The Back Alleys
When people spoke of a back alley, they usually meant some neglected corner of a city — rundown, and home to folk whose circumstances were no better. I had never set foot in a place like that in my previous life, but I had seen enough of them in games to have a fair idea of what one ought to look like.
Games that claimed to be medieval fantasy were, more often than not, bleak things. Broken windows, chimneys that looked as if they had never managed a wisp of smoke, filth dumped in the street and left to rot — that was the picture I carried with me. The district they called the back alleys, though, was unexpectedly clean, at least where hygiene was concerned. Whether that was religion's doing, or whether the clergy came through and laid a Purification over the streets, I couldn't say.
The roads weren't paved, but the lanes a carriage could use had been packed so firm you couldn't spot a loose stone. The place sat inside the reach of the administration, by the look of it. I hadn't seen the bustling commercial quarter, so I had nothing to measure it against, but at a glance these streets didn't fall far short of Korea Town.
I had been expecting a shantytown, or gaunt faces staring out of abandoned houses. Seeing it now, the neighborhood seemed perfectly livable.
"The back alleys turn dangerous at night, so we ought to finish everything we need to do while it's still day and head back. Though I'm sure you know that better than I do, Sister Selenia."
Even in a place that looked this decent, Lorensia offered the advice while watching our surroundings with open wariness.
Hmm. It looked fine enough on the surface. Maybe the peace here was worse than it appeared.
Then again, in my previous life it was only Korea that had been strangely safe. Travel anywhere else and people warned you outright about pickpockets. The more famous the destination, the worse it got. No matter how grand or beautiful a place was, the stories piled up: let the scenery steal your attention, and every coin and trinket in sight was gone in a heartbeat.
By that logic, this place could look pleasant and still hide people ready to rob you the moment you stepped somewhere a little too quiet. Or I might meet the stock figures of a fantasy novel — a kidnapping, or some thug sidling up with a hey there, pretty ladies.
I'll admit I had imagined the reverse more than once: knocking them flat and capping it with one satisfying line. Unfortunately, I was in no position to manage it. Even setting the clergy aside — back-alley nun or not — an active thug still working these streets would have had outstanding real combat experience. I was a diligent modern person who had never been in a fight. I had no confidence in one.
There had been that nun who trusted a gun and pulled the trigger. The safety had been on, so it never fired, and she had charged in without fear because I was a woman. If I actually had to fight someone intent on attacking me, whether I could win was anyone's guess.
If things grew truly dangerous, I could subdue them — or kill them — with the pistol tucked into my belt. Even so, taking a life still sat wrong with me, and I only had a few rounds left. Those were for the job. Better, if I could help it, to avoid any situation that might turn into a fight.
I had barely finished the thought when a sturdy young man came up to Lorensia, who was walking ahead. He wore the sort of shirt an ordinary man of a medieval age might wear, unbuttoned so far his whole chest was on display.
"Well now. What brings such lovely priestesses to a shabby place like this?"
"Ah. We've come to investigate the discharge incident involving the Weapons of the Outer Gods. We haven't lost our way, so please don't misunderstand."
"Misunderstand? Now that's a hurtful thing to say. Two ladies moving through a rough place like this — that's dangerous. How about I attach myself as guide and escort? I'll see you safely through for a mere one silver."
He wasn't trying to grope us, or to threaten us. Even so, he had come for money in the end, and that didn't make him look any better. His swaggering manner especially grated on me. I had no idea what one silver was worth, but he was plainly angling to shake down a pair of clergy who looked like they had coin. At best, it was no different from touts working tourists at some famous site — and even then, the price was a blatant rip-off.
Lorensia, though, seemed tempted. She put the question to him, doubtful.
"Is one silver really enough?"
"It is. We've got to offer a reasonable price if we want folks to pay, haven't we? It's not even one silver a head. For a single silver, the sister behind you comes along as— ...Huh? Wait. Selen, that you?"
So one silver wasn't as large a sum as I had thought. Lorensia was ready to pay it without hesitation, which meant it wasn't much of a burden even on a priest's purse. If that was the case, I had been about to let her pay — until the man seemed to recognize me.
Selen. My name was Selenia, so he must have shortened it. Shorten someone's name like that, and you were an acquaintance at the very least.
"Oh — do you know each other?"
Whether she was glad her partner had run into someone she knew, or she simply figured an acquaintance wouldn't try anything, Lorensia brightened as she asked. It was a strange thing. She had hit me, at our first meeting, with unpleasant remarks about my being from the back alleys, and yet she was perfectly kind to this man. The feeling it left me with was hard to name.
"Do I know her? We grew up in these alleys together from the time we were kids. If I had to guess, that little hellion's kicked me between the legs over a hundred times. Honestly, what kind of woman—"
"If all I did was kick you, then kicked is what you got. Seeing you stand there so proud even after that, I must have gone easy on you out of mercy."
As someone who knew exactly how much it hurt to take a blow between the legs, that past left me a little sorry. But a slip of the tongue would only draw suspicion, so I answered bluntly. The man made a retching sound.
"Ugh. So you've gone full nun, is that it? What kind of way is that to talk? Doesn't suit you at all. Hey, Priestess. If you're moving around with that woman, you'd better think it over."
"I know Sister Selenia is from here. Thank you for your concern, but we'll be fine. His Holiness told me to work with her, so there must be a reason."
"His Holiness has a terrible eye for people. Bah, forget it. Walk around with Selen and nobody's gonna lay a hand on you."
Had I burned him that badly? He spoke as if they were familiar, and yet there was no small amount of irritation mixed in. A bad friend, most likely. For now, parting ways seemed best. I assumed we would keep moving as he had said, just Lorensia and I.
"Even so, if we had one dependable knight with us, I don't think we'd be dragged into pointless trouble. I'll give you one silver. Might I ask you to guide us?"
"Huh? Well, making a coin's fine by me. Kehehe. A knight, she says. First time anyone's called me that. Just call me Jake."
"Yes, Brother Jake. I'm counting on you."
Lorensia seemed determined to recruit him. I wasn't pleased about a man wedging himself into my fantasy life, but if he already disliked me this much, the chance of it turning romantic was nonexistent.
At that level, I could probably count him as NPC number one. Ah — Hamil was already my superior at work, so make it NPC number two.
In the end we put Jake out in front and set about searching the back alleys. I had been at a loss for where to begin, but his advice let us narrow the ground considerably.
"Just 'cause it's the back alleys doesn't mean we're out stealing wallets every day. We want to live by the law too. So of course we trade according to the law. If the Weapons of the Outer Gods are as precious as you say, Priestess, they'd flow to a black-market dealer. Shall I take you that way?"
"Yes. That would do nicely."
"But why are you looking for them? Judging by the holy symbol, you're a priestess of the Church of Nals, aren't you...? Is the Church of Nals trying to put the Weapons of the Outer Gods to use? They say even those won't work unless you're one of the chosen. And even then, they break after a few uses."
That tracked. Some people touched one and no bullet came out; the right person fired and it did. And once the magazine was empty, nothing came out at all. To people who didn't know what a gun was, that was a reasonable way to understand it. Even so, if there were blacksmiths about, they ought to be able to take one apart and work out its structure. Apparently that knowledge hadn't reached the public yet. Which, of course, was why they had sent us to collect the things.
Lorensia offered the questioning Jake a suitably measured explanation.
"They're far too dangerous, so we mean to collect them and dispose of them. Of course, some people dislike a religious order doing so. But as you know, Brother, a meteor kept under the royal family's control is safer than a blade in a bandit's hand."
"I dunno. I don't like that either one could kill me if things went sour. Still, if you're disposing of them, that's a bit better. Whew — since you already came knowing about it, Priestess, I'll say it. Yesterday that thing cracked thunder a few times right here, and they say it killed a nun who'd found her way this far, just like that. Maybe her god wasn't watching over her. Poor thing. Word is she died in an instant. Ah... this isn't blasphemy, is it?"
He was talking about me. Was he sounding me out, or did he truly not know? I watched quietly from behind. Jake didn't so much as glance my way, which made it far more likely he simply didn't know.
Lorensia, hearing him, turned a peculiar look on me. Jake caught her gaze and looked back.
"That's my story, actually."
"What? Oh — that was you, Selen? Figures. A nun wouldn't have any reason to come down the back alleys. If it was you, that's a different story. ...You all right? They said seven holes got punched clean through you and the blood just poured out."
"As you can see, I was healed without a mark. Not a single scar."
"Whoa. Fuck, the god Nals is insane. Maybe I ought to pick up a religion."
Even hearing blasphemy like that, Lorensia only held a smile that might have been meant for customers, or might have been something else entirely.
By Inquisitor standards, was that still within the line? I'd have to remember it the next time I cursed a god.
More than anything else, Jake had asked after me. He could curse me to my face and still seem to count me as a close friend. That left me strangely sorry.
Because I wasn't Selenia.