"Well? Is this it?”

  The robed figure stumbled as a meaty hand shoved him against the alley wall.

  In front was a pudgy man, holding up a coin pouch, weighing it in his hand. His face was round and greasy, with small eyes

  The thief—a young man, barely twenty—glared at him but said nothing. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, trembling with helpless rage.

  "Not much," the pudgy man continued, opening the pouch and counting the coins. "I expected more from you today, rat."

  "That's all I could get," the thief said through gritted teeth. "The town's on high alert. Everyone's watching their pockets."

  "Not my problem."

  The pudgy man pocketed the pouch, then grabbed the front of the thief's robe, pulling him closer. His breath reeked of onions and cheap wine. "You know the deal. You bring me coins, we keep your sister safe.”

  “And if you don't..." He smiled, showing yellowed teeth. "Well, you know what would happen."

  The thief's jaw tightened. He wanted to fight. Wanted to punch that smug face, wanted to scream, wanted to do anything except stand here and take it.

  But he couldn't.

  They had his little sister.

  "I'll get more tomorrow, just... please. Don't hurt her."

  "That depends on you, doesn't it?" The pudgy man released him with a shove.

  "Tomorrow. Same time. And bring more this time, or I'll have the boss consider other uses for your sister. A pretty lass like that could fetch a nice price in certain markets."

  The thief said nothing. There was nothing to say. Nothing he could do.

  This was the cycle. Again and again. Steal to pay them. Pay them to keep Lina safe. Never enough. Never ending.

  He'd tried everything else. Begging, working honest jobs, even going to the guards. But honest work didn't pay enough, and the guards... the guards were either bought or didn't care about street rats like him.

  So he stole.

  He hated it. Hated himself for it. But what choice did he have?

  The pudgy man turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and rat? Don't even think about running. You try to take your sister and flee, we'll find you. And when we do..." He drew a finger across his throat. "Understand?"

  The thief nodded.

  "Good boy." The pudgy man laughed and waddled out of the alley, disappearing into the evening crowd.

  The thief stood there for a long moment, alone in the shadows.

  His hands were still shaking. From rage. From fear. From helplessness.

  But he'd had no choice.

  He never had a choice anymore.

  Lina. He had to protect Lina. That was all that mattered.

  Even if it meant becoming a thief. Even if it meant hating himself.

  Even if it meant there was no way out.

  Slowly, he sank down against the wall, burying his face in his hands.

  Then—

  "Hmm."

  The sound made him freeze.

  He looked up, heart hammering in his chest.

  A giant wolf stood at the mouth of the alley, staring right at him. Massive, black-furred, with intelligent eyes that seemed to see straight through him.

  And sitting on its back was a woman with long black hair and piercing black eyes.

  The adventurer.

  The one he'd stolen from.

  His blood turned to ice.

  “Where is my money?”

  He scrambled to his feet, pressing his back against the wall. Nowhere to run. The wolf blocked the only exit, and he knew without trying that he couldn't outrun it.

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  "Wait," he said, voice shaking. "Wait, please—"

  The woman kept silent. She didn't say anything, just watched him with those cold, calculating eyes.

  But the wolf moved closer. One slow step at a time.

  He was scared. He wasn't an adventurer. He wasn't a fighter. Just an ordinary man trying to survive, trying to keep his sister alive.

  The wolf took another step.

  His legs gave out. He dropped to his knees, hands pressed against the ground.

  "I'm sorry!" The words burst out of him. "I'm sorry, I don't have the money anymore! They took it, I had to give it to them, I didn't have a choice!"

  The wolf's breath was hot on his face.

  This was it. This was how he would die, in an alley. Mauled to death by a giant wolf.

  "Please," he begged, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please don't kill me. I know what I did was wrong, I know, but I need to rescue my sister. She's all I have left. Please. I'll do anything, I'll work for you, I'll pay you back somehow, just please don't kill me. I need to save her."

  His voice broke on the last words.

  The wolf stopped. Right in front of him. Close enough to tear his throat out.

  But it didn't move.

  He kept his eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the end.

  Then he heard a sigh.

  It was the woman.

  "I'm not going to kill you," she said. Her voice was flat, tired even.

  He opened his eyes slowly, not quite believing what he'd heard.

  The wolf had stopped moving. It just sat there, watching him with those intelligent eyes. Not aggressive anymore. Just... waiting.

  The woman looked down at him from atop the wolf, her expression unreadable. "Get up."

  He didn't move. Couldn't move. His body was frozen in place, adrenaline still flooding his system.

  "I said get up."

  Slowly, shakily, he pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt like jelly.

  The woman studied him for a long moment. Then she asked, "Your sister. Where is she?"

  He hesitated. Every instinct screamed not to tell her. Don't make it worse.

  But what choice did he have? She'd already caught him.

  “I don’t know…. All I know is that they have her…”

  The woman was quiet for a moment, still watching him with that same calculating expression.

  Silence stretched between them.

  "Who are they?"

  "I don't know their names. They operate out of the lower district. I bring them money, they keep my sister ‘safe’. That's the deal.“

  He waited for her judgment. Waited for whatever punishment was coming.

  Meanwhile, Vera sighed.

  She still needed the money. Two gold wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to matter. Especially with a long journey ahead and no idea what she'd encounter in the mountains.

  And it looked like there was only one way to get it back.

  Get it from the thugs directly.

  "Show me where they are," she said.

  The thief's head snapped up. "What?"

  "The thugs. The ones who took my money." She gestured impatiently. "Take me to them."

  "I... I can't. They'll kill me and my sister if they find out I brought someone—"

  “And you don’t think I won’t kill you?”

  He flinched. The wolf growled threateningly.

  "Show me where they are.”

  He was silent for a moment, but he knew he had no other choice. He hated how weak he was. How useless he was.

  "Alright…I'll take you."

  =====

  Vera’s POV

  With Nox, tracking the thief had been easy.

  From there, it was just a matter of following the trail through the crowded streets until we found him in that alley.

  But by the time I got there, he didn't have my money anymore.

  Apparently he belonged to some kind of syndicate. Even here, in this world, they had stuff like that. Organized crime, thugs extorting people, holding hostages for leverage.

  It was so troublesome.

  Back on Earth, I would've just called the cops. Filed a report. Maybe not gotten my money back, but at least it wouldn't have been my problem anymore.

  Here? The guards were either bought off or didn't care. And I was the one stuck dealing with it if I wanted my money back.

  I watched the thief—he'd said his name was Pierre—walk ahead of me through the narrow streets.

  "How much further?" I asked.

  "Not far. Lower district, near the old warehouse quarter." He glanced back at me.

  "They operate out of an abandoned tannery. Keeps most people away because of the smell."

  He paused at a corner, checking the street before continuing.

  “What can you tell me about them?”

  He hesitated. I could see him weighing whether to tell me, deciding how much to share.

  Then he started talking.

  "I met them two years ago." His voice was quiet. "Our father was... not a good man. He had many debts. Gambling, mostly. Lost everything to it." Pierre's jaw tightened. "Most of those debts were to them. When our father ran out of money to pay, he vanished one night. They said he ran away. I think they killed him."

  He kept walking, eyes fixed ahead.

  "But it didn't end there. The debts passed to our mother. They forced her to work for them till she worked herself to death trying to pay it off. Two years of it. She collapsed one day and never woke up."

  His knuckles were white where he gripped his cloak.

  "Then it was me. They came for me the next day, said I inherited the debt. Said I'd work it off just like she had." He let out a bitter laugh. "But the debt never gets smaller. They keep adding 'interest,' keep finding new reasons to increase it. It's a trap. Always has been."

  "And your sister?"

  "Lina was just ten when they took her. Said she'd be 'insurance' to make sure I kept working. Kept paying." His voice turned hard. "That was two years ago. She's twelve now. Twelve years old and she's been their hostage for two years because of a debt our bastard father created."

  We walked in silence for a moment.

  I processed what he'd told me. A family destroyed by one man's addiction. A debt designed never to be repaid. A system built to trap people and bleed them dry.

  It was familiar. Too familiar.

  Different world, same ugly patterns.

  "What about their leader?" I asked. "The one in charge?"

  "Goes by 'the Viper.' Don't know his real name." Pierre's voice held a mixture of fear and hatred. "Nobody does. He keeps it that way."

  "How many people work for him?"

  He shook his head. "I have no idea. But there will be dozens of them. Maybe more."

  I thought about that. It might be dangerous. There could be someone stronger than Gorvain in there. The chances were low, sure, but not zero. I needed to stay cautious. Getting cocky would be a quick way to end up dead.

  "I see."

  We turned another corner and Pierre slowed his pace. "There. Up ahead."

  I followed his gaze to the decrepit tannery at the end of the street.

  "You really think you can do this?" he asked suddenly. His voice was quieter now, almost hesitant.

  "Yes."

  "Just like that?"

  "Just like that."

  He looked at me for a long moment, studying my face. "You're either really confident or really crazy."

  I stared back at him.

  He flinched.

  "I'm sorry," he said quickly, looking away.

  I blinked. Am I that scary?

  I wasn't even trying to intimidate him.

  Still. That was kind of sad.

  "Don't apologize," I said. "Tell me everything you know about this place."

  He nodded quickly and turned his attention back to the building, relief clear on his face.