DanMachi: Cheat? What's a Cheat?

Chapter 45 - Morning Gossip (POV Eina)

Orario, Guild - The Next Morning

I got to the Guild this morning with this weird feeling.

For some reason, the air felt different than usual.

Usually this place is buzzing with adventurers looking for info or trading in their hunt results, but this morning...

There was something unsettling in the Guild's atmosphere.

Small groups of adventurers were clustering in the corners, whispering with expressions that ranged from shocked, disgusted, to this dark satisfaction.

Even from a distance, I could catch some words floating through the air:

"...heard last night..."

"...Hestia Familia..."

"...crazy right..."

My instincts as an experienced advisor told me this wasn't ordinary gossip.

There was tension in the way they were talking, like some major drama had just gone down.

"Eina-chan!" Misha's cheerful voice made me turn around. The pink-haired girl approached me with her usual smile, but I could see some unease in her eyes.

"Morning, Misha," I greeted while setting down the documents I'd brought on my desk.

"What's up? Why's the Guild atmosphere kinda... weird today?"

Misha glanced over at the group of adventurers who were whispering, then looked at me with an unusual expression - a mix of uncertainty and concern.

"Eina-chan... have you heard about Kaen-kun yet?"

My heart immediately started beating faster.

Kaen?

What about Kaen?

Did something happen to him?

"About what?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm even though this bad feeling was starting to creep in.

Misha sat in the chair next to my desk, her voice lowering to a whisper.

"Last night... apparently he..."

Before Misha could continue, the conversation from the group of adventurers near us started getting clearer.

They were a mixed group - some level 1 and 2 adventurers I often saw coming to the Guild:

"Did you hear already? What happened last night..." a blonde guy in leather armor whispered while looking around.

"Yeah, the Hestia Familia member right? The one with just one person," his friend replied, a brown-haired woman.

"What was his name... Kaen?" a bearded adventurer joined the conversation.

My hand holding the documents immediately tensed up.

They're talking about Kaen?

"Right, Kaen Ryodan. I heard he tried attacking a waitress from Hostess of Fertility," the blonde continued with this tone like he had exclusive info.

"Oh my god, seriously? That's insane. And he looks so innocent too," the brown-haired woman shook her head with a disgusted expression.

My world suddenly stopped spinning, I was a bit confused.

Kaen... attacking a waitress?

No way.

Is there some misunderstanding here?

"You really can't judge people by their looks. Those types are the most dangerous," the bearded guy nodded like he was some psychology expert.

"Wait, by the way is his name Kaen Ryodan? I thought his name was just Kaen," a young man asked confusedly while raising an eyebrow.

"Kaen? Ryodan? Who cares! The point is he's disgusting," the blonde answered impatiently.

"Yeah right, since he doesn't have a last name we should just call him Kaen the trash," the brown-haired woman added with this nasty smile.

I felt anger starting to surge in my chest, but then quickly held my breath.

Calm down, Eina. They're just gossiping without any basis.

Don't get provoked.

"Eh, no no. Trash can still be recycled, it's still useful. Better to just call him toxic waste," the bearded guy chuckled, like he'd just made some funny joke.

"Hahaha, toxic waste! That fits!" they laughed together.

This time my anger really exploded.

How dare they talk about Kaen like that?

Kaen who's always polite, who always listens to my advice seriously, whose eyes light up every time he gets dungeon info?

SLAM!

My hand hit the desk without me realizing it, making a loud sound that startled Misha and some people around.

"Eina-chan!" Misha was shocked.

I snapped back to reality and immediately covered my mouth with my hand, my face turning red from embarrassment and mixed anger.

"S-sorry," I whispered to Misha.

"I... I lost control for a second."

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down.

"Misha," I whispered with a voice that was still trembling slightly.

"What really happened?"

Misha looked at me with sympathetic eyes, then whispered softly:

"Apparently... last night he tried to rape a waitress from Hostess of Fertility in an alley nearby. There were lots of eyewitnesses, and Ganesha Familia immediately arrested him."

My head immediately started buzzing.

"No way," those words spontaneously came out of my mouth, my voice barely audible.

In another corner of the Guild, three level 2 adventurers were shaking their heads with disgusted expressions.

"How shameful. People like that don't deserve to be adventurers."

"Yeah, just imagine. Only level 1 but already cocky, now his behavior's like this."

"Poor Goddess Hestia. Has only one member, turns out he's trash."

I bit my lip, trying to hold back the emotions surging again.

They don't even know Kaen. How can they say he's cocky?

"Eina-chan?" Misha called my name gently.

"Are you okay? You look really pale."

I turned to Misha, trying to stay calm despite being shocked.

"Misha... I know Kaen. Really well. He's not that kind of person."

"But Eina-chan," Misha said with surprise,

"this case is already official. Ganesha Familia stepped in immediately. There must be strong evidence."

Then another conversation started becoming audible:

"That's why you shouldn't just accept any members. Small familias like that are usually desperate, so their standards are low."

"Exactly. Look, the ones accepted by other familias are chosen ones. Someone like Kaen... well, you know."

A female adventurer chimed in with a cynical tone:

"Haven't you heard the gossip? Apparently he's obsessed with Ais Wallenstein. Like a stalker."

"Oh yeah! I heard that too. So creepy right?"

"Right, that's why it's not surprising he could do something like this. Obsessive types like that are dangerous."

This time I couldn't hold back anymore.

I stood up from my chair with a sudden movement.

"Wait a minute!" my voice came out louder than I intended.

All eyes immediately turned to me.

I realized everyone was staring at me and my face immediately turned red.

Oh god, what am I doing?

"S-sorry," I sat back down quickly, trying to calm myself.

"I was just... shocked by the news."

Misha looked at me worriedly. "Eina-chan, are you alright?"

But those gossipers didn't stop.

One of them even commented:

"Wow, Eina-san seems to be really defending that Kaen..."

"Maybe she has a crush on her client? Hehe..."

"Or maybe she's also a victim of Kaen's seduction? That's why she's defending him to the death..."

"Could be! Perverted adventurers like that usually start with the closest people first..."

This time my anger really exploded.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed while hitting the desk once more, harder than before.

The entire Guild fell silent.

Even Misha stepped back because she was startled seeing my facial expression.

"You're going too far!" my voice trembled with anger.

"Now you're even daring to slander me too?!"

Rose immediately stood up from her desk and approached us.

"Eina! What's happening here?" she asked in a firm tone.

I saw everyone staring at me with a mix of shock and discomfort.

My chest was heaving with anger, but then I realized what I'd done.

Oh god... I yelled in the Guild.

At work.

In front of everyone.

My face immediately went pale and my hands trembled.

"I... I..." I stammered, seeing all those pairs of eyes staring at me.

"Sorry, I... I lost control."

I sat back down slowly, covering my face with both hands. What have I done?

This is so unprofessional.

I've embarrassed myself and the Guild.

"Eina," Rose said in a gentler tone.

"I know you're shocked about your client, but you need to be able to control your emotions at work."

"I know," I whispered from behind my hands.

"Sorry, Rose. I... I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine," Rose patted my shoulder.

"What matters is you realize it now. But next time, don't let it happen again, okay?"

I nodded weakly, still feeling extremely embarrassed.

Misha sat back down next to me and whispered, "Eina-chan, I know you're angry because they started dragging your name into it. But you need to be more careful."

The adventurers who were gossiping earlier now looked awkward and started dispersing, uncomfortable with the recent incident.

I took a deep breath, trying to fully calm myself.

"Misha," I whispered after feeling calmer.

"About that accusation of obsession with Ais Wallenstein... that doesn't make sense."

"Why?" Misha asked curiously.

"Kaen only became an adventurer when Loki Familia had already been diving deep floors for a long time. He's never even met Ais Wallenstein directly. How could he be obsessed with someone he's never met?"

Misha fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"You're right about that. That is weird."

But then from the entrance, a group of new adventurers came in and immediately joined what was left of the crowd:

"Hey, what was all that commotion earlier?" a black-haired man asked.

"Oh, there was an incident earlier. Miss Eina got angry defending her client who was arrested for harassment," one of the original group answered.

"Ooh, so she's really close with the perpetrator huh," the black-haired guy nodded knowingly.

I felt anger starting to surge again, but this time I bit my lip and counted to ten in my head.

"Eina-chan," Misha saw me struggling with my emotions.

"Don't think about their comments."

I nodded and took a deep breath.

"You're right. I need to be more professional."

But in my heart, my anger was still burning.

Not just because of the accusations against Kaen, but also because of how easily they slandered people without clear evidence.

The Guild door opened with a loud sound, drawing everyone's attention.

A Ganesha Familia member entered with heavy steps, heading to the information desk.

"Official announcement," his voice boomed throughout the room, making all conversations stop.

My heart beat fast.

I already knew what he was going to say, but still...

"Kaen from Hestia Familia has been detained on charges of attempted assault and sexual harassment against a citizen of Orario. Investigation is ongoing. Hestia Familia is temporarily suspended from all Guild activities until this case is resolved."

A moment of silence, then an explosion of whispers louder than before.

"It's really official..."

"So it's really true then."

"Poor Goddess Hestia."

"A suspended familia... how embarrassing."

I felt my chest tighten and my hands started trembling again.

This time not from anger, but from deep shock and sadness.

"No way," I whispered, my voice almost inaudible.

"Eina-chan," Misha held my trembling hand.

"Maybe you should rest for a bit. You look really pale."

"I'm... I'm fine," I lied, trying to control the tremor in my voice.

Rose Fannett from the desk next to me turned toward me with a sympathetic expression.

"Eina, are you okay? You look really devastated."

I turned to Rose.

"Rose... about Kaen... that can't be true."

Rose looked at me with a sympathetic expression.

"I know he's one of your advisor clients you care about most. Must be shocking... But Eina, this case is already official. There were lots of eyewitnesses. Even Ganesha Familia immediately took over."

"But..." my voice trembled.

"I know him. He's not that kind of person. He—"

"Eina," Rose interrupted gently but firmly.

"I know this is difficult. But sometimes we don't really know someone. Especially in matters... like this."

"Rose is right, Eina-chan," Misha nodded, her face showing concern.

"Even though I know you're close to Kaen, but... the evidence..."

I fell silent, staring blankly at the files on my desk.

Memories of conversations with Kaen spun in my head.

The way he talked about dungeons with sparkling eyes, about his dreams, about Goddess Hestia whom he loved so much.

The way he always apologized if he felt he was bothering me with questions, the way he listened to my advice so seriously...

The way he even blushed and got nervous when Misha just joked around with him.

"Misha," I whispered.

"Do you remember how Kaen reacted when you teased him?"

Misha fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"He was always nervous and blushing. Even over small jokes."

"How could someone who can't even handle light teasing from a friend possibly..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Eina-chan," Rose who heard our conversation also chimed in.

"I understand your feelings, but don't let yourself get trapped in denial. Sometimes people we know can hide their dark sides."

I felt anger starting to rise again, but this time I tried hard to hold it back.

I know they're just trying to help in their own way.

"I understand your concerns," I said with a voice trying to be calm, even though my hands were still trembling.

"But I'm not in denial. I just... I just trust my judgment as an experienced advisor."

"Experience as an advisor doesn't always include judging someone's character in... personal matters," Rose said carefully.

I bit my tongue and counted to ten.

"Maybe," I finally answered with a flat voice.

"But my gut feeling says there's something wrong with this case."

"Eina-chan," Misha said gently, "maybe... maybe we should just wait for the investigation results. If he's really innocent, it'll definitely come to light."

I nodded weakly, even though in my heart I knew I couldn't just sit around waiting.

There had to be something I could do.

There had to be a way to help Kaen.

But for now, all I could do was try to control my emotions and stay professional at work.

With great effort to calm myself, I tried to continue my work, even though my mind kept drifting to Kaen who might be scared in a detention cell, wondering why all this was happening to him.

I spent the rest of the day with this incredible feeling of anxiety.