In Silas's impression, their young landlady Emily was a very hardworking girl.
She wanted to leave this terrible East Borough and obtain a better life. Every day, she left home early, walking to a school in another district, not returning until after classes ended.
After eating dinner, she would immediately go back to her bedroom to continue studying.
Several times when Silas awoke in the middle of the night, he could clearly hear the scratching sound of writing from downstairs.
That sound was reassuring, as if he could see the girl hunched over her desk.
For people trying hard to save themselves, Silas didn't dislike them.
"Emily... she still hasn't come back yet."
So when he heard his sister say those words, he couldn't help but freeze.
A buzzing sounded in his ears, with ravings faintly audible. Because he hadn't rested enough, his condition wasn't very good.
"What time is it?"
Silas looked around in confusion.
The room had already darkened. At this time normally, Emily should have already finished school and walked back home.
If Silas was awake, she would generally come over to ask some questions about grammar or mathematics, or go to the kitchen to help out.
"Should be just past 9 o'clock. The clock tower chimed not long ago."
Nine o'clock was nearly two hours later than her usual time home.
Something at school?
Impossible. This wasn't the world before he transmigrated.
Could she have encountered an accident, been injured, or been...
Silas stood up from the sofa.
"Did you search the area?"
"Not yet, because I didn't feel safe leaving you here alone."
"Come on, let's go look together."
The two walked out of the apartment.
Street lamps sporadically lit up along the street, creating dirty orange halos surrounded by thick fog that made it difficult to see the road clearly.
The East Borough's infrastructure was extremely poor. Having even these few street lamps meant the conditions were relatively good.
Many more streets had no street lamps at all, relying only on the crimson moonlight to illuminate the path ahead.
The damp, cold air drilled through gaps into their clothes, bringing an uncomfortable icy sensation.
Feels like winter is coming soon.
Silas thought to himself.
Backlund's climate was rather unique.
It rained frequently throughout the year, summers weren't too hot, and winters weren't too cold. Of course, this "not too cold" was relative to northern Feysac.
Truth be told, when winter arrived here, temperatures could drop below zero, and there could even be snow.
Worth mentioning was that the snow that sometimes fell on Backlund wasn't white snow, but black snowflakes saturated with soot and pollution.
As a sharp critic in the newspapers put it, "On a winter morning, when you open your door, you will see the City of Fog covered in black snow, and the corpses of vagrants lying frozen in the snow with eyes wide open... as if it were hell itself."
Of course, Silas had no mind to consider environmental pollution right now.
The two of them followed the route Emily usually took to school, walking toward the school's direction.
Night grew heavier. Streetwalkers, drunkards, thieves, and robbers began appearing on the streets.
These people often switched back and forth between these professions.
"Hey handsome, wanna have some fun?"
A woman holding a bottle hiccupped and asked in a vulgar tone.
"Have you seen a girl carrying a school bag around here?"
Silas asked calmly.
"Nope."
Hearing that he wasn't planning to do business, the woman's attitude became less friendly, but considering his handsome face, she still gave an answer.
After that, Silas searched for several more minutes but still came up empty.
Searching blindly like this won't work. I need outside help.
He thought to himself.
Who should I turn to?
The Reman Gang, the local power brokers, or Klein who could provide divination assistance?
Time is urgent. I might only be able to seek help from one side...
"Brother."
Just then, from a nearby alley, the black-haired girl's figure quietly emerged, calling out to him.
This was a shortcut back to Howes Street, but the alley was rather narrow and its location quite secluded.
Silas walked into the alley and saw his sister standing in the middle, pointing out some bloodstains to him.
Several droplets of splattered blood had fallen on the ground and walls, looking like they were left during a struggle.
Silas frowned slightly and walked to the bloodstains, crouching down.
Backlund's damp, cold air made the walls and ground very moist. These bloodstains hadn't completely dried.
He picked up one drop with his finger and brought it lightly under his nose to smell.
It was very young blood, carrying a maiden's scent full of youthful vitality. The blood on the other wall was much dirtier, with a feeling of fallen evil.
Although he couldn't clearly distinguish various physical details of the blood's owner like a vampire could, having mastered flesh magic, he could still extract some information from it.
Someone had fought here and bled from injuries. One was a young girl, the other was a simple thug...
Silas silently stood up, an ominous premonition forming in his heart.
His gaze wandered through the dark alley. Soon, he discovered something in the gutter to one side of the alley.
Walking over to pick it up, his eyes couldn't help but tighten.
It was a slightly worn satchel filled with textbooks, notebooks, and a fountain pen. Normally, it was placed on the cabinet in the hallway, and when its owner went to class, she would take it with her until returning home in the evening.
Emily's school bag.
Silas stared fixedly at the bag, feeling anger slowly rising within him.
Why do this to her!
She just wanted to leave this damned place. Was she wrong?
"Brother, this is Emily's."
"I know."
Combined with the information he'd gotten earlier from the injured pauper's mouth, it wasn't hard to guess that Emily had been kidnapped.
It might be related to human trafficking.
Although he'd unexpectedly obtained the clue he'd been pursuing for so long, Silas's expression wasn't happy at all.
He used his dagger to lift the remaining fresh blood from the ground, then let it drip onto the back of his hand.
Next, he carved peculiar patterns on the back of his hand with the knife, letting that blood soak into the markings.
"Guide me to the location of the original owner of this blood..."
Silas murmured softly. Soon, that blood began gathering toward one direction.
Just then, he sensed a gaze. Looking up, he saw Ma'am M smiling at him.
Her smile seemed to carry some deeper meaning.
Was it malice, or anticipation?
Influenced by her smile, even more chaotic ravings sounded in Silas's mind.
"Let's go."
Enduring the discomfort, he turned to his sister. "Too bad. Looks like we won't make it to that Beyonder gathering tonight."
---
In the pitch-black dungeon, Emily awoke from her daze.
Where am I...
The sound of many girls crying softly rose around her.
She opened her eyes and saw that she was trapped in a cell with many peers around her.
Some were panicked and crying endlessly, while others had numb, empty eyes, as if they had completely given up hope.
Emily's gaze moved up through the dungeon bars.
At the top of the stairs, the door leading to the hall was tightly closed. Only a sliver of lamplight projected through the gap, with the faint sound of voices and music coming through.
Those sounds were lively and cheerful.