Chen Yan subconsciously glanced again at the two swords on Okami's back.
"That's all I have to explain for now. Be careful."
He still felt a bit uneasy and reminded them again:
"If you encounter any difficulties, wait until I get back tonight!"
But Nuomiguo stopped him.
"Please wait a moment."
Chen Yan paused, only to see Nuomiguo take out a small white object from her wide sleeve.
"Please, be sure to take this with you."
By the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Chen Yan saw that the object...
Was actually a grain of rice, as white and flawless as suet jade.
Nuomiguo's little face bore a very serious expression.
"When you encounter danger, it can help restore your spirit."
*Is this...*
*Like a Christmas Eve apple, something that "brings good luck" after you eat it?*
*Even though it's useless... since she's giving it as a gift, it would be awkward not to accept it.*
Chen Yan nodded, smiled and thanked her, placing that single grain of rice into his shirt pocket.
Then he promptly forgot all about it.
He stood up, took out the leftover coffee grounds he had brewed yesterday morning from the counter, chewed them twice in his mouth, and bid farewell to Okami and Nuomiguo.
Watching Chen Yan leave, the apartment door closed with a *bang*.
Okami scratched his head, exchanged a glance with Nuomiguo, and then took off his filthy coat.
Under the dim kerosene light, the inside of his coat glittered with gold—
Sewn into the inner lining of Okami's clothes were thumb-sized pieces of pure gold.
"彼はいい人だ."
(He is a good person.)
Okami spoke, his voice devoid of much emotion.
Perhaps not good at expressing himself, Okami lacked excessive movements and words.
He looked at Nuomiguo, as if seeking the girl's opinion.
The girl's eyes were calm as water: "善人は当然の報いを得るべきだ."
(Good people should receive their due reward.)
Okami picked out the two largest pieces from the gold and placed them in a spot on the counter where the kerosene light couldn't reach.
Nuomiguo held the 20 pence worth of loose coins in her hands, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth.
"私たちはいい人と知り合いましたね."
(We've met a very nice person.)
Okami nodded, his tone deepening.
"来る途中で,汚れた血の匂いを嗅いだこの町で."
(On the way here, I smelled the scent of Tainted Blood, right in this city.)
Hearing him say this, Nuomiguo's expression became unprecedentedly serious.
"「死なない」ですか?"
(Are they [Undead]?)
Okami remained noncommittal.
"手を渡して初めてわかる."
(I won't know until we cross swords.)
Nuomiguo understood his meaning.
"出かけるの?"
(Are you going out today?)
Okami nodded.
"この町にはもっと恐ろしいものがある.私たちは速戦速決が必要だ."
(There are far more terrifying things in this city. We need to resolve our matters quickly.)
Nuomiguo didn't say anything more.
Having traveled all the way from Sakura Country to the Empire, the two had experienced too many life-and-death situations; most things didn't require verbal communication.
"オオカミ匹,気をつけて."
(Okami, be careful out there.)
——
——
At 5:50 AM, just before dawn, the first light had yet to break, and the night was still thick.
In the middle of Walker Street, the overnight snow had already been trampled flat by the commuting crowds.
But the snow piled up along the walls on both sides of the street could still reach an adult's knees.
There were many pedestrians on the street; these were workers rushing to their jobs.
They didn't have enough money to ride the steam bus and could only rely on their legs to commute.
Employed in various factories and manufacturing plants, they worked over 12 hours a day, with very little time to rest.
For breakfast, they could only eat black bread wrapped in old newspapers from street stalls—fresh out of the oven but stained with ink—without even mint gruel to wash it down.
The Empire's fleets had conquered half the world.
Massive amounts of silk, gold, and slaves were piled up in the ports, and a majestic utopia, just like in the history books, rose from the ground.
But all this had nothing to do with the workers.
As one of the workers, Chen Yan helplessly moved forward with the increasingly dense crowd, expending a great deal of effort just to squeeze onto the Route 306 Steam Bus.
The Route 306 Steam Bus, like other steam buses, departed from the central steam bus station in downtown Yharnam City, passing through:
Central Commercial Street (Terminal) — Yharnam Coffee Roasting Workshop — Victoria National Girls' High School — Choir Church — William Adams Maritime Group — Yharnam Central Forest Park — Yharnam Central Forest Park (Byrgenwerth Zoo Station) — High Street — Yharnam Public University (University City Station) — Walker Street — Industrial District (Flour Mill Station) (Terminus).
Byrgenwerth Zoo was actually a small section of "Yharnam Central Forest Park," located two blocks away from Walker Street.
For certain reasons, this small section was separated and became the Byrgenwerth Zoo.
From Walker Street to Byrgenwerth Zoo, the distance wasn't exactly long, but it wasn't short either.
Although it was only three stops, the distance between the stops wasn't that short—a full ten kilometers.
Chen Yan had once thought about running to work every day to save the 3-pence fare.
He even tried it once.
That time, he experienced just how terrifying a distance of ten kilometers was.
After that, he never brought up running to work again.
He boarded the bus and expertly held his breath,
automatically filtering out the unique body odor of the Imperials that occasionally drifted into his nostrils.
The Route 306 bus traversed the entirety of Yharnam City, making the demographics of its passengers quite complex.
There were upper-class lawyers, as well as workers laboring in the Lower City factories.
Some people didn't have washrooms at home, couldn't shower every day, and couldn't afford deodorant.
After a day of labor, the scent radiating from their bodies would be pungent and unbearable—
That was a smell unique to Imperials.
Asians didn't have this smell.
It was only after Chen Yan arrived in the Empire that he learned that, on average, Imperials had strong body odor and had to use spices and perfumes to mask it.
While his thoughts drifted on the steam bus, the moderate volume of the onboard radio filled the entire cabin:
"Now broadcasting a breaking news event:
Five minutes ago, a tragic traffic accident occurred on East High Street.
A vehicle crashed into a toy store. A family of three unfortunately perished. The culprit is on the run.
Please continue to follow the Yharnam Telegraph Agency; we will broadcast the follow-up for you as soon as possible..."
Most of the Empire's newspapers and telegraph agencies lacked a conscience.
Using fatal cases to promote their own media—such things were so common that the public was long accustomed to them, seeing nothing wrong with it.
What caught Chen Yan's attention was the location, "High Street."
High Street in Yharnam City was the gathering place for institutions of higher learning.
Of the top ten universities in the state of Waldfac, five were located on High Street.
If Chen Yan wanted to pursue advanced studies in animal medicine, he would eventually have to go to a university on High Street.
He had even chosen the school.
That school was located at the northernmost end of High Street, where University City bordered the Yharnam Grand Canal.
The college was named *Byrgenwerth*.