Slum District, Abandoned Underground Tunnel, Main Hideout of the Child-Snatching Thief Gang [Ghost Rat]
From the entrance to the innermost room, everything looks ancient and dilapidated, with no signs of renovation or repair.
At the entrance to the innermost room, four armed male slaves stand guard.
The entrance door appears old, but upon entering, the interior is filled with modern conveniences.
The room is brightly lit, free of damp odors, and furnished with high-quality furniture, almost resembling a room in a first-class hotel.
Inside, nearly ten scantily clad women are attending to the room' s owner, a dwarf.
While indulging in pleasure, a trusted subordinate bursts through the door.
"Urgent report, sir!"
"Damn it, deal with it later! Can' t you handle small matters yourselves?"
"But sir, someone' s destroyed nearly five of our child shelters already. Almost 50 of the kids we captured have escaped!"
The boss abruptly stops caressing one of the women and leaps out of bed.
"Who did it?!"
Before an answer can come, another trusted subordinate rushes in.
"Report, sir!"
"What now?!"
"Confirmed destroyed shelters are now at 14, sir. The culprit is a blonde girl."
"Who the hell is she? Don' t you know anything?!"
"Our men can' t even get close. Anyone who follows her too closely gets assassinated instantly. Plus, she' s constantly guarded by ice soldiers!"
"A noble family, huh?"
"Likely, sir. She commands those ice soldiers and has even turned some of our slaves to bolster her forces."
"Damn it! Those idiots! Slaves may be loyal, but if their master dies, they switch sides! Instead of hiring useless trash, we should' ve been smarter!"
"A blonde noble girl… excluding the families that pay us tribute, that leaves Angka, Velma, Rosac, and Kalin."
"How old is this blonde girl? A kid or a teenager? Roughly how old?"
"A kid, sir. Probably around 10 or so."
Bang!
"The daughters of Angka, Velma, and Kalin are all over 20. That leaves Rosac! Damn it, they don' t pay tribute, and now it' s the Rosac family! We can' t even retaliate! What the hell happened to make them send their daughter to ruin my business?!"
"Report, sir!"
Another subordinate bursts in.
"Confirmed destroyed shelters now exceed 30, sir. Over half the goods reserved by clients are gone. The damage is becoming incalculable. What do we do?"
"Those Rosac bas—?!"
Before he can finish, yet another subordinate rushes in.
"Report!"
"What now?!"
"Sir, three major guilds—two big ones and a rising star—are sweeping the slums, rounding up girls!"
"Which guilds?!"
" [Radiant Fang] , [Chain of Flame] , and [Iron Bastion] , sir."
"Release all the female goods we' ve captured! Move the male goods out of the city! Hurry! And find out who that key girl is! Who dared to snatch her? I' ll kill them with my own hands!"
But then, a burly, bearded man storms in.
"Repooort!"
"No more reports! Pack up! We' re fleeing!"
"I was thinking the same, sir!"
No one hears the silent scream in their leader' s heart:
Both businesses are done for!
*****
Pivoda, Leader of the Thief Gang [Night Cat]
Slum District, Basement of a Rundown House, One of the Secret Hideouts of the Thief Gang [Night Cat]
Behind a desk, Pivoda, a female cat-human, is inspecting and admiring valuable items her gang stole last night.
"This Fire Gem Necklace goes to tonight' s black market auction."
"Understood, boss," a subordinate says, carefully placing the item in a fine box.
"This wedding ring—sell it back to its owner, but at a high price. They' ll pay to avoid their wife' s family forcing a divorce."
"I' ll bleed them dry, boss."
"As for this Emerald Sword, send it to—"
Bang!
"What' s the matter?!"
"Boss, big trouble! A noble kid with a group of slaves and a skilled fighter is wreaking havoc across the slums. Many gangs are already hit hard."
"How' s that our problem?"
"They hit our storage houses too, boss. Wiped out our men, and with no guards, our goods were stolen clean."
"Which houses?!"
"When I came to report, three were hit. But just before I knocked, someone said all seven are gone now. Only this main house is left."
"What?! What are the other gangs doing? This is the slums! A kid causing this much chaos should' ve been dealt with already!"
"The slums are the ones getting dealt with, boss. The debt-collecting gang [Golden Hand] , the assassin guild [Venom Blade] , the thug gang [Mad Dog] , the cult [Blood Rain] , the beggar brigade [Wooden Bowl] , the brothel [Moaning Maiden] , even notorious criminals like Money Maniac, Psycho Eater, Crazy Smasher, Slicing Beggar, Slum Wolf, and others—all taken down. Survivors are fleeing for their lives."
The thug gang [Mad Dog] , always brawling with other gangs and extorting protection fees, can' t do anything in their own turf?
The debt-collecting gang [Golden Hand] , ruthless and with over 300 burly men, got crushed?
The assassin guild [Venom Blade] , masters of poison and high-level kills, lost?
The cult [Blood Rain] , psychos who kill and splash blood to the sky, taken out?
The beggar brigade [Wooden Bowl] , bandits who kill in the woods and now hide as beggars in the slums, couldn' t fight back?
The brothel [Moaning Maiden] , backed by shadowy powers—someone dared touch them?
"Which family is crazy enough to do this?!"
"It' s a blonde girl, around ten years old."
"The blonde noble families that' d dare touch [Moaning Maiden] … it' s gotta be Rosac! Damn it! Which idiot provoked a major noble family like that?!"
"Report, boss!"
"What now?!"
"Over fifty guilds are now sweeping the slums! We suspect Rosac hired them to protect their young lady!"
"What?! For real? Which guilds?"
"Confirmed major guilds include [Radiant Fang] , [Chain of Flame] , [Iron Bastion] , [Waterflame] , [Conqueror] , [Thunderwing] , [Crimson Veil] . The rest are mid- and small-tier guilds with less fame."
"All brutal guilds! Their rival guilds will likely join in too. This is a disaster! Pack up, we' re fleeing the city now! And find out which idiot provoked Rosac! I' ll make them pay!"
The room erupts into chaos as everyone scrambles to pack.
"Leave the big treasures! Don' t bother with cheap stuff! As long as we survive, we can steal again!"
While barking orders, Pivoda turns and snaps at a dying slave and a beggar child tending to him.
"What are you doing, filthy kid? Leave him and help pack!"
Before she can beat the child, the door is violently thrown open. Several subordinates stumble in, covered in blood, some with severed limbs.
"Boss! We' re under attack!"
*****
Vaniv, Rank D Adventurer, Member of Roja' s Unit Searching for Nehiu Family Siblings
I rush to the nearest adventurer' s office branch by the slums, accompanied by two others for safety.
We' re checking if anyone in the kingdom is named Calika.
One thing' s certain: no royal or noble family uses that name.
But before we can leave the slums, three large adventurer groups ahead are rounding up every girl for inspection.
They' re just slum kids, yet the adventurers don' t harm them, even giving food and speaking kindly.
One of the groups includes my guild, [Radiant Fang] .
BB, spotting us, hurries over.
"Vaniv, what are you all doing coming out of the slums?"
"I was sent to help Roja find the remaining Nehiu siblings, per Lord Jaigia' s orders."
"Oh? Why are you out here then? Found them?"
"Not yet. Roja had suspicions and sent me to check some info at the office. What are you doing here, BB?"
"We' re searching for Lord Calika' s sister. Lord Jaigia ordered us to protect and assist her with all our might. We' ve already notified him that her sister' s missing in the slums. He might send more forces to help."
"Wait, Lord Calika?"
"What' s up?"
I recount what I heard from a thug kid who lost friends, about Calika. My two companions add that Lord Jaigia ordered us to capture her siblings, and Roja' s hunting her sister to use as leverage for information.
BB' s face turns grim.
"Cancel your mission immediately. Lord Calika is now Lord Jaigia' s guest. Do not touch her sister. Follow me to Roja, change the mission to protecting Calika' s sister, and bring her to us. Find her before Calika does."
My two companions and I are instantly stressed.
Thank the stars we didn' t encounter Calika or her sister before learning this.
BB sends ten more people to help.
Before I leave, BB, remembering something, adds:
"Don' t forget to grab that last thug kid. We' ll make him regret ever touching Lord Jaigia' s guest."
"Understood."
We rush to find Roja, desperate to cancel the mission.
Please, Roja, don' t find Elda yet. Don' t even touch a hair on her head.
Or we' re all dead.
But as we hurry, [Chain of Flame] and [Iron Bastion] send large groups tailing us.
They' re not here to help. They' re likely here to interfere or pull something against us.
I don' t get it. How did this spiral into such a massive mess?