If Only It Were a Simple Fight

Stepping out of the building, Azu let out a small sigh.

It felt like they were being bounced from one lead to the next.

"Doesn't look like this'll be easy. I thought we might get lucky and wrap it up today."

"We're grasping at nothing. Way too little information."

"It can't be helped. Fighting is one thing, but we're not accustomed to this sort of legwork."

"You're right. Well, let's check out this Logos family place and call it a day."

Alexia shrugged. Even Elza was starting to look bored.

Standing around talking wasn't going to get them anywhere, so Azu said as much and started walking.

Heading further south, a sour smell hit them, as if the area hadn't been cleaned in ages.

Vagrants started appearing.

Up until now, public order had been maintained after a fashion, but from here on, anything could happen.

"I had no idea a place like this existed. It's so far from the gate we usually use, I never knew."

"Yeah, well. You'll find places like this just about anywhere, I think. The Royal Capital and the imperial capital are kept spotless, of course, but that's the exception."

"Keeping up appearances matters when you're a capital city. Jacob seems like the type of noble who cares about appearances too, so once the population surge settles down, he'll probably clean this area up."

"I see."

Azu didn't understand the finer points of noble sensibilities, but she understood the concept of appearances.

Yohane always kept his shop spotless and well-organized, and she'd often helped him sweep up around the shop.

She'd asked him why once, and he'd told her it was a matter of a merchant's pride.

Before they knew it, more time had passed than expected.

Midday was long gone, and if they had another errand on top of this, it would be evening by the time they finished.

The vagrants watched Azu's group from a distance, wary of outsiders, but didn't approach.

She pressed on despite the discomfort.

… If she hadn't become a slave and had simply run away from her village, this might have been her fate.

The results she was achieving as an adventurer were only possible because of Yohane's support.

Elza and Alexia sometimes complimented her combat instincts, but those only mattered because she'd survived long enough to develop them. If she'd tried to become an adventurer on her own, she'd likely have died accomplishing nothing.

Feeling a renewed sense of gratitude, a fierce determination to catch the culprits welled up inside her.

Just as the leader back at that building had said, a large structure came into view.

No vagrants in sight. The area around it was neatly swept.

No smell, either.

This one spot, at least, was no slum.

She glanced back at Elza and Alexia and nodded.

The two of them nodded in return.

A sign by the entrance read: Moneylender.

The door was unlocked, so she took the handle and turned it.

The inside was bright.

Almost excessively well-lit.

"Welcome."

A single woman sat at the reception desk.

Not a trace of a smile. Her tone was flat and mechanical.

"Are you here to borrow?"

"… No. I'm doing some investigating. Would you mind answering a few questions?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't admit anyone who isn't a customer."

Turned down flat.

Fair enough, though.

What to do now. Going any further would require some kind of pretext.

The receptionist was starting to eye them suspiciously.

"We've heard there's a theft ring operating in this area. Do you know anything about it?"

"I don't know anything. Please leave. If you refuse, we will have to take forceful measures."

As she said it, she picked up a bell.

Apparently, ringing it would summon a bodyguard or something similar.

Getting into a scuffle with those thugs earlier was one thing, but causing trouble here felt like a bad idea.

If things escalated now, Azu's group would be the ones in the wrong.

"Understood. We'll go."

"Very well."

When Azu announced they would leave, the receptionist set the bell back on the desk.

She didn't seem to care so long as they backed off.

They turned on their heels and headed for the door.

Finn-san would probably sneak in there without breaking a sweat. Maybe I should ask her to teach me how sometime.

Just as that idle thought crossed her mind, a noise came from the back room.

She stopped and turned around.

There were several more noises, and then a woman's scream. This was no ordinary sound.

"Excuse me, what was that?"

"Oh, that. The master is probably roughing up a slave. Was there something else?"

"No."

Roughing up a slave. The moment she heard those words, she unconsciously ran her fingers over her left wrist.

She wasn't wearing it now, at Yohane's insistence, but that was where the slave bracelet used to sit.

Being treated the way Azu and the others were was the exception, not the rule.

Cruel conditions. A punching bag for someone's frustrations. Backbreaking labor that shortened your lifespan.

She understood now that those were the fate of most people born into slavery.

She'd cried when she was first sent out as an adventurer, sure.

The receptionist looked at them with suspicion and reached for the bell again.

It seemed this was as far as they could go.

"Let's head back."

"Yes."

"Let's."

They opened the door and stepped outside.

Unfortunately, they'd come up empty.

Maybe this really was too much without Finn's help.

Time to head back to Yohane's.

Azu and the others left the increasingly slum-like south side behind them without looking back at the large building.

Still, she had a feeling there was something there.

A hunch, nothing more.

They returned to the shop to find Yohane furiously wielding a large pan.

It seemed he was channeling his stress into cooking.

The table was loaded with dish after dish, and the aroma was wonderful.

Yohane noticed them come in.

"Welcome back. Perfect timing, let's eat— actually, you lot smell a bit."

"Huh?"

Azu reflexively sniffed her arms and clothes.

Now that he mentioned it, maybe she did smell a little.

It was from spending so long in that place, but being called out on it by Yohane of all people was so embarrassing she wanted to die.

She dashed for the bathroom.

Alexia followed after her with a weary sigh, and Elza watched the whole scene with amusement.

"Hey, you too. Get going."

"But I could just use a purification mira— yes, right away."

Elza was about to use a purification miracle on herself, but Yohane jerked his chin toward the bathroom.

His earlier gloom was nowhere to be seen. It seemed his change of scenery had done the trick.