"Can you believe what he did?" Michael seethed, still looking angry about it.
"It was horrible," Lily drew a shaking breath.
"These people need help. But instead…" Michael shook his head in disgust. "Instead they are being treated like… worse than garbage!"
I rolled my eyes. "Look around, Your Highness. Does this city seem like it has the funding to start a reformation program? It's not even on their priority list."
Michael snapped at me. "So what you're saying is that these people deserve this? That it's just fine to treat them like trash because life's hard for everyone?"
"Yes!" I met his glare with an even look. "I'm saying that this city is broken. Look at it. The streets are crumbling, the people are starving, and the ones in charge barely care about keeping order, let alone helping addicts. You're outraged because you still think someone here gives a fuck. They don't."
"That's a convenient excuse," Michael shot back, his hands balling into fists. "It doesn't matter how bad things are — there's no excuse for cruelty like that."
I gestured at the filthy streets around us. "And what do you plan to do about it? Fix the entire city? It's not even your position. You're on a mission here. Maybe next time, remember that before you try to pick a fight with law enforcement, genius."
Michael stepped closer, his anger flaring. "That woman was going to die if I hadn't interfered! But I guess people's lives and deaths don't matter to nobles like you, huh?"
I scowled. "And what the fuck does that mean?"
"You know what I mean!" Michael barked. "All you nobles are cut from the same cloth. Who cares about the rest of the world as long as the top one percent of the population lives luxuriously, right?!"
From somewhere behind us, Alexia piped up. "Hey, that's rude. I'm a high-noble, and I'm one of the kindest people I know!"
I ignored her and shot back at Michael. "Okay, asshole! In case you didn't know, all the nobles and royals who are in power today had always been there to fight when humanity needed them the most. And the top one percent you're talking about? They produce more Hunters to keep our world safe than the rest of the population combined. That's why they're the top one percent. And by the way, your girlfriend's part of it too, since she's gentry."
"Sam—" Lily tried to interrupt.
But I cut her off. "No, fuck you! I'm not talking to you!"
Michael gritted his teeth, taking another step toward me. "How dare you—"
But Lily placed a hand on his arm, her voice soft but shaky. "Please, stop. Fighting won't solve anything."
Michael glanced at her, his expression softening just a little before turning back to me. "I don't like you."
"Oh, cry me a river!" I scoffed.
For a few minutes, there was complete silence as we walked through the city streets.
Then, suddenly, Alexia skipped in front of us, her face beaming like a child who had just found a treasure map.
Only she hadn't found a treasure map…
"Guys, look! It's a mango! I found it by the side of the road!" she said, practically jumping with excitement.
But what she was holding wasn't a mango.
It was a stone.
A really, really smooth stone. But still, a stone.
We didn't have the heart to tell her.
So we let her try to eat it.
"Aaaah! Ouch! My tooth! Urghhh! Why is this mango so hard?! …Wait, this isn't a fucking mango, is it?!"
•••
After that little verbal fight last evening, we went around the city, asking questions.
Questions about any sightings of Spirit Beasts, how many people had died, if anyone had seen any abominations — things like that.
But not many people were willing to cooperate.
Most of them seemed to believe in this strange superstition that merely talking about death would bring tragedy upon you.
I guess it was a way of social defense mechanism — a way to fight against PTSD and depression by not mentioning dark things at all.
It was understandable.
After all, this region had suffered the most from war and death, so weird beliefs like these weren't surprising.
And that was fine.
Except it wasn't fine.
Their weird beliefs weren't helping us.
Still, after scraping together a few leads, we called it a night and found ourselves a nice inn.
Well, as nice an inn as you could hope for in a place like this.
•••
The air felt heavier the next morning.
That uncomfortable stillness after our heated argument from yesterday was still there.
This was one reason I never joined Selene's mission briefings and team-building drills.
I didn't belong in this Squad.
Stay tuned to empire
One member hated my guts, and one of them was someone I couldn't seem to forgive.
And then there was Alexia.
Who could possibly have a problem with that little ginger devil?
Everyone.
The answer was literally everyone.
If you didn't have a problem with Alexia, there was either something wrong with you, or you hadn't met her yet.
Anyway, the inn we stayed at was… tolerable, at best.
The sheets were just clean enough to ignore, but the mildew smell was strong enough to make you question whether the air was even safe to breathe.
Still, a fresh morning meant a fresh start.
Especially for our mission.
Last night, we'd managed to gather a few solid leads on people who might've spotted some Spirit Beasts.
Then there were the families of those who were killed by those Beasts' attacks.
If we spoke to them, we could definitely confirm at least one thing — Spirit Beasts were indeed roaming Ishtara City.
After that, we'd head to the heart of the city and start talking to the authorities to take testimonies from the Knights and soldiers who were supposed to guard the Portals.
Now, we knew that talking to the mourning family members of those killed during the Spirit Beast attacks about their deaths wasn't exactly a brilliant idea.
But what other choice did we have?