“As per Guild guidelines, adventurers are always permitted to retreat in the event of a unilateral emergency. There is no point in tossing away your life for a doomed situation – especially since the loss of even a single adventurer’s life is equivalent to that of a hundred civilians’, due to the future lives that would be lost due to the adventurer no longer being around to save them. Self-preservation is a fundamental right of all adventurers, one we are legally allowed to exercise under any and all reasonable circumstances.”The knight recited the words like he was reading from a textbook, trying his best to keep the tremor out of his voice. A bead of sweat slowly trickled down the side of his face as he waited with bated breath. Levi didn’t respond. He continued regarding the men before him with a placid expression on his face. “Y-You can’t blame us for deciding to retreat,” the knight said, his voice growing more strained as panic began leaking into his expression. “Aberrational monster activity is almost always a sign of something worse to come. Fighting would’ve been far too dangerous; retreating was the optimal choice.”Levi stayed silent. The seconds ticked on. Desperately, the knight looked behind him to Liliya and Andevar. Levi didn’t turn around so he didn’t know what expressions they made, but judging by how the knight’s face paled by several degrees, it probably wasn’t very reassuring.“Nothing we did was illegal–”“What’s your name?” Levi interrupted, a note of polite curiosity in his voice.“... Rudeus,” Rudeus answered warily. “Rudeus Clifford of House Clifford.”House (...)