Chapter 103: They Throw Dirt at Me, So I Use Dirt to Update
“No, I know where he lives… that house… that house has a dead tree. He must still be there!” Anna grabbed the corner of her clothes tightly, but her voice became softer and softer, as if she was trying to convince herself.
“Anna, calm down. Right now, you need to use what’s in your head to think, not just act on impulse.”
“No. We’re going to see him now.”
Lisa sighed. As expected, Anna couldn’t stay serious for more than three minutes. She was still the same Anna.
When she wanted something, she had to get it. But once she got it, she would forget the pain and repeat the same cycle again and again.
Understanding this, Lisa didn’t say anything more. She knew Anna wouldn’t give up until she saw the result for herself. Right now, Anna wouldn’t listen to any advice anyway. Since she wanted to go, Lisa decided to go with her.
Most likely, it would end in failure. But if going there could help Anna calm down, then Lisa was willing to go along.
“You really want to see him?”
Lisa sounded tired. They had just finished dealing with Ron, and now they had to face Peiya again.
Or maybe Ron was just an accident, just someone who happened to appear and got lucky.
While thinking randomly, Lisa called a carriage and asked Anna for the address.
After getting the order, the carriage started moving with a steady sound. When they opened the curtain, they had already entered the old district.
Unlike the bright and grand main city, the old district felt like a completely different world.
It was dirty and messy. Some children by the roadside threw stones at the carriage.
Normally, people who didn’t have enough food should focus on finding something to eat. But in this kind of environment, many parents had little education and almost no control over their children.
Because of this, the children became even more wild. Even if they were punished by their parents, it probably wouldn’t change their behavior.
Being polite to important people wasn’t something these children needed to understand or follow. In fact, children from troubled families often blamed their parents for not being like the nobles sitting in the carriage.
“Why are those kids throwing stones at us?” Anna couldn’t help asking. She rarely came to the old district. The last time was probably during a charity event organized by the kingdom and the church.
Living in the upper class for so long, she had almost forgotten about places like this. Usually, she didn’t even think about them.
“Miss…” the driver spoke from the front, “this is normal in the old district. Please don’t open the door. We will arrive soon.”
“Are they just wild kids? Why are they so naughty?” Anna asked again.
“Not exactly. They have parents, but it’s almost the same as not having any. Here, survival is the most important thing. Rules and manners are things for important people. They can’t understand those things, because every day they are more worried about how to get enough food. If one child has a piece of bread, other children will watch him closely. The best way to deal with it is to eat it quickly. But if he eats it today, he might have nothing to eat tomorrow. That is the kind of problem they face.”
Anna’s eyes widened in shock. She suddenly remembered that Peiya had grown up in this kind of place.
“Anna…” Lisa looked out the window. At first, she only planned to accompany Anna for this trip…
When they truly entered the old district, the heavy atmosphere made it hard for Lisa to breathe.
This place was nothing like the main city, where buildings stood in neat rows. Here, the buildings were crowded together, fighting for every bit of space, almost blocking out the sky.
Especially the small shops. If one shop extended a little forward, the next one would try to push even further, placing things outside just to stand out more, almost like they wanted to push their store right into the customer’s face.
Not only that, almost every shop had a few tough-looking men standing at the door.
From their clean appearance, Lisa guessed they were not locals. They were probably hired by big merchants from the city, acting as local bosses here to avoid conflicts with powerful nobles in the main city.
At night, they probably didn’t stay in this poor area. They would definitely go back.
“We’ve arrived, miss. Do you want me to wait here? There won’t be many carriages going back. If you need me, it will cost 10 copper coins.”
“So much…” Anna was about to speak, but Lisa quickly cut her off.
“Ten copper coins. We’ll pay you later. Just wait at the corner over there. We still have something to do.”
“Alright.” The driver agreed quickly. Going back now would be a wasted trip anyway, so he might as well take the chance.
After the driver left, Lisa let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go, Anna. You never told me Peiya lived in a place like this. I thought he was the type of ‘wandering adventurer’ we joke about, those who don’t even have a home.”
“…It’s not that different.”
Anna suddenly felt her face getting a little hot. Now that she was really here, her earlier worries suddenly felt childish.
“This place doesn’t even look as good as Sean’s doghouse. I kind of understand now why he liked staying there before.”
Lisa forced a smile. “Why do I feel like… you were the one who made him sleep in the doghouse?”
“I…” Anna’s voice suddenly rose. “I just told him not to touch me at night. I didn’t tell him to go sleep in the doghouse!”
“What’s the difference? With his personality, if you said that, he definitely wouldn’t touch you,” Lisa sighed. “Talking more won’t help. Let’s go in.”
“You’ve changed. Before, you were always harsh to him. I don’t understand, why are you speaking for him now? Don’t tell me you like him?”
Anna looked at Lisa with a bit of suspicion. After all, she had heard the saying, be careful of both enemies and close friends.
“How is that possible? After the way I treated him, if I still liked him, wouldn’t that just be pathetic and disgusting?”
“You…” Anna hesitated. “…at least you’re honest about it.”
“Tch. Back then, I talked like that just to support you. And honestly, I was already a bad student with no friends in class. I just followed you for these past years and didn’t cause any big trouble. As for… Peiya, after these past days, I’ve thought it through. Maybe, just like Victoria said, I was just stupid. I didn’t realize how strong he was before…”
“...And the worst part is… not long ago, I even lied to Victoria. Do you know? Peiya’s ability has already been noticed by the Holy Academy. He doesn’t need to rely on anyone now. So honestly, if you drag me to apologize, it would just be like throwing dirt at him. The best apology I can give is probably to stay far away from him.”
“What? When did the Holy Academy approach him? Lisa, how many things are you hiding from me?”
Anna, who had just calmed down, was shaken again by Lisa’s words.
Why did it feel like, among all her teammates, she, the captain, was the only one left in the dark?