My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

’Help? A rich man needs help from someone in the Slums? What a joke.’

Ariel stared at the man, his expression dark, a crooked, mocking smile creeping onto his face.

”I don’t work for rich people.”

That sweet-sounding offer, the kind that dangled the promise that if you just said yes, your whole life might change. This was exactly what Ariel had always heard, that not a single one of them could ever be trusted.

The man, Julian, watched him in silence. His mind worked far harder than his cold expression let on, checking his pocket and finding a few thin, stiff sheets tucked inside.

Julian pulled them out, revealing a short, thin card, one that looked dense and sturdy despite its size. The moment the card came into view, Ariel froze on the spot, staring at it with sharp, fixated eyes, as though he were looking at something priceless.

It was 50 Credits worth of currency. Enough to buy Ariel normal meals for five whole days, enough to guarantee food, real food, for him and Clana.

His heart pounded hard at the sight of those Credits, his gaze locked onto it, his mind flooding with pure survival instinct.

Could he just snatch it and run?

But Ariel also knew, if he made a reckless grab for it, there was a real chance he’d end up a wanted man, hunted down by some wealthy stranger.

That was way too dangerous.

But...

’With that... Clana could actually eat well.’

How long had it been since either of them had had a proper, decent meal?

Ariel stood there frozen, torn, until he heard the man’s voice again:

”If you hear me out, this is yours. And I’ll give you even more after that.”

Rich people always had honeyed tongues, they were experts at talking people into things. So the moment you accepted their offer, you’d better brace yourself for the worst.

Those words...

Ariel swallowed hard, his face darkening as he bit down on his lip.

***

’Yes! It’s working! Just as I thought, the power of money really is something else.’

Julian was in a genuinely good mood. He’d only ever seen this play out a handful of times in movies, actors playing characters who talked ordinary people on the street into things. Thankfully, he’d pulled it off well.

Every single script like that always used money as the hook to reel people in, and apparently, that worked just as well in this world too.

”Ahem..!”

Julian composed himself, it was still far too early to be humming along cheerfully to himself.

”...What do you want?”

He looked at the boy who’d introduced himself as Ariel. The boy had dark navy-blue hair, unkempt and hanging down to his neck. His eyes were red, sharp and genuinely striking to look at. His body was thin and grimy, exactly as you’d expect from a kid living on the streets.

Julian set all of that aside and focused on his goal.

”How much do you know about the Slums?”

The question made Ariel tilt his head, one eyebrow arching in confusion.

”...I live here, obviously I know a lot, don’t I? Weird question.”

”Then, do you know where someone could get a Mimic Serum made?”

”Mimic Serum?”

’What’s that?’

Ariel paused for a moment. The word ”Serum” was something he’d heard tossed around here and there, but there were tons of different kinds of Serums out there, weren’t there?

So a Mimic Serum was probably just one more kind among them. Ariel hesitated briefly, looked at Julian, then said:

”...I don’t know what a Mimic Serum is, but I know where people usually get their hands on Serums and drugs.”

Setting aside the last part of that sentence, which had clearly come from a bit of a misunderstanding, Julian nodded.

’He doesn’t know what a Mimic Serum is, but he knows where people make Serums in general... That should be enough, I think.’

A small smile crept onto his face.

***

To make sure Julian didn’t end up dead in some narrow alley later on, he decided to wait until Kina had finished resting first.

’Right! There’s no way I’m going anywhere without Kina.’

Kina was his only real protection, and Julian had no intention of risking his life just to save a little face and go it alone. He chose instead to be a little shameless about it and hide behind Kina’s body, even though her frame clearly wouldn’t be nearly enough to actually hide him.

Who cared, though?

Either way, once Kina had finally recovered enough, Julian wasted no more time. Night was closing in fast, he needed to hurry and finish what he’d set out to do and get into the Central Area.

”Master... who’s this scrawny kid? Why do we even have to follow him, don’t you think he looks kind of like... a pickpocket?”

Kina whispered into Julian’s ear, eyeing Ariel as he led the way ahead of them. Her whisper wasn’t quiet at all, it sounded almost deliberate.

Judging by the way Ariel’s expression soured, it clearly had been.

”So what if I am a pickpocket!? Not like I’m some spoiled brat who got to live off pure luck just for being born into a rich family.”

The muscles in Kina’s face twitched at that, her expression darkening as an irritated smile crept across her lips.

”Waah~ someone’s talking like they actually know something. Too bad, a rich person’s life isn’t nearly as simple as you seem to think it is. And you know what? You really shouldn’t talk like that, defending something that’s clearly wrong doesn’t make you look any more right.”

”Ugh...!” Ariel looked like he wanted to argue back, but right then, without either of them realizing it, Julian genuinely felt his nerves fraying from their bickering.

’These kids... can’t the two of them just focus on the actual goal here?’

He let out a sigh, looking utterly exhausted as he glanced at Kina.

”Master?” Sensing his gaze, Kina turned to him, blinking innocently.

”...A person’s worth isn’t decided that way. You don’t even know him. Don’t decide what kind of person he is based on just that. Sure, being a pickpocket doesn’t make what he does right, But have you actually looked at his situation? What pushed him into choosing something like that in the first place?”

’Please, just stop arguing and take me to buy the serum!’

The words Julian had just said were, honestly, pretty famous lines lifted straight from certain movies. He’d actually played a character who said something almost identical once, which was exactly why he could deliver it so smoothly.

Ariel shut his mouth, listening to those words, then turned his face away, his expression darkening, his hands clenched so tightly they trembled.

Julian didn’t wait for Kina to respond, adding on his own:

”Knowing one bad thing someone’s done doesn’t mean you understand their whole life. But judge them for yourself, once you’re sure of what you’re actually seeing. Right now, your judgment is built entirely on what you’ve heard.”

Things like how the Slums supposedly worked, how vulgar and awful the people there supposedly were, how often little kids had to steal food just to get by.

Really, if someone had never lived through it themselves, they might feel sorry for the food shop that got robbed, but they’d never feel a shred of sympathy for the kids forced into stealing just to survive.

What they did couldn’t exactly be justified. But for people who grew up with no protection, no steady work, not even guaranteed food, the choices in front of them were far narrower than they looked from the outside.

Kina fell quiet, lost in thought. As the daughter of a great family, she’d never really understood how this world actually worked. All she knew was what she’d been told, and she’d lived her whole life going entirely off that.

Like how her own family had always spoken so disdainfully about people from the Slums, she even remembered being looked down on herself, compared unfavorably to them once.

For Kina, she could feel with perfect clarity just how unwelcome her own presence had always been in that household, which had led her to assume the Slums had to be every bit as terrible as they’d made it out to be.

She’d never actually stopped to think about it any deeper than that.

Kina fell silent. For the first time, she tried to look at Ariel not as some ”Slum kid,” but as someone who actually lived through all of it.

What Julian said didn’t make stealing right. But Kina was starting to realize that knowing about the act alone might not be enough to actually know what kind of person Ariel really was.

’That... actually sounds right.’

Kina had never once considered it that way. Even the very first time she’d met her Master, hadn’t she judged him purely on appearances, and hadn’t she been quick to bad-mouth the Slums without ever once considering there might be something good in it?

She glanced at Ariel for a moment.

The boy clearly had no intention of turning back around, his expression dark, but he kept leading them forward with real focus. He pointed out several areas they should avoid, several spots they needed to stay alert around.

Her Master had mentioned paying for a guide, and the first time she’d laid eyes on this particular guide, she’d suspected her Master might have gotten scammed. But as it turned out, the journey had been going remarkably smoothly.

”Master.”

Kina was about to say something, but before she could get the words out, she stopped short at the sound of a scream cutting through the air ahead of them. A scream they should have steered clear of, but Ariel didn’t.

Ariel’s face went pale as he suddenly bolted toward the source of the sound, sprinting in a full panic.

”Clana!”

Julian and Kina were left behind, both of them frozen for a moment, then Julian, hesitant, started moving toward the source of the scream.

Kina followed close behind him.