The alleys of Libertas were so complex that outsiders who wandered in carelessly would get lost. It wasn’t just the many waterways splitting the alleys, but also the chaotic sprawl of tents and construction materials meant to block the rain. It was a situation where an alley hid another alley inside it.
That made it the perfect environment for criminals to slip in, evade the law, shake off pursuers, and settle down. After too many incidents, the nearby guard unit and Council branch had once declared all-out war on the slum. However, if that had succeeded, the current situation—where illegal extensions formed a massive fortress—wouldn’t exist.
After the plan failed, some changed their stance, calling the existence of Libertas—or rather, Dooms Ark—a “necessary evil.” It meant that if the den of evil disappeared, no one knew what the criminals gathered there would do once they spilled back into society. Merchants and some nobles pocketing substantial bribes also opposed it strongly, since the lights of the pleasure quarter—also called the street of entertainment—would go out.
In the end, this city, which seemed to have formed simply from society’s shadows gathering, still thrived while harboring tangled political views.
It had been nearly a year since Leonardo, who periodically moved his hideout, had taken up residence here. Though he visited twice a month, it was still hard to tell what was where, thanks to the ever-growing addition of boards and iron bars. If the white butterfly hadn’t come out to meet him, he would’ve surely gotten lost.
He stepped onto the tin roof of a half-basement at the mouth of an alley. Hiding his footsteps, he squeezed ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) his body through a gap that could’ve been either an entrance or a window.
Just when it seemed he had entered the building briefly, he opened a door in a building about 30 m away and headed leisurely in the opposite direction. The place Leonardo arrived at after passing through the haphazardly woven paths was a certain street where sunlight entered well, since the distance from the front building was wide.
Luminary Street, 13-1. It was a place where neat shop signs, though old, were arranged tidily. Among them, Leonardo stopped in front of a jewelry workshop. For a place that dealt in jewels, its structure made it impossible to look inside from the street.
This section could only be entered either by coming down from the air or by climbing buildings, the way Leonardo had—and outsiders couldn’t even reach the vicinity by following the roads. Even so, after checking there was no one to his left or right, Leonardo knocked on the black oak door with a butterfly perched on his shoulder.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock. Knockknockknock...
After knocking in an irregular rhythm, he finally tapped the door with the back of his hand.
Ten seconds of silence followed.
“...”
A small slit at eye level in the door slowly opened. A rag doll briefly showed itself through the gap.
“Five, sun.”
The grotesque mouth drawn in bright red paint recited half the password. Leonardo answered without hesitation:
“Eight, rampage.”
“Footprints?”
“Annihilation.”
The button eyes revealed through the gap scanned the disguised old man’s appearance up and down. Soon the little window at eye level closed, and from inside came the sound of several locks being undone.
Before long, the wooden door opened cautiously, and tranquil air greeted Leonardo. After checking outside one last time, he slipped into the shop.
Unlike the exterior, which looked like it had been closed for a long time, the interior was full of human traces, as if a jeweler might pop out at any moment. A polisher, tongs, and a scale on the walnut table. A display case filled with odds and ends, jewelry polish and cloth pieces lined up in the cabinet.
The old shop was filled with the kinds of things you’d expect in a jewelry workshop. Leonardo scanned the familiar interior, then looked down at the rag doll sprawled on the sofa beside the door.
This fellow had just opened the door. It was a bit ambiguous to call it alive, but it was an item with a story—something with magic cast on it.
Since only they came in and out of here, he wondered if the doorkeeper’s face really had to be made like that.
“Scary enough to show up in nightmares.”
The rag doll twitched its limp limbs as if mocking him. Leonardo sighed, rubbing at his neck, then went deeper into the shop and shoved the display case with all his might.
Rattle—
Like any secret space, hidden stairs were revealed. Leonardo floated a light ball in the air and strode in. When he stepped on the footboard in the corner, the display case rattled back into place. Only the rag doll remained, guarding the quiet shop.
*****
“Why isn’t he coming? Did something happen? Should we go get him?”
“He’ll come on his own—just wait. That’s the tenth time you’ve said that.”
“But... They said he seemed to have entered the gate, and it’s been fifteen minutes already.”
“He must have some people to shake off nearby.”
“He’s been released, so why would anyone be chasing him?”
The woman with orange hair tied into two braids paced back and forth in the same spot, restless. Her old suspender dress, black boots, and thick industrial gloves made an awkward harmony. The dress and gloves were stained with various colors, as if something had splashed over them repeatedly.
“Because he’s been released, they’ll chase him even harder. They’ll want to pull him to their side. Is all that talk about you being smart a lie?”
A man lay sprawled on an antique sofa that didn’t match the room, as if it had been picked up from who knew where. Though he had a handsome face, the long scar running vertically across the corner of his lips—and the way he spoke—made his impression fierce.
“He’ll come when it’s time, so sit still. You’re making me dizzy.”
“Tch...”
The man shut his eyes tight, hands interlocked behind his head. At his criticism, the woman wrinkled the bridge of her freckled nose. Then she plopped down on a rattan chair full of holes and grumbled back.
“You’re one to talk, Terju. You jumped down from the top floor as soon as you heard what Mirail said. Even though you liked him the most.”
“At least I’m waiting quietly now. And can’t you hear the floor creaking because of you? Will you take responsibility if our location gets exposed?”
“Over this little noise—!”
“Judy, Tergio is right about that.”
The brown-haired man sitting in the rocking chair by the window intervened, slowly taking off his glasses. With a gentle, kind impression, he closed the book he’d been reading and stood. Then he added firewood to the fireplace and drew the curtain back slightly to look outside.
“We must always be careful. There could be listening ears anywhere.”
“...Alright.”
Judy shoved her gloved hands into the front pockets of her dress, hunching her shoulders in. Even so, she turned her head toward the breeding cage where dozens of butterflies were flitting around. After watching the woman standing in front of it for a while, she asked carefully,
“Mirail, he is coming safely, right?”
The woman who had been stroking butterfly wings with many butterflies perched along both her arms suddenly lifted her head at Judy’s question.
“He’s here.”
“What?”
Just as the others voiced the same question, lights came on across the sensors lined up on the left wall. It meant the shop door on the first floor had opened. Then the detection sensors installed along the secret passage began blinking in sequence.
All eyes turned to the massive iron door at the exact center of the room. A magic circle surfaced on its face, its outline growing clearer. Soon, the circle glowing gold rotated counterclockwise, and the door began to open.
All four of them rose. Two rushed the door at once and shouted,
“Leo—!”
A beautiful young man with golden hair, having erased the old man’s face, appeared through the half-open gap. He seemed a bit startled by their loud voices, but he casually greeted the two running toward him, the corners of his mouth curling up.
“I’m out.”
At his leisurely little wave, all four—who had been tense—broke into bright smiles. Just as Judy was about to wrap her arms around Leonardo’s waist, Tergio, who had been pretending indifference the whole time, barged in, shoved Judy’s forehead aside, and instantly claimed Leonardo’s side.
“No, my prince. Why has your face deteriorated so much? Were you tortured in the underground prison?”
Even if he was disgusted by the embarrassing title, Leonardo looked used to it and answered with furrowed brows,
“What are you talking about? It’s from beating up monsters on the peninsula. Is that the first thing you say when you see me?”
Judy glared at Tergio while rubbing the spot on her forehead his palm had pushed, but her joy at seeing Leonardo must have been greater—because she quickly changed her expression and stepped in.
“Leo, are you hurt anywhere? How did you get caught?”
“...It’s a long story, but wait a moment.”
After patting Judy’s head—which came up to his chest—Leonardo passed between them and crossed the common area of the residence at an easy pace. The brown-haired man stood where he was headed. It was the same hair color as “low-ranking merchant group member Tergio,” whom he had played in Frost territory, but his face and build were completely different.
“Welcome, Leo.”
The brown-haired man greeted him with a gentle smile. Leonardo’s eyes curved, his smile bright and fresh.
“Andrew.”
They approached each other as if about to share a reunion embrace.
However, in the instant Leonardo raised his right arm like that, he planted his fist into Andrew’s smiling face.
Crash—!
“Leo!”
