Chapter 140
Lightmira
Translator : PolterGlast
Departing Biodasdal and running westward at full
speed for about two hours. Finally, the city the Guild Master told me
about came into view.
This is a city called Lightmira, and it seems to be
the closest prosperous city to Biodasdal. For someone like me who can
count the number of cities I've visited on one hand, I don't know much, but I
certainly think the size of the city and the number of people are comparable to
Biodasdal.
I visited with the assumption that information on monsters
would be gathered in a large city... but first, I must enter the city. I was
nervous when I first came to Biodasdal, but now that I have an Adventurer's
Card, I should be able to enter smoothly.
Since it had been a while since I was alone, I felt nervous
even though I knew I would be fine, and I waited in line for the entry
inspection. The inspection was conducted without any particular suspicion, and
I was able to enter Lightmira safely.
The structure of the city itself is similar to Biodasdal,
but perhaps public safety is worse, as I can see people wandering around with
liquor bottles in one hand here and there. Having bought the Greatest
family's home, I don't have much money on hand, so I think I'm safe, but just
in case, I should be wary of theft as I head to the Adventurer's Guild.
Sticking behind someone who clearly looked like an
adventurer, I proceeded through a place that looked like a stall market. As I
walked while resisting the temptation of delicious smells... a young boy
grabbed a loaf of bread from the merchandise and ran off right in front of my
eyes.
He wore tattered clothes, and his body was quite dirty. I
don't want to judge by appearance, but considering his actions... he must be a
thief.
"Wait a min—"
"Ah, you don't need to catch him! Just let him
be."
The one who stopped me as I tried to catch the boy who stole
the bread was, unexpectedly, the shopkeeper. ...Does that mean that boy wasn't
a thief?
"Sorry. I completely thought he stole the bread."
"No, no, he did steal it. But that child only steals
once every few days, and he only steals the cheapest bread, so I just overlook
it! Besides, he's a victim of that incident... so I have to overlook at
least this much."
"I don't really understand... but if you say I don't
need to catch him, Shopkeeper, then I won't."
"Thanks for worrying! If you'd like, would you like to
buy a loaf of bread?"
"No, I'm fine. Well then, excuse me."
Telling the shopkeeper, who had started serving the next
customer, I left the stall selling bread. I was curious about 'that incident'
the shopkeeper lady mentioned, but she seemed busy, so I couldn't ask.
It's almost noon, and I don't have time to make detours when
I haven't obtained any information yet... But I really am curious about that
boy from earlier.
I think overlooking theft is a kindness, but no matter the
background, theft is never an act that can be affirmed. And if I can save him
from the root of the problem, I want to save him.
With that thought, I once again followed the boy who stole
the bread. The boy, who had been running by weaving through the gaps between
people, headed toward an alley in a bar district that looked like it had
terrible public safety.
The boy dove into a dirty blue tarp set up in such a place.
From inside, I could hear a voice that sounded like a girl's in addition to the
boy's.
I wondered how to enter, but since I couldn't knock, I
decided to just open it. When I lifted the blue tarp, the inside was a dirty
place overflowing with signs of daily life, and inside the tarp, the boy from
earlier and a girl with one eye closed were gnawing on the bread.
"W-Who are you! T-There's nothing of value here!"
"Calm down. I didn't intend to cause you any harm. I
saw you steal that bread earlier, so I got curious and followed you."
"A-Are you going to... c-catch me and Gree?"
"No, I won't catch you. The bakery owner said I didn't
need to catch you. However, I just want you to let me hear your story."
"D-Don't come closer! If-If you come any closer...
I-I'll kill you!"
I intended to speak as gently as possible, but the boy
called Gree became even more wary; he grabbed a knife that was lying
haphazardly inside the blue tarp and pointed it at me. Although his voice was
trembling, his eyes were dead serious.
From what I can see, I think he's still only five or six
years old... I can't imagine what kind of things he's been through to end up in
a state like this.
"It's okay. I won't harm you. If you can't believe me,
you can stab me with that knife."
I didn't know how to handle a situation like this, so I
decided to just let him attack. From the look of it, it's a cheap knife, and on
top of that, it's quite rusty. With that knife, even if a sword master slashed
at me, it wouldn't leave a single scratch on my body.
"I-I'll really stab you!"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"I-I'm serious!"
"I'm serious too."
Just as he said that, the boy thrust the knife toward my
palm. He had a menacing expression, but it seemed his remaining conscience got
in the way... and he stopped his movement just before stabbing.
—However, I swung my palm down onto the knife. As I said
earlier, I can't imagine what circumstances these two grew up in, but stealing
is wrong, and trying to inflict harm using a knife is out of the question.
"U-Uwaaaaaah! I-I didn't stab you!"
"B-Blood isn't... coming out of his hand?"
The girl rushed over looking worried, but of course, my hand
was unscathed. The two, appearing unable to comprehend what had happened, froze
with their mouths wide open.
I tried to put on a smile to reassure them, but... Perhaps
because my forced smile was awkward, it only resulted in scaring them even
more.
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