"Make way."
Morel braced himself on the railing and swung down to the lower level.
The moment his feet touched the ground, a burly man lunged at him from the side, wrapped both arms around his waist, and shouted.
"An outsider's beating people! Everyone, come keep order!"
Morel looked down at the arms around his waist.
"Did I touch you?"
"You did!"
"Where?"
"You were about to!"
"Since when could you charge someone in advance?"
The burly man held on even tighter.
"This area is under our control. Pay the toll if you want to chase someone."
Morel raised an elbow, caught the man's shoulder, and shoved outward. The man spun on his feet and only avoided falling by grabbing a nearby pillar.
"The outsider's beating people!"
"That one counted."
Morel went around him, and several cheers rose ahead.
Shuto slipped out from behind a cloth curtain, barefoot as he stepped onto the edge of the drainage ditch. The ditch was nearly three meters wide, filled with sewage and discarded parts.
A thug running a betting pool grabbed a wooden board and threw it ahead of him.
"Catch!"
The board stretched across the ditch and slammed into the concrete platform opposite.
Shuto planted a foot in the center of the board, bending it downward. He lowered his body, took two quick strides, and jumped across just before the board flipped into the ditch.
"Nice!"
"This is a lock! I bet he'd make it past five streets!"
"One more to go! Don't let the outsider catch him!"
Two gamblers stood side by side in the passageway, blocking the entrance with their shoulders.
Morel walked up to them.
"Move."
The man on the left spread his hands.
"The market's crowded. The road doesn't belong to you."
"You think I don't know you