The cold hit them again the moment they stepped outside.
The streets were busy despite the weather.
Merchants shouting.
Workers moving goods.
Adventurers passing through in groups.
Nothing unusual at first glance.
But the longer they walked—
The more it showed.
Garrick's eyes moved slowly across the street.
"…This place hasn't changed since I came here a few years ago."
Osric didn't look at him.
"What do you mean?"
Garrick let out a quiet breath.
"Too many people."
"Too little control."
"That's true." Osric agreed.
"The main market area is relatively safe because of the merchants and House Greydell putting more importance on them—
"But the rest of the common district is still filled with crime. And the slums are even worse off."
"Yeah. That explains the arena." Garrick said.
"How was it growing up here?"
"Terrible. I grew up in an orphanage in Lowbrook, the slums."
"Robbery, murder and worse is common there. And the lord of this city doesn't do a damn thing."
They were currently walking out of the market area and into the more residential area of the common district.
Only small merchants worked their stands here.
With just one look, one could see the difference between them and the bigger merchants.
The people here faced threats and robbery on a daily basis.
Garrick and Osric both noticed a kid being chased by others because he had more food.
A merchant nearby was being threatened with a knife by a thug, while a nearby patrolling guard did nothing.
"Yeah. This place really is shitty." Garrick said.
He stepped toward the thug, grabbed his arm, and broke it without effort.
"Crack."
"Arghh!"
"My arm!!"
Osric didn't move.
He was so used to such sights and ignoring them, that intervening didn't even cross his mind.
'Wait. I'm not that weak kid I used to be anymore.'
While Garrick was helping the elderly merchant and his wife, Osric was deep in thought, watching the scene.
'Why didn't I do anything? I might care about strangers and prefer doing things that give me something in return—
But when did I become a person that would ignore someone weak being bullied?'
'I must've gotten too used to this place and my old role in it.'
A faint memory of a beautiful woman embracing him flashed in his mind.
'Mother.'
Osric barely remembered his mother. But he did remember her warm smile and how kind she was.
'What would she think of the current me?'
He sighed with a serious expression.
'Doesn't matter. She died when I was just four. I had to mostly look out for myself and have decided the path I will walk on.'
He then looked back at the elderly couple talking to Garrick and thanking him.
'But maybe it wouldn't hurt to show kindness once in a while.' He thought.
At the same time, Osric was reminded of the two people that were closest to being his family.
'Mother Greta and Florena. Yes. I'll definitely repay their kindness someday and for raising me.'
Sometimes Osric thought that his life would've been more bearable if he didn't know what kindness was, instead of having to suffer so much despite knowing what it was.
But he didn't regret being raised in the Blackmill orphanage. It made him the man he was today.
"Hey Osric. Let's go. I handed that thug to the patrolling guard after giving him a talking to about fulfilling his duties." Garrick said with his hand on Osric's shoulder.
"Alright."
A few minutes later, the two of them entered the slums, Lowbrook.
The smell was so intense it would make any normal person vomit.
But both Osric and Garrick were used to it and worse.
"Hah. I hate this fucking place." Garrick said with hot air coming out of his mouth.
"Yeah. Me too."
"By the way, since I've lived here, I haven't seen anyone from the Greydell family even once. What do you know about them?"
Osric's eyebrows tightened.
"Those bastards only leave the castle to travel to other cities. They don't give a shit about their own territory."
"I only saw the third heir once. It was back at the orphanage when I was just twelve years old."
Garrick was curious. "What happened?"
"He accompanied one of the knights and his subordinates. They came to the orphanage every few years to look for kids with potential to become soldiers or more."
"Our director, mother greta, couldn't oppose them. They just took the children even if they didn't want to go—
But there were always idiots who actually wanted to be recruited because they considered it an honor."
"Anyway. Back then I already had a bad opinion about those nobles, but it only worsened after meeting the third heir."
"Why?"
"That fucker was 15 back then. I didn't know why he accompanied the knight and soldiers at first, but after seeing how he treated us, it was clear—
He was looking for his own little playthings."
Garrick frowned.
"Not only did they recruit the few capable boys, but that disgusting noble made his soldiers take the girls he liked by force and took them with him to the castle."
"Florena tried to intervene, but a soldier punched her. A couple of other caretakers also tried to intervene, but the heir unsheathed his sword and stabbed them without hesitation."
Garrick could feel the hate inside Osric.
"Mother Greta held herself back for the kids but she still sent formal complaints to the castle."
"However, the only thing that happened was that we lost most of our funding."
"Those girls they took were never seen again and our orphanage's situation only worsened with time. Florena was the only caretaker left that actually cared for us, aside from our director Mother Greta."
Garrick exhaled and clenched his fists. "I see. That really is terrible."
"Yeah. That's why I resolved myself to pay everyone that wronged us back someday. I'll do anything to grow more powerful and make it happen."
"Do you think revenge will solve everything?" Garrick asked.
"No. But I don't pretend to be some all knowing righteous person. I will live the way I want. I will get my revenge, grow strong and powerful and make sure that everyone around me is taken care of."
Garrick felt conflicted.
In some ways, Osric reminded him too much of his old friend—
But somehow, there was still something very different about Osric.
'I'll make sure to stop him if he walks down the wrong path.'
'Let's hope he shows me something different.'
The sun was slowly setting.
They kept walking through the slums. Observing the current state of Ashbrook—
Until there were almost no more people on the streets.
"Alright. Where to next?"
"The arena."