“The city looks pretty quiet, surprisingly after all that happened recently,” Hartwin said casually.

  At the moment, we were having our lunch at the outside eating spot of the inn. I was feeling very hungry, so I had a lot of food on my plate. And I was eating well! I had to get my energy back after all, to get back in tiptop condition. The mission really drained a lot of vitality from me.

  Now that this city was a mess, or about to be, we’d have to leave this place as soon as possible. Therefore, I must return to proper health so I can get back to adventuring. We’d have a long way to go to the shores, after all.

  “Well, from the looks of it, they’re keeping things a secret,” I said as I put food into my mouth. After some chewing, I continued. “I don’t even know who’s running things out there now.”

  “No one, probably,” Taneva said. “Whatever happens from here on out is gonna be quite interesting. You really make things interesting, Princess.”

  I frowned. “... Not like it was my intention. Merely doing the job from a friend.”

  Taneva chuckled. “Still, you were involved. But I am interested in seeing her succeed, your friend’s goal. Ever since your godly mother deprived this archipelago of life, this place has been quite the shithole.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I imagine with the demons so close, it’s gonna end up as a shithole anyway. But I think they also intended to drive the humans away from these lands. But that just didn’t happen, and some people remained. Am I right?”

  “Likely so. And the gods just didn’t want to give something good to the demons.”

  Well, not like I cared if the people here had it rough. They already had a rough life, and they just made it worse by fighting amongst themselves. So it was also kind of their fault. Human nature and all that shit…

  “Anyway, enough about that. News about the thing that you were looking into?”

  To be specific, it was our way off this island.

  “Taneva and I looked into a bar in a slum,” Velar said. “It was a much bigger and grander place than you’d expect in such an area.”

  “A bar, huh? What about it?”

  “From the information we gathered, many shady activities happen there. Aside from the endless parties that occur, narcotics are also prevalent.”

  Taneva nodded with a grin. “We learned there’s a big shot in there. Apparently, it’s his base of operations.”

  “What kind of bigshot?”

  I wouldn’t like to waste time on a ‘bigshot’ who in the end he’d just be some sort of trash that would be of no help to us whatsoever. We’d need someone with a strong influence and could do what we needed them to do. Smoothly. Wouldn’t want any obstruction.

  Velar began to explain. “Apparently, there is a wide criminal underworld that spreads all over the archipelago. They range from smuggling, mercenaries, nurturing narcotics, distribution, slave trading, and so on. There are many heads of these criminal groups, but they coexist.”

  Not a surprise. There were plenty of criminal organizations that chose to coexist and do their illegal stuff peacefully. There would be more money that way, anyway — not always the case though. Plus, they could ask for cooperation if needed. Of course there would be conflict sometimes, but there were still groups that preferred to keep to their own business. Still, best to stay in your territory and all that.

  “And a bigshot, do you mean one of their heads is here?”

  “Yes. And I believe we found the person.”

  “Well, not like he was exactly keeping it subtle inside that bar,” Taneva casually shrugged.

  “Oh, so you really got in?” That was a surprise, I thought it would be a less open place. Not letting random strangers enter.

  “They were not exactly strict about the entrance.”

  Velar nodded. “It’s still a normal bar open to the public.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Oh wow, that’s nice.

  So perhaps it was just the place where the criminal group leader usually hung out. And considering that it was in the slums, many other shady characters might also gather there. Furthermore, criminal organizations tend to be territorial. Therefore, there might be only one bigshot here.

  “I see. If you know the person, then we should go and talk to him directly. We do have plenty of money to pay whatever fees.”

  “Best not keep from them who they’re transporting,” Velar said.

  “I don’t intend to. We’d only get in more trouble if we’re not being honest.”

  You’d usually need to know how heavy the ones you’re about to transport are. Because if we hide the truth, and they learn of it, things could get very hectic. Criminals could be quite fidgety. They needed to know the stakes from the start. We could pay them to just ignore our identities, but Miyako was quite a famous person.

  Who’s to say that the criminal leader wouldn’t know about her? The city soldiers did go about questioning everyone and telling Miyako and Satomi’s descriptions to everyone on the streets. It might have been a different case if it were a non-famous person or someone who didn’t have such ?wide notoriety in the area.

  At any rate, my decisions would be based on what impression I’d get from the one we’d be talking to. If he were clever, then hiding their identities would be pointless. If he wasn’t, then perhaps I’d consider not letting them know and just have them do their job. And this was assuming they’d even accept the job in the first place.

  In short, nothing was certain just yet.

  “However, we’ll see…” I added. “Let’s just adapt to whatever.”

  “Are we bringing those two along?”

  “They might want to see who they’re transporting, so yes. We’ll all be going there.”

  Besides, we might need some backup. We were going to a dangerous place after all.

  “When are we going?” Hartwin asked.

  “I can’t do it today, so let’s go tomorrow… I’m still not feeling quite energetic. What time should we go?”

  “Afternoon,” Velar answered. “That’s when we saw the man. But nighttime is when the bar is most active.”

  “Then we’ll go after sunset.”

  “You’re the one that’s gonna talk to him directly, right?” Hartwin asked.

  “... I suppose. Let’s just not piss him off from the get-go.”

  ***

  I went up to check on Miyako in her room. Well, I mainly came to tell her about our plans for tomorrow. I closed the door, and immediately I felt the gloomy atmosphere that filled the room. As the window was closed, it was a bit dim, only made things feel gloomier. How miserable.

  Miyako was sitting at the edge of her bed.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked.

  She smiled slightly. “Things feel kind of… overwhelming…” She lowered her head. “Because of me, this island might fall into ruin.”

  “For the purpose of protecting your people. I don’t see any reason why you’d need to feel guilty about it.”

  She briefly sighed. “... My only purpose here was simply to attend a meeting. I never would have imagined it would spiral out of control like this.”

  “... Perhaps being stuck here alone for too long is not doing good for you.”

  She awkwardly chuckled. “I must admit, it is difficult inside not being able to look out through the window.”

  It must be quite suffocating to be trapped in this closed room, trapped in your own thoughts. But not like we had any other choice. However, now that the government of this place was basically ruined, she should have more leeway now. They should have other, more important matters to attend to than looking for her.

  I walked over to the window and opened it, letting the cool air rush inside. “Better?”

  Her smile widened. “Yes.” She stood up and stood at the window.

  “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. This is just the circumstances brought about by things happening out of your control. You only responded accordingly. To protect yourself and those you cared about. Those that are important to you.”

  An unfortunate victim.

  “... Yes… But… I’ve never made a decision so heavy and crucial before. One that changed the fate of an entire island, or perhaps even the whole archipelago.”

  “That’s fine. Some things just take time to settle.”

  “I don’t understand how you could be so coolheaded about everything.”

  “... Is that so?” Well, it was not exactly my problem. “I also have things that I’m ‘hot-headed’ about.”

  “But you still stand tall, ready to face whatever may come.” She stared into the distance. “You hold no fear… I wish I could be more like you. Brave.”

  “Hm. Perhaps you’re on the way to proving your bravery.”

  “I don’t feel brave.”

  “Being brave doesn’t really mean not feeling fear and doubt at all. If you live, feeling those are inevitable. Being brave is facing forward despite it all, and lifting your leg to take the step.”

  For my situation, not like there was any other choice but to face fear and force yourself to be brave. But perhaps it was the same for her. You couldn’t just lay on the bed and cover your face with your pillows and do nothing because you’re too afraid to do anything going forward. That would only make things worse. For me, while in training, it was death. There, I learned to be brave.

  “... Facing forward despite it all…” She placed a hand on her chest. “... I’ve also been thinking about what you said, to take the opportunity while this island is divided. I still can’t make up my mind about that, and it’s not my choice alone to make.”

  “You’re free to do as you please. Remember that. Don’t let my words force you to do something you don’t want.”

  “... I know…”

  I leaned against the windowsill. “Perhaps a change of pace will make you feel better. We’re going to meet with someone who might help us get to your island.”

  She blinked in surprise. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t I be a risk?”

  “Let’s just hope everything’s going to be fine. Besides, they might need to see us all in person before they’d take the job. Criminals can be quite wary.”

  “... So we’re going to work with criminals, huh?”

  “If you’re a criminal, we can only ask for support from other criminals. But not always.”

  Miyako briefly chuckled. “... It’s weird being a criminal.”