Osian and Martinez returned to District 41 again.
Martinez, who got off at the crowded station, muttered in a tone suggesting this was something new and somewhat strange.
"There aren't many people here."
Tirna had railway lines that circled all districts, so naturally there was a train station in District 41 as well.
Looking at the station overall, it was crowded with people, but the platform line where Osian and Martinez had gotten off was relatively empty.
"This is where outsiders board. The tickets are more expensive than other trains."
As Osian spoke, his gaze turned toward the opposite platform packed with people.
Unlike this side with few people on the wide platform, the opposite side was clustered like a bustling marketplace.
With just a slight exaggeration, it looked like there was no room to even place a foot.
Most were workers dressed in shabby and dirty clothes.Soon after, the train arrived. While the train Osian rode had released pure white steam carrying ether water, the other train burned coal, with pitch-black smoke flowing out like dark clouds.
The train seemed quite old, with its exterior paint peeling and rust visible in various places.
As the doors opened, people poured out, and new workers filled the inside as much as the train had been emptied.
The train moved with so many people. Its destination didn't even need to be questioned.
"Even though it seems like many are riding, only a small portion of workers can actually do so."
Tirna was a place where more people walk because they can't even afford a cheap train ticket.
It was so bad that some couldn't even return home, and might instead lean against a nearby rope to spend the night.
Martinez felt conflicted looking at those workers.
They are not villains. If anything, they are people who need protection from evil.
But their faces were covered with a deep gray shadow. That shadow would neither disappear now nor in the future.
What causes their suffering? This city? But such things don't only happen in Tirna. Could the entire world be wrong?
"Let's go."
At Osian's words, Martinez reluctantly moved his steps.
Most of the mansions in District 41 were old and dilapidated, and the nearby streets were flooded with sewage that wasn't properly drained.
An old truck crossed the road, spraying water onto the sidewalk. The people lying on the street were completely soaked but didn't move.
Looking closely, their skin was pale and they weren't breathing. They were already dead from hypothermia, the final fate of those who couldn't escape the rain in this weather.
A passing vagrant glanced over and began rummaging through the corpse's clothes.
The entire scene was so unnatural that Martinez felt a strange dizziness.
At that moment, the vagrant searching the corpse made eye contact with Martinez.
"What are you looking at? Bastard."
He opened his eyes wide and walked aggressively toward Martinez.
Seeing Martinez looked easy to bully, the vagrant grew bold.
"What are you looking at, kid? Huh? Are you deaf? Or can't you speak?"
"Who are you?"
Osian approached and spoke to the vagrant. The vagrant hesitated when Osian, who looked more robust, stood before him.
His gaze quickly scanned Osian's body, with greed entering his eyes.
Even just looking at the clothes he was wearing, they seemed quite rare.
"Ptui. How unlucky. Consider yourself fortunate."
The vagrant spat and stepped back.
Martinez felt even more oppressed. So he was determined to focus all his energy on finding Colleo.
If he could just do that, he felt this oppressive feeling might somewhat subside.
Osian and Martinez headed to the place Scar had directed them. Since they generally knew the geography, finding it wasn't difficult.
Thugs who clearly claimed "this is our area" welcomed the two.
Most appeared to be late teens to early twenties.
"Who are you? Who said you could come here?"
The man who tried to pick a fight first stopped speaking when restrained by his companion.
Instead, his companion asked, "Are you the people we were contacted about?"
"Yes."
"I see. Please come in. We'll guide you."
The thugs, who had been hostile just moments ago, instantly became polite and guided Osian and Martinez.
The place they arrived at was a small mansion that was unusually well-maintained even in District 41.
Osian and Martinez were able to meet the person Scar had introduced them to.
"Oh, welcome. I'm Anor, the person responsible for this place."
He was a sturdy man in his early thirties, dressed comfortably.
Unlike the other thugs, he clearly seemed to be well-groomed and managed.
"So you're a Northerner."
"Ha ha. Didn't Scar tell you?"
"He just said you knew each other."
"Back in the North, we're from the same town. Well, we basically knew each other's faces and were somewhat distant. But meeting in Tirna, I felt a strange sense of familiarity."
People from the same hometown often feel no particular connection when they're home, but when they meet in a distant land, they're usually the most delighted.
"Won't you go to North Blinders?"
"I'm not quite like that. Rather than being in a place with such strict hierarchies, I prefer moving freely like this. Moreover, I have people I'm responsible for."
Anor was unlike a typical Northerner, displaying leisure and wit.
He gulped down the milk he had prepared in advance.
"Krrr. Well, there are good points because of that. Through Scar, I maintain a collaborative relationship with North Blinders. This way, I can drink fresh milk without being swindled."
"That's certainly an advantage."
One of North Blinders' regular businesses was food distribution.
Milk was particularly effective.
Until now, milk distributors couldn't keep milk fresh and would mix limestone into spoiled milk to make it seem fresh.
Sometimes, some would even lobby high-ranking Tirna officials to spread rumors that slightly spoiled milk was good for health.
"It might even be better now. Rather than internal organizational politics, appropriate business partners seem more appealing."
"Ha ha, fortunately. People find it strange that I, a Northerner, have this kind of personality."
"Not all Northerners are the same. It's ultimately just individual differences."
At Osian's words, Anor's eyes sparkled.
"Oh. Most people hold negative thoughts about Northerners, but you're different. I like this very much. Then shall we get right to the main point? How can I help you?"
Osian shrugged and looked at his companion.
Martinez, sensing it was his turn, stepped forward and spoke.
"We're looking for a missing child nearby."
"Hmm, a child?"
"Name is Colleo. 14 years old this year. Distinctive features include dark brown hair and intelligent-looking eyes. And he's a child cared for by an orphanage belonging to the religious order near here."
"A religious order means...that place on the hill, right? Oh, so you're the recently arrived person."
Anor seemed to know who Martinez was, even though Martinez hadn't introduced himself.
This suggested not only Martinez's significant presence but also Anor's impressive information network.
"Hmm. If a child has disappeared, it would certainly be difficult to find him in a place like this, especially during the rainy season like now."
"Isn't there a way?"
"I'll ask my subordinates to discreetly inquire. There should be at least one person who might have seen something."
Anor said he would check right away, and Martinez nodded, saying understood.
He immediately picked up the dial telephone in the room and contacted someone.
After exchanging a few words, Anor put down the receiver and spoke.
"It won't take long. Someone will bring back information."
"In this weather, was there someone walking outside?"
Osian, curious, threw out a question to kill time.
"It seems you mainly gather information about this district."
"Ha ha. Not just information. We do all sorts of miscellaneous work. Among those, information gathering just stands out."
"Hmm. Even so, the weather isn't good, so there might not be anyone watching, right?"
"No, that's not the case."
Certainty was evident in Anor's voice.
Even Martinez, who had been silently listening, couldn't hide his curiosity.
"Why?"
"Because in weather like this, something is bound to happen. For example, an ambush by an organization that doesn't get along with us."
"Are there other organizations?"
"Yes. We basically have many young and robust guys...but frankly, others just see us as thugs. We're not even a proper gang."
It was a cynical statement, but it was curious that Anor himself said it.
Anor, who had been giggling, became serious at that moment.
"The force that opposes us is precisely the vagrants."
"Vagrants..."
Osian understood. In a district with many poor people, beggars and vagrants were inevitably intertwined.
Naturally, when many people gather, they would connect and band together, becoming an organization.
The vagrant gang, contrasting with Anor's group of so-called thugs, was exactly like that.
An organization formed by beggars, vagrants, and the poor.
It was similar to Anor's organization in nature, but slightly different in tendency.
While Anor's group would touch various matters, taking subcontracts or collaborating with other organizations, the vagrant gang was no different from a gang, just not called one.
"Their territory overlaps a lot with ours. Except for clearly defined areas, most are messy fights. It's like that usually, but in bad weather like this, it's even more so."
"So naturally, you're on high alert and prepared. Gathering other information is just a bonus."
"Something like that. We gather interest in even trivial matters like which worker in the neighboring house died. We can't help it."
How long had they been talking?
Suddenly, a presence was felt outside the door, and then a knock was heard.
"Ah, they're here. Come in."
Permitted to enter was a young man around 18 years old. Just at the age between boy and man.
Wearing a bread cap and clothes soaked from the rain, he glanced at Osian and Martinez before speaking to Anor.
"I heard you were looking for me."
"Oh, do you know about a child who went missing the other day?"
"Me?"
The youth heard those words, opened his eyes wide, and chuckled.
"How can I know about all the kids disappearing here?"
"A 14-year-old boy with brown hair. Don't you know?"
"Oh."
Only then did something seem to come to his memory, and he spoke what he knew.
"I saw him. He just looked like an orphanage kid. He was walking alone boldly, so I didn't think much of it. We're not going to extort kids, and he's an orphan anyway."
"You're an orphan yourself, yet you talk like that."
"It's not talk, just facts. Anyway, I was just watching, thinking 'that's how it is', and then that kid suddenly went another way."
"Another way? What does that mean?"
"Exactly what I said. He was walking down the main road, stopped, and stared at the alley. Then he went inside."
Anor looked at Osian and Martinez with a 'I see' expression.
Then the youth continued.
"Ah, but I'm not sure if that kid will be okay."
"What do you mean?"
Martinez asked, feeling uneasy.
The youth looked at Martinez. He clearly looked a year or two younger than himself. How could such a kid use informal speech?
At that moment, Anor sent a look from behind and shook his head.
The sharp youth, understanding from that alone that Martinez was not an ordinary person, stopped questioning.
Osian, watching this, quietly admired it. As expected of someone making a living in such a place, his intuition was ghost-like.
"Well, it's because the area happens to be where those beggar bastards are."
It was easy to understand who the "beggar bastards" were.
The vagrants Anor had mentioned. More precisely, the gang they formed.
"We might just drive them out with a few words and punches if someone accidentally enters our territory, but those bastards are different. Whether it's an orphanage kid or whatever, once they come, they grab them and completely strip them."
To Martinez's disbelieving look, Anor nodded.
"Unfortunately, that's true. The vagrant gang has many vicious members. Some even catch children to sell to human trafficking organizations. They make money that way, or remove and sell organs."
Martinez's expression turned serious.
Seeing that things might go wrong, Osian spoke up.
"Then which direction did Colleo disappear?"
"What? Are you going directly? It'll be dangerous."
Osian slightly showed the sword tucked into his waistband.
The youth smiled broadly and nodded.
"Then I'll guide you. I'm always happy if something bad happens to those bastards."