Chương 120: Chapter 113: Righteous Criminal

Lira was standing on top of another building, this time facing the soup kitchen where Pallan currently was. After they had finished setting everything up, Pallan had asked her to leave before sending one of his agents to fetch Henry. She had pretended to leave. Instead, she had found another vantage point and covered herself with Magical Obfuscation once more. From there, she waited. It did not take long before she spotted Henry being guided through the streets by a twelve-year-old boy.

The contrast between them was almost comical. The boy was smiling brightly, clearly pleased with himself, while Henry walked beside him with a frown on his face. Lira cast Life Watch and Focused Hearing.

"Pika. Cipos. Syneth. Kalaba. Velar."

"Pika. Cipos. Hishar. Kaldris. Velar."

"And does he pay you?" Henry asked.

"Pallan? He mostly feeds us," the boy replied.

"But he also helps the church where we sleep."

"And do you work for him? Does he make you do things for him?"

"Nope. He asks, and since I'm done eating, I go."

"Would he stop feeding you if you didn't do as he asked?"

"Lots of folk eat without working. He ain't stopping feeding nobody." Henry's frown deepened.

"You should not trust a man like this. He is exploiting you." The boy looked up at him with an amused expression.

"You're funny, sir. If I don't eat, I die. I don't see you fancy folk feeding me." The boy's logic was brutally simple. Lira didn't bother masking her laughter since her magic did. Henry, meanwhile, was clearly struggling to find an answer that did not sound ridiculous. The two continued toward the soup kitchen. It was still lunchtime, and this was already the third wave of diners. People were still waiting outside while those from the second wave were leaving. The boy led Henry inside.

Lira's visual connection broke the moment they crossed the threshold. Fortunately, she could still hear them. The door opened. Then closed.

"Hello. My name is Pallan Matrius, and you must be Sir Henry Silverfield."

"How do you know my name?"

"It is my job to know people. Besides, it is not as though you are a nobody. Prince Lyth only has one dedicated bodyguard, after all."

"I see." Lira heard the scrape of a chair beneath the weight of Henry's plate armor.

"So you are the gang boss in charge of things around this neighborhood."

"Sir, you slander me. I am here merely as an information broker, a perfectly legal job, I assure you. Why would a gang leader want to meet a knight in service to a royal?"

"Watch your words all you want. I know your kind," Henry growled.

"You exploit the good people of Haltar only to enrich yourself."

"I am sorry," said Pallan, his voice as jovial as ever, "but I think you have mistaken me for Lord Taren. Didn't a famine break out on his ancestral lands while he was here sampling every brothel the capital has to offer?" There was a pause. Lira could practically imagine Henry's expression. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I don't believe that is relevant," he finally said.

"Oh, I believe it is. Lord Taren exploits the people beneath him while pretending that their poverty is simply the natural order of things. I, on the other hand, run a soup kitchen."

"You are dressed better than Lord Taren, while your men are dressed in rags and eat watered-down soup."

"May I ask something, my lord?" Pallan's voice remained remarkably calm.

"Why do you call those people my men? I am not a Lord… You are. It's true that I am feeding them and that my clothes are expensive. However, your armor alone costs ten times the price of my suit, yet you don't." Henry did not answer.

"I dress like this because I deal with nobles. If I did not, none of you would sit with me long enough for me to sell you the information I have and make enough money to keep this place running." Lira couldn't help but think that something was strange. Both men were behaving differently from usual. Henry was being far too aggressive. He was normally quiet and observant, preferring to watch before speaking. And Pallan would normally never speak to a noble this way. What was going on?

Lira wished she had a visual as well. Unfortunately, Pallan considered windows in safehouses an invitation to being murdered.

"It seems we have gotten off on the wrong foot," Henry finally said.

"I have been dismissed by everyone I have spoken with for the past few hours. It must have affected my temper."

"Well, I hope you weren't offended by my harsh words," Pallan sighed.

"I spoke only the truth, or at least my truth. I hope that does not dissuade you from dealing with me. After all, what use is information coming from a liar?" Lira's eyes widened. Oh. Pallan was feeding Henry truths through the Truth spell. That was why he was behaving differently from usual. He was overwhelming Henry with truths so that the knight would instinctively trust him.

"No, I suppose you are right," Henry said.

"I will leave you with a large donation of silver even if I do not find the information I am looking for, as long as you promise to use it only to feed people." Another pause.

"I promise." Lira smiled. Pallan had him.

"So, word on the street is that you are looking for information about a girl called Lira Velora, correct?"

"Yes."

"While I currently do not have a dossier on Lira herself, we certainly have one on her father." Lira heard the sound of a binder being opened.

"Gareth Velora. Scribe, bookbinder, and translator. Spoke four languages, including Magari, Abadi, and Nstuba. His clients were mostly scholars from the Academy, merchants, and various guild administrators. As for the reason for his execution, do you want the official version or the suspected, speculative reason that the person who compiled this document arrived at?"

"Give me both," Henry said.

"I must repeat that I personally do not know whether this is true. This is only what was reported to me by a trusted source." This was the trap. Pallan trusted Lira, so that made her a trusted source, trusted enough to lie for him by proxy, keeping him from lying himself.

"Understood."

"My contact, the one who compiled this information, knew Gareth Velora personally. According to them, Gareth had been working on something top secret on behalf of Lord Kenth Kelroth in the days before he was executed… on the orders of Lord Kelroth himself. The charge was possession and dissemination of forbidden knowledge." Henry was silent for several seconds.

"You are saying he was silenced."

"I am not saying anything," denied Pallan.

"Do not put words in my mouth. I do not want Lord Kelroth as an enemy."

"What about the daughter?"

"According to this report," Pallan paused, probably to read ahead, "Lira Velora was kicked out by her uncle merely an hour after her father's death. That particular winter had been especially cold, and twelve children died of exposure, including her."

"Are you telling me she was left to die just like that?" Henry's breathing changed.

"If someone knew this much about her, why didn't they intervene?"

"I have a report here informing me that three children in the western slums probably will not survive the summer due to a lack of medical attention." Pallan's voice became cold.

"You have been informed. Go do something about it."

"I…"

"We do what we can, but we cannot save everybody," Pallan said.

"Besides, it is not up to us to fix this broken city. We do not own it."

"I… I'm sorry."

"You have a good heart, kid," sighed Pallan.

"Try to use your privilege to make the world a little better. And make sure Prince Lyth turns out to be a better person than you are. He could do more good than you can." There was a long silence.

"I see… So this is what she is doing."

"Who?"

"Nothing." Lira heard the scrape of a chair, followed by the clink of a coin pouch hitting the wood of the table.

"Thank you, Mr. Pallan." She heard footsteps. Then the door opened. Lira started climbing down the roof. She had better be back to the library before Henry. But she needed to stop to buy some sweets first. She was known to always leave the castle to get some, so it would be a good alibi for her. She couldn't help but consider the conversation between Pallan and Henry. She always knew that despite being a criminal, Pallan was more good than evil.

Still, under the threat of a truth spell, Pallan revealed himself to be more altruistic than she had expected. Maybe some magic could help him make the city better… a healing spell would help him save a lot of lives. She shook her head. She needed time to consider it further. She also needed to finish working on said healing spell first.