章 130: Finding A Face For Quintens Quality Wares.
"Depravia."
"A place where people are considered barely human."
"Born criminals, some say."
"Trash who deserve what they get, others say."
"But I see things differently.
"Yes, there will always be people who are greedy, those who embrace a life of crime just as there are rich people who commit crimes as well as poor."
"But there will also be those who are not, those with the potential to do great things and only wait for an opportunity to shine."
"And more importantly who will be grateful and loyal to the person who gives them such an opportunity to get out of a cesspit to do something great."
Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online.
….
"I see."
Railius said, pausing for a second before continuing. It was clear to him now the motivations of this girl who had the guts to steal from him even when terrified to this extent. It spoke of a deep desperation to do anything she could to nurse her beloved father back to health.
"May I ask your name?"
"Alicia."
Alicia said nervously, wrapping her arms around her clothes as if afraid that the scary men before her still wanted to take her clothes. Her two little dog ears that show her mixed-race heritage drooped down, showing her fear and her identity, a mix between a human and doglike Beastmen, yet another result of the multiethnic kingdom. She had auburn hair, which helped to hide her ears, but a perceptive person would be able to see them clearly
"You don't want my clothes, do you?"
The little girl then asked in a small voice filled with fear.
"No! Why would you even thi-"
"Oh."
Railius began to say in almost shouting, visibly flustered at the child's question, before stopping and sighing outwardly, realising that this would not help this situation or the misunderstanding between them. The shameless lord of Aurellion, who had baffled some of the best politicians and powerhouses in the game, was finally caught off guard and rendered almost speechless instinctively defending himself, and the one to do it was no great scholar whose eloquence could sway even the heavens but a frightened child who had not even lived for a decade.
Thinking about it from Alicia's perspective, the only thing he talked about was her clothing and actions, so it would be perfectly normal for a child to come to such a conclusion as she would be unaware that the reason Railius was so interested in her dress was not because he was some weird pedo who was into children but because her clothes indicated that her background was not that of a usual gutter rat that could be found by the dozen here.
Meaning that there was a chance that her family could be exactly what he was looking for.
The irony of this occurrence was not lost on the young player, who quickly figured out why the girl was suspiciously looking at him. If it weren't for the fear she felt when facing them or the fact that her so-called protectors had abandoned her, then it is likely she would have run away from him already.
Sixty meters away, Railius swore that he could hear Norfaelor's neck and knuckles cracking as he approached the thugs with an evil grin. A series of pained yelps soon came out of the mouths of the once formidable thugs, who were now nothing more than a small human molehill of groaning meat, the fight only lasting for about 10 seconds before Norfaelor emerged victorious, a smile even bigger than the went he went over with was plastered on his face with no signs of even a bruise on his body showing how one-sided the fight was.
Railius visibly cringed when he heard what seemed to be a spine cracking from behind, putting himself between the little girl and the violence to try and protect her from the violent scene.
Evidently, his battle-hungry subordinate had not held back in the slightest, so it was no surprise that these thugs would fall into such a pitiful state.
Norfaelor ruffled his hands together contently as if he were cleaning up after taking out the trash before returning Railius and his group in high spirits, having used his fists to viciously beat down the thugs. Out of Railius' friends, he was the musclehead who enjoyed nothing more than a good scrap. He would make a decent gang leader with his natural strength if he were not part of the Pelican Guards.
"That natural strength of his is absolutely disgusting. It's a wonder how you can beat him, Jordis.
Vegrif said, letting out a few oohs and ahhs as he watched Norfaelor flatten the thugs. As the criminal scum had no official combat training, the large half-elf could use little to no technique, just using his raw, untamed strength to bash them against the walls or batter them to the ground before putting them into a pile like a bunch of human trophies.
"Yeah, if he learnt just a bit of technique instead of using brute force to win, even I would likely fall to him."
"It's why he will struggle to get to higher levels. At least as he fights more, he will naturally increase his technique."
Jordis replied. He had personally fought many times with Norfaelor and knew that he learnt best from constantly battling, which was fine by Jordis, who, through this training, was slowly mastering the art of fighting larger and stronger opponents than himself, which could become invaluable to the loyal protector of Aurellion in the future.
"Don't worry, they won't be bothering us for a few days, young master."
The enormous muscled half-elf said happily. For the past few days, he had done nothing but ride and look menacing, so it was nice to let off some steam that had been pent up since leaving Leon's dojo and accompanying Railius on his endeavours to increase the power of House Aurellion.
Seeing the thugs reduced to nothing more than a pile of meat, Alicia was worried about what would happen to her and her family now that she had offended them. While the man looked nice, who knew what his true intentions were?
She had spent months in this slum, and any innocence she once had was long destroyed in the depravity of this place where laws were ignored. The only power that mattered here was that of the fist as the capital patrols; the men responsible for the royal capital's safety and law and order rarely came here. They only deigned to come to this place of filth when one of the higher-ups ordered them to; otherwise, it seemed that they had an understanding with the gangs of this place, a sight all too common in places like these.
There were stories in the slum of slave traders taking children to train and sell in the future who seemed nice at first before leading the child somewhere and locking chains on their legs and wrists and spiriting them away to who knows where, making her fears more than justified.
Seeing the suspicion in the traumatised girl's eyes, Railius could only sigh as she was too young to be able to fully process the cruelties she had seen after seeing people viciously beaten down by thugs with no one helping them and being tricked again and again her trust in humanity had been smothered in gasoline before being set on fire and would take a while to build up again even if it were only in a select few people.
"Do you know where to get your father his medicine?"
Railius asked, trying his best to put the child at ease.
"Yes."
Alicia replied in the same quiet, childlike voice she had used throughout her interactions with this strange, now dirty, richly dressed man who didn't seem to belong in these dirt-ridden streets.
"How about this? I'll buy the medicine, and we can bring it to your father together?"
Railius said kindly, his voice soft in a vain attempt to lower the little girl's fear towards him.
"Really?!!"
Alicia exclaimed. Her voice seemed to increase suddenly by a thousand decibels in her momentary hope and excitement, though her eyes were still filled with suspicion, desperately wanting what the man in front of her said to be true. But despite this hope, she still looked at this strange man suspiciously as this offer seemed too good to be true, and she had been in this place long enough to know that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
"Really, really."
Railius said playfully with a kind smile. He had never thought of himself as a guy who would even be decent with kids, but it seemed that with this girl, he could embrace the childish side of him that usually only appeared when he insulted someone. It was nice that despite all that Alicia had been through, she could still smile innocently at times as a child should.
"Okay, I'll believe you for now. Follow me."
She said, still slightly scared, but this was her best option as her father had only gotten weaker and weaker over the last few and began to lead them through the dirty streets of Depravia. An appropriate name for this district of the capital, which is known to be the poorest and controlled by violent gangs.
Railius followed the little girl through the putrid-smelling slum, which constantly invaded his nostrils. It was like walking through raw sewage, and it took everything for him not to throw up.
Railius could not imagine how people could live in such conditions, but they did, as they did in the slums across the real world. Not everyone was lucky enough to live in a rich, developed country like the British university student, and many did not see the suffering that helped to maintain their prosperous modern world and lifestyle.
He had often seen the adverts to help those in need in other countries while watching Bluetube videos, but seeing it on a screen and seeing it for themselves as if it were real life was completely different.
There was nothing that DO couldn't simulate. Smell, touch, and even emotions could be felt in the game; an atmosphere that could once only be experienced when doing in real life could finally be felt in the virtual world as even facial expressions were perfectly replicated by the system.
After seeing Alicia fail to steal anything and hearing of the unfortunate fate of the gang members who caught the attention of these skilled young men, the rest of the people kept their distance from these young men who were not weak or exploitable like other nobles who were oblivious when things happened around them after coming here as they only came for their own perverse pleasures anyway.
They quickly entered a shop, seeing what looked to be a cunning man behind the counter; however, the smile on the man's face when he saw Alicia distorted as this man in fine clothes entered with three armoured men, wondering what this kid had done to get the attention of this bigshot.
Anyone with an IQ higher than room temperature would be able to see that this was a man of influence and power, as only they could afford such nice clothes, making this pharmacy owner act much more admirable than usual.
They quickly got the medicine they needed, with Railius paying nearly twenty gold for it, and even that was with the help of Norfaelor breathing down his neck in a threatening manner before heading for the girl's house; however, Railius kept his guard up. The ever-suspicious young lord did not think that the vicious gangs of this place were nice enough to let them off and prepared for their retaliation after dealing with those thugs. These criminal gangs were perfectly capable of using methods that even the most despicable nobles would avoid.
It was one thing if Railius had just entered, done his business, and left; however, Railius and his group had blatantly attacked some of their men without regard for them. Even if Railius did not know who they belonged to, it was still a significant threat to the authority of the gangs if a random rich man could just come in, beat them up, and leave.
If it were the capital patrols, then these gangs would have no choice but to endure it, but it was just a random youth and his friends!
How could they endure such humiliation?
Railius realised it would take some time for them to retaliate and investigate him as a merchant could be dealt with, but a noble was another beast entirely.
The only reason these gangs could survive in the capital in the long term with the crown prince around was that they were somewhat protected by the nobles, who liked to use them for their own means.
Every organisation had its uses, even the more immoral illegal ones; otherwise, things like assassin groups and guilds would long have been exterminated by the upper classes of the world.
If you want to get rid of a troublesome person or capture someone, call the gangs. As long as you give them protection from government retaliation, any request is doable. Of course, this meant that members of the royal family or powerful nobles were off limits as they would hunt them to extinction if they tried something like that to them, but apart from that, even a baron could be killed or captured.
Jordis, noticing the gravity of the situation, also began to vigilantly look around, as only the gang's experts could threaten them. Even then, he was sure that Aldorus was somewhere hidden in the shadowy recesses of this slum, following them at a discreet distance, so even master fighters would be no problem, as experts in the gangs were unlikely to be able to go against a war veteran.
They quickly came to a run-down makeshift home, but at least it had a door. The little girl promptly opened the rotting wooden door and entered the house of two large rooms with a beaming smile as she had the medicine her father needed funded by the kind stranger she was with.
"Dad, I have the medicine. We can finally heal you!"
Alicia said with hope that once her father recovered, things would get much better.
In the house was a makeshift wooden bed with an old man lying on it, being fed by a girl older than Alicia but who was around their age. Seeing the love in the eyes of the two girls, it was almost guaranteed that they were his daughters, as there was no other reason for them to be by the side of this old, sickly man.
Railius took a deep breath to calm himself and immediately regretted it.
'Damn, you can even taste the decay of this place in the air!'
Railius complained inwardly but still knocked on the door. The older girl had noticed them in the background when Alicia stormed into the makeshift house, and her attention had been on them ever since they arrived, looking at how they were dressed and coming to the conclusion that they were wealthy outsiders.
"May I come in?"
Railius asked politely. While the girl was rather pretty, Railius was not interested in her for her looks but for something else. Even then, he was a noble who would soon be trying to gain power and could not afford to marry just anyone.
He knew that he needed to marry another noble to secure alliances for the future, a responsibility and downside to being in a position of power and influence in the medieval world.
"Yes, I guess you can."
The older girl said, taking charge as Railius entered, nodding in thanks. Railius' friends stayed outside, looking vigilantly around, allowing their young lord to enter alone. There was no way that her little sister could have gotten this medicine unless someone had helped her, and she was thankful that her sister had managed to find someone who was seemingly a good person.
Even if she somehow managed to get the money needed, it was likely to be stolen by someone as 20 gold was life-changing for anyone in this place as this was enough money to escape this hellhole.
Even in the real world, finding someone who would help another for seemingly no reason was odd.
Before they came to this wretched place, Alicia was a bright and innocent child, always smiling. However, after coming to the slum, she became increasingly aware of how dangerous the world was, slowly becoming more grown-up and reserved than children her age typically were.
This was natural, for anyone who came to and lived in Depravia would have to grow up early to survive, as did many children in the worse parts of the real world, which were hidden by the glamour of modern life.
The only problem was that Alicia wanted to help out their father as best she could, so she routinely went out alone to find ways to make money, no matter how much they worried about her. Luckily, Alicia was an intelligent kid and mostly stayed out of trouble.
Until today, that was.
"I'm sorry if my sister offended you, and I will try to do whatever I can to repay you for the help you have given us."
The older girl said sincerely. She knew she could not afford to offend this person, so she was as polite as possible while the old man on the bed tried to sit up. He affectionately stroked the head of his youngest daughter, who came to cuddle up to him as he shifted himself up from the bed.
"Don't worry about it."
Railius said as he gestured to a nearby unoccupied stool.
"May I?"
The girl looked to her father, who said nothing and nodded. While her father was sick, it seemed this girl would take charge of their family's affairs.
"What do you want with my family? What deal was struck between you and my daughter?"
The man asked in a raspy voice with daggers in his eyes after Railius had sat down. He had experienced much in the world, and so had his suspicions, especially of a young rich man as he reached under the covers of the bed for his sword.
Railius noticed the shuffling under the covers and the sound of a hand clutching a sword sheath but acted as if he didn't and calmly answered the man's questions, as anyone would have concerns when someone suddenly helped them for seemingly no reason.
"I can't just be a nice guy who wants to help people out? Do you think there are only vipers in the world and have no faith left in humani- sorry other sentients?"
Railius asked, tutting slightly, though the old man just looked at him as if he were stupid. He nearly said humanity but stopped himself, realising that there were many races in this world, each with their own distinctive features. The sword had come out of its sheath as the man pointed it threateningly at the rich man, who didn't flinch in the slightest, surprising the old man slightly. It was a fine blade and far better than the weapons you typically find in Depravia. It was clear that this man was not in a joking mood, so the young player then replied seriously, not wanting to start a fight.
"Nothing except meeting you. I noticed that your daughters wear clothes that are better than the ones worn by many others, so it piqued my interest and made me wonder if her family was what I was looking for.
"And what are you looking for?"
"A face for my new company. My identity is currently a bit. How should I say errr…. Sensitive. You see, there are quite a lot of people who would like nothing more than my head on a spike, so it is not convenient for me to make moves in public."
"I assumed from your clothes that you were likely merchants who were down on their luck as most nobles have family elsewhere who would help to shelter them and so would have no need to come here."
クリエイターの想い 
LaziestDragon
LaziestDragon Thank you for reading and for your continued support, and I'm sorry this chapter is a bit late. Something unexpected came up.
The next chapter should be out by Monday.
As always, there are 10 advanced chapters on Patreon for those who want them, but the ones on Webnovel have been checked over one more time and are, therefore, more professional. Even if the plot is the same, its execution is a bit better.
You would be surprised how many things I find in the second check just before I post on Webnovel.
A big thank you to anyone who supports me there, though, as I don't thank you guys enough.
See you Thursday!
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