"Miss Phoenia, stop please! You're not allowed here! Lord Geoffrey will- "

"I don't care. Get out of our way."

She ignored the guard's protests and walked straight past them, dragging Taro along. None of the guards made another attempt to hinder them. Past the gate, stone steps paved the way all to the top. 

"...Are we really climbing that?"

Even his well-trained legs started to itch at the thought of climbing this huge staircase.

"While it is not the most pleasant way to enter the first district, you'll have to bear with it for now. Or is this the limit of your determination?"

Sigh

She completely had him dancing around her palms. He had no choice but to follow her lead if he wanted the information she had promised. This exchange was long past an equal trade...

"Don't worry, I can easily handle this. Or at least, that's what I would say if not for a certain someone who made me use all my energy on unnecessary battles..." 

"Oh? Seems like you still have plenty of energy left, if you can bite back like that. Try to keep up, or I'll leave you behind."

She steadfastly started her ascent, without any hesitation. If he wouldn't match her tempo, she would truly leave him there...

"I get the general gist of where we are going, but why are we going there?" 

"Like I said, we're going to enter a place my people can't."

"I understand that, but why?"

"For two reasons. First, to investigate Donovan's death."

"Investigate his death? But didn't the guy earlier mention all the details already? It seems to me that they already did a thorough investigation..."

"Yes, that's what he told me. I know"

"So then, why..."

"Where do you think he got that information from?" 

"...Someone from the first district told him?" 

"Correct. Since my people can't enter that district, there's only one way we could've gathered that information. An insider told us."

Taro still did not get the point she was trying to make. Even though it was a complete different district, it wasn't so strange for some communication to leak, especially in an extreme event like this.

"There's one thing you need to know about this city. The three districts... They completely hate each other's guts. They'd rather see the other burn, than to give them a single treat."

"But why? Aren't they all citizens of the same city?"

"They are, yet they are not. All three districts have different people, different mindsets, different ways of living."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I'll have to explain on what basis the city is divided, to make you understand. Very well. Vinclum is divided in three parts, called the first, second and third district." The climb was slowly starting to wear Taro out, especially since he had endured quite some injuries. But he did not slow down. He finally managed to grab a chance to drag some information out of her… He was not going to allow some feebleness to lose this opportunity.

"The first district is the kingdom of the nobles. There are less than a hundred of them, but every single one is extremely rich and influential. They also control most of the big companies in the cities, including the factories you might've seen. You could say that without them, this city wouldn't even survive past winter. That's where we are going now."

So that's why that place had looked so majestic in comparison with the rest of the town. The people here probably had money to spare, so even a giant piece of land and a fancy house in this city was nothing for them.

"The second district is the heart of the city, as I like to call it. It's where the workers, traders, craftsmen… eat, work and sleep. Everything except for this elevated area and the walled area is considered to be part of the second district. That includes the docks, the markets, the factories, the residential areas and so on. It’s a giant place, and the most important one in this city.”

“Why?

“Because they are the gears that keep Vinclum’s wheel turning and to the frustration of the nobles, they are extremely important for the city’s flourishment. A lot of their wealth and success comes from the astounding manufacturing skills that are known countrywide."

“What exactly do they manufacture here, then?”

“The craftsmen here are masters at handling earth prana. It’s a skill that has passed down the generations, getting refined further and further with time. On this day, most craftsmen have tuned their precision so much that it could even rival well-trained soldiers. Of course, their skills are not suited for combat, so in a duel they would still lose. But in terms of creating earth-related handicrafts, they are the absolute best. Figurines, woodworks, parts of buildings, ships… Everything earth-related is being made here at the highest quality. Their control and precision is an incredible feat, unreproduced in any other city on such a grand scale, and the demand for such crafts is high.”

“I see…” That explained why Liss had called it one of the biggest trading partners of the kingdom.

"You mentioned the second district is enormous. Isn't it nearly impossible for your subordinates to scout through completely?" That question had been stuck in Taro’s mind ever since she had mentioned the size.

"No need to worry. They will easily complete that task in no time."

Easily? Just how many people did she have working for her?

"You should have a clear picture of the second district now. Finally, the third district is the home of the outcasts. There is not much to be said about that place. It's a mix of poor people and convicts, all banished to a single, secluded area. I suppose I don't have to tell you what the result inside looks like..."

To say it was not a pleasant place to live, was probably a big understatement. If that district was as bad as he imagined, Taro was glad he had ended up with Phoenia, and hadn't gotten sold off to that place instead...

“But why is their district surrounded by walls? It almost looks like it is some kind of prison…”

“…” Phoenia did not answer that question. Taro suspected he might’ve hit the nail on the head, but Phoenia’s silence indicated there was more to it than meets the eye. While it made sense to separate the convicted from society, the fact that poor people got mixed with them was very unusual.

"So, in other words, three different social standings are completely split up from each other?" Taro diverted the subject.

"Exactly. The third district only exists in its current form since recently, but the division has always been there.”

"Now then, as for why the three districts are at odds with each other..." She continued, not allowing Taro to ask into more detail.

"Some big events have happened in the past which have ripped the three districts completely apart. The trust between them has completely broken, and so has the communication. To give you an example on how bad it is: if someone would try to openly aid a different district, it might put them in danger with the current atmosphere. And by danger, I mean they would risk losing their lives."

"So that's why nobody would try to help your investigation..."

"Indeed."

"...That's pretty sad."

"It is. But there's nothing we can change about it. All we can do is uphold the status quo, to protect this city from imploding and putting everyone in danger."

"So then... Why are we going there, then? You just told me you want to uphold the status quo..."

"Because someone is trying to destroy this status quo we've built up. Don't you think the murder of Donovan and the disappearance of my people fall together a bit too well? In the recent years, something like this has never happened. While this balance might seem strange to you, nobody would be as crazy as to break it. Not even the nobles. Donovan was one of the only nobles who had a fine relationship with my people, despite the barriers in place. He was not carefree enough that his life would be in danger, but he allowed us to make some equal trades with him, where both parties benefitted from. He has helped me and my people a lot with moving the city forward."

"So in other words: the murders and abductions are an attempt to light the flames that have been brooding in this city?" 

"I'm afraid so. My people will definitely start blaming the nobles, if they realize their fellow men and women are getting murdered and killed. Especially if they hear one of the only nobles who helped them, was among the victims. They will definitely suspect the remaining nobles. It doesn't take much imagination to link these killings to a noble who did not like the way Donovan was interacting with second district citizens. I can assure you, they wouldn't be off the mark. Most of them were against his actions, even if they didn't infringe on the current unwritten rules."

Taro understood that train of thought. It was probably the most logical conclusion one could reach with the limited amount of information.

"And on the contrary, the nobles will blame my people for killing him. Donovan was not a purely good-natured man as I might've let him seem to be. He was rumored to make a lot of shady deals with merchants, in order to expand his influence and enrichen himself. As a result, the nobles will definitely blame those merchants, assuming he was killed because an escalated deal or something like that. It is far more convenient for them than to suspect and blame their neighbors, risking their own skin in the process."

"But assuming it is someone who wants to topple that status quo, why would they do it? And will something like this be enough?

"Why they're doing it, I don't know. But that second question is something that has been bothering me ever since I heard the news. While I don't think it will be enough to break this city, I cannot imagine someone just went on a random killing spree for fun. Maybe they had a grudge on Donovan, but that still doesn't explain the abductions. I don’t believe this was a coincidence either, the execution was too flawless for that. In order to find out what exactly they're after, I will need to see his place for myself and hope to gather come clues."

"...Actually, there's something I need to tell. I'm not sure if it's related, but it might be useful either way." When Taro heard the word ‘abductions’, the events from a few days ago popped up in his mind.

"Go on.

"Before we arrived here, we got attacked by a group of people. They have abducted most of the people I was traveling with..." Taro wanted to describe the events in more detail, but she interrupted him.

"I have heard the story. Normally, both of them would have a good chance to be unrelated. The people you have met, sounded like human traffickers, who are not uncommon in these parts of the country. Also, those events happened a fair distance away from the city."

"..." Taro wasn't particularly shocked to hear that she already knew the details. Her information network seemed to be huge, and Sam had gone in the direction of the docks to look for help. The chance that at least mentions of his requests hadn't reached the ears of Phoenia, was small. However, her knowledge still gave him a feeling of uncomfortability.

"After I'd received word about your encounter when you entered the city, I'm not so sure anymore. Human traffickers outside the city is one thing, but for them to chase the same target inside the city is another. I'm also curious of why they only took the girl and not you. If it were me, I would prioritize the Arcadium wearer. But I doubt you know the answer on that question."

"I don't know either..." It had also struck Taro as strange. Especially the fact that they even left him his sword was a miracle he couldn't explain. However, because everything had been happening so fast, he hadn't had the time dwell on it.

...How much did this woman know about him, anyway? She knew about the abductions in the forest. She knew about Yukina’s presence. And now she even seemed to know about Liss' abduction? Just how long had she been watching him? And did that also mean she knew what happened with Liss?

"I can read your thoughts easily. In case you were about to ask, I only know about you. I have no information on the girl."

"But how do you know? The only ones who should know this are me and that nurse who took away Liss..."

"How do I know, indeed..." She smiled sardonically.

They had almost neared the end. Taro was sweating like crazy and his breathing got heavy. Whoever had built these stairs, definitely hadn't considered it would ever be used by humans.

"Now then, I think you get the idea now. We're going on an information hunt, in an area which is highly hostile to us. Any more questions?" She sounded like they were about to do a walk in peaceful woods, looking for some rare mushrooms. Especially the 'highly hostile' part sounded way out of place.

Taro still had an ocean of questions, but it seemed his time was up. He still felt conflicted about the fact that Phoenia seemed to know this much about him, but he doubted she would give him a satisfying answer now. He would need to make sure to press her about the details later, especially because her statement about Liss could be a lie. After all, if she told him now, he would have no reason to stay with her.

"Oh yeah, what was the second reason?"

"I mentioned that, didn't I. Hmmm, it's actually not really that important. Let's just say I need to drag someone back down on his two feet."

Taro did not know what he had to make of that vague explanation, but he was not interested enough to delve deeper on it. The long ascent had almost completely drained away his energy. 

"Also, know that after this is over, me and my people will do anything in our might to help you. It might seem like we're just taking advantage of you, but we won't ever forget our indebtedness."

Phoenia looked as unfazed as ever. Why wasn't this woman breaking a single sweat? She almost seemed like a machine...

"Uh... Thank you."

That comment came out of nowhere, but it pleased Taro to hear that. He did not know if that was a lie meant to comfort him, or her honest intentions. But if it was true, he’d have an easier time to find Liss with Phoenia’s help. And they might be able to assist the search for people that had been kidnapped in the woods, too. 

"Oh yeah, one more question. I noticed you keep saying 'my people'. Do you mean the ones who were working for you at that training facility?" It seemed the ideal moment to grasp her manpower. If she was going to help him after this was done, he’d like to have an idea on how many people he could count.

She chuckled.

"Oh, so you were not aware of it. Of course, my bad. If you didn't know about this city's districts, there's no way you would know about the Protectors."

"The Protectors?"

"This city has three individuals who each protect one part of it. In the case of the third and the second district, they're also seen as their respective leaders. In official language they call them the 'Protectors'. As the name indicates, those individuals are tasked with protecting the order of the district, against threats from both inside and outside.

She turned around, looking straight into his eyes.

“In the third district, a troublesome playboy called Lance vi Allonia takes that role. In the first district, Geoffrey Domevale has crowned himself into that position. The latter is a truly despicable human, and a stain upon this city. I sincerely hope we won't have to cross his path while we’re here. And as for the second district..."

It can't be...

A grin formed on her face. Taro already knew what was coming, but his mind refused to accept it. However, Phoenia merciless smashed that disbelief into tiny pieces.

"The invisible hand that keeps the heart of this city pumping. The core that keeps all the gears turning synchronously. The Protector of the second district. It's nobody else… but me."