Chapter 70: Roman Holiday (2)

The sun was high in the sky as magic energy wavered in a damp alley. A moment later, the energy shaped into a man.

"We're here. This is Rome." The speaker was a teleporter from the Korean Player Association. He glanced over his shoulder, tilting his head. President Shim Deok-gu had given him a personal order, so he'd been nervous, but his task was too easy.

Who is he? It was hard to discern the identity of the man he'd escorted because he was wearing a baseball cap, a mask, and sunglasses. But if he was on a secret mission, that meant the player had a high level.

"I've fulfilled my task. I hope things go well for you."

The man nodded.

"I have other assignments, so, goodbye..." The teleporter checked the time and disappeared in the alleyway. The player looked around.

"So this is Rome," muttered Seo Jun-ho.

"This city is home to the spirits of many valiant warriors," the Frost Queen said.

"You can tell?"

"To some extent, yes."

The two of them emerged from the alley. They stepped out into a simple sidewalk, but they were surrounded by tourists.

"Let's go to the place Torres goes to."

Seo Jun-ho waited for a few hours at the square with a fountain, sitting on a bench. Of course, Torres never came.

"Do not be disheartened. You cannot expect to be full after your first bite."

"I'm not disappointed. He's supposed to come next week, so there's no reason I'd see him today." For now, he had familiarized himself with the area. "Let's look for a place to stay."

Seo Jun-ho stood up. At that moment, he felt something brush against his left wrist.

A pickpocket? He grabbed the pickpocket's arm.

"Hey! Let me go!" The boy looked around 15; his shirt and jeans were worn and ripped. He glared at Seo Jun-ho. "What's with you?"

"Is something wrong?" Tourists started to stare at them.

"If you don't let me go right this instant, I'm gonna say you're kidnapping me."

"Do you think they'd believe you? Hand it over." Seo Jun-ho snatched his Vita from the boy's hand.

"Geez, it was a pickpocket?"

"Tsk, tsk... Look at that. It's not very safe here."

"He's got slippery fingers. How did he steal a Vita?"

"You be careful too. They'll steal your nose if you're not careful."

It was a common sight, so the people quickly lost interest. The boy spat on the ground in frustration.

"You're rude. You seemed like a pushover..."

"Oh my. He has quite the eye for people."

"......"

Seo Jun-ho glanced at the Frost Queen and then back at the boy.

"What're you looking at? Why, do you want an apology or something?"

"No, I'm wondering if I should report you to the police."

The boy glared at him, biting his lower lip.

Is he scared? Seo Jun-ho tilted his head. He shouldn't be reacting like that. He'd probably just get a slap on the wrist and a scolding from his parents.

Seo Jun-ho examined him again and nodded slowly. He's part of a family.

(TN: Not a literal family, obviously. It just uses the English word.)

It was common for runaways in Italy and other parts of Europe to pickpocket as a group. They knew their cities inside out.

Not a bad start. Seo Jun-ho smiled at his guide.

* * *

Seo Jun-ho sipped on his coffee. In front of him, the boy was chomping down food like a starved animal.

"Slow down. Your stomach's gonna hurt."

"......" He was still looking at Seo Jun-ho warily, but he slowed down. He finished his fifth plate and started to examine him.

"What? Do you want more?"

"Ah, no. I'm full." As he spoke, he pocketed the bread one by one. "I have siblings at home... I suddenly remembered them 'cause I'm full."

Seo Jun-ho shrugged. "You know I have no obligation to them, right?"

"O-of course. I have some shame."

"Good." He raised his hand for a waiter.

"Can I help you?" Seo Jun-ho turned back to the boy.

"How many of them?"

"F-fifteen. Sixteen, including my older brother."

"Sixteen spaghettis and butter garlic breads. To-go, please."

"Alright."

As the waiter walked away, the pickpocket boy bowed his head.

"...Thank you."

"Look at this. Aren't you quite the pushover?" Seo Jun-ho pushed the Frost Queen with his finger.

"Do you have a house or parents?"

"No."

"You're part of a family, right?"

"...Yes." Perhaps it was because it was the first time in a while since anyone had shown him kindness, but the boy answered all his questions. "We're called the Marco family. The hyungs take care of the others, and we live in a barn."

"Are you and your younger siblings blood-related?"

"No, we all met as runaways, but we're like a real family."

Not bad. They would know a lot about Rome.

"What do you think about being my local guide? I'll pay you in food."

"I-I'll do it! I've memorized every street and alley in Rome. I promise." The boy nodded vigorously at the thought of warm, delicious food.

"Great. But first, I need to see if you're good enough."

"Ask whatever you want," he said confidently.

"I have a younger brother who I lost a long time ago. I heard that he was in an orphanage in Rome."

"Oh, an orphanage..." He listed off several orphanages, smiling brightly. But it wasn't what Seo Jun-ho was looking for.

If I simply wanted to know what orphanages are in Rome, I could just search it up online. Deok-gu had already looked there.

"I've been to all of them. Isn't there anywhere else?"

"Um... Those are all the orphanages around here..." The boy wracked his brain, trying to think of something else. "Oh! Maybe he's in Paradise."

"...Paradise?" Seo Jun-ho tilted his head at the strange word.

"Yes. I've never been there myself. I've only heard the hyungs talk about it, but I know it exists."

"What do they do there?"

"Um, well, there are a lot of pickpockets like us in Rome. I think there are about six families." The boy launched into his story, using his hands. "Every month, priests go to every family. They tell us they'll make us clean of sin and take one person to Paradise."

"Priests?"

"Yeah. I think they're from the Vatican."

Vatican City was in Rome, so it was a common sight to see people in priest robes. So they wouldn't seem suspicious.

Things were getting interesting. Seo Jun-ho asked another question, "What's good about Paradise?"

"I heard that you can go to school there; wear clean clothes and eat three meals a day."

"How do they pick the kids that go to Paradise?"

"I'm not sure. They just choose on the spot." He paused, then muttered quietly. "But I don't want to go to Paradise."

"Why not? It sounds like a great place."

"...The priests are a little scary." The boy shivered. "They look very kind, but... something about them makes me uncomfortable."

"For no reason?"

Seo Jun-ho remembered something. Demonic energy brings out all the fear in people. If those priests were fiends with Demonic energy, it made sense that the boy felt that way—especially because he had sharp instincts. He couldn't lose him.

Seo Jun-ho called the waiter again. "I would like some pizza to-go. Eight of them."

* * *

"Is that where your family lives?" Seo Jun-ho looked at a shabby barn. It smelled of horse dung, as if there were a farm nearby.

"It smells a little bad, but it's a nice place."

"...Well, whatever. Lead the way."

The boy skipped over to the barn and opened the door, carrying the food.

"It's Max!"

"Hyung!"

"Hey, what's that? Something smells good!"

"You guys didn't get to eat anything today, did you? Eat up!"

So his name is Max. The younger ones surrounded Max, who grinned as he distributed the food. A boy who was lying in the corner stood up.

"Max, what is this?"

"Oh, Marco. This..." Max looked up at Seo Jun-ho. He didn't seem to know where to start.

"I bought it, so don't worry."

"So, who are you?" Marco growled as he approached him. He seemed about 19. He looked like an adult among all the children, but to Seo Jun-ho, he was still a child.

"It's my first time in Rome, so he's gonna be my local guide. This is the payment."

"...Max, is that true?"

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't discuss it with you, hyung." Marco looked from Max to Seo Jun-ho and nodded slowly.

"Do what you want. But you, if you do anything to my kids..." He trailed off, watching the children eat.

"Aren't you gonna eat? I bought enough for everyone."

"I'll eat what they leave over."

Seo Jun-ho had expected him to be some sort of gangster because he led a group of pickpockets, but Marco was surprisingly pragmatic.

"What're you really looking for? You could've hired a professional guide with the money you spent on all that food."

He was clever. Seo Jun-ho shrugged. "I'm looking for my little brother. Max said he might be in Paradise, so I want to meet the priests."

"...Paradise?" Marco nodded. "I see. I understand now."

"By any chance, have you ever met any of the kids since they went to Paradise?"

"No. Sometimes I wonder how they're doing and ask the priests, and they'd give me letters from them. They seem to be doing well."

"Really? I want to meet them. Do you know when the priests are coming again?"

"You're lucky. They're coming in two days."

"Two days..." Seo Jun-ho nodded. "That's Sunday," he muttered.

He was looking forward to his first Roman holiday.