After my quick detour to the school, I walked to the 9th district in the city. There are around 10 districts in the city as it's not that big. The lower the district number the higher in class or status. In this world, power is everything so those born with power automatically become nobles and aristocrats.
And after that, their family remains powerful through the bloodline, as in this world, if two strong people have a child, their child is guaranteed to be strong.
In conclusion, there are two types of nobles: those who were born into a well-known noble family, and those who were born with immense power (lucky bastards). And since power is everything these families simply disown those without power. They only marry their children with other nobles and... you can guess the rest.
So anyway, the 9th district is basically the slums.
***
Around midday I arrived at the 9th - it takes quite a long time to get from the 1st to the other side.
Even compared to the 8th this place was a shithole. Flies almost covered the sky, trash was used as pillows and mattresses, people were all ugly as fuck and sickly, disease literally could be felt with your hand. In short, no one wanted to live here. Except me of course.
With the few buildings there are, people who could afford to live in these apartments were considered 'rich' by these people even though rent was literally less than the minimum wage in the city.
I'd managed to claim some unmanaged ground for myself and made a pretty nice place if I do say so myself. Of course, I killed the owner of the building. But we are humans aren't we? We eat, kill, fuck, and don't care about anyone but ourselves. Dog eat dog, eh?
Now I own a small shop and an apartment above. What use is a shop you ask? Obviously my aim is not the homeless guys on the streets. I sell rare materials and tools that I steal from the nobles in the city. They're just buying back the stuff they used to own. Paying good money for it too.
What they lose, I sell it. The nobles don't notice what they lose. That's the first thing you learn in this city. Not because they're careless.
Because they have too much.
I turned the sign on the door from closed to open and stepped inside. I greeted the only other worker: Elias.
"Hey, man."
"Bit late today kiddo. What you been doing out there?" he asked.
"Eh, just picking up goods." I lied.
I quite liked Elias more than others but in reality, he was just another scapegoat for me to blame when this business got caught.
"Hey Elias, mind going home early today? I got some shit to do." He shrugged and replied "Sure I don't care as long as I get paid." He swiftly left leaving the door swinging forwards and backwards slowly. Rhythmic, don't you think? I looked around to kill some time.
The shop smelled faintly of wood, dust and varnish.
Shelves lined the walls—messy, uneven, deliberate. There were organised categories of items, ranging from coins to full on family treasures. Some items were even hidden for special customers.
No price tag for any item.
I picked up a silver ring from the counter and rolled it between my fingers. Engraved crest. Minor house. Not powerful enough to matter. Not weak enough to ignore.
Perfect.
"They'll come back for this," I murmured.
Not because they cared about the ring.
But because losing it meant something else— Someone got close.
A knock came at the door. I didn't look up.
"Door's open."
It creaked slightly as it moved.
Slow steps followed.
Not cautious or nervous just controlled.
"Do you always leave it unlocked?" a voice asked.
Male.
Young.
Calm.
I set the ring down.
"Why would I need to lock it when I know someone who's coming won't attack me?" I replied.
"I'll take that as a compliment." I looked up and immediately realized one thing.
He didn't belong here. Even the way he stood
I leaned slightly against the counter.
"Depends," I said. "Are you buying or pretending?"
His eyes moved across the shop.
He wasn't looking at what was valuable. He was looking at what shouldn't be here.
"I'm looking for something specific," he said.
"Well you wouldn't come here otherwise."
He stepped closer to the counter.
No hesitation. No attempt to assert dominance either.
"I was told," he continued, "that if something disappears in the upper districts… it sometimes reappears here."
I tapped the ring lightly against the wood.
A soft, rhythmic sound. "People say a lot of things."
His gaze dropped to the ring.
Just for a moment.
Then back to me. "House Valen reported a missing item three days ago," he said. "Small. Silver. Insignia engraved."
I didn't react.
"I'd like to buy it," he said.
I picked up the ring again, holding it just high enough for him to see clearly.
"Funny thing about nobles," I said. "They lose things…" I tilted my head slightly.
"…and then pay to get them back."
"Such a waste of good money don't you think? Now you guys will know the reason behind that. Not for me to pry into."
His expression didn't change.
I placed the ring back down between us.
"Set the price."
"Why?"
I met his gaze fully now.
No pretense.
No mask.
"Because I know you're not here for the ring. I don't care about price if I get something worth more than money from the exchange."
Silence.
Then—
A faint shift in his posture.
Almost nothing.
But enough. I was right.
"Then what do you think I'm here for?" he asked.
I smiled.
"To see if I'm a problem."
He tensed up, then laughed.
"Nice to meet you, shopkeeper. My name is Lucien Valen."