Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054922300995/episodes/1177354054922511868
Catherine and Leila were looking for the church where Ryu said he was headed, but they seemed to have lost their way.
They tried to ask where it was, but there were only suspicious-looking people around. They had gone deeper into the slum.
The deeper you go in a slum, the more dangerous it becomes. At the far end of the slum, a criminal organization has set up a hideout.
The guild’s receptionist, Leila, is just an ordinary person, not a skilled fighter, although she has the guts to deal with rough adventurers as a guild employee. She is also quite beautiful. (It seems that the world is no different in that beautiful women are often hired as “receptionists,” and not just in guilds.)
If such a woman were to approach a slum, she would naturally be targeted by those who would consider her insolent.
On the other hand, Catherine, who is accompanying her, is now semi-retired, but was once an adventurer with A-rank skills. In fact, she is strong enough to get rid of any entanglements in the slums on her own, but her appearance alone is enough to make the men in the slums look at her as if she were their prey.
If a dangerous man tried to approach, Catherine would be the first to sense it and move away with in tow, so they had managed to come to safety so far, but……
If they go any further back, they will enter a danger zone where they will never be safe.
Leila [Are you sure we’re going this way?]
Catherine […… I think we’re lost……not a very good sign, huh……”
Leila [Ah ! I knew it, look at that girl !]
The girl was walking with her older brother, a boy of about 15 years old.
Behind them, however, were a group of men with a suspicious-looking appearance……
Catherine [Let’s follow them.]
She was wary of the suspicious-looking men around them and hesitated to call out to them, so she decided to tail them a little further away, but thanks to them, she was able to escape from the depths of the slum.
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As soon as Ryu left the church, Kite, one of the children from the orphanage, came running and stopped Ryu.
Kite [Ryuu Onii chan, Marie was taken by Tanzi Nii chan !]
Tanzi was a boy who had been sheltered in the church’s orphanage until last year. However, at the age of 15, he had come of age and left the orphanage to become independent.
He took a girl from the orphanage, Marie, who was still very young. Since she knew Tanzi, she felt at ease and went with him.
In fact, Tanzi had been involved with some unpleasant people since before he left the orphanage. Coming from a slum, there was discrimination and no way he could get a decent job. In the end, he had no choice but to make his way up in the slums. With this in mind, he became close to the wrong crowd.
Deep in the slum, there are three criminal organizations and several smaller criminal groups under them. One of them is the “Fangs of the Plighted Rat”. Tanzi had been working with them since he left the orphanage.
Ryu asked Kite to take him to the place where he had seen Marie.
Marie and Tanzi were there. Marie was given a cloth bag by Tanzi. Behind Tanzi stood a group of suspicious looking men. They are the members of the ‘Fangs of the Plighted Rat’. Among them was a man named Kengo, who had been bothering Ryu for a long time.
Marie [Ryu Nii !]
Tanzi [Ah, wait !]
When Marie saw Ryu, she ran up to him happily.
Ryu kneeled down, looked at Marie and patted her on the head. Then he asked her about the package in her hand.
Marie [I got a job to go to town and give this to a guy named Dodger. He said he would give me 1G if I did so ! I can work too !]
Ryu says as if to remind her.
Ryu [Marie, I told you not to take the job of the people deep in the slum.]
Marie [But my Tanzi Onii chan said it’s okay……]
Ryu glared at Tanzi.
Ryu [What’s in that bag is bad medicine. A lot of people are going to suffer because of it. Even if Marie didn’t know and just carried it, she would still be aiding and abetting a crime, okay?]
The contents of the bag were probably drugs. There are some bad drugs on the market these days.
Ryu had also been approached a while ago to work as a courier. Ryu refused. He thought that since people were more cautious these days, having a young child carry the bag would not arouse suspicion.
Tanzi hurriedly approached, took the bag from Marie, and grabbed Ryu by the chest.
Tanzi [Ryu ! You have nothing to do with this !
You stay out of this !]
Marie […Tanzi Onii chan?]
Tanzi [This is just a medicinal herb, I picked it !]
Ryu [Then why don’t you go give it to them yourself? Or should I take this bag to the guards and ask them to check it? If it’s really just a medicinal herb, I’ll deliver it to them myself.]
Ryu grabbed Tanzi’s arm and squeezed it tightly. When Ryu squeezed as hard as he could, his grip strength exceeded 4 tons. Even a light grip would cause Tanzi to lose strength due to the pain, and Tanzi let go of Ryu’s collar from his grip.
Tanzi [Ouch….you……!]
The bones in his wrists are creaking as if they are about to break, held in a powerful grip. Tanzi is unable to move due to the pain.
From behind Tanzi, Kengo, who can’t stand the sight of him, interjects.
Kengo [Oh, Ryu, isn’t it? You’ve got quite a big mouth now, haven’t you?]
Ryu [Kengo. I don’t care what you do, but stay away from all the kids in the church. And if you promise, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you today.]
Kengo [Ryu, you son of a bitch ! You’re gonna get beat up again for talking so smugly !]
Ryu had been invited several times to join Kengo and help with his work, but he had refused, and was once lynched by Kengo and his friends for being cocky.
Ryu had completely forgotten, but now he remembered that something like that had happened, and thought it would be okay to ask him to make a confession about it, but…
However, having the memories of his previous life back, Ryu’s mind had suddenly become more mature. Because of this, there was a part of him that did not really feel the things that happened before his memory returned in this world, because his memories had faded away.
The old days, well, you can let them slide. Kengo was mean to him, but he didn’t actually do much damage. There was also an assault, but it was an amateurish punch, and he didn’t feel much pain, which was unexpected, so he didn’t think to hit him back.
But when it came to the young children of the church, it was a different thing, and he couldn’t leave them alone.
Ryu [Kengo, who asked you to do this? You can’t do this job alone, can you?]
Kengo [Aahh?! What the hell are you talking like that for?!]
Ryu [Is the drug dealer….. ‘Four Night Butterflies’ or something like that?]
Four Night Butterflies is one of three criminal groups based deep in the slums.
Kengo [How did you know that…no ! N-no, I don’t know !]
Ryu was just bluffing, but he seemed to have hit the bull’s-eye.
Seeing the slight sneer on Ryu’s face, Kengo’s face turned red and he started to get angry.
Kengo [Hey, bastard ! You’re just a small fry ! You can’t survive in the slums if you keep underestimating me !]
Kengo suddenly attacked, but his fist was stopped by Ryu’s hand.
Ryu clenched his fist tightly and kicked Kengo in the thigh, who was in pain. He only kicked him lightly, but Kengo fell down, writhing in pain.
[Damn you, you….get him !]
At Kengo’s command, his fellow men surrounded Ryu.
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