The labyrinthine city of Lartania is divided into eight sections, four inside and four outside. Among these, the eastern district on the outskirts of Lartania, colloquially known as the slums, is referred to by mercenaries and adventurers as the “Street of Scum.” Initially, it was merely a nesting ground for scavengers, but now it has become an area so treacherous that even the lord of Lartania treads carefully.

This district, adjacent to the city walls, might as well lie outside the law due to the formidable figures hidden in its streets. Consequently, most mercenaries strictly avoid it unless necessary. The Street of Scum is dominated by three organizations.

The first is led by Su-rode, head of the Ji-ha-jik-dan. The second, under the leadership of Kokan, is called Punkcal, located in the northeastern district—a gathering place for Lartania’s refuse. The third, led by ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Salamandra, is Dark Mud, which, despite officially being just one of three powers, effectively rules over the Street of Scum.

Previously, these three factions had divided the district equally, but at some point, Dark Mud seized control, overpowering the others due to the unforeseen and immense strength of their boss, Salamandra. The other organizations had no idea how Salamandra had rapidly ascended to a completely different level.

They had only witnessed Salamandra, exuding dark magic, tearing apart a swordmaster-level adversary from Raksas with her bare hands.

Since that day, no one in the Street of Scum dared defy Dark Mud. Inside their headquarters, a scene resembling a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood unfolded. Everywhere you looked—inside buildings, outside on the streets, on the ground, in the sky, along the exterior walls, at the main gate—there were corpses as far as the eye could see. A distinctive feature of the carnage was the massive golden pipes piercing through the bodies, creating chaotic structures like a jungle gym, gleaming under the blue moonlight.

Salamandra, the leader of Dark Mud, looked nervously at the being before her under the clear blue moon. Her green eyes shone as the woman behind her—a high-ranking figure of Lartania named Rine—issued a command.

“Restore it.”

The moment the command was given, the golden pipes moved at incredible speed, seemingly melting into nothingness and erasing the macabre jungle gym.

As a rain of corpses began to fall, blossoming into a blood flower, Rine, seemingly pleased with the power bestowed upon her, nodded repeatedly.

“Well, it seems all the nuisances are gone now. Shall we have a talk?”

She smiled at Salamandra, who furrowed her brow without realizing it, glanced at Rine, and suddenly turned to flee, certain that she could not overcome Rine’s presence—at least not yet.

Having made up her mind, Salamandra entered the building without hesitation and rushed to the basement to use “that” against the formidable opponent. Upon reaching the basement, she quickly opened a box prepared for this day—her only hope, her lifeline. Unfortunately, as soon as she opened the box, she could no longer move her hands. All she could do was watch as a golden pipe, the same kind that had killed all her subordinates, burst through her heart from behind.

“Oh, this is troublesome. I shouldn’t kill her.” As Rine’s voice, dripping with regret, turned into a funeral march, Salamandra died instantly. Licking her lips as if disappointed, Rine stepped closer and noticed something.

“What’s this?”

Her voice echoed faintly in the dark basement as she spotted a vast amount of abyssal entities soaked in Salamandra’s blood.

*****

Lately, Evan had nothing in particular to do. What could there possibly be for him to do at the central tower while the magic conference was ongoing? Although Alon didn’t restrict Evan’s movements and allowed him to wander if he got bored, Evan had chosen not to go out recently. The reason was simple: over the past week, the number of magicians clinging to Evan had increased exponentially. If this attention had been purely due to his looks, he would have gladly enjoyed it. Concern? What was that? Evan enjoyed being in the spotlight. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Unfortunately, the reason was different. It was because the head and deputy head of the Blue Magic Tower were associated with Alon. All Evan had to do was think about stepping out of his room to recall the magicians swarming him, each offering enticing artifacts or asking him to relay messages to the Marquis, hoping to establish a connection through him. Their lack of social experience, after being cooped up in the tower focusing solely on magical research, seemed to make them oblivious to his rejections or attempts to ignore them.

They clung to him even more, chattering like penguins. Honestly, Evan had no clue what Alon was doing to cause such a stir.

“No, it doesn’t seem like he’s doing anything.”

Of course, he knew that Alon wasn’t particularly active. Essentially, Evan was just accompanying Alon, who didn’t engage in anything unusual during their travels—aside from eating sweet potatoes for over two weeks straight without getting tired of them.

But given the circumstances, Evan couldn’t help but suspect that Alon might be up to something in secret. Alon, being who he was, would only feel sincerely wronged if asked about it. Although it was hard to tell with his expressionless face, after serving him for almost ten years, Evan had learned to read some emotion in that impassive expression.

So, after days of staying indoors, Evan finally went out, walking inside the magic tower. He figured enough time had passed for the rumors to die down. Shortly after, he felt satisfied that his judgment had been correct. As he walked around, the magicians only glanced at him instead of crowding around, leading him to believe the gossip had been quelled. Just as he was starting to enjoy his leisurely tour of the tower, he ran into someone.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, Felin?”

“Yes.”

Evan ran into Felin Crysinne, whom he had met in Raksas. Initially aloof, they had developed a bit of friendship while traveling together in Raksas.

“What brings you here?”

“A magician attending a magic conference? I’d like to say that’s all it is, but that’s not why I came.”

“Then?”

“I was dragged here.”

“Dragged? By whom?”

“By my sister, because of the rumors.”

“Ah.”

Evan immediately understood what Felin meant.

“Is she very upset?”

Evan had heard from Alon that Penia Crysinne had spoken harshly about him. Felin paused for a moment, then said,

“I asked her, just in case.”

“And?”

“I got slapped.”

“Hmm...?”

“Oh dear.”

“It’s a bit harsh to say, but she’s become quite violent,” Felin added, his voice tinged with fear. Evan noticed that the respect Felin had once held for his sister back in Raksas had significantly faded. This indirect evidence of the hardships Felin had endured at Penia’s hands stirred a sense of sympathy in Evan.

“So, she came here because of that rumor?”

“Exactly. She said she’d come to find the head of the tower who’d been spreading those rumors and have a word with him—or rather, give him a piece of her mind.”

That sounded like a misunderstanding...?

“Ahem, so could the deputy have come alone?”

“She figured the head of the tower might hide, so she decided to bring me along.”

“Oh.”

Realizing he had been drafted into a search party, Felin felt momentarily relieved that his sister wasn’t around.

“So, have you just arrived?”

“No, we got here late yesterday. My sister went to look for the head of the tower, and I started from the first floor with the others today. She should be arriving soon. By the way, where’s the Marquis?”

“He’s probably somewhere in the tower attending a lecture. But considering how angry she got over a mere rumor, she must really dislike him... huh?”

Suddenly, they heard murmurs among the magicians and saw Alon in the distance, reading a book Evan had never seen before. Behind him was Penia Crysinne, watching him with a serious expression.

“Penia, over here,” Felin called just as he spotted her.

“Marquis!”

“Ah, hello...!?”

Evan and Felin saw Penia—who had just been looking serious—approach Alon with a bright smile and a nasal voice. At that sight, Evan doubted his own eyes.

“...Deputy?”

“Eh-eh, don’t call me that, just Penia, Marquis!”

“????”

Penia’s sudden shift to coquettishness baffled all the magicians present.

“What?”

Felin, who had been about to call out to his sister, was left speechless, his mouth hanging open.

Thud—

In such an absurd situation, a droplet of saliva dripped from Felin’s mouth.

“...Has my sister gone mad?”

He muttered, unable to comprehend the scene before him.

Penia did not like Alon. That was a well-known fact. From the beginning, there had been no reason for her to like him, and she had been constantly stressed whenever rumors relating to him spread.

Wasn’t the very reason she had come to the tower to track down and deal with the Blue Tower master who had spread those rumors?

However, the reason she was now showing a bright smile to Alon was, of course, Heinkel. Penia lifted her gaze toward the sky. Although invisible to the other magicians, she could clearly see Heinkel, in spirit form, looking down at the situation as if to confirm that Alon and Penia were indeed “involved.”

This realization pushed Penia to throw herself at Alon and act nonsensically. Despite the immense stress it caused her, she was desperate to receive teachings from Heinkel, who was treated as a hero among magicians. So she asked Alon with a desperate smile,

“Why are you looking at me like that, Marquis?”

The recipient of her nasal, sing-song tone, Alon was inwardly bewildered by Penia’s sudden approach, since the Penia he knew would never act like this. So he wondered, Did she eat something wrong? and looked at her seriously.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Ahahaha, what do you mean ‘all of a sudden’? We’ve always been like this, haven’t we?” Penia replied.

“...Haven’t we?”

What a strange way she said that. While Alon was reeling behind his expressionless façade, the rumor that Marquis Palatio and Penia Crysinne had been involved, which had been violently squashed in the Blue Tower, began to resurface.

“Was it true that they were involved after all? She must be too embarrassed to say anything. If the Blue Tower master himself acknowledged it, there must be no mistake in the rumor.”

Thanks to Penia twisting herself into flattery (?) in order to learn Heinkel’s magic, the rumors reignited.

*****

“Cardinal, there’s a new rumor about the Marquis—”

“Yes, what is it, Cardinal Sergius?”

“A rumor has started that the deputy of the Blue Tower and Marquis Palatio are really involved.”

“Oh, that rumor—wasn’t it debunked last time?”

“Well, this time it seems it’s not just a rumor. In fact, several witnesses have come forward at the magic conference—”

“What?”

Just three days later, the rumor about Marquis Palatio reached the ears of the cardinal of the Holy Kingdom, who had been paying attention to such matters.

As Yutia’s fingers brushed against the texture of the paper, she felt the familiar touch of the stationery used for sending letters.