Chapter 50
Suddenly, the shabby boy who'd sprung out of the trash can tried to scramble away. But his ears were still ringing, and he couldn't walk properly, so he kept missing his steps.
He gritted his teeth.
“Damn…!”
But Lydia easily caught the boy.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“Eep?!”
Then the boy's hat came off.
A tangle of red hair, as unruly as a dog's fur, spilled out in a swish. The women gathered around stared at the boy(?) in shock.
“Marien?!”
Arti murmured.
“…Marien?”
Anyone could tell that was a woman's name.
The tall prostitute tilted her head and spoke, looking genuinely bewildered.
“Marien. Why were you in a trash can? Were you reminiscing about the old days with the traveling theater troupe in the Republic?”
“….”
“Why aren't you answering? You think Sister El's words mean nothing to you—huh?”
The woman, about to scold Marien for not answering her big sister, looked down. In Marien's small hand was a grimy wallet.
No way….
“!”
The woman sucked in a breath. Her back-alley survival instincts had gone on high alert. The prostitutes around her sensed the strange atmosphere too.
“That in her hand… surely….”
“No way?”
“What's going on?”
“Don't tell me…!”
“….”
They sensed that Marien had gotten into trouble.
But they hoped it was just some sudden mishap or misunderstanding. This was a gray zone; they couldn't get entangled in crimes from the outside world.
“….”
“….”
With that feeling in their hearts,
they silently looked at Marien.
“….”
“….”
But there was no answer.
She had pickpocketed someone.
She was admitting it.
The women turned pale and cried out.
“Y-you…! Are you crazy?! Why would you suddenly pickpocket someone?!”
“Are you trying to get us all killed? How many times have we told you the guards will come barging in if you drag outsiders from beyond the back alleys into this—!!”
“If they take down that mark, we'll have nowhere left to go!!”
“We went and fed you after you wandered in here all alone from outside the city…!”
“You should've just done the laundry quietly!”
One of the women tried to pry the wallet from Marien's hand. But Marien couldn't let go, her hand trembling.
“Marien!! Do you need to get beaten with a switch all night by Uncle Jack before you come to your senses?! Put it down right now—!!”
“I-I….”
Lydia calmly observed the scene. She assessed it with her keen senses, sharpened by drawing out mana.
“….”
This wasn't a performance meant to force people into feeling sympathy. Marien was mumbling in despair, and the women's breathing was ragged with confusion.
They were sincere.
“….”
‘They're shocked, but they don't look flustered at being caught. If anything, they're trying to condemn her among themselves. Did she really act alone…?’
At the very least, it didn't seem like the entire alley was in on Marien's crime. Rather, they seemed to regard pickpocketing as a serious violation of the alley's rules.
‘Did Marien drift into this alley from somewhere else? And while she's small, she seems older than I expected.’
If so,
all she needed to do was speak with the pickpocket.
Lydia approached Marien, who was arguing with the woman. Then she reached out and said,
“That wallet belongs to my friend. I’ll take it back.”
“!”
Marien hesitated.
“Ah, ah…. I need it….”
“….”
Lydia took a step closer.
“Let go of it. Whatever you want, if you take that wallet right in front of me, I’ll have no choice but to treat you as a pickpocket. And that would put the women who took you in in a difficult position. Choose carefully.”
“…Ugh.”
Marien pleaded in a trembling voice. Her frame was so small she looked like a ten-year-old boy, but the voice that came out was more mature than expected.
“C-could you pretend you didn’t see it just this once? I really need it for something…. I truly have no choice…!”
“That is robbery. No matter what the circumstances, I cannot condone it. Whatever your background, do not cross the line. No matter how weak a person is, they become evil the moment they give up thinking for themselves.”
“….”
Lydia gave her one final warning.
“Do not cross the line of your own will.”
“….”
Marien lowered her head.
“I-I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Good.”
Tap.
Lydia took the worn wallet back from her.
She went over to Arti and handed it back to him.
“Here.”
“Ah, th-thank you.”
At that moment,
a sharp sound rang out behind them.
Smack!
“!”
“!”
Arti and Lydia turned around.
The tall woman's hand had swung, and Marien's head was turned to the side.
“You…! You just sit there quietly, then suddenly pull some insane stunt? Did you go to a gambling den or something? Why'd you suddenly do something you never do?!”
“Urgh….”
“Answer me already!”
“I heard… Sister Lucia….”
“What?”
Marien bit her lip hard as she spoke.
“I heard that Sister Lucia was being held as a slave…. I was sitting in the plaza when I heard there was a red-haired slave coming up for auction…. Before someone else bought her….”
“What? That makes no sense…!”
The tall woman started to shout, but then saw Marien biting her lip and choking back sobs. She sighed and spoke calmly.
“They don't auction off slaves from the Republic. That place sells works of art and valuable goods. That was just drunken rambling from some drunkards.”
“….”
“You lost your head over one little rumor?”
“….”
“Phew.”
“….”
Lydia turned away.
‘The rest is for this alley to handle.’
“Arti, we should go.”
“…Yes.”
“Be more careful next time.”
“I will.”
The two of them started to leave. But the tall woman, who had been harshly scolding Marien, stopped them.
“E-excuse me…!”
“What is it?”
“…Thank you for letting her off. We had trouble recently, and if the guards had come by even once more, we would've been in danger.”
“I did not let her off. She simply took the warning given within this gray zone to heart.”
“I-I see…?”
“Then.”
Lydia turned away decisively.
The way back out of the alley was quiet.
“….”
“….”
Arti was the one who suddenly spoke.
“Lydia.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have a standard for forgiveness?”
“What kind of standard?”
“Those punks we ran into on the highway last time, and that kid… that girl—both of them committed crimes right in front of you.”
“That’s right.”
The punks who blocked their carriage last time.
And the girl who had pickpocketed someone just now.
Between those two,
Lydia had made different decisions.
“But you let the punks get caught by the patrol, while you didn't hand the kid over to the guards. I was wondering what the difference was.”
“….”
“Ah! I-I’m not criticizing you or anything. I was just curious.”
“Hmm.”
Lydia corrected Arti’s question.
“More precisely, you want to use my answer to the question ‘What would I have done in that situation?’ as a reference, then answer it for yourself.”
“…Yes.”
Lydia raised one finger and spoke.
“First: was it of their own will?”
“Their will?”
“The former crawled into a gambling den of their own free will, ruined themselves, and then thought up a crime to survive. The latter wasn't acting of her own will; she was so consumed by longing for her family that she put off making a rational judgment. I don't know if it was true, but I judged that she was sincere.”
“I see.”
Another finger went up.
“Second: is it an evil that can coexist with others? There's no putting people who abduct women to sell them on the same level as someone who could think of no way to raise money desperately except pickpocketing. That's why I acted differently.”
“….”
Arti scratched his head.
“I… don’t know.”
“That’s right. These are my standards. If you think you cannot forgive either kind of person, then act decisively. If you can forgive them, save them both.”
“Me?”
“Yes. If something like that happens again, you may judge for yourself and even object to or reconsider my decision. To do that, you’ll need to establish your own standards.”
“!”
Make your own judgment.
That was the qualification Lydia had spoken of for being a ‘sword.’
Perhaps she wanted Arti to judge and act for himself in situations like this.
Arti nodded.
“Understood.”
“Mm.”
The two fell silent again.
“….”
“….”
In Lydia’s mind, Marien’s red hair, hidden beneath her old hat, came to mind.
‘A lowborn girl from the Republic…. Judging by the circumstances, she wandered with her older sister in a traveling theater troupe before they got separated. Did the younger one end up quietly doing odd jobs at a brothel?’
“….”
‘To think I’d hear rumors about the “secret auction house” in a place like this, in this way.’
‘What a nasty coincidence.’
Lydia sighed.
For some reason, that red hair
lingered heavily in her heart.
‘…Have I gone soft, too?’
*
When they arrived at the inn,
Mave, Aria, and Morgan were there to welcome them.
“Oh, country bumpkin. You’re back.”
“Did you two both go out?”
“…Why did the two of you come back together?”
Arti answered awkwardly.
“Ah, yes.”
Aria tilted her head at his awkward attitude.
“Where did you go?”
“Um, just… somewhere.”
“?”
“Um….”
Lydia sighed.
‘Wandering around in a daze, getting lost in the red-light district, meeting up with me, then being pickpocketed before getting his wallet back from the pickpocket girl… That’s a story that’s way too long and shocking.’
So she gave it a more plausible version.
“Arti and I heard at the plaza far away that an auction was about to be held, so we went to check it out.”
“An auction?”
The one who answered was,
surprisingly, Morgan, who rarely joined in conversations.
“Saintroix is a place where merchants from all nations stop over, so naturally, all sorts of valuables pass through and gather there.”
“Wow…! Arti! Are you going to the auction too?”
“Huh? Well, um….”
“?”
Aria turned away from Lydia and kept asking Arti questions. Arti sweated nervously as he struggled to answer.
Lydia looked at Morgan, who had returned to reading her book.
“….”
“!”
Perhaps because she felt Lydia’s gaze, Morgan’s face gradually turned red. She half hid her face behind the book she was reading and hissed.
“W-what? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Nothing.”
“?”
Morgan looked disappointed. Then she asked something that had just occurred to her.
“Lydia.”
“Mm?”
“Are you interested in the auction?”
“Yes. I’m interested in the items there.”
“Hmm….”
Aria whipped her head around from Arti and said,
“Oh, is it because you’re royalty?”
Mave heard that
and clenched her fist in admiration.
“The confidence to recognize valuable works of art and jewels that countless people would simply pass by…! Lady Lydia truly has refined tastes.”
“No, I heard they’ll have weapons and equipment.”
“….”
The strength drained from Mave’s fist.
But….
Mave clenched her fist again.
“The willingness to compete with so many people to obtain practical equipment…! Lady Lydia truly is full of confidence.”
“Mave….”
“There’s no need to praise me so much. I’m just going to take a look, relying on a rumor I ‘happened’ to hear.”
“H-how heartbreaking….”
At that pitiful look, Mave’s fist went limp.
Arti and Aria looked at her and smiled wryly.
Lydia looked at Morgan again.
“….”
“?”
More precisely,
at her red hair.
“Morgan.”
“Y-yeah? What is it?”
“…Are you happy?”
“Huh? What?”
Morgan nodded without realizing it.
“Uh… yeah.”
“I see.”
Lydia smiled.
“??”
But Morgan’s eyes were still wide with wonder.