IHDOE Ch 15

[Katan] "Younger brother?"

At his question, Hedzel shouted.

[B. Assassin] "Don't pretend you don't know, you bastards! I came knowing everything! You kidnapped my younger brother and made him a slave!"

Satina looked around at the rat beastkin surrounding her.

[Satina] "Ah, so you brought your friends to capture us? To demand your brother back?"

[B. Assassin] "Yes!"

[Katan] "This is dangerous."

Katan whispered beside Satina.

[Katan] "Their numbers are too high. Considering those still hiding, predicting their total count is impossible. Escaping now would be wise."

[Satina] "Why escape? What do we have to be ashamed of?"

[B. Assassin] "Ha! Fine, that bold attitude is quite a sight!"

[Satina] "Besides, matters like this usually end once you catch the leader."

She stepped forward, staring directly at the rat beastkin.

[B. Assassin] "Hmph! Who would surrender quietly! Everyone, attack!"

At his command, the rat beastkin charged toward the two. At that moment, Katan sprinted faster than anyone, seizing the nape of the leader's neck. He threatened him with the dagger seized from the leader's own hand, as if ready to slice his throat at any instant.

[B. Assassin] "E-Eek!"

The leader struggled with all his strength to break Katan's grip, but his efforts proved futile.

[Satina] "Now, the tides have turned. If a single one of you moves even a finger, you risk losing your precious friend."

Satina warned, facing the rat beastkin surrounding her.

Looking at his hesitating companions, the leader shouted.

[B. Assassin] "Don't mind me! Kill them!"

[Satina] "Unyielding even in a situation like this. Quite a sight."

She applauded playfully.

[Satina] "Now then, enough with the games……"

When she signaled to Katan, he took the dagger from the leader's hand and released him.

Without looking back, the leader charged straight at Satina, standing before him, grabbing her.

[Hedzel] "Haha! I told you not to drop your guard! Now, no need for long talk. Give back my brother!"

Right on cue, a child's voice resonated through the alleyway.

[Wazl] "My Lady! My Ladyyy!"

[Hedzel] "T-This voice is……!"

His ears twitched.

[Hedzel] "Wazl!"

A familiar face poked out from between the alleyway walls.

[Wazl] "Huh? B-Brother!"

[Hedzel] "Wazl!"

The leader abandoned Satina, rushing frantically toward Wazl.

[Hedzel] "Wazl! You aren't hurt anywhere, right? What about food? Did you eat well?"

[Wazl] "Yes! Yes! I am doing fine! Brother, Brotheeer!"

The moment a touching reunion was about to unfold, Wazl glared at his brother with unchildlike, sharp eyes.

[Wazl] "By the way, Brother. What did you just do to our lady?"

[Hedzel] "H-Huh?"

[Wazl] "She is already a delicate person! Surely you weren't grabbing and threatening My Lady, were you?"

[Hedzel] "N-No, well……"

He turned to look at Satina with a flustered face. Satina smiled at his expression, which demanded an explanation for what on earth was happening.

I knew you would come looking for your brother.

Given his personality, he would never appear on a crowded main street, so she needed to lure him to a secluded place. Right on cue, Cheney mentioned going to the downtown area today to buy cleaning tools, so Satina instructed her to bring Wazl along.

I didn't expect him to brandish a knife immediately upon meeting, though.

So she merely played a little joke.

[Wazl] "What on earth did you misunderstand! My Lady cared for me so well!"

Patter-pattering over to Satina, Wazl spread both arms wide as if to protect her.

Though merely a small child who needed protection from Satina rather than protecting her, his action dealt a considerable shock to his older brother, Hedzel.

[Hedzel] "N-No, I mean……"

Looking at Hedzel, Satina gently stroked Wazl's hair.

[Satina] "Yes, Wazl. That person is the brother you spoke of."

[Hedzel] "Um, well……"

[Satina] "You said he was so kind, wonderful, and strong, so I anticipated much as well."

[Hedzel] "No……"

[Satina] "To think I would be stabbed in the back like this after taking good care of his younger brother. Had it not been for Katan, real trouble would have occurred."

[Hedzel] "No, well, we didn't know either, and technically I was the one beaten. My arm gripped by that guy still throbs……"

[Satina] "And who attacked first, again? I believe a human should say certain words in a situation like this."

Hedzel looked at his younger brother with a woeful face. The brother, raised so carefully despite poor means, clung tightly to that noble lady, glaring at Hedzel.

[Hedzel] "Th-That……"

Unable to withstand the pressure in the end, Hedzel promptly bowed his head.

[Hedzel] "I am sorry!"

---

Satina entered a nearby under-construction building with Katan and the two brothers.

Stepping past the 'Keep Out' sign revealed a dark, dusty interior. Despite being an illegal trespasser, Hedzel naturally offered a chair as if owning the building.

[Hedzel] "Construction paused for a while due to winter, so make yourself comfortable."

Satina awkwardly sought out a relatively clean chair and sat down.

Ideally, she wished to talk while enjoying something delicious in a clean café, but Hedzel—unwilling to draw public attention—declined.

She watched Hedzel move busily inside the building to brew tea.

Hedzel the rat beastkin. Looking like an ordinary rat beastkin leading street thugs right now, he possessed formidable talent.

Rat beastkin inherently possessed small builds and far sharper hearing and sense of smell than others. Thanks to that, they demonstrated great talent in infiltration and danger detection, but where rat beastkin abilities shone brightest was information gathering.

Though hot-tempered, Hedzel was a loyal leader trusted by rat beastkin. Around the middle of the game, he uses his popularity to build a full-scale network, becoming the empire's top information merchant.

Meaning if I bring him and the rat beastkin under my wing, I can receive fresh, up-to-date information immediately.

He set down the tea before Satina, narrowing his eyes.

[Hedzel] "Did you really take my brother and do strange things……"

[Wazl] "Brother! Still saying that? If you keep going, I will get mad! My Lady rescued me from that place and cared for me so well!"

At Wazl's scolding, Hedzel grumbled.

[Hedzel] "Well, I am worried. How can anyone trust a noble?"

[Wazl] "If you keep doubting like that, how are you any different from the human nobles you curse every day?! Were you such an ungrateful beastkin, Brother?"

[Hedzel] "Y-You! How can you utter such insulting words to your brother! After how I raised you!"

[Wazl] "So apologize to My Lady quickly."

[Hedzel] "Ugh……"

He let out a long sigh.

[Hedzel] "Fine, I am sorry for doubting. I suffered so much harm in the past that I grew suspicious."

[Satina] "I understand."

Considering the life Hedzel lived, this degree of distrust toward humans was quite mild.

Fundamentally, a rat beastkin's life was harsh. Prejudices that rats spread disease and filth made securing proper employment difficult, and rare jobs obtained were mostly harsh, dirty labor like hauling cargo on ships.

The brothers' parents left for work at dawn when Wazl was young, only to be struck and killed by a noble's carriage. Afterward, another rat beastkin took in and raised the orphaned brothers.

No wonder Wazl felt touched when I promised work and wages at the mansion.

They cherished companions that much, but anyway.

Wazl spoke while looking at Hedzel.

[Wazl] "My Lady is not like the nobles who mistreated you, Brother. She cared for me while you were gone and gave me a job."

[Hedzel] "A job? To you? What job?"

[Wazl] "Cleaning the mansion!"

[Hedzel] "Cleaning? You?"

[Wazl] "Yes! My Lady praised me, saying I was meticulous with my hands!"

[Hedzel] "Weren't you scammed?"

[Wazl] "No! Look at this! She gave me money too!"

He proudly pulled out coins received recently as a week's wages.

[Wazl] "With this money, we can take Sister Lara to a doctor!"

[Hedzel] "Why is a tiny thing like you worrying about that? Keep that money to buy yourself snacks."

[Wazl] "But lately Sister Lara and many others are sick. We have no money for food either. At the mansion, I get food, and My Lady gives me cookies, so I don't need this money! A-Ah! Right! My Lady! Could you heal her too? Sister Lara, and Uncle Brown……"

[Hedzel] "Hey!"

Hedzel shouted, cutting off Wazl's words.

[Hedzel] "Don't go blurting out our situation to outsiders! What can a noble like her do!"

[Wazl] "N-No. My Lady is different. My Lady is a s-saintess candidate! She healed me the first day we met!"

[Hedzel] "Enough. We can't disclose our condition to an outsider carelessly."

At his firm reply, Wazl shrank back, thoroughly discouraged.

Watching the brothers, Satina spoke.

[Satina] "Then do you intend to die without receiving a single treatment?"

[Hedzel] "What?"

He glared at Satina. She took a sip of tea with a calm face before answering.

[Satina] "I am speaking because listening to this frustrates me."

[Hedzel] "I am thankful you cared for my brother, but mind your own business, outsider."

[Satina] "Well, isn't the action you should take right now begging for my help just once, rather than telling me to mind my business?"

[Hedzel] "What did you say?"

She looked around the under-construction building.

[Satina] "Judging by appearances, your circumstances don't seem prosperous. It sounds like more than a few people are sick, so do you have money to take them to a priest or doctor?"

[Hedzel] "You are merely a saintess candidate who can't even use her power properly anyway."

[Satina] "Why omit the fact that I recently regained the use of my power? How disappointing."

Damn it. Hedzel cursed inwardly.

[Wazl] "Brother……"

Wazl pulled at his sleeve.

[Wazl] "Let us beg My Lady. B-Brother, you cough a lot lately and spit up blood sometimes too. I-I don't have Mom or Dad, and I am scared you will die too."

Wazl burst into weeping, sniffling uncontrollably.

Seeing his younger brother, a complex expression crossed Hedzel's face. He knew well that he must not miss this opportunity. However, his instinct of hating nobles resisted bowing his head to Satina.

Yet she was right. Enduring like this promised nothing but a pointless death. However, if she truly could heal them……

[Hedzel] "I beg you."

He bowed his head with a desperate face.

[Hedzel] "My companions are very sick. Please help us."

If she healed them, they would treat Satina as a hero.

[Liv] "Quest 'Hero of the Gutter' started: Heal Hedzel's companions and purify their sanctuary.

Reward: Title 'Hero of the Gutter' and Hedzel's Trust.

Failure: Hedzel's Death"

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