The boy looked absolutely panicked as he reached for the dagger holstered at his waist.
“Watch it,” I warned him. “There’ll be hell to pay if you try to attack me.”
“R-Ralph! Put that back!”
My threat—along with the girl’s protest—seemed to be enough to encourage the boy to resheathe his dagger.
From the way he moved, I could tell he must have had some experience with martial arts or sword fighting, but his unbalanced stance immediately signaled him to be an amateur. He’d be no match for me.
If he did come at me with his dagger, I knew I’d be able to put him in his place...but I would have much preferred to settle things peacefully.
“Wh-What do you want?! We don’t have any money, you know! We wouldn’t have to resort to stealing if we did!”
“I just came here to give you a warning, that’s all. I thought you ought to know that next time you try to steal from me, you won’t get off so easily.”
For several moments, the boy was silent.
“What...?” he finally murmured. The expression on his face made him look almost disappointed. “That’s... That’s all?”
Honestly, it was a fair question. This had become a whole ordeal, some maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask for some compensation for not turning them in to the guards?
“He’s right. It’d be a waste to just give them a warning and leave,” I muttered to myself.
The boy’s face contorted into a grimace as he realized his mistake.
There was just one little problem: They were so poor that they’d tried to steal from me, so they probably didn’t have much to offer in the way of compensation.
Maybe I don’t have to demand material goods, though... What if there’s something else I could make them give me?
Just then, an idea struck me.
“In exchange for turning a blind eye to your attempted thievery, I want information. This is actually my first day here in Realzahd, so I’m still getting the lay of the land. These backstreets are particularly tricky, so I’d like you to give me a tour,” I said.
“S-Sure... If that’s really all you want,” replied the boy.
“Are you okay with that too, Miss Redhead?”
“Huh? Wait, you want me to come too?”
“Of course I do. Your friend here may have been in on your schemes, but you’re the one who actually picked my pocket.”
The boy and girl obviously weren’t too pleased about my demand, but I decided I’d make them give me a tour—even if I did kind of have to force them into it.
Until just a few minutes ago, I would have thought this was a crazy idea, walking around town with the girl who’d just tried to steal from me. But Realzahd was completely foreign to me, so any information I could get about it was priceless.
As pissed as I’d been that the girl had tried to take advantage of my kindness by stealing my only savings, our encounter may have actually turned out to be a real stroke of luck for me.
Now that I had two knowledgeable tour guides at my side, I set off again down the backstreets with the boy and girl in tow.
“So, what exactly do you want us to show you?” asked the boy.
“I want you to point out any cheap lodgings or good food in the area.” Then, after some thought, I added, “Oh, and where do you sell the stuff you steal?”
“The Seven Fortunes. It’s a pawnshop in the backstreets, owned by a friend of ours. He buys everything—even stolen goods.”
“Huh... Good to know that there’s somewhere around here like that. Show me to that shop later,” I said.
As soon as the boy and girl heard that, they whipped around to look at me with suspicion in their eyes. They obviously thought I was up to no good.
“Hey, don’t worry. I’m not planning to rat anyone out. I’ve got some stolen stuff I wanna sell too, that’s all.”
“Wait... What? You’re a thief too? You had no right to chew us out like that!” the boy cried.
“It was just one time—and it was from my parents.”
“So?! Theft is theft, even if your parents are the only victims! You’re no better than us, you hypocrite!”
“All right, you got me there. That’s why I’m letting you off the hook with tour guide duties, though. Besides, I didn’t say you couldn’t ever steal again—I just said you couldn’t steal from me. Feel free to pick anyone else’s pockets.”
“You promise you won’t turn us in to the guards or cause a scene at the Seven Fortunes?”
“I already told you, remember? As long as you show me around town, I won’t cause a fuss. Hey, what’re your names again?”
“Like we’d tell you!”
“Okay, fine. Be that way. I already heard them anyway, when you were talking earlier. This is Hester, and you’re Ralph, right? I’m sure we’ll only be crossing paths briefly, but since we’re fellow thieves, let’s at least try to be friendly.”
“Y-You already got our names?! Ugh, forget it. I’m not interested in being your buddy, all right?!”
And just like that, the two of them showed me around the backstreets as Ralph kept lashing out at me.
They told me that they’d grown up in this area, and their story checked out. They seemed to know about all kinds of different shops and restaurants, and the ones they introduced me to were much better than I could have ever hoped for.
Taking into consideration that I was no longer a noble and had nothing to my name except for a few coins and trinkets, the backstreet shops were probably much more my level than the glitzy ones on the main street. The quality of the goods sold here might have been a bit questionable, but the prices were certainly right.
Despite how close they were, the backstreets were the polar opposite of the flourishing city center. But for a disgraced heir like me, it was perfect.
“Thanks, you two. I appreciate the tour,” I said, genuinely grateful.
“We didn’t do this as a favor to you, you know,” Ralph replied.
“I know, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I plan on sticking around here in Realzahd for a while. I’m sure we’ll cross paths from time to time at some of these shops you’ve shown me, so I guess I’ll see you around.”
Hester and Ralph just looked back at me with unrestrained distaste. In fact, Hester hadn’t even spoken a word to me this entire time. I couldn’t help but think it was a little rich for her to bear so much animosity toward me when she’d been the one to try to steal from me.
“Well, if we’re done here, then we’re gonna head home,” Ralph said.
“Hold on. You still haven’t shown me the place I want to see most.”
After a purposeful silence, he replied, “I gave you the name, didn’t I? I’m sure you can find it by yourself.”
“The backstreet stores don’t have signs, remember? Besides, I want you to introduce me to the shop owner. I wouldn’t want him to be suspicious of me.”
“Tch! Fine... But after that, we’re leaving.”
With that settled, I followed the two of them as they reluctantly led the way to the Seven Fortunes—the shop that supposedly accepted stolen wares.
I could tell from what they’d told me that it was no normal pawnshop, but I couldn’t help but wonder who in the world must run it.
We made our way even deeper into the backstreets via an alleyway until we came upon a small, run-down hovel. Hester and Ralph had stopped walking, so this must have been the place.
I followed them into the hovel. It was dimly lit, and it didn’t seem like anyone else was here, but despite its dingy appearance, the small shop was crammed full of various items. It was a pawnshop, all right.
There were bags, clocks, and books; weapons, armor, magical items. There was such a wide variety of different goods, and no consistent theme that tied any of it together. As my eyes darted between the hodgepodge of items on display, a sound came from the back of the store.
I turned to see an old man with a cane walking slowly toward us. He must be the owner, I thought.
“Well, if it isn’t Hester and Ralph! And I see you’ve got a newcomer with you... Now then, what brings you here today?”
“Yeah, we, uh...just met him today. Said he had some stuff to sell. Will you buy from him?”
“Just today, huh?” the old man repeated. Then, after a pause, he turned to me and asked, “Not that I care either which way, but is this ‘stuff’ you’re lookin’ to sell dangerous?”
Dangerous? Well...if you consider stolen goods to be dangerous, then I guess so. But none of the items are dangerous in and of themselves, I thought, unsure of how to answer him.
Ralph looked uncomfortable, like he didn’t want to just wait around and watch this play out. Seemingly unable to contain himself, he answered for me.
“The goods are stolen, but I doubt they’re dangerous. He just wants to sell some accessories he swiped from his parents.”
“Is that right? Well, I shave a twenty percent commission off of anything I pay for stolen goods. If you’re happy to swallow that cost, then I’m happy to buy. But first... What’s your name, son?”
“It’s Chris.”
“Chris, eh? A fine name. Mine’s Lugentz. Nice to meet you.”
The store owner—Lugentz—offered his hand with a smile. I gripped it lightly and gave him a handshake.
“Now that we’re properly acquainted, I hope you don’t mind if I get straight down to business? I’d love to see these items you’re hoping to sell.”
With Lugentz’s encouragement, I pulled the trinkets out of my small bag and placed them on the table.
I’d done my best not to get them scratched up or dirty while I’d been living in Patia Forest, but I wasn’t certain they were still in good shape, so I couldn’t help feeling just a little bit nervous as I retrieved them.
“Oho... These certainly look promising,” said Lugentz. “Why don’t you take a look around the shop while I appraise them?”
He took out a magnifying glass and immediately began inspecting the pocket watch and accessories, apparently already lost in his own little world. I decided to leave him be while I checked out the items on sale.
A number of objects caught my eye, but unsurprisingly, the weapons were what interested me the most. I was already on the hunt for a cheap sword to buy, so I thought this might be a good opportunity, but the cheapest one available cost five gold coins. No matter how much it pained me to admit it, I just didn’t have the money for that.
The Seven Fortunes might have been a backstreet pawnshop, but it apparently didn’t sell weapons for cheap.