It was still morning.

Those with proper jobs would have left for them long ago, but barely any of the residents of the slums had proper jobs, so the streets were still deserted. Rio carried the unconscious girl over his shoulder as he dragged his feet through the slums; though he wasn’t injured, his feet still felt heavy. The dress the girl was wearing stood out too much, so he covered her in the sack she was originally in.

How did it end up like this? Why did this have to happen to him? Anger at the unfairness of the situation boiled inside of him, but he didn’t have the time to release it right now. He didn’t even know where to go. He just continued to walk forward until he eventually approached the entrance of the slums.

“Y-You! Hold it right there!”

The sound of a young girl shouted at him from nearby, but Rio failed to realize she was talking to him and kept walking.



“I’m telling you to stop!” she said, grabbing at Rio forcefully. She seemed to be trying to take the little girl that Rio was carrying.

“Ch-Christina! Please wait!”

“Vanessa, hurry and grab Flora!”

“Y-Yes!”

The one who had called out to Rio was Christina, one of the girls he met at the entrance of the slums earlier. The other three were also here. Their hooded robes were much more plain and shabby compared to before, but the voice and height were definitely the same. Christina pulled the girl she called Flora off of his shoulder angrily.

“Hey you. Let go of Flora, now,” Vanessa ordered in a cold voice. Rio relaxed his grip and let her take Flora from his shoulder.

“Flora! Flora!”

Christina desperately cried out the name of the girl in Vanessa’s arms.

“Stay calm. She’s just passed out. Celia and Roanna — please look after Flora.”

Vanessa checked Flora’s condition calmly and left her in the care of the other two.

“Y-Yes!”

“Understood!”

Celia and the girl named Roanna both nodded and took Flora into their arms; Rio watched the scene unfolding before him with detached, emotionless eyes.

“Hey, you!” Vanessa shouted, glaring at Rio.

She drew her sword in one smooth motion and pointed it at Rio’s neck, but Rio didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t feel any killing intent behind Vanessa at all, unlike the man who had tried to kill him just now. But Rio wasn’t exactly processing the situation in a calm manner. If anything, he had lost interest in everything.

“Explain what happened,” Vanessa ordered.

Rio shrugged and tried to walk away without a care. But—

“Hold it!” Christina said as she cut in front of him.

“It’s dangerous!” Vanessa shouted in a panic.

But Christina ignored her and slapped Rio’s face — hard. The sound of the resulting smack echoed around them, and the shock of the impact returned Rio to the present.

“...Huh?”

A sound of confusion spilled from his lips. He didn’t understand... Why was Christina angry? Why had he been slapped when he’d found the girl they were looking for? His cheek throbbed with pain as he stood there, bewildered.

“Don’t just stand there in silence. Answer me! You lied to us, didn’t you? What were you going to do with Flora?”

Christina released a barrage of accusations at Rio. He really couldn’t understand what she was saying...

He could feel something swell up within his throat.

“Huh?”

Rio glared at Christina with an icy gaze.

“...!”

Christina flinched. Her hand moved instinctively and rose up to slap Rio again. But this time, Rio grabbed Christina’s hand and stopped her. Christina’s cute face twisted in ugly frustration as she raised her other hand instead. Rio’s other hand moved to catch it, now holding Christina back with both hands.

“Let go of me! You’re disgusting! It stinks!” Christina yelled, but Rio didn’t let go.

Then...

“Release her,” Vanessa said coldly, once again pointing the sword at Rio’s neck.

Rio shot her a glare before slowly releasing her hands. Sure enough, the instant Christina was free, her hand came up once more to slap Rio’s face with as much strength as she could muster. Rio followed her movement with his eyes, but did nothing in particular to block it.

“Heh,” Rio laughed mockingly.

His smile made Christina’s body tremble once more. She was terrified. Having been raised as a princess, Rio’s smile held emotions that had never been directed toward her in her life.