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Clasp!

I had closed my eyes, anticipating the worst. Instead, I found myself suspended mid-air.

「Gotcha!」

My eyes slowly reopened only to be met with a familiar face.

「Thief girl!」

Her red peepers gleamed like fine-cut rubies. She effortlessly grabbed my hands as she grinned.

「Rule number one: we slum dwellers stick together!」

With that remark, I was promptly pulled up onto the roof. The crowd below started angrily shouting at us—the bulky bald man, in particular, was very unhappy.

「GET BACK HERE YA RUNTS! DON'T THINK I'LL EVER FERGET YER FACES! TH' MOMENT I SEE YER MUGS AGAIN, YA WON'T EVEN 'AVE MUGS NO MORE!!!」

His threats didn't reach me. All I could think about was how close I was to losing my legs. I'd experienced death before—but truthfully, I could never get used to it.

I quietly sat there on the roof, my ears assaulted by the cries of the marketplace mob.

A touch on the shoulder brought me back to my senses.

「It's not safe to lounge around here. Let's get going, I know a place.」

The thief girl grabbed my hand once more, and we proceeded to run across the rooftops.

As I clumsily followed her, I noticed how delicate her movements were. Her footsteps were silent and coordinated, while mines were noisy and awkward.

She was definitely a skilled thief. Plus, she appeared slightly taller than I was in my current state.

Her knowledge of the area was very apparent. We reached greater heights the further we went.

Another thing that caught my attention was the panorama. I finally had a bird's eye view of the entire municipality.

「Yarzon City eh..?」

The sun shone brightly from above, lighting the clear blue sky. Nary a cloud obscured the prospect.

It was mesmerizing.

The red from middle-class brick houses, the nearby brown from the slums, and even the distant white from the mansions that wrapped around the sunken castle in the center.

Every side of the city was on display.

Each zone formed a sublime ring, tightly encased within the tall gray walls. And the land beneath got more recessed the nearer you got to the castle.

Thus, the aristocrats' homes were ironically situated lower than the peasants' quarters in the outer ring. The whole scene spanned several acres of land.

It was a proper medieval city.

「Alright, there's our stop. You see that?」

The thief girl stopped at the edge of a certain building. I bumped into her as I was occupied with my surroundings.

That wasn't enough to nudge her though. She stood firmly like a boulder. Something about her footing allowed her to stay anchored to the ground.

「Um... is our destination that garden over there?」

Her crimson eyes were riveted on a rooftop patio, roughly the size of a small yard. It was filled to the brim with potted flowers.

A stairwell leading into the building was planted firmly in the center. It had me a little anxious about getting caught.

The thief girl had noticed my unease.

「Oh. Don't worry. The owner of the house passed away years ago.」

Her face bore a plaintive smile as she gazed at the place.

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Both of us jumped onto the terrace from the roof. It was a narrow gap, smaller than the one at the marketplace.

Upon landing, my nose was immediately hit with a sweet smell. The flowers were unlike anything I'd ever seen or smelled.

Blue, yellow, purple, orange—a plethora of different colors and shapes provided a pleasing contrast with the red-tiled rooves I constantly saw.

It was also the ideal place to rest. So, I simply collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion.

Only a couple of hours had passed since my reincarnation, and already I was completely drained.

I glanced over at the thief girl as I lay on the ground. She sat by the stairs, staring down into the building.

It looked like she was waiting for somebody, although it could've been my imagination.

Either way, the two of us remained silent for what felt like hours.

The bright morning star continued to sink deeper into the skyline. A layer of warm orange had formed, disturbing the perfectly blue sky.

That was when she suddenly got up.

「Alright. Now that we're safe...」

The sound of her voice startled me, but what startled me even more was what came after.

Thonk!

Paralyzed on the floor, I slowly turned to my left to see cracked pavement beneath a smoking cudgel.

The thief girl stood directly above me—her hand wielded the weapon inches away from my skull.

Her dull red irises no longer reflected a deep-seated sorrow.

They screamed bloodlust.

「Rule number two: betrayal equals death.」

I couldn't move nor say anything. She was undoubtedly in control. Careless comments would've resulted in my head getting bashed in.

If I had to pick between death by stabbing, death by falling, and death by bludgeoning—I'd take the former two over the latter any day.

By an infinitesimal margin of course... I'd take a peaceful death over a gruesome one any day...

Moreover, a wooden club handled by a robust and seasoned rogue could have very easily crushed my puny skull like a walnut. A terrifying thought to behold.

「I have a few questions for you, fellow vagrant. A lot of things just don't add up.」

She lifted her cudgel once more, this time aiming it directly at my head.

「I've lived in the slums near this area you see, so by now, I recognize everybody that lives around here. But you...」

It was then that I realized what she was alluding to.

The fact that I, dressed as a slum dweller, miraculously appeared out of nowhere in an area she frequented must've made her suspicious.

Should I lie about coming from another part of town?

It was a thought I wrestled with in my mind as the splinters from the girl's wooden bludgeon piled onto my ragged shirt.

「Rule number three: slum dwellers are forbidden from entering other districts from their own. Those who violate this tenet, shalt have their legs shattered by the master of the district they trespass in. If you've broken two of the tenets, then merely killing you would not be enough. 」

These slum dwellers are total whack jobs!

...was the new thought that solidified its place within my brain.

But that wasn't the only thing on my mind...

「M-master of the district..? What are you talking about?」

Her eyes narrowed upon hearing my inquiry and she paused for a moment.

「I'm not from any district! Neither am I a slum dweller! I-I just happen to be wearing rags!」

The thief girl pressed the cudgel against my chin. Her glare sharpened once more.

「You expect me to believe you?! Especially after you snitched on my hiding place! 」

「I-I'm sorry for that, I honestly am! I just thought what you were doing was wrong! M-my parents always told me to inform adults if I witness a crime!」

I mixed some truths in with some lies—making the story seem more believable. Naturally, my young petrified expression also added to the believability.

Really, it was just me fearing for my life.

「Y-you seriously don't know anything about the Lakua District and the slum dweller code?」

I swiftly nodded. My heart was racing faster than a horse on steroids.

The young girl lowered her weapon and took a step back. Her fiery resolve had waned.

「Well then, I owe you an apology.」

The thief girl held out her hand and pulled me up. Crisis averted so it would seem.

「S-so, I'm off the hook?」

「I'm not sure yet.」

「What do you mean?」

The girl threw the cudgel aside and pulled back her hood, revealing long silky bottle green locks. Her entire image had changed so much, that I was left speechless.

「If you really aren't a slum dweller, then you mustn't have anywhere to go right?」

「U-um... I guess so...」

She reached into her pockets and began tying her hair into a ponytail.

「Then I'll have to bring you to the Lakua District Master. We'll also have to verify your claims of not belonging to other districts.」

Living in the slums was something I had tried to avoid, but at this point, I had no choice. The slum dweller code, and this District Master...

Whether I liked it or not, they were matters I had to investigate. Especially if I hoped to become the richest man in the world.

To involve myself with the upper class, I had to first understand the extent of the lower class.

Starting from zero was an exciting prospect for an MMORPG player like me.

「Besides, I'm sorta happy to bump into you.」

「Oh?」

The thief girl turned to me—her locks of green swayed in the wind. She gave me a warm smile as her ruby eyes glistened in the sunset.

「After all... it's been a while since I've met another girl my age!」

「H-huh? What do you mean?」

I was puzzled. She in turn, also gave me a puzzled look.

「Hm? You are a girl right?」

Those words stabbed my heart like the knife that killed me.

「I'M A BOY GODDAMMIT!!!」

No wonder she was so forgiving. She probably believed I was some poor little girl like her! This voice was a bigger curse than this vagrant life bestowed unto me.

「Eh? Liar.」

「MY BALLS HAVEN'T DROPPED IS ALL!!! IS THAT SO HARD TO BELIEVE?!」

The thief girl gave me a smug smirk as she sauntered within inches of me. From the distance, I caught her scent. It was surprisingly pleasant.

It was not unlike the flowers around us—unbefitting for a supposed tramp.

「So you're a boy huh? Makes things a little easier then...」

「W-what do you mean?」

Suddenly, I felt immense pain at an unlikely spot. I shakily lowered my head to see a horrific sight. Her leg between my legs.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!!!!!」

Full frontal impact.

No time to react.

Forthwith, I fell to my knees and rolled around in agony.

Now... my balls would never drop.

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