Sebastian had a difficult past

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How hard it must have been.
If he had used violence, then perhaps he would have more to eat. More money and clothes…
But even if that was what others were doing, he swore that he wouldn’t. That was impressive.

With Liza, the boys were just doing what Deam told them to do, because others were… That was the common way of thinking.

“That being said, there were something like unspoken rules in the slums. You cannot kill, or steal from people who are poorer than you…”

I suppose they didn’t steal from the poor, because they were poor themselves.
Also, it just wasn’t very efficient to steal from people who had so little.
As for killing… In my imagination, the slums were so dangerous that you never knew when your life might end.

“If you killed others, it might be easier to take things. But then the guards will arrest you, and a harsh punishment is what you’ll have to look forward to. And while the other crimes are bad, there is no undoing it once you kill someone.”
“Indeed…”
“Obviously, thieves were arrested as well… But some of the stores in the slums turned a blind eye, as they thought a little theft could not be helped. When I think about it now, they probably did it for the sake of the children. As they might resort to worse crimes. However, one day… Something happened that changed matters in the slums.”
“Could it be…?”
“Well, I was not directly involved, but… It was a great incident that resulted in people being driven out of the slums. I’m sure you have already guessed it. Someone from the slums killed a resident of the town.”
“…”
“The culprit was a child. As I said before, it was someone I had shared food with in the past. And while the child had not done it on purpose, such excuses do not matter.”
“What was the reason then?”

Sebastian continued to look at the ground as he talked.
Leo, who sat next to me, also seemed curious as well.

“The person who was killed had a very bad opinion of the slums. Well, it was dangerous, and supposedly prevented the development of the town. And so one day, he waited at one of the stores with a weapon, as he knew that children would go there to steal. Of course, the child resisted. And he was not used to wielding the weapon. And in the ensuing struggle the short sword ended up stabbing him… Well, that is what I heard, anyway.”
“There is that danger, if you don’t know how to use it.”

Swords were quite difficult to handle.
If you don’t have a tight grip, it could slip out of your hands. And you had to be careful of the trajectory of the blade if you wanted to cut through anything.
Hitting a tree might be easy, but a desperate child trying to escape was another. So this accident was no surprise.

“What was especially bad was that the man was the owner of several stores. And so after that, there was a movement to expel everyone who lived in the slums. Many people were already anxious or dissatisfied to begin with, so it was just a matter of time. Also, they search for the person who killed him.”
“They didn’t think of just punishing the child?”
“If they did that, it might have ended there…but so many people raised their voices, and it would not quiet down. And so they started to drive the children out of the slums. Soldiers came and escorted the children out. Not just the children, but everyone…”
“So they wanted them all out of the town.”
“Yes. And to make matters worse, the duke…His Grace’s father, that is, just happened to be nearby. And he took command.”

So he finally made an appearance.
I didn’t know anything about him, but it sounded like the townspeople wanted the slums emptied, and there was no peaceful solution.

“And he led the soldiers and arrested all of the residents in the slums. It was likely an attempt to end the matter swiftly. Otherwise, the people of the slums might rally and resist.”

They say that a cornered rat will bite a cat.
If it came to such a clash, then the casualties could be severe.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World