Nem's face didn't get better as he realized that even this poor orphan who needed to risk everything to eat had shoes, although they didn't seem to quite be the right size and a few toes were exposed through the front.
The child, still gasping for air, looked about the same age as Nem, with his original tone of skin and even hair color difficult to guess because of the coal and accumulated dirt.
'No, he might be a bit older taking into account malnutrition. He probably thought I was another orphan and was afraid that they would come after me to after he escaped. Well, it's true that I only look a bit cleaner...'
Seeing that he had mostly recovered, Nem began the conversation :
"Hey man you know that was a pretty bad move there, I had everything completely under control until you exposed me like that."
"Uh, ah yes, sorry I wasn't thinking..."
'Maybe he hasn't recovered after all.' Nem thought, noticing the child's wide eyes and the shock in his voice.
"What, is this your first time stealing or something ? Pull yourself together already." Nem was a bit mad and regretful.
'If this kid didn't interrupt me, I might have been able to grab a pair of shoes somewhere.'
"It is..." The orphan took a deep breath to calm himself. "My first time getting caught." He glanced at Nem, showing a bit of confusion. "I'm Pat, I don't remember seeing you around before."
'Well that's probably because I just came today.'
"Doesn't matter. I'm Nem. Do you know every orphan in the city or something ?"
"No, I..." Pat seemed to not want to bother arguing and gave up. "Anyway, sorry about dragging you into this..."
"I see, if you are really sorry then you won't mind guiding me somewhere ?"
"Uh ? Well I guess... It depends where you..."
"Perfect !" Nem cut him off before the boy could think. "It's in the southwest area."
"Ok, there is no problem then..."
"The Fat Snake's bar ?" Nem gave the first location he was supposed to check randomly rather hesitantly, since it was his first time using the name.
"How about no ?" Pat counter-offered almost immediately with a serious face. Nem could see some shock hidden in his eyes as well.
"What ? Hey don't worry you just have to drop me off close to it, no need to get all scared like that."
The boy seemed to hesitate and looked at the apple in Nem's hand. In this region, apples were red in and out and they contained a lot of juice while still keeping the same kind of taste.
"I'll do it if you give me that." He licked his lips, perhaps imagining the fresh juice that would come out when he ate it.
Nem nonchalantly and very naturally bit the apple himself while looking straight at the child.
"I don't think you understand, if you don't do what I tell you not only will you not get anything but I'll also take your shoes." The truth was that no matter how much he wanted to, he still wouldn't steal something from such a poor kid. It didn't stop him from scaring his thought.
Besides, being confronted with his status as a child in a city of adults made him a bit angry. It was a very normal reaction. Ask anyone who suddenly regressed to half their size, they'll tell you.
Pat watched him eat the apple with an aggravated expression, but his face lit up a bit when he remembered the chicken leg he still acquired this time. In the end, the boy seemed worried Nem would also take his food and decided to help.
"Alright, I'll show you the way." He started to eat his chicken and his face immediately turned more relaxed. "If you want a place to sleep, it's not far from there either. The only problem is that your stuff might get stolen."
Pat seemed to have assumed that Nem wasn't familiar with this part of the city since he had asked for a guide, and proceeded to give him a bunch of information.
According to the boy, the orphans all lived in the southwest area because they were always a run-down abandoned building that could protect them from adults and the climate itself. After all, this was a tropical region, and the weather alternated between heavy rain and blazing sun.
Also, it wasn't rare for people staying on the streets to disappear or get killed by either the local police or random criminals. Nem was very surprised to learn that the local law promised anyone who slept without a roof over their heads a thorough beating, even if that person was a child.
Pat reacted this way to Nem's request because Mannie and his organization were known to target orphans and even normal children or adolescents. As for exactly what happened to them, Pat didn't know, but he was sure it wasn't something good.
"If everyone knows about it and they even kidnap children with families, how come they are not arrested yet ?"
It was Nem's honest question. He could now see why he would be told to spy on this person, but still didn't quite understand why he would even need to bother instead of just delivering him to the police or the church itself.
"Pf !" Pat made a mocking noise. "You really aren't from here, they is no way you would ask that if you were !" Seeing that Nem kept looking at him with a questioning gaze, the orphan clarified. "The city police won't go and arrest people in this area as long as they get a bit of money out of it. Even if they act in the rest of the city, they won't get in trouble as long as they aren't caught red-handed."
From Pat's tone of voice, Nem could guess that he had heard this from someone else, but that he also was disgusted at the police. There was also a lot of hatred towards the end and it intensified as he continued.
"This is the case from most of the criminals in the city, and there are not even the only ones who kidnap children. My friend said that a lot of policemen are criminals as well and they would be happy if someone made all the orphans of the city disappear."
Nem stayed silent for a while.
'I can almost feel the little bit of faith in humanity I still have fade away into nothingness. Just kidding, I don't have any. Speaking of which, I wonder what genocides were committed in this world... It was pretty much a rite of passage for powerful countries back in mine after all.'
Realizing he had become too immersed in his own thoughts, Nem asked :
"So they wouldn't arrest the criminals that give them money even if someone delivered them to the police station ?"
Pat didn't even need to think about it and answered immediately while nodding energetically.
"They would ! It happened not too long ago, Big Kor wanted to get rid of one his competitors and arranged to make him commit a crime right in front of the police. Everyone was talking about it at the time."
Nem was confused.
'So it would work if we just used force to kidnap them and a bit of brainwashing to make them admit their wrongdoings, right ? Maybe they are too strong for the Blessed of the church ? But that doesn't make sense, or the criminal I have to follow wouldn't have any competitors.'
'Also, I'm quite sure Carl is blessed as well, maybe even stronger than Tier 9. He wouldn't be in charge of a whole city and a secret orphan like me if he was a normal person. He is just too young to be a paper-pusher.'
Nem arrived at that conclusion rather easily, since he had been surrounded by Blessed within the monastery and even the conductors of his carriage were Blessed. Even if they were a good number of orphans in the monastery and Nem was an eyesore, he still wasn't exactly a random child they could hand off to anyone. He knew too much.
'So, what exactly am I doing here ? This mission might not be as simple as I thought...'
'I'm starting to believe that they didn't choose a random mission for me after all.'
Not capable of reaching a conclusion in this short amount of time, Nem decided to carry on with the conversation.
"Big Kor ? Who is that ?"
"A criminal who does a lot of different things. I heard he also kidnaps children, so we need to keep away from his men as well."
"Again ? Damn, how are you guys even managing to live in this town..." Nem was speechless. How many threats were the orphans of Lunhart dealing with on a daily basis ?
Pat's face darkened as he said in a low voice.
"We don't really... It's just that there are a lot of us orphans, and there are some adults who help us sometimes."
Nem looked at the little boy walking alongside him. He really didn't seem to be around 10 years old from the way he spoke and handled himself. Despite panicking so much after almost getting caught, he was already back to chatting with him about those difficult things without much problem and leading him to a dangerous location.
As Nem was busy thinking, Pat added with a lost expression.
"My friend said that there are so many orphans because the men of this city are all criminals and idiots who can't keep it in their pants. But I don't understand, if they get their money stolen so often that they can't take care of us, why aren't they keeping it somewhere else ?"
After a brief pause to understand the kid's reasoning, Nem suddenly exploded in a loud laugh, startling Pat who was near him. It was a gentle laugh, without any intention of mocking him but a bit of relief instead.
'I guess he really is still a kid after all.'