The wind had picked up slightly, carrying with it the distant scent of dust and alley smoke. Red adjusted the sword strap on his back and turned to Akane with his usual blank expression.
"One down," he said, motioning briefly toward Selena, who quietly stood barefoot beside him.
Selena walked silently beside Red, her silver eyes watching the path while her bare feet brushed against the cool earth. Her frame was still thin, her steps still cautious, but a spark of something new burned behind her gaze.
Hope.
She was no longer a slave.
She was recruited to become an adventurer.
And she had a purpose.
Red led the way down the dirt path that curved back toward Silverhaven. Behind them, Akane followed in silence, arms crossed, her crimson cape catching the wind.
"So… who's next?" Red asked calmly.
Akane glanced at him. "One from the slums. Just like how I found Hiro."
Red nodded once. "Boy or girl?"
"Doesn't matter," she replied, then looked away, hiding the tiny smile that threatened her lips. "Just don't make them fall in love with you like she did."
Red raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Selena tilted her head, slightly flustered. "W-What...?"
Akane cleared her throat quickly. "Anyway! The slums I'm talking about are in the southwestern sector. The worst one. No guild outreach. No guards. Not even patrols."
Red nodded. "Show me."
Before they could head straight there, Red veered off the path toward a small merchant stall nestled in the outer ring of Silverhaven's trade plaza.
Akane paused, blinking.
Akane: "…What are you doing?"
Red didn't answer.
He approached the stall's owner, a bearded man with sun-baked skin and a cart full of dried bread, fruit, smoked meat, and flasks of clean spring water.
Red: "I'll take all of it."
The merchant's eyes widened. "A-All, sir? That's three crates worth."
Red handed over the coins without hesitation. "Deliver it. Usual spot."
The man saluted. "Right away!"
Akane stood there, arms still folded, watching with narrowed eyes.
Selena's stomach growled faintly. She looked down, embarrassed. But before she could say anything, Red tore off a piece of bread and handed it to her along with a water flask.
"For you," he said.
"…me?" she blinked.
"It's food," he added flatly, adjusting his words. "Just eat."
Selena took it with both hands, her cheeks pink as she bowed her head gratefully. "Thank you, Master Red."
He paused. "...Don't call me that."
Akane's eyebrow twitched. So he doesn't like being called 'Master,' huh?
The three made their way toward the southern outskirts of Silverhaven, where the stone streets gave way to broken boards, muddy paths, and rickety shacks half-covered by torn tarps and rusted scrap.
The Slums.
The slums were as broken as they had always been. Rotten wood, shattered crates, and uneven cobbled stones formed the winding paths between collapsed homes and shoddy shelters. Children peeked out from makeshift blankets. Older teens watched with sharp eyes, expecting threats.
Yet the moment they saw Red, things changed.
"Hey! He's back!"
"It's him again!"
"Uncle Red's here!"
Heads popped out from alleyways, crates, and rooftops. Slum residents, dirty, tired, worn by hardship, began to emerge.
And what shocked Akane the most… was that they didn't run or cower.
They smiled.
The merchant cart had just arrived, and Red took the crates from the driver himself. Without a word, he began laying out bread, fruits, and water bottles on a long wooden table.
The people of the slums gathered.
But they didn't fight.
They didn't scramble like wild dogs.
They lined up.
Orderly. Patient.
A woman with her baby bowed deeply as Red handed her a loaf of bread.
An old man with a missing eye saluted.
"Thank you, Uncle Red!"
"Bless ya, Silent Blade!"
"Next time bring that fruit again, yeah?!"
A child tugged at his cloak. "Thank you, Mister Red!"
Akane blinked, stunned.
Akane: "…They… know you?"
One man approached her, smiling kindly.
"Ma'am, Red's been coming here every morning for months. Buys food, drops it off, leaves without a word. Most think he's some kind of guardian spirit."
Akane: "...A What now?"
"He never talks, but he never misses a day. We'd be starving if not for him."
Akane glanced at Red, her heart stumbling in her chest.
You…
"You do all this… and never say a word?" she asked, softly.
Red didn't respond. He just handed another loaf of bread to a young boy with dirty hair.
Selena clutched her bread tighter, watching him with shining eyes.
As Red scanned the crowd using his system overlay, detailed stats flickered before his eyes.
[Inspect Passive: Active]
He read each profile, strength, agility, magic affinity.
Most were below Level 5.
Some had potential.
But today… someone was missing.
A boy.
And two tiny girls who always clung to his legs when he arrived.
"Where's Lio?" he asked quietly, his voice serious now.
A middle-aged woman turned toward him. "Lio? Haven't seen him for two days…"
Red: "And his sisters?"
"They vanished with him."
Red narrowed his eyes. "Last seen?"
"He said… he was following someone," she said. "Promised him food, work, shelter. The usual lies."
Red's silence grew heavy.
No one recruited slum kids without a cost. Not without chains. Not without blood.
"Direction?" he asked.
The woman pointed toward the east hills. "Old warehouse district. Past the abandoned glassworks."
Akane recognized the look in Red's eyes.
She stepped closer. "Wait. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking this isn't a coincidence," he said. "This… is…."
Akane frowned. "A what?"
But Red was already moving.
Selena followed without question.
Akane gritted her teeth and jogged to keep up.
Akane: "Tch. You're not doing this without me."
They moved fast.
Red led them through twisting alleys and narrow paths, cutting through abandoned fields and rusted train tracks. His swords were already strapped to his back.
Selena kept pace despite her bare feet, never complaining, never asking why.
Saving Lio and the twins wasn't optional. It was the second rookie's path.
The slums weren't safe.
Not for people that are innocent.
Not in a world this cruel.
They arrived at the old warehouse grounds, a cluster of decaying structures surrounded by dead trees and broken fences.