The alleys of Libertas were so complex that outsiders who entered carelessly would get lost. It wasn't just because of the many waterways splitting the alleys, but also because of the chaotic spread of tents and construction materials meant to block rain. It was a situation where another alley was hidden within an alley.
Therefore, it was the perfect environment for criminals to enter to escape the law, shake off pursuers, and settle down. Due to repeated situations, the nearby guard unit and Council branch had once declared all-out war against the slum. However, if that had succeeded, the current situation where illegal extensions formed a massive fortress would not exist.
After the plan failed, some changed their stance by calling the existence of Libertas, or rather Dooms Ark, a "necessary evil." It meant that if the den of evil disappeared, no one knew what the criminals gathered there would do when they came out into society. The merchants and some nobles who had been pocketing substantial bribes also strongly opposed it, as the lights of the pleasure quarter, also called the street of entertainment, would go out.
In the end, this city, which seemed to have formed simply from society's shadows gathering, still thrived while harboring entangled political views.
It had been nearly a year since Leonardo, who had been periodically moving his hideout, had taken up residence here. Though he visited twice a month, it was still hard to distinguish what was where because of the increasingly added boards and iron bars. If the white butterfly hadn't come out to meet him, he would surely have gotten lost.
He stepped onto the tin roof of a half-basement at the entrance of an alley. Hiding his footsteps, he squeezed his body through a gap that could have been either an entrance or a window.
Just when it seemed he had entered the building briefly, he opened a door of a building about 30m away and headed leisurely in the opposite direction. The place Leonardo arrived at after passing through the haphazardly woven paths was a certain street where sunlight entered well as the distance from the front building was wide.
Luminary Street, 13-1. It was a place where neat shop signs, though old, were arranged tidily. Among them, Leonardo stopped in front of a jewelry workshop. For a place dealing with jewels, its structure made it impossible to look inside from outside.
This street was a section that could only be entered either by coming down from the air or by climbing buildings like Leonardo had done, and outsiders couldn't even access the vicinity by following the road. Nevertheless, Leonardo, after checking that there was no one to the left or right, knocked on the black oak door with a butterfly perched on his shoulder.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock. Knockknockknock...
After knocking in an irregular rhythm, he finally tapped the door with the back of his hand.
Ten seconds of silence followed.
"..."
A small groove at eye level in the door slowly opened. A rag doll briefly showed itself through the gap.
"Five, sun."
The grotesque mouth drawn with bright red paint recited half of the password. Leonardo answered without hesitation:
"Eight, rampage."
"Footprints?"
"Annihilation."
The button eyes revealed through the gap scanned the disguised old man's appearance up and down. Soon the small window at eye level closed, and sounds of several locks being undone could be heard from inside.
Before long, the wooden door opened carefully, and a tranquil air greeted Leonardo. After checking outside one final time, he quickly entered the shop.
Unlike the exterior that seemed to have been closed for a long time, the interior was full of human traces as if a jeweler might pop out at any moment. A polisher, tongs, and scale on the walnut table. A display case filled with odds and ends, jewelry polishes and cloth pieces lined up in the cabinet.
Things that would likely be handled in a jewelry workshop filled the old shop. Leonardo scanned the familiar interior before looking down at the rag doll sprawled on the sofa beside the door.
This fellow had just opened the door. It was a bit ambiguous to say it was alive, but it was an item with a story that had something like magic cast on it.
Since only they came in and out of here, he wondered if the doorkeeper's face really had to be made like that.
"Scary enough to appear in nightmares."
The rag doll twitched its limp limbs as if mocking his words. Leonardo sighed while touching his neck, then went inside the shop and pushed the display case with all his might.
Rattle–
Like any secret space, hidden stairs were revealed. Leonardo floated a light ball in the air before striding in. When he stepped on the footboard in the corner, the display case rattled back into place. Only the rag doll remained, guarding the quiet shop.
* * *
"Why isn't he coming? Did something happen? Should we go get him?"
"He'll come on his own, just wait–. That's the tenth time you've said that."
"But... They said he seemed to have entered the gate, and it's been 15 minutes already."
"He must have some people to shake off nearby."
"He's been released, why would anyone be chasing him?"
The woman with orange hair tied in two braids paced back and forth in the same spot, seemingly anxious. Her old suspender dress, black boots, and thick industrial gloves created an awkward harmony. The dress and gloves were stained with various colors as if something had splashed on them heavily.
"Because he's been released, they'll chase after him even harder. Wanting to draw him to their side. Is all that talk about you being smart a lie?"
A man was lying on an antique sofa that didn't match the interior atmosphere, from who knows where it had been picked up. Though he had a handsome appearance, the long scar running vertically across the corner of his lips and his manner of speech made his impression fierce.
"He'll come when it's time, so just stay still. You're making me dizzy."
"Tch..."
The man closed his eyes firmly with his interlocked hands behind his head. When he criticized her, the woman wrinkled her freckled nose bridge. Then she plopped down on a rattan chair full of holes and grumbled in response:
"You're one to talk, Terju, you jumped down from the top floor as soon as you heard what Mirail said. Even though you liked him the most."
"At least I'm waiting quietly now. And can't you hear the floor creaking because of you? Will you take responsibility if our location is exposed?"
"Over this little noise–!"
"Judy, Tergio is right about that."
The brown-haired man sitting in the rocking chair by the window intervened midway while slowly taking off his glasses. With a gentle and kind impression, he temporarily closed the book he had been reading and stood up. Soon he put firewood in the fireplace, then slightly pulled back the curtain to look outside.
"We must always be careful. There could be listening ears anywhere."
"...Alright."
The woman called Judy stuck her gloved hands into her dress's front pockets while hunching her shoulders inward. Even so, she turned her head toward the breeding cage where dozens of butterflies were flying around. After watching the woman standing in front of it for a while, she carefully asked:
"Mirail, he is coming safely, right?"
The woman who had been stroking butterfly wings with many butterflies perched on both her arms suddenly raised her head at Judy's question.
"He's here."
"What?"
Just as the people inside questioned simultaneously, lights came on in the sensors lined up on the left wall. It meant the shop door on the first floor had opened. Then the detection sensors installed in various sections of the secret passage began blinking in sequence.
They turned their eyes to the massive iron door in the exact center of the room. The shape of a magic circle appeared on its surface and its outline gradually became more prominent. Soon the magic circle emitting golden light turned counterclockwise and the door slowly opened.
All four who had been sitting stood up. Two of them rushed to the door at once and shouted:
"Leo–!"
A beautiful young man with golden hair, having erased the old man's face, appeared through the half-opened door gap. Though he seemed a bit startled by the loud voices, he casually greeted the two who ran toward him while curling up the corners of his mouth.
"I'm out."
At his leisurely gesture of a slight wave, all four who had been tense broke into bright smiles. Just as Judy was about to wrap her arms around Leonardo's waist first, Tergio, who had been pretending to be indifferent all along, barged in and pushed away Judy's forehead before instantly occupying Leonardo's side.
"No, my prince. Why has your face deteriorated so much? Were you tortured in the underground prison?"
Though he might have been disgusted by the embarrassing title, Leonardo seemed used to it and responded to him with furrowed brows:
"What are you talking about, it's from beating up monsters on the peninsula. Is that the first thing you say when you see me?"
Judy glared at Tergio while rubbing her forehead that had been pushed by his palm, but her joy at seeing Leonardo must have been greater as she quickly changed her expression and approached.
"Leo, are you hurt anywhere? How did you get caught?"
"...It's a long story, but wait a moment."
After patting Judy's head that came up to his chest height, Leonardo passed by the two and leisurely crossed the common area of the residence. Where he was heading stood the brown-haired man. It was the same hair color as 'low-ranking merchant group member Tergio' that he had acted as in Frost territory. However, his appearance and build were completely different.
"Welcome, Leo."
The brown-haired man greeted him with a gentle smile. Leonardo also curved his eyes and smiled freshly.
"Andrew."
The two approached each other as if about to share a reunion embrace.
However, it was in an instant that Leonardo, who had raised his right arm just like that, planted his fist in Andrew's smiling face.
Crash–!
"Leo!"