---

I stood rooted to the spot.

Every fiber of my body froze.

The moonlight slipped through cracks in the boarded-up windows and reflected off the young boy's weapon. Its familiar sheen sent a chill down my spine.

A pocket blade..? What has me so frightened..?

「G-get... away from me! I-I'll kill ya if ya get any closer!」

He shakily pointed his knife towards us, scared and out of breath—resembling a cornered rat. It would've been a futile effort had I not been hyperventilating over the mere sight of it.

「W-what's wrong Zozo?! We have the advantage here!」

Melyn was right. I knew that, yet I still couldn't budge.

Without realizing it, I had dropped my ballistette and clutched my chest tightly. Breathing was near impossible. It all happened so quickly, I couldn't help but think I was dying.

In actuality, thinking that way only made it worse.

For what I was experiencing at that moment, was a panic attack.

「Zozo! Are you alright?!」

「S-see! That's what ya get fer chasin' me down! Now beat it!」

Melyn hurried to my side and held me by the arm.

Her attempts in calming me down went in one ear and out the other.

Fight or flight overrode all rational thinking. My instincts were telling me to run away, but my brain was telling me to stay.

The dissonance between mind and body had me short-circuiting before the fight had even started.

Seeing my unresponsive state, Melyn turned to the blade-wielding rascal and lunged at him without warning.

Caught off guard, all he could do was accept what was coming.

Crunch!

He dropped on all fours and cried out in pain.

The thief girl stepped on his fingers—disarming him—and kicked the knife away. It slid beneath a dusty bed in the corner of the room, disappearing from my sight completely.

It was then, that I regained my senses.

W-what just happened..?

It was meaningless to ask. I already had the answer.

「You alright?」

「H-huh..? Yeah... sorry... it's probably all that running... heh...」

A byproduct of my death.

The mortal wound inflicted by the blade left behind scars invisible to the naked eye. Mental gashes, sloppily sewn shut by my brief time in this new world.

The trauma of getting murdered had evidently remained beyond my past life. It manifested itself as this newfound crippling fear of sharp blades.

And in a realm of magic and swords, this posed a real problem.

「T-that... was a... dirty shot... ya ninny..!」

「We've got some questions for you. Uh... I don't know what they are though. That's where Zozo comes in!」

She swiftly turned to me and winked.

Even after pathetically cowering in the heat of combat, I could still rely on Melyn to keep things moving. Her peerless support only further fanned the flames of frustration.

I was not big on having my messes cleaned up for me.

「W-what d'ya want with me?! Ya don't look like th' city guard!」

The thief girl restrained him by the hands and raised him off the ground. His legs were shaking, either from the pressure or the unreserved blow to his testicles.

Well... I couldn't really blame him. Melyn never held back when gunning for the cojones.

I emptied my mind of everything but the inquiries I possessed. We'd finally taken custody of somebody tied to the drug crisis—I couldn't afford to agonize over unrelated matters.

「 As I said, we need some information. You could've made off with five whole silver pieces had you answered you know? What made you spurn the deal?」

「I'll cut yer throat open!」

「Is someone pressuring you to stay silent? The same guy who's been supplying you with these substances perhaps? What about a base of operations?」

「Like I'd answer ya! Go t' hell!」

I walked over to him and clenched his ragged jacket by the lapel.

The rough sensation of sackcloth was one I was familiar with. It was the same material I had on when first waking up here.

From his inner pocket, I pulled out two small pouches containing the powdery pink substance. His lips quivered as I displayed it in front of him.

「W-wha—give that back!」

「Two bags of goodies. Now... is that all you got? They certainly are stingy with the merchandise, aren't they? Unless there are other dealers currently active in town....」

「I said give that back ya Merulean asshole!」

「No can do compadre. Not until you spill everything you know.」

「Kiss me ass!」

Our exchange was going nowhere.

Fed up with the lack of progress, I tossed the pouches of Nixie aside and grabbed him by his shaggy hair.

Of course, the thief girl had a problem with how I was handling him.

「Z-Zozo, you don't need to be that rough... He's clearly keeping mum for a reason...」

She had the gall to defend the boy after effectively sterilizing him. I grew tired of her tendency to flip sides.

「Funny coming from the one who forcefully apprehended him.」

「It's different now. He's unarmed.」

I groaned at her righteous interjection.

「We haven't got all day Melyn. Rysef's probably wondering what's taking us so long. Unless we speed things up...」

「That's why I told you to call it a day back there remember? Or at least after we'd received Nago's information.」

「If we'd left after receiving the tip on the deal back there, then what'd be the point? This little runt's the only useful clue we'd gleaned from that entire negotiation. The sole reason I chose to revive that panty-sporting bastard's dying business was to finally get a lead on this cold case.」

「You're the one who went off and decided to rile up the marketplace!」

「Listen! If you want to bail out now, go ahead. There's nothing stopping you. I have no qualms with soloing this.」

Her empathetic sentiments ebbed away as soon as I spouted those words. Just as I thought, she prioritized my safety over others.

Going against Melyn's protests, I pulled the boy's head up by his hair and forced him to face me.

Tears trickled off his chin.

「R-Rysef..? The... Ashen Thief..?」

「Oh? Crying now are we? This all could've been avoided had you simply—」

Splat!

A clean shot of spit to my cheek. The young boy came to growl at me like a wild animal. His tune had drastically intensified.

At this point though, I was unfazed. My patience was running thin.

「I knew it! Ye're workin' with that Lakua boss bastard aren't ya?!」

「H-hey stop moving!」

「LET GO O' ME! I'M GUNNA KILL BOTH OF YA!」

The thief girl had trouble keeping him still. He grew rowdier by the second, intent on killing us.

「Squirm as much as you like. There's no breaking free from her gorilla grip.」

「SOMEBODY HELP ME! TWO PEOPLE FROM TH'VILLAGE 'AVE ME RESTRAINED! TH'LAKUA VILLAGER BASTARDS ARE HERE T'RUIN OUR LIVES AGAIN!」

「I said squirm not scream! Keep it down kid! You'll alert the night watch and get all of us into trouble!」

「RYSEF SENT HIS GOON T'ATTACK US! EVERYONE NOW'S OUR CHANCE T' TAKE 'EM DOWN!」

「I'm being serious here... knock it off.」

「THEY'RE ARMED BUT SMALL! TAKE 'EM OUT WHILE YA CA—!」

Clack!

I had picked up my ballistite during his outburst and aimed it at his neck. He flinched as the sharp metal end of the arrow pressed against his gullet.

「I told you to zip it didn't I?」

「Zozo! What do you think you're doing?! Don't kill him!」

「It's either us or him Melyn. If he keeps squealing like a pig, the night watch will eventually take notice. Plus, I've had it with his attitude. Maybe an arrow through the esophagus will keep his pie hole shut.」

He whimpered as I glared deep into his golden eyes—the light in his pupils depicted a corrupted soul at its breaking point.

The cornered rat was none other than the one using excessive force.

「So what will it be? Complying with us or meeting your demise here and now? It really doesn't matter which you pick.」

「Y-ye'll kill me..?」

His tone of voice echoed a remarkable sadness.

「Don't do anything drastic Zozo!」

「If I died... what would happen t'Ysolva..?」

Ysolva..? A friend of his..? Or maybe a relative...

It painfully became apparent who was in the wrong here.

I had lost sight of my modus operandi.

Resorting to violence was one thing, but against a defenseless kid? It must've been the malice in my soul God talked about.

No... that's an excuse...

It was unfair to lump him in with the dregs of society behind this narcotics scheme. He was a mere cog in a dangerous machine—an innocent at heart.

He wasn't some one-dimensional NPC programmed with hostile AI. He was merely a child with no real understanding of how the world works.

The twisted morals he'd lived by till now had probably portrayed people like us as the real villains. In the end, I was no better than the cutthroats in the Church.

Upon coming to terms with the fact, I dropped my weapon and walked over to the bed in the corner.

The cushions were spongy and unpleasant to sit on, but the perfect place to reflect on myself.

I sighed deeply as the young boy calmed down. Melyn bore a perplexed expression.

Then, I made a decision.

「Melyn. Let him go.」

「H-huh? Just like that?」

「Did I stutter?」

The thief girl complied with my sudden order and released the boy. He kept his eyes on us as he scurried to the opposite corner of the room.

He was expectedly suspicious. If I were him I would have made a break for it.

But he stayed and observed my every movement. He operated almost like a wild animal. I put my hands up in a show of nonaggression.

「Sorry. I was in the wrong. Let's start over shall we?」

「S-start over..? Th'heck..? Are ya braindead or somethin'?」

「Well... at one point I actually was...」

「Hah..?」

I reached into my pockets and brought out my coin purse. I offered it to him once again.

「You dropped this. Five silver pieces right? We'll buy the two Nixie dust pouches off you.」

「Z-Zozo?!」

「A good use for the coin we made right? That's two pouches no longer going into the hands of slum dwellers.」

I tossed the purse by his feet and picked up the Nixie pouches. The kid was understandably baffled.

「T-that's it..? What about 'em questions o' yers..?」

「If you're inclined to answer I'll happily listen. But obviously, that's not the case...」

I stood up from my bed and approached the door. Melyn sauntered up close behind me.

Right before I exited, I took a glance at him. He no longer harbored visible animosity towards us—an unsure gaze took its place.

It was as though he'd never encountered a peaceful resolution in his life.

「Ah... And take care of Ysolva. It's good to have someone dear to you. It's a decent motivator I've heard.」

And with that, I shut the door and made it back to the balcony.

Melyn was still stunned by the string of events. She made nary an utterance as she climbed onto the balustrades.

It was uncharacteristic of me to quit while ahead, but something told me things would've taken an ugly turn had I kept going. More sins would've only made it harder to redeem myself.

I knew involving myself with the slum dwellers' problems was troublesome.

Keeping that in mind, I followed the thief girl and prepared to jump onto the roof in front of us.

Is this jump even possible..?

「Wait!」

Slip!

Right as I was about to make the leap, the shrill voice of the drug dealing brat threw me off balance. I fell headfirst off the balustrades.

「C-craaap!」

Clasp!

Luckily, a hand caught my leg before I took a nosedive into the cobbled ground below.

「Don't jump if ye're clumsy ya ninny!」

「Zozo!」

Melyn rushed to my aid and helped the boy in pulling me up. I breathed a sigh of relief upon touching the balcony floor.

「D-don't startle me when I'm in a precarious position you imp! I could've died you know?!」

「Ne'er mind that! I got a request fer ya!」

「N-never mind..? I swear, you city slum dwellers need to learn some manners...」

He offered his hand while averting his eyes, much to my surprise.

「And? What's this request?」

I took his hand and pulled myself up.

「Ye'll listen t' me?」

「We haven't got much of a choice now do we?」

「Even after I pulled a knife on ya?」

「We were the initiators of that whole chase. You were well within your rights to pull a weapon out in self-defense.」

「Even after I spat on ya?」

「I was the one out of line. You were right to stand your ground.」

「Even after I had ya shakin' like a deer in huntin' season?」

「JUST SPIT OUT YOUR STUPID REQUEST YOU STREET URCHIN!」

He giggled at my loud retort. The thief girl smiled at the two of us getting along. The best outcome in her book had become a reality.

「Ye're different from th' other Lakua bastards. Ya seem t' get our struggles more than th' other wishy-washy blokes on th' rooves, talkin' 'bout "non-intervention" and whatnot. Load o' bollocks they be spoutin'.」

Blokes on the rooves? He must mean the Sentinels on guard...

「Lakua bastards..? Aren't you part of our district as well?」

Melyn stepped forward and confronted him about his statements. Afraid of getting his balls kicked again, he covered his groin as he spoke.

Not a bad counter to her "special move".

「I-if we were, we'd be receivin' th' same benefits as ya village folk! So no, we ain't Lakua district slum dwellers. We're just slum dwellers, strugglin' t' scrape by.」

「And this relates to your request, how?」

I questioned him, tired of hearing the same opprobrium thrown around about the Lakua district.

「Yer words 'bout Ysolva. Were they genuine..?」

「Not on a personal level, but pretty damn genuine.」

「Then I want ya t' back those words up and save 'er. Ya seem good with words, and th' girl back there is stronger than most o' th' men I've met. Ya up fer th' task?」

Melyn and I looked at each other. The quest he was offering might've contained some leads on this drug peddler situation.

Yet, we'd be doing this behind Rysef's back. And seeing how the Church was involved...

「Save her? Like, "princess in a castle" type save her or... "she's deep in this whole conspiracy and is trapped as a slave to a criminal enterprise" type save her..?」

「Both. She's me lil' sister and is bein' held hostage as a worker in their damned factory o' theirs.」

「Factory..? And you're going to show us where it is..?」

「On one condition though. Ya guarantee both o' our safety and allow us t' live in th' village.」

The thief girl tiptoed beside me and tugged on my sleeve. An irksome dilemma had presented itself. We were treading on dangerous territory that bordered on treachery.

We held no authority in the Lakua village, even as the district master's pupils. Making administrative decisions like this wasn't our call, it was Rysef's.

Then again, even if we were to ask the Ashen Thief, he'd undoubtedly reject our request.

But... if we wanted to get anything out of this, we'd have to accept his conditions. This was a golden opportunity we couldn't ignore.

As the kid patiently awaited our answer, Melyn stayed close to my side... really waiting on my answer.

For a self-professed big sister, she sure tends to shove all the responsibility onto me...

「S-sure. We can do that.」

「Zozo but what about what Rysef—」

「Melyn, the Ashen Thief would never leave children in need right? When it comes to it, I'm sure he'll wholeheartedly accept them into the village.」

I blurted out lie after lie.

Had I lacked the guts to pursue this case, hundreds of Lakua district slum dwellers would suffer.

Making mendacious statements and twisting Rysef's convictions were ways of proving my resolve. Otherwise, today would've been a monumental waste of time and effort.

「So, we 'ave a deal?」

「I suppose so. By the way, I didn't catch your name.」

「Thonvir. I'll be countin' on yer skills... uh... Zozo?」

「Melyn's the only one who uses that nickname. It's actually Lorenzo. 」

「O-oh... her name's Melyn eh..?」

He eyed her as she stood behind me. Though the bad blood between us had dissipated, he was still reluctant in trusting the thief girl.

Melyn caught wind of his sour disposition and opted to close the space between them. Rather forcefully might I add.

「I may not approve of doing this on the sly... but seeing as it helped us mend fences with one another, I'll give this mission the benefit of the doubt.」

「W-why are ya nearin' me ya ninny..?」

「And now that we're on the same team...」

「H-haaah?!」

Squeeze!

「There, there... I'm sorry for hurting you...」

The thief girl wrapped her arms around Thonvir, much to his chagrin. He blushed a bright pink as he looked to me for help.

I couldn't help but tease him.

「You're going to have to get used to it kid. Her overly-familiar nature is exclusive to little kids like you. Think of the nutshot as a rite of passage.」

「C-can ya get 'er off me?! We really oughta be gettin' to that factory 'bout now.」

「Ask her, not me. My hands are tied when it comes to her grip strength. Her arms move for nobody.」

「Ya gotta be shittin' me!」

As Melyn consoled the unwilling boy, the wheel of cheese in the sky cast its radiance down on all of Yarzon.

Soon, we'd be putting the Lakua district on the line to save the Lakua district. All or nothing.

I was seldom a gambling man, but when it came to situations like this...

My pride prevailed.

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