A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 52.1
The boy strode unhesitatingly down the narrow alley connected to the sloping path.
Afraid of losing him, I followed, panting heavily.
‘So that’s why the novel never described this part…’
Damn it, I never imagined the alleyways would be this much of a maze.
Everywhere I looked, endless rows of ramshackle shacks stretched on, all looking the same.
By the time we came upon the third fork, I gave up on trying to memorize the path.
‘How am I supposed to get back later?’
Without a guide, there was no way to retrace these steps.
‘Wasn’t this the guild that expanded thanks to the female lead’s help? So why the hell is it buried in a slum like this…!’
I was exhausted.
My stamina was starting to run low.
Grumbling all sorts of complaints in my head, I was debating when to ask the boy to also guide me back later.
Just then, he suddenly rounded a corner.
I hurried after him.
At last, had we arrived at the destination? The boy had stopped just beyond the corner.
But instead of an inn—the supposed base of the guild—what I saw was a dead end.
And worse.
“What’s this, One-Eye? Why’d you come here?”
Inside the alley, three men covered in tattoos, the type you could tell were thugs at a glance, were smoking cigarettes.
The boy glanced at me, then said to them,
“You told me to bring anyone asking for Blue Moon.”
“Blue Moon…?”
At those words, the men’s eyes shifted.
A bad feeling ran down my spine.
“This is the place?”
“…Yes. Those older brothers used to be Blue Moon Guild members.”
I nudged the boy’s shoulder and asked, and he nodded nervously.
“Anyway, I did what I was told!”
Clatter!
And before I had time to react, he bolted away in a flash.
“Hey, wait—!”
In the blink of an eye, the boy vanished around the corner, leaving me staring after him in disbelief.
“So, why are you looking for Blue Moon?”
One of the tattooed men stepped closer, blowing cigarette smoke right into my face.
Wincing, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“You guys are Blue Moon Guild members?”
“Well, we were once.”
Tattooed Man #1 chuckled, glancing at his companions.
‘…Damn it. In the novel, someone guided her to an inn, not to a bunch of tatted-up thugs like these.’
Clearly, I had taken the wrong turn.
I was about to turn back when Tattooed Man #1 spoke again with a curious tone.
“Did you come here after hearing the rumors that they’ll make you into an Awakener?”
“…Make me into an Awakener?”
That was something I’d never heard before.
I shook my head.
Leaning against the wall, Tattooed Man #2 sneered as he asked,
“Then why are you looking for them?”
“To buy information.”
“Information? Pfft, hahaha! You’re telling me you came to buy information from those scam artists?”
At my reply, they burst into loud laughter.
‘Scam artists? What do they mean by scam artists?’
I wanted to ask more, but I wasn’t foolish enough to risk it.
“Looks like I’ve come to the wrong place.”
I turned away without hesitation.
And just as I was about to hurry out of there.
“Hey now! You’ve gotta answer our questions before you leave~!”
Tattooed Man #1 quickly blocked my path.
Sliding my hand into my pocket, I fiddled with the perfume bottle and replied calmly.
“What answer do you want?”
“Why’d you come looking for those scam artists.”
“I already told you. To buy information.”
“You expect us to believe that? If you wanted an information broker, you should’ve gone west. What’re you doing searching in the slums?”
“Which is why I said I came to the wrong place.”
“Tch, first you said you were looking for Blue Moon, and now you’re changing your story~!”
“Trying to slip away like this, you’re not one of those scam artists yourself, are you?”
Another voice came from the left. Tattooed Man #2.
Suppressing the fear rising in my chest, I shrugged.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You came crawling all the way here, and you’re telling me you don’t know? Haven’t you heard the rumor? Those bastards conned all the gullible folk around here with talk of making them Awakeners, stripped them bare, then ran off?”
“No. I haven’t.”
That was the truth.
As the tattooed men closed in, I instinctively stepped back.
And then…
Thud.
Something soft pressed against my back.
Whipping my head up, I realized Tattooed Man #3, the heaviest of the three, had somehow come right up behind me.
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