After pushing through the overflowing crowds of Valhalla City’s busiest district, the pickpocket finally reached a narrow alleyway and panted. “Whew! I almost got screwed back there.”
The boy, with scruffy brown hair and ragged clothes, grinned smugly as he looked down at the shopping bag he had stolen. “I wonder what’s inside.”
He wanted to open it right then, but getting home came first. If he lingered near the commercial district, someone could track him down.
Clicking his tongue, he headed home. “Let’s go.”
Twisting through a maze of alleyways, he arrived at the place people called the Ant Nest, also known as Valhalla City’s slums. Compared to the bustling district from earlier, the filthy, rundown streets here felt like a completely different world.
Duck­ing into a makeshift tent, he found a young girl wearing tattered clothes. “Ren, I’m back.”
The girl sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes before smiling brightly at him. “Mm. Big brother, you’re home?”
Then she tilted her head. “Who are the people behind you? Are they your friends?”
“What? Behind me? There’s no—”
Before he could finish, an unfamiliar voice rang out. “Is this your home?”
Horrified, the boy spun around.
I lightly flicked the boy’s forehead.
The boy groaned in pain. He let out a shriek and tumbled backward, clutching the now-bruising spot as tears welled up. “Y-you people!”
“For a kid, you run pretty fast,” I said.
“Ghh!”
He scrambled upright, placing himself protectively in front of Ren. “If you’re gonna hit someone, hit me! Ren didn’t do anything wrong!”
I snorted and shrugged with amusement. “I didn’t come to beat you up.”
The boy glared at me with narrowed eyes. “Then why’d you chase me?”
“I’ve got a few questions for you.”
“Questions?”
I approached him with a cheerful smile. “But first, let’s fix that attitude of yours.”
Three sharp forehead flicks landed square on his brow.
The boy rolled on the floor, clutching his forehead. “Aaaaaaagh!”
Even though I had controlled my strength to the extreme, I was far too strong physically for those flicks to be gentle taps.
“Hic— Y-you bastard!” yelled the boy.
I raised my hand again. “Oh? Still got some fight in you? Is it because the girl is watching?”
He squeaked and immediately bowed. “S-sorry!”
I chuckled softly. “Never mind. I take it back. No backbone at all.”
Looking down at him, I asked, “Name?”
“Lu-Luka.”
The girl inside the tent waved with a wide smile. “I’m Ren!”
“Is she your little sister?”
Luka bit his lip hard and nodded. “Yes.”
I had heard of those names somewhere. But even when I dug through memories of my previous life, nothing came to mind. Though, that didn’t matter right now.
I shook off the thought and faced Luka again. “I’ve got a few questions.”
“Okay.”
“You usually pickpocket around Valhalla City’s main district, right?”
“N-no, this was my first time,” he replied.
I raised my finger. “Next flick is on your nose.”
“Hiiik! Okay, okay! I do it there! I always pickpocket there!”
Satisfied, I nodded. “Good. Then have you seen strange people wearing creepy masks lately?”
Luka’s eyes widened. “Huh?”
Bingo! He knew something. As expected, a pickpocket like him would notice the movements of suspicious people.
In a trembling voice, he asked, “W-why are you looking for those people?”
His lips had gone pale from fear. Judging by that reaction, I could tell that he hadn’t just seen the masked figures; he had experienced something more.
“Tell me everything you know about them,” I said.
“N-no. I can’t.”
“Why? Afraid they’ll hurt you if you talk?”
Luka lowered his head, shoulders shaking.
Hmm. What a tough situation.
I turned around. “Yurina. Come here for a sec.”
“Why?” she asked.
I pulled her aside briefly. “You brought it, right?”
“What?”
When I explained what I meant, Yurina nodded and said, “Oh.”
She pulled out her cadet ID. From it, she retrieved a golden badge engraved with seven stars. It was the so-called Seven Stars Golden Badge, awarded only to the top student of each year.
She looked up at me. “But how are you planning to use this?”
Taking the badge, I said, “Just watch.”
I walked back to Luka. “Look here.”
Luka’s eyes widened. “Huh? T-this is...! Isn’t this that thing, that only first-place cadets from the Hero Academy get? The Seven Stars Golden Badge! Y-you’re a Hero Academy cadet?”
“That’s right.”
In Valhalla City, Hero Academy cadets were objects of admiration. Among them, those who held the Seven Stars Golden Badge, namely cadets ranked first in their year, were revered even more than most Ranker-level heroes.
I continued, “Right now, I’m on a special mission from the headmaster to investigate those masked people.”
“The headmaster of the Hero Academy... W-wait, you don’t mean the Thunder God, Lionel Ryu, do you?”
“That’s right.”
Luka’s jaw dropped as he stared at me in awe. “W-wow!”
To a boy his age, already full of worship for heroes, the combination of phrases “top cadet” and “on a special mission from the Thunder God” inspired absolute trust.
“So? Think you can tell me about those masked people now?”
“Okay. I’ll talk.” Luka swallowed hard before continuing, “The people wearing those creepy animal masks, they’ve been giving jobs to the homeless and vagrants around Valhalla City.”
“Jobs?”
“Yes. They hand out lists with people’s faces on them. If someone sees one of those people anywhere in the city, they’re supposed to contact the masked ones right away.”
I knew it. That was why their information network was freakishly good.
“Are you doing those jobs too?” I asked.
Luka flinched. “I-I didn’t have a choice! They said if we disobeyed, they’d drag us somewhere and kill us!”
It was only natural. While I didn’t know the masked group’s exact identity yet, obviously, they weren’t the type a street pickpocket could defy.
I looked at him. “And?”
“Yes, they have given me jobs before.”
“Did you ever report someone?”
Luka nodded stiffly. “Yeah. T-there was... a girl. A cadet with purple hair. I saw her once and, um, I reported it.”
Purple hair, no way!
I immediately opened my Hero Watch’s photo gallery and showed him one of the thousands of pictures Laneige had sent me.
“This girl?” I asked.
“Y-yeah. That’s her.”
My expression hardened, but I didn’t say anything.
Luka nervously glanced at me. “U-uh, is she someone you know?”
I would be lying if I said I felt nothing toward the one responsible for putting Laneige in danger, but getting angry at Luka wouldn’t solve anything.
“Forget it,” I said to him.
Luka apologized. “S-sorry. If I didn’t report it, they would’ve killed me... and Ren too.”
“I know. Both of you would’ve been in danger.”
“Yes! Exactly!”
“But that doesn’t mean what you did was right. You sold someone else out to survive.”
He bit down on his lip, guilt written all over his face. “Is she okay? The purple-haired girl.”
“She’s alive.”
“Oh.” Luka collapsed onto the ground, tears dripping as he lowered his head. “Thank... thank goodness.”
He then said, “I’m sorry.”
I clicked my tongue softly. “It’s done. An apology won’t change what happened. But if there is a way to make up for it, even a little, would you take it?”
“I-I will! Anything!”
I smiled. “Good.”
If Luka cooperated, we could get close to those masked bastards.
“So, what do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Report to them again. Tell them you found that purple-haired girl wandering in Valhalla City.”
Luka’s eyes trembled. “What? You want me to lure them in with a false report?”
“Correct.”
His face stiffened. “But that’s...”
He was imagining the consequences of it. If I died because of this trap, the masked ones would hunt him down next.
“What’s wrong? Selling someone else out is fine, but putting your own life on the line is scary?”
The words hit him dead center. Luka lowered his head as silence fell.
Then, he said in a serious tone, “I’ll do it.”
His small fists tightened as his voice shook. “I-I don’t have parents. I survive by stealing from people. But even so, if I have a chance to take responsibility for what I did, then I want to.”
He lifted his head. In his eyes burned a firm, unshakable resolve.
I nodded. “Good.”
“But! If I die, c-can you at least protect Ren?”
I ruffled his hair. “You’re both going to be fine, idiot. Don’t worry. And once all this is over, I’ll get you two into an orphanage.”
“An orphanage?”
“Yeah. One run by the Holy Empire.”
“B-but only kids from the Holy Empire can enter it, right?”
“With the right words, I can get you and your sister in.”
A spark lit in Luka’s eyes. “R-really? I’ll do it! I’ll fool them! I’m good at acting!”
I held out my hand. “Good. I’m counting on you.”
Luka grabbed it with determination, letting out a sharp breath.
It was a touching moment. However, at that moment, Yurina shuffled closer to Luka. “Um, s-sorry to interrupt the nice moment, but, uh, my shopping bag. Where did you put it?”
“Huh? Oh, that? I left it in the tent.”
We turned toward the tent.
But Ren was already rummaging through the shopping bag. “Woooow! Big brother! Look! There’s super sexy underwear in here.”
Yurina’s scream echoed through the entire Ant Nest. “Kyaaaaaaaa!”

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