The World of this Fantasy Novel is in Crisis

Cain cut Satin off before he could ramble on any further.

“Did you check the trash?”

“Yeah, I saw him carrying a sack out through the side door.”

“You mean the kitchen side door.”

“Yeah, but you can’t open it from the outside.”

The kitchen was located directly below them, but it was far more spacious. The second floor had six bedrooms, while the first floor consisted solely of the kitchen and dining room.

Cain didn’t know the exact layout of the kitchen. A large portion of the space where Rufus handled ingredients and cooked was hidden behind a wall. Cain figured it was probably a remodeled section—built in later. The door looked different from the others.

He tried to picture the unseen area behind it.

“There’s probably a room back there where that fuzzball stays. I doubt he curls up in a cauldron to sleep.”

It wasn’t meant to be funny, but Satin let out a small laugh. Cain stared at him, and Satin quickly straightened his expression as if he hadn’t laughed at all.

“So that door didn’t lead straight to the storage room, huh. Kind of creepy if the bedrooms are that close to the underground waterways. I heard there are a lot of rats.”

As Satin finished speaking, he seemed lost in thought, probably trying to picture the hidden structure of the kitchen. Cain smirked to himself.

Who’s worried about who, exactly?

If it wasn’t a purpose-built storage room but just an old sewer being reused, then the entrance likely wasn’t that big.

It could be the kind where you lift a hatch in the floor to go in—like the hidden space under the floor in the confession room.

Though it probably isn’t as secretive as that.

In any case, unless they were storing the trash sacks down in the waterway, that area wasn’t something to worry about. There’s no way they’d keep food supplies and garbage in the same space.

…No way.

Then again, you never know. The filth of filthy people knows no limits. Cain had seen all kinds of people during his time on the streets. The one thing this place had going for it was that, compared to the streets, it was far more hygienic.

“Hey, but listen.”

Satin’s eyes lit up as if he’d just had an idea. Cain already expected it’d be something absurd but nodded for him to go on anyway.

“What if we could get somewhere else through the sewer?”

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Old sewers are basically mazes. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll find a way out somewhere weird. But if you’re not, you’ll just wander around until you die.”

Satin looked down at Cain with an unreadable expression, unsure whether to believe him or not. Cain considered warning him again not to even think about going down there, but he stopped himself.

He’s not a kid. He can decide for himself. And besides, just getting to the sewer entrance wouldn’t be easy anyway.

Putting the sewer talk behind them, they returned to the original topic.

“First, we need to get that fuzzball out of the way. We have to find out where he puts that sack.”

“He’s probably storing it somewhere around there anyway, so what’s the point of checking? The space isn’t even that big.”

“It’s better to be sure than to assume.”

If they sneaked in based on a hunch and got caught before even getting close to the objective, then what?

Satin nodded, murmuring to himself.

“You’re really thorough, Cain.”

It was meant as praise, but somehow didn’t feel like it. Cain frowned, and Satin gave a sheepish smile and looked away. Yeah, it wasn’t really a compliment.

Cain clicked his tongue, not amused.

“Anyway, we’ll check it out tonight.”

“That soon?”

Satin’s eyes widened. Cain replied flatly.

“Or wait until I’m dead.”

***

Rufus pulled a box out from under his bed. When he opened the lid, a smile crept across his face. The money he’d received in wages over time had piled up neatly inside.

This is the only thing that brings me joy.

After making sure every coin was perfectly aligned, Rufus pushed the box back under the bed. Then he flopped onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling as old memories surfaced.

Two years ago, Rufus had been standing outside a restaurant in Cloverland, looking at a job posting. An old man had approached him, asked where he was from, and then offered him work. Rufus had scoffed, asking who in their right mind would go all the way out there for a job.

And rightly so. It was a forest three hours away from the nearest city by carriage—longer if you had a loaded cart. No drinking buddies to unwind with after work, and the place was crawling with kids you had to take care of. It sounded like a nightmare. He had absolutely no intention of going.

However, Rufus ended up coming here in the end. The pay they offered wasn’t just generous—it was downright dreamlike for a rookie cook from the countryside. Whatever reluctance he had melted away in an instant.

They said if he worked just three years, he could open his own restaurant. Who cared where it was? Even if it had been on an island in the middle of the ocean instead of a remote forest, he would’ve gone.

Preparing meals for more than ten people all by himself wasn’t easy. He’d barely finish breakfast before it was time to start on lunch. Sit down for just a moment, and it was already dinner. After the sun went down, he had to begin prepping for the next morning.

It was a monotonous job, but the steadily growing pile of money made it bearable.

The school’s atmosphere was surprisingly decent. He’d been worried that the delinquents might end up stealing things out of old habits, but nothing of the sort ever happened.

Maybe it was because they’d lived on the streets, but they were all quick to read the room. They knew getting kicked out for causing trouble would only hurt themselves.

There were occasional moments when things felt a little… off, but Rufus never tried to dig deeper. He’d only come here to earn money, and that was all he needed to do.

Maybe I’ll have a smoke.

Someone from the merchant caravan earlier in the day had shared some tobacco leaves, saying he must get lonely out here. There was enough for maybe four or five smokes. One tonight wouldn’t hurt.

“Rufus, you in there?”

A voice called out.

Who the hell’s coming by at this hour?

Rufus groaned as he got up and shuffled out of his room. In the dim light, his foot caught on the sewer hatch and he nearly stumbled.

“Damn it!”

Even though no one had seen him, Rufus clicked his tongue in embarrassment.

This layout really sucks.

Every few days, he tripped on it. Without fail.

When you came in from the hallway into the kitchen, there was a door tucked in the back. The kids never came into the kitchen unless they wanted snacks, so they probably had no idea what lay beyond that door.

Two years ago, the old man had divided what used to be a storage/pantry in half. The inner part had been remodeled into a room for the cook, while the rest was left as-is.

The room couldn’t extend further because of the sewer entrance. The low, well-shaped hatch was awkward to cover or block.

When Rufus had first started working here, he’d stacked ingredients over the hatch. It stayed cool in that spot, which was convenient. But one day, a thought crossed his mind.

Why not just store it inside the sewer? That’d free up the floor and make it easier to move around.

He didn’t hesitate to put that thought into action. The area around the now-cleared hatch quickly filled with something else. He started putting trash bags there—the kind meant for selling off. It was so much more convenient.

Leave it outside and wild animals will tear it apart.

Sure, keeping garbage in front of his room wasn’t exactly a pretty sight—but who cared? Comfort came first.

“Rufus, are you in there?”

He crossed the dark kitchen and approached the door, hearing the voice call out again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

By now, he could tell whose voice it was. Only two boys in this school had voices deep enough to have passed through puberty: Satin and Cain.

He flung the door open. Satin, who had been about to knock, blinked wide-eyed.

“What’s going on in the middle of the night? If you’re here to ask for a midnight snack, I swear I’ll beat the dust out of you.”

“It’s nothing like that. I need your help with something.”

This was the first time someone had ever come to him and asked for help like this, so Rufus was a little taken aback.

“With what?”

“Just come see.”

Without offering any explanation, Satin turned on his heel and walked ahead. Rufus, clueless about what was going on, followed after him. As they climbed the stairs, he asked,

“Did you tell the old man?”

“Oh, it’s not something I can really talk to the teacher about.”

Not something you can tell the old man, but you can tell me? What kind of crap is that?

Rufus tilted his head but didn’t press further. He’d find out soon enough anyway.

When they reached the second floor, Satin turned down the east hallway—the one with the kids’ bedrooms. As far as Rufus knew, Satin’s room was the very last one down the hall. He supposedly shared it with Cain.

The hallway was dead quiet, save for the soft sound of their footsteps. It was too late for the kids to still be awake. They all followed a strict routine: early to bed, early to rise. Satin must’ve been the only one still up because he was older.

What the hell’s going on?

Just before the final door, Satin came to a sudden stop.

“Hey, what’s this about?”

Satin didn’t answer. He simply turned to look at Rufus. Without realizing it, Rufus felt his body tense up slightly.

Even during the day, this windowless hallway was dim—but now, cloaked in night, it was pitch black. Standing in that darkness with a lamp in hand, Satin gave off a strange aura.

The face Rufus had always thought of as pale and dull suddenly looked mysterious. His tousled black curls looked impossibly soft.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Rufus slapped his cheeks lightly. He must’ve been working here too long. What the hell was he thinking, seeing a scrawny guy who looked like a twig and getting weird thoughts like that? It’s not like he was a pretty girl.

“Don’t be startled, okay?”

“What is it?”

Satin opened the door. The room was empty.

Rufus was about to ask where Cain had gone when Satin suddenly shoved him from behind. Taken by surprise, Rufus stumbled forward with a bewildered “Whoa—” and tumbled into the room.

“The bed on the right is mine.”

What about the bed? What’s he getting at?

Just as Rufus was thinking that, Satin pressed up behind him.

“W-What the—? What are you doing?”

“There’s no one else I can ask but you. Everyone else here is just a bunch of kids…”

“W-What are you talking about…”

“Please.”

Rufus swallowed hard. The lanky guy leaned in, whispering right next to his ear.

“On the bed…”

On the bed?

“Can you catch the lizard for me?”