They arrived at the city of Luby, as a sign by the entrance showed. Tsuoma marveled at the city, seeing elves, humans, halflings, dwarves, and many other fantastic creatures moving around. The city was built in a rectangular shape, and everyone could see everything that happened within its walls.
As they passed through the guards, Natael waved at them, but one of the guards stared back angrily. "The guards here aren't obligated to help us with whatever we need," Natael explained. "Since we believe in the goddess, the queen has corrupted everyone here—not with her magic, but with her ideas. All of the citizens hate us and don't even come near us. Who cares about stuff like that, though? Some here secretly respect us and wait for the princess to come and help liberate us from the empress's evil claws."
"Anyway," he continued, "there are five guilds in this city. Our guild is only offered C-class missions because the head of the guild masters doesn't like us. We may be the strongest guild, but that's all to it. We can't travel to another city because the queen placed a curse. Our limit is the desert; anything beyond it is emptiness. How did you cross the desert to our city's territory?"
Tsuoma said nothing and continued walking with them. After all he couldn't say, "We found ourselves here after transmigrating."
Meanwhile, Teruki was having a conversation with Sasha. Sasha asked how Teruki's empathy worked, but Teruki gave her roundabout answers since she didn't understand the ability herself.
Tsuoma looked around, seeing how everyone was struggling. Children looked gaunt and malnourished. The adults were haggard and poor. His Eye of Truth opened, and he saw that many of them had various sicknesses, diseases, malnutrition, sleeping disorders, and more.
Suddenly, a boy ran past him, snatching his sword and its sheath. "Hey, that's mine! Give it back!" Tsuoma gave chase. The boy ran fast, but his thin, malnourished legs couldn't keep up. Most of the merchants began shouting at the boy and throwing rocks at him. Some guards heard the commotion and came to check what was happening.
They heard what happened and pursued the boy hotly, passing the Draconics. One of the guards threw a dagger at the boy. It didn't hit him, but the boy fell out of fright, dropping the heavy sword. The guards surrounded him and began to beat him mercilessly. Teruki groaned and knelt down as she felt the boy's pain.
Tsuoma and Natael reached the boy, who was clutching the sword tightly. They were able to stop the guards from beating him. Tsuoma saw the boy's attributes and noted that he was very weak. "Why, little boy? You shouldn't have done that. It's a crime," he said.
The boy began to weep. He returned Tsuoma's sword, and the guards surrounded him, beating him again. The Draconics were about to move out of the alley when Tsuoma had a flash—a vision. He saw the boy standing near a bed where a woman was shivering. She was sick; that was why the boy took to stealing to help her. "Interesting," Tsuoma thought to himself. "The eye of truth can also see one's memories." The guards were intent on killing the boy, even though he was a child.
Tsuoma saw the boy shaking in fear. It wasn't the boy's choice to steal; he had to do it to survive. He couldn't forgive himself if the boy died because of him.
"You're not seriously trying to save him, Tsuoma, are you?" Teruki said, already knowing what he was about to do. "You haven't even discovered your magical powers. You'll die. Besides, these guards use magic we don't know, and you don't have transformation magic. Just forget it."
"What kind of hero would I be then?" Tsuoma replied. "To abandon someone in need? If magic won't work, then my indestructible sword will do the job." He looked at Teruki and the others. They sighed and nodded.
They turned back and attacked the guards. The guards were completely taken by surprise. Tsuoma sliced one across the mouth while the rest of his friends held their own, defeating the guards flawlessly.
"Come, boy, let's go to your mother before more of them come," Tsuoma said.
The boy's eyes glittered with tears. He wiped them away with a determined look. "Please tell me who you are, sir."
Tsuoma grinned and slid his sword into its sheath. "My name is Tsuoma. These are my friends from the Draconics. I need you to take me to see your mother. Perhaps there's something I can do for her."
The boy smiled widely and ran forward. They followed him, watching their backs for any guards who might be following them. Tsuoma didn't feel any remorse for killing the guards. Teruki didn't know why, but he was uncaring. Teruki looked at him with concern. But what they didn't understand was that Tsuoma had seen through them, knowing they were nothing more than hollow shells controlled by magic. He took hold of the boy's hand, and the boy looked up at him admiringly.
Tsuoma gained a new skill after defeating the shells: Purgatory of Life.