---

「Come try our authentic Qianwei sweet buns! Only 3 bronze coins a piece!」

「You there sir! Yes, you! You look like a hardy adventurer! Visit Tajiir's War Emporium and browse our catalog of high-quality armaments!」

「Ya know what's th' problem with this city?! There ain't enough good meat to go around! Ain't a problem fer Jolgard's Lamb Burgers though! They're fresh, never frozen!」

The scummy atmosphere of the Yarzon city marketplace never changed. You had conmen and sordid businesses at every corner.

Melyn thrust herself higher on my shoulders and giddily gandered at the bustling plaza.

「Think we can find this guy Zozo? The crowd goes on for miles here!」

「If we circle around and visit every stall, we're bound to run into him. Let's get going.」

「Okey dokey!」

Both of us fastened our hoods and weaved through the marketplace throng. Our small bodies worked to our benefit this time.

Being confined to a bed for four weeks must've been torturous for a ball of energy like Melyn. I'd never seen her so lively before.

Another month of rigorous training had flown by in a blink of an eye...

---

Lia didn't give up on me after my failure—rather she only grew more merciless.

I remember it as though it were yesterday.

It was the morning of Mye 3rd—she'd drag me out of my bedroll and force the training mask on me. And I would usually pass out and receive a harsh lecture upon waking up.

Add on a double whammy of intense muscle training and aerobic workouts and you'd accurately describe the living hell experienced by the young Lorenzo.

It was a dreadful regimen. I was lucky to have made it out alive. There were times I bordered on throwing in the towel.

「Lorenzo! Keep it up! Don't fall unconscious now!」

Lia was unforgiving with her punishments. To keep me awake she'd always use that damned chalk whip of hers.

Wuh-psh!

Her constant lashings would do a number on my back. By evening the resident healer would show up.

He'd just pop in, do his magic on me, and pop right back out. He uttered not a single complaint.

Maksa, was it? I wonder if he's fed up with healing my injuries... Or terrified that Lia can mercilessly brutalize a child like this...

I never did find out.

But by the end, it was worth it.

Following a month of daily torment, I finally grasped the basics of the Hu breathing technique.

「Don't get too full of yourself Lorenzo. You're only able to use it for ten minutes max. With an effective radius of about thirty feet, no less. But being able to use it at all is an achievement to be proud of. Good work.」

Lia patted me on the back and sent me off with the training mask. It was her way of saying, I could train by myself now.

So this is what progress feels like eh? It's been a while...

---

「Zozo down here!」

Melyn waved at me from a row of stalls that stretched into the slums. It branched off from the main plaza into an ill-lit alley.

「Down there? You sure?」

「We've gone around the main plaza about three times already. This is the only spot we haven't checked.」

I pulled up the note Rysef gave us and reread his directions.

「Find Nago. He owns a stall in the marketplace. You'll know him when you see him. Polka dots stand out don't they..?」

W-what the hell..? I can't make heads or tails out of this...

I crumpled up the Ashen Thief's vague set of instructions and went along with the thief girl. It was my first real mission and already I'd found myself lost from the get-go.

「Have you been to this part of the marketplace before Melyn?」

「No, this area's reserved for the lower grade stalls. If I'm going to nab something, it might as well be good right?」

「Lower grade stalls? Shouldn't some of these guys be slum dwellers then?」

「I'm pretty sure. We are in the Lakua District slums now. Although... I rarely hang around the streets outside of work, so I don't really know anyone here.」

「Didn't you tell me you know everyone in the Lakua District?」

「Hehe... did I?」

Her refusal to answer straight spoke volumes. Forget the breathing techniques, even without them I could read the thief girl.

We walked deeper and deeper into the alleyway with Melyn in the lead.

Stalls, shoddier than the ones before, lined the passageway. Any average-sized adult would find it hard to cross this narrow street.

Items sold here ranged from faulty battle gear to barely rotting meat. It was no longer your typical marketplace.

What have we stumbled into..?

「Should we start asking around? I've got a bad feeling about this place...」

「Zozo, these guys are no different than us. We're all down on our luck trying to make a living. Don't be judging these guys on appearances alone.」

「You say that but... everyone's giving us the stink eye...」

Stall owners and passersby around here side-eyed us as we made our way through. From the moment we set foot here, I clutched my cudgel tight.

These slum dwellers were vastly different than the ones in the village...

「Does this still count as the marketplace you think?」

「I haven't the slightest clue, Zozo. No sign of polka dots either.」

「I swear, one of these days Rysef's carefree attitude is going to kill us...」

「He could also be testing us.」

「A test? In the middle of a crisis?」

She twirled to me and winked.

「We're not the only ones searching you know? The entire thief division was mobilized, right? There are other sleuths besides us. He probably sees this as a chance to train our initiative and self-reliance. Just a hunch though. I could be way off the mark.」

If sending us to a dangerous part of town is the Ashen Thief's idea of a trial then...

「Oi, oi, oi, now would ya look at that!」

My contemplation was shot down by a croaky voice.

Emerging from the depths of the black market was an unkempt Jazgan man. His clothes were dirty and his unwashed hair covered half his face.

He stroked his stubble and donned a wry grin.

「A whore from Beafroux and 'er pompous Merulean lackey decided t' prance into our humble abode! Sorry, we forgot t' roll the red carpet fer ya m'lady...」

The people surrounding us cackled at his hostile threats.

The derelict sauntered towards us bearing bloodshot eyes of animosity. Judging by the bottle of rum in his hand, he was sloshed.

「There's no runnin' now. Should've learned yer places in th' world 'fore comin' 'ere!」

He stepped in front of Melyn and placed his bony hand on her shoulder. Ready to intervene, I pulled out my wooden cudgel and broadened my arms in a combat stance.

The man merely chuckled at me.

「I don't recommend kickin' up a stink boy. 'Less ya value yer life.」

The thief girl put up her arm and signaled me to stop. I hadn't the slightest idea what she was planning, but still reluctantly obeyed her and lowered my weapon.

Melyn chose to reply calmly. It was an approach I'd least expect from her.

「We're not looking for a fight. We're only looking for information on the drug peddlers plaguing Yarzon city. Do you have any leads that could help us?」

The man's smile dropped into a frown.

「Hah?」

「Did you not catch what I said? I said, do you have any leads that could help us?」

「Ya lookin' down on me brat?!」

Degenerating into a fit of rage, he grabbed Melyn by the tunic and slammed her against the wall. She seemed unfazed as her hood flew off.

Before I could jump in and help, I was quickly restrained by a shopkeeper—another bastard snatched my cudgel.

Crap! We've really landed ourselves in a world of trouble this time...

「Melyn! Let's get out of here! We're clearly not welcome here!」

「Ohoho... too late fer that now kid. Yer friend 'ere really had t' run 'er mouth, didn't she?」

He violently smashed his bottle of rum against the stall table next to him and held the broken glass up to Melyn's neck.

Not once, did she break eye contact with him.

「What are ya starin' at ya lil' bitch? Just lookin' at yer mug makes me blood boil... Who are ya even? Some nobles on th' run from their homes hah? Think yer lives are harder than ours ya shits?!」

A line of blood came streaming down the thief girl's neck as the sharp glass poked her fine pale skin. It was at this point I desperately struggled to break free.

The nettled tramp pressed his forehead against Melyn's and growled.

「Ya know nothin' ya hear me? Nothin' 'bout our struggle. D'ya know what it feels t' be abandoned by the state? Abandoned by the city? Abandoned by your own damn district?!」

「Let go of her asshole! Melyn don't listen to him! Do your thing and slip away!」

「Ya nobles are all th' same! Tainted by yer own damned upbringings. Maybe we'll have some fun with this petite body of yers, then chop both of ya up and sell yer organs fer a fine sum o' gold, hehe.」

The small crowd around us guffawed cruelly.

This neck of the woods truly was a den of iniquity.

Just as all hope seemed lost, two pronounced yet familiar sounds interrupted the hoots of laughter.

Crunch! Thud!

Everyone redirected their attention towards the man paralyzed on the floor. The thief girl stared down at him with an icy glare.

「Silence knave. Watch your tongue when speaking to the Ashen Thief's pupils. You may be Lakua District slum dwellers, but as a Sentinel, I won't hesitate to mete out punishments on the spot.」

「Y-ya filthy runt..! 」

Murmurs arose at her statement. The shopkeeper slackened his arms, granting me ample time to wriggle out.

Slip!

I stumbled onto the counter of a stall and witnessed Melyn's cudgel get split in half by her unbridled grip. She was absolutely fuming.

The man cupped his groin and groaned in pain—he was understandably hot under the collar.

「A-Ashen Thief..? So after months o' nothin', this is what he has t' show fer it?! Two brats from th' prosperous north?!」

He reviled us with all manner of insults, yet the thief girl never faltered.

She kept her temper in check and sought to end things amicably.

「I'm not going to ask again. Do you have any leads that could—」

「Or what?! Yer gonna give me a slap on th' wrist?! Shoulda moved districts when I had th' chance. Lakua's done fer, and that Ashen Thief is t' blame... Damn it all t' hell!」

I scurried to the thief girl's side and joined her.

「Melyn you okay? We should retreat to get that wound treated.」

She didn't answer. Her sights were set on the ruffian by her feet.

The situation was left unclear—I had one more weapon to show off, but not a lot of room to use it.

Moreover, Melyn was ready to bash the thug's brains in, yet no one in the crowd was willing to jump in...

Are we fighting? Have we made up? Who's calling the shots here?

Just as things were about to get ugly...

「Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!」

A new character suddenly entered the fray. He rushed in and attempted to break up the confrontation.

「Oh, it's Pervert Nago.」

「Ah... hey Exhibitionist Nago!」

「Nudist Nago, wazzup!」

「Don't call me increasingly misleading nicknames!」

The young man in his mid-20s snapped at the gaggle of ruffians.

To be fair, rocking a pair of pink polka-dotted short shorts was the farthest thing from a wholesome image. They eerily resembled a pair of boxers.

Wait... polka dots...

「Guys you should really quit clogging up the narrow streets here... you know how difficult it is for traffic to run by here—?」

「Um, excuse me! You wouldn't happen to be Nago the information broker would you?」

「Hm? Depends. Who's asking?」

Melyn and I looked at each other and sighed in relief.

「The Lakua District requires your assistance. According to the Ashen Thief, you possess valuable information we can use.」

「Rysef? What does that blithe musclehead want with me?」

「It's about the Nixie dust problem.」

The information broker definitely knew something—his eyes enlarged at the mere mention of the substance.

The derelict rose to his knees and turned to Nago with a scowl.

「Nago, ya ain't seriously considerin' helpin' these brats are ya? Whaddabout yer dealin's with the Hlanu District? They won't be happy...」

「Bayloth... it's not like I exclusively work with them. Besides, they haven't contacted me in months, and you know how my financials are looking...」

This Bayloth's words struck me as odd. I immediately raised the question as soon as his protests petered out.

「Hlanu District? Aren't interdistrict connections prohibited?」

「Huh? I guess so. I'm not a slum dweller though, so I'm probably exempt? If anything, you should get on his case for sneaking in and out of the neighboring districts...」

Nago pointed at the scruffy-faced lout.

「Bastard! D-don't be pointin' fing—!」

Bam!

Bayloth collapsed on the cobbled floor with a huge bump on his head. Melyn finally landed the finishing blow with a downward kick.

「Oops... I nearly slipped...」

She swiveled her head towards the crowd with a murderous expression—her cold crimson eyes were enough to repel the lowlife thugs.

Nago tugged his collar and nervously tittered.

「L-let's talk about the drug peddlers back at my place shall we?」

「Y-yeah. Come on Melyn, let's get this over with before lunchtime...」

The thief girl spat on the unconscious Bayloth and trotted alongside us. The whole alleyway was consumed by a suffocating atmosphere.

Never upset the girl with superhuman strength. A sound life lesson to adhere to.

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