Chapter 4: Makoto Takatsuki Takes His Goddess’s Advice
That night, my dream self awoke in my goddess’s space.
“Noah?” I asked.
“Hey there, Makoto.”
My goddess was in front of me wearing a wavy party dress. She probably decided to wear it while observing the party earlier. The gown definitely suited her though.
“What’s up with the outfit?”
“Cute, right?” she asked with a giggle and a spin.
Hang on! If you do that I’ll be able to see up your skir— or not. Her defenses were as impenetrable as ever.
“You seem to be in a good mood,” I said.
“You’re doing well at winning over the priestesses and heroes,” she replied.
W-Winning over? That was a loaded way of putting it...
“Are you talking about Sakurai and Princess Noelle?”
“Yup. They’re rather fond of you. Keep it up, little cutie.”
“Highland’s tiring,” I complained. “I’d rather not stay too long.”
The rigid class system and hot-headed hero were a huge aspect of that feeling. There was also a lot of unfair resentment among the citizens, along with nobles that were surprisingly malicious gossips. On top of that, there was a demi-human revolt on the horizon. It was all too much.
Speaking of the uprising, I wonder if Fujiyan got the info he’d been seeking. He did only find out about the problem today.
“Yup, he’s narrowed down the leader,” Noah answered, reading my mind.
“So quick!” It hadn’t even been a day! What was he, the FBI?! “So,” I continued, “I’m here to talk about how we’re dealing with things?”
“That’s right!” Noah exclaimed. “Let’s hear your thoughts.” She snapped her fingers and a whiteboard appeared in the air.
“We need to stop that revolt, right?”
The Great Demon Lord was on the verge of revival... That meant there was no time for infighting. Plus, it seemed like someone who’d helped Nina in the past was involved in the rebellion.
Noah nodded. “We do. The problem is how. If we prevent the uprising in a way that sows resentment between humans and demi-humans, then our position will be worse going into the fight against the Great Demon Lord.”
She briskly wrote some words across the whiteboard, in Japanese at that.
“So, this is our problem. Why do you think this rebellion is happening right now?”
“Well, because they’re unhappy with the caste syst—” Hang on, I thought, is that actually why?
Highland had a clear division between the spaces for humans and demi-humans. However, the young noblewomen seemed fairly taken with Lucy, and she was an elf. Whatever else was happening, Princess Noelle was against the class system, so those nobles were likely imitating her. I couldn’t imagine Princess Noelle discriminating based on race.
“So it’s not really because of the racial segregation?”
“Maybe not—do you have any ideas?” Noah asked, tapping the board with a black pen. The rebellion was to take place in the capital city. Many humans did live there, but there were also many demi-humans and beastmen. If they fought, it wouldn’t end well for either side. The only people that would gain were...
“The cambions... Has this revolt been engineered by the Snake Sect?”
“I think it’s worth looking into,” answered Noah with a wink.
But...
“Don’t you already know all of this?” I asked. If she did, then I’d rather she tell me... But she actually shook her head.
“The Snake Sect has many fanatical followers of a Daemon, so ‘other gods’ like me can’t see what they’re doing. It’s the same for the followers of Sacred Deities, unfortunately.”
“So the two princesses don’t know either.” I got it...the Snake Sect’s strong faith made it harder for other gods to perceive their intentions, so neither Princess Sophia nor Princess Noelle’s goddesses could warn them of the plot.
“Noelle doesn’t just wield her goddess’s power—she’s also got the right to mobilize the Temple Knights and has a lofty position as royalty. She should be the most able to gather information.”
“Oh,” I replied. “Guess I should’ve asked her at the party.”
Although, I considered after a moment, maybe that’s not really party talk. There was something else I remembered.
“What about that giant you knew? Can we get him to help?”
“Ah, him. Hmm, maybe not. The Titanea are strong, but they aren’t great with delicate situations. Besides, gods are forbidden from interfering on the mortal plane.”
“They are?” I was thinking that a blessing or item would be all right, but apparently, the gods were forbidden from interfering in mortal wars.
“If the Sacred Deities, Daemons, or Titanea act directly, the land would be decimated. Titanomachy and Gigantomachy destroyed it all once before.”
“Guess that’s a no-go, then.” Sounds like any help from the deities would just make things even worse.
“If you want the giant’s help though, ask for it,” said Noah. “They could hand out a blessing or a strong earth-aligned item.”
The Titanea had the power of the earth elementals, but that didn’t actually benefit us now... Sasa had no aptitude for magic, and Lucy’s had already been strengthened, so I’d have to put off asking for now.
“Oh yeah,” added Noah. “I need to warn you—Althena and I are fighting.”
“You...are?”
Althena was the strongest of the seven goddesses and the goddess with the most faith across the continent.
“She’s too uptight and stubborn. I can’t do any backroom deals like I can in Roses, so take care.”
In Roses, I’d been able to become a hero without converting my faith to the water goddess—this was because Noah had spoken with Eir. Apparently, that kind of arrangement would be more difficult in Highland.
“She also has the most stubborn believers among the goddesses. Pay attention.”
To be honest, I couldn’t imagine that when I’d looked at Princess Noelle, her priestess. Still, if Althena’s disciples were serious about things, then drawing their attention would be a bother. I’d need to be careful and make sure we didn’t cause trouble... After all, I was the (only) believer of a minor wicked deity.
“One last thing.”
It seemed like this was the main point that Noah wanted to make. She wrote “The ninth district” across the board.
“Go to the slums of the ninth district,” she told me.
“The ninth district’s a slum?” I asked. Slums, huh? In an RPG there’d be something to find in a place like that.
“Whatever could be in a place like that?” Noah wore a teasing grin.
“I’ll head there. Who’s in that district, by the way?” Fujiyan had only said that the poorest citizens and former criminals lived there.
“The cambions.”
“Cambions live in the capital?!” I demanded.
“They can live there, at least. Former criminals and the mafia make homes there, so it isn’t pleasant. But unfortunately for them, they have nowhere else to live.” She seemed disinterested as she spoke.
I got it... The ninth district was the lowest layer of the capital, and if cambions lived there, then maybe we’d be able to find out something about the Snake Sect.
“Okay, I’ll follow your advice and go there.”
“Be careful, Makoto,” she warned, vanishing as she did.
Well, we had our next destination then.
“It’s dark here...” Sasa commented.
“Yeah, I can barely see where I’m going,” I replied.
We were currently in the ninth district of Symphonia. Lucy, by the way, was staying back at the inn. Public order wasn’t great here, so someone as scantily and provocatively dressed as Lucy would be at risk. Sasa was strong, so I didn’t fear for her safety...and I’d honestly be scared if I was on my own. Fujiyan was currently reporting the information he’d gathered about the uprising to Princess Sophia.
The ninth district was a wreck, completely unlike the other places I’d been so far.
“I’ve heard that the area right by the entrance is the most developed...” I mused.
There was the odd store here and there, but no real hustle to any of them. Lots of places were empty. People were lying on the side of the road, and others were just staring off into space. Some people were sitting on benches smoking. The whole area just exuded an air of degeneracy.
“That’s a weird smell,” Sasa commented with a frown. There was indeed a stench. Part of it was the smell of trash being left in the drains, letting the water stagnate. But there was another facet, a sweeter component of the odor, which was...
“Weed.”
It was a smell I’d experienced in that tavern back in Roses, as well as in the circus tent. Fujiyan had even shown me the real thing once. It looked like tobacco at a glance.
That beastman from yesterday that Nina knew had some in his shop as well...
So was it going around Symphonia as well?
“I’m kinda nervous being able to smell it so easily on the main road,” Sasa commented.
“I guess there are no police here.”
Temple Knights took the role of the police on the western continent. They were an organization affiliated with the churches, so any town with a church would have Temple Knights keeping the peace. They had a presence in Macallan, but they were always drinking with adventurers. That town sure was peaceful...
The ninth district, though, had no sign of them. Was it lawless...?
“Are we being watched?” murmured Sasa.
“Yeah...” I replied. “I can feel it.”
The ninth district’s inhabitants were peering at us with glazed eyes even though we were wearing clothes that fit in. Gradually, some people started walking toward us, flanking and cutting us off from behind.
Gah, they’ve blocked the way.
They were muttering as they slowly moved toward us.
“Let’s run!”
“Got it!”
We darted down a road off the main street. I used my Mapping and Flee skills to carry on. Sasa was faster than me even without the skill.
H-Hey, wait up!
“Sasa, you’re too fast...” I called out through gasping breaths.
“There’s no one following us anymore,” she pointed out.
We’d come to an open space with no one around. It was a desolate space, just a garden patch field behind a broken fence, with chickens roaming around.
“A field? In the middle of town?”
“Looks like it,” Sasa replied. “They’re growing vegetables.”
It felt different, both from the luxury of the capital and from the entrance area of the slum town. It was almost peaceful here...but not quite. There was a run-down church farther in.
“Stop!” came a yell.
“They’re ours!”
“Don’t take our food!”
It sounded like an argument.
“Oh, who gives a shit?!”
“Who do you think lets you filthy-blooded brats live here!”
The screams came from children and an elderly woman, while the other voices were male and rough-sounding.
“Takatsuki!” Sasa called before running off.
So quick. I chased after her.
Will you help the children?
Yes
No
My RPG Player skill was giving me options. Not that it’s a hard choice this time.
“You’re trash if you’re picking on little kids like that!” Sasa shouted. There’s no way she would be able to leave children in trouble. She’d gone for a menacing pose, but with how small and cute she was, it was hardly effective.
“You what?” sneered one of the men.
“What’re you playing at?”
“Oh, actually, she’s pretty cute.”
“You into little kids?”
“I ain’t!”
“Then what d’ya like so much about that flat kid?”
Ack, they mocked her chest. She’s gonna be angry...
“You’d better be ready for this,” Sasa said after a pause. There was murder in her voice, you could hear the malice. She was even using her Menace skill. Scary! There was a chill running down my back and I was behind her.
The men immediately screamed and ran. They’d picked the wrong girl to mess with.
“Hmph, that was boring!” Sasa pouted, crossing her arms.
“Sasa, hey, Sasa,” I called out. “Look over here.”
“Hm?” She did and soon noticed that the kids were all on the floor, and one of them had even wet themselves.
“Ahh! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
Both of us apologized deeply.
After that encounter, they showed us into the church. The interior looked just as old as the exterior, but it was maintained, and you could see that people lived here.
“Thank you so much...for helping people such as us.” The elderly woman wearing worn clothes was probably the person in charge of the church, perhaps similar to a nun.
“Thank you!” the children chorused politely. All of their clothes were beaten up as well.
“It’s fine,” Sasa insisted. “I can’t believe they’d be so harsh to such small children.”
“Why did they do that?” I asked.
The woman looked stricken at my question and then began to explain.
“This church is an orphanage. All of the children here have demon blood, so they were abandoned... Those of us that carry such blood are hated...no, despised.”
“Cambions...”
“We are...there are others that call us dirty-blooded.” The woman removed her headpiece to reveal small horns, then replaced it. “Of course, the blood is exceptionally weak and we have no real powers from it. We simply look slightly different than humans... These children are all the same—their looks are the primary reason they become orphaned, as anyone can tell from their appearance that they have demon ancestry.”
“We don’t know what our parents look like...” one offered.
“Because our blood’s dirty...”
“We have to be grateful we are at least allowed to live...”
Their faces looked dark.
“What...on earth?” Sasa was scowling.
“Couldn’t you leave the capital?” I asked.
If they were in another country without a rigid class structure, wouldn’t it be better?
“There are over fifty orphans here...with more arriving each year...” explained the elderly woman.
“I...see...” It wasn’t that simple, then. Besides, they didn’t seem to have the money to be able to move anyway. After all, they were living off the land here.
“In Macallan at least, maybe Fujiwara or Chris would be able to help...?” Sasa said.
She didn’t seem to want to give up. I understood, but looking after so many children wasn’t easy, and Fujiyan wasn’t exactly running a charity.
“Macallan?” the woman asked. “Do you know any adventurers that go by either Jean or Emily?”
Oh, I didn’t expect to hear those names.
“I do. We’ve even been in an adventuring party with them before.”
“Is that so?! Are they doing well?” Her expression had suddenly brightened. Apparently, they had been raised here. Come to think of it, those two had mentioned that they were brought up in an orphanage in Highland.
So that meant...
“They’re...cambions?”
“Ah...” The woman looked aghast with herself. She must have assumed she’d let it slip.
“We’re otherworlders, so we don’t really care,” I reassured her.
“O-Otherworlders? You’re legendary heroes?!”
“Nope, just non-legendary heroes.”
She looked confused, so I gave her introductions.
“I never expected to meet the State-Authorized Hero of Roses!” she exclaimed in shock.
“You’re so great, mister!”
“Wooow, cool!”
“A hero...that’s amazing.”
The kids were all excited. They were going to make me blush.
“You’re grinning, Takatsuki,” Sasa said to me.
“You can’t blame me.”
“Nope, it’s great,” she remarked happily.
“Jean and Emily are doing fine, then?” pressed the elderly woman. “They haven’t been adventurers for long, but they send money back to us. It cannot be an easy life for them...” Even so, the woman was smiling.
I had no idea that Jean was doing that... We spent a little longer talking about them, and the woman’s smile grew as we did.
“I see... So they’re lovers now.”
“They didn’t use to be?” I asked. They’d seemed that way when we’d first met.
“Emily acted like his older sister while they were here. She was worried when Jean decided he’d become an adventurer, so she decided to follow him.” Her voice was filled with nostalgia.
“Oh, really? I’ll have to remind Jean about that at some point.”
“You’re so mean, Takatsuki,” Sasa needled.
I’d have to at least mention it to him... It’d make for some interesting conversation.
Of course, we could go on talking about Jean and Emily the whole time—this was an orphanage for cambions, so I figured they might have some information.
“This church...is dedicated to Althena,” I noted, peering up at the statue of the sun goddess.
“There are no other churches in Highland,” the woman explained.
“Oh...that’s like in Roses.” It seemed as if this country was as strict with religion as I’d heard. “By the way,” I said afterward, nonchalantly trying to nudge us onto our main topic. “Have you heard of the Snake Sect?”
The moment I said it, her face sharpened. “Do you think we follow that Daemon?!”
“N-No!”
“Not at all!” Sasa and I both shook our heads frantically.
“Their cruel acts make their brethren suffer! They attack humans indiscriminately and spread that foul weed around, trying to bring chaos to the world. And then, the hate they stir up is directed at us powerless cambions...”
Eventually, she seemed to lose her steam. So the people here were just more of the Snake Sect’s victims... Part of what she’d said stuck with me, though.
“They’re the ones spreading the weed?”
“They are. Everyone in the district knows it. The sales let them gain money for their activities. Someone claiming affiliation with them even asked us if we would cultivate it. Naturally, we turned them down.”
“They were going to use these children?” Sasa asked, a dangerous look on her face. “They won’t get away with this.”
So...there was a connection between the weed and the Snake Sect.
“We’re looking for them,” I explained. “One of them caused a group of monsters to rampage in Roses’s capital, and he said that Symphonia was their next target.”
“How awful,” the woman said with a pained look.
“It doesn’t matter how small the detail might be—do you know anything?”
One of the children that had been listening suddenly piped up. “Maybe the water tunnels...”
“The water tunnels?” Sasa and I asked in unison.
“There are huge tunnels beneath the city that transport water and act as drainage.”
“There are rumors...that the mafia or the Snake Sect have hideouts within them.”
“I told the kids not to go near them because of the abductions,” the woman added, “but...”
Well, that certainly sounded like an interesting place. I didn’t know there were places like that here. “Underground tunnels through Symphonia...”
“Are you planning on going into them?” inquired Sasa, seemingly surprised.
Will you explore the water tunnels?
Yes
No
Today was a day of decisions, it seemed.
“Let’s go, Sasa.”
“Sure, sure, let’s!” She laughed, but it sounded conflicted.
So be it. Our next destination was the water tunnels.
“This is the entrance,” said the cambion boy that had guided us. He looked uneasily in our direction. “Are you really going inside?”
“We’ll be fine, and if it looks too risky, we’ll come right out,” I assured him.
“You say that, but you seem really excited,” Sasa snarked. She saw right through me.
We were in front of something that looked like a big well. I peered into the round hole built of bricks and could see that it descended into the ground. There was a rusted ladder clinging to the side that we’d have to use to get underground.
“We’ll be back soon,” I told him.
“Take care,” the boy replied with uncertainty. He watched us as we climbed down.
“So dark...” I muttered. “Sasa, are you all right?” There wasn’t much light down here, so it was almost pitch black. I was using my Night Vision skill.
“What? I can see just fine. It’s brighter than it was in Labyrinthos.”
“O-Oh.” Well, I shouldn’t have expected any different, considering that’s where she’d grown up.
“I’m happy, though. I was imagining something much dirtier when they brought these tunnels up, but the water’s even clean.”
“It comes from the Centrin River that flows past the city, and is connected to the sea farther downstream,” I explained.
“Oh, is it?”
The tunnel was a few meters wide, almost like a small river. There was a narrow footpath to the side, but I used water walking to stride across the water’s surface instead.
Sasa’s hand was in mine, just as cool as ever.
“This is convenient, but aren’t there monsters underwater?” she asked. “Like sea serpents?”
“Sasa, we’re not in Labyrinthos right now,” I said with a strained grin. There wouldn’t be any monsters in the tunnels, since Symphonia would certainly have a barrier in place to repel them.
“About the only thing there’d be here are class zeroes,” I told her.
“What’s a class zero?”
“Oh, it refers to a monster’s danger level. The adventurer’s guild determines them. Class zeroes can be taken down by even an average person.”
I took the opportunity to explain the classification of monster strength in this world. It was a scale from zero to eight. Classes four and above were also called calamities.
“It’s so carefully divided up,” Sasa said in admiration.
“You’re one of those last four, by the way.”
“Wha?! I-I’m a calamity?!”
She was utterly shocked. So she hadn’t realized... Honestly, she didn’t have a good gauge of her own strength.
There were smaller tunnels that split off around us—the main tunnel was around five meters wide, while the tributary tunnels were only two or three meters wide.
I was going slowly, using Mapping to make sure we didn’t get lost. It was much more pleasant than a dungeon though because we didn’t have to worry about monsters. We did, however, have to look out for the Snake Sect or the mafia. It would be bad if we were spotted. Regardless, we hadn’t come across anyone yet, so it was like taking a casual stroll through the tunnels.
“Sasa, stop,” I said suddenly as my Scout skill reacted.
“Yeah, I can hear footsteps... More than one set.”
We used Stealth to hide. Was this the Snake Sect? If so, we’d hit the jackpot. Sasa and I held our breaths and waited.
The steps were strangely “clacky,” but eventually, figures appeared. They were humanoid but lacked any meat... Just bones...but they were moving.
They were undead.
“Skeletons?!” I exclaimed quietly.
“See, there are monsters,” Sasa replied.
Weird...what had happened to the barrier?
“What should we do?” she asked.
“Hmm, we could just ignore them...”
There was an important concept in dungeon clearing—always try to take out any monsters you come across to avoid getting caught in a pincer on your way out. Lucas—a veteran—had constantly warned us to make sure we always had an escape route cleared.
“Let’s take them down.”
“Got it.”
The tunnels had a plentiful supply of water, which would act as my weapon. Fortunately, there were plenty of water elementals here as well.
Just as I was about to use my water magic to deal with them, Sasa gave a slight cheer. Her hammer suddenly grew in size, and she crushed all three of them in one blow. There was a crunch as the skeletons broke into pieces.
“Whoa...” I whispered.
“Wait... That was it?”
The former skeletons were now bone fragments that’d simply smacked against the wall. She’d cleared them in a single hit...
Well, on we go.
“Skeletons, more skeletons, zombies, even more skeletons...there’s quite a few of them,” I commented, listing off what we’d come across so far.
“And they’re all undead,” Sasa grumbled with a tired look. It hadn’t taken more than one hit for her to defeat any of them. I’d expect no less, but something was bothering me.
“They’re always in groups of three.”
“It’s not a coincidence?”
“Three-man teams are used for troops...” I mused. “Someone’s pulling their strings.” A necromancer with moon magic would be able to control the skeletons and zombies, which meant there was a high chance someone was controlling these. “Could it be related to the cambions...or the Snake Sect?” I wondered.
“Maybe we should head back?” Sasa suggested.
She’d been unstoppable so far, but now she seemed nervous. I’d want to avoid anything stronger as well, so I was about to agree, but then we heard someone shout.
“H-Help! Damn it all!”
An adventurer? Or maybe...
“Takatsuki, we have to help!” Sasa wasn’t the wait-and-see type. It was kinda manly, actually.
We rushed toward the scream and saw a young man screeching, surrounded by skeletons and zombies.
We had to do something!
“Water Magic: Water Dragon!” I cast, sending the magic toward the man.
“Gah!” The spell only impacted the man, carrying him away. Now there was some distance between him and the monsters.
“Sasa!” I called.
“Got it!”
There was a loud thud as Sasa’s massive hammer swiped through the air and sent the undead horde flying. There were about twenty of them.
“I’m done,” she immediately reported.
“Already?!”
It hadn’t even taken a minute... I was glad she was with me.
“What about the guy?”
“Passed out. Come on, wake up,” I called, lightly slapping his cheeks.
He looked to be around twenty or so, with...dog? Or maybe wolf ears. The darkness made it hard to tell, but his clothes looked pretty high-quality.
And that was despite being in the ninth district. Hmm...who was this person?
“Ugh... What happened?” groaned the man as he stirred awake. “Am I dead?”
“You’re alive.”
“Y-You two!” He quickly backed away, but then he saw the array of monsters—or more accurately, the chunks they’d been turned into—and just stared in shock.
“You took them all out. Who in the... It doesn’t matter—you saved me. My thanks.”
“You’re quite welcome,” I told him.
Sasa shrunk her hammer again.
“My name’s Peter Castor. You can call me Brother if you like,” he grinned, offering an exaggerated bow. It ended up coming across as a bit pretentious.
“I’m Makoto Takatsuki and this is Aya Sasaki. We’re adventurers from Roses.” I left out the bit about being a hero.
“Why are you here of all places? Oh...getting rid of the monsters. Well, you sure saved me at least. The guild works fast!”
Peter nodded to himself in acceptance, apparently not finding us suspicious. I couldn’t just ask him if he knew anything about the Snake Sect out of nowhere, so we’d have to carry on with the small talk.
“Are there often monsters down here?” I asked.
“Come on, Brother! Of course not! I’m down here a lot, but this is the first time I’ve come across the undead!”
So there weren’t normally monsters here after all. Something strange had to be going on.
“We took down at least ten groups of skeletons and zombies on our way, though,” Sasa told him.
“Whoa, for real, little miss?! We’re not going to be able to get work done down here, then!” He seemed dismayed to hear it.
“We’re going now—want to come with?” I offered.
“Sure! I ’ppreciate it! I was with my friends, but we split up,” he explained happily.
“You don’t want to look for them?”
“I stayed back as bait, they’ll have already gotten out.”
He was still thinking of his friends at least, so despite where we’d met him, he didn’t seem like a bad person.
“Let’s go, then.”
“I’ll lead the way,” he suggested before explaining proudly. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. I know the place like the back of my hand.”
Weren’t kids steered away from the tunnels, though?
Every time any undead showed up, Sasa would pound them down with her hammer and a quiet yell.
“You’re really something, little miss. There’s nothing left of them!” Peter exclaimed.
“Takatsuki’s even stronger,” she replied.
Hold on! You don’t need to say that.
“Wicked, Brother. What rank are you? You famous?”
“I’m a silver rank, but only because of Sasa’s help,” I explained the misunderstanding, showing him my metal badge.
“I get you. Keep your trump card in reserve, huh?”
You don’t get me at all...
“By the way, what were you doing down here, Peter?” Since we were keeping up the small talk, I decided to sound him out.
“Come on, you don’t need to be so formal. You can even call me Pete, Brother! I was here for work. We’d had a meeting, but they never showed, then the monsters turned up. It’s definitely been a day! Worth it to meet you two, though! I’ll have to thank Ira!” Peter offered a prayer as he grabbed the fine gold chain around his neck.
He’s praying to the Goddess of Fortune, Ira... I’m pretty sure he’s not part of the Snake Sect, then.
Their members all followed the Daemon Typhon, and according to Noah, they were zealots, so they wouldn’t pray to other deities even as an act.
Ira is related to luck and business, so many of her believers are merchants...
“That’s awful, Pete. Is the exit around here?” I asked.
“Yup, it’s here! I’m sure of it.”
He was right—we stepped out of the tunnels in a different place than we’d entered.
“Too bright!”
“My eyes aren’t used to it!”
Sasa and I both shielded our eyes as we stepped out of the dim tunnels and into the bright sunlight. I wanted some sunglasses.
“Brother, you need these if you’re going under!”
I looked at Peter and saw him wearing...sunglasses. So they had those, even in this world.
Just then, I heard some noisy footsteps approaching.
“Cap!”
“Are you safe?!”
“Are you hurt?!”
They belonged to a bunch of rough-looking men with short hair and tattoos! All of them had sunglasses too! Who were they?
“Listen up! These two saved my life! Don’t be rude!” His earlier easygoing demeanor had vanished and his voice now sounded threatening.
“Our apologies, Cap!” they chorused.
Sasa and I just made confused noises before looking back at Peter.
“Sorry, Brother! I haven’t got the time today, so we’ll thank you in the future. Take this as a symbol of that pledge.” Peter handed me a gold badge with some crest on it. “Be seeing you!”
With that, the black-clad men surrounded him, and then they all left.
Sasa and I just looked at each other.
“Hey, Takatsuki...”
Yup, I knew what she wanted to say.
“Pete’s one of the mafia.”
The Goddess of Fortune, Ira, was a goddess popular with merchants and the mafia.
“Takatsuki...what’d they mean by Cap?”
“Uhhh, maybe capo? It’s a title in the mafia, I think.”
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“Let’s... Let’s just go back.”
“Yeah...”
We ended up leaving the ninth district without discovering any sign of the Snake Sect.
When we returned to the inn, a summons to the castle was waiting for us.
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