It's high noon. John and Maini finally make it to a hole in a wall that lead to an abandoned space filled with old thing. It was dark but homely. As soon as John's eyes adjusted, he could make out a large map drawn out in detail on the wall.
John: whoa...
Maini: welcome to my humble home. Well, our home. Mine and Gen.
John: cozy. What's up with the map?
Maini: oh. Gen draw it. He keeps track of everything. I mean everything in the city. He updates it every job.
John: what does he do for a living?
Maini: ... Uh... Back alley jobs.
John: he's a full on criminal, isn't he?
Maini: kind of...
John: well, no wonder I gotta hide. My face is on even more wanted posters. Thank you very much.
Maini: its for a good cause!
John: yeah. And what would that be?
Maini: well tell me why your wanted first. What did you do?
John: ... Live apparently.
Maini: really?
John: I'm serious. You 'friend' is probably the most unlucky person on the planet if he looks like me.
Maini: why? What's wrong with you?
John: the people in my village... Call me a wicked. Some... Unholy offspring of a witch and something else. I'm basically not allowed to live.
Maini: ... Whoa. Okay. More questions now.
John: if you want to know why I decided to just walk up to the front door of an inn, its because I don't look what I am. Thank god.
Maini: even more questions.
John: no. I don't know what I'm mixed with. No, I don't know why I'm called a wicked to begin with since I never knew my parents. And no, I don't think your friend is one either.
Maini: ... how did you know what I was gonna ask?
John: because I asked myself the exact same questions. Now you? What's with the map?
Maini: Oh. Gen did that. He's been updating every change that happens here.
John: changes?
She points to the center of the map.
Maini: see the big yellow line in the center? That wasn't there before a few years ago, it just got finished last season. And since then, this place has been getting divided and less people have been able to live normal lives here. That centerpiece is the new central tower, where the high class and ambassadors live. They never leave unless they go out to a meeting elsewhere.
She points the lower half of the map next. It's covered in mostly X's and dallaps signs.
Maini: this is middle class, where you were. The places with dallaps on them are the successful shops and the ones crossed out are mostly the housing areas that were taken over by the highers.
John: .... What about the blank ones?
Maini: those are still good too, but they refuse to follow the tax rising.
John: tax rising? Like you raise your price, we drop your tax?
Maini: Yeah. But some of them are getting close to shutting down like the rest of the town.
She points to the violet area next. It has a thin red line through the center of the section.
Maini: this used to be like the middle class before the tower. This is where the mafia and shady people live. The place was pretty hectic until Gen showed up.
John: Wait, so he's not really a local like you?
Maini: .... No. He's not, but ever since he's been here, it's been a lot more peaceful on this side. So much so that even people like me could go over there without getting killed.
John: what about the red line?
Maini : I think that was to show there were two groups when he marked it. There isn't any more action going on, but they still see themselves as separate groups. I don't know much else about them, though.
John: That's fine. It's probably for your safety. So, what about you? Where do you and the others go on this map.
Maini hesitates, then turns the map over revealing a well drawn maze with a blue opening at the top. The maze was made to fit under the town map.
Maini: the rest of us locals live here. Me and the people that once resided in Sillia.
John: .... It's a.... Water system?
Maini: yeah. Since it hadn't be used in a while, it became like an empty stomach. But not long after almost half the population was forced down there right after the tower was built. Everyone was persecuted one after the other because of the tax made by the highers. Soon after the mafia took over and began fighting over the land, completely ignored by authorities.
Maini releases the map and it flips back to the first one. She sits on a box in the room. John sits on the floor.
Maini: during that time, the highers thought it'd be funny to flood the water system with everyone down there. Half of us were wiped off the map entirely. The flood continued for days and eventually we just about gave up. I was desperate to get out, so I decided to risk going back to the other side praying for any kind of help. That's when I first met Gen.