Chapter 136
"......So this is the hideout of those lawless thugs."
"Yes, if the intel is accurate."
Two young men were peeking at a certain building from the shadows.
One of them was the crown prince, Eric Seincle. The other was Will Rileis.
There was no sign of people around.
The place they were in was the slums of the royal capital, also known as the poor district.
It was the dark side of the kingdom, where orphaned children, adventurers who could no longer fight due to injuries, and criminals living outside the reach of the law gathered.
Normally, it was a place that Eric, being the crown prince, would never approach... but today, he had a reason he couldn't ignore.
"......The ones based here are targeting Reina. I can't just let that slide."
Eric had feelings for a woman... the Saint, Reina Laurel, who was reportedly being targeted by someone, and they had come to investigate.
And now, having finally located the hideout, they had come to the slums to storm it.
"Yo, any movement?"
"Vincent, Luy."
From behind Eric and Will, two more individuals appeared.
They were Vincent Flame and Luei Biscuit.
They were friends who had even gone on a trip together during summer vacation.
All of them had feelings for the same woman, and that commonality had brought them close.
"Sorry, it looks like the knights won't be sending reinforcements. Apparently, some dumb noble is interfering."
"The military police can't move either. When I mentioned the names of the people here, they turned me away at the gate."
"......I thought so. Seems like the thugs here have some noble backing."
Eric twisted his expression in frustration.
The four of them had come chasing the gang targeting Reina... and along the way, they had gathered some intel.
First, that it wasn't a single group targeting Reina.
Multiple groups were moving simultaneously, and... they seemed to be hired by someone.
Furthermore... some of the gang members were connected to nobles.
The nobles were using the gangs for their crimes, and in return, they were ensuring the gangs wouldn't be caught by the military police or knights... that was the situation.
"Neither the military police nor the knights can act... we're the only ones who can catch them."
"The enemy numbers are fifty. Even if half are outside, there are still nearly thirty thugs inside that building."
"We're just four. We're outnumbered... but we've got no choice."
"It's for Reina! We've gotta do our best!"
Eric and his three companions nodded to each other.
If they wasted time, the enemy might notice their movements and escape.
Their resolve was united.
Retreat was not an option.
There was no one around the target building.
No lookouts were in sight, and the place was eerily quiet.
"Alright... let's go!"
With Eric in the lead, the four of them headed toward the gang's hideout.
Drawing their swords, they burst into the building with the force of kicking the door down.
"Wha...!?"
Inside were about thirty thug-like men.
They were armed and should have been ready to confront the intruding group... but they weren't.
"What is this...?"
"Everyone's... already down...?"
Thugs, criminals, gang members—they were all collapsed on the floor, twitching and convulsing slightly.
"These guys... who did this to them?"
Vincent muttered in a daze.
Among the fallen gang members were some with muscular builds who clearly looked like strong fighters.
But they had been beaten to a pulp and were lying unconscious.
"......Anyway, let's search the building. I want to know who did this, and at the very least, we need to secure the boss."
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
In the middle of Eric's sentence, a scream rang out from deeper inside the building.
The four of them exchanged looks and rushed toward the source of the scream.
"It's this room...!"
Grabbing the doorknob of the back room, they flung it open with force.
"What the...?"
"Is that... a Shoebill!?"
What they saw was a Shoebill, holding a tattooed, rough-looking man by the neck and lifting him into the air.