Chapter VIII - YS

Five hours ago.

Locke Zillah, 43 year olds, is a first rank Police Chief who is part of the City Defense Force and runs the Western City Watch Department responsible for the safety of Eternal Star's western sections.

Twenty squads of patrol soldier, a department-size of police force, countless office staffs, all are for him to order with ease.

More than 100 police officers armed with electric batons, miniature crossbows, anti-collision s.h.i.+elds, smoke bombs and thunderstorm bombs, all sort of good antiriot equipment; nearly 300 well trained troops armed with anti-magic weapons including Magic-exterminating swords, Radiant Arc s.h.i.+elds, Unbreakable armors and Magic-breaking crossbows; along with twenty Termination Swordsmen as acting captains and an elite armed force, all under one man's command, him.

This is very rare for a man from a low-level aristocracy like him, whose father is only a small lord in Kara Province, west of the kingdom.

If it wasn't for climbing along the high branches of house Cavendish, it would be impossible for him to become chief of a City Watch department in the Kingdom's capital at this age. There was only a little fly in the ointment in this wonderful official-promoting relations.h.i.+p after he bow to the house Cavendish.

That is, his patrolled areas in Eternal Star have total six districts, respectively they are the three West Ring Districts and the three Undercity Districts.

Yes, it is the front line of the b.l.o.o.d.y war between the Blood Bottle gang and the Black Street Brotherhood.

A little fly in the ointment.

A fly in the ointment--?

Nonsense!

Upon the name of the King, this is simply a huge bad luck!

Oh, and he is also responsible for patrolling the street and public safety in front of the West Gate.

This is the warning of his white-haired predecessor before that man departure:

"You better tell your men, even if you bring along patrols from the barracks, from the West Ring District and the Undercity District to the West Gate (yes, his predecessor believes that for the patrols squad, the West Gate is the only location where it's possible for patrolling to be carried out and also the only place where the polices are required to enforce the law) -"

"For the sake of your money, when pa.s.sing through three West Ring Districts, be polite, peaceful and friendly;

For the sake of your life, when pa.s.sing through the next three Undercity Districts, be cautious and on guard at every steps;

For the sake of your position in the office, when arriving at the West gate, be conscientious with a mind full of energy."

Locke quickly figured out why this is.

Rooted in the three West Ring Districts was the Blood Bottle gang. Their roots are deep as they have a long history and unclear relations.h.i.+p with many powerful figures in the royal court, but they pay quite a lot of "subsidies" to the city defense force regularly. So when going through the West Ring districts, for the sake of your wallets be a friendly policeman with the citizens like a happy fish in the water, and if you don't have any business there just ignore everything with one of your eye closed.

Occupied the three Undercity Districts was Black Street Brotherhood. Ruthless and crazily violence, half of the unsolved criminal cases till now in the kingdom have something to do with them. They also didn't go easy when dealing with government officers. So when going through the Undercity districts, for the sake of your own life your eyes need to be on all directions, your ears on all the streets, and if you don't have any business there, don't stop at one spot for too long and keep on running.

The West Gate is the facade of Eternal Star toward the continent. It is also the door which many foreign dignitaries, n.o.blemen, high priestesses of various divine temples, and adventurers from everywhere have to get through when they visit Eternal Star. Many diplomatic disputes, aristocratic struggles, religious opposition, and civil conflicts have taken place in this one location. And it was also the place where those higher ups in the royal court have their eyes most closely fixed. Therefore, for the sake of your position in the office, you should be impartial, serious and dedicated yourself to patrol and serve the people in your work of public security and law enforcement there.

To sum up, after Chief Locke took over the City Watch department for three years, half of his hair has turned white while he had more than three new wrinkles. And because he comes home in irregular time, it is understandable that his wife also protest with a cold war on their bed.

At this point, Locke was sitting at his desk and looking out to the moonlight outside of the window with an anxious face.

Alas, he also didn't want to work overtime - there was a big shot from the higher up that called him out tonight, he really couldn't help but to work overtime.

And moreover.

He wasn't anxious about the work, but the hothead working for him in front of his eyes.

Cohen Karajan, 25 years old, a new patrol captain who was promoted two months ago.

Depending on being a skilled expert even among the ranks of Termination Swordsmen ("It would be much better if I'm able to defeat that freak Miranda" - Cohen), having an already pretty good family background ("Alas, old man, it would be better if you were a king, then I can pa.s.s as a prince - ah oh, why did you hit me!" - Cohen) and being a rare case of n.o.blemen with experience in the army, after getting discharged ("d.a.m.n old man! I totally didn't sign it, why am I being discharged? You must be shamelessly - ah oh, why did you hit me again! "- Cohen) he became the number one trump card of the no.20 Patrol Squad in the Western City Watch Department (" They all said it was because I have a good father, but old man, you must be the one who know it the best, I didn't have any good - ah argh, old man if you hit me again I will retaliate! " - Cohen)

At that moment, Cohen was wearing a neat and majestic officer's cap with a few bright-colored blonde hair came out from it, a blue Shooting Star uniform which was tailor-made to fit his body and show off his st.u.r.dy but well-proportioned figure even better, a pair of non-glossy black army boots under his feet, and along with all that was a determined and heroic face, he was simply and undoubtedly a "maiden killer" in the capital.

What a pity, if only I was twenty years younger and got transferred to Eternal Star just a little earlier, presumably I would also be an existence which makes the capital's young ladies screaming - above is the what Chief Locke fantasied about when he was absent-minded.

The young and heroic "Maiden killer" Cohen was talking nonstop using his righteous words as he was determined to explain to Chief Locke about his point of view. His hand firmly patted his chest, which seemed like he wanted to make his boss understand more about his determination.

"Sir, in summary, I think it is definitely not appropriate to let the Red Lane Street be without any Defense forces! Especially tonight! It is most likely going to be an outbreak of violent conflict between the Blood Bottle gang and Black Street Brotherhood! In addition, I received from my men a news, in front of the Black Street Brotherhood's headquarter -"

"You still have informer in Black Street?" Said Chief Locke, who yawned and interrupted him.

"Hah ha, it's truly hard to put the informers in those mad men of the Brotherhood," Cohen shrugged in embarra.s.sment, yet his mouth curled up "But thanks to my shrewdness I managed to -"

"You dumba.s.s! I see that you don't want to live anymore!"

Chief Locke roared very suddenly and set-off a burst of sound's waves, making the secretary, the beautiful red-haired Miss Coria who just walked by the door while holding the some doc.u.ments, scared to tumble down.

"Do you think that since you're of a Termination Swordsman scoring third in the final examine, the Brotherhood cannot touch you? Do you think that because you came from house Karajan, the Blood Bottle Gang also wouldn't dare to touch you? The most important thing! Do you think--"

The angry Chief Locke, with louder and louder waves of sound one after another, scared Cohen who had been talking nonstop to stand still in surprise for a moment.

"- Growing up more handsome than myself, that makes you think you can order your boss around?"

Outside the door, Miss Coria's hand suddenly trembled while she was picking up the doc.u.ments, making what she had picked up well enough were scattered on the ground again.

"Eh - chief, that was a bit off-topic. Although I am indeed handsome, but on the other hand the Brotherhood -"

"Shut up! Idiot!"

Locke, who was ashamed into anger, suddenly felt that it wasn't without a reason this guy, his old colleague's son, was beaten by his father every day.

Locke took a good breath and slowly said: "I understand your mood, I was once a hot blooded man. When I transferred here three years ago, I also wanted that one day I would clean off all the evils and darkness of the Undercity districts and West Ring districts, so the citizens are relieved to walk on the street without fear."

"But do you really think that the Blood Bottle gang and the Black Street Brotherhood are only a bunch of gangsters who could be kept under the table? I only need to dispatch twenty Termination Swordsmen since each one of them could fight against 100 men, together with 400 police officers and patrols soldiers, then I can sweep them away in just one raid? Blood Bottle gang had two magi, eight fighters with mystical power, and twelve men of The Strongest. The Brotherhood had three - or the four a.s.sa.s.sins, six Great Leaders and thirteen Great Generals. Only among them do you know how many are already at Supreme Rank, or even the Transcend Boundary? Furthermore their influence spread all over the kingdom and the western continent. Their lackeys, thieves, rogues, rangers, adventurers, their intelligence networks, their tight-knit relations.h.i.+ps network, their trading network with a considerable amount of bandwidth, their united personal benefits network, and the most crucial thing which was their top secrets network, do you think that they only eat gra.s.s or something! Do you think this is still the fight against those Desert Bones savages and orcs in the Western Front? You think that all my police officers and City Watch soldiers are people without family, children, or social relations, without worries or burden, whom you only need to call then they would throw away their lives for you like a death squad?"

"Even if the two great gangs are swept away, what should I do with all their dirty secrets related to the aristocrats? What should I do with all those administrative departments that feed on their threats and subsidies? What about the yearly tributes they gifted to some big shots at the royal court? What about those without livelihoods, the poor, the rioting mobs, the unemployed, who were protected and restrained by these gangsters? What should I do if there is no gangsters' threat anymore and people stop praying and donating to the temple? And without those b.l.o.o.d.y incidents brought by the gangsters, what should the city's medicine market, alchemy market and farmers market do? What if the stock of strategic materials and rare drugs which can only be smuggled in by the gangs run out? What about the restless mercenaries, adventurers and those warriors with mystical power who will lose their jobs? Without the local gangs overtly or covertly cooperate with us, how could the kingdom's Secret Division get a hold on foreign spies' underground activates?"

"Have you ever considered these numerous and different affairs that I cannot help but think about them all the time, have you?"

"Why do you think that I cleared out all of our forces from the Red Lane Street tonight? Yes, let me tell you, because a certain man from the higher up has told me directly, tonight, that place will be the bloodiest battlefield! No matter who approaches, any result will be far from good! So not only that I have cleared it out, I also put on some curfew notices to warn everyone from getting close! Why do you think we're working overtime tonight? It is because when the sun rises, our men can work together with the City Hall's Medical, Firefighting and Lands Department to pick up the losers' corpses and to deal with whatever ruins left after the war ended!

Locke stopped the roar, wheezing, then pulled open part of his collar to breathe more freely.

Cohen remained silent, his fists was tightly clenching on the sides of the body.

"Now, Captain Cohen Karajan -" Locke slowed down a bit and said in a normal tone:" You can go out and carefully reflect the situation. Think about why your father sent you to the Stella Kingdom and the entire Western Continent's roughest place, the City Watch Department. Moreover, remember to help Miss Coria pick up the pile of doc.u.ments at the door - it was entirely your fault."

The door opened and Cohen slowly out walked out. But this time his eyes were dull, lonely and helpless.

While still picking up the doc.u.ments, Miss Coria felt so sorry for him.

I already knew these, Chief, the things that you just said.

Cohen silently thought.

He reached out to the weapon rack outside of the Chief office, wanting to get his sword back.

However, if the youngest Police Chief of the City Watch Department is only a sophisticated schemer like this while he can't afford to stare right at these blood-sucking gangs hiding in the underground world,

Then how could you even change this kingdom?

Cohen slowly loosened his fists.

He approached Miss Coria, who was squatting down and packing up the doc.u.ments. As the secretary felt the approaching of Cohen, her face started to turn red as she was thinking about which tone she should use to say thank for his help.

Hot blooded?

In his mind, Cohen secretly let out a bitter smile.

When I climbed out of the piles of corpses in the Western Front, that word didn't belong to me anymore.

This isn't being hot blooded.

Cohen bowed his head and clenched his fists, from his lonely eyes one could see the sparks of steadiness and anger.

This is the right thing to do and it must be done.

Miss Coria's face was even more reddened. She suddenly realized that from Cohen's perspective, he could glance at the proud scenery under her uniform, which was comparable to a pair of solitary mountain peaks. And furthermore - this was really important it needs to be said three times - he is handsome, handsome, he's really handsome!

The Red Lane Street?

Cohen narrowed his eyes.

Only to saw him instantly put on an ice-cold expression. Didn't even look back, his clenched right fist suddenly flipped and created a burst of strong wind in front of the Chief office's door!

"Ho!"

When the strong wind was gone, Cohen has disappeared.

Along with him was his sword on the weapon's rack.

It only left behind Miss Coria, who was gritting her teeth while she was fierily untangling her embrangled red hair after the gust of wind.

Next to her, n.o.body knew since when the scattered doc.u.ments has been neatly swept by the wind into a stack on the ground.

------------------

In the Chief's office, Locke reluctantly closed his eyes and sighed.

Compared to the Red Lane Street -

The man from higher up had a more troublesome request for him.

From those Sunset believers who walked in and out of the West Gate, investigate to see why the Sunset Temple has sealed off the inner altar.

Those religious madmen, alas, Locke shook his head, how could he dare to provoke a matter related to the oracle?

Especially since it's that vixen Sunset G.o.ddess.

Bah!

Locke shook his head, throwing that idea out of his mind.

If this was three hundred years ago, just having this kind of thought would be enough for the priestesses of Sunset temple to capture and put me on trial, right?

Well then from this point of view, although the two Magi Empresses also have bad temper, at least they still did some good deeds.

Bah!

Locke shook his head, throwing that idea out of his mind again.

If this was one hundred years ago, just having this kind of thought would be enough for the Imperial Magia Guards from the Empress' territories to capture and put me in the Mighty Magia prison, right?

-------------------

Back to present time.

"You said you killed Clyde?" Yara looked at Thales in astonishment as if it was the first time she met him.

"Yes, and also" and Thales was really calm as he proposed to this beautiful yet dangerous young woman a seemingly unreasonable request:

"Please help us four escaped from the three Undercity districts."

Thales wasn't just seeking luck.

In the four years he spent begging in The Ruin, his world wasn't just all dark and gloomy. In addition to several children who helped each other in his house, Yennefer, an employee at the Grove Pharmacy, and the female bartender who appeared to be indifferent before his eyes - Is she really just a bartender - were a few warm colors that Thales found after he transmigrated.

Three years ago, if it wasn't for her, he would be bitten to death by Maurice' wolfury dog when he was looking for food in the heap of rubbish outside the Sunset bar.

After that Maurice was still mumbling for a long time, I raised my wolfury dog for six years yet it still unfamiliar with me, how come it could ran away just like that.

"Say again?" Yara seemed to hear the most unbelievable words, such as saying the demons from h.e.l.l are coming back or the G.o.ds from the heaven have descended to earth or something like that.

"I mean, I want to ask you -"

But Yara interrupted his words.

"Just now you've killed Clyde Rhode, member of the most horrifying force in the underworld of the Stella Kingdom, a Black Street Brotherhood's boss who was in charge of beggar business in Eternal Star, and the only son of Shawn Rhode - the Iron Heart, manager of the arms trading business."

Yara finished her speech in one breath. With a pale face, she stuck out her slender index finger and severely poked Thales's forehead.

"And you would like me to protect you, to betray the 'most horrifying force in the underworld of the Stella Kingdom', to be hunted down and killed by the surely coming Black Street Brotherhood - only for you to escape?

"Eh, not quite accurate," Thales rubbed the finger mark on his forehead and said under the murderous and mocking eyes of Yara: "But that's pretty much what I mean."

Upon hearing this news, Yara had to digest it for half a day. Thales felt quite anxious but he still silently waited.

Yara regained her mind and sighed. But her expression quickly restored to be apathetic and ice-cold.

"Hum, for you, against the whole Brotherhood? Do you think that I'm such a good person? No, it should be, do you think that I look like a good person?"

"You don't need to go against the Brotherhood!" Thales eagerly said.

"We have our own escape plan, you only need to give us some food and supplies. And on the way from the three Undercity districts to the Red Lane Street, help us hide from the Brotherhood's eyes and ears! This is easy for you!"

"Please!" Thales solemnly said, "We can only rely on you, sister Yara!"

However Yara didn't seem to buy his words.

"Heh, you're just a petty beggar."

Yara uttered a sarcastic laugh: "Be it good or bad, I am still considered a member of the Brotherhood. What make you think I won't immediately capture the murderer of a Brotherhood's boss along with a few accomplices and hand over all of you together?

Thales was silent for a moment.

Yara flung her head away, smiled and waited for his reply.

"Because I believe in you."

Yara was shocked as she didn't follow Thales's logic.

"What?"

Only to see Thales, word by word, firmly said:

"Because I believe that you want to be a good person!"

Yara put on a stupidly stoned face.

Somebody got the wrong script?

So - eh, using one of his own bizarre words from before, such a silly "chuuni" phrase, he could actually say it?

This little imp has been very mature right?

Be it good or bad, he is still an infant growing up in the Brotherhood and the beggar's litter, how could he suddenly - is this because he watched too much Luminous Night temple's dramas recently? The story about the friends.h.i.+p between the Hero Samuel and the Prophet Kain?

Or it is his head being broken by Clyde?

But Thales took in a deep breath. His next words let her unspeakable for quite a while:

"I know that among the Brotherhood, almost all of them are a bunch of scoundrels, criminals, crazy freaks with blood debts, or vicious wolves and demons hiding under a layer of human skins. Talking with them about love, goodwill, conscience and compa.s.sion is like talking with sludge in the sewer."

"They sell orphaned and homeless girls to the brothels, they beat children who are already at the end of their rope into cripple, they sell drugs to ten years old young ladies, they extort the diligent merchants to the point of being penniless, they starve the peasants who were forced sell their own daughters because of natural disasters to death, they sold the people who cannot afford to pay the loan sharks as slaves to the Great Desert, and they collaborate with the corrupted n.o.blemen with the ugliest and most unbearable secrets."

"But I also know that many of them are forced to do so because of livelihoods. They have no other choices, they were slowly influenced from their childhood, and in order to survive they're unable to free themselves from such a life. They all have the justification 'I can't help but to do so' and become the most vicious, fierce, and pungent henchmen of the brotherhood."

"But it's exactly because of those reasons, I think if under such circ.u.mstances and situations, a person who cannot only survive but also still insist, insist on keeping a little sympathy, compa.s.sion, good intentions and conscience, on doing good deeds and being good; can abandon the way of thinking using knife skills to make the quick dirty money; can give even the most abject drunkard a cup of free ale; can give a beaten prost.i.tute a cloak; and in the cold wind of the garbage dump, in order to save an unknown child's life, that person didn't hesitate to kill the beloved pet dog of a Brotherhood's big boss; and in the ensuing four years, she has been there to help him, to support him and care about him -"

Yara puckered her eyebrows tightly. She didn't realize that she had begun to bite her lower lip.

When his speech got this part, Thales looked up to Yara, inside of his eyes there was only sincere and hope:

"To be able to do that, compared to those pure evil people in the Brotherhood, who abandon their belief and conscience with a pile of sins on their hands, who are getting happier and more comfortable harming others every day, I think it would be tougher, more dangerous, more --"

"Stop!" Yara looked up with an unhappy face, her eyes were flushed, "Little imp, you are n.o.body to me, how could you, how could you dare -"

But her words were disrupted by Tires.

"Yara Surrey!"

"I've seen your knife cut that dog into three pieces. I also saw you chop off fingers of those guys that came looking for troubles. I know that the Sunset bar's alcoholic customers are afraid of you. Clyde, Rick, or even Big Boss Maurice, all are being polite to you. They were angry knowing that you pressed down their purchase price but still didn't dare to say a word. I don't know the meaning of house Surrey within the brotherhood, but I think probably your hands were once covered in blood or there was a field of corpses under your feet. Maybe all of your family and acquaintances are members of the Brotherhood, maybe your father and siblings are guilty criminals."

Yara didn't interrupt him. Having a lonely expression, she sunk herself into what seemed to be a dead silence.

"So, in fact, I don't know that in the end you are a good person or not, or can you even considered to be a good person."

Thales silently pulled out a dagger.

"This dagger I stole from your bar. But I know from that day when I just told you 'I don't have a knife, how can I chop the firewood', and then that afternoon, this dagger, I saw it in the most eye catching place during the time in the junk storage. I always know."

"This b.l.o.o.d.y dagger, I had always thought that it was someone else dropping it, perhaps Edmund. Not until today there were two letters emerged from the side of its blade, 'YS'."

Thales raised his head, looking straight at Yara. The faint stars light in his eyes made her heart tremble.

"I presume it's your shorten name and surname, YS."

"I just heard your full name from Clyde's mouth."

Yara gritted her teeth.

She didn't even know how a lowly beggar who had never had a chance to study read and write would understand the letters on the dagger, not to mention spelling out her name.

"Miss Yara Surrey, Miss YS, I want you to know, I must let you know, that today, the dagger you gave me saved my life, saved the three over there, the three children who eating white breads to them felt like a king's feast. "

Yara clenched her fists, her eyes gradually focused.

This d.a.m.n little imp.

"So, although I don't know what kind of person you were before and I don't know what you will become in the future. But I have always felt - that -"

"- You want to be a good person!"

"YS!"

End of chapter VIII