"Yes… it tastes really good. Thank you, little Emily," I said, looking at the girl, whose smile seemed to light up even the darkest corner of the place.
"It's true. I really liked it too. Thank you, Emily," Alice added, returning her smile.
I then turned to the girl's mother.
"Thank you as well, Miss…?"
"Lisa," she replied softly.
"Then thank you, Miss Lisa," I said, giving a slight nod with a warm smile.
"No problem, don't worry. It was all Emily's idea," she said with a light laugh, as if she still couldn't quite understand how her daughter could be so generous.
A few seconds of silence passed. I noticed Lisa hesitating, as if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she should.
"Miss Lisa, if you want to ask us something, there's no need to hesitate. Please feel free," I told her, kind but direct.
Alice nodded with a small smile, backing me up.
That seemed to ease her. She took a breath and asked cautiously.
"It's just… this is the first time I've seen either of you around here."
Of course. It was to be expected.
"Oh, my apologies. I forgot to introduce us. My name is Ethan, and she is my girlfriend Alice. It's normal you haven't seen us before. We're not from here… we came from the outer zones of the slums."
I answered calmly, without a trace of nervousness.
I didn't see any issue in using our real names. After all, the people in the slums are born and die here, cut off from the rest of the world. Most don't even know what lies beyond, let alone recognize any names.
All they know is that their ancestors caused a revolt and were imprisoned by the Evans. Other knowledge of the outside world comes from old tales that have little to do with today's reality.
"Ah… I see. From the outer zones. That makes sense," Lisa murmured, thoughtful.
"Come to the bonfire!" Emily suddenly exclaimed, full of energy.
"Bonfire?" I repeated, a little surprised.
"It's a tradition in this area," Lisa explained. "When night falls, those who can and want to gather in the plaza. We light a fire and share food. It's a way to keep the kids entertained after class… and honestly, most of the adults enjoy it too."
So even here, they had traditions like that. And apparently, a decent level of organization.
They even had a kind of school. I figured the classes took place in that old church we saw earlier.
"That sounds great. It'll give Alice and me a chance to learn more about the place… and its people," I said.
"As for the food, don't worry about us," Alice added. "The cookie Emily gave us was more than enough. We wouldn't want to take anything someone else might need."
"She's right. Everyone probably has their supplies carefully counted," I added seriously.
Lisa smiled, warmly.
"You two are very kind. But don't worry, this time we had a good distribution. A bit more than usual. I think it'll be fine to share a little."
We nodded gratefully.
We spent almost another hour talking with Lisa and Emily.
Emily was adorable. More so than any other child in all of Nexus. In that grey world, she had the brightest smile in the entire galaxy. It was impossible not to be moved by her sweetness.
Lisa, though less enthusiastic than her daughter, had a calm kindness. Just a few words were enough for me to see she was an exceptional mother.
We also managed to gather some valuable information.
As we suspected, the supplies that reached the center weren't distributed equally. Each zone received a different amount, depending on the strength of the group that ruled it.
The stronger a group was considered, the more resources they received.
Food, clean water, clothes, tools…
A group was considered strong if it had a large number of users. The more powerful, the better.
That's why children were treated as a priority. They represented the future. If they grew up strong, they would be valuable assets that could earn their zone more supplies.
Lisa also told us that in the past, there had been direct clashes between groups. They aimed to weaken or even destroy each other. When one group was eliminated, its territory was absorbed by the winner.
It had happened hundreds of times in the slums' long history.
However, nowadays, the conflicts were more discreet. Skirmishes between small squads of fighters. An open war would only weaken both sides.
Today, only five groups controlled the "center."
Iron Jackals, Rustbone Crew, Gutter Kings, Ashen Wolves, Shadow Fangs.
Currently, we were in Iron Jackals territory.
Shadow Fangs was considered the most powerful group. Curiously, it was also the newest and had the fewest members. They rose to power fifteen years ago. Since then, there hadn't been any major war in the center.
They defeated four groups even when those groups had joined forces against them. Despite being outnumbered, the Shadow Fangs displayed overwhelming power.
It's said that their leader… is the strongest person in the entire slums.
There's a possibility that he or one of his subordinates was the killer.
If the rumors about his power were true, he was probably a novice-rank user… but extraordinarily strong.
And his subordinates would be, at the very least, high-level Apprentices.
It looked like we'd have to venture into their territory…
But for now, we decided to stay here in Iron Jackals territory for two days, to gather more information. We wanted to make sure the killer wasn't hiding among them.
Before I realized it, night had fallen. Alice and I were walking with Emily and Lisa toward the plaza.
There, a large bonfire lit up the area. Several people had gathered around it, sitting on makeshift benches.
Lisa explained that the bonfire had been lit using the basic skill "Combustion."
That surprised me. It confirmed there were users even in these small gatherings.
We weren't worried. Alice and I had suppressed our mana to the bare minimum. The Illusion ability required a bit of output, but to others, we just looked like weak, Initiate-ranked users.
Since we were both mid-level, our Illusion though originally a low-tier technique was more effective than usual. No one below rank 3 would be able to see through it or even suspect it was active.
Mana consumption wasn't a problem either. The ability lasted about twelve hours per 35 mana units. Even if we kept it active all day, it would cost just over 70 units. Nothing we couldn't handle.
The only downside… was that as long as it was active, we couldn't recharge our reserves.
As we reached the fire circle, I noticed a few wary stares.
"Lisa, who are they? I've never seen them before," asked a red-haired man with a slightly hostile tone.
Lisa quickly explained our story.
How we were born in the outer zones and were looking for a place to survive.
The stares softened. They must've felt pity for our supposed misfortune.
"Alright. Let these poor souls through. They've come from far away, fleeing their misery. Besides, we've got a little more to share tonight," said an old man with a raspy voice.
Everyone seemed to agree. We were just about to sit down when a new voice interrupted the moment.
"That's a nice story… but could you explain how someone born in the outer zones is a user?" said a young man from across the fire.
He was the healthiest-looking person I'd seen in the slums. Brown hair, large green eyes like wet leaves. A patchy beard had started forming on his face, and a scar crossed his right eyebrow.
The stares turned back to us. Lisa looked confused and worried.
But Alice and I stood firm.
"About nine years ago, we met a man who said he was from the center. He found us in terrible shape. Took pity on us. Took care of us for a few weeks and taught us the basics of mana. Then he left said he had things to take care of. He left us a small manual, written by him, with instructions to keep training and learn a few basic skills," I said naturally.
"I guess Alice and I aren't all that talented… because this is the level we've reached after all these years."
Everyone listened in silence.
Judging by their faces, our story seemed believable.
"May I ask the name of this man? And where in the center he was from?" the young man asked, not with suspicion, but with genuine curiosity.
"He never told us where he was from. Just… that his name was Sean," I replied, with a sincere expression.
"I see. Nice to meet you. I'm Dorian. I'm part of the Iron Jackals, and I help keep this area safe," he said, offering me his hand with a smile.
"Nice to meet you," I replied, shaking it firmly.
So… this was the strength of one of the group's members.
Dorian was a Apprentice. Fairly average… but in this place, that already meant a lot.