Chapter 154. The Truth (4)

The midnight downpour was easing.

Following April’s lead, I trailed her.

Dawn’s back alleys were deserted.

Shop signs and vending machines faintly lit the asphalt, where light rain fell. Water droplets splashed crisply somewhere.

Our footsteps echoed in the alley.

“Ugh, we’ve been rolling hard lately. You and me. Why’s it always like this with you?”

April sighed, shaking her head. I replied coolly.

“You called me.”

“Ugh, whatever! If the pay’s low, I’ll bite my tongue and die!”

Grumbling, she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, shoulders bare.

We walked on.

She glanced back.

“So, what’ll you do with the reward? No clue how you live.”

“Hm, the reward.”

I looked at her evenly.

“Got plans for it.”

“Hmph, cryptic as ever. Don’t wanna say, fine.”

Pouting, she turned away.

She wouldn’t know.

My true reward from this district wasn’t mere money.

Walking further, a bright streetlamp appeared. A familiar boy stood beneath.

Ronto. Seeing us, he ran over, bowing deeply.

“Thanks. Really. Both of you.”

His venomous tone was gone.

His gratitude felt genuine.

“Yeah, you worked hard too.”

April nodded, glancing at me.

“With this street’s collectors crushed, Scavengers’ll struggle. No protection fees around for a while.”

“Won’t they retaliate against [Bolt & Spanner]?”

She shrugged.

“Hm, Scavengers’ operations are famously sloppy. Long story, but my take? No need to worry. Their handovers are a mess.”

I nodded silently.

If April, versed in district dynamics, said so, it was likely true.

“So, why’d you call Ronto?”

“Need his help.”

I approached Ronto, still bowing, kneeling to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Ronto, you can help with something.”

“…?”

“We’re heading somewhere. Come with us. We need you.”

He looked up, startled, then nodded calmly.

“Okay. If I can help, I will.”

***

“…Freelancers from another district?”

“Yup, just us two.”

April pointed at me.

The uniformed officer glanced between us, checking our permits.

Public authority was nominal here, but with beasts appearing downtown, officers patrolled and controlled areas.

He returned April’s permit.

“And the kid?”

Ronto stood behind me, head down, likely knowing how to seem harmless during checks.

“Got reasons. Protecting him during the investigation. Don’t ask more—it’s a job. Time’s tight.”

April took her permit, slipping folded blue bills into the officer’s hand.

He pocketed them, nodding, stepping aside.

“Go in. This is the district’s outskirts, but please, no big disturbances.”

“Tch, just investigating.”

Snapping back, she reattached her permit to her jacket.

Glancing at me, she said.

“Even if the file points here, did human beasts really appear?”

We were in the 19th district’s outermost edge.

The city’s bright lights faded. Flickering streetlamps seemed ready to die.

Foot traffic dwindled.

On cracked asphalt, April whispered to me.

“So, [Underground]. Sure about this?”

“Almost certainly.”

Given the original’s future events, it was hard to believe we wouldn’t find intel here. April nodded silently.

“Hope so. Time’s tight.”

Passing dim alleys, an empty subway entrance appeared.

Descending, dim lights hung from the station’s ceiling, illuminating gray stone finishes.

I walked, scanning the tunnels. Familiar.

[Underground]

Non-mages’ residential area.

In the district, a city of outcasts, those choosing to hide in darker corners lived here.

A creak—like a taut object being stretched—sounded.

“Intruders? Stop.”

We turned.

In the dark, beyond the tunnel’s lights, a man’s silhouette emerged.

Kneeling on a second-floor iron railing, he aimed.

“…A bow?”

April tilted her head.

He aimed a bow, a sharpened arrow nocked.

April, hands in pockets, glanced at me.

“Not gear.”

I nodded.

It was a crude bow, welded from scrap metal, bolted together. Barely a weapon, it’d break after a few shots.

A primitive, shoddy thing no one would choose willingly.

“Definitely not gear.”

The man, aiming, acknowledged it motionlessly.

“Far inferior to mages’ modern bows or crossbows. No match for you mages…”

His voice declared dryly.

“…But at least once, I can resist with this worthless life. To protect those inside.”

Quiet resolve laced his words.

Other figures appeared on the railing, bows nocked, aiming at us.

“Final warning. Booby traps are set ahead. The tunnels are heavily modified.”

The shadowed figure added, still aiming.

“Kill us all, and you’ll still struggle to get inside. Freelancer, leave.”

I stared calmly.

They held weapons, yet spoke as if we’d kill them—a strange conviction.

It clarified the divide between non-mages and mages.

“Tch, no time for this. Let’s neutralize—”

April sighed, annoyed, reaching for her case.

Someone stepped forward.

April froze.

Ronto, arms spread.

“It’s okay, Master. They’re not enemies.”

The man flinched.

“Ronto?”

“Long time, Master. Your voice hasn’t changed.”

“Stop calling me Master. I only taught you engineering basics at five, per your parents’ request.”

“I’m always grateful. It lets me, a non-mage, help Nano-nee.”

The man rose slowly.

“Nano. She doing well? Must be a fine lady now.”

“…She’s grown, but the same. Always cooped up, skipping meals, tinkering.”

“Still the same kid, huh?”

April, hearing their familiar exchange, gaped at me.

“What? You knew…?”

“Just a hunch. Bringing a non-mage would help more than us alone.”

A blatant lie.

I knew Ronto’s past.

From the original, I recalled his backstory, including his ties to [Underground]’s residents as a local non-mage.

That’s why I brought him.

To secure clues before other freelancers.

Multiple freelancers took this job. If they got intel first, they might tamper with it for exclusive rewards.

Ronto’s presence worked.

“Fine, Ronto. I trust you.”

The man lowered his bow, stepping forward.

Tunnel lights revealed a bearded middle-aged man in a poncho.

Approaching me, he asked.

“I’m the guard captain of [Underground], the non-mage zone. Your business?”

“Heard human beasts appeared nearby. Got info here.”

I met his gaze evenly.

“I need it.”

“Indeed, we have that info.”

Turning, he gestured to follow.

“Come. We were debating reporting this to the council.”

***

Following him deeper, a platform bustling with people appeared.

Surprisingly clean and pleasant.

Stalls and vending machines lined it like a street, with bright signs illuminating the area.

The dark space felt lively, with residents’ expressions and attire oddly cheerful.

“You’re back from patrol. Who’re they?”

A gaunt man in baggy work clothes approached.

“The kid’s the son of folks who helped me topside. The others are new faces. Likely freelancers from another district.”

“Oh, then their purpose…”

Before explaining, he nodded, realizing.

“Good timing. I’ll guide them to the archives.”

“You handle it.”

“Got it.”

The gaunt man nodded.

“All intel’s under me. Welcome, freelancers.”

“Skip pleasantries. Time’s short.”

At April’s words, he nodded, leading us deeper.

Walking, he spoke slowly.

“We’ve confirmed intel on the beasts’ emergence. That’s what you need? We’ll cooperate fully.”

“No price?”

“I’ll explain, but it’s about our survival. Not just Underground, but all of the 19th district.”

April’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s that mean?”

“You’ve likely investigated the Scavenger-led rebellion plot.”

“Right, heard that.”

“If a rebellion happens, we, the powerless, are first to suffer. We’ve investigated it for a while.”

April tilted her head.

“Cut the fluff. How’s the rebellion planned? How are beastified people tied to it?”

“You know about transformations.”

He glanced back, adding.

“Straight to the point, then.”

Opening a metal door on the platform wall, a corkboard-covered room appeared.

Maps, photos, and colored pins connected by strings with notes cluttered it, evoking a spy thriller.

“…Victoria Kazimieśi’s history has bred too many enemies.”

The gaunt man stood, hands clasped behind him.

“Enemies?”

“Internal ones. Generations ago, Victoria’s direct lines exiled rivals for succession, banishing too many to the districts.”

“They’ll rebel. That it?”

He nodded at April’s sharp question, expecting we knew the rumors.

The talk moved fast.

“How are beasts tied to it?”

“The beasts you seek are likely their core force for the rebellion.”

“Core force?”

He unpinned a photo from the board, handing it over—a bird’s-eye view of a vast forest, with circled experimental beasts roaming.

“Same beasts as our data…”

April’s eyes widened. I nodded silently.

No mistake. The photo captured the district’s beasts at another time. Clues were aligning.

“The beasts you’re investigating appear in the forest bordering the 19th district. We have witnesses.”

His words rang true.

Hours ago, heading to Nano, April’s words resurfaced.

> [—Didn’t I say when we arrived? No nearby cities, just a huge forest. Like a jungle.]

The forest abutted the abandoned district.

A strange borderland.

The man removed a map of the city’s terrain, adding.

“These beasts are created somewhere in that forest.”

“What about the downtown beasts?”

“Some escaped from the forest, appearing downtown. Too many, some lost control.”

“How many?”

“Not sure if this answers.”

At April’s question, he bowed gravely.

“Recently, including Underground, 2,000 non-mages vanished from this city.”

April gaped.

“What?”

I nodded silently. 2,000 non-mages. The number matched.

A major event from the original’s main storyline.

The large-scale story, starting five years ago, was unfolding.

A passage from the original’s history flashed.

> “…Five years ago, in Victoria Kazimieśi’s district…”

> “…The beasts’ great offensive began.”

I glanced at April with blue-black eyes.

This was why.

The timing to secure the ‘true’ reward for this future was approaching.

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