"He was pickpocketing."
Burleigh spoke from behind Vlad, who was looking frustrated.
"He was awkward, foolish, and he had no skill. That's why he got caught."
"······."
Rather than responding to Burleigh's words, Vlad was examining the condition of the child writhing on the ground.
"Did you cut his fingers?"
"No."
"Did you cut his ankle?"
"No."
Burleigh smiled as he watched Vlad inquire about the young pickpocket's condition.
Because he was confident that his cute junior would definitely hand over the silver coins.
"It's really fresh. I just gave it a little touch. You can eat it raw if you want."
"Hahaha!"
"Then! I even gave it a good beating to make it taste better!"
The members of the Jorge Family who were behind them burst into laughter as if Burleigh's words were amusing.
"······Fine."
Vlad sighed and took out the glittering silver coins from his pocket.
"As expected! I was sure my proud junior would agree to the deal."
"Next time, don't call me. Just kill him."
"Why do you say that? We're gang members, not murderers."
"The bastards who scam their own family members."
The members of the Jorge Family just laughed even when the youngest, Vlad, uttered harsh words.
They had already recognized Vlad, who had survived in the tough back alleys.
They could easily tolerate the harsh complaints of their young brother.
"The big brothers are going for a drink!"
"Go and catch a venereal disease."
"As expected of the rising star! Vlad's club is spicy, and his tongue is sharp!"
"I don't know if his middle club is spicy too!"
"Hahaha!"
Moreover, Vlad stood out despite his young age.
The sharp awl is bound to stick out of your pocket no matter where you are.
Surviving in the slums alone was not enough, Vlad had also taken control of the young vagabonds in the alleyways and garnered the attention of various gangs operating within the slums.
He was an object of admiration for young vagabonds in the alleys who had not yet received the gang's call.
And the boy was the top priority recruitment target for gangs in need of talent.
That was the value possessed by a 16-year-old boy, Vlad.
"Get up, before I kill you."
"Ugh... ugh..."
Vlad said while tapping the bound boy with his foot.
"Did you see that I just got ripped off? Read the atmosphere."
"Huh..."
In response to Vlad's stern warning, the dark-skinned boy with both hands bound and a gag in his mouth rolled on the ground with all his might and managed to stand up somehow.
"Puh-ha! Sorry, Vlad. I was trying to slip away in moderation."
Vlad couldn't tell if the boy was apologizing for pickpocketing or for getting caught, but he could at least see that the young black boy in front of him was sincerely apologizing.
Smack!
"Ow!"
"I am really pissed."
After vigorously slapped the back of the black boy's head, Vlad rubbed his eyes with both palms as if tired.
"Five gold is getting farther away again."
"Do you need money? Then borrow it from the one-armed Jack."
"I'd rather eat rat poison than borrowing from that guy."
Vlad shook his head when the name of another boss, who ruled the back alleys alongside Jorge, came up.
"Did you have any broken bones?"
"No."
"Then get out of here right now."
"...Are you going to tell my hyung?"
Whether he was aware of how close he had just come to being severely beaten or not, the black boy was simply afraid that his actions would be reported to his older brother.
"I will get 40 silver from your brother."
"No, Vlad, please!"
"Then your brother will give me 40 silver, and you idiot will get at least 400 beatings."
The young black boy smiled fearfully and predicted the impending future after seeing Vlad's unwavering blue eyes.
"Next time, I won't get caught..."
"Maybe you haven't improved at all because you're so stupid."
Vlad ushered the young pickpocket, who was pledging his next success, out of the shop with a gloomy expression.
Watching the black boy disappear into the alley at the end, Vlad raised his head and looked at Rosa's smiles.
Rosa's smiles seemed to be filled only with tranquility without flashy lights.
However...
"... I need someone's comfort today."
Today, he just ruthlessly dealt with an innocent customer and heard about the corruption of bright Madame, and even had money taken by senior members.
Normally, he would go inside the Rose's Smile and get some sleep, but today he decided to bask in the bright sunshine.
Vlad walked in the opposite direction of where the young black boy had gone. He could smell the thick stench of filth lingering in the mist around him.
※※※※
The knight of the whores, Jorge.
Money bug, one-armed Jack.
Swine Slaughterer, Black Bear.
The gambling den's Dice.
And the whale hunter, Captain Hoover.
These five were the bosses currently ruling over Shoara's slums.
"So, why did you come to see me?"
"You got some money?"
And the man named Harven, whom Vlad had come to see, was a member of Captain Hoover family, the whale hunter.
"The first thing you say as soon as we see each other after a long time is, 'Give me money'?"
"I just need 5 gold."
"Can I really get the money back if I lend it to someone who's already been robbed?"
"I had no choice."
"No, you can't. You have no credibility."
Harven shakes his head.
Harven has unremarkable brown hair, unlike Vlad's flashy blond hair, but his impression is just as strong as Vlad.
"You're really something, too. How can you ask a disabled guy who can't even stand up for money?"
It was a small room.
A tiny room that would be cramped with two people sitting in it.
Therefore, even Harven, who had to rely on a cane, could reach for a bottle in the cupboard with one foot.
Even with his left hand, which had only three fingers.
"Drink this and get out. Your hyung is busy."
"Is it okay to drink this?"
Vlad opened the bottle and wrinkled his nose at the strange smell emanating from the alcohol.
"It's Captain Hoover's masterpiece, Captain Q. It's a drink that kills three when two people drink it."
"Then I can use it as poison later."
Vlad gave up on drinking the suspicious alcohol and sat in front of Harven, and watched him work.
A small room, a nondescript desk overflowing with bundles of paper, and densely written numbers and letters inside.
And Harven was flipping through them tirelessly.
"Even though I can read and write, I don't know what's written there."
"That's something I taught you, too."
"I can read numbers, at least."
"That's something I taught you as well."
A smile lingered around Harven's eyes as he listened to Vlad's grumbling words.
Harven was like a benefactor to both Zemina and Vlad. Harven shared his blanket with them when they were rolling around in the back alleys as children.
If it weren't for the warmth he provided, Zemina and Vlad would have frozen to death long ago, and if it weren't for the bread he stole, they would have starved to death.
"But that kid was lucky. They set pickpockets and cut them here and there like they did to me."
"Well, there were good times too."
Back then, they were a trio who made a living as pickpockets, but that also came to an end after Harven became a cripple.
"…But unlike last time, this new bishop seems more interested in something other than pickpockets."
Harven had been unlucky. The bishop in Shoara at that time happened to be sensitive to theft and pickpocketing.
Normally, it would have ended with a beating, but Harven lost two fingers and had his left ankle slit as a demonstration of the bishop's tendency.
Harven's pitiful screams echoed through the back alleys, but no one was there to help the street vagabond, who was like the dregs of the city.
Fortunately, Vlad had grown enough to feed all three of them at the time when Harven couldn't earn a living.
That's how Vlad, Zemina, and Harven managed to keep each other alive in a precarious way.
"So, what did the new bishop say he's sensitive about?"
"Pedophilia."
"Oh, right, I remember now. Haha! I remember Zemina muttering something."
Depending on the tendency of each bishop in the city, church regulations varied slightly.
Unlike the previous bishop, the one who had been assigned to Shoara five years ago was more interested in children than theft and pickpocketing.
"So, that's why Zemina's debut was forcibly postponed?"
"Madam is being careful. I guess the shop has become famous, so it's attracting attention from the church."
For the young girls in the back alleys who had nothing to sell but their bodies, engaging in prostitution regardless of age was a matter of course.
However, all of that was prohibited due to the new bishop who was appointed five years ago.
Anyone who had sex with a girl who wasn't an adult will be excommunicated.
That was the major rule set by the new bishop.
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, Zemina, who hadn't yet reached adulthood, ends up doing nothing more than washing dishes as a result.
Perhaps Zemina will have no choice but to remain a virgin under the protection of the church and Madam until she reaches her age.
"A chaste wannabe whore! It sounds like she's a pregnant virgin! Haha!"
"And on top of that, her body still hasn't grown at all. Even if Zemina becomes an adult, any man who sleeps with her will definitely be excommunicated, right?"
"Hahaha! That kid won't grow up until she dies."
After talking about Zemina for a while, Harven chuckled but unconsciously stared at the wall.
It was a small room. Amidst the dust and the smell of paper, there was another scent that you could feel if you concentrated.
It was the scent of a river.
Captain Hoover, who primarily engaged in smuggling, had his base by the riverside, and beyond the wall that Harven was looking at, there was the river that fed Shoara, the city.
A wide, blue river that could take you anywhere. Unlike Harven, who was tied up here.
"Well, I feel like I won't be able to get out of here until I die, just like Zemina won't grow up until she dies."
"..."
Vlad couldn't help but feel saddened by Harven's statement, even though he couldn't deny that he was right.
"Well, Vlad, there's something I wanted to tell you."
"Yeah?"
The sharp-witted Harven taught himself how to read and understand numbers. He knew he needed more than others to survive.
Because of that sharp mind, he got a job even if he was crippled.
Because of that sharp mind, he could understand how the city of Shoara worked even in the cramped room, as reflected in the letters and numbers written on the documents.
※※※※
"Be careful."
Those were the last words Harven spoke to Vlad as he picked up the bottle and got up.
But no amount of warnings could change the fact that Vlad had no choice but to live in a place where survival meant taking from others, and taking meant hurting someone else.
"Ugh... This alcohol tastes really foul."
And you would inevitably get hurt in the process.
"Three people will really die when two people drink it."
And perhaps, I will also die.
This was a place where moth-like people fluttered in the darkness, facing constant risks and dangers, and Vlad knew it all too well. He was just another fragile moth.
"It shines..."
Despite his fading vision due to the strong liquor, Vlad could see something shining in front of him.
The boy stood before it and gazed endlessly at the shining object.
"... Five gold wouldn't be too much to pay for such radiance."
He found himself mesmerized by that radiant object.
"...It's a remarkable light."
In the dark and unforgiving back alleys where a cheap drink consoled him, the boy stood before that inexplicable source of light, just like a moth drawn to a flame.
He gazed at it for a long time in front of the old blacksmith's shop.