Allen soon found the “Dark Hall” where the commissions were posted.
Before entering, he instructed Finn, “I’m going in to handle something. You can wait outside here with this young lady for a while.”
“Yes, Young Master,” Finn replied respectfully.
After Allen left, Finn and the girl leading the way fell into an even more awkward silence.
In truth, there wasn’t much to say between them.
At this point, Finn wasn’t surprised by how things had developed. He understood her helplessness, and she understood his sympathy.
It was precisely because of this mutual understanding that the pain was even more profound.
After a moment, Finn finally spoke, his voice a little dry. “I thought… I would never see you again. Actually… I’m glad to see you once more. But… seeing you like this… I’m sorry.”
The girl understood the unsaid words behind his.
She lowered her head, suddenly recalling that sunny afternoon when they first met.
She knew Finn was from the Grey World, a thief, a criminal. But at the time, her heart softened, and she hid him.
Since then, the boy often came to her under the pretense of buying flowers just to chat. How could she not see through his innocent feelings?
But her father had warned her sternly not to get involved with someone like him—that it would only bring trouble.
She never imagined that the trouble would not come from her, but rather that her father would fall deep into underground gambling, losing everything, including her and her mother.
She became what they called a “Contract Slave.” Only by repaying the enormous debt could she regain freedom.
Yet, facing such terrifying debts, freedom was nothing but an unattainable dream.
She was forced to become part of this underworld, probably unable to escape it for the rest of her life.
Now, reunited with the boy who once cared for her, she was no longer that innocent and kind flower seller.
She had a price tag on her head, soon to become someone else’s plaything.
Finn’s pity stabbed her heart like a needle.
“50 livers…” she almost bit her teeth as she struggled to say the words, her tone filled with a desperate resignation, “My first time is worth this much. If you have the money… you could buy me and make me your house slave.”
She even used polite language. She knew Finn couldn’t possibly afford such an amount; saying this was just to tell him she had fallen so low, even beneath him—a mere “thief”—and that he should stop holding onto any illusions.
Yet Finn remained silent for a moment before asking a completely unexpected question: “Do you know… where the Guild Leader’s office is?”
The girl was stunned.
Why was he asking this? Could it be he really had a way to get the money? But how could that be?
Seeing her confusion, Finn smiled with a confidence she had never seen before. “That person just now is the master I serve now. I sold myself for a good price. I think this money might be enough to buy your freedom.”
Though only a faint glimmer of hope, the girl couldn’t help but tremble a little inside.
“Why… go this far for me?”
“Because I once liked you,” Finn said frankly, his gaze clear, “Whenever I was about to fall completely into darkness, I would remember the little light you once gave me. It was that light that made me grit my teeth and hold on to the last bit of humanity.”
“That perseverance brought me salvation, and I found my true purpose.”
“I’m grateful to you, so I want to repay you.”
“Sorry…” The girl finally let tears fall freely. “Actually, I liked you too.”
Countless grievances burst forth in that moment, and she couldn’t help but lean on Finn’s shoulder, quietly sobbing.
But she still dared not believe she could truly be free.
“I know it’s hard for you to believe me now,” Finn lowered his voice near her ear, but his tone was firm, “But if you really want freedom, tell us where it is.”
The girl looked into Finn’s eyes—different from before, filled with seriousness and sharpness—and suddenly thought of another terrifying possibility, shivering, “Y-you don’t mean… no! You’d lose your life doing that!”
Finn narrowed his eyes. “So, you know, don’t you?”
Seemingly intimidated by the strange and powerful side of Finn suddenly revealed, the girl hesitated before whispering, “He often changes locations, but I know where he’s been recently. He wanted to sell me to a Big Shot and met me alone to discuss… I memorized the route.”
“That’s enough. Trust me,” Finn’s voice carried undeniable strength. “I’ll come back here in a few days. When you see me then, find me. I will give you freedom.”
He looked at her bewildered eyes and continued, “You once asked me if a sunflower would continue to bloom if it always grew in the dark. At the time, I couldn’t answer.”
“Now, I’ve found the answer. It will. It definitely will. Please believe that.”
In the girl’s once vacant and numb eyes, a faint light named hope finally flickered back to life.
At that moment, a bald, burly man preparing to enter the “Dark Hall” noticed the two standing at the entrance.
He recognized Finn and wore an exaggerated expression of surprise and mockery. “Yo! Isn’t this ‘Sparrow’? What the hell—trash from the gutters—has the nerve to come to headquarters?”
Finn knew him. He was a small gang leader monopolizing protection fees for a quarter of the Lower District, always looking down on the poor and shabby Wild Dog Gang.
If the Guild hadn’t banned internal fights, he would have swallowed the Wild Dog Gang long ago.
Before Finn could reply, the bald man continued mocking, “Oh—I get it! Your Wild Dog Gang can’t even pay the lowest protection fees, huh? Running here to beg? Hahaha! Can’t even pick up the bones others have thrown away?”
He spat at Finn’s feet, then leered at the girl beside him and curled his lips. “Tch, still a little kid who hasn’t grown up, boring.” With that, he swaggered into the Dark Hall.
Finn watched his back with no anger, only pity.
This bald man was still living in that old world of survival of the fittest, while Finn Hawk had already taken a step toward the light.
There was no longer a “Wild Dog Gang” in this world—only the Dawn’s Children seeking revenge against the old order!
“Sparrow… I…” The girl wanted to say something more.
Finn looked at her and smiled confidently. “Let me introduce myself: I’m Finn Hawk. The free ‘Sparrow’ has fled to the mountains, and from now on, people will remember my name well.”
Allen, entering the Dark Hall, had no idea that Finn had already provided him with the most crucial intelligence and an inside contact.
Before searching for their target, he first went to the bulletin board, scanning the publicly posted commissions written in coded slang, trying to catch any clues of changes.
“Hm… Looking for a large dog that’s in heat and lost… who even posts trash like this?” Allen muttered quietly. “Look at the pay… hey! 200 livers? That definitely isn’t a dog… probably some noble’s kid or servant ran off with someone, and they want help to catch them.”
“Urgent need for guards to transport goods, 300… tsk, this is human traffickers looking for partners.”
“Buying ‘Parrots,’ must be ‘eloquent,’ price negotiable. Yep, still selling people…”
“Urgently need ‘nimble workers’ to clear ‘blocked chimneys,’ 50 upfront. Judging by the pay, probably an ordinary middle-class citizen murder.”
Looking over the dense, dark commissions, Allen once again lamented the filthy depths hidden beneath the city’s glamorous surface.
At that moment, a man came up beside Allen. He seemed to have overheard Allen’s earlier complaints and suddenly understood. “So that commission about looking for a dog means this! No wonder I always get laughed at or refused when I try to take on simple jobs!”
Then, he suddenly threw an arm around Allen’s shoulder with a friendly enthusiasm and said, “Brother! You seem like you know your stuff! How about we team up and make some money together? I’m strong, trust me! Pay’s negotiable—fifty-fifty! Or you take sixty, I take forty, that works too!”
“Who are you?” Allen frowned, uncomfortable with such intrusive contact, and turned to face the newcomer.
The young man was about Allen’s age, tall and upright, with messy but vibrant brown short hair, a smile as bright as midday sun, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.
He wore an obviously aged knight’s armor. Although polished clean, the scratches and dents showed it had seen many battles, creating a curious contrast to his sunny disposition.
“Eh?” Allen was stunned when he recognized the face. “It’s you?!”
This was none other than one of the main ‘seme’ characters from 《Starlit Romance》—Hugo du Bernard! A chivalric knight bearing the Sun Emblem, whose personality was as warm and bright as the sun!
In the original work, he paired explosively well with Livia von Stern, who bore the Star Emblem—one was the sun, the other the stars. Just hearing that sounded like a perfect match.
Their personalities also complemented each other: Hugo was a hot-blooded, slightly dense justice-driven fool, while Livia, though no fool, was an extreme justice zealot. They were truly a perfect fit in terms of character.
In 《Starlit Romance》, Hugo was a master swordsman with a highly pure emblem bloodline and supreme confidence in his strength.
Until he met Livia after enrollment, feeling overshadowed by her at every turn, he vowed to defeat her and prove he was the strongest.
In the entrance combat test, they battled all the way to the finals, where Hugo was narrowly defeated by Livia.
Livia acknowledged his strength, and Hugo regarded her as a rival he must surpass. For the next three years, he persistently pursued her, trying to overcome this ‘overpowered’ phoenix.
In Hugo’s personal route, his sunny disposition gradually melted the icy exterior of Livia, touching the heart that secretly longed for closeness.
In the end, Livia chose to become a chivalric knight alongside him, traveling the land fighting for justice.
That route was very sweet—the daily interactions between the passionate Hugo and the cold Livia were a perfect comedy!
At the end of Hugo’s route, after Livia was ‘conquered,’ her first genuine, radiant smile was like a goddess descending!
Besides the Marianne route, Allen personally favored this one. Though the plot was a bit bland, it at least had a happy ending!
“……”
Wait a minute… something’s off? Livia is technically my fiancée, right? Is it weird for me to judge her performance in another guy’s route? Isn’t this some kind of ‘poison point’?
Forget it! Whatever! Livia can do whatever she wants!
She’s a side character anyway, totally not my type, and can never really be my fiancée.
She can be with whoever she wants, just as long as she doesn’t pester me—the villainous young master she hates!
Games are games; reality is reality.
In reality, although Hugo du Bernard hasn’t ‘killed’ Allen that many times, he is a main character.
As a villain, Allen must avoid those glowing protagonists.
Those people are natural villains’ nemeses! They’re Allen’s bane!
“You know me?” Hugo asked with surprise, pointing to his nose.
“Uh… m-mistaken identity! Sorry to bother you!” Allen quickly found an excuse and tried to slip away. “I have something to do, an appointment! I have to go!”
“Hey? Wait, brother!” Hugo scratched his messy hair, watching Allen nearly flee in panic. “Feels like he really knows me… and why does he look kinda familiar…”
Allen shook off Hugo and successfully found the informant and contact left by the War Hound mercenary group.
The conversation went smoothly; the man promised to notify their captain, who would come to the Laval House tomorrow morning to discuss the employment contract.
After completing the task, Allen met up with Finn again and returned to the surface under the girl’s guidance.
This time, Allen clearly felt a subtle but indescribable tacit understanding and delicate intimacy between the two, more than when they had come.
Allen couldn’t help but mock himself silently: Not bad, kid—you’re already charming the ladies; a true expert in the field.
After leaving the Forgotten Madonna, Finn shared his gains with Allen.
Learning that they had obtained key intelligence about the Guild Leader’s office and a potential insider, Allen was ecstatic.
It seemed the plan to purge the Thieves’ Guild would go more smoothly than expected!
However… why was that guy Hugo at the Thieves’ Guild headquarters?
Allen couldn’t help but feel a trace of worry.
That guy’s combat power was no less than Livia’s—a monster in his own right.
If he sided with the Thieves’ Guild, things would get complicated.
Was there any way for ordinary people to defeat those monsters who housed the power of the Emblems?
Allen looked up at the night sky, dimly red-tinted by the city’s lights, suddenly stirred by an indescribable emotion.
“Finn,” he suddenly asked, “How do you feel tonight?”
At this moment, the night was deep. The Forgotten Madonna inn still bustled with all sorts of people.
The daytime’s accumulated heat and filth mixed with the fishy tide air of the canal, lingering in the air like a visible, heavy, and sticky evil.
Yet, a breeze blew gently from the river at this moment, carrying a refreshing coolness that quietly swept away the area’s stagnation.
It passed over the dark water, stirring tiny silent ripples, brushing lightly across Allen and Finn’s faces, also clearing away the last of the confusion in Finn’s heart.
Feeling the fresh wind, Finn’s mind cleared. He answered seriously, “You… might really not be the Young Master Laval I once knew. Who exactly are you? You’re greater than I imagined.”
“Who knows,” Allen gazed into the distance. Marianne’s figure, along with Nightingale and Shadow, were safely returning, blending into the night. He said wryly, “Maybe… just an impractical idealist.”
“Your ideals,” Finn said firmly, as if stating an inevitable fact, “will definitely change this world.”
“Let’s hope so,” Allen smiled, his gaze returning to the deep night sky.
Beneath the night sky, a kind of life—not purely pure but truly existing—was quietly stirring.
It did not belong to the flower squares under the sunlight, nor to the aristocratic Champs-Élysées; it belonged only to this land struggling to survive in the mud yet nurturing new life in the dark.
Above the night sky, a few particularly stubborn stars struggled to pierce through the city’s light pollution, silently scattering faint but eternal rays upon the flowing dark river, the undulating rooftops, and those walking beneath the shadows who always kept their hearts toward the light.
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