After walking for a while, the shape of the buildings changed. The size of the roads, the clothes of the people passing by. Above all, the air itself was different.
Nine Holder's largest slum, the Alter District.
It smelled like sewers. Just entering the alleys a little, rats and bugs swarmed, and people lived clustered together like chunks of meat.
"Noble miss, please give me just one penny."
As she lifted her foot with an eerie feeling, a wriggling black hand passed underneath.
'Ah, the shoes.'
The riding hood covered her pinned-up hair, her precious-looking appearance, and even the dress, but it couldn't hide the shoes. Even with an item that reduced presence by 30%, she couldn't avoid everyone's eyes.
"Give it up!"
When she didn't meekly get caught, a grimy hand grabbed the edge of her hood like a zombie. Esperanza clicked her tongue and lightly pressed that hand with her toes as she jumped up. Her swaying body stood on the bars roughly attached to the building. Looking down, she could somewhat understand the structure of this area.
"It's quite different from what I knew."
No matter how much it had been destroyed and changed, she didn't expect the structure to be this different.
[Map: Alter District, Nine Holder]
The map was all black too. At least Esperanza's current location was marked with a red circle, and the location of the magical goods store was marked like a maze exit. She had come quite deep inside, but only the path she had taken so far had brightened to cream color, while the buildings remained black.
She had definitely come in too recklessly. Thirteen years was absolutely not a short time. The Alter District from 13 years ago was complex like a spider web.
Moreover, those gazes.
Most of the people living in the Alter District had left to do their respective work. Those who remained were either too young or old to find work, or people who made money through dishonest means. Those blood-red eyes seemed like they would cling to her limbs. It wasn't threatening, but there was no reason to endure it either.
"Hello, miss."
A grimy boy approached with a bright smile showing his missing teeth. Holding his old hat upside down.
"Would you give me a penny?"
Anyone would think it was arranged. Esperanza wasn't flustered. Someone would have talked to her anyway.
"Then what can you give me?"
"Your life, miss."
Look at this?
"You?"
"Of course. If you give me just 100 terot, I'll safely escort you outside."
The boy added in quite an eerie voice.
"The guys here are pretty scary. Someone precious like you, miss, probably won't even be able to gather your bones?"
"What's your name?"
The boy frowned as if asking why she would ask such a thing. Seeing him covered in soot, she thought he might do chimney cleaning work. Or... pickpocketing? Whatever it was, there was hardly anything clean among the work children in places like this could do.
"It's Jack."
This one was also Jack. It was a common name, but there was a face that coincidentally came to mind, making her feel strange.
"I have something I want to ask."
"You won't give it? Then I'll have to take it."
The boy grinned wickedly. This one was a decoy. To check if she came with someone else? Esperanza thought while glancing at the large men approaching from behind.
In the narrow alley, ten behind. About ten in front too.
No escape route.
"Grab her!"
"Brothers, the sleeve decorations are mine!"
Jack said as he slipped aside like a mouse. Yellow-toothed men laughed and reached out their hands.
"She looks like a noble house miss, wouldn't ransom be higher than selling her?"
"Who knows, maybe Madam will value noble house misses highly."
However, the woman they thought they had caught completely shook off all the dozens of hands trying to grab her shoulders and pull back her hood the moment they touched, kicking off the ground and rising. Purple dress hem spread wide under the hood. When the woman landed on the ground again, she held a long thin sword in each hand.
[Combat Mode ON]
Combat Disabled 0
Status Abnormalities 0
Deaths 0
A small window appeared in the upper left. Unlike the profile window that could always be checked, this was a window that could check enemy status in combat mode. Useful in dungeons, but unnecessary now. Esperanza habitually looked away from it. This was her first proper combat since falling 13 years back. Let's see if her senses had dulled.
"What, she was empty-handed just now!"
"Calm down. It's just one noble brat."
"But she's holding swords."
The bare-handed men hesitated and stepped back. Esperanza didn't attack first. She just moved forward as the men made way.
If she had been lucky today, she would have found an information broker, but only things like this kept clinging to her.
'Should I beat these guys up and ask about the information broker's location?'
Good idea. With this many heads, one of them would know.
Having finished thinking, Esperanza lowered her body then sprang forward like a rebound.
"Agh!"
Those who had dismissed her because she was using thin swords and was a woman were swept away like fallen leaves. The paper-thin swords stabbed deep between bones and slipped out cleanly. The two swords advanced as if they were about sixteen, quickly stabbing and twisting through the thighs, arms, and abdomens of those rushing from front and back before slipping out. Those rushing from behind couldn't even be seen, but Esperanza brilliantly avoided only vital spots.
Don't kill, but render them unable to fight. It was movement terrifyingly faithful to that principle.
"R-run. Quickly!"
"Get out of the way!"
Those who belatedly grasped the situation turned and ran back. Esperanza jumped up without any running start, kicked off a window frame, spun once, and blocked their path.
"Where are you going?"
The thin swords dripping with blood approached. Behind them were fallen comrades, in front was a woman with swords. Just a few minutes ago they would have naturally chosen the front, but now they only thought of trampling their injured comrades mercilessly to escape.
However, the woman blocking their escape route wouldn't wait for them to run away. Esperanza gave identical wounds to the thighs of the four who tried to flee.
There were thirty-two total. When she wiped the bloody swords on the dirty clothes of a man, he foamed at the mouth and fainted.
[Combat Mode ON]
Combat Disabled 32
Status Abnormalities 0
Deaths 0
"Cowards with no guts, who are you touching?"
And lastly, the little brat caught in the middle, unable to escape and frozen pale.
"Come here."
What Jack couldn't take his eyes off wasn't the terrifying martial prowess of cleaning up nearly thirty thugs with just two thin swords in this age of guns. That woman's hair. Even through all that chaos, her hood hadn't come off.
"Magic......!"
"You have pretty good eyesight?"
Pink lips under the black hood smiled coolly. Jack forgot about his situation and stared blankly at that sight. It was a smile that made the viewer excited as if riding a balloon.
However, that was only for a very brief moment. When the smile that faded instantly became a needle piercing the balloon, his soaring mood also plummeted.
"You said your name was Jack? Since you have a good name, I'll let you live nicely."
Jack trembled while gripping his old hat tightly. He couldn't know how 'nicely' would be by the woman's standards. Jack's only asset was his nimble body. And the woman before his eyes could instantly turn Jack's only asset into debt.
"Y-you said there was something you wanted to ask me?"
The quick-witted kid tried somehow to draw the monster's attention. She was a tremendous expert, but if she let her guard down, he might be able to take her down. Of course, a scrawny kid like Jack had no chance, and that thug behind the woman trying to grab her ankle now.
"Ugh!"
A shoe like a dance slipper stomped on the thug's ankle. At first like shaking off a hand. And still with her gaze fixed on Jack, she crushed the thug's wrist with just her heel.
"You know this area well?"
"When it comes to back alley geography, I know it better than anyone."
The thugs could get hurt and it would be fine. From what she could see, she hadn't stabbed them enough to kill, and though they were screaming in pain, they would be able to do their usual work again after recovering. But skinny little Jack wasn't even accepted by factories and only served the thugs.
If he got hurt, if his body became even slightly inconvenienced, he would immediately be abandoned. And he would starve to death. To maintain a position where he could at least get some watery oatmeal, he couldn't get stabbed by this woman's sword.
'Someone like me won't even be able to gather bones.'
His situation assessment was certain.
Esperanza, who had looked around, quietly whispered to Jack. It was a voice so small it couldn't be heard unless you paid attention.
"Really? Then you'd also know where the information broker is?"
"......Why?"
"You don't need to know the reason."
Jack's face turned pale. Thugs, pickpockets, prostitutes and male prostitutes, clowns, factory workers... It was okay to look for such people. Basically they were people who lived in back alleys, and though they were dangerous people, it didn't seem to apply to this woman. It didn't matter if it became dangerous.
But there were also types that shouldn't be touched. Human traffickers, mercenaries, and information brokers. They were people who had hidden in because they needed the stage called back alleys. He knew where they were, but carelessly revealing that would be troublesome for Jack too.
'This one isn't answering?'
When she spun her right hand round and round, even in the dim back alley, the sharp blade could be seen flashing. When Jack's eyes turned there, Esperanza demonstratively stabbed her sword into the arm of the thug she was stepping on and twisted it.
"Aaaaagh!"
The thug who had been lying quietly screamed. Esperanza crushed his mouth with her foot.
"Jack, don't you know?"
Jack couldn't give any answer. Just as Esperanza was about to threaten once more, the opposite side of the street became noisy.
"Over there!"
Was there someone who escaped? Or did someone see from afar and call their gang? There were too many. Even Esperanza, who could easily handle about thirty people, saw what looked like easily a hundred thugs all armed with weapons and sheathed her swords.
Killing them all was possible even without magic power. But with that kind of numbers all in armed condition, she would have to accept some minor injuries on her side too. But if she tried to just disarm them like now? The dress she had carefully put on would become rags.
"See you next time. Ah, if you talk. You know, right? Finding you would be nothing."
Esperanza, who stepped once more on the mouth of the thug she had crushed, quickly moved away.
"Catch that bitch!"
While the thugs were delayed stepping over the bodies of their thirty-odd comrades, she instantly created distance.
"Whether 13 years later or now, back alley people have no development."
In the end, did she gain nothing? There was no point in coming all the way here.