On the way back to the shack, Rio’s head buzzed with thoughts about his future. He could live off the five large silvers he received from Celia for quite a while, but he still couldn’t break off from the men until he had some form of stable income. There was nowhere to run from them in the slums, and they’d probably hunt him down and kill him if they discovered that he’d run away.

Still... for now, with both his stomach and pocket filled, Rio felt a little better. With his new funds in hand, all he wanted now was some time to carefully plan how to get away from the men, his escape route, and how to live going forward. Eventually, he arrived back at the shabby shack while pondering such things. The sight of it immediately dampened his mood. He sighed.

“I’m back.”

He entered the shack with a small bow. The men would yell at Rio for no reason at all sometimes, but they had been in high spirits this morning, bringing Gigi — who was their favorite — over to pour them drinks, so that wasn’t as likely today. They were probably partying and making an uproar right now.

Or so Rio had thought.

The lamp is out?

The inside of the shack was pitch black and completely silent, The window was closed and the lamp that lit the room had been extinguished, making it impossible to see. A sharp, metallic smell of rusted iron pierced his senses, making Rio frown.

What’s that smell? Blood?

The scent that wafted into Rio’s mind was blood... the same blood like when he got injured.

“Mmrgh! Mmmgh!”

Just then, a muffled sound could be heard inside the shack. It was coming from the corner of the room.

“...!”

The sudden sound made Rio flinch in surprise.

What’s that?

He could hear the rustling of fabric. Had someone fallen asleep?

Rio warily started to inch towards the sound when his foot slipped. He could feel a mysterious liquid against the sole of his bare foot. The floor was wet. Suspicious of the unknown substance that felt so strange against his skin, Rio decided to open the window first.

The window is...

Relying on his memory of the room’s layout, he ignored the uncomfortable sensation under his feet and proceeded towards the wooden shack’s only window. He threw it fully open; light flooded in from outside, illuminating the dark room.

“Wha...”

Rio fell speechless at the horrendous scene before his eyes.

There were dead bodies lying everywhere. The bodies of the men who were drinking in the shack earlier, and—

“Gigi...”

It was the dead body of the prostitute. The girl who gave Rio money for food in the morning was now a bloodied corpse. She lay face-up, her provocative dress completely soaked red with blood.

“Urgh...”

Rio wanted to throw up. He pressed a hand against his mouth and resisted the urge.

“Mm! Mm, mmrgh!”

The muffled sound could still be heard inside the room. Rio’s frown deepened as he directed his gaze towards it — the single sack sat in the corner of the room. There was something alive inside of it.

A person...? No way...

It didn’t look big enough to fit an adult. If it was a person... then it had to be a child.

Rio had an extremely bad feeling about this. His heartbeat thundered in his chest, and he held his breath to stop his trembling. He fearfully approached the sack. It squirmed as though it was declaring its presence. Rio slowly untied the drawstring and the sack fell open with a soft sound. Sure enough, there was a pretty girl in a beautiful priestess-like dress inside. The lavender-haired girl, who was close to Rio’s age, looked up at him with dazed, purple eyes.

Ah, I knew it.

At that moment, he was overcome with despair. Warning bells tolled loudly in his head; they were telling him to stop standing there. He had to flee this place as soon as possible... yet the sight of the frightened girl in front of him rooted him to that spot.

“...Are you all right?” Rio couldn’t help but ask.

The girl nodded once. Her terrified eyes watched him carefully, but their shared age range seemed to help her lower her guard a little. Fortunately, she was tied up inside the sack sideways, so she was still unaware of the horrific scene that had unfolded in the room. She might have been more panicked if she’d noticed.

Well, she’d realize soon enough.

“I’ll remove the gag and ropes. Hold on,” Rio said, removing the gag first.

“Pwah... hah...”

The little girl gasped heavily for air. She was rather sluggish, and her face seemed feverish.

“W-Where..? Where... am I...?”

Her small body trembled as she asked, possibly from fear of the dim room, the cold air, or both.

“The slums. This is the house where the gang that bossed me around lived...” Rio answered while untying the ropes around her body with nimble fingers.

“T-The slums? W-Why am I...” the girl asked in confusion.

“Who knows? I’m done. You can stand up now,” Rio said once the ropes were gone.

“O-Okay. Thank you very m... ah, oww.”

The girl tried to thank him as she stood up, but her legs had no strength and gave out. She’d gotten up halfway before collapsing back down.

“You okay?” Rio grabbed the falling girl and turned her onto her back, gently.

“Y-Yes.”

Although she responded with an affirmative, her breathing was shallow and her body was feverish.

“Really...?” Rio questioned doubtfully as he observed the girl’s face.

Is this the girl Celia’s group was looking for earlier...?