Chapter 82

“You damn scoundrels! Do you even have the right to call yourselves people of the lower district!?”

One of the rioters bellowed. With the flickering flames at his back, he exuded a considerable air of intimidation as he confronted the protesters who had marched up from the Second Gate.

The one who broke the silence of the wavering crowd was the tanner.

“Of course we’re lower district people! That’s exactly why earning money from the upper district folks and bringing it back down here is a good thing, isn’t it!?”

It was a strange sort of logic. For a moment, a vibe of ‘Hmm, is that so?’ spread among the rioters. In that opening, Yelena took the baton. She pushed her wheelchair to the front of the protesters.

“Exactly! Even this chair with wheels was brought from the upper district. You guys are so dim-witted that you only know how to use your fists, but we know how to use our heads! Taking the upper district’s wealth is what’s best for the lower district!”

“Shut it, cripple! What do you know about—?”

“Are you discriminating against the disabled right now!?”

Another protester, leaning on a crutch, shouted out. He looked like a veteran who had been discharged due to injury. At the soldier’s cry, other protesters joined in.

“Yeah, you punk! Are disabled people not part of the lower district too?! You ungrateful, low-life bastard!”

“Dario, you pathetic brat! I’ve known your mother for forty years! If she knew you were going around talking like that, she’d collapse from a heart attack, you boy!”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that… besides, Auntie, why are you even here…?”

At the sudden appearance of the neighborhood auntie, the front line of the rioters faltered. However, in the meantime, the rioters managed to invent a new logic of their own.

“Hey! Even so, if the gates open again, do you think only you guys will suck up the upper district’s money? The upper district will do the exact same thing to us! Do you think we don’t know you work in the upper district and spend your money there? That’s capital flight and labor drain!”

The expressions of the rioters quickly turned triumphant. But this wasn’t the kind of crowd that would fall for that now. One of the protesters threw the fruit they were eating at the rioters.

“Don’t you even know what this is? This is fruit the Lord just bestowed upon us! The very same Lord who is currently suffering on an expedition to save us! And what, the upper district is stripping us of our money? Bah, you ungrateful brats.”

“Y-You think you’ve become an upper district person just because you got a little bit of a handout!? Huh?”

The rioters’ timid rebuttal immediately met a fierce counterattack.

“You shouldn’t be the one saying that, you punk. Weren’t you the one who stole that wheeled chair while working in the upper district and ran off with it!?”

“Yeah! And didn’t you even get forgiven by the Lord’s youngest son? How thick is the iron plate on your face anyway!?”

“Weren’t you the one who threw a tantrum after being late for curfew, and supposedly that young master even paid for your inn stay? I’m so embarrassed I could die…”

“…”

Getting back a bushel for a peck, the rioters instinctively felt they couldn’t win this war of words. The protesters surged with momentum, pressing the rioters blocking the gate. Shane’s plan seemed to be going smoothly.

Just then, someone walked leisurely through the gap between the protesters and the rioters.

“Now, now. Everyone, calm down. Nothing good comes from us fighting among ourselves. You all know that, right?”

The one who appeared was a gentleman wearing a monocle. It was Malik. He stood before the protesters, flanked by a significant number of guards.

“Mr. Malik!”

“Yes, it’s me. It looks like you’ve all gone through a lot of trouble, and I know it’s all out of your love for the lower district. It’s the same for us over here. So, why don’t you all just back off and leave it at that?”

Malik tried to calm the protesters with a generous tone. There were few in the lower district who didn’t know his influence. Malik’s manor was essentially the only public institution in the lawless lower district. Almost every household had gone to his manor at least once to file a civil complaint. His words carried weight by necessity.

The momentum of the protesters dwindled significantly. Of course, there was someone in the crowd who had expected this. Yelena stepped forward.

“Back off? Not a chance! Opening the gate is what’s for the lower district and for Denabi. We aren’t leaving until the gate is open. If you want us to back down, then convince us why your actions—lighting fires and causing a ruckus in front of the gate—are so noble!”

“That’s right!”

“Convince us!”

Those shouts lent strength to Yelena’s argument. Malik frowned slightly, pretending to be deep in thought. Then, he suddenly spoke.

“In my opinion, it seems you all have received orders from someone.”

“What are you…”

“The youngest of the Lord’s family has snuck into the lower district. His goal is to weaken the lower district so he can invade it. He probably wants to clear out the troublemakers who don’t even pay taxes from Denabi.”

“Ha…! You expect us to believe such nonsense?”

“Of course. You have to. Because the very embodiment of that scheme is right before our eyes, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Malik held out both hands toward the protesters.

“I’m talking about you lot. Those of you who fell for the upper district’s bait and are causing division in the lower district. Because of you, the lower district has been split in two. The youngest master of the Lord’s family is likely planning to attack the weakened lower district while we are fighting each other.”

“Who would believe such baseless bullsh—”

“Whether I have a basis or not, you’re about to find out.”

Malik turned back to his subordinates.

“Find Shane.”

As soon as Malik’s order fell, the guards he brought with him charged into the protesters all at once. Screams from the protesters and shouts from the rioters erupted.

“Get lost!”

“Hand over the upper district brat!”

Vina pushed Yelena’s wheelchair and quickly fled. The rioters pushed and struck the protesters while trying to search for Shane. Sitting in her wheelchair, Yelena spoke to Vina.

“Sister, do you know what looks the most foolish in the entire world?”

“Good grief, what are you talking about in a situation like this!?”

“You don’t know? Then I’ll tell you.”

“What are you doing?! It’s dangerous!”

Yelena twisted her body to look back at the chaos behind her. Beyond the mess stood Malik.

“A person who thinks they know everything. That kind of person is the ultimate fool.”

Before long, a voice thick with frustration drifted through the crowd.

“Mr. Malik! He’s not here…! The upper-district brat isn’t among them!”

“Oh, come now. That’s impossible. Are you saying you can’t even search properly?”

“He’s really not here! We checked everyone, but…”

—Slap!

Malik’s hand whipped across the rioter’s cheek. The force was so great that the man collapsed where he stood.

“I truly despise people who give up before they’ve even finished looking.”

Malik turned toward the protesters. They were all huddled on the ground, trembling.

“My poor, rabbit-like neighbors. Look at the state you’re in after being tricked by Shane. Just hand him over. Let’s restore peace to the lower district and become one again. Hmm?”

But no one answered.

“Dammit…! Who the hell is Shane anyway?”

The tanner’s indignant voice pierced the silence. At that, other protesters began to find their voices one by one.

“Yeah! Who is this Shane guy?”

“We didn’t come here because someone put us up to it!”

“You bastards, what kind of ghost possessed you to start beating your own neighbors…?”

It was impossible for him not to be there. Malik pushed through them, intending to find Shane himself.

Then, suddenly, the sound of something shattering erupted from behind.

—Thump!

Everyone, including Malik, spun around. What was that? Just as the question took hold in everyone’s minds, the sound echoed again.

—Thump!

Most were still clueless as to the identity of the sound. Only Malik seemed to realize what was happening.

“Tsk. Good grief. When did he get over there?”

“Mr. Malik…?”

“Withdraw. Everyone, disperse at full speed!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Malik fled the scene. The others stared at his back, looking completely bewildered.

—Thump!

When the third sound rang out, the others finally grasped the situation. The obstacles that had been blocking the gate were being shoved aside, tumbling everywhere.

—Crash!

Following the fourth impact, guards began to pour out from behind the gate like a signal flare. Shane was among them.

“Soldiers, minimize the use of force and prioritize civilian protection! I repeat: minimize force and prioritize civilian protection!”

“We won’t be going with you.”

“What do you mean? You have to return to the upper district.”

“Malik will definitely show up there. His men will be there too. He’ll try to find me using aggressive methods. If he catches me with you, he might treat you all as traitors and attack you as well.”

“No way. Malik is just a steward-type who manages the lower district. He doesn’t have that kind of backbone.”

Yelena waved her hand dismissively, as if the idea were absurd. But Vittorio knew Malik’s true nature.

“We thought so too. But that man tried to kill us.”

“What…? No way.”

“We fought for our lives. More than ten vigilantes died on the spot. Everyone in our group, except for Izack, myself, and that woman Adele, lost their lives.”

I backed up Vittorio’s words.

“I don’t know much about him either. But if they have even the slightest excuse to claim you’re traitors, those men won’t hesitate to do something cruel. I shouldn’t be seen with you.”

Yelena still seemed to be in shock. It was Vina who stepped up in her place.

“Then what are you telling us to do? You’re going to run off alone while we face Malik and take a dangerous gamble?”

I shook my head.

“It’s alright. I’ll be your insurance.”

“Insurance?”

“I’ll bring the guards and come out through the gate before it’s too late.”

“How can you do that? The gate is blocked and you’re right here! Do you have some secret way to climb over that wall?”

“Of course.”

I gave my word. The letter I had thrown over the wall with Adele—it was time for it to do its job.

Some of you might be wondering. That was three days ago, so how could it still be valid? I’m not going to claim I foresaw everything down to this moment. Of course not.

However, I had written this:

‘Come and wait here every morning at 6:00 AM and every night at 10:00 PM until we return.’

If you set a specific date and something goes wrong, you’re helpless if you can’t make it. That’s why I set recurring times that were easy to approach the gate walls.

True to our promise, I headed to the wall with Vittorio at 6:00 AM. And the result was…

“Young Master!”

Vittorio and I climbed the battlements using a rope lowered by the guards. Panting for breath, I told the soldiers:

“Run and call every available man immediately. We are moving into the lower district.”

“Into the lower district, sir…?”

“Yes. We have to save Izack and Adele.”

It was time for me to save the people who had come to save me.