Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

Wang Kai smiled helplessly. This girl was incredibly quick-witted; even with his nearly thirty years of life experience, he was finding it difficult to keep up.

It feels a bit like when I used to encounter some "bratty kids" who deliberately provoke me and won't listen to reason. At most, you can only glare back. If you talk back, curse, or even hit them, you're guaranteed to get what's coming to you.

Therefore, simply arguing back is probably not very useful. It's better to follow the other party's doubts and find some unreasonable points. This approach might be more persuasive.

Wang Kai thought for a moment, then tried to remain calm and spoke slowly.

"Okay, if I really am the suspicious person you're talking about, why would I be standing here so brazenly? Plus, you guys have been making a racket the whole way. If I were really a petty thief, I would have hidden myself long ago if I heard any noise. How could you have found me?"

"Hmph, I knew you little thief would try to excuse yourself like this. You didn't hide because you thought that wearing this outfit and pretending to be a member of the merchant guild would completely conceal your identity as a 'thief.' But you don't know that the area above the third floor of the 'Alchemy Pavilion' is off-limits to anyone except us, the 'Holy Maiden,' Sister Martha, and a few specific maids. No one else, including Guild Master Hani, is allowed to set foot there!"

"Oh? Is that so? But I just got permission from that saintess you mentioned to come and go as I please. Besides, it was Martha who brought me here to bathe. You can ask her if you don't believe me."

Ilya looked incredulous and peeked slightly into the empty bathhouse behind Wang Kai.

"Sister Martha would bring a man here to bathe? Then why isn't she here herself? You lied, and of all lies, told the most unbelievable one... Sister Martha only secretly told us that if one day she brought the most important man in her heart here, she would definitely 'serve him in the bath.' And you? You told such a blatant lie without batting an eye, completely oblivious to the biggest flaw you've revealed. I won't waste any more words, take this! Fireball..."

"Huh? Ilya, what did you say..."

At such close range, Ilya secretly prepared a fireball aimed straight at Wang Kai's chest. Wang Kai was slightly distracted by her questioning, but he still managed to dodge to the side with his cockroach-like reflexes, avoiding a direct hit. The fireball grazed past his armpit...

"That was close! You little brat, you have no sportsmanship and you tried to ambush me. Luckily, you dodged in time... Wait, where's that burnt smell coming from?"

Wang Kai raised one hand and saw a string of flames "licking" his uniform from his waist.

He hurriedly blew on it a few times, but the new cotton uniform had too much lint that was highly flammable. Not only did the flames not go out with each breath, the area of ​​fire expanded instantly, as if it had been doused with gasoline and was out of control...

"Aaaaaah, it's so hot, it's so hot..."

"Hahaha, the 'feint attack' technique that 'Saintess' sister taught us has worked!"

Seeing that her "sneak attack" had succeeded, Ilya was smug for a moment, but then she dared not be careless and immediately prepared quietly for her next attack...

Wang Kai tried to pat out the flames on his body, but the cotton guild uniform was of very "high quality." Not only was it breathable, but it was also highly flammable. He couldn't extinguish it by patting it out with his hands, and it was impossible to undo the seven or eight buttons on the clothes in a short time.

With the situation becoming increasingly dire, he had no choice but to turn around and run into the bathhouse, rushing towards the largest tub and plunging into it...

"Don't run, you little thief!"

Ilya chased after him to the edge of the bath, already charging up her magic, waiting for the moment he surfaced from the water to deliver another powerful blow.

A dark figure leaped out of the hot water, simultaneously hurling an even more powerful fireball...

With a "pop," the flamethrower seemed to collide with something and then burst into flames that scattered in all directions.

Before Ilya could even celebrate her success, a long, black staff appeared from the steam, whipping around wildly with a strong gust of wind, and the steam scattered in all directions with a gust of wind.

As the steam dissipated, a dark shadow immediately filled Ilya's eyes.

The most striking feature of this dark figure was a man's face contorted with extreme rage, completely locking her gaze in...

Wang Kai gritted his teeth, the veins bulging on his hand gripping the iron rod. His earlier carelessness in getting hit was merely a matter of underestimating his opponent, and being reduced to such a sorry state by a "brat" wasn't too bad. What angered him most was the familiar burnt smell wafting through his nostrils, a smell that usually meant…

He touched his head, and as the sensation of his slightly curled hair, burned by the fire, filled the air, the anger gradually turning into murderous intent…

Due to her "strong sense" stemming from her orc bloodline, Ilya was momentarily stunned, as if she had been frozen in place.

But she quickly came to her senses, raised her hands, summoned several fireballs, and threw them forward without thinking.

Although her "magic hit rate" was lowered due to fear, she was absolutely confident that she could inflict "severe damage" on her opponent again with the number of fireballs she had.

However, most of the fireballs were swept away without a trace by the iron rod wielded by Wang Kai in mid-air.

The last shot, like a "hit" in a baseball game, flew back, grazed Ilya's head, and struck the wall behind her, causing a burst of flames.

With a trembling, terrified expression, Ilya glanced back at the flames still leaping on the wall, realizing that if she took the hit head-on, she would at least have half her face burned off, if not get her head blown off.

Her legs suddenly went weak, and she collapsed to her knees in terror. A pool of glistening liquid appeared between her legs, slowly spreading across the floor...

"Wow~"

Hearing the sound of water like a concubine emerging from a bath, Ilya was once again so frightened that she turned her little head back. She opened her mouth to scream for help but couldn't utter a sound. With her legs weak, she could only turn around and use her hands to support herself on the ground, desperately trying to stand up but she couldn't muster any strength at all...

"This brat is ill-mannered, slandering good people and arbitrarily accusing others. He refuses to listen to advice, launches sneak attacks in the chaos, and even chases after the attack. Do you only stop when you've driven him to the brink of death? Such rudeness and unreasonableness are a result of his parents' poor upbringing. You'll only change your ways when you're about to suffer, but it will be too late..."

As Wang Kai slung the stick over his shoulder and walked towards her step by step, muttering incoherent words, Ilya, who had given up on struggling with no hope of escape, closed her eyes. But then, a series of extremely painful memories flashed through her mind...

At that moment, she didn't know where she got the last bit of strength, but she turned around and crawled towards the bathroom door with both hands and feet. But after only a few steps, a large hand grabbed her by the back of her neck and lifted her up...

Another series of hurried footsteps approached from outside the bathroom.

"Sister Masha, hurry! If Sister Ilya really starts fighting, that big brother will definitely be in danger. Hurry up and get inside..."

"Brother Kyle, are you alright...?"

"Whoosh~" (sound of the bathroom door being pushed open)

……

"Little sister, when you make a mistake, running away and avoiding it is the worst thing you can do. You have to apologize and accept the punishment yourself to learn from your mistakes!"

"Waaaaah, no, help me..."

"Hmph!" *Slap slap slap slap slap*

"Ouch, it hurts so much! Stop hitting me, it hurts..."

"Hmph, brats need to be punished to learn their lesson. If you don't immediately recall this lesson every time you sit down these next few days, you won't randomly label people or throw such dangerous things around. Even if you don't hit anyone, it's still wrong to hit other children or flowers and plants!"

Martha and the group of girls following behind her had just run to the door when they all froze instantly, dozens of pairs of big eyes locked onto an unbelievable scene.

A suspicious man with a full head of curly hair, shirtless with only a few pieces of charred cloth covering his body, and a fierce look in his eyes and a wicked smile on his lips.

He pressed a struggling girl, who wished to remain anonymous, face down onto his thigh, and then slapped her buttocks repeatedly with his other hand.

The loud slapping sounds of flesh hitting flesh, accompanied by the girl's cries, echoed like a waltz throughout the bathroom...