Following Klaude, Ray arrived at their destination. The place of the boss. Although Ray was nervous, all things proceeded so smoothly that it left him a bit dissatisfied. He was ordered to do the same work as the other kids. And now, Klaude was leading him to the work area in the town. This was the first time he was entering the town after being separated from his mother, therefore, he was a bit afraid. Following after Klaude in the town, taking a number of turns they finally arrived at where the other kids were working. Ray saw there that the kids were using brushes to clean the drains and streets of the town.

⌈Hey! Why’ve your hands stopped working, hun?! And you, stop covering your nose and focus on work, we have to clean much more space so move your hands faster!⌋

A kid with brown hair was shouting orders at the other kids. Of course, he was Klan, the leader of the kids. Or perhaps, in the presence of Klaude, he should be called vice leader.

⌈Yo, Klan!⌋ (Klaude)

⌈Huh? Oh! Big Brother!⌋ (Klan)

Being called out by his big brother, Klan happily rushed over with a smile over his face, but when he saw Ray, his smile turned into a frown.

⌈Why is he here?⌋ (Klan)

It was clear from the look he is giving Ray and his manner of speaking that he did not like him very much, or rather, he did not like Ray at all. Seeing this,

⌈Now, now. Klan, boss has accepted him as a member of our community, so you should be nice to him. Besides, now that he is a member of our community, he will not harm you or any other for the time being. And also, you were short on hands somewhat after Shin went away, right?⌋ (Klaude)

Seeing Klan acting hostile, Klaude tried to smooth over the relationship between Klan and Ray, but seeing that the expression on Klna’s face did not soften very much, it was  clear that it have little effect if any.

⌈He is going to work with you guys now, so you should teach him all the work. I have got some other work to do, therefore, you make sure to teach him all the work properly.  And, pay special attention to be nice to him. Understand?⌋ (Klaude)

⌈…Altight.⌋ (Klan)

Although, Klan seemed a bit, no, very dissatisfied about it, he nodded for the time being. This showed just how much his big brother’s, Klaude’s, words mattered to him.

⌈Alright then, I’ll leave it to you. Don’t forget what I said.⌋ (Klaude)

Saying thus, Klaude went away waving his hand at Klan and other kids who in turn waved back at him.

⌈…Now, you, what did you say your name was?⌋ (Klan)

⌈R-Ray…⌋ (Ray)

After Klaude went away, Klan started talking with Ray with visible anger and irritation in his voice.

⌈Listen up, we have got three different works to do.⌋ (Klan)

⌈Um…⌋ (Ray)

⌈What? You’ve got something you want to ask?⌋ (Klan)

As Klan started explaining things, Ray seemed wanting to ask something with a hesitant expression.

⌈Y-Yes. I wanted to know about this kid called Shin…⌋ (Ray)

Seeing Ray ask about the kid Klaude had mentioned, Klan took on a pondering expression and said,

⌈Shin, huh? He was also a kid from slums and was also an orphan like most of the kids from our group. He used to be a good worker, but, for some time, he started shirking on his work. All the kids warned him, and even bid brother Klaude told him to properly focus on his work, but he did not listen to anyone. Then one day, he was sent with a caravan coming to deliver goods to boss. Most likely he was sold as a slave.⌋ (Klan)

⌈S-Slave…?!⌋ (Ray)

Hearing the word slave, Ray gasped. He did not expect the kids working here to be at the risk of turning into slaves, but, somewhere in his heart, he knew that in the slums, being forced to turn into a slave was not something very rare.

⌈Now that you’ve heard what might happen to you if you don’t work, I hope you’ll work with all your best. Now take this broom and clean the streets…..no, clean the drains and I’ll explain to you all the work we do while working. Get moving.⌋ (Klan)

Saying this Klan thrust out a broom to Ray. Taking the broom from his hands, Ray began to clean the drains. Smelling the stench coming from the drains, he grimaced, but remembering that the kids who did not work properly were sold as slaves, he steeled himself and started to diligently clean the drains. Seeing this, Klan nodded with a satisfied expression and started explaining the work to Ray.

⌈As I was saying, we do three kinds of work here. First, there is the work we are currently doing, cleaning of the town. This is an adventurer’s town, therefore, a lot of garbage gathers in the streets and drains during day and night, therefore, we clean the town everyday. You can say that this is the only stable work we’ve got. But since there are so many kids working on this job, what we get in return is hardly enough to feed all of us.⌋ (Klan)

Hearing the explanation that Klan gave all the while cleaning the street with the broom, Ray started wondering, “Just where did they get all that breakfast from, then?” Not paying heed to Ray, who had started losing himself in his thoughts, Klan continued his explanation indifferently.

⌈Then, next is baggage carriers. Although there are adventurers who work as supporters carrying other adventurer’s belongings and loots, sometimes, there are not enough supporters to go around, therefore, some adventurers employ one of us kids to take along on a relatively safe job so that we can carry their stuff. This job is semi stable as the offer to become baggage carriers comes in usually once or twice a week and the pay is also better than this cleaning job. But you won’t get to spend that money on yourself, it will go towards buying food and necessities towards the group. But it is also a risky job to take if you are not a member of a group like ours as there is a likelihood that the adventurers will sell you as a slave.⌋ (Klan)

Hearing this Ray once again became afraid and relived at once. Afraid that if he takes the job of a baggage carrier, there is a risk that he might be sold off as a slave and relieved that he made the right decision joining with them. Of course, there was the risk of being sold with this group as well, but it was only if he did not work properly. Klan, as he was working, moved a little closer to Ray, and started speaking in a low voice so that only Ray could hear.

⌈Next is the job which brings most of the money. Once a month, a caravan comes into the town to provide some stuff to boss. That stuff is delivered to various places in the town by us. This work is done throughout the month by different kids at different places. They are probably using us to deliver something illegal. Once a kid was caught delivering that stuff by guards and he was beaten black and blue, while the client ran away seeing the guards.⌋ (Klan)

Ray did not understand why Klan had started talking in a low voice, and what illegal meant, but he understood that if he were to be caught with whatever was being delivered by guards, he would be beaten. This was enough for him to decide that he would never get caught by the guards while delivering that thing.

⌈Alright, now that all the garbage here has been gathered, Ray, put this garbage into this bag and you, Gren, take him with you to the garbage disposing site. Remember the path properly Ray, you are going to be carrying this garbage. After dumping this, come to the next street. Disposing of the garbage is going to be your duty from now on. And while you are present at cleaning site, clean the drains.⌋ (Klan)

As he said this, Klan had a mischievous grin on his face. Seeing this Ray understood that his days with this group are going to be filled with a lot of stench and labor.

⌈O-Okay.⌋ (Ray)

<Hey guys, this marks the end of the biggest problem Ray had faced. Of course, I'm talking about how those in slums do not have protection, no guarantee of food and the like. Now then, I would very much like your reviews on the story and the way I'm writing it. Please rate the story and comment on it. I would really appreciate your reactions. Thank you in advance!>