35
Chapter 35
"Hmm? Why are you curious about that?"
His eyes suddenly grew sharp as he fiddled with his mustache.
My mind went blank at his tone, which was strangely polite yet somehow cold.
What... what should I say to this?
"Um... I work as an herb gatherer. I'm going around selling them myself."
"Hmm, I see."
I barely managed to come up with an excuse on the spot.
"Well, I don't know the details either. We aren't close."
"Uh... do you at least know where he lives?"
At that moment, the man stared at me intently.
Ah, did I ask too bluntly?
Cold sweat slowly trickled down my spine.
"He should be living in the eastern outer district."
Fortunately, he quickly looked away and answered while emptying his liquor glass.
The eastern outer district... It was a place I had visited once before.
Dardan. It was definitely where I had met that fence.
"By the way... you live quite diligently for your age."
"Ah... I don't have parents. Even I have to earn a living."
"Oh my, that's a pity."
Phew, it seemed like I got past him for now.
But I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
That man... he wasn't exactly a squinty-eyed or glasses-wearing trope character, but he strangely gave off a mastermind vibe.
I should at least be careful.
"So, did you come here looking for customers?"
"Yeah, well... since it's the back alley, I thought there might be a lot of injured people."
I briefly turned my head toward the people who were arguing earlier.
Following my gaze, the man nodded as if he finally understood.
"I see."
The man thought for a moment before casually asking.
"By any chance, could I see some herbs?"
"Ah, I only came to do market research today... so I didn't bring any. I'll show you next time. That's all for today."
We hurriedly stood up from our seats.
As we slowly headed for the entrance, the man called out to us.
"Next time, you should at least roll around in a grassland before coming."
"...Pardon?"
I stopped walking and asked back.
"Herb gatherers never lose the smell of grass on their bodies. If you want to fool someone properly, you should consider that."
The cold sweat that had dried on my back trickled down my spine again.
...Did this person know?
Is he in cahoots with that guy? Should I attack?
As I stood stiffly with my hands twitching, he continued, as if telling me to relax.
"Don't worry too much. I don't know how you got involved with that guy Dail... but I won't get involved."
"..."
Not knowing what to say, we hesitated before eventually rushing out of the pub as if we were fleeing.
"What should we do? What if he set a trap at the location he told us about?"
"Let's just go for now."
There was no other choice but to trust him.
It was hard to believe him since it was my first time seeing the man... but I somehow had a feeling it wasn't a lie.
A contradictory feeling where I could trust him precisely because I couldn't trust him.
"If you're going, Sir Riv..."
"Then shall we head over right away?"
We headed straight for the eastern outer district.
***
'This place is... still the same.'
An unpaved, bumpy street.
Stalls densely filled the narrow gaps, and I could see people lying down in between them. I couldn't tell if they were beggars or just tired residents.
It was too quiet to be called a market, yet it wasn't clean either. But it seemed like there were rules unique to this place.
"This is..."
"It's kind of like an unauthorized market."
I answered Eileen's words.
I didn't actually know the details either. However, it at least didn't look legal.
"Do people... really live in a place like this?"
"I would assume so? I haven't gone any further than this either."
The tents seen here and there... didn't seem meant for lodging.
There must be a separate living space somewhere.
We scanned the street with our eyes, wondering if there was anything we might miss.
But at least within this district, there was neither the item nor the person we were looking for.
As we went deeper in, a crumbling tent village appeared.
This must be their living space.
A woman sobbing with a child in her arms, people fighting over a small piece of bread, a man lying down with lightless eyes.
The wretched life of this place was revealed through the gaps in the torn tents.
A landscape that felt somewhat broken.
As we passed between the tents, people's gazes followed us.
...It made sense.
There was no way they'd welcome strangers like us walking around with robes pulled low over our faces.
While the fruitless search continued, a noisy voice could be heard from ahead.
A brown-haired man was shouting in front of a group.
The bandage wrapped around his shoulder and a physique I had definitely seen somewhere.
It was definitely that guy Dail, who targeted Eileen yesterday.
"What about the down payment you promised this time-"
"Down payment? Why is a guy who failed asking for a down payment?"
"Failed? You said it would be over after taking care of one girl! You guys lied- Keugh!"
Smack. Clatter.
The guy in front kicked Dail, and the ones following him piled on.
It seemed those guys were thugs.
"Urgh... Keugh... S-stop..."
"I gave an opportunity to a parasite feeding off the street, and you go and kick it away."
The man looking down at Dail from a short distance away spoke.
Even at a glance, that guy was the boss.
Long, faded blonde hair, sharp slanted eyes—he had the look of a senior officer who would be the absolute worst to meet in the military.
"Ted, did you look into what that bastard said?"
"Yes. No matter how much I look into it, there's no talk of a magician entering the city. I think he's just bullshitting to make an excuse for his failure."
A magician?
Could it be... are they talking about me?
"Tsk. I figured as much. There's no way a magician would get involved in something like that. What a waste of time."
"What should we do with that guy?"
"If we kill him, it'll just leave a trail. Just rough him up a bit and throw him in the garbage dump."
"Yep."
With those words, the boss left the area.
Only the sounds of a beating and short groans echoed through the street.
Eileen frowned beside me.
"Could that man... be the guy from yesterday?"
"Probably."
His condition seemed... too badly ruined to use him as a witness.
If so, there was no reason or justification to go out of my way to save him.
But thanks to this, I caught a clue.
It was certain that the boss was the client for yesterday's job.
Subcontracting to a subcontractor? What a complicated structure.
"What should we do."
"First off, since we've grasped the situation... let's head to the garbage dump."
If Dail was alive, we would be able to hear his story.
Making that resolve, I watched Dail getting beaten up for a moment.
...I felt a little bad for him.
But after thinking it over, that man was a hitman who took a murder request.
I guess there's no need to sympathize.
A moment later, the thugs stopped their beating and talked among themselves,
then one of them started dragging the man away.
"Let's follow him."
"Okay."
We quietly tailed him.
The thug blatantly dragged the man and strutted down the street.
The residents paid no mind to the sight.
It seemed this street had fallen into their grasp.
From the perspective of someone who had to deal with the thugs, this wasn't welcome news.
"Can we handle this just the two of us?"
"Hmm... Honestly, I think it'll be tough with just us."
Eileen quickly looked downcast.
We could somehow manage three or four, but the group we saw earlier was over ten people.
Even if that was all of them, fighting alone would be overwhelming, and we didn't know how many more there were.
"Then how-"
"We should look for that person you were introduced to."
Sir Chad was the only person who knew Eileen's situation.
A person like him wouldn't have introduced someone incompetent.
"Ah! You're right."
"Let's interrogate that guy first, then take our time finding them."
Only then did Eileen put on a determined expression again.
Her expressions change more easily than I thought. I assumed she was a cold person at first.
As we turned into a narrow alleyway, dark shadows fell over us.
Piles of trash were stacked deep inside the alley, and a damp smell pierced my nose.
The thug looked around and shoved Dail into a gap barely wide enough for one person to pass through.
"This should do it."
Brushing off his clothes, he walked back out of the alley.
Dail remained motionless, dumped on top of the garbage.
I looked back at Eileen.
"Let's wait a bit. It'll be trouble if more of them show up."
"Okay."
We hid our bodies in the shadows and watched for a moment.
Fortunately, no one else came.
I stealthily stepped forward.
As I approached Dail, I used condensation to gather water in one hand.
A water drop formed at my fingertips. Just for defense, in case he attacked.
"Dail, right?"
I said in a low voice.
He weakly lifted his head.
"......Wh-who are you..."
His voice was cracking. There was a thick smell of blood.
"We're enemies with those guys, too. Let's talk for a second."
"Enemies...?"
Dail let out a hollow laugh for a moment before grimacing.
"Hah... well... since it's already come to this... I'm going to die anyway..."
I sprayed the condensed water drop onto his face.
Dail sputtered for a while, the water having gone down the wrong pipe.
"Who says you're dying? I'm going to save you, so just talk."
Only then did Dail's cloudy eyes turn toward me.
My heart felt a bit heavy, but I had to keep him grounded like this for now.
"......Those guys... told me... to find a kid... a girl... brown hair... a child..."
I stole a glance at Eileen.
Eileen's face was stiff.
"Who ordered you? Exactly."
"I don't know... above that guy... and above him... it's all middlemen... I don't know... the client..."
Damn it. It wasn't just a subcontractor of a subcontractor, but even more?
His breathing grew increasingly ragged.
"They kept promising... said they'd give... more down payment... but because I failed... they don't need me... I'm... finished..."
Dail laughed dejectedly and turned his head.
His eyes were half-closed.
Eileen approached and knelt down.
"Can you save him?"
I shook my head.
"No."
My life was far removed from anything medical.
Saying I would save him earlier was just to put his mind at ease.
[Condensation]
I let the water gathered at my fingertips flow over his wound.
The blood washed away a little.
It was only a temporary measure, but it should at least prevent the wound from getting infected.
"Let's take this guy and get out of here first. It's dangerous to stay here too long."
"Understood."
Eileen hooked her arms under him.
I floated another water drop and scanned our surroundings.
Dail's final murmurs lingered in my ears.
"...Have to run... Everyone... is crazy... This district is..."
What the hell is this bastard saying.
From our perspective, he was just another crazy bastard.
We quickly made our way out of the Outer District.
It felt like the darkness, the smell, and the unseen threats were pushing us from behind.
Feeling as if we were being chased, we hurried into the Central District, and only then could I breathe easily.
A red sunset was already spreading across the sky.
"Is it already this time......"
"We'll have to look again tomorrow."
I bound the now-unconscious Dail with a rope and tossed him into the corner of the inn room.
Only after taking a quick shower was I finally able to lie down on the bed.
Sigh, tomorrow's going to be busy, too.
***
The next morning.
I came out to the dining room and was chatting about this and that with Eileen when Barret approached us.
"Good morning, Sir Riv."
"Ah, good morning. You must have been busy yesterday."
I hadn't seen Barret's face all day yesterday.
I wondered what had happened.
"No, I was just walking around trying to recruit more members for the mercenary group. Nothing special has happened yet. Rather, you looked busy, Sir Riv?"
"Haha..."
An awkward laugh leaked out without me realizing.
Well, to be honest, things have been really hectic lately.
I couldn't go into detail about the request, so I vaguely glossed over it by talking about the Outer District.
"Because of matters in the Outer District?"
"Yes. Do you happen to know anything about the thugs over there?"
Barret stroked his chin and fell into thought for a moment. Then, as if recalling something, he nodded.
"Ah, the place was completely wiped out once before."
"The thugs? By who?"
"Yes. It was when those guys were running rampant, but of all things, they poked a hornet's nest..."
"A hornet's nest?"
A hornet's nest? Who is he talking about?
"Calcia. They got swept away after messing with that woman."
"Ah..."
If it's Calcia, that's the red-haired woman with the spear from back then... As expected, it was her.
There was a reason those punks ran away just from seeing her face last time. There's always a reason.
"Actually, since that incident, some bad nicknames have stuck to her."
"Pardon? Isn't it a good thing to get rid of thugs?"
"Getting rid of them was fine, but they said the scene was absolutely... gruesome."
"Uh... just how gruesome was it..."
Honestly, I couldn't imagine it. I thought she just beat up the thugs a bit, but to call it gruesome.
"If you think of her title, you can roughly guess."
Her title, huh...
I thought for a moment before remembering it. And in that instant, a chill naturally ran down my spine.
Ah, right. It was the Blood Princess.