Vol. 1 Ch. 1 Ep. 11: To the Black Market! Part 1

So this is the Black Market...

Whoa! There's a ton of people here! ☆

Yeah. I was expecting a smaller operation, but this is like a city unto itself.

I didn't realize an unauthorized district would be so big and so busy.

To be fair, we hardly ever leave Abydos. There are a lot of weird places outside our district.

Have you ever been here before, Hoshino?

No, but I've heard stories about all kinds of places around the city.

Apparently, there's a giant aquarium somewhere too!

We should all go there next time. Heh. Just think of all the sushi we can get...

Not that I know, but I don't think an aquarium is for THAT...

Eyes sharp, everyone. You're in the heart of the illegal weapons and arms trade, so be ready for anything.

If anything does happen, I'll... Huh?!

Gunfire.

Stop right there!

W-Waaah! No, no, no! P-Please, stop chasing me!

And why would we do that?!

Hey. That uniform...

Watch out! Coming through!

O-Ow... Sorry about that!

Are you okay?

Though I guess being chased answers that question.

Well...that's...

Who the heck are you? Get outta the way! We got business with that Trinity student!

Uh... But I don't have any business with you.

...!

That's right! That uniform belongs to Trinity General School, one of the largest academies in all of Kivotos!

And one of the richest too! Kidnapping her is sure to command a hefty ransom!

Abductions and negotiations! Now that's what I call an investment plan!

Whaddaya think? You interested? We could make a fair split...

Huh?

Arrrggghhh!

Bad guys have to be punished! ☆

Hmm.

Oh. Oh, dear.

Th-Thank you so much. I would have been in so much trouble with my school if not for you.

It's bad enough I snuck out here on my own. If something bad happened... It's giving me a headache just thinking about it!

You said your name was Hifumi, right? So what's a Trinity student doing in a dangerous place like this?

A-Ahaha... It's kind of a long story. I came here looking for something...

It's no longer in production, but I heard that it shows up every now and then on the Black Market.

Like a tank?

A contraband firearm?

A biochemical agent?

What?! No, of course not! It's...a limited edition piece of Peroro merchandise.

Peroro?

Limited edition merchandise?

Yup! It's this guy right here. A limited edition plush from the Peroro and Ice Cream franchise collaboration!

Only 100 of them were ever made!

What do you think? Cute, right?

...

Wow! I love Momo Friends too! Peroro is so cute! ☆ I'm a fan of Mr. Nicholai, personally.

Right? The way Mr. Nicholai philosophizes is just so dashing!

In fact, I recently bought a compilation of Mr. Nicholai's work, "Reaching Beyond Good & Evil"! It was a first edition too!

I have no idea what they're talking about.

You never did care for cutesy stuff, Hoshino.

Huh. I guess I just don't get the young people these days.

We're practically the same age...

I came here looking for that, but ended up getting targeted by those thugs. Either way, I would've been in deep trouble without you guys.

Anyway, what brings Abydos students to a place like this?

The same thing as you. We're looking for something.

Yeah. Something that's out of production now and hard to find. But we heard we might be able to find it here.

Wow, great minds think alike.

Hang on, guys! Armed forces are closing in on you!

What?!

There they are!

You're gonna pay for messing with us!

They must be from the same gang as those thugs you scared off. And they look like they're raring for a fight!

Well, if it's a fight they want...

Why do we keep getting involved with these rough-and-tumble types everywhere we go? Is it us?

You'll have time to complain later... Now's the time to act!

The enemy is retreating.

But at this rate...

Are they going to bring reinforcements? Fine by me.

W-Wait a second! We can't just keep engaging them like this!

I don't see why not.

The Black Market's enforcers might crack down on us if we make any more of a scene!

And we'll be in really big trouble if that happens. We should get out of here.

Fair. You know more about this place than we do, Hifumi, so we'll take your lead.

Tch. They should consider themselves lucky!

This way!