No matter how hard I knocked, no sounds came from within.

I heard footsteps approaching quickly. I turned. Castle knights were

running up to me. They were a veritable light in the darkness. I would tell
them about the robbery and enlist their aid in finding the thief!
Besides, what kind of an idiot would steal from a hero?
“You’re knights from the castle, aren’t you? Please, listen to me for a
second!”
I turned to them and begged for their attention.
Myne, come on out already. This situation is getting worse by the
second!
“You are the Shield Hero, yes?”
“Well, yes, but…”
What the hell? They sounded oddly aggressive.
“The king has summoned you. You will come with us.”
“He’s summoned me? Okay, whatever. But before that, I’ve been
robbed! We need to catch the…”
“You WILL come with us. NOW.”
One of them grabbed my collar and pulled me forcefully.
“That HURTS! Listen to me!”
But they held my arms tightly and pulled me along with them.
I was basically in my underwear. There was no dignity in this! Why
was I being treated this way?
“Myne! Please hurry!”
But the knights would not listen. We left Myne in her room, and they
dragged me back to the castle.
The carriages I’d seen before were apparently prepared to bring me
back to the castle.
And so, without ever understanding why, I came to be seen as a
criminal by the town.
 Chapter Seven: False Charges

They dragged me down the street, and soon enough we arrived at the
gate to the castle. I was still in my underwear. The knights kept their spears
trained on me as they led me to the audience chamber.
The king and his retainer were there, both looking very grave.
And then…
“Myne!”
Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and the rest of their parties were also there.
When I called out to her, Myne ran behind Motoyasu and made dagger eyes
at me from behind his back.
“What the hell, Myne?”
Everyone was glaring at me like I was some sort of criminal.
“You mean you really don’t remember?”
Motoyasu stepped forward and interrogated me.
What were they talking about?
“What do you mean? Remember what… HEY!”
Motoyasu was wearing my chainmail.
“So it was you… you thief!”
“Who’s a thief? I didn’t know you were such a scoundrel!”
“A scoundrel? What are you talking about?”
With my outburst, I realized that the audience chambers were
beginning to feel rather like a courtroom.
“We will now hear the charges against the Shield Hero.”
“Charges? But… but I!”
“Sob… sob… The Shield Hero drank too much, and he came bursting
into my room. Then he… He held me down, and…”
“What?”
“He held me down and said, ‘The night is still young, Baby.’ Then he
started to rip my clothes off…”
Myne was sniveling behind Motoyasu, and she pointed a shaky finger
in my direction as she spoke. “I screamed as loud as I could and ran from
the room. That’s when I found Mr. Motoyasu, and he saved me.”
“Huh?”
 What was she talking about?
Last night, right after me and Myne split paths, I’d gone straight to
sleep. That was why I didn’t remember anything.
I felt bad, watching her cry. But I was too confused to make sense of
what was going on.
“What are you talking about? I went to bed right after we finished
eating!”
“Liar! If that were true, why would Myne be crying like this?”
“Why are you speaking for her? And just where did you get that shiny-
new chainmail of yours?”
They’d all just met yesterday, right?
“Last night I went to the bar for a drink. I was sitting there, alone,
when Myne came running over. We had a couple drinks together, and she
gave me this chainmail. She said it was a present.”
“Say what?”
I could tell that it was my chainmail.
Granted, Myne could have had her own chainmail and given it to
Motoyasu. But it seemed suspicious, at the very least, considering that my
own chainmail had gone missing at the same time.
Talking to Motoyasu would get me nowhere. I decided to speak to the
king, directly.
“That’s it! Your Highness! I’ve been robbed! My money, clothes,
equipment—everything but my shield has been stolen! Please bring the
person who did this to justice!”
“Silence, Scoundrel!”
The king ignored my plea.
“Any act of sexual aggression committed against the people of my
kingdom, whether by barbarian or Hero, will be punished—immediately—
by death!”
“But this is all a mistake! I didn’t do it!”
“I had an inkling the first time I saw you. Of course you would sully
yourself, you little wretch!”
“Wretch?! What did I do?”
“Of course things turned out this way. I felt it immediately, that you
were a little different from the rest of us.”