Chapter 84 – The Slums
Seeing the elderly man who entered behind the bald man, Kelvin stood up as he tried to hide his inner surprise.
‘This man, as I recall, was in Doria village…’
“I’m sorry. Thank you for waiting.”
“I’m Kelvin.”
“I’m Klaus.”
After shaking hands and sitting back in the chair as the old man who called himself Klaus had recommended, Kelvin then began to observe him.
At first glance, the man looked stern and serious. His back was straight, and he wore a tailcoat unbecoming of the slums, giving the impression that he was a noble’s butler. Perhaps that impression was correct. Klaus was a person who had the role of a butler in the service of some noble. However, if he was not mistaken, this man was the person who had gathered the bandits and the knights who seemed to be the Petersian army in Doria village. This meant that he was the one who had created the situation where the relationship between the Lemmrousell Empire and the Kingdom of Petersia became one of fierce dealings, and he was probably an important person at the core of it.
‘It’s a bit unexpected, but still it’s more than I thought.’
“I never thought that Klaus-dono himself would appear…” It seemed that even the bald man did not expect to meet someone of such high rank.
The bald man brought another bottle of wine, and unlike the previous one, which was nowhere to be found anymore, it wasn’t cheap at all. On the contrary, it was such a good wine that even nobles rarely had the opportunity to taste it. In the room were Kelvin, Klaus and the bald man, who was the go-between. And outside the room, there was no sign of people, at least as far as Kelvin could pick up.
‘Should I subdue these two here…?’
Kelvin didn’t know if Klaus was involved in the kidnapping case or not, but as a knight of the Empire, he felt he couldn’t leave this man, who was an important person involved in the tension that arose with Petersia, to his own devices.
“But,” Kelvin reconsidered.
The bald man could easily be subdued. If he used “Lightning” magic, it would be possible to knock him unconscious without giving him time to call for help. But the atmosphere given off by Klaus, who was sitting across from him enjoying a glass of wine, was different. You could feel his strength just by his presence and knew he was above the level of an ordinary knight. Of course, if it were Kelvin, even that would be enough to win. However, contrary to what it seemed, his intuition was ringing the alarm bell that said the guy in front of him was dangerous. A monster cladded in human skin… he exuded the same presence he felt from the Brave when he had the opportunity to cross swords with her.
“It has come to my attention that you have been fired by your former employers and are looking for a new place of employment.” The first to straighten his posture and start the conversation was Klaus.
“It’s a shame to say that I had a different set of values than my superiors in the mercenary group I belonged to. In the end I couldn’t take it anymore and beat the crap out of them, and they kicked me out of there. That’s why I’m looking for a place where my skills can be bought at a high price.”
When Klaus heard Kelvin’s reply, he looked at the bald man.
“I’ve heard from him that your skills are reliable.”
“Thank you for that.”
Turning his eyes back to the bald man for a moment, Kelvin smiled bitterly as the bald man’s chest puffed out as if to say, ‘I’ve kept my promise to you’.
“So, I’ll cut to the chase, the personnel we’re looking for is…”
“Coming to a place like this, the human resources that a person like you is looking for will be limited. And I think I’m probably the right person for the job you have, right?”
“I see. Ha, hahaha… there’s no doubt that you’re reliable.” In the middle of the conversation, Klaus was interrupted by Kelvin, but he didn’t seem offended and rather laughed in amusement. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Let’s just say I’m hiring you.”
“Thank you very much. By the way, who else will be my employer, who wants to gather forces and hire even someone like me who was rejected from a regular guild?”
At present, the border area between the Lemmrousell Empire and the Kingdom of Petersia had become a very unpleasant place. Therefore, a lot more personnel were seen more frequently in the mercenary guild. His employer could gather as many people as he wanted by legitimate means without having to come to the slums. But Kelvin immediately lowered his head and recoiled. He felt the atmosphere emitted by Klaus suddenly become tense.
“I’m sorry. If you want to stay alive, don’t keep asking unnecessary questions.”
As Kelvin immediately apologized, the uneasy atmosphere set by Klaus vanished in an instant.
“Well, that’s fine. You are right, if you want to increase the defense of your territory by gathering a private army, it would be faster to gather direct personnel in a mercenary guild. So, it’s only natural to be wary of why we don’t do that.”
“So, that means…”
“We’re not looking for people who can gather by legitimate means, but people like you who have the necessary skills and can work without asking questions for money.” Klaus’ tone was indifferent, but his eyes were fixed on Kelvin as if he was testing or observing him.
Kelvin smiled slightly, nodded and held out his hand.
“Good. I’ll be happy as long as I can cut something and get paid for it.”
◇◆◇◆◇
It seemed to rain overnight. Early in the morning, when Wynn began his daily training routine, the rain had stopped, but the sky was covered with thick clouds. The courtyard of the boys’ dormitory at the Knights’ School was not paved with stone, but with dirt. Leticia appeared as she walked nonchalantly, avoiding the puddles that had formed in places.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Onii-chan.”
They exchanged morning greetings with each other and went on with their training. A morning as usual. Then, after finishing breakfast in the dormitory cafeteria, Wynn would go to the imperial palace to begin his work…
“Good morning.”
“Eh, Cornelia-san?”
Just as he was about to finish his training, Cornelia arrived with a knight of the Imperial Guard from her escort.
“Am I inopportune?”
“No, we just finished, so it’s fine.”
He received a handkerchief from Leticia to wipe away his sweat, wiping it off quickly.
“Onii-chan, I’m going to take a bath.”
“Sure.”
With a wave of her hand, Leticia returned to her room. The knight of the Imperial Guard saluted quickly. He was a man in his late thirties, but when he saw Leticia, he had a tinge of nervousness and admiration on his face.
After wiping off his sweat and telling Cornelia that he didn’t mind, Wynn returned to his room in the dormitory, dressed and went back outside again, saluted the knight of the guard waiting next to Cornelia. When Wynn, Cornelia’s exclusive servant, declared that he would assume his role as escort, the Imperial Guard Knight returned his salute and returned to the palace. Wynn and Cornelia also did the same.
“You suffered an attack outside the imperial palace, so I thought you wouldn’t be able to go out for a while.”
“Um… how’s your shoulder?”
“Don’t worry, it’s no problem.” He made sure of that when he trained with Leticia.
Immediately after his wounds were healed with magic, he had no sensation of pain in his training with Leticia this morning. Seeing Wynn nod, Cornelia put on an expression of relief. But there was still something dark in her expression, and that worried Wynn.
Cornelia had also heard that breakfast wasn’t ready yet, so she waited for Leticia to return before inviting her to the student cafeteria. Maybe because it was early, but there were no other students in the cafeteria yet. For breakfast, they ordered porridge, and to drink, the formerly sweaty Wynn and Leticia ordered only water, while Cornelia ordered hot tea. The porridge was rice porridge with eggs and cooked vegetables. Wynn ate it greedily, while Leticia and Cornelia elegantly scooped up the porridge with their spoons and ate it. The savory porridge was delicious after a long day of sweating. The amount of food they served was large for the young students of the Knights’ School.
“What are you going to do today with the research?” When they finished eating and made themselves comfortable, Cornelia asked them about their plans for today.
“After hearing what Locke said, as for me, I want to visit the person Laura-san told us about.”
Locke, who had been doing research at the Heraldry Office, returned to his dormitory late in the evening. However, he was so tired that he fell asleep in his bed as soon as he returned. Normally, Wynn and Leticia returned when they had finished training and breakfast together in the cafeteria, but when Wynn returned to his room to change clothes, he was still asleep.
“So, are you guys going to the slums today?”
“Yes. It’s a place where there’s a lot of crime, and as I said before, I think it’s best if Cornelia-san doesn’t go there if possible.”
“I’ll be fine.”
As for Wynn, this was also a request from the Adventurer’s Guild. He himself was planning to visit the slums outside of his working hours as a servant. However, Cornelia declined that proposal. As a person involved with the rulers of the empire, she insisted that she was eager to see the slums for the first time. Her intentions were firm, and Wynn reluctantly agreed.
What worried him, however, was the expression Cornelia showed after the attack. It was obvious that she was worried about the fact that she was unable to move during the battle and became a hindrance, and that Wynn was injured because of it. He had been watching Cornelia from the way back so far, and for example, when there was a corner to turn, she just went straight until he called out to her, and when she accidentally bumped her shoulder on one of the turns, it was clear that her mind was not where it should be. Even at this breakfast table, her hands were slow to bring the porridge to her mouth, and sometimes she would stare at the spoon and let out a deep sigh. She had a strong sense of responsibility, so she might be overreacting.
‘I’ll keep a close eye on her until she recovers,’ Wynn thought.
◇◆◇◆◇
Locke woke up when the bell at the Knight’s School announced 9 a.m., the starting time for the school day.
“Sorry I’m late.” Apologizing, Locke rejoined Wynn and the others and ordered a loaf of bread with ham, eggs, and vegetables in the cafeteria.
By this time school had started, the menu prepared for breakfast had run out and the kitchen was preparing for lunch. Locke asked them to prepare something simple for him. He seemed to have a hard time finding the crest he witnessed relying on his memory of all the myriad of them, and his face still had tinges of fatigue. Still, he did not seem to lose his appetite and quickly devoured the bread. They waited for him to finish eating, then asked him about what he had discovered.
“I looked it up, and apparently what I saw was Viscount Hoffman’s family crest.”
“Hoffman? The court magician?”
“Wynn, do you know him?”
“I know him, or rather, I’ve met him a few times at the Imperial Palace.”
Wynn was talking about a young court magician he met the day he was assigned as Cornelia’s servant.
“Oh yes, Raymond von Hoffman. He’s a court magician who was appointed this spring, isn’t he? I even communicated that to the captain before I returned to my room yesterday, but he put on a complicated look.”
“Can’t they investigate right away?” Leticia asked reflexively at Locke’s words.
Wynn, who saw it, said to Leticia.
“Knights and Mages often conflict with each other. They don’t want us Knights to get involved in the internal affairs of the Mages’ order.”
“But couldn’t Captain Royce have asked old Meissen, head of the court mages, for help?” Cornelia said curiously.
If they were antagonistic to each other, would he respond to Royce’s request, who was the head of a platoon of knights belonging to the Central Knights?
“I think it’s because of Cornelia-san… and because it’s not a request from the Knights, but a personal request from the captain. Though I’m not so sure about the size of the captain’s network of connections either.” Wynn shook his head.
Royce apparently didn’t have much power when it came to competing among the nobles, perhaps because he was a Count, but he had some powerful acquaintances, including Crown Prince Alfred. Even though his platoon was unable to receive more personnel or upgraded equipment, they realized that his network of connections was well built and did not fit his rank at all. Even with Royce, investigating the mages of the Court Mage Division was hindered only for the reason that the nobles who had been victims were not enough, regardless of the Guard Corps, which was a specialized agency for investigating crimes within the Imperial Army.
“The captain’s words were to keep me away from Hoffman for now. As for me, I’m sorry, but I think I have no choice but to obey.”
The three nodded at Locke’s words. Later, when they told him that there was a victim in the slums who might be involved in the incident and that they wanted to visit him, Locke agreed with them. Although, because of the location it was, they would not go until they were sufficiently prepared.
◇◆◇◆◇
In the slums built outside the walls of the Imperial City. At the entrance, Cornelia stopped for a while and looked at the cityscape. Unlike the Imperial City, whose buildings were made of stone, the wooden huts that were believed to have been built with scrap wood were lined up haphazardly. The street floor was only dirt. It was not paved with stone like the Imperial City. And because the ground had not been leveled, it was very uneven and there were many puddles of water. When the noon bell rang, the sky, which had been covered with clouds, had cleared and the sun shone.
Some people were selling low-quality goods on the street, others were selling thin potatoes, beans and shriveled vegetables at stalls, and some were selling cheap alcohol. In the stalls that offered food, stew was sold in large pots of irregular surface, cooked with leftover food and rice collected in the city.
The slum market looked completely different from the market in the Imperial City. And even this scene was still only one side of the street in the slums. If you went one street further back, it was already a dangerous area where crime was rampant.
“Cornelia-san, try to stay in our midst. Never leave us.”
“You don’t walk away from me either, Letty.”
“Yes, Onii-chan.” Leticia gently entwined her hand around Wynn’s arm.
In the slums, where shacks were erected and corridors were cluttered, even city dwellers could get lost. If they got separated, it would be very difficult to reunite. When Locke spoke, Cornelia looked back as she took in the view of the slums. Cornelia watched as Leticia grabbed Wynn’s arm and her gaze drifted for a moment to his free hand, but she quickly turned and moved forward. But at Wynn’s side, their shoulders were more than once on the verge of touching. And for a moment on her face, no one noticed that she had a slightly envious look.
Entering the back streets from the front street, another different world stretched out. The market in the front streets was lined with stalls where one could eat and drink, even if they were leftovers, and was crowded with people trying to satiate their hunger, but in the back streets, people in rag-like clothes and with empty, lifeless eyes were squatting or lying on the ground. In the shadow of a building, a half-naked street prostitute cast a lazy glance at the men walking down the street in broad daylight.
The one walking at the head of the group was Locke. However, his steps were by no means carefree and he looked around with a watchful eye, glancing at the linen paper marking the place where the person Laura told them about lived.
“Locke…wouldn’t you be the one who stands out the most?” Wynn nudged Locke, who was walking ahead of him. “You want me to go in front?”
“It’s more dangerous back there, isn’t it? You should be more worried about the rear than I am. You never know when you’re going to be attacked from behind, do you? Besides. you’re better at sensing presences, aren’t you?”
“No, I mean, yes, but…”
He was walking along, with Leticia clinging to his arm, looking over his head.
‘Letty’s here too, I don’t think we’ll be caught off guard.’
But Locke was right, there was no better way to be cautious here.
Wynn and Locke wore regular shirts and pants. They were a little nicer than they should be for the slums, but they didn’t really stand out from their surroundings. Leticia and Cornelia could be compared to Seri, wearing clothes as they would in the city and with a hood over their heads to hide their faces. However, they were short in stature and unable to completely hide that they were women. In the case of a young woman like Leticia or Cornelia find herself alone in this part of the city, she would be perfect bait for kidnappers. Of course, Leticia’s combat power was not something that could be overwhelmed by kidnapping. If you tried to do anything to her, you would know for yourself that it would have been a foolish choice. However, regarding Cornelia, although she was skilled with a sword to the extent that she could be qualified as an apprentice knight, her body in the previous battle was crippled due to her lack of experience.
‘Let’s put Cornelia-san’s safety first.’
When he looked towards Cornelia, she was walking around looking at the slum streets with a serious expression. From her upbringing, it was a world she probably had no connection to. Suddenly, Cornelia turned toward Wynn. The two met each other’s gaze. Cornelia’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but for some reason she looked away quickly as if panicking.
“Umm… there are places where the map and the alleys are different sometimes.”
Cornelia’s gesture worried him, but Locke’s voice drew his attention in that direction. Wynn looked from behind him at the map Locke extended to him.
“Roads in places like this are sometimes blocked today where they were passable yesterday.”
“And the buildings seem to be easy to demolish.” Locke muttered as he looked down at the map drawn on hemp paper a couple of times.
It was then…
“Hey, Locke.”
“Tsk!”
Wynn suddenly tugged on Locke’s arm, who made a noise with his tongue.
“Whoa… that was close, you saved me.”
“What happened?” Cornelia saw the back of a boy run out.
He was probably less than ten years old. His clothes were in tatters, his face and limbs dirty, and his body very thin.
“A petty thief.”
“A thief?” Cornelia made a strange face.
“I mean, so…”
Wynn tapped Locke and showed him. Cornelia watched the scene with a twinkle in her eye.
“See?” Wynn’s handheld Locke’s wallet.
“You, you really can do anything…” As he looked at his own wallet in Wynn’s hand, which had been stolen from his pocket, Locke muttered in astonishment.
“When I was in and out of the Adventurer’s Guild, I was taught a lot about these kinds of techniques.” As he returned the wallet to Locke’s hand, Wynn glanced at Cornelia. “And well, that’s what pickpocketing is like. They go for the bags in people’s pockets.”
“Oh, wow, and they’re such little kids…”
“It’s bad, but it’s a necessary skill to learn if you want to live here.” With that, Wynn looked in the direction the child had run, but the figure was already out of sight. “As I said before, this is one place where you can’t let your guard down just because they’re children. Because they’re also desperate to survive.”
Wynn was also an orphan.
Fortunately, thanks to Randall taking him in at the Wandering Bird’s Nest, he was able to get enough food to fill his stomach, including the candy Leticia brought. Even if it was in a small shed, he had a roof over his head in which to withstand the cold of the night. Luckily, although it was necessary for his work, he learned to read and do math with Randall, and thanks to his encounter with Leticia, he also had the opportunity to read valuable books. Had Randall not taken him in, Wynn would have been in a similar situation.
“Some children dream of an honest future and knock on the door of the Adventurers’ Guild, but only a handful of them make it. Most hone their pickpocketing and misappropriation skills this way, or band together to commit robberies.”
Cornelia listened speechlessly to Wynn’s words. The reality of the world was new to her. But it was certainly a reality she needed to know, as one of the rulers of this empire. Cornelia walked beside Wynn and decided to observe the slums again. It was a good way to get to know the people who lived here. She hoped that when she turned eighteen and could go into public service, she would be able to do something. Sometimes, though, she stole glances at Wynn’s serious expression, which wandered between Locke and the map.
Locke, who was halted by the impression made on him by the pickpocket boy, was shaking his head from side to side. He checked the map a few more times.
“Is that it?” What Locke pointed to was a wooden house a little larger in comparison to those in the surrounding area.
Under one eave was a sign that read “Medicine.” It had probably been carved into the board with a knife or something. This was one of the places where Laura delivered the medicinal herbs she grew. In the slums, where medical fees were high and a head doctor was not accessible, the demand for apothecaries was high and many of them had set up store. However, unlike the apothecaries who set up shop in town, here anyone could call themselves an apothecary, so there was no way of knowing whether the medicine was really good, just a decoction of herbs, or even poisonous.
Opening the curtain that acted as a door, the inside of the store was large enough to fit four people. On the uneven shelves on the dirt floor, there were pills and nuts packed in small jars. Liquid ointments of indescribable colors. And dried lizards, snakes and frogs. The dried herbs were lined up in a row.
“Who are you people? To coming so early…” An old woman came out from the back of the store. “We’re open from late at night until the wee hours of the morning.”
“Oh, sorry.” Cornelia involuntarily let out words of apology to the old woman, who looked at her with glazed eyes.
“…You’re an honest girl. There’s no such thing as day and night in this town. You’re not from around here, are you? What do you want from this old woman’s store? I have medicine for fever, for stomach pain, for wounds and burns, and even a potion that will improve your night life. We even have something you can give to someone you hate and they’ll be on the other side in minutes.”
The four looked at the old woman who was laughing with a toothless smile, and Wynn opened her mouth on behalf of everyone.
“Laura-san told us about this place. We want to talk to you about a mage you know who has disappeared.”
“Acquaintances of Laura’s? …What, you’re not customers?”
The old woman said, “Wait a moment,” she went back to the back room once and returned after a while.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I was pulling a can of medicine out of the fire in the back room, what brings you here?”
Wynn gave a brief summary of the incident.
“…Information fee.”
Locke’s face crumpled toward the old woman as she held out her hand, but Wynn quickly pulled some copper coins from his pocket and placed them in her hand.
“Hee, hee, hee, that young man over there knows what he’s doing.” As she put the copper coins back in her pocket, the old woman pursed her mouth and smiled. “This old woman knows that there are a lot of missing people these days. Certainly, my mage acquaintance hasn’t been around recently. I don’t remember clearly when I was told he disappeared, but like everyone else, I assume he’s been kidnapped.” The old woman frowned and her face wrinkled further.
“People come and go in the slums, don’t they? The people who were here yesterday have already been able to flee for the night for various reasons. Grandma, wouldn’t the mage you met have left for some reason?”
“No.” In response to Wynn’s question, the old woman stated. “If there had been some circumstance, it would be impossible for those in control of the slums not to have some clue about them. If for some reason someone has to run, those people are involved in nine out of ten cases.”
“In a place like this, there are bound to be a lot of kidnappers.”
“Kidnappers only target people they think they can make money from.”
“But if it’s a magician, wouldn’t that be valuable?”
“Oh, dear… that red-haired boy over there doesn’t understand anything at all, does he?” The old woman pointed at Locke and shook her head sideways. “There isn’t a single resident of this area who would want to mess with a mage. I’ve met at least ten of them, including this old woman.” The old woman sat down in an old chair, as if it was too difficult for her to stand.
At that moment, Leticia tugged a little on Wynn’s sleeve.
“Onii-chan. I’m going to get some air.”
“Are you okay, do you want me to come with you?”
“I’ll be fine on my own. Thanks.”
The smell of the slums was bad, but the smell of the store was even worse as it had a mixture of medicine and dried fish smells. Wynn thought she might be feeling sick. Slums that had little security. No matter how strong Leticia was, he was worried, so he left the talk with the old woman to Locke and tried to follow her, but Leticia smiled at him and just walked straight out. Meanwhile, the old woman continued talking to Locke and Cornelia.
“Speaking of strange things… there’s someone else besides you walking around asking questions.”
“Really!?”
The old woman, who had gotten a few copper coins from Locke, smiled at him.
“I didn’t see him directly, though. They say he hid his face with a hood, wandered around the slums and visited people who could use magic. Once, I think, some guys saw him alone and decided to steal some money from him. He must have been attacked.”
“And what happened?”
“I heard they were defeated. I also heard that he can use magic.”
“Do you know where the men who were defeated live?”
“Well… I remember now. You don’t know what I mean, do you? Give me a second, I’ll draw you a map of where they usually roam.”
Seeing Wynn’s flickering silver coin, the old woman hurriedly rose from her chair, pulled a piece of linen paper from the bottom and used charcoal to draw what looked like a path.
“Thank you, grandma!” After handing over a silver coin and receiving the map, Wynn bowed to the old woman.
“I hope next time you come to buy medicine, eh?”
Following Wynn, Locke and Cornelia also thanked the old woman, and the three of them left the store together.
“Onii-chan, are you done?” Leticia, who was waiting at the entrance, turned around and ran to Wynn.
“Oh, yes, it’s over. There were good results, thanks to Laura-san.”
“I see, how nice.”
“Is Letty okay, are you feeling bad?”
“I’m fine. I just needed to get some fresh air.”
“I don’t know how you endured that smell, Cornelia-san.”
“It was hard for me too, but before I knew it, it didn’t bother me anymore. I hope my nose didn’t break down.” Putting her hand to her nose, Cornelia laughed.
“I don’t know what to say about how being in that store makes the outside air feel so good, even in this place…”
The stagnant air inside the store must have been hard on Locke. As he took several deep breaths, Wynn filled his chest with air as well. When he first entered the slums, to him this place also had a terrible smell, but now he wondered if he had gotten used to it. Compared to the inside of that apothecary, even in a place like this, the air outside was much better.
“First of all, let’s make a sketch or get a portrait of that Viscount Hoffman. Then, we’ll look for the people the old woman told us were defeated and see if the person who used magic is him.”
“Ah, that’s right.” Wynn nodded at Locke’s words.
◇◆◇◆◇
Half an hour after Wynn and his friends left the apothecary.
“Hey, Grandma!” a man stumbled into the old woman’s store.
“Oh, is that you, how did it go? There were two young girls, and they were both very nice, weren’t they? They must have been the daughters of some noble or a great merchant.”
When Wynn and his friends visited, the old woman retired to the backroom, not to remove the tins from the fire, but to signal to the men. Of the four who had come before, two were young girls. They had their faces covered, so she couldn’t tell what they looked like when she gave the signal, but regardless of who they were, young girls fetched a good price. And when they started talking and took off their hoods, they were both going to be sold at a high price, especially the blonde girl, and the old woman found it hard to contain a leap of inner joy.
But…
“Grandma, what kind of people you sent us? They were monsters.” The face of the man who said that was pale, as if his blood had been drained.
The man and his companions followed the old woman’s signal and surrounded the store to hide. When the four people came out of the store, they planned to follow them unnoticed and attack them in an unpopulated place. However, while they were hiding, a small figure came out of the building. From the shape of the body, he could tell it was a woman.
If she had come out alone, it was a chance. The men immediately thought of kidnapping the girl who came out. It would be even better if the friends who came out later started looking for the girl who came out earlier in a hurry since they wouldn’t be seeing her, and they would be separated even further.
And as they tried to get out of the shadows where they lurked….
A cold sweat broke out all over their body. Some of them collapsed on the spot. The men had no way of knowing, but it was the same thing that members of a certain organization had experienced from a man named Kelvin in a similar place not long ago.
But this time, the girl did not show her abilities as Kelvin did then. She just stood there silently. However, men were frightened by the presence she emitted.
In the slums, even a man could lose his life if he made a false step. The men formed a clique, and although they were confident in their abilities, they were not a dominant organization in the city, and they were in a weak position. They were sensitive to the strong and the dangerous.
It was supposed to work well. But, like a weak wild rabbit that has encountered a pack of wolves, the men overwhelmed by the wolf’s presence did not move from the spot and continued to hide quietly. When they saw that the other three had left the store and gone to join the girl, they took a deep breath. When the four people were out of sight, they all let out at once the breath they had been holding. Some looked up at the sky and collapsed, praying to God with tears streaming down their faces. And one of the men, the one who was the chief, went into the old woman’s store to tell her what had happened.
“Ah, compared to that girl, the mage the other day was like a baby, I think.” The man said as he looked at his hands that were still shaking slightly.
The old woman listened to the man’s report in silence, but when he closed his mouth, she shook her head in disappointment.
“Well… it’s a pity. I told them where you guys were hiding.”
“What!?”
The old woman let out a sigh as she saw the man turn pale again.
“What else I could do, who would have thought they were such monsters?”
“No, but…”
The old woman got up from her chair and walked to the back, saying slowly.
“If you change places, they will soon start looking for you. If the girl is really a monster, as you say, then you should tell her everything you know. Of course, ask for something in return.”
“Ah, yes, that’s it. With that I’ll be able to save my life.”
Without looking back at the man who was hurrying out of the store, the old woman walked to the back of the store and pushed a small storage box to the side. There was a small trapdoor there, where the old woman’s modest savings were hidden. She opened the hidden door and popped open the lid of the small jar inside and poured in the silver and copper coins that Wynn and Locke gave her stacked up and laughed.
Later that day Wynn and his friends revisited the slums and, with the sketch of Raymond von Hoffman they had obtained, visited the men’s residence, based on the old woman’s map. They went there expecting to have to do a lot of work just to talk to them, but they answered their questions with surprising ease. Even their language was very polite.
“Well, you can’t have preconceived notions just because it’s the slums.”
“Yes, you’re right. There are decent people too.”
“If you think about it, there are also people who failed in business and ran away, and there are also people who work in companies that are based in the slums and deliver goods.”
“The people you just mentioned could also be doing some kind of work in the imperial capital while living here.”
Around the turn of hearing the information they wanted, Wynn and the others talked about such things. When they showed the men the portrait of Raymond van Hoffman from the Court Magicians Division, they testified that he certainly looked a lot like the person they attacked. Once the results were obtained, they felt positive about the situation. On the other hand, it was strange that where Wynn and the others had left, the men collapsed languid and exhausted.
Chapter 84 – The Slums
Seeing the elderly man who entered behind the bald man, Kelvin stood up as he tried to hide his inner surprise.
‘This man, as I recall, was in Doria village…’
“I’m sorry. Thank you for waiting.”
“I’m Kelvin.”
“I’m Klaus.”
After shaking hands and sitting back in the chair as the old man who called himself Klaus had recommended, Kelvin then began to observe him.
At first glance, the man looked stern and serious. His back was straight, and he wore a tailcoat unbecoming of the slums, giving the impression that he was a noble’s butler. Perhaps that impression was correct. Klaus was a person who had the role of a butler in the service of some noble. However, if he was not mistaken, this man was the person who had gathered the bandits and the knights who seemed to be the Petersian army in Doria village. This meant that he was the one who had created the situation where the relationship between the Lemmrousell Empire and the Kingdom of Petersia became one of fierce dealings, and he was probably an important person at the core of it.
‘It’s a bit unexpected, but still it’s more than I thought.’
“I never thought that Klaus-dono himself would appear…” It seemed that even the bald man did not expect to meet someone of such high rank.
The bald man brought another bottle of wine, and unlike the previous one, which was nowhere to be found anymore, it wasn’t cheap at all. On the contrary, it was such a good wine that even nobles rarely had the opportunity to taste it. In the room were Kelvin, Klaus and the bald man, who was the go-between. And outside the room, there was no sign of people, at least as far as Kelvin could pick up.
‘Should I subdue these two here…?’
Kelvin didn’t know if Klaus was involved in the kidnapping case or not, but as a knight of the Empire, he felt he couldn’t leave this man, who was an important person involved in the tension that arose with Petersia, to his own devices.
“But,” Kelvin reconsidered.
The bald man could easily be subdued. If he used “Lightning” magic, it would be possible to knock him unconscious without giving him time to call for help. But the atmosphere given off by Klaus, who was sitting across from him enjoying a glass of wine, was different. You could feel his strength just by his presence and knew he was above the level of an ordinary knight. Of course, if it were Kelvin, even that would be enough to win. However, contrary to what it seemed, his intuition was ringing the alarm bell that said the guy in front of him was dangerous. A monster cladded in human skin… he exuded the same presence he felt from the Brave when he had the opportunity to cross swords with her.
“It has come to my attention that you have been fired by your former employers and are looking for a new place of employment.” The first to straighten his posture and start the conversation was Klaus.
“It’s a shame to say that I had a different set of values than my superiors in the mercenary group I belonged to. In the end I couldn’t take it anymore and beat the crap out of them, and they kicked me out of there. That’s why I’m looking for a place where my skills can be bought at a high price.”
When Klaus heard Kelvin’s reply, he looked at the bald man.
“I’ve heard from him that your skills are reliable.”
“Thank you for that.”
Turning his eyes back to the bald man for a moment, Kelvin smiled bitterly as the bald man’s chest puffed out as if to say, ‘I’ve kept my promise to you’.
“So, I’ll cut to the chase, the personnel we’re looking for is…”
“Coming to a place like this, the human resources that a person like you is looking for will be limited. And I think I’m probably the right person for the job you have, right?”
“I see. Ha, hahaha… there’s no doubt that you’re reliable.” In the middle of the conversation, Klaus was interrupted by Kelvin, but he didn’t seem offended and rather laughed in amusement. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Let’s just say I’m hiring you.”
“Thank you very much. By the way, who else will be my employer, who wants to gather forces and hire even someone like me who was rejected from a regular guild?”
At present, the border area between the Lemmrousell Empire and the Kingdom of Petersia had become a very unpleasant place. Therefore, a lot more personnel were seen more frequently in the mercenary guild. His employer could gather as many people as he wanted by legitimate means without having to come to the slums. But Kelvin immediately lowered his head and recoiled. He felt the atmosphere emitted by Klaus suddenly become tense.
“I’m sorry. If you want to stay alive, don’t keep asking unnecessary questions.”
As Kelvin immediately apologized, the uneasy atmosphere set by Klaus vanished in an instant.
“Well, that’s fine. You are right, if you want to increase the defense of your territory by gathering a private army, it would be faster to gather direct personnel in a mercenary guild. So, it’s only natural to be wary of why we don’t do that.”
“So, that means…”
“We’re not looking for people who can gather by legitimate means, but people like you who have the necessary skills and can work without asking questions for money.” Klaus’ tone was indifferent, but his eyes were fixed on Kelvin as if he was testing or observing him.
Kelvin smiled slightly, nodded and held out his hand.
“Good. I’ll be happy as long as I can cut something and get paid for it.”
◇◆◇◆◇
It seemed to rain overnight. Early in the morning, when Wynn began his daily training routine, the rain had stopped, but the sky was covered with thick clouds. The courtyard of the boys’ dormitory at the Knights’ School was not paved with stone, but with dirt. Leticia appeared as she walked nonchalantly, avoiding the puddles that had formed in places.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Onii-chan.”
They exchanged morning greetings with each other and went on with their training. A morning as usual. Then, after finishing breakfast in the dormitory cafeteria, Wynn would go to the imperial palace to begin his work…
“Good morning.”
“Eh, Cornelia-san?”
Just as he was about to finish his training, Cornelia arrived with a knight of the Imperial Guard from her escort.
“Am I inopportune?”
“No, we just finished, so it’s fine.”
He received a handkerchief from Leticia to wipe away his sweat, wiping it off quickly.
“Onii-chan, I’m going to take a bath.”
“Sure.”
With a wave of her hand, Leticia returned to her room. The knight of the Imperial Guard saluted quickly. He was a man in his late thirties, but when he saw Leticia, he had a tinge of nervousness and admiration on his face.
After wiping off his sweat and telling Cornelia that he didn’t mind, Wynn returned to his room in the dormitory, dressed and went back outside again, saluted the knight of the guard waiting next to Cornelia. When Wynn, Cornelia’s exclusive servant, declared that he would assume his role as escort, the Imperial Guard Knight returned his salute and returned to the palace. Wynn and Cornelia also did the same.
“You suffered an attack outside the imperial palace, so I thought you wouldn’t be able to go out for a while.”
“Um… how’s your shoulder?”
“Don’t worry, it’s no problem.” He made sure of that when he trained with Leticia.
Immediately after his wounds were healed with magic, he had no sensation of pain in his training with Leticia this morning. Seeing Wynn nod, Cornelia put on an expression of relief. But there was still something dark in her expression, and that worried Wynn.
Cornelia had also heard that breakfast wasn’t ready yet, so she waited for Leticia to return before inviting her to the student cafeteria. Maybe because it was early, but there were no other students in the cafeteria yet. For breakfast, they ordered porridge, and to drink, the formerly sweaty Wynn and Leticia ordered only water, while Cornelia ordered hot tea. The porridge was rice porridge with eggs and cooked vegetables. Wynn ate it greedily, while Leticia and Cornelia elegantly scooped up the porridge with their spoons and ate it. The savory porridge was delicious after a long day of sweating. The amount of food they served was large for the young students of the Knights’ School.
“What are you going to do today with the research?” When they finished eating and made themselves comfortable, Cornelia asked them about their plans for today.
“After hearing what Locke said, as for me, I want to visit the person Laura-san told us about.”
Locke, who had been doing research at the Heraldry Office, returned to his dormitory late in the evening. However, he was so tired that he fell asleep in his bed as soon as he returned. Normally, Wynn and Leticia returned when they had finished training and breakfast together in the cafeteria, but when Wynn returned to his room to change clothes, he was still asleep.
“So, are you guys going to the slums today?”
“Yes. It’s a place where there’s a lot of crime, and as I said before, I think it’s best if Cornelia-san doesn’t go there if possible.”
“I’ll be fine.”
As for Wynn, this was also a request from the Adventurer’s Guild. He himself was planning to visit the slums outside of his working hours as a servant. However, Cornelia declined that proposal. As a person involved with the rulers of the empire, she insisted that she was eager to see the slums for the first time. Her intentions were firm, and Wynn reluctantly agreed.
What worried him, however, was the expression Cornelia showed after the attack. It was obvious that she was worried about the fact that she was unable to move during the battle and became a hindrance, and that Wynn was injured because of it. He had been watching Cornelia from the way back so far, and for example, when there was a corner to turn, she just went straight until he called out to her, and when she accidentally bumped her shoulder on one of the turns, it was clear that her mind was not where it should be. Even at this breakfast table, her hands were slow to bring the porridge to her mouth, and sometimes she would stare at the spoon and let out a deep sigh. She had a strong sense of responsibility, so she might be overreacting.
‘I’ll keep a close eye on her until she recovers,’ Wynn thought.
◇◆◇◆◇
Locke woke up when the bell at the Knight’s School announced 9 a.m., the starting time for the school day.
“Sorry I’m late.” Apologizing, Locke rejoined Wynn and the others and ordered a loaf of bread with ham, eggs, and vegetables in the cafeteria.
By this time school had started, the menu prepared for breakfast had run out and the kitchen was preparing for lunch. Locke asked them to prepare something simple for him. He seemed to have a hard time finding the crest he witnessed relying on his memory of all the myriad of them, and his face still had tinges of fatigue. Still, he did not seem to lose his appetite and quickly devoured the bread. They waited for him to finish eating, then asked him about what he had discovered.
“I looked it up, and apparently what I saw was Viscount Hoffman’s family crest.”
“Hoffman? The court magician?”
“Wynn, do you know him?”
“I know him, or rather, I’ve met him a few times at the Imperial Palace.”
Wynn was talking about a young court magician he met the day he was assigned as Cornelia’s servant.
“Oh yes, Raymond von Hoffman. He’s a court magician who was appointed this spring, isn’t he? I even communicated that to the captain before I returned to my room yesterday, but he put on a complicated look.”
“Can’t they investigate right away?” Leticia asked reflexively at Locke’s words.
Wynn, who saw it, said to Leticia.
“Knights and Mages often conflict with each other. They don’t want us Knights to get involved in the internal affairs of the Mages’ order.”
“But couldn’t Captain Royce have asked old Meissen, head of the court mages, for help?” Cornelia said curiously.
If they were antagonistic to each other, would he respond to Royce’s request, who was the head of a platoon of knights belonging to the Central Knights?
“I think it’s because of Cornelia-san… and because it’s not a request from the Knights, but a personal request from the captain. Though I’m not so sure about the size of the captain’s network of connections either.” Wynn shook his head.
Royce apparently didn’t have much power when it came to competing among the nobles, perhaps because he was a Count, but he had some powerful acquaintances, including Crown Prince Alfred. Even though his platoon was unable to receive more personnel or upgraded equipment, they realized that his network of connections was well built and did not fit his rank at all. Even with Royce, investigating the mages of the Court Mage Division was hindered only for the reason that the nobles who had been victims were not enough, regardless of the Guard Corps, which was a specialized agency for investigating crimes within the Imperial Army.
“The captain’s words were to keep me away from Hoffman for now. As for me, I’m sorry, but I think I have no choice but to obey.”
The three nodded at Locke’s words. Later, when they told him that there was a victim in the slums who might be involved in the incident and that they wanted to visit him, Locke agreed with them. Although, because of the location it was, they would not go until they were sufficiently prepared.
◇◆◇◆◇
In the slums built outside the walls of the Imperial City. At the entrance, Cornelia stopped for a while and looked at the cityscape. Unlike the Imperial City, whose buildings were made of stone, the wooden huts that were believed to have been built with scrap wood were lined up haphazardly. The street floor was only dirt. It was not paved with stone like the Imperial City. And because the ground had not been leveled, it was very uneven and there were many puddles of water. When the noon bell rang, the sky, which had been covered with clouds, had cleared and the sun shone.
Some people were selling low-quality goods on the street, others were selling thin potatoes, beans and shriveled vegetables at stalls, and some were selling cheap alcohol. In the stalls that offered food, stew was sold in large pots of irregular surface, cooked with leftover food and rice collected in the city.
The slum market looked completely different from the market in the Imperial City. And even this scene was still only one side of the street in the slums. If you went one street further back, it was already a dangerous area where crime was rampant.
“Cornelia-san, try to stay in our midst. Never leave us.”
“You don’t walk away from me either, Letty.”
“Yes, Onii-chan.” Leticia gently entwined her hand around Wynn’s arm.
In the slums, where shacks were erected and corridors were cluttered, even city dwellers could get lost. If they got separated, it would be very difficult to reunite. When Locke spoke, Cornelia looked back as she took in the view of the slums. Cornelia watched as Leticia grabbed Wynn’s arm and her gaze drifted for a moment to his free hand, but she quickly turned and moved forward. But at Wynn’s side, their shoulders were more than once on the verge of touching. And for a moment on her face, no one noticed that she had a slightly envious look.
Entering the back streets from the front street, another different world stretched out. The market in the front streets was lined with stalls where one could eat and drink, even if they were leftovers, and was crowded with people trying to satiate their hunger, but in the back streets, people in rag-like clothes and with empty, lifeless eyes were squatting or lying on the ground. In the shadow of a building, a half-naked street prostitute cast a lazy glance at the men walking down the street in broad daylight.
The one walking at the head of the group was Locke. However, his steps were by no means carefree and he looked around with a watchful eye, glancing at the linen paper marking the place where the person Laura told them about lived.
“Locke…wouldn’t you be the one who stands out the most?” Wynn nudged Locke, who was walking ahead of him. “You want me to go in front?”
“It’s more dangerous back there, isn’t it? You should be more worried about the rear than I am. You never know when you’re going to be attacked from behind, do you? Besides. you’re better at sensing presences, aren’t you?”
“No, I mean, yes, but…”
He was walking along, with Leticia clinging to his arm, looking over his head.
‘Letty’s here too, I don’t think we’ll be caught off guard.’
But Locke was right, there was no better way to be cautious here.
Wynn and Locke wore regular shirts and pants. They were a little nicer than they should be for the slums, but they didn’t really stand out from their surroundings. Leticia and Cornelia could be compared to Seri, wearing clothes as they would in the city and with a hood over their heads to hide their faces. However, they were short in stature and unable to completely hide that they were women. In the case of a young woman like Leticia or Cornelia find herself alone in this part of the city, she would be perfect bait for kidnappers. Of course, Leticia’s combat power was not something that could be overwhelmed by kidnapping. If you tried to do anything to her, you would know for yourself that it would have been a foolish choice. However, regarding Cornelia, although she was skilled with a sword to the extent that she could be qualified as an apprentice knight, her body in the previous battle was crippled due to her lack of experience.
‘Let’s put Cornelia-san’s safety first.’
When he looked towards Cornelia, she was walking around looking at the slum streets with a serious expression. From her upbringing, it was a world she probably had no connection to. Suddenly, Cornelia turned toward Wynn. The two met each other’s gaze. Cornelia’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but for some reason she looked away quickly as if panicking.
“Umm… there are places where the map and the alleys are different sometimes.”
Cornelia’s gesture worried him, but Locke’s voice drew his attention in that direction. Wynn looked from behind him at the map Locke extended to him.
“Roads in places like this are sometimes blocked today where they were passable yesterday.”
“And the buildings seem to be easy to demolish.” Locke muttered as he looked down at the map drawn on hemp paper a couple of times.
It was then…
“Hey, Locke.”
“Tsk!”
Wynn suddenly tugged on Locke’s arm, who made a noise with his tongue.
“Whoa… that was close, you saved me.”
“What happened?” Cornelia saw the back of a boy run out.
He was probably less than ten years old. His clothes were in tatters, his face and limbs dirty, and his body very thin.
“A petty thief.”
“A thief?” Cornelia made a strange face.
“I mean, so…”
Wynn tapped Locke and showed him. Cornelia watched the scene with a twinkle in her eye.
“See?” Wynn’s handheld Locke’s wallet.
“You, you really can do anything…” As he looked at his own wallet in Wynn’s hand, which had been stolen from his pocket, Locke muttered in astonishment.
“When I was in and out of the Adventurer’s Guild, I was taught a lot about these kinds of techniques.” As he returned the wallet to Locke’s hand, Wynn glanced at Cornelia. “And well, that’s what pickpocketing is like. They go for the bags in people’s pockets.”
“Oh, wow, and they’re such little kids…”
“It’s bad, but it’s a necessary skill to learn if you want to live here.” With that, Wynn looked in the direction the child had run, but the figure was already out of sight. “As I said before, this is one place where you can’t let your guard down just because they’re children. Because they’re also desperate to survive.”
Wynn was also an orphan.
Fortunately, thanks to Randall taking him in at the Wandering Bird’s Nest, he was able to get enough food to fill his stomach, including the candy Leticia brought. Even if it was in a small shed, he had a roof over his head in which to withstand the cold of the night. Luckily, although it was necessary for his work, he learned to read and do math with Randall, and thanks to his encounter with Leticia, he also had the opportunity to read valuable books. Had Randall not taken him in, Wynn would have been in a similar situation.
“Some children dream of an honest future and knock on the door of the Adventurers’ Guild, but only a handful of them make it. Most hone their pickpocketing and misappropriation skills this way, or band together to commit robberies.”
Cornelia listened speechlessly to Wynn’s words. The reality of the world was new to her. But it was certainly a reality she needed to know, as one of the rulers of this empire. Cornelia walked beside Wynn and decided to observe the slums again. It was a good way to get to know the people who lived here. She hoped that when she turned eighteen and could go into public service, she would be able to do something. Sometimes, though, she stole glances at Wynn’s serious expression, which wandered between Locke and the map.
Locke, who was halted by the impression made on him by the pickpocket boy, was shaking his head from side to side. He checked the map a few more times.
“Is that it?” What Locke pointed to was a wooden house a little larger in comparison to those in the surrounding area.
Under one eave was a sign that read “Medicine.” It had probably been carved into the board with a knife or something. This was one of the places where Laura delivered the medicinal herbs she grew. In the slums, where medical fees were high and a head doctor was not accessible, the demand for apothecaries was high and many of them had set up store. However, unlike the apothecaries who set up shop in town, here anyone could call themselves an apothecary, so there was no way of knowing whether the medicine was really good, just a decoction of herbs, or even poisonous.
Opening the curtain that acted as a door, the inside of the store was large enough to fit four people. On the uneven shelves on the dirt floor, there were pills and nuts packed in small jars. Liquid ointments of indescribable colors. And dried lizards, snakes and frogs. The dried herbs were lined up in a row.
“Who are you people? To coming so early…” An old woman came out from the back of the store. “We’re open from late at night until the wee hours of the morning.”
“Oh, sorry.” Cornelia involuntarily let out words of apology to the old woman, who looked at her with glazed eyes.
“…You’re an honest girl. There’s no such thing as day and night in this town. You’re not from around here, are you? What do you want from this old woman’s store? I have medicine for fever, for stomach pain, for wounds and burns, and even a potion that will improve your night life. We even have something you can give to someone you hate and they’ll be on the other side in minutes.”
The four looked at the old woman who was laughing with a toothless smile, and Wynn opened her mouth on behalf of everyone.
“Laura-san told us about this place. We want to talk to you about a mage you know who has disappeared.”
“Acquaintances of Laura’s? …What, you’re not customers?”
The old woman said, “Wait a moment,” she went back to the back room once and returned after a while.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I was pulling a can of medicine out of the fire in the back room, what brings you here?”
Wynn gave a brief summary of the incident.
“…Information fee.”
Locke’s face crumpled toward the old woman as she held out her hand, but Wynn quickly pulled some copper coins from his pocket and placed them in her hand.
“Hee, hee, hee, that young man over there knows what he’s doing.” As she put the copper coins back in her pocket, the old woman pursed her mouth and smiled. “This old woman knows that there are a lot of missing people these days. Certainly, my mage acquaintance hasn’t been around recently. I don’t remember clearly when I was told he disappeared, but like everyone else, I assume he’s been kidnapped.” The old woman frowned and her face wrinkled further.
“People come and go in the slums, don’t they? The people who were here yesterday have already been able to flee for the night for various reasons. Grandma, wouldn’t the mage you met have left for some reason?”
“No.” In response to Wynn’s question, the old woman stated. “If there had been some circumstance, it would be impossible for those in control of the slums not to have some clue about them. If for some reason someone has to run, those people are involved in nine out of ten cases.”
“In a place like this, there are bound to be a lot of kidnappers.”
“Kidnappers only target people they think they can make money from.”
“But if it’s a magician, wouldn’t that be valuable?”
“Oh, dear… that red-haired boy over there doesn’t understand anything at all, does he?” The old woman pointed at Locke and shook her head sideways. “There isn’t a single resident of this area who would want to mess with a mage. I’ve met at least ten of them, including this old woman.” The old woman sat down in an old chair, as if it was too difficult for her to stand.
At that moment, Leticia tugged a little on Wynn’s sleeve.
“Onii-chan. I’m going to get some air.”
“Are you okay, do you want me to come with you?”
“I’ll be fine on my own. Thanks.”
The smell of the slums was bad, but the smell of the store was even worse as it had a mixture of medicine and dried fish smells. Wynn thought she might be feeling sick. Slums that had little security. No matter how strong Leticia was, he was worried, so he left the talk with the old woman to Locke and tried to follow her, but Leticia smiled at him and just walked straight out. Meanwhile, the old woman continued talking to Locke and Cornelia.
“Speaking of strange things… there’s someone else besides you walking around asking questions.”
“Really!?”
The old woman, who had gotten a few copper coins from Locke, smiled at him.
“I didn’t see him directly, though. They say he hid his face with a hood, wandered around the slums and visited people who could use magic. Once, I think, some guys saw him alone and decided to steal some money from him. He must have been attacked.”
“And what happened?”
“I heard they were defeated. I also heard that he can use magic.”
“Do you know where the men who were defeated live?”
“Well… I remember now. You don’t know what I mean, do you? Give me a second, I’ll draw you a map of where they usually roam.”
Seeing Wynn’s flickering silver coin, the old woman hurriedly rose from her chair, pulled a piece of linen paper from the bottom and used charcoal to draw what looked like a path.
“Thank you, grandma!” After handing over a silver coin and receiving the map, Wynn bowed to the old woman.
“I hope next time you come to buy medicine, eh?”
Following Wynn, Locke and Cornelia also thanked the old woman, and the three of them left the store together.
“Onii-chan, are you done?” Leticia, who was waiting at the entrance, turned around and ran to Wynn.
“Oh, yes, it’s over. There were good results, thanks to Laura-san.”
“I see, how nice.”
“Is Letty okay, are you feeling bad?”
“I’m fine. I just needed to get some fresh air.”
“I don’t know how you endured that smell, Cornelia-san.”
“It was hard for me too, but before I knew it, it didn’t bother me anymore. I hope my nose didn’t break down.” Putting her hand to her nose, Cornelia laughed.
“I don’t know what to say about how being in that store makes the outside air feel so good, even in this place…”
The stagnant air inside the store must have been hard on Locke. As he took several deep breaths, Wynn filled his chest with air as well. When he first entered the slums, to him this place also had a terrible smell, but now he wondered if he had gotten used to it. Compared to the inside of that apothecary, even in a place like this, the air outside was much better.
“First of all, let’s make a sketch or get a portrait of that Viscount Hoffman. Then, we’ll look for the people the old woman told us were defeated and see if the person who used magic is him.”
“Ah, that’s right.” Wynn nodded at Locke’s words.
◇◆◇◆◇
Half an hour after Wynn and his friends left the apothecary.
“Hey, Grandma!” a man stumbled into the old woman’s store.
“Oh, is that you, how did it go? There were two young girls, and they were both very nice, weren’t they? They must have been the daughters of some noble or a great merchant.”
When Wynn and his friends visited, the old woman retired to the backroom, not to remove the tins from the fire, but to signal to the men. Of the four who had come before, two were young girls. They had their faces covered, so she couldn’t tell what they looked like when she gave the signal, but regardless of who they were, young girls fetched a good price. And when they started talking and took off their hoods, they were both going to be sold at a high price, especially the blonde girl, and the old woman found it hard to contain a leap of inner joy.
But…
“Grandma, what kind of people you sent us? They were monsters.” The face of the man who said that was pale, as if his blood had been drained.
The man and his companions followed the old woman’s signal and surrounded the store to hide. When the four people came out of the store, they planned to follow them unnoticed and attack them in an unpopulated place. However, while they were hiding, a small figure came out of the building. From the shape of the body, he could tell it was a woman.
If she had come out alone, it was a chance. The men immediately thought of kidnapping the girl who came out. It would be even better if the friends who came out later started looking for the girl who came out earlier in a hurry since they wouldn’t be seeing her, and they would be separated even further.
And as they tried to get out of the shadows where they lurked….
A cold sweat broke out all over their body. Some of them collapsed on the spot. The men had no way of knowing, but it was the same thing that members of a certain organization had experienced from a man named Kelvin in a similar place not long ago.
But this time, the girl did not show her abilities as Kelvin did then. She just stood there silently. However, men were frightened by the presence she emitted.
In the slums, even a man could lose his life if he made a false step. The men formed a clique, and although they were confident in their abilities, they were not a dominant organization in the city, and they were in a weak position. They were sensitive to the strong and the dangerous.
It was supposed to work well. But, like a weak wild rabbit that has encountered a pack of wolves, the men overwhelmed by the wolf’s presence did not move from the spot and continued to hide quietly. When they saw that the other three had left the store and gone to join the girl, they took a deep breath. When the four people were out of sight, they all let out at once the breath they had been holding. Some looked up at the sky and collapsed, praying to God with tears streaming down their faces. And one of the men, the one who was the chief, went into the old woman’s store to tell her what had happened.
“Ah, compared to that girl, the mage the other day was like a baby, I think.” The man said as he looked at his hands that were still shaking slightly.
The old woman listened to the man’s report in silence, but when he closed his mouth, she shook her head in disappointment.
“Well… it’s a pity. I told them where you guys were hiding.”
“What!?”
The old woman let out a sigh as she saw the man turn pale again.
“What else I could do, who would have thought they were such monsters?”
“No, but…”
The old woman got up from her chair and walked to the back, saying slowly.
“If you change places, they will soon start looking for you. If the girl is really a monster, as you say, then you should tell her everything you know. Of course, ask for something in return.”
“Ah, yes, that’s it. With that I’ll be able to save my life.”
Without looking back at the man who was hurrying out of the store, the old woman walked to the back of the store and pushed a small storage box to the side. There was a small trapdoor there, where the old woman’s modest savings were hidden. She opened the hidden door and popped open the lid of the small jar inside and poured in the silver and copper coins that Wynn and Locke gave her stacked up and laughed.
Later that day Wynn and his friends revisited the slums and, with the sketch of Raymond von Hoffman they had obtained, visited the men’s residence, based on the old woman’s map. They went there expecting to have to do a lot of work just to talk to them, but they answered their questions with surprising ease. Even their language was very polite.
“Well, you can’t have preconceived notions just because it’s the slums.”
“Yes, you’re right. There are decent people too.”
“If you think about it, there are also people who failed in business and ran away, and there are also people who work in companies that are based in the slums and deliver goods.”
“The people you just mentioned could also be doing some kind of work in the imperial capital while living here.”
Around the turn of hearing the information they wanted, Wynn and the others talked about such things. When they showed the men the portrait of Raymond van Hoffman from the Court Magicians Division, they testified that he certainly looked a lot like the person they attacked. Once the results were obtained, they felt positive about the situation. On the other hand, it was strange that where Wynn and the others had left, the men collapsed languid and exhausted.
