Information about the streets, dealers, district overlords, territories, all the kinds of things Ariel knew, none of it had ever felt like something he’d deliberately thought hard about. He just happened to know these things, because that was exactly what survival in the Slums required.
One hundred fifty, just for information this simple?
He couldn’t tell whether he’d just crossed paths with some generous benefactor or someone who was just messing with him for fun. But when Ariel asked why the man had paid him such an enormous amount for that, the man had shot back with an expression just as puzzled:
"What are you talking about? Useless? Thanks to your information and knowledge, wasn’t I able to get past every obstacle and reach my goal that fast?"
’That’s... actually a fair point.’
Since the man clearly had no idea how the Slums worked. It was obvious he’d have gotten hopelessly lost wandering around on his own, but with a girl calling him "Master" alongside him, they clearly weren’t just some ordinary rich folks.
And they definitely weren’t the type who’d end up getting beaten up around here.
Trailing a good distance behind the man, Ariel found himself lost in thought. He’d never once considered that information could be used this way before.
"What’s with that expression? Huh huh... Are you touched? How adorable~"
Across from him, Kina let out a giggle, clearly amused. Her teasing voice carried such a distinct edge that it made Ariel startle, his whole body flushing hot with irritation.
"Shut up!"
"Kyaaa~ so scary."
Ignoring her blatant act, Ariel’s gaze locked back onto the man’s back once more. He hesitated, but eventually decided to turn to Kina and ask:
"Sorry if this is a little forward of me... but, could I know who you two actually are? I... I’d at least like to know the identity of the person who saved me."
Hearing that, Kina paused for a moment, let out a low hum, and flashed a sweet smile.
"Oh, what’s this, what’s this? Are you curious about this pretty older sister’s identity? Sorry, but I’m just not into younger guys, you know."
"Ugh...! Who’s curious about you? I’m way more curious about him."
Ariel looked away, glancing toward Julian, who kept walking without so much as a glance back. Kina huffed, pouting, clicking her tongue while muttering something under her breath about how unpleasant that was.
Then she let out a small sigh, "You want to know about Master?"
Hearing that last word, that same word that always left him wondering, Ariel nodded, glancing at Kina and lowering his voice:
"You keep calling him Master, do you two have some kind of Disciple and Master relationship?"
Fundamentally, even in this world, something like a Disciple and Master relationship was genuinely rare. Most Hunters were trained through the Academy, occasionally receiving guidance from senior members, but that never rose to the level of an actual Master-Disciple bond, just Student and Professor.
"Yeah, pretty much," Kina answered without a shred of hesitation. "And if you’re asking who he actually is, well, I don’t know either, you know."
"Eh? Why not? I thought you two were close?"
Kina shrugged, a little wistfully, "Master’s identity isn’t as simple as it looks, you know. See this black coat covering my face right now? It belongs to Master. You’d never find anything like this anywhere in this day and age. Because, it comes from a distant past."
Strangely, Kina said all of that without a shred of doubt in her voice. She’d already convinced herself of her Master’s identity, arriving at her own conclusion through her own unique logic.
Despite having only just met him, she’d already been shaped this much by the way Julian carried himself.
Ariel, hearing all this, looked utterly lost. He turned it over in his head, trying to make sense of what someone’s identity could possibly have to do with a black coat from some distant era. But then it clicked.
"Ah. Could it be...!"
Ariel startled, but before he could say another word, Kina clamped a hand over his mouth. She smiled nervously, cold sweat beading beneath the hood of that black coat.
"Uh... don’t tell anyone."
’I totally forgot, Master wants a quiet life. If I let his identity slip out, what’s going to happen?’
Seeing Kina panic like this, visibly frightened, Ariel was suddenly confronted with the unknown weight of something clearly dangerous, his expression darkening as he nodded his head.
’That’s classified information!? Then why is she telling me all this?’
So Ariel realized he’d probably need to guard this information carefully, making absolutely sure he never let it slip carelessly to anyone.
Kina let out a breath of relief, pressing a hand to her chest and smiling nervously. Her eyes flicked, trembling, toward her Master, then she leaned in close to Ariel and whispered.
"Anyway, that’s how it is. If he ever says something to you, make sure you really think it through, you might end up finding some incredible help in there. Because, that’s just how he is."
After that, Kina patted his shoulder, jogged off toward her Master, wrapped both arms around his and flashed a bright, cheerful smile.
Left behind, Ariel stood there, thoroughly confused. He had no idea what to say, but since Kina had said all that, maybe he should just try trusting her on it?
Besides, thinking it over again, hadn’t what Kina said already proven true once already? Ariel was only just realizing it now.
That line he’d heard not long ago, hadn’t it actually carried a surprising amount of information that could genuinely help him survive?
’Information... right... if I have plenty of information, couldn’t I sell it to someone else too, not just this rich guy?’
For a moment, Ariel felt his heart pound hard. And after that, he looked at Julian with pure, unfiltered admiration.
It was a spark of hope, one that had nearly gone dark after so long, flaring back to life.
Once they left the narrow alley behind and made it back to the main streets of the Slums, Julian and Kina were finally about to part ways with Ariel.
Ariel had absolutely no regrets about any of this. He’d walked away with enough money to feed his little sister for the next few weeks.
So he should’ve felt satisfied by now, or, at least, that’s what he thought.
"Sir... could I ask you something?" Ariel couldn’t hold himself back. He’d already received so much help, but there was one question that kept nagging at him.
Julian turned around, looking at him with the same indifferent expression as always.
"What is it?"
"It’s about the information...!" Ariel paused for a moment, feeling his heart pound, then finally spoke, his voice pitching slightly higher but still soft and respectful:
"What am I supposed to do when I don’t have any relevant information to share or sell?"
Hearing that, Julian tilted his head. He blinked a few times, genuinely confused.
’Huh? What? Why’s he asking me this?’
Julian wondered. What exactly was going through Ariel’s head to make him suddenly bring up something like this?
As far as he could tell, he hadn’t specifically taught the kid anything about business, right?
’But... this isn’t actually bad, is it? If this kid can survive by selling information, then teaching him would be the smart move. Especially since I might come back to him whenever I need information myself. Yeah! Connections are incredibly useful! If this kid succeeds, I’ll get to reap a little benefit from it too.’
A smile crept onto Julian’s face. It was a small smile, but to anyone else, it was a genuinely rare sight, since Julian himself almost never smiled. Even when he did, it was so faint it was nearly impossible to catch.
"You don’t need to go looking for it all on your own, do you? There are plenty of eyes watching everything around here."
Like the other kids. Julian suggested Ariel ask around among them, or a few adults who might be friendly enough. Ariel could probably gather information from them easily enough that way.
Hearing that, Ariel looked genuinely enlightened. His eyes flashed with admiration, and he’d long since dropped every trace of the arrogant, prickly attitude he’d shown Julian earlier, bowing his head low.
"Thank you, sir! I’ll remember this for the rest of my life."
Julian gave a nod, "Don’t overdo it like that. I got information, you got money, it’s a fair trade."
Then he fell quiet for a moment, thinking it over, before adding:
"I’ll be heading out now. Someday, I’ll come back to the Slums and find you when I need help or information again, that’s not asking too much, is it?"
Julian had no idea that the boy standing before him was practically burning with excitement, brimming with fiery determination. His eyes shone with pure, radiant hope as he nodded with fierce resolve.
"Yes! Sir, I’ll definitely do exactly as you say."
"...?"
Even though Ariel’s choice of words came out a little strange, Julian decided to just nod along anyway. He said his goodbyes and left with Kina.
As for Ariel, he stood there, watching Julian’s back grow smaller and smaller in the distance. His gaze stayed locked on, refusing to look away, until suddenly he jolted.
"Ah! Damn it! I forgot to ask their names... Ugh...!"
He winced, genuinely disappointed, wanting to chase after them, but it already felt too awkward now, especially with how far they’d gotten. Ariel looked at Julian, then down at his own hands, then back up at the white gloves the man wore.
Something that rare in this world was, well...
"White gloves look really cool on him too..."
Ariel glanced around at his surroundings.
A smile spread across his face.
"Yeah. Really cool."
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