In a narrow alley off White Spring Street
"Sir, I heard it with my ears. Everyone else heard it, too, right? Someone was shouting, 'Murder! Murder!' just now."
"Yes, someone was shouting."
The armored patrol captain frowned. "Then where's the person?"
The crowd was still gathered, but the culprits had already slipped quietly away.
On another street
Bartoli walked with his hood pulled low, Kiddie beside him, rubbing his wrist.
They kept silent, their expressions dark.
After a while, Kiddie spoke up in self-defense:
"Boss… I swear I was gripping my sword tight, but that brat out of nowhere hit me so hard I thought my wrist snapped!"
"I saw. I'm not blaming you," Bartoli nodded. Seeing how easily the kid had disarmed Kiddie was exactly why he'd chosen to back off and run.
"And, boss, that kid was on the roof at the start… that high up, how did he even get up there?" Kiddie's voice trembled with a hint of fear.
"You think… these kids all came from the Academy, right? What if they've got some kind of supernatural power?"
"Don't talk nonsense!
"We've tested them. They're nothing but a bunch of timid cowards!"
Bartoli barked the words, but inside, he felt uneasy. His eyes darted around, especially scanning the rooftops behind them.
The street was busy with pedestrians, the rooftops empty, and he saw nothing.
Pulling his hood lower, Bartoli kept walking, Kiddie hurrying to match his pace.
Not far behind, Lynn stepped out from behind a house, the longsword on his back, following at a slow, steady pace.
A few minutes later, Bartoli and Kiddie turned into a side alley.
Lynn quickened his steps, but just before the corner, he stopped abruptly, pressed against the wall, and listened to the sounds coming from within.
"You two have been a real pain to track down."
A familiar male voice echoed from the alley.
Ellison? The Iron Claw Gang's handler? Lynn frowned. What's he doing here?
Inside the alley
Bartoli's face paled at the sight of Ellison. He forced a smile, feigning ignorance.
"I don't know what you mean, sir. We've never been avoiding you."
Ellison took a drag from his cigarette, smiling faintly. He was just about to speak when Bartoli hissed to Kiddie, "Run!"
The two spun and bolted back the way they'd come.
A flicker of irritation passed through Ellison's eyes, but he didn't move, just kept smoking.
Moments later, Bartoli and Kiddie skidded to a stop.
Two men with the Iron Claw tattoo stepped out ahead of them, grinning wolfishly.
"S-Sir, please, have mercy! We shouldn't have" Bartoli turned back, dragging Kiddie down to kneel beside him, babbling pleas.
Ellison raised a hand to silence them, then said with a pleasant smile, "Take us to where you've been living lately. I have a few questions for you."
Bartoli seemed to realize what this was about. His heart sank as he tried again to beg:
"Sir, I swear… that gold dragon coin we gave you last time was all we had. We don't have any more."
"Oh, is that so?" Ellison strolled closer, expression mild, then suddenly pressed the lit end of his cigarette into Bartoli's cheek.
"Aaah mmph mmph…!"
Bartoli's scream was cut short as the man behind him expertly locked an arm around his throat and clamped a hand over his mouth, reducing him to muffled whimpers.
Ellison's lips curled in a cold smile as he slowly twisted the cigarette against flesh.
Ash flaked down, and the faint smell of scorched meat rose from the contact.
Only when Bartoli's eyes were bloodshot with tears, his body limp and strength gone, did Ellison release his fingers.
The cigarette butt dropped down his face, revealing a blackened, raw wound over his cheekbone.
"Now… can you take us there?" Ellison smiled.
Bartoli nodded frantically.
The man behind him let go, then kicked him in the back, barking coldly:
"Well? Move!"
Bartoli and Kiddie walked in front like men resigned to their fate.
Compared to these vicious gang members, they were nothing more than two meek lambs.
Bartoli kept one hand over his cheek, head lowered, but deep in his cowering eyes, a faint spark of anger had begun to kindle.
Before long, the group followed the narrow path and disappeared into the distance.
Lynn stepped out from behind the wall, brows knitted, and quietly trailed after them.
Ten minutes later
Bartoli led them through a bustling marketplace and into a wooden house.
Ellison followed them inside.
The man at the rear turned back to scan the street with a wary eye before swinging the door shut.
Blending into the crowd, Lynn watched the whole scene unfold.
He didn't move closer; instead, he slipped into a concealed corner and waited patiently.
Inside the wooden house
Ellison looked around with interest, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"This place isn't bad at all. Must cost at least several dozen silver wolves a month, eh?"
It was nothing like the shabby shacks in the slums, fully furnished, far more spacious, and with wooden floorboards instead of bare dirt.
Bartoli and Kiddie gave awkward smiles but didn't answer.
Ellison didn't press the point. He sprawled comfortably on the sofa and asked,
"Now, can you tell me how you suddenly came into so much money?"
"We…" Bartoli began, still trying to bluff his way through, but Ellison leisurely lit a fresh cigarette and took a slow drag.
The faint red glow at the tip made Bartoli's cheek twitch instinctively. After a brief hesitation, he decided to speak honestly, recounting what had happened these past weeks.
"So all that money you made was from shaking down those kids who were expelled from the Academy?" Ellison raised an eyebrow when the tale was done.
"Yes, sir. They're all timid to begin with, easy to scare, and they're loaded. It's an easy score."
Ellison studied the two men, a thought passing through his mind.
Truly… ignorance is fearless.
As if something had just occurred to him, he asked, "And how exactly did you even find out about these kids?"
The Academy did expel several apprentice candidates every year, but most ordinary folk in Emeraldwood City had no idea about it. Even some low-level gangs were completely in the dark.
Though the city never made a secret of the existence of wizards, there was still a thick wall separating the extraordinary world from the common one.
"How did we find out…? Sir, it was pure luck. One day, we happened to rob a boy who'd just been expelled. We were only going to demand a few silver wolves from him, but out of nowhere, he handed over several gold dragons.
"So, just like you're asking us now, we questioned him… and after that, we started going after other expelled kids."
"That's all?" Ellison pressed. He still felt it was far too much of a coincidence.
"That's all," Bartoli nodded.
But just then, Kiddie, after thinking back carefully, suddenly added
"That day, we were headed somewhere else.
"But when we passed a certain street corner, we overheard someone saying he'd recently set his sights on a wealthy kid over by Red Clay Alley.
"So we changed course, thinking maybe we could cut in and snatch the job… and sure enough, we ran right into that kid."