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Level Down 79
🕑 Added 2024-05-07 12:10:08 +0000 UTCVolume 2 Chapter 37 - As a Lover
After finishing their meal in the [Garden of Sunbeams], Allen took Matilda's hand and escorted her through the twilight streets to the guild employee housing where Matilda lived.
Having become lovers, the two held hands with great enthusiasm, and yet their faces flushed with embarrassment and they walked in silence. However, perhaps thanks to the warmth transmitted from each other's hands, their atmosphere was somehow soft.
Looking at the sky blue pendant swaying on Matilda's chest, Allen smiled slightly as he looked at Matilda who raised her face a little as she looked toward him with a slightly embarrassed yet very happy expression.
Allen didn't realize that he had the exact same expression on his face. It was because his head was so full of happiness that he couldn't think straight.
Allen walked Matilda home with such fluffy steps that he thought he was in a dream, and once the two stood at her front door, they stared at each other. Reluctant to part with the warmth they feel in their hands, the two truly slowly let go of their hands.
“Today was fun. And thank you for accepting my confession.” (Allen)
“No, me too.” (Matilda)
They exchanged such words and smiled happily as they looked at each other. Then, Allen slowly brought his face closer to Matilda's, and Matilda, sensing this, gently closed her eyes.
They exchanged a kiss that was just a light touch, and then their faces parted again. Their faces were so red that they thought they might be releasing steam.
“Then I'll come again.” (Allen)
“Next time I'll go to Allen's house. Be careful when you get home. Good night.” (Matilda)
“Ou. Good night, Matilda.” (Allen)
They both smiled at the other's reddened faces, and then Allen raised his hand slightly and left. He was reluctant to leave, but he thought that if he stayed there any longer, his feelings might run out of control.
Allen was sure that Matilda would accept him even if that happened, but Allen thought that such a thing should be done after proper procedures and in a sane state without any alcohol involved.
He didn't quite understand what that procedure was though.
As Matilda saw him off until he was out of sight, Allen walked down the street towards his home in good spirits. He would sometimes tug at his cheeks, thinking that this moment was actually a dream, and he would grin every time. To anyone looking at him from the sidelines, Allen would probably be a weirdo.
That said, few of those who went out at night were concerned about such things.
As he got closer to his house, the lights gradually decreased and the street also became less populated. That said, Allen was so familiar with this street that he had no problem navigating it even if he closed his eyes.
Allen was walking alone in such a dimly lit street when suddenly a hand reached out from the side street and Allen's face instantly changed.
Allen grabbed the hand that was moving slowly, almost like slow motion, and tightened his grip on its wrist.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?” (Allen)
“O-owowow! Please forgive me, I didn't do anything.” (???)
“If you didn't do anything, you wouldn’t have needed my forgiveness.” (Allen)
A man wearing tattered clothes was in so much pain that he was screaming as he said contradictory words, which Allen pointed out with a sharp gaze. Then he changed the angle of his hand, and the man fell to the ground as if he had crouched down himself.
Looking down at the man who couldn't move due to pain, Allen asked him.
“You're from the slums, aren't you? Why did you target me?” (Allen)
“Like I said, I didn’t target...” (Man)
“Heeh, so you're saying that the knife on your waist is only for self-defense, right? I know that all too well. Right when I’m in a good mood, you put a damper on it, should I hand you over to the guard just like this?” (Allen)
The man's face turned pale at Allen's words. Then, he looked up at Allen, and perhaps sensing that he was serious, he resigned and began to speak.
“Sorry. It’s as you say. You seem to have a lot of money, so I thought I'd threaten you a little. I know it’s selfish, but please forgive me, I have a family.” (Man)
“I have a lot of money? Aah, I see, I guess you’d think that.” (Allen)
Allen was puzzled for a moment when he heard himself described by a word that had never been said to him before, but then he remembered his current outfit and understood.
Allen was now dressed in the kind of clothes that would allow him to meet with nobles. If such a person were to wander alone near the slums, it would be natural for them to see him as prey.
Allen understood the reason and judged that it wasn't such a big deal, so he let go of the man's hand and moved away a little. The fallen man stood up, rubbed his wrist and shoulder, and turned his back to Allen and was about to run away.
“Wait.” (Allen)
“What is it?” (Man)
The man’s face stiffened as he turned around, and Allen tossed a silver coin at him. It wasn't that much, just 1,000 zenny, but the man's eyes darted around for a while as the money flew right into his hand, then he thanked Allen with just his gaze and quickly left.
After seeing him off, Allen scratched his head.
The reason Allen didn't turn in the man to the guards was because he was a relatively decent man.
Even though he carried a knife, Allen predicted that the man most likely wasn’t planning on using it in the first place, and just intended to threaten him only with his bare hands.
In a sense, that it's for self-defense was not wrong.
It's hard to call him decent when he thought of threatening people to get money or goods, but Allen knew well enough from experience that there were worse people out there.
If that man was gone, there was a possibility that someone like that would come into his territory, and to avoid that, Allen purposely let the man escape. After giving him a small part of his earnings.
“Haa, the security here is really bad after all. Well, this wouldn't have happened if I was wearing my usual clothes.” (Allen)
Allen started walking quickly while muttering something like that. Because if he walked slowly, something like what happened earlier might happen again.
This was not the first time Allen himself was attacked by people from the slums. However, since he hadn’t experienced it in the past few years, his awareness of this had faded.
Because other people knew from Allen's clothes and appearance that he was a resident of the area, so he just wasn't attacked, and the security was the same as ever, Allen realized it once again.
And he noticed the problem.
“Crap, if Matilda comes, won't she get attacked?” (Allen)
Allen's face turned even paler than the man from earlier when he realized this.
Rebecca had always lived here and was used to sensing such dangers. Moreover, her level had risen considerably now, so she was so strong that the likes of those in the slums were no match for her. That's why Allen wasn't worried.
However, Matilda was a guild employee and didn't even live around here. Matilda visiting Allen's house was like releasing a butterfly near a spider's carefully laid web.
“Should I raise Matilda's level? No, if I just tell her not to come to my house in the first place... that in itself would probably cause some misunderstanding.” (Allen)
Allen racked his brain, but couldn't quite come up with a good solution. That’s only natural, since issues such as the deterioration of security caused by slums were beyond Allen's control as an individual.
And then, around the time when he arrived home without any further incident, Allen settled on a solution that did not solve the fundamental problem: when inviting people over, he would pick them up and drop them off and make sure it wouldn’t be late at night.
.
.
.
The next day, Allen was exploring a dungeon with Iseria as Nella. However...
“Nella-sama. Let's stop exploring any further today.” (Iseria)
“My bad.” (Allen)
After entering the Dragon Dungeon, Iseria saw Allen’s state that half wasn’t there in body, and made this suggestion. Surrounding them were lumps of flesh from wyverns that attacked them, and trees that had been mowed down in the aftermath of the attack. All of that was done by Allen.
Today, Iseria was searching for enemies and the likes as part of her scout training, and Allen was eliminating the ones she found, but he misjudged the amount of force at every turn.
There were already no monsters around. Those nearby were frightened by the disastrous scene and ran away. There was no way this could be used as scout training.
Allen apologized and thought ‘What the hell am I doing?’ fed up with himself inside as Iseria stared at his face.
“It seems like you're worried about something. May I hear you out? My practical knowledge still has a long way to go, but I have a fair amount of knowledge from books.” (Iseria)
“...I guess, so. Can you hear me out for a bit?” (Allen)
Allen was a little unsure whether he should talk or not, but he might find even just a clue to solving the problem, so began to speak.
“I confessed my feelings to Matilda and we started dating, but my house is near the slum and it's not very safe. She said she would come visit me, but I was worried that she might be put in danger.” (Allen)
“That, congratulations. If you're that worried, shouldn't Nella-sama just move out?” (Iseria)
Perhaps thinking of something on her mind, Iseria clearly stated the solution in a slightly cold voice. The answer was something that Allen had already thought of.
It's dangerous because he lived near slums. Now that Allen has more money, it would be entirely possible for him to live somewhere else. But Allen shook his head with a wry smile.
“I know right. But it's an important house where I have fond memories of my younger siblings. But I also want to cherish Matilda.” (Allen)
“Nella-sama is greedy, I see.” (Iseria)
“I didn’t know it myself, but it seems so.” (Allen)
Iseria smiled at Allen's quick answer. Then, she put her index finger on her lower lip, looked up a bit, and searched her knowledge for something that could be used, and then Iseria opened her mouth.
“It is said that the formation of slums occurs when people who moved from surrounding areas to the city in pursuit of improved living conditions do not obtain the income they expected, and their standard of living drops instead and they are no longer able to live there. There are many other theories, but this is the mainstream one, so I'll omit the rest.” (Iseria)
“O-okay.” (Allen)
Although he was a little surprised to see Iseria starting to speak so smoothly, Allen nodded in response.
Just from what she just said, it was clear that Iseria had far more knowledge than Allen, and he thought he could somehow get some hints from that.
“Characteristics include high unemployment rates and the accompanying poverty. Outbreak of epidemics due to deterioration of sanitation. Unorganized construction that makes it difficult for guards to enter, which leads to increased damage in the event of fires and an increase in crime, I suppose.” (Iseria)
“I guess, that's, right. No epidemic outbreaks so far though.” (Allen)
“I see. The effective countermeasures were to support the livelihood of slum dwellers by doing things like building other residential areas and relocating them, and mediating jobs for them. However, there is no precedent where the whole slums were eliminated with this.” (Iseria)
Allen's eyes lit up when he heard about the countermeasures, but the details were far from something that an individual could do.
In the first place, slums are a city-wide problem, so naturally the one who’d taken those countermeasures was the Lord and the likes. There was no way there was anything that could be used as a reference for the individual Allen.
Allen slumped his shoulders, and seeing that, Iseria smiled wryly and added.
“I have heard that the residents of the slums will be mobilized for the project to build a fort to surround the entrance to this dungeon. They will also be paid food and wages, so I think things will improve somewhat.” (Iseria)
“Money and food, huh? That might make things somewhat better, I guess.” (Allen)
Allen's face brightened a little at those words, but he knew that it still wouldn’t be a fundamental solution. Because the job wouldn't last forever, and as long as Allen's house was close to the slums, the danger would remain.
As Allen was thinking about this, an idea suddenly occurred to him.
“Even if I can't completely eliminate slums, it’s fine if it’s just the one close to my house. I was just wondering what to do about it myself anyway, so why not just do it...” (Allen)
“Nella-sama?” (Iseria)
Iseria peered through Allen's mask as he suddenly started talking to himself. When their eyes met, Allen smiled and then patted Iseria on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Iseria. I don't know if it will work, but I found something I want to try.” (Allen)
“Something you want to try, is it?” (Iseria)
“Yeah. By the way, do you know how to meet the Lord?” (Allen)
Even as she was surprised at being suddenly asked such a question, Iseria explained the method and was led out of the Dragon Dungeon by Allen.
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