Welcome to Hell! Chapter 218: The Refugee Camp (1)

“Yaro! Where have you been and what have you been up to all this ti? You disappeared all of a sudden!”

As the man continued to speak to in a friendly manner, Lappy remained on alert, while Leo seed to nod as if he had co to so understanding. It appeared Leo grasped the situation.

The na Yaro belonged to a male mber of the Reka race who had been synthesized with . I knew from seeing the fragnts of his mory during the synthesis process that he was a petty rogue at the ti.

The man standing before was not present in the mories I had seen of Yaro. Only truly significant mories of Yaro had remained, so this man was probably not a fellow rogue. Considering his overly familiar and sowhat condescending tone, he was likely a higher-up in the world of ruffians.

Well, whatever the case, I needed to correct his misunderstanding… wait, perhaps not. Should I correct the mistake, or could I use this situation to my advantage? If I were to gather information, it would be wise to visit not only the royal capital but also the refugee camp. Yes, I decided to go in that direction.

“Calm down. I am not Yaro. He was a mber of the Reka race, right?”

“Eh…? Oh, yes, that’s right. But you have the sa look around your eyes… Wait, if you know that Yaro is from the Reka Race, does that an you know Yaro?”

“Yes, I know him. I had the chance to talk with him briefly.”

It made sense that my eyes resembled Yaro’s, as his body was the base for my current form. The only aspect of my face that Rinne’s illusion masked was my compound eyes. So, it was understandable that he thought I looked like Yaro.

However, the part about having had the chance to talk with Yaro was a complete fabrication. But since I have seen fragnts of his mories when we were synthesized together, I clearly knew the truths important to him. It was as if I had heard only what mattered most to Yaro.

“…I see. What is he doing and where is he now?”

The man, upon hearing that I was not Yaro, seed more disappointed than sad. From his deanor, it was clear that he intended to cozy up to this “Yaro”, who had sohow risen to the status of a noble’s guard during his absence. His attitude was frankly unpleasant.

Well, considering he was originally from the slums, it was no surprise that he lacked admirable qualities. Yaro had been of the sa ilk, so it was to be expected. I suppressed my discomfort and addressed the man who knew Yaro in as cheerful a manner as possible.

“If you want to hear about it, it’s a bit of a long story. Actually, Yaro is soone I owe a great deal to, and I too am interested in his whereabouts. Is there sowhere we can sit down and talk at length? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Huh? Really! Ah~… but if we do that, it would have to be outside the city; is that okay with you?”

“That’s fine. Let’s go.”

Upon hearing the promise of a reward, the man’s expression noticeably brightened. However, in order to have a long talk, it seed we needed to head outside the city walls, specifically to the refugee camp. Refugee criminal activity was already a point of concern. I didn’t know why the man was here, but lingering for a long ti might attract unwelco attention from the guards.

Following the man, we made our way outside the city walls. The refugee camp was located a short distance from the city walls, and it was lined with old cloth tents with holes here and there and ramshackle huts built from scrap wood. Surprisingly, there were clear paths that could be called roads, so getting around through the camp was not as difficult as one might expect.

Business was conducted even within the refugee camp, and it seed there were establishnts similar to diners. The man appeared to be guiding us to one such place.

During our walk, I managed to learn a bit about the man himself. His na, as it turned out, was Nord and he claid to be a forr associate of Yaro, which was more or less what I had expected.

Their holand had been in the northern part of the continent, but it had been destroyed by the invasion of the republic. The royal family had perished, and many powerful nobles were either dead or missing, making any hope of restoration bleak.

“What will you do once the war is over?”

“There’s not much to do. Even if we go back, I’ve heard our hotown’s been razed to the ground. I’ve been lucky to find a way to make a living here, so I’ll keep at it. If that fails, I’ll figure sothing out then.”

Nord replied with a laugh as if it were a trivial matter. His casual deanor suggested a life led haphazardly, both in the past and likely in the future. He took it for granted that this was the natural course of things.

Our paths were unlikely to cross again, and Nord’s life was his own to lead. I had no intention of interfering, so I simply responded, “I see.”

“It’s surprising. Are Mister and his friends okay with this sll?”

“I don’t like it, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

Nord was remarking on the stench that perated the refugee camp. Given that the refugees lived there, they naturally had to relieve themselves and produce waste. The foul odor that hung in the air was a mix of human excrent, rotting food, and an odd dicinal sll. While the city itself was not free from bad odors, the intensity here was on a completely different level.

However, we have lived on the battlefield. The slls of war were far worse, and one couldn’t afford to be overwheld by such odors if one wanted to stay alive. Even for a demon with a keen sense of sll like myself, it wouldn’t matter much if I just got used to it. And even though both Lappy and Leo had disgusted expressions on their faces, they were not so affected as to be unable to move.

In fact, it was the incessant, intrusive stares that were more annoying than the sll. Most of these glances seed driven by curiosity or wariness, but so clearly harbored malicious intent. There is no doubt that there will be so confrontation.

“Still, Mister and his friends are brave. I know I’m one to talk, but this place is notorious for its poor security. Dressed up so neatly with kids in tow, you look like easy targets.”

“No problem. We possess enough skill to be hired as guards by the nobles.”

“Yeah, sure, you seem strong but…ugh!”

At that mont, Nord who had been looking not at but at Lappy, who was holding my hand, and Leo, who was curiously observing the refugee camp, contorted his face. This was because a group of about a dozen n had appeared, blocking us from both front and back.

Apparently, Nord hadn’t noticed that we had been followed since entering the camp. These n were part of the group that had been casting hostile glances in our direction. On the other hand, Lappy and Leo had been aware of them all along and showed no sign of surprise.

The n who appeared showed no sign of tension. Perhaps it was their nurical advantage, but more likely, they were accustod to using violence and intimidation. Although they looked ragged and thin, likely due to being refugees, their deanor was intimidating enough to make anyone without experience shrink back in fear.

“Hey, Nord, you’ve brought so pretty clean-cut folks here.”

“Y-yes, Mr. Heinz. Just t so common acquaintances, that’s all. Heh, hehe…”

The leader of the n, a man nad Heinz, had a sadistic grin on his face. Nord, in turn, lowered his head and smiled obscenely.

It was clear that this group held significant power among the rogues of the refugee camp. At least, they were fearso enough that even Nord felt compelled to grovel before them. Indeed, the other refugees who had been staring rudely at us earlier quickly distanced themselves as if they wanted no part in this troubleso situation.

“Heeh, is that so? Well, that doesn’t matter. We want to have a word with that mister over there. Why don’t you go sowhere else?”

“Eh!? But, Heinz, this person is…”

“Quit your yapping and scram!”

“Y-yes!”

Nord seed about to say sothing more, but upon being shouted at by Heinz, he quickly fled. His escape was swifter than expected. The speed with which he sensed the danger and fled impressed not only but also Leo and Lappy.

However, Nord who had fled, seed intent on watching the proceedings from behind a nearby tent. It appeared that while he couldn’t defy Heinz, he still harbored so lingering attachnt to us who were more likely to be a source of profit for him.

“Hmph, worthless trash… Now, mister, let’s have a little chat.”

“I have an idea of what this is about, but what do you want?”

“See, we’re refugees, right? Struggling to get by. So, we were thinking you might be generous enough to help us out with so money.”

“And if I refuse?”

“If you refuse, well, we’d have no choice but to give up, but… By the way, mister, do you know the going rate for kids these days?”

“…I see.”

Heinz was implying that if I refused, he would resort to kidnapping Leo and Lappy for human trafficking. He assud that by threatening with the seemingly vulnerable children, he could extort money from us. Heinz continued to smirk triumphantly.

While we were talking, Heinz’s henchn were gradually closing the distance between us, clearly planning to pounce on the two children the mont negotiations failed. They seed experienced, so this wasn’t their first ti.

“So, what’s it going to be? You’ll give us sothing, won’t you?”

“I refuse. Try your luck if you think you can.”

I flatly rejected Heinz’s extortion. He seed stunned by my direct refusal, standing with his mouth agape. His henchn showed similar reactions of shock.

The sa seed true for the onlooking refugees who had been watching the unfolding events from a distance. A buzz of conversation broke out among the gatherings that were previously silent. Among the murmurs, there were voices questioning my sanity and others mocking Heinz for being rejected.

So hurried off sowhere. Whether they were going to call for Heinz’s reinforcents, summon the guards, or had a different purpose, it would soon beco clear.

“…Brave words. Get them!”

Heinz, who had been standing in shock, apparently didn’t miss the mocking words directed at him from the others. Scoundrels like them needed to be feared; without instilling terror in others, no one would succumb to their threats anymore, whether they were bluffs or not.

This ant that backing down was not an option for Heinz. To preserve his bruised ego, he had to attack us and demonstrate their terror anew. As expected, Heinz commanded his henchn to attack us.

“I’ll leave it to you two. Just don’t kill them.”

“Got it!”

“Okay.”

I decided to let Leo and Lappy handle it and stood in my place with my arms crossed. I aid to deter any future harassnt by showing that not just I but even the children were strong.

Leo eagerly rotated his shoulders, and Lappy, releasing the hand that was linked with mine, bounced lightly on the spot. The ragtag scoundrels creeping towards the children lunged forward.