Back on the street where the Filly Restaurant was situated, Arke stood at the corner where the 'beggar' usually stayed. But he couldn't see him. Where did he go? With a frown on his face, he moved to stand in front of the restaurant's door. He was about to open it when the door swung open from the inside.
"Mr. Yoma?" Ned peeked out with excitement on his face. "Oh, just a customer."
Arke stared at the server, who opened the door wide and gestured for him to enter. "Welcome, Sir."
"Have you seen a beggar near your restaurant?" Arke didn't enter and asked instead.
"Mr. Yoma? Are you looking for him?" Ned asked back, tilting his head.
"Mr. Yoma? So that's his name," Arke muttered, his eyes shining with understanding. His suspicion about the beggar was completely removed. Why else would this waiter call him 'Mister'? Even Gail is friends with him.
Apollo Leone and Gail didn't interact in the past and probably don't know each other's names.
In the end, he didn't find anything even after checking all the suspicious people he had in mind. Thinking about what he did to some of them, he almost couldn't hold back his bloodlust.
Arke strongly believed that the Leone heir was either dead or in a miserable state. With a sigh, he couldn't help but think it would have been better if the beggar was the Leone heir.
He was about to turn around, go back to his villa, and rethink his plan when he suddenly stopped. His eyes lit up as he came up with a 'genius' plan.
"Are you going to enter, Sir?" Ned asked in confusion, seeing that the person in front of him was just standing still.
"Sure," Arke nodded and smiled. I should think about this new plan of mine here while eating.
Apollo arrived in front of a big hole in the giant wall that encircled the whole city. Looking at the sign beside the hole, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"So this is the entrance to Slumstreet? But isn't this just outside?" the beggar muttered, shaking his head. There's a sewer that he needs to cross to get inside the hole. Fortunately, there are small wooden boards that act as a bridge. Though he could just jump over it, it would disrespect the people who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears to make this 'bridge'.
After crossing the sewer, he stepped on stairs made from a pile of rocks. Once inside the hole, he couldn't help but wonder who made such a thing. The wall that fortified Klown City is at least 5 meters thick and 50 to 60 meters high. It's a wonder how long it took to construct this thing.
Apollo reached the end of the hole and jumped over the stone stairs. Landing on a patch of grass, he looked around his surroundings.
There were only a few trees he could see; the rest was just grass. Apollo didn't think much of it and just felt it was normal, probably because the city was surrounded by a wide plain of grass with only a few trees. If he wanted to find the forest, he had to travel for a while, just like that place where the Duskfangs were.
His eyes then landed on small houses in the distance. This was called Slumstreet, but it was more like a small countryside with only a few dozen or so houses. Apollo walked towards the wooden houses. The materials they used were mostly wood, with some metals here and there to fortify the foundations.
It was sloppy, but it was miles better than his makeshift roof in his beggar spot.
He looked inside the houses but found no one. He spotted some cages with pigs inside and chickens walking on the grass. Even so, he didn't find anyone. That was when his senses told him someone was running behind him. He immediately turned around to see a young boy, slightly smaller than him, dashing past and running into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Apollo didn't have time to ask the boy as he could see worry and urgency on the boy's face. Suddenly, a bad feeling rose within the beggar. Following the boy, they arrived at the furthest house in Slumstreet. There are a lot of people, Apollo thought, realizing the reason he hadn't seen anyone so far.
He recognized some of them as they sold on the same street as Big Chub. What's the commotion? The beggar tiptoed to see better, but because of his small frame, he could only see the top of the house.
Apollo walked towards the nearest person he recognized. "Hey, do you know where Big Chub is?"
The person he asked turned towards him, and upon seeing that it was the beggar, the man couldn't help but look at him with sadness. "It's you, beggar kid. I think it would be better for you not to know."
"What do you mean?" Apollo asked, his face turning serious. The foreboding feeling increased, seeing the man's expression and some of the people who looked at him with sadness.
"Why don't you play somewhere else?" The man forcefully smiled. "I'll let my son play with you."
Hearing this, Apollo shook his head and started pushing through the people in front of him.
"Hey, kid, don't!" The man shouted, but Apollo had already made his way through the crowd.
After pushing the last person aside, Apollo finally saw the house. Just like any other house, it was made of wood and was only enough for one to two people to live in. There was a handcart on the side filled with things Big Chub used for his stall.
Apollo's eyes then landed in front of the door. On the ground, someone was covered in a white cloth, though the cloth was already tinted with red. He didn't have to smell to know that the cloth was soaked in blood.
The beggar walked towards the person. Some tried to stop him, but he just pushed them aside. Kneeling in front of it, he reached out his hand and lifted the cloth where the face was located.
Once the face was revealed, the onlookers couldn't help but look away, tears brimming in their eyes.
Some of the kids, on the other hand, started crying, their small voices echoing in the surroundings.
Apollo placed the cloth back before standing up.
"He was a good person," a middle-aged woman said, walking towards the beggar. She put her hand on Apollo's head, seemingly trying to comfort him. With evident sadness in her voice, she continued, "He is the reason why we even have this Slumstreet."