It's only been about a few weeks since Yuri returned and he was slowly getting accustomed to his daily life in the Lower Quarter—waking up early to prepare some breakfast for the common folks living in the public inn. And as promised, would escort Ted and the orphans to their school and vice versa, purchase the groceries along the way, and during his spare time, would practice swordsmanship and walk Repede.

Aside from the new adjustments, Yuri adapted well with it. All in all, everything was back to normal and how it should be.

…Or so, it seems.

On October 30th, the Council proclaimed that starting on the first day of November, that there would be a weekly collection of taxes throughout the Capital City of Zaphias. In addition to this, they also stated that any able men, women, and elderly who refused to pay would be imprisoned.

Unsurprisingly, the Council did not provide a proper explanation behind their decree.

Of the many Quarters within Zaphias, it was the Lower Quarter that was severely hit as the majority of its population were the poor. As the leader of the community, Hanks advised them not to worry and that he'd do what he can to convince the tax collectors to minimize their individual payments or to at least extend it to allow them more time to gather more Gald.

The day arrived and a tall, scrawny Imperial knight was sent into their neighborhood to collect the taxes. To Hanks and the others' dismay, the knight denied their initial plan and publicly announced that in three hours, the rest of his division, the Schwann Bridge, would come in and escort every single individual to the palace prison.

But as luck would've had it, Yuri came in at the nick of time—or rather, jumped out from his window and began to confront with the knight. What followed next was a series of taunts and verbal comebacks and in the end, Yuri managed to get the upper hand by successfully outwitting the knight. And before anyone knew it, Yuri landed a roundhouse kick—throwing the knight into the cold river.

Yuri's feats were well-received by the people and children, all except Hanks who heavily scolded him later that afternoon for pulling such a stunt.

"Now you've gone and done it!" The bearded man exclaimed as he instinctively pulled the shell of his foster son's left ear in annoyance. "What the hell were you thinking?! You're gonna get yourself arrested!"

"I did what I had to do!" Yuri countered back, brushing away the latter's touch and nursing his slightly swollen ear with the back of his hand. "Obviously, there was a problem and I solved it! Simple as that!"

Hanks shook his head, followed by a heavy sigh.

"Yuri, you don't understand…" He groaned, massaging his wrinkly forehead. "The knight that you got rid of…yes, he's gone for the day but more will be coming." Peering up to face the dark-haired man once more, he shot him a glare and added, "Your actions bear consequences. And they will continue piling up if you don't change your way of thinking. Throwing people into rivers or challenging them in a fight…those are not morally right."

Yuri crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes as he looked the other way.

Hanks watched as the latter picked his feet up on the wooden table and said nothing in response. He emitted another sigh. He switched his focus to his surroundings, remaining unfazed by the surprised looks of their spectators within close range.

Moving his head toward the right, he found Marie and Ted behind the counter, who both offered him a sympathetic smile. He then fixated his attention back to his foster son who seemed to be ignoring him and was preoccupied with the little puppy resting on his lap.

Clearly, he was peeved.

And knowing him and how stubborn he was, he wouldn't dare to make eye contact with the latter for god knows how long.

"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want," Hanks finally spoke up, shaking his head. "I've got my own problems to worry about and you've got yours." Turning around, he wobbled his way toward the entrance of the public inn. "I'll see you in the evening for supper." He didn't bother to wait for a reply as he left the scene, ignoring the many eyes and growing whispers around him.

And that was the end of their discussion.

Later that night, Marie, Ted, and even Repede dropped by to join the bearded man for dinner. And as predicted, Yuri didn't show up.

The next day arrived and this time, another knight—one of short stature and chubby physique showed up. Like his previous subordinate, he demanded the collection of the taxes among the community. Again, Hanks stepped in to address their current situation and what he received in response was the usual rejection.

It didn't take long before Yuri jumped in to save the day.

However, what he did next baffle the others.

Dropping his sword in the ground, he raised his arms above his head in surrender.

"What in the world are you doing, Yuri?" Hanks cried out, gaining his foster son's attention.

Turning around, Yuri gave him a cheeky grin. "What does it look like I'm doing?" And then veered his attention back to the knight who aimed a spear at him.

"Spare them from their taxes and take me in," Yuri declared, surprising everyone.

The knight looked at him as if he grew two heads. "Wait…you must be the one who threw Adecor into the river!" He accused, "Long, dark hair…weird clothing…" His eyes slowly widened upon realization. "It IS you!"

An impish smirk appeared on Yuri's lips as he lowered his hands to crack his knuckles. "Seems you already know me," He replied, "Guess this means you already know what's coming for you."

When the short knight shot him a glare and began to recite the regulations of the decree, the dark-haired man let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, brother…" He muttered lowly under his breath. "Look, I don't have the time to dawdle around. Are you gonna arrest me or not?"

After much consideration, the knight eventually agreed to his offer. Everyone in the Lower Quarter stared in horror as Yuri was ushered away from them. Hanks was left devastated the most as he stood frozen and helpless.

It wasn't until he heard his name being called that he realized that his mouth was still open.

"Hey, Hanks?"

Blinking, the bearded man cried out in his croaky voice, "Yes, Yuri?"

"Take care of Repede for me, alright?" Yuri replied, flashing him a grin. "I'll be back before you know it."

Surprised by his words, Hanks couldn't help but shake his head. Even so, he couldn't contain the laughter trapped in his throat. "You better keep your word, boy,"

And just like that, he was gone.

While the crowd shrunk to a few numbers, Hanks remained in his spot with his hands collected behind his back. Something tugged the end of his shirt, catching his attention. He lowered his head, his once dazed expression becoming soft as he was greeted with one of the little girls from the orphanage.

"…Is big brother Yuri gonna be okay?" She asked in concern.

Hanks grinned, bringing his hand forward and placing it on top of her head. "He's fine," He assured her, "This isn't the first time he's gotten himself into trouble."

For the entire month of November, there was no knight who dared dropped by at the Lower Quarter. And shortly after, to the community's surprise, Yuri was discharged early and had returned as he promised…but he wasn't alone.

"Well, this is quite the surprise!" Hanks laughed joyfully as he emerged from the crowd to approach the two young men before him. With his eyes focused in on the tall blonde man, he chuckled. "Great to see you again, Flynn,"

Setting his hand on his hip, Yuri sighed. "A hello would've been great but yeah, sure," He murmured, shrugging his shoulders.

Hearing this, his foster brother rolled his eyes.

"It's nice to see you too, Hanks," Flynn began, bowing his head a little. "And I see that everyone here is doing well."

"We've got a lot to catch up on!" Hanks began, coming forward. "Why don't we head on over to the inn? I'm sure Marie would whip up something nice for ya and— "

Flynn shook his head. "No, there's no need," He said, declining the offer. "I'm just here to escort Yuri, who by the way…" As he trailed off his words, he proceeded to shoot his childhood friend a menacing glare. "Should say thank you."

"Why would I need to?" Yuri scoffed. "For your information, I would've handled everything on my own."

"When Captain Schwann informed me that one of his men picked up some idiot who decided to go against the rules, I was hoping that it wouldn't be you." Flynn countered back. As he finished his sentence, he groaned. "But, of course…"

"Of course," Yuri repeated after him, nodding along and grinning mischievously.

Flynn clenched his teeth. "Have you no shame?" He raised his voice, "You left the knights for barely a month and you've already made a name for yourself as a tax offender!"

"It's none of your damn business, Flynn," Yuri countered, glaring. "I did what I had to do!"

"Don't give me that load of crap!" Flynn remarked, pointing a finger directly at him. "Anyway, you should be grateful that I happened to be patrolling the palace or you would've been rotting in that jail cell!"

"What are you talking about? You deprived me of the free meals!" Yuri barked, getting peeved. "Free meals, Flynn, that I would've bought with my own Gald but you just had to take all of that way!"

While the two were at each other's throats, the people looked at each other with smiles.

Hanks, on the other hand, was tapping his right foot impatiently on the ground. Repede, who sat next to him, stuck out his tongue and let out a yawn.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The two men flinched in their spots and turned to their foster father, who was already sick and tired of their pointless bickering. "What happened to yer manners, huh?" And then the next set of his words caught them off-guard. "If you wanna settle things, go beyond the walls and fight it out or whatever! But I forbid either of you from causing a commotion here!"

Yuri and Flynn cast looks at each other, then back at their foster father and the community. Seconds later, the two relaxed their shoulders followed by soft mutterings of "I deeply apologize," and "He started it."

Meanwhile, the crowd was stifling their chuckles.

Shaking his head, the corners of Hanks's mouth turned up. "I see that you boys still got some learning to do…"

"Anyway, I better get going," Flynn interrupted, "As I said before, I only came here to escort Yuri back. I still got some duties to attend to."

Yuri snorted. "Good riddance then,"

Flynn nudged the other male with his elbow. Ignoring his foster brother's words, he shaped his hand into a fist.

Taking note of this, Yuri did the same. Bumping their fists together, Hanks intruded him, letting Flynn be aware that the next time he pays a visit, there will be a celebration.

Nodding, Flynn forced a grin. "I look forward to it."

Slowly, he bent his knees down to affectionately pat little Repede's head, then went on to exchange farewells with Hanks, and the rest of the community. Once his presence disappeared from the long, winding stairs overhead, all eyes were directed at Yuri.

Sensing eyes on him, the dark-haired man arched an eyebrow. "What?"

On cue, Ted broke the silence. "You're lucky that Flynn was around to bail you."

"You know the drill," Marie insisted, walking forward with two little girls holding each side of her hands. "Be sure to make up with him by cooking his favorites."

Yuri gave a half shrug.

Catching sight of his downcast eyes, Hanks cleared up his throat. "Okay, everyone, that's enough now," He spoke up, clapping his hands to gain their attention. "Now that Yuri's back, let's give him some space so he can rest and reflect on his actions."

The men, women, and children abided his order and left to continue their duties.

"…Thanks."

Registering his words, Hanks sighed. "You best move along now," He said in a steady tone, squatting down to get the tiny puppy from the ground. He then bestowed Repede toward his foster son who silently accepted the offer.

Without another word, Yuri left.

Unknown to him, Hanks remained in place, watching him from a distance.

Later that night, Hanks found Yuri again—alone and sitting on one of the box crates situated next to the staircase that led up to his room.

From the looks of it, he seemed to be concentrated on a row of glass bottles that were lined up on another crate box as it was located across from him. Frowning, he took the first pebble from the pile next to him, rubbed the smooth surface a few times before throwing it at the first bottle.

And then another, and another and another.

His lips straightened in a thin line as he silently counted the bottles he managed to hit—so far, only one out of four.

Following the sound of glass breaking was a bark coming from his tiny companion who quickly raced over to snatch the pebble that was luckily a few feet away from the mess and rushed back to his owner.

"Thanks, Repede," Yuri managed to say as he inclined his body forward and seized the pebble that the puppy was offering him.

As he got a hold of the round object, he stared at it, his frown deepening.

All of a sudden, Yuri swung his arm as hard as he could.

Completely missing the last and final bottle, he released an aggravated groan.

"…Rusty, aren't ya?"

Alarmed, Yuri quickly turned his head to the direction of the voice. Upon recognizing the familiar figure of his foster father, he relaxed. "Oh, it's just you."

"You don't look well," Hanks points out, approaching him. "Something's bothering you." When he received no response from the latter, he sighed. "You know, it's not good to keep it in."

"Let me guess," Yuri began, avoiding eye contact. "You here to lecture me again? Or are you gonna compare me to how Flynn's been doing?"

Hanks gave him a look. "You know I don't do that,"

Rolling his eyes, Yuri scoffed. "Everyone here apparently does," He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "And don't get me started with how they idolize him."

"Let them gossip all they want…" Hanks trailed off, comforting him. "Their opinions don't validate who you are."

When the silence dragged on, Hanks leaned his back against the wall and continued. "You and Flynn are different. Tails and heads, day and night, but in the end, the two of you share similar ambitions. Both of you are striving for the same goal but in your own ways. Flynn is still pursuing knighthood because he knows how corrupted the Council is and believes that it's the only way to change the system on the inside. That's why he works vigorously so that one day when he is of high standing, he'll be able to acquire the power to change it. You, on the other hand…"

"Yeah, yeah," Yuri drawled out, waving his hand dismissively. "The devil's advocate or whatever."

To his surprise, Hanks shook his head to debunk this.

"I know you, Yuri. You don't do things just because it's convenient or that you enjoy stirring things up. No, you do it because of something else. While Flynn perceives the problems as large, you see it as something small." He veered downwards and spotted Repede in-between his legs. Smiling, the bearded man scooped the puppy up from the ground and placed him on top of the box crater where his foster son was idly sitting.

"Like with what happened with the tax collectors about a month ago. Your objective was to get rid of him and that's it. If Flynn was in your place, he would've let it slide and feel guilty afterward. However, knowing him, he would be sure to jot it down in his notebook as one of his motivators to continue his apprenticeship as a knight."

Hanks moved his head to face his foster son once more, his eyes sharp yet his wrinkly face was softened. "The Lower Quarter may be idolizing Flynn now, but in time, you'll get them to see you in a different light as well. It just takes time, you know?"

"I don't care if they see me the way they see Flynn," Yuri confessed, hanging his head. "I just…"

Hanks nodded along, patiently waiting for his next words.

But then a minute or so passed and still, no answer.

"No need to say it now," Hanks assured him, "You're only nineteen. Still got a few more years to think about what you really wanna do in yer life."

Yuri snuck a glance at the bearded man with an unreadable expression.

"Whatever you decide to do," Hanks pressed on, reverting his gaze at the dark-haired man. "Just remember that we're here for you. Always."

Yuri cracked a smile, then peered up at the heavens.

His eyes widened a little as he took in the appearance of the brightest star.

"…Always, huh?"

Time went on in the Lower Quarter and before anyone knew it, two years had passed.

Within the span of these two years, Yuri had reached the age of twenty-one—officially making him a full-fledged adult (along with perks of drinking).

Though his appearance remained the same like his signature long, dark mane and half-exposed tunic, Hanks noticed the minor details that did change—him growing a few more inches in height, his body a bit leaner and slightly more toned as a result of partaking with dueling against Flynn during his spare time.

Repede grew up as well, eventually receiving a lightning bolt-shaped scar vertically across one of his damaged eyes as a result of him protecting the dog and cat population within Zaphias.

With Yuri's small earnings from his part-time job as a cook in the public inn, the canine drastically changed his appearance into that of warrior—with a long, metallic chain sporting around his collar and a belt around his mid-waist to secure a knife as a weapon. And naturally, wherever Yuri goes, his faithful dog follows suit, becoming his accomplice as the latter ventures off to commence his shenanigans.

As for Yuri's reputation, he was beginning to make a name for himself—especially with the Imperial Knights. Due to his constant confrontations with the Schwann Brigade who became the regular tax collectors in their area—with Yuri labeling the tall, scrawny one Tweedle A and the short, chubby one Tweedle B, and then their subdivision leader, LeBlanc.

Besides the usual taunting and kicking them into the river, in a typical Yuri fashion, he challenged them into duels. If he wins, they won't have to collect the taxes in the next month.

If he lost, he'll have to go back to jail and the community would have no choice but to submit their life savings. Of the many encounters, they've faced, Yuri remained triumphant as his winning streak was nineteen to five—with the latter being that Flynn had to step in, once again bail him out and convince the Schwann Brigade to give the community more time.

At times when they refused to budge, Flynn had no choice but to use his next few months of salary and devote them to paying the taxes that were initially for the Lower Quarter. When Yuri received word of this, he was displeased with how his childhood friend had to burden himself with so many loans.

To make ends meet, the two negotiated and forged a settlement—that they would be the ones who would shoulder the taxes for their people. Combined with Yuri's decent amount of Gald he managed to save up, including with the one during his time as a rookie knight, their determination to spare the Lower Quarter from the tax collecting was slowly coming to fruition.

However, there was one condition to this.

Since Flynn was temporarily stationed at the palace, this meant that Yuri would have to constantly visit to hand over the Gald. Yuri's original plan, which was to climb up the grand building was immediately disapproved by the latter. In the end, they eventually settled with Yuri having to arrange constant meetings with the Schwann Brigade, rile them up for a duel and get himself in jail.

…And for Flynn to bail him out by escorting him to his own room and letting him flee through his window (which so happened to be located on the third floor but they rather not discuss that).

In short, their plan was set and so far, was working like a charm.

Luckily on Flynn's end, nobody was suspecting him to be partnering with Yuri, who was unfortunately given the short end of the stick. While Flynn was blessed with a clean slate bearing no charges, Yuri got himself numerous accounts of offensive allegations—with solicitation and attempts of assaults prior to his challenges of dueling against a certain brigade being two of the common ones.

And then one day, Flynn arrived to visit the Lower Quarter.

Hanks and the community celebrated not only for his brief return but was given news—as of yesterday, Flynn was ranked up from a rookie to being the right-hand man of one of the lesser-known captains. Unlike Yuri's which took place mostly at night, Flynn's was during the day.

And much to Yuri's annoyance (and Marie's constant pestering), he was able to make a lot of dishes that his childhood friend/foster brother enjoyed—such a momentous occasion that Hanks and the rest of the Lower Quarter took pleasure in appreciating.

As the celebration drew to a close, Flynn ushered his foster father, brother, and Repede outside the inn, in the open space where nobody would dare listen on them.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be leaving Zaphias for another pilgrimage." Flynn began, his expression serious.

Yuri quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Another one?"

Flynn nodded in confirmation. "I want you three to be the first to know. And well…" He stopped for a moment to think over his words. "if I don't come back, then…"

"Now, now, don't start jinxing about anything," Hanks cuts him off. "It's good that you're letting us know ahead of time." His eyes softened as he added in, "Take care in your journey. We'll be here waiting for your safe return."

Flynn smiled. "Thank you," And bowed in respect. He then turned to face Yuri, who stared at him with a blank look.

"Good luck out there," Yuri finally spoke up, bringing his hand to squeeze the latter's shoulder. "You got this,"

Surprised by the latter's encouragement, Flynn chuckled. "Will do," And then raised his fist, to which the other happily reciprocated. Directing his focus back to the bearded man, he noted, "I'll be sure to send you a letter."

"Take yer time," Hanks assured him as he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

Again, Flynn nodded firmly. "Right."

The third week of March was beginning to show signs of an omen.

It began with the news of a small neighboring town becoming invaded and demolished by a swarm of monsters. The likelihood of any survivors was predetermined to count.

And then, out of nowhere, the aque blastia on the fountain stopped working, which meant that the entire Lower Quarter was devoid of any fresh water to use for their daily necessities. The alternative was to resort to getting their water from the river…though, not the popular option as it was known to be mixed with bacteria and other composites.

Hanks had no choice but to sell a memento that reminded him of his beloved Jiri—a silver necklace that she often uses to put her engagement ring on whenever she went to work. With his foster son, Yuri, not around to scold him as he was preoccupied with taking care of Ted and the children at the public inn as Marie was currently away to go to the market, it became less difficult for Hanks to be able to part with the keepsake.

Shortly after selling it, he managed to get in touch with a mage who claims to be knowledgeable and skilled when it comes to fixing malfunctioning blastia orbs.

His name?

Mordio.

Hello again, this is Kroissant!

and that's a wrap up of chapter 3-tomorrow/next Monday is going to be the start of the game (though with a few adjustments as this fanfiction is heavily restricted toward Hanks's POV)

That said, a new character will enter the picture-you should know~
and afterward, the Yustelle fluff will begin!

I've realized that my original plan was supposed to be three to four chapters and that's it. But due to the overwhelming support from all of you and how the events are being carried out, I would have to extend it to at least three more chapters-which is a total of 7 chapters (plus, an epilogue).

The title of this chapter is inspired by the main theme that you'd hear when you arrive at the Lower Quarter (also, the title itself is quite befitting the whole chapter).

Again, feel free to write a comment! I'm eager to hear your opinions and criticisms!

Okay, that's all for now!

See you hopefully tomorrow or if not, next Monday!