"You little bitch, run. Why aren't you running anymore? Run, then. Run!"
"Lord Canu, I won't dare do it again. I'll never dare again."
"Next time? Hmph."
"That's enough, stop. If something happens to her, it'll be harder to squeeze money out of her next time. Keeping her around is a good thing."
As Shen Fei left the Pleasure Quarter and headed toward Babel, he had just passed two streets and was nearing the square before the tower when a woman's pleading voice, along with some revolting sounds, suddenly came from a nearby alley. He immediately turned and walked into it.
"A Pallum... Liliruca?"
The moment Shen Fei entered the alley, he clearly saw what was happening ahead. Four men of varying builds stood in a fan-shaped formation around a Pallum woman against the wall. Her red hair and eyes that appeared terrified yet concealed bone-deep hatred immediately made him think of someone—Liliruca.
"Liliruca?" Shen Fei asked tentatively. He could not be certain that she was the Lily from the original work; after all, Pallum supporters tended to dress much the same.
"You know this little bitch? Don't tell me you're some pretty boy she's keeping. Kid, this little bitch owes us a lot of money. How about you pay it back for her?"
After carefully looking Shen Fei over, the beastman among the four revealed a greedy smile. At the same time, two of the other three quickly moved behind Shen Fei and blocked his escape route, wearing smiles identical to the beastman's.
"So it really is Liliruca. Soma Familia, huh?"
Though the Pallum woman said nothing, the beastman's words confirmed her identity for Shen Fei. He then fell into thought. He was not Bell, so he would not try to win Liliruca over as Bell had. But since