Chapter 25 : Skull Town

“Achoo!”

[Are you okay?]

“Just a sneeze.”

“It must be a bit cold around here. Sniffle.”

I haven’t been like this since I caught a cold after sleeping naked as a child, why now?

I could only guess it was the lingering effects of my period ending.

Tepheri kindly worried about me as I coughed lightly.

It wasn’t even her fault, how kind of her.

We were walking towards Reinz, which was visible ahead.

Taking the carriage would clearly lead to it being stolen, so we left it at the inn.

“There it is.”

Reinz’s appearance could be compared to Las Vegas, metaphorically speaking.

It was a city that seemed to embody the very term ‘wealth disparity’.

It looked like something that would emerge if you gave a designer an income quintile chart and told them to build a city.

Ramshackle huts surrounded the city, while towering skyscrapers occupied the center.

The outskirts where the poor lived were essentially slums rife with constant crime, but I heard that the central area was frequented even by

celebrities.

The city’s appearance was slightly different from the slums I had imagined.

You know, those cyberpunk-style cities you see in movies?

Flyers scattered all over the streets, flickering neon signs and streetlights sparking.

Compared to those, the slums of Reinz felt like a town from a Western movie.

One that was deserted after filming wrapped up.

And incongruously, skyscrapers soared in the center.

Even after entering the streets, there wasn’t a single person in sight.

In a typical city, you’d at least expect to see some kids running around.

[There’s no one on the streets.]

“Of course.”

“Even beggars would be secretly captured if they tried begging here.”

Although it had reportedly subsided a little recently, this was undeniably a city of crime.

Begging or sleeping alone on the streets was no different from advertising ‘I want to die’.

Actually, this wasn’t bad news for us.

Slums form their own criminal organizations, albeit incomparable to the mafias in the city center.

The poor inevitably envy those above them, and we, as Academy students, were included in that category.

Thanks to that, we were wearing large coats pulled over us to avoid attracting attention.

“Still, there’s one dog.”

Where I pointed, a dog was roaming the town.

How cute.

I have a soft spot for animals.

“Here boy. Chuchuchu.”

When I held out my hand, the spotted puppy ran right up to me and stuck out its tongue.

It was fat and a mixed breed, a true countryside mutt.

The fellow shamelessly rolled over and showed us its belly.

Country dogs are always the cutest.

Especially if they have big eyes and some endearing flaw.

“I’ll call you Amite.”

“Aww, you’re so ugly.”

“Don’t do that.”

I stuck my tongue out at Amite but quickly obeyed her words.

A fat dog appearing in a deserted place… even trying to think positively, the best I could come up with was a gang’s dog.

“Sadly, it’s time to part, Amite.”

“Live well wherever you go.”

As soon as I put the mutt down, it scurried away into an alley.

Was this bond we briefly felt a lie?

I was starting to feel slightly disappointed.

Amite gave me silent pressure, but I lightly ignored it.

[Where should we go now?]

“Simple.”

“Just go straight to the opposite end.”

Since the Black Forest was right beyond Reinz, it was hard to get there without crossing the city center.

But conversely, if we just passed through there, we could reach the Black Forest in the shortest amount of time.

“The center of Reinz is called Skull Town.”

Amite spoke up.

She seemed to know quite a lot about Reinz.

“Hmm.”

“…What does that mean?”

“No, just… thinking you know quite a lot.”

“A little.”

She quickened her pace, walking ahead as if wanting to say no more.

Tepheri saw her and followed, calling for her to wait up.

We walked through the city in silence.

The area with the shantytowns was so dirty it was embarrassing to even call it a city.

The trash strewn on the streets and the damaged buildings hinted at the state of public order here.

However, after walking a bit further, we reached Skull Town, which was completely different from the part of Reinz we had seen so far.

[It’s really big…]

Tepheri, ever the country bumpkin, gaped at the scale of the massive city.

Although my expression wasn’t visible, I was probably making a surprised face too.

If you turned the word ‘resplendent’ into a city, this would be it.

The skyscrapers erected everywhere were taller than anything I’d seen even in my modern life.

“First time here?”

A young boy appeared from somewhere and spoke to us.

He was a little kid dressed neatly in colorful clothes.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Do you perhaps need a guide?”

“If so, for just 100,000 Rene, today I can…”

“Get lost.”

At my heartless words, the kid disappeared into an alley in an instant.

Amite watched him go and then said to me.

“Did you know?”

“Know what.”

“It’s a common trick tourists here fall for.”

“Outsiders who entrust themselves to a stranger for guidance often end up getting pickpocketed.”

“No, I didn’t know.”

“I just told him to get lost because he was annoying.”

“Let’s go in.”

Unlike the nominal walls of Reinz, the walls of Skull Town were thick and sturdy.

There were even guards stationed there.

A skull mark labeled ‘Skull Town’ was crudely painted on the wall.

This must be the real Reinz.

‘It’s darker than I thought.’

Although it was broad daylight, the tall buildings on either side blocked most of the sunlight.

Judging by the lit streetlights, it seemed like the brightness was always like this.

The roads here were paved, not dirt paths.

If the air quality were bad, I might have felt nostalgic for my old world.

[Look over there, people are lying down.]

Looking where Tepheri pointed, I saw people sprawled on the street.

Judging by their appearance, they were people dazed and high on drugs.

“Probably people doing Hallucination Grass.”

Drugs exist in this world too.

They’re made from a plant-type monster called Hallucination Grass, and those kinds of drugs are mostly cheap.

Truly addictive and potent drugs are so expensive that ordinary commoners can’t even dream of affording them.

Thump.

As I walked along, lost in such useless thoughts, I bumped into someone passing by.

The man I collided with puffed up his body and let out a groan, while the men with him made a fuss.

“Aigo, my shoulder!”

“What, not watching where you’re going?”

“Boss, are you okay?”

Acting so bad even a fool wouldn’t be deceived!

It was self-harm extortion acting that wouldn’t have worked even before I was born.

Well, the acting skill didn’t really matter anyway.

When an easy target walks right by, who cares about a flimsy pretext?

“Oh, picking a fight?”

It’s been a while since this happened.

Aside from my status, after beating up a few people who started fights with me, no one had dared to challenge me.

But such an opportunity! My heart is pounding.

[Treah, didn’t you bump into him yourself?]

“Absolutely not.”

“Definitely nooot.”

I whispered to Tepheri who asked me.

This situation was definitely not intentional!

If there’s any fault, it lies with my feet that moved on their own.

Tsk, tsk, naughty things.

And even if this were my fault, those guys raising their voices at us, three lone women, trying to extort money are in the wrong.

Our clothes were shabby right now, so we obviously reeked of being easy targets.

Ah, this is fun.

I thoroughly enjoy showing the difference in power by stomping on the weaklings who dare challenge me.

Especially if they are nasty thugs who bully weaker people.

Rumor has it that three female Academy students are equivalent to one dragon.

I wonder if these guys have the strength of a dragon?

Just as I was taking off my coat, ready to show them what happens when you pick a fight with an innocent person…

“W-wait.”

The thugs looked at our faces and then started whispering amongst themselves.

After a brief exchange, they simultaneously vanished like lightning.

“What the.”

I feel like someone snatched away my favorite candy.

They say the process is more important than the result in everything, but it feels like they just deleted the process and pasted the result.

[They saw something and ran away.]

“Obviously.”

“Surely their moms didn’t suddenly call them for dinner.”

Ah, that’s absolutely not meant as an insult to them.

“Let’s hurry.”

“You’ve been changing the subject since earlier.”

“It clearly seems related to you.”

I’m not naive like the protagonist in a novel standing next to me.

Let’s think by process of elimination. It’s definitely not me, and probably not Tepheri either.

That leaves only one person, right?

Even I can see it’s a perfect deduction.

Actually, the answer was obvious even without my perfect deduction.

Her somewhat anxious glances around and the way she spoke as if she knew this place well.

She must have lived here before.

And made a bit of a name for herself while at it.

“Hey, Amite.”

“Whether you sucked a guy’s d*ck or were a pickpocket here back then, we don’t care.”

“…Right, Tepheri?”

“See, she says so too. Relax.”

Actually, if it were that serious, maybe I would care?

Fortunately, Amite just chuckled dryly.

“…Crazy b*tch.”

“That never happened.”

“Then it’s fine.”

Privacy should be protected.

Although I may be a villainess noble daughter who discriminates based on race and status as easily as breathing, I’m not the type to

discriminate based on past misfortunes.

From what I heard, Amite also lived quite an eventful life before coming to the Academy.

There’s no problem even if Reinz was part of it.

“Ah, did you ever work in the red-light district?”

“Maybe that would explain why they ran away…”

“Contrary to your appearance, you might be the most vulgar one among us.”

I wanted to retort somehow.

But strangely, I had nothing to say.

Tepheri was just staring off into the distance, feigning ignorance.

Maybe, as she said, the most vulgar person among us is me, the Duke’s daughter?