was already at the scene, standing tall and rigid in front of the trembling group of girls.
Her back was to them, her arm stretched protectively as if forming a barrier between them and the men. Her stance was sharp, steady, and when he caught a glimpse of her face as she turned ever so slightly, his breath stopped.
Her eyes were ice. Cold, piercing, and utterly unflinching.
Kafka's lips parted in disbelief. In the mere seconds he'd been speaking, she had slipped away from his side and inserted herself squarely into the middle of the conflict.
No hesitation, no wavering, no fear whatsoever.
It wasn't the Olivia most people knew, the timid one who kept her words close to her chest, the one who flustered easily and shrank from too much attention.
This was something else. A hidden edge beneath the surface, a maternal instinct that had snapped awake at the first sign of injustice.
The two men also froze at first under the weight of Olivia's icy glare. It was a look that carried no hesitation, no fear, just sheer, cutting dominance.
For a fleeting moment, their bravado cracked, and they instinctively took a step back as if her gaze alone could pin them to the ground.
But then, as their eyes raked over her, their expressions shifted.
They realized she wasn't just frightening, she was stunning. Her beauty, her full, curvaceous figure, her poised stance, it was too much for their shallow minds to resist.
The fear in their faces twisted into something else, something greedy. One smirked to the other.
"Well, would you look at that? We were trying to get these timid little things to show us around...and then this gorgeous one comes to us herself. Looks like she wants to be our guide."
The second one chuckled, his eyes shamelessly dropping to her chest.
"Yeah, I don't mind at all. I'd love to spend the day with a woman like this...especially with curves like those."
The girls behind Olivia shivered, shrinking further behind her. But Olivia didn't so much as blink. Her voice was steady, sharp, and commanding:
"Enough. They told you to leave them alone. You're not wanted here. Find someone else if you need a guide. These girls clearly want nothing to do with you."
Her words should have been the end of it. But instead, the men grinned wider.
"Come on, come on, don't be so uptight. You know how girls are at first, playin' hard to get. Once they loosen up, they open up real quick. You know...just like in bed."
The crude remark made the timid girls clutch each other tighter, their faces pale with dread. Olivia, however, only grew colder. The temperature in her gaze seemed to drop another degree as she repeated herself..
"Don't talk nonsense. Leave. Now...If you don't, I'll call the police."
The first man laughed.
"Police? In this tiny town? What do you even have here, two old watchmen? Even if they did come, how long would it take? An hour? Two?"
The other one sneered.
"Plenty of time...Time enough to have a little fun before they show up."
Then, with that disgusting smile still plastered across his face, the first man boldly reached forward, his hand stretching toward Olivia's chest.
Kafka, watching from a distance, sighed. He knew exactly how the world worked here.
Even if this man laid hands on her, even if the police arrived at that very moment, at worst the bastard would get a slap on the wrist, a minor fine, maybe a warning.
It was a sickening thought, one that made Kafka grit whenever he thought about it and right now he was just about to move, ready to intervene—
But then it happened.
Olivia moved first.
Her hand snapped up, grabbing the man's wrist mid-reach.
For a split second, he thought she was letting him have his way, that she was guiding his hand. His grin widened.
But then he saw her eyes. Fierce. Unyielding. Terrifying.
And then her body moved.
In one fluid motion, Olivia pivoted, her body twisting with surprising strength. The man's arm was wrenched forward, his balance stolen from him in an instant.
Before he even realized what had happened, his feet left the ground. He was airborne, flung high over her shoulder.
The world spun for him. And then—
SMACK!
He hit the hard concrete back-first with a bone-rattling impact. Pain exploded through his spine as he screamed out.
"AGHHH, MY BACK! GOD DAMN IT, MY BACK!"
But Olivia wasn't finished.
Still gripping his wrist, she twisted his arm in one sharp, fluid motion and sickening crack snapped through the silence.
Snap!
The man's scream pitched even higher, his face contorting in raw agony.
"MY SHOULDER, SHIT, MY SHOULDER! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!"
He howled, thrashing against the ground. His arm hung uselessly at an unnatural angle, the joint clearly dislocated, every attempt to move sending new waves of pain coursing through him.
The crowd that had begun gathering recoiled with audible gasps. The girls behind Olivia clung to each other, wide-eyed, not in fear of her, but in stunned awe at what she had just done.
Olivia, however, didn't flinch. Her face was calm, her eyes cold as ice.
She held his broken posture for a moment longer, just enough to ensure he understood, before finally letting his wrist fall back against his chest.
To her, it wasn't cruelty, it was justice, swift and exacting.
Witnessing this shocking sight, the second man froze, his eyes wide in shock.
One moment his friend had been reaching out with full confidence, and the next he was sprawled on the sidewalk like a broken doll.
Olivia didn't spare him a glance. She turned her gaze onto the second one, her expression as cold as steel. Her voice came out low, threatening, absolute.
"Do you want to try next? Go ahead...But be ready for the consequences."
That was all it took.
The bravado in the second man shattered instantly. His face went pale, his legs trembled, and he practically pissed himself in fear. He didn't dare step forward.
Instead, he stumbled back, turning to flee.
But after a few steps, panic struck him, his friend was still lying groaning on the ground. With shaky hands, he scrambled back, hoisting the injured man up by the arm and dragging him away as fast as he could.
Even then, the first man's pride burned hotter than his pain. He twisted his head back, his face contorted with fury, his eyes glaring venom at Olivia.
"You bitch...you'll regret this! You'll regret this so much! I'll come back, I'll come back and deal with you properly!"
But Olivia didn't flinch. She didn't even dignify his threat with a response. She simply scoffed, her expression unchanged, as if his words were nothing more than the buzzing of an insect.
She then turned her back on the retreating men, her sharp eyes softening as she crouched a little to meet the frightened girls gazes.
"Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" She asked, her voice calm but firm. "If they did, I can take you to the hospital immediately, and we'll get the police involved."
"...Tell me honestly, are you all safe?"
The girls blinked up at her, still trembling from the encounter. But as her words sank in, as they saw her face up close, the cool, composed beauty of it, the sharp lines of her gaze tempered by genuine concern, something unexpected happened.
Their fear melted into wide-eyed awe, and faint blushes colored their cheeks.
To them, she looked less like an ordinary woman and more like some gallant figure out of a storybook, a prince who had descended at just the right moment.
The girl who had spoken up first stammered out.
"Y-Yes, we're fine. We're okay." Then, bowing slightly with both hands clutching her skirt, she blurted. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I-I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't come."
Olivia's lips curved into a small smile, one that came naturally, without the awkward stiffness she often wore around strangers.
"It's all right." She said gently. "It was nothing. It's the duty of a woman to help another woman in times like this."
She then reached out and, to the girl's surprise, patted her head softly.
"And you, you did really well. I know you were scared, but you still stood up for your friends. That takes a lot of courage...You should be proud of yourself."
The girl froze, cheeks flaming at the praise.
No words from her parents, no encouragement from her teachers had ever struck as deeply as that simple, earnest compliment from Olivia. Her knees nearly gave way beneath the warmth of it.
Olivia then turned her gaze to the other two girls huddled behind her. They jumped when they realized she was looking at them, as if caught misbehaving.
But her voice was steady, not scolding.
"I understand, it's hard, situations like this. Being afraid is natural. But listen carefully: next time, there might not be anyone else around. Not your friend, not me. You'll have to rely on yourselves."
"Men like those only grow bolder when they see fear...But if you stand tall, if you refuse to bend, they won't have the guts to touch you."
"...So, promise me you'll try to be braver next time."
Hearing this request, the two nodded in unison, bobbing their heads so fast it looked almost looked like they were chickens.
"Y-Yes ma'am! W-We will! We'll definitely do what you said!"
They exclaimed as though she had spoken some sacred vow into their lives, their voices rang with conviction.
That made Olivia smile again, softer this time.
"Good. That's all I ask." Then she added, "Do you want me to walk you home? Or give you a ride? I don't mind."
But they all shook their heads quickly, waving their hands.
"No, no, it's fine! You've already done so much! Our houses are just a couple of streets away, we can manage!"
"Are you sure?" She pressed, her eyes narrowing with concern.
"Yes!" They chorused, still blushing furiously. "Really, it's okay! Thank you so much again!"
They bowed quickly, giving her one last look filled with awe and admiration. Then, chattering breathlessly to each other, they scampered off, glancing back every few steps, whispering to one another as if they had just seen their very own storybook angel descend from the heavens.
Olivia caught fragments of their giddy voices:
"She was so cool…"
"Like a knight, no, like a prince!"
"I want to be like her when I grow up!"
"I'm going to take some self defence classes so that I can protect myself in the future."
"Me too! I also want to learn cool moves like that as well!"
"Add me as well! Let's all go together!"
Olivia's lips curved in a fond, almost maternal smile as she watched them disappear down the street. For a moment, pride bloomed in her chest, thinking that she had made a good change in the world.
But that warmth froze instantly when she suddenly remembered.
Kafka...
Slowly, she turned her head.
And there he was, standing a few paces away, bags still in his hands, staring at her in complete silence.
His expression was unreadable at first...but the dazed look in his eyes made her heart jolt.
He wasn't blinking. He wasn't even moving. He was just...staring. As though he couldn't quite believe what he had just witnessed.
And Olivia felt her blood run cold realising that he had watched everything that had happened and what she had done...