Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

V1 Chapter 2

A Different World

The year 989 of the Holy Calendar

There, lived aa peaceful life in a s, beautiful wo son whose fair features were clearly inherited from his mother

“Nee, Kaa-san Why is our hair black? We’re the only ones around here with black hair”,

nobody else in the capital possessed raven black hair like the two of them Therefore, the boy felt that their hair colour was unusual His mother floated a troubled expression,

After a momentary pause, she answered like so

“Yes, you’re right, it’s not only us two Otou-san’s hair was black and so were Ojii-chan and Obaa-chan’s”

Satisfied with the answer he received, Rio innocently smiled back For the five-year-old Rio, histo him

“…Is that so? Once you grow older, I’ll take you there, to Yagumo”,

“Really? Promise?”

“Of course, promise”

Two years later, it is currently early spring of the year 991 of the Holy Calendar

In the corner of a dingy, dirty wooden shed lies the boy, cold and thirsty, letting out a weakened groan

Red in the cheeks, the boy continues struggling for breath His ragged clothes are da from a fever

Lying on the cold wooden floor with only a thin cloth to use as a blanket and without anybody attending to his take a turn for the worst

It was a different than the stifling heat toro It was a warm and pleasant sensation that one would want to yield themselves to

“Nn…”

His ht is still i returned to nory has yet to recover since he was in a horribly weakened state just a o

When his hts, the boy starts pondering the situation he is in at the moment He tries to raise his body, only to experience a sensation akin to dozens of whips lashi+ng at his torso

Perhaps as a result of his illness, or perhaps frohout his entire body causing the boy to distort his face in agony

(This is…)

Yet, at the saruity arises The scene is oddly fan at the same time

So feels off, but exactly what, cannot be pinpointed Rather, his memories are a mess The boy continues to absentmindedly look around the room

However, he is now fully awake thanks to the sti a deep breath, the boy flops back down onto the hard wooden floor He was in a er

But that is odd Soht

(A child’s… hand? I2 am… No, I am?)

An orphan living in the sluoal is to exact revenge on a certain e to survive until today

And yet, why does he have memories of another person?

Various h his head They are so vivid that Rio cannot simply discard them as delusions he unconsciously came up with

Strange, uncanny memories fill Rio’s head He forcefully shakes his head to help clear his mind

The overlapping memories throw Rio’s mind into chaos

They are not the hands of a child living in an abundant country like japan They are dangerously thin frorime

According to histime

Rio’s face cramps up at his own uncleanliness

Still, perhaps he should be thankful that he at least has clothes to wear His long, messy, unkempt hair feels uncomfortable and happens to be black in colour

Taking a deep breath in an effort to calins to try and make sense of hisa posture of deep thought

The memories overlap, yet the current Rio is not Amakawa Haruto

“I died whilst on the bus… right?”

“Then who am I now? Is this a dream? Was I reborn?”

However, judging from the oddly vivid sense of realism, it is doubtful that this is a dream

As far as the situation is concerned, albeit skeptical, Rio considers the possibility of being reborn

In the first place, was there really a person by the name of Amakawa Haruto?

However, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot come up with a satisfactory answer and there is nobody to ask To his understanding, Rio is his current self, not Amakawa Haruto

The memories of two people and their identities have coed seamlessly

As a result, it becomes possible to perceive each other’sabout it carefully, a sense of uneasiness wells within him Without a doubt, this is a very unusual sensation

Guu The sound of his stohout the room

Rio sighs dejectedly at his stoht-headedness

However, it is clear that he will not arrive at a satisfactory conclusion even if he broods over it Therefore, Rio shi+fts his thinking towards figuring out a way to break out of his current predicament

It is the worst possible outcooal, he cannot afford to die in such a place

Recalling the existence of that wretched er

Rio’s parents were foreigners fro as adventurers during their travels However, when his nant, she temporarily withdrew from her adventurer life Naturally, Rio’s father, Zen, beca a skilled adventurer, Zen died soon after Rio was born

However, their peaceful life ended when Rio turned five years of age

As a result, when her weakness, Rio, was used against her, she ed up by the surrounding malice and cruelly murdered before Rio’s eyes

The vow for vengeance had already etched itself deeply into Rio’s heart by the time Amakawa Haruto’s memories returned However, Rio has now also absorbed Amakawa Haruto’s sense of values

However, Rio’s own sense of values burned strongly with the desire for revenge Whenever that man’s existence is recalled, pitch black emotions well up from his heart

Rio clicks his tongue at the contradicting e around in his mind Just as he is about to frown, the door of the shack is violently thrown open

There, several men and a woman enter the shed

Discovering only Rio inside the cla man spoke up He is a man Rio is familiar with

Staring in surprise, the roup

The giant called Aniki spoke in admiration

Rio frowned unintentionally as he gave an answer

Everything froal contrabands, and assassination, to theft, fraud, blackoods You name it, they do it

Rio was also picked up and used by them and lived with them in in this shack Every day is spent in fear of abuse and maltreatment

His treatment is no different than that of a slave’s and yet, he cannot survive without them It is that kind of unjust world

“By the way, it’s cold Let’s drink up to warm ourselves”

“Oh right Oi, put that thing in that corner Seems to be asleep thanks to the medicine, don’t disturb it”

Afterward, the cheerful men are served by the woman and the meal commences

An underling laughed in good humour at those words

“Wait, what? nobody’s crazy enough to do that, right?”

“Who knows?”

“Even if that’s the case, a deal worth 10 gold coins is too much to pass up”

After gulping down the alcohol in one go, the leader takes a hearty bite froht, Rio can only s his saliva

However, the chances of the sick Rio receiving any food this tie of heart-

The strong and the weak; the person using and the person being used

He did not intend on continuing such a relationshi+p forever but he is still only a seven-year-old child

However, the smell of food only er

Even sheer willpower cannot turn his thoughts away from food

“Ooi, Rio, Rio”

“Oi”

“…Yes”

While picking his nose, thebecome aware of it, Rio realises he is drenched in sweat and foul odour was arising from his body

Slightly lowering his head, Rio unsteadily gets up Although A an odd feeling to ee

“Rio, if you don’t get better, I’ to sell you off as a slave If you’re lucky, you can fetch a decent price”

Finding the leader’s rehter

Although the woust, Rio exited the hut without a looking back

The door behind hi his name called, Rio turns around

Saying that, the woman hands over three copper coins to Rio She is a prostitute that the leader favoured Being acquainted with Rio, she had gone out of her way to look out for him several times

“When you get older, you should cos”

“Haha…”

“It was a joke I said it before, I have a niece around your age so when I see you, I can’t just look the other way I’ this job soon”

“You’re opening a shop with your younger sister, Angela-san, right? I’ll be sure to drop by sometime, okay?”

Rio had heard it froela, had saved up a sum of money from prostitution to open a shop

“Has soed?”

“No, I don’t see how I don’t really understand but…”

“You, so you can make such a face, huh? You have a cute face so this is much better than your usual sullen look”

Seeing Jiji’s joyful expression, Rio timidly nods

“Okay Thank you very much”

Lowering his head deeply, Rio turns around and leaves

It is early

Despite being told to wash hi facilities available in the sluet a bath is to exit the slums and find a place with a well

Naturally, only the upper class reside within the safety of the castle walls Only those above a certain level are allowed to live within those walls

On the other hand, one is free to coo in the areas outside the castle walls While life outside those walls is dangerous, expansion and developress quickly, unlike within the walls

The country had long given up trying to impose order on the slums and lawlessness is rampant Besides those who have no choice other than to live there, no sane person would dare venture into the slums

Owing to that fact, Rio is able to leisurely take his time Of course, soap and ater are luxuries he cannot afford so he has to bear with only water

Finding a suitable area with sunlight, he crouches on the ground while patiently waiting for his clothes to dry

The brothel district is next to the slums and because a new day has broken, woht those services aretheir way home

Not particularly interested in watching the

However, he has no choice The world is not kind to orphans like hi in the slue for scraps? Steal? Become used by cris one can do to survive

His chances of finding work are slim

Orphans would not exist if they could find employment, but even then, they would be exploited and worked to bone for ridiculously loages

University level education, do alone, there was awith his parents and his part-ti his skills to use In his present situation, where he has no social status or connections, it is vital that he makes the best out of his abilities

However, even if thoughts of petty crimes like theft are discarded now, Rio had already participated inabout that, a sense of guilt springs forth

“Oi, is that… a girl?”

However, judging from their builds, the lady who called out to Rio seeroup Her youthful voice indicates that she cannot be older than twenty

The lady who spoke was probably unable to accurately discern Rio’s gender Rio possesses androgynous features and in co, unkeirl

One of the two children in the back ust

“I’d prefer somebody who doesn’t smell so bad It’s bad for my health”

(Don’t be so selfish…)

Rio turns his eyes towards the two girls Despite their faces being covered by a hood, it is obvious they are looking at him with eyes of disdain

“Oi, did you hear me? Or is it that you don’t understand my words?”

“I heard you What?”

Their clothes are too clean for thened hilt peeked out of the lady’s robe

“Have you seen a girl with light purple hair? She’s around your age”

Although he was not angered by her tone, Rio did not intend on responding either After all, he has no idea about this girl they are trying to find

“Oi, wait Answer the question”

“Eh, don’t know”

“Answer honestly”

However, perhaps doubting Rio’s response, the two girls in the back cautioned hi him to become irritated

“You two, you aren’t going to get an answer like that”

“Muu, c’mon Celia”

“Leave this to me, Vanessa-sama”

The lady referred to as Vanessa see Celia with the questioning Celia takes one step forward

“…Rio”

“Rio? That’s an unusual name”

“I see So that’s why your hair’s black By the way, Rio, I have so I want to ask you, will you answer me?”

Rio nodded

“Uhm, I haven’t seen anybody like that…”

Rio shakes his head

It’s probably already too late- ords Rio did not add

The inquired girl is probably related to these four so it is likely she is wearing nice clothes If she is lucky, then she would only be stripped of her clothes, otherwise, she ht be sold off to a brothel

Celia responded in a disappointed tone

However, taking after a deep breath, she asked so

“Are the slu lost”

Rio widens his eyes in surprise

Celia responded with hesitation

“Why?”

“…The high-quality clothes you’re wearing basically screa so there aren’t a lot of people up yet but there are still people around It’s not a place for a woman like you to enter”

“Those are quite soirls

Celia said so and looking at her clothing with a bitter smile, mutters,

If Rio had yet to recover his memories as Amakawa Haruto, he would not have provided any advice to Celia Especially with the presences of the overbearing Vanessa and the two girls, he would never even think to warn them

However, the human called Amakawa Haruto inside Rio is a softhearted person

“Uhm, what kind of clothes do women in the slums wear?”

“I see I’ll use that as reference”

“By the way, for an orphan, the way you speak is oddly polite Do most orphans talk like that?”

Rio answered in a slightly stiff voice

In addition to his ence of A in a much more mature tone

Celia apologized in a fluster

Rio responded without showing much emotion

Perhaps having gotten a gli in Rio’s eyes, Celia widened her eyes

Vanessa who had been listening to their conversation in silence finally spoke up

“That’s right!”

“If our information is correct, then there should still be tiet in the way of the search parties Surely Christina-saht?”

At Vanessa’s explanation, the girl called Christina distorts her face in irritation