The slide lesson has come to an end, and the students have begun to complete their homework under the teacher's instructions. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Noticing that the geography lesson in the room seemed to be going on for a while, Flick, who didn't want to disturb their studies, nodded lightly to the teacher and left the room as little as possible to make any noise.

Most of the young people who are able to come to study in the building attached to the library are the children of the families of "good citizens" who have some assets, so they are indeed much better at etiquette than the teenagers who wander the streets, and they will greet Frick politely when they see them in the library.

As for the wild children who live by the river or in the suburban slums, many of them do not have access to a proper education, and therefore do not have a "right" level of courtesy towards others. To put it mildly, it's probably the greatest courtesy that they didn't lean in and touch your wallet.

This is not alarmist, especially when walking around Market Street in the Old Town, and especially when walking around the "innocent" street children behind you. As long as the clothes are a little neater, they will be regarded as fat sheep, and their wallets will disappear in the crowd at some point.

It was just dusk, and Flick, who had finished his work for the day, was wandering aimlessly around the market. He felt a little hungry, and the mouth-watering aroma wafting from the pie stalls on the side of the street made him eager to buy some meatloaf for a few change to fill his already hungry stomach.

As a human being, since there are people like him who spend money to buy food according to the common sense of the world, there are naturally people who do not plan to spend money - such as the young man in front of him who is a little short. He obviously didn't intend to waste his money on food, because he could get food without spending a penny.

It wasn't the first time Frick had seen the boy for the first time—after all, he had taught the young scribe a lesson, telling him that there were a lot of innocent-looking thieves in the market at the Gates of the North. He was not mistaken, he had taken all the change he had earned.

So when he was eyeing Frick again, Frick was already eyeing him, and this time he didn't plan to let this little imp succeed.

Frick was wandering around the market, and the boy was not far from him, and he thought he was a fat sheep because of the scrivener's suit. But seeing that Frick had already been wary, he hadn't been uninteresting enough to attack his wallet.

And he didn't set his sights on Frick alone, he wandered around the market, mingling in the crowd and passing through stalls buying all sorts of things. While the stall owners were talking to customers, his hand quickly reached for the goods that were laid aside, and by the time it retracted into the shirt that was a few sizes larger than his body, it was often grasping something in its hand.

It could have been an emerald melon, a couple of shiny nuts - the imp had even caught a cold patty from under the nose of the pie stand owner. Looking at him from afar, Flick couldn't help but sigh that his skills were developed well, and no matter what he did, he was better than this.

Some argue that they become criminals only because they are not properly educated, and no one wants to help them. Sadly, however, these street children are thieves after all, not like the children who study in the library, but like more of their peers in the city.

In fact, during the days he had been at the Gate of the North, Frick had seen some of the lower-class residents living in all corners of the city more than once. They still live in difficult corners of the city, and most of the ragged children are their children.

As many of you know, this new city that has grown in a short period of time is full of lucky people – and naturally there are some who are unlucky and fall into the dust. When those who come here from all over the world in search of opportunities and are eager to use their expertise to live a better new life can no longer see any hope, they will be reduced to the shadow of the city.

Especially some unlucky adventurers, who did not earn the money and fame to return to their hometowns, and in the end they could only rely on one or two hands of force to barely make ends meet in this city. And one day, when their wrists become sluggish because of the inferior alcohol or bad drugs, and they can no longer hold their weapons, many of them have become homeless - or hooligans.

These people struggle to even maintain a normal life, let alone squeeze out extra money to provide a basic level of education for their children. Although some scribes or priests may provide some simple education to the people of the neighborhood, this kind of "grace" is difficult to reach everyone. And the rest - or most of them who can't get help - will follow the same path as their fathers.

The urchins would climb onto the roofs of some of the tall buildings in droves, spit fruit pits at the heads of passers-by, or sneak through gaps in the fence into the church gardens. They will even steal their goods from the stall owners in the market, and sometimes they will fight together for various reasons.

In fact, he also noticed that just as children are unaware of the many entangled political undercurrents lurking under the various acts of seeking knowledge in the library, many scholars who claim to be "academic" cannot see the richer negotiations, struggles, and compromises in children's lives.

They seemed to be thinking that the young children were just playing together, and although some of the naughty bags occasionally did things out of the ordinary, but on the whole they were just naughty young people, and they should think more about how to help them become knowledgeable than to stare at the misfortunes they inflicted.

Frick has asked more than once that it is necessary to let the bombastic guys look at the so-called reality first, and then consider how to help those children?

If there is anything to be thankful for, it is that the children have not yet been abducted by some black marketeers and sent to slave traders. According to the information gathered in the library, in the chaos of the last war, at least 10,000 children in the empire were sold to foreign countries.

Although slavery has long been outlawed by imperial law, looking at the case reports of local garrisons in recent years, there are still many reports of young people being abducted. It may not be the name of "slave" for the people who are sold as goods, but the mere thought of becoming goods is unpleasant enough.

So what about being a thief rather than being a slave? Whether it is a victim or a perpetrator, it is an identity that will be hated in the eyes of ordinary people. If anything, it's the negligible freedom of thieves.

In fact, Frick would pay attention to that child, also because he had some signs of magic that were different from ordinary people, and if he could get an education, he would probably have a chance to become a magician. Although it is not an outstanding talent, it may be somewhat different from ordinary people.

A young man like him, sent to the church or a wizard as an apprentice, would not be reduced to a life of stealing on the streets.

If the reason is that the elders living around them don't notice, or they don't care at all. After all, this magic is not really a special talent, but to train him to become a mage will consume a terrifying amount of money, and they don't have enough money.

"Hey, what are you doing, you little!"

While Flick was thinking as he watched him, a stall owner who was about to be "patronized" by the teenager noticed his actions and immediately screamed. But the boy had already fled when he saw that the situation was not good, and although the stall owner kept cursing and yelling, there was nothing he could do about him.

The boy sped all the way into the dense crowd, using them as cover and running into the nearby alleys, not stopping until the door of an old church was closed. Then he sat down on the steps at once, and took up the "trophies" he had just hunted and placed them in front of him—all kinds of fruit and broken meatloaf, enough for him to eat.

But the young man, who was really satisfied with his head and eating the pie, did not pay any attention to it, and a figure was slowly approaching from the shadows behind him. His bare feet swayed slightly, and at the same time, he tore open the meatloaf, which was already a little cold, and brought it to his mouth to chew on it.

"Good afternoon, you thief. ”

So when Flick suddenly greeted him from behind, the pie he had just swallowed in his mouth unsurprisingly stuck in his throat. Despite his embarrassment, he managed to swallow the pie that was choking on his throat, then glared and turned his head to look at the person behind him who was talking.

Although it still felt a little indistinct, the magic around him suddenly converged around him, protecting the young man's body like armor. There is no doubt that he has mastered the simple ways of wielding his magic powers, which, albeit unstructured, are enough to deal with ordinary people.

In other words, although he is a wild man of adventurers and the like, he is still taught how to use his innate "talents". It can be speculated, then, that there are naturally some people who meet Frick's needs among the people he knows, and they should have some information.

"Who are you!"

So the question now is how to deal with the teenager in front of you.