CHAPTER 41: DON’T BUY THIS CHAPTER YET!

Walking from the forest to the city, then from the market district to the port, and now deep into the West Borough without a single rest, the fatigue finally caught up to me. My whole body was burning out.

On top of that, the sun blazed overhead like it had a personal grudge against me.

I was sweating buckets, and with every step, my body grew stickier and heavier. Not to mention, this body wasn’t in great shape to begin with.

But more importantly, I suddenly realized how badly this had screwed up my brilliant plan of setting up the new ero-massage program!

This was supposed to be perfect. I had the massage skill inherited from the original Aiden’s memory, and with the "Sensual Touch" skill on top of that, I was sure I could bring in plenty of customers and finish the main quest just in time.

But now?

If everyone’s started avoiding my parlor like it’s the plague, how am I supposed to get any customers?

Fuck! Who the hell started spreading this crap?

Could it be the Sadis Gang again? Of course, it had to be their doing again! That would explain everything. News about my capture spread far too fast. And knowing the Sadis Gang specialized in gathering and leaking information, it wasn’t a stretch to think they were behind this too.

Honestly, it was a miracle I’d made it this far at all.

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I couldn’t help but miss my old motorbike. Even though in a sense, it was only less than a day old since I last saw it.

How great would it be if I could bring all my stuff from Earth here with me...

"Sigh... How is it that my first day in another world had to be so miserable that it needed me to run to many places at once? It would be nothing if I were a fan of marathons or jogging, but sadly, I’m not. This was definitely not how I imagined spending my first day after getting isekai’d."

Despite all the complaints, I kept on walking, though my pace had grown slower, almost like a snail.

For a moment, I regretted giving all the money I had taken from the thug I knocked out to the starving girl. But when I remembered the look on her face, the way her eyes lit up, and the joy in the other kids when she ran back to them with the money, that regret vanished almost instantly.

I hurriedly shook my head, and carried on my journey while gritting my teeth.

...

When I finally entered the West Borough, I was surprised to find it wasn’t as crowded or bustling as I had imagined.

Everyone knew it was the most populated district in the city. But compared to the chaos of the market or the busy dock, what I experienced can be described to be only mildly noisy.

Then it hit me. It was already noon.

Most of the residents were probably already long off working or looking for work in other districts of the city. Richie was a perfect example. He left at sunrise every day to unload cargo at the docks and didn’t come back until late afternoon.

Still, a few people lingered on the main street, mostly women and children. It made sense as they were likely the families of workers who had already left earlier in the morning.

And of course, there were plenty of vagrants lining the sidewalks.

What really caught my attention, though, was just how many vagrants there were. Dozens, maybe more, lying on the ground, huddled under torn, rugged blankets, or slumped against walls.

And yet, the people walking by barely reacted. Their expressions were normal, as if they’d long since grown used to the sight. It was nothing new to them.

As I went deeper into the district, the number of vagrants grew. Some storefronts were completely blocked by sleeping bodies, making it impossible to even open the doors.

Amidst my observation, I suddenly heard something.

"You low-life bastards! Don’t you have anything better to do than loiter in front of my shop?!"

The shout was so loud it brought everything to a halt. People stopped what they were doing and turned their heads toward the source.

Naturally, my attention was drawn too. No way I’d just walk past a commotion like that. I mean, who turns down free entertainment? Ignoring it would’ve been a total waste."

As I looked over, I spotted two men in a heated argument. One was clearly a Radhanian, judging by his dark skin and massive build. The other was a vagrant, thin, with matted hair and clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in ages.

Just then, the vagrant shouted back.

"Shut up! It’s not like we purposely chose to sleep here!"

"Then go sleep somewhere else!"

"I can’t, there are no other places for me to go."

"That’s your problem! What’s it got to do with me?!"

Then I saw her begin addressing the people nearby, calmly instructing them to help the injured store owner and guiding the crowd to settle down.

With just a few words, she took control of the situation.

I couldn’t help but be impressed. The way she handled everything so naturally, with such authority... If it were me in her place, I’d have frozen on the spot.

But then I was reminded of her identity.

If she really was the daughter of Victor Serena, her ability to handle a crowd made perfect sense.

Her father was the head of a gang. As his daughter, she’d naturally have some experience giving orders and taking control.

Though, calling it a gang might be a bit of a stretch.

From what I could tell, the Workers operated more like a labor union than a typical criminal group. They didn’t extort protection fees from random people or businesses like most gangs did. Instead, they only collected dues from their members, and those members actually received real benefits in return.

Based on what I could piece together from my memories, membership in the Workers came with certain protections. Employers were less likely to abuse or exploit Workers-affiliated laborers.

There were probably a lot more benefits to being part of the Workers, especially considering nearly every laborer in the West Borough had joined. But the original Aiden hadn’t paid much attention to the details.

’If I really wanted to know more, I could just ask Richie. I remember he’s a member too. Huh... maybe not all of the Five Rings are bad after all,’ I muttered under my breath.

My eyes drifted to Esther, now surrounded by a group of Radhanians demanding to take the vagrant with them.

The other, nearby vagrants had stirred up from their slumber and now trembled with fear, unsure of what would happen next.

I watched them for a few more seconds before turning away and continuing on my way.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that, the moment I walked off, Esther’s eyes followed me intently. Her hand, which had been resting tensely on her hip, immediately relaxed.

"Phew... that guy feels dangerous..."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

...

After the stabbing incident, I didn’t run into any hidden quests or unexpected events.

In fact, things were so quiet, I started to wonder if I had somehow wandered into the wrong district... because this didn’t feel like the West Borough at all!

According to my memories, the West Borough was crawling with criminals. You had to constantly watch your back, pickpockets, random thugs demanding protection fees, and if you refused, they wouldn’t hesitate to rough you up or even stab you. On top of that, there was always the risk of being swarmed by desperate, hungry vagrants.

But strangely enough, I encountered none of that.

’What’s with the sudden peace and quiet?’ I thought to myself, scanning my surroundings.

Soon, I spotted a man leaning against the wooden railing of his house, puffing on a tobacco roll.

I walked over and cleared my throat.

It had become a habit of mine to clear my throat to get someone’s attention instead of waving or saying hello. Saved me the trouble of speaking too much. And clearly, it worked.

The man instantly took notice of my presence, glanced over, and eyed me with suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Kekeke, I’m just a nobody," I blurted out, following my intrusive thought.

I initially wanted to try to lighten the mood by starting off a friendly laugh, but what I didn’t expect was that what came out of my mouth sounded more like a creepy giggle than anything else.

’Fuck, what did I just say?’

I froze. And so did the other guy before he took a few steps back. I could feel his suspicion spike almost instantly.

"Wait, wait! I’m just kidding! I’m harmless, really. Can’t you tell?" I hurriedly raised both hands, palms open, trying to show I meant no harm and came in peace as I noticed him edging toward his door.

Upon hearing my words, he stopped retreating but still kept a safe distance between

The vagrant suddenly pointed his finger at him. "It’s got everything to do with you! You damn Radhanian! Your people took our jobs, took our land! You think we ended up like this because of nothing? Go back to where you came from, you dark-skinned ape!"

"What did you just say to me?! I was born and raised in this city, longer than you’ve probably been alive. Don’t you dare blame your failures on me or my race!"