Episode 205. Traitors (6)

“Haah, haah! Phew… I almost got caught.”

A boy who had made his way through the bustling crowd of Valhalla City and arrived in a narrow alley.

The pickpocket boy with messy brown hair and shabby clothes looked down at the shopping bag he had stolen and grinned.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

He wanted to open the shopping bag right away, but for now, he had to get home first.

If he lingered around the bustling area, he might get caught.

“…Let’s go.”

The boy clicked his tongue and headed home.

After navigating through the maze-like alleys, he arrived at a place commonly known as the ‘Ant Hill,’ a slum within Valhalla City.

The streets were dirty and messy, feeling like a completely different world compared to the bustling area he had just left.

“Ren, I’m back.”

As he entered a crudely made tent, he saw a girl dressed in tattered clothes.

“Uhn… Big bro, you’re back?”

The girl named Ren smiled brightly as she got up.

Ren tilted her head as she looked at the boy.

“Who are the people behind you? Your friends?”

“Huh? Who’s behind…?”

“Is this your home?”

“…!”

The moment the boy turned around in shock.

*Tap!*

“Ahhh!”

I flicked the boy’s head lightly.

The boy screamed and fell backward.

Rubbing his bruised forehead, the boy shed a few tears.

“You, you guys…!”

“You’re pretty fast for a kid, huh?”

“Grr…!”

The boy quickly got up and stood protectively in front of the girl in the tent.

“If, if you’re gonna hit someone, hit me! Ren didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I didn’t come here to hit you, though.”

I swallowed a laugh and shrugged.

The boy glared at me with narrowed eyes.

“Then why did you follow me?”

“I have a few questions.”

“Questions?”

“Before that.”

I smiled and approached the boy.

“Let’s fix your manners first, shall we?”

*Tap! Tap! Tap!*

Three sharp flicks landed on the boy’s forehead.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!”

The boy clutched his forehead and rolled on the ground.

Even though I controlled my strength, my physical strength was naturally high, so the impact wasn’t small.

“Ugh… You, you jerk…!”

“Oh, you’ve got some guts. Is it because of the girl?”

*Whoosh.*

As I raised my hand, the boy screamed and bowed his head.

“Sorry, sorry!”

“…I take back what I said about you having guts.”

I swallowed a laugh and looked down at the boy.

“Your name?”

“Lu… Luka.”

“I’m Ren!!!”

The girl in the tent smiled brightly and waved her hand.

“Is she your sister?”

“…Yes.”

Luka bit his lip and nodded.

‘Luka and Ren… I feel like I’ve heard those names somewhere…’

I tried to recall my past life, but nothing came to mind immediately.

‘That’s not important right now.’

I shook my head and looked back at Luka.

“I have a few questions.”

“…Yes.”

“Do you usually pickpocket around the bustling area of Valhalla City?”

“N-no… This is the first time…”

“This time, it’s your nose instead of your forehead?”

“Eek! Y-yes! I-I do pickpocket often!”

“Good.”

I nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Then, have you seen any strange people wearing masks recently?”

“…Huh?”

Luka’s eyes widened.

‘Bingo.’

As expected of a pickpocket, he must be good at observing people around him.

“W-why are you looking for them?”

Luka asked with a trembling voice.

Seeing Luka so scared that his lips turned blue, I frowned.

Judging from his reaction, it seemed like he had more than just ‘seen’ the masked figures.

“Tell me everything you know about them.”

“…I can’t.”

“Why? Are you scared they’ll do something to you if you talk?”

“……”

Luka silently bowed his head.

Hmm.

What to do?

“Yurina. Come here for a second.”

“Why?”

I took Yurina aside for a moment.

“Did you bring that thing?”

“That thing…?”

After explaining what I meant by ‘that thing,’ Yurina nodded and took out a candidate ID from her pocket.

She pulled out a gold token with seven stars engraved on it from the ID.

It was the so-called ‘Seven-Star Gold Token.’

A symbol given only to the top student of the year.

“But what are you going to use it for?”

“Wait and see.”

I took the gold token and walked back to Luka.

“Here, look at this.”

“This is… huh? Isn’t this the Seven-Star Gold Token that only the top student at Reynaldo Hero School can get? Are you a candidate from the Hero School?”

“That’s right.”

For the residents of Valhalla City, Hero School candidates were objects of admiration.

Especially the holder of the ‘Seven-Star Gold Token,’ who was respected even more than some high-ranking heroes.

“Right now, I’m on a special mission from the principal to investigate those masked people.”

“The principal of the Hero School… you mean the ‘Brain God’ Raonel Liu?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow, wow…!”

Luka couldn’t close his gaping mouth and kept exclaiming in admiration.

The combination of ‘top student + mission from the Brain God’ instilled infinite trust in the boy, who was at an age where he idolized heroes.

“So, can you tell me about those masked people?”

“Phew. Alright.”

Luka swallowed hard and began to speak.

“Those people wearing strange animal masks… they’re making the homeless and vagrants in Valhalla City do ‘errands’ for them.”

“Errands?”

“Yes. They give them lists with people’s faces on them and tell them to contact them immediately if they see those people in Valhalla City.”

“……”

I see.

So that’s why their information network was abnormally extensive.

“…Are you doing those ‘errands’ too?”

“……”

Luka flinched.

“I-I had no choice! If I disobeyed them, they said they’d take me somewhere and kill me!”

“……”

Well.

I didn’t know much about the masked figures, but they weren’t the kind of people a mere pickpocket boy could defy.

“So?”

“…Yes. I’ve done errands for them too.”

“Have you ever reported anyone?”

“…Yes.”

Luka nodded heavily.

“Once… I found a purple-haired female candidate and… reported her.”

A purple-haired candidate…

Could it be.

“…Is it this girl?”

I opened the photo album on my Hero Watch and showed Luka one of the thousands of photos of Lanes (she sends dozens every day).

“Uh… y-yes, that’s her.”

“……”

“D-do you know her?”

Luka looked at my stiff face with unease.

I couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward the person who had caused Lanes to be attacked by the masked figures.

“Sigh… It’s fine.”

Getting angry at Luka now wouldn’t solve anything.

“I-I’m sorry, bro. If they found out I didn’t report her…”

“I know. You and your sister would be in danger.”

“Y-yes! That’s right!”

“But that doesn’t justify what you did. You sold someone else out to save yourself.”

“Ugh…”

Luka swallowed hard and bit his lip.

“Did that girl… what happened to her?”

“She’s alive.”

“Ah…”

Luka let out a low sigh.

He slumped to the ground and shed tears, bowing his head.

“That’s… that’s good.”

“……”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Apologizing won’t change what you did.”

*Tsk.*

I clicked my tongue and opened my eyes slightly.

“But, if there’s a way to make up for it, even belatedly, what would you do?”

“I-I’ll do it! Anything!”

“Really?”

I smirked.

If Luka cooperated, we might be able to get closer to the masked figures.

“But… what’s the method?”

“Report to them again. Tell them you found Lanes on the streets of Valhalla City.”

“…Huh?”

Luka’s eyes trembled.

“So… you want me to make a false report to lure them out?”

“Exactly.”

“But…”

Luka’s face stiffened.

If he made a false report and I ended up getting killed by them, he would be worried about being killed by them afterward.

“Why? Selling out someone else’s life is fine, but when it comes to risking your own, you’re scared?”

“……”

Perhaps I hit a nerve.

Luka shook his head with a heavy expression.

An awkward silence followed.

Luka opened his mouth, still bowing his head.

“I’ll do it.”

Clenching his fists, he continued in a trembling voice.

“I… I have no parents, and I live by picking pockets.”

But.

Even so.

“If I have a chance to take responsibility for what I’ve done… I want to do it.”

“……”

Luka raised his head, his eyes filled with determination.

I smirked and nodded.

“Good.”

“B-but! If I end up dying, can you at least protect Ren?”

“You won’t die, so don’t worry.”

I lightly patted Luka’s head and continued.

“If this goes well, I’ll introduce you to an orphanage.”

“…An orphanage?”

“Yeah. An orphanage run by the Holy Kingdom.”

“But… isn’t that only for people from the Holy Kingdom?”

“Well, if I put in a good word, they might take you and your sister in.”

“R-really…?!”

Luka’s eyes lit up.

“I-I’ll do my best to trick them! I’m good at acting!”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

I smiled and extended my hand.

Luka grabbed my hand and let out a determined breath.

Then.

“Um… sorry to interrupt the good mood, but…”

Yurina hesitantly approached Luka.

“Where did you put my shopping bag?”

“Huh? It’s inside the tent…”

As he turned his head toward the tent, what he saw was.

“Wow!”

Ren rummaging through the shopping bag.

“Big bro, big bro! Look at this! There’s some really sexy underwear in here…”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!!!”

Yurina’s scream echoed loudly through the Ant Hill.