Chapter 24: Chapter 24 ~ Within the Confines of Char-Harbour

We made our way towards the Char-Harbour that was littered with tourists. Peddlers and food vendors abound, we went past them, inwards, to the inner district, where light seldom touches. All kinds of unsavoury souls roamed this place; fighting a useless war against each other under the name of pride, honour, and greed. Youths, lost in their pursuit of life, could be found washed up here, smoking prohibited substances. The downtrodden, ones that have nowhere else to go, ended up here. Not some Shangri-la, nor Elysium; their life concluded here, in some dingy corner of the city.

Sharp glances pricked our skins, especially to Ciel, beautiful as she is. Some went on to tail us, while others, busy with their vices, couldn't care less. Our clothes, and our bearings, made us out to be the prime target of these scoundrels, in their search for easy wealth and satisfaction. Still, we walked onwards, never stopping. Observing the confidence in our stride, some decided to back away and walk off; while others interpret it as terror and fear had caught up to us, and quickened their paces. Talking as we walked, we discussed our course of action.

"How many days do we have until the Harvest Festival commenced?" Ciel asked.

"Three days is all we have."

"We should finish this fast then. What's your plan?"

"Observe the hierarchy, create conflict, and let them be busy for a while. What's your take on this?" I proposed.

"Too long, and quite uncertain. I'd rather go to the top dog, and wrest all the power from them."

"That's a good plan. Still, don't forget we're masquerading as laymen; control your strength."

"Will do."

Our short and concise course of action has been finalized, and we had the right punching bags, I mean informants, following us. Hence, our pace slowed to bait them out. Ciel, by feeling where the refreshing spring breeze came from, chose a path that led us to a blind alley, a dead end. Our pursuers, fully aware of the layout of this place, quickly caught up to us as we went inside the alleyway.

Their appearance, contrary to what you'd expect, seems a bit kept. Their faces are a bit bloated, a symptom caused by consuming too much alcohol. Their strong bodies, adorned with tattoos of all kinds, revealed what kind of life they led. All of them smiled deviously, at least that's what we're seeing, trying to appear as kind as possible.

"Hello sirs," I greeted, confidently.

The largest of them, presumably the leader, scratched his stubble. He mulled for a bit, forming words in his mind, before replying to my greetings.

"This ain't a place for young uns like yous. Goes back to the outer area before anythin' bad happens."

He warned us of the dangers in this place, it seems we're wrong about them. Looks like our prejudice got the better of us. Still, we can't leave this place until the demonstration threat was solved. Ciel, who was ready to fight, lowered her guard.

"We can't go back yet sir," she replied.

The kind gangster looks puzzled, confused as to why we can't go back to the outer area of the Char-Harbour district. Thinking we don't know the way back outside, he asked.

"Yous don't know the way?"

"We're government agents, sir, here to investigate rumours about a demonstration planned for the celebration three days from now, the Harvest Festival," I declared.

Hearing the term government agents, the large man and his cronies stepped back warily. However, before the situation could turn nuclear, I quickly added.

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"We won't touch or investigate anything else here apart from the rumoured demonstration. However, if we found anything that's against the law, morally or literally, we would've to act on it."

"Alright, officer. We'd heard somethin' from the gangs around, 'bout a bunch of shady men giving out money to the bigger gangs and asked them to cause a ruckus at the festival."

"Which gang?" Ciel interrupted.

"The North Wind gang, located near here, actually. If you'd go forward instead of left before coming here, we'd have to stop following you since that was the border of their turf; and we the Southern Seas are their enemies," one of the cronies replied to her.

"Tha' gang is also not from 'ere. They came 'bout five yers ago, and became one of the big uns in a month or two," the leader explained.

We've found our target, a gang that suddenly exploded in size, and it's not local. Moreover, there's also a witness. Still, before we could act on it, the big guy said something we'd have to take into account. He said it with such terror in his voice, that we remembered it vividly.

"Ah, yeah. I 'membered somethin', officer. The ones who spread the news 'bout the shady men, all died in their sleep three days later."

As we've got a fine collection of clues, Ciel and I, through our eye-contact language, discussed our next course of action.

"What should we do now?" she asked with her eyes.

"Go to the North Wind gang and reign?" I replied the same way.

"That would be possible if the Other Side had no hand in this."

"Can't we defeat them though?"

"Looks like you forgot that we're no longer Laincelot and Catariel?" she rolled her eyes in contempt.

"Ah, yeah, sorry. We still got some degree of power though, and I believe the enemy this time can't be as bad as finding Dracul hiding inside a lamprey."

"Hmm, alright. Let's go in through the front."

The large man scratched his stubble confusedly. The pair before him, the supposed agents of the state, suddenly stopped their conversation and started staring at each other, like a pair of lovebirds. Although it only took about seven or eight seconds, it was rather jarring.

"Alright then sir. Thank you for the information you've given us, we'd like to excuse ourselves. Have a great day," I uttered.

The large man and his cronies were startled by my sudden utterance before they replied with their own parting words.

"Ah? Right, yous have a great day too, officer."

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