He pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered to watch the carriage accident.
‘First, I need to find Lloyd. Once I get him out of that beggar state, he’ll somehow be able to grow on his own. He’s got talent.’
The Dark Order, the guild that controlled the underworld. No matter that Hess was its second-in-command, Lloyd was absolutely necessary.
Because Nightmare, the leader of the Dark Order, intended to eliminate Hess, his own subordinate, someday.
‘Nightmare can only be killed with the Forbidden Skill. And Lloyd is the only one who can learn it.’
When he returned to the market, the merchants were also murmuring about the carriage accident.
“A beggar? I don’t know. It’s not as though there are only one or two beggars.”
But no matter how much he asked around, no one remembered Lloyd.
‘This is terrible treatment for the protagonist. Was he living that inconspicuously?’
He remembered the description of a man whose face brimmed with dignity, despite his family’s fall from grace and the deaths of every member of his family.
‘Ah, that was after his benefactor washed him up.’
If it had not been for the Status Window, he would not have known Lloyd either.
Even now, all he could remember was the distinctive beggar stench that had assaulted his nose.
Was there nothing that could serve as a distinguishing feature? Other than the fact that he had rudely spat out a single line after being saved and disappeared.
“Adventurer, could it be that ill-mannered beggar?”
At that moment, a merchant called out to him. It was the same merchant who had sold him meat earlier and prepared so much change.
‘The novel got it right about Lloyd being rude.’
“Yes, he’s a remarkably rude guy.”
“There’s one fellow around here who’s famous for being rude. I can already repay you for earlier! I’ll show you the way!”
The merchant briskly wiped his hands on his apron and took the lead.
‘I remember all of Lloyd’s growth story from Part One. Even if he’s lost his mentor, I can resolve it.’
They left the market and headed toward an area filled with increasingly shabby buildings. It was a deserted alley where nearly half the buildings seemed abandoned.
“He’s farther in. If you hide and wait here, he’ll come out eventually!”
“Hide?”
The merchant leaned close to his ear and whispered quietly.
“It’s a beggar den, a beggar den! It’s dangerous. Anyway, if you need anything else, come find me again. I know all there is to know around here!”
After saying that, the merchant glanced into the alley and returned the way he had come.
‘That guy Lloyd had an affiliation?’
There were beggar gangs in every neighborhood.
The stronger ones sometimes occupied a particular area and made a den there.
‘But there’s no way Lloyd had any strength. He’s probably at the very bottom.’
It was obvious. Before learning swordsmanship from his benefactor, Lloyd really had not known how to do anything.
‘Wait? I’m busy as hell. What are you talking about?’
He had to meet Saya again at midnight. He needed to enjoy his blissful hideout life.
As he stepped deeper into the alley, he sensed people nearby.
There were sounds and smells that suggested a meal was being prepared. But he could not hear anyone’s voices.
‘This is it.’
When he turned the corner, he saw the beggars. They were silently preparing an early dinner.
They were all so filthy that, as though they had been given matching uniforms, it was impossible to tell who was who.
‘Ugh... The smell.’
As he pushed his way through them, he examined their faces one by one.
The beggars merely glared at him with lifeless yet wary eyes. They did not say a word.
“Hey, what are you doing here, bastard?”
The first one to speak to him was a fairly large man. At a glance, this one had clearly eaten better than the rest.
“I came to find someone.”
“Ah, are you here to request a job? Then you should have gone around the other side.”
The big man’s gaze softened a little.
But what job?
“This is my first time here.”
“Really? Who recommended you?”
Ah, he remembered. Beggar dens served as errand centers.
“No one in particular recommended me. There’s just someone among your people I’m looking for.”
“Huh?”
The man’s expression sharpened again.
“You’re looking for someone among us? Who? Why?”
Several beggars who had been sitting quietly nearby rose to their feet and sauntered over to gather around the big man.
“Lloyd. I want to buy him.”
When he took out a gold coin and showed it to them, their gazes briefly focused on it before returning to his face.
“Lloyd? There’s no one by that name. And even if there were, we have no intention of selling a member. What do you think this is, a slave market?”
It seemed he had wounded their pride.
They wore vicious expressions as they rolled their necks and cracked their fingers.
Crack.
‘So that’s how you want to play it. Fine. I’ll make sure your pride is satisfied.’
He tossed the gold coin he was holding to the big man. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out another handful of gold coins.
There looked to be at least twenty gold coins. As he raised them, one slipped free and rolled away somewhere.
Roll, roll, roll.
“Is Lloyd here or not?”
“Uh... Does anyone know someone named Lloyd?”
At the big man’s words, the beggars around them began to murmur.
“I’ve never heard of a Lloyd.”
“Boss, should we go look?”
“Get word to the others, now! Bring Lloyd here. The customer is looking for him.”
Everyone except the big man quickly scattered in every direction. Before long, the once-quiet beggar den became noisy.
“Ha ha, sir. I am truly sorry about before. The passage customers use is on the other side.”
“It doesn’t matter. Finding him is all that matters.”
Despite his large body, the man squirmed while rubbing his hands together in a servile manner.
“May I ask your name, sir?”
“Henrik.”
He had nearly said Hess.
“Ah... That is an impressive name. There was a legendary person named Henrik. But he is so little known to the public that you probably do not know of him.”
Ah, that Henrik. There were countless rumors about him, but almost no one knew what he looked like.
“You said this is your first time here, right? Are you a noble? Did that fellow Lloyd do something wrong? We have a full torture package. Shall I introduce it to you? It’s currently fifty percent off, ha ha.”
Beggars were useful. There was nothing to lose by building connections with them.
Most of them had neither honor nor anything else of the sort, so the fact that money could buy anything was the most convenient part.
Of course, there were occasionally beggars who were not like that, but this did not seem to be such a place.
“Mr. Henrik must be... a noble, right?”
The big man was persistent.
Hess had thoroughly prepared the false identity of Henrik, along with various ways to prove that identity.
But he was not a noble.
“I’m not a noble.”
“Ah, is that so.”
He looked disappointed.
Until just now, he had been smiling because he had caught a wealthy customer.
“I’m an adventurer.”
“Is that so....”
Now he seemed to see him as an adventurer who had gathered every last bit of his wealth to find someone.
He looked far too disappointed. Do not worry, I am not an ordinary adventurer.
“Are you the boss here?”
“No. The boss has stepped away for a while.”
“Then are you directly beneath him?”
“Something like that.”
For the moment, this man was all he had. Perhaps he should build a connection.
“Actually, I’ve retired from adventuring too.”
“You look quite young. You must have made quite a lot of money as an adventurer. Ha ha.”
It was not unreasonable for him to think that. Henrik was only twenty-nine years old. Moreover, his youthful face made him look even younger than he was.
“I accumulated a little. Thinking of old times brings back memories.”
“Is that so? Ha ha, I’m curious about that.”
His voice did not sound curious at all.
“I still carry things from my adventuring days. For example, something like this.”
“Ah, what could it be? A trophy? I’m looking forward to it.”
Once again, his expression did not show the slightest anticipation. With business skills like that, no wonder he could not escape being a beggar.
As he felt around his clothes to find his pocket, there was something he had found even before the gold coins.
‘This feeling, it’s definitely that.’
It felt like a pendant hanging from a chain. When he took it out, it was the necklace he had expected.
“When I was active, I used to wear something like this.”
“Ah, perhaps it is a necklace with magic on it? Wow~ This pendant has a pattern... A-a pattern!”
Yes, I'm Henrik.
Well, more precisely, I’m a fake disguised as Henrik. But this necklace really was the one the real Henrik had used.
It would not matter if he met one of the very few people who knew Henrik’s face. His current appearance, transformed by the ring’s power, was identical to Henrik’s.
This would be enough to build connections.
“Th-This is!”
“Shh, it’s a secret. Understand? Your subordinates are coming.”
As he hid the necklace in his pocket again, the returned beggars reported while panting for breath.
“It seems the man called Lloyd is not one of us after all.”
“Th-That so?”
The big man seemed quite shocked by the necklace.
“Um... W-Well, it seems I do not remember anyone called Lloyd being among us either. S-Sir, should we ask around the village?”
What was this? Had the merchant’s information been wrong?
“Boss, you do not need to worry. We found someone who says he knows a little about Lloyd.”
“Oh! That’s good. Sir, once we have information, finding him will not be difficult. Bring that guy over.”
“This is him.”
One of the beggars appeared after being shoved forward.
‘Huh? This guy?’
The man they had brought was Lloyd. He was glaring at him with eyes full of suspicion.
“This fellow says he knows the man called Lloyd.”
“What, it’s the weakling? Hey, you aren’t lying, are you?”
Lloyd continued to stare into his eyes and nodded.
“Sir, we have informants, so finding him will not be difficult. If you leave it to us...”
“No. I’ll find him myself. Hand him over to me. Then I’ll give you all the gold coins I promised.”
When he handed over the gold coins, the big man politely spread both hands. His mouth opened into a ghastly grin as well.
Jingle.
“I didn’t know that weakling would turn out to be so useful.”
“When your master tosses you aside later, come back here. Heh-heh.”
As Lloyd took the few steps toward him, farewells poured out from behind.
Then, H-Henrik, sir. Come again if you need anything!
“Come again!”
Once they left the stale-smelling beggar den, it felt as though his nostrils had finally cleared.
Lloyd silently followed behind him for quite some time.
There was no need to tell him to follow. Lloyd had to be curious about how he knew his name and why he had been looking for him.
“Do you use an alias?”
“......”
“If you answer me properly, I’ll answer your questions too.”
“...I use an alias. How did you know my name?”
The sound of Lloyd’s footsteps suddenly stopped. When he turned around,
“Hmm, interesting.”
Lloyd was holding a dagger.