Vol 5 Chapter 5 (1/2)

Chapter 5 – A Chance Meeting

Compared to the entire redevelop It would be no more than around one-fifth of the its size

However, thethe fact that the Festa was currently being held, the activity there was by no means inferior to that of a first-class site in the commercial area

Even so, the atmosphere and scenery were completely different

A passage ran through the spaces between the rows of shops, and skywalks covered the sky The pillars supporting them were scattered here and there, and order could not be found there at all Of course, it was only here in Asterisk City that such disorder was permitted

The shops; ranged fro of alcoholic beverages, such as clubs and bars, to illegal stores, such as underground casinos and brothels, and the age-group of people co seemed to be soe of students were also hardly rare, but there was no one wearing a school badge Since students were nor outside the acade those same adolescents were students, it was a violation of the Stella Carta, even if only a small one

Although the Hunter Guards also patrolled in the RotlichtEntertaineted in the cases occuring small violations It was said that the Hunter Guards were always understaffed, so there would be no end to it if they began to do so Interactions with illegal stores were also the sanant, there was said to be the form of tacit approval There was also an assumed connection between the RotlichtEntertainment district and the City Parliament around here, and it was referred to as one of the dark sides of Asterisk

While ht back to the inforotten from Eishi+ro

After consulting Julis and coenerally, he ca was the uess was also persuasive and he was reluctant to discard it

So, Ayato had to take charge of the search in the RotlichtEntertain, but ー it was ht

After all, he did not even kno many shops there were, and he could not willfully break in like Irene said If he stopped walking, a customer-puller[1] would iht to a shop more than once or twice And it was pointless to sneak in secretly when it was overfloith so many people; in the first place, there were too many shops

He had tried indirectly asked a custoet a useful answer

Meanwhile, tiht Even so, theshi+ne and the hustle and bustle also see more and more

According to Eishi+ro, since the RotlichtEntertained as there were very few people, nor, but Ayato and company, unfortunately, had no time to do so

“However ー it will take a little time”

Certainly, in this town, as long as you piled up money, it was probably not too difficult to find people who could provide you a roo the reason

As Ayato put his thoughts in order, he went ahead to the back alley which entered from the main street

Still, the abandoned buildings of the redevelopment area whose back alley, where the hustle and bustle of the main street could not be heard, was dead silent; the shops were not standing in a line, and lights which seeradually stretched out beyond the faint streetlight

Though unlike the main street, custonboards either, when seeing the place where some people who see business Since the people fro froh class store membershi+p system

While sloalking through that back alley, Ayato thought about so

“If the cri himself in this RotlichtEntertainment district, it would beー”

“…Hey, you there”

A voice from behind was suddenly was heard by Ayato

When he looked back, threeat Ayato as if assessing him

“Errr… what is it?”

The erous aura, so it was hard to say it was a calm (friendly) atmosphere

“It’s you, isn’t it? The bastard who for so around this area”

“You don’t see here a little? We would like you to tell us in detail what you are doing here”

Thethis RotlichtEntertainment district He intended to be careful as to not attract suspicion as much as possible, but as expected, he was probably more cautious than usual Their reaction came much earlier than he expected

However, Ayato had also covered his face, as Saya and Kirin had, so he would not be as easily found out ー though saying that, he just pulled up the hood of a parka and wore glasses with no degree ー his identity was apparently not exposed yet

“No, I was just looking for someone…”

While saying that, Ayato quickly gauges the men’s abilities

Judging fro andSince the Ayato could now freely remove his seal to some extent, he could probably drive them aithout too much trouble

That said, it was not wise to make matters worse here He could not talk about the reason, either; in the first place, it did not seem that he could make them understand

In that caseー

“! Hey, wait!”

Ayato ied his course of action, and ran away at full speed

Though the ry voices resounded fro

The probleht but crowded main street or deeper into the dark back alley

He did not want to stand out very much, but there was a time when he had been cornered due to his lack of familiarity with the area when he had helped Priscilla near the redevelopment area So, he would rather slip into the crowd of people

Thinking allong thoes lines, it was good that Ayato came back to the main street, but he immediately noticed it was a mistake

This was because people, clad in the sa a watchful eye, here and there, on the main street

“It’s bad” he thought; there was sign offrom behind He could not backtrack

However, if he went in the main street as is, it would be just a matter of time for him to be found

(What do I do…?)

After ato step forward

“ーHey, you Are you perhaps pursued?”

A small voice suddenly struck Ayato’s ears

Within the traffic jam and the hustle and bustle, a voice so quiet that it would not be strange if he failed to hear it

However, that voice seized Ayato’s consciousness just like ic and led his eyes to the owner of the voice

“Since you are in trouble, shall I help you?”

A little bit in front of Ayato, a girl, as leaned back on a pillar that was supporting a corridor, said that, s with only her mouth

Ayato could not see her face because she earing a large hat that hid her eyes, but she seee as him Her chestnut hair was casually tied up in a bundle and she wore a somewhat loose blouse with jeans She had an overall plain impression; if she did not call out to hi her presence and it would probably not remain in his memory, either

“Um… Have we met somewhere before?”

He felt like he had heard that voice soave a question in response

“Eh–? I think it’s probably our first h… More importantly, if you are too carefree, those behind you will catch up”

As he looked back startled by the girl’s words, the men from earlier were already a short distance away from him

He did not knoho this girl was It was also likely to be some kind of trap

But, Ayato strangely felt that there was no lie in these words of the girl

It was not by reason, but by intuition

“ーUnderstood Can you help me?”

“OK Then, come on, this way, this way!”

Then, the girl took Ayato’s hand and ran off the back alley in the opposite side

The men who noticed it raised their voices and chased the to the left, and then towards the thin alley at his right She seehborhood

“…”

While the girl ran in the alley, she was hu in a low voice

Um… Have we met somewhere before?

He did not understand what she was saying as it was in too quiet of a voice, but it see

At that irl

(Don’t tell a…?)

The men’s presence becaot lower, too

At the saed, and before he noticed, their surroundings had becos which were about to collapse

The girl was running fast and her hand which held Ayato’s was surprisingly soft Since her Prana was too quiet, he did notice at first, but this girl being a Stregafroe, she was probably a student of some academy

Because she was not even showing signs of being out of breath even after running for a while now, one could understand that she ell-trained

However, he could not predict her ability because she concealed it well

“Phe that we couess”

After they had finally arrived at a little open space surrounded by abandoned buildings, the girl turned back and floated a small smile

“Thank you You really helped me out”

Ayato would probably have been unable to get through this by himself

“Fufufu… So, ere you chased by those guys? Did you rip off someone or some shop?”

“No, it isn’t so”

At least, the girl did not seem to be an enemy, but he could not also afford to carelessly speak about his circumstances

As he spoke auessed it

“Hht even if you don’t want to talk about it”

She said, as she sat on a suitable piece of scrap wood

“However, if you intend to go back, it would be better to wait for a while Since this place is quite distant frouys probably won’t chase us up to here, but it’s kind of edgy now and I think that those guys also haven’t given up yet”

“It’s kind of edgy?”

“We’re right in the middle of the Festa now, so the Hunter Guard crackdown is uys who control the RotlichtEntertainment district seemed to have increased their number of patrols and are more cautious than usual”

“I see…”

During the tied to Asterisk from all over the world It was probably inevitable that the nu up in this RotlichtEntertainment district would also increase In that case, no matter how common the state of connivance was in the RotlichtEntertainment district, it was also necessary for the Hunter Guards to increase their manpower and control to some extent

However, the unsuitable circumstances would h it was also so for the reinforce troubleso such a time would probably be few

(It isn’t the RotlichtEntertainment district after all…?)

If so, then he should give up and look for other places as soon as possible He could not afford to waste time here

It was also not as if there was no more room of hesitation, butー

“Thank you for everything If possible, I would like to do so out of time now”

“It’s all right, it’s all right, I don’t really iri Ayato-kun”

“!”

“Oh, what an a reaction speed As expected of a finalist of the current tournament”

As Ayato proirl clapped her hands in admiration

“But, it kind of a shock when you brace yourself so much”

“…Why do you know my name?”

As Ayato cautiously asked, the girl exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulders

“You intended to disguise yourself, right? But, like that, you will be found out at first glance If you intend to hide it, then you have to change your atmosphere more You’re also already a celebrity, so shouldn’t you try a little harder?”

“Eh…?”

Certainly, he had not cared about it that much, but was it so obvious?

“Just to s clear, but it isn’t really because you’re the rank 1 of the Seidoukan Academy that I helped you”

“But, then why…?”

“It’s natural to help people in trouble, right?”

At Ayato’s question, the girl answered as if it was a matter of course

“Well, when you can afford it, that’s Besides you didn’t look like a bad person”

The girl’s words were frank, and it did not see lies

“…Sorry Even though you help me”

Thus, Ayato honestly apologized for his impoliteness

“Hahaha, you’re a good person, eh Yes, I don’t reallyー”

But, the girl suddenly stopped speaking and turned her head to the direction where they had come from

Ayato also noticed a moment later

So their way

“Good grief, to think that you would escape to here… I’ after people”

Languidly said ahalf of his body

With an unshaven face and dark skin, his age was probably around 30 At least, he was probably not a student He had a rough attire of cargo pants and T-shi+rt, but the activation body of Lux on his belt was tied in bunches

“So, is it you? The bastard as sneakily searching They say that you see for someone, but since our men are concerned about it I will have you come with me”

Aish eyes, but his carriage had so He was quite the master

“crap… I didn’t think that you would chase us so far”

The girl looked up at the sky and held down her face from the top of the hat

“I’ve my expenses, you see So I’ve to work a little hard to earnmade work for me… Hmm?”

As thethe hesition, a sliled

“What… I heard that the opponent was a man, but I see there’s also a woman This is a pleasant miscalculation, eh I suddenly feel motivated”

While floating a vulgar smile, the man activated his Lux Poised in both hands, a knife with oversized serrated blade seemed to lick its chops

“Well then, I was asked to catch you and bring you in… But you may resist to your heart’s content After all, it will be boring otherwise”

“Wait ato do with it”

The irl Since it turned out like this, Ayato had no choice but directly speak with the Mafia

“Hmm, I think it’s useless He’s the type of person who seeive priority to his hobby over his work, so I don’t think he will quietly overlook us Isn’t that so? ーForon Seventh Institute rank 7, DoiranTwin SnakesNguyen-san”

“He~e… young lady, do you know about me? That makes me happy”

“I didn’t know that a se errands for the Mafia though”

As the girl sighed, she slowly stood up

“What, it’s an old story”

As the uyen, said that, the atmosphere of the place became very tense

It’s bad Even if he were to fight Nguyen, he could not afford to involve the girl

The et between the two of themー the knife approached Ayato’s chest

“Kuh!”

Nguyen threw the knife so as to put him in check (restrain him)

Although he dodged it by pro, in which the knife was throas terrifying It ht be said that his outset was spoiled

“Don’t get in the way, boy”

By the tiirl’s range

“Watch out!”

Nguyen’s knife shone and attacked the girl

ーBut

“Hmm, is it only that?”

The girl easily dealt with Nguyen’s onslaught of one-handed blows co from both sides

“Whaー!?”

Nguyen’s face was distorted in surprise

It was also the sauyen’s attack was sharp and fast It was the type of person who focused more in the nu with all of theeー would probably be difficult even for Ayato

“Ha, Hahahaha! You aren’t bad, young lady! In that case, I’ll also fight seriously…!”

“ーNo, it’s already enough”

The girl sneaked around to Nguyen’s back as she slipped past his arm

Herwhich struck thethe eye of a needle

“Tch!”

The girl’s kick was driven in to the solar plexus of Nguyen who hurriedly turned around

“ー!”

Nguyen, who fainted in agony without even having ti and crashed into the wall of an abandoned building

A shock, to such an overpowering extent, ran through it, and innumerable new cracks were carved in that wall… One wondered whether the building would collapse, or not

“…If you were in your priirl said souyen, who couldn't move anymore

Then she turned immediately towards Ayato