At 8:00 a.m., Finn arrived with Darwin in front of the Alchemy and Development store. The two were waiting for Cristel. She had invited them here, although they didn't know the reason why. The two sat on a small bench in front of the store, and after a few minutes, Cristel appeared, coming up the stairs a few feet away from them.
"I'm glad to see you're punctual!" Cristel greeted, approaching.
"I usually get up at 6:00 a.m., so I had enough time to get here" Finn stated, and Darwin nodded.
"Me too. Sleeping in the forest changes your sleep schedule a lot" Darwin said, and Cristel nodded in agreement.
"Good, then it's best not to delay and focus on what we came for" Cristel said, signaling for the two to stand up.
"And what exactly did we come for?" Darwin asked curiously.
"To see Pink Alley, of course!" Cristel said, surprising Darwin and leaving Finn confused.
'Rose Alley?' Finn wondered.
"Rose Alley?!" Darwin asked incredulously. "Does it really exist?!"
"Of course it exists, but not everyone is allowed to enter. Now follow me, we don't want to waste time!" Cristel ordered, entering the store.
Upon entering the store, the first thing they saw was an old man working on some kind of object they didn't understand. This was Dan, the store owner. They also saw a young man cleaning the glass on some shelves, Roger, Dan's grandson.
"Oh, Miss Cristel, nice to see you again. What brings you here?" Dan asked.
"Old Dan, we're just passing through. We're heading to Pink Alley" Cristel clarified as she headed to what appeared to be a customer dressing room.
"I see... but is it time for the young adventurers to come in?" Dan asked, looking directly at Finn and Darwin, recognizing them from before.
"Don't worry, old man. Those two have earned more than many adventurers' passage to the alley" Cristel assured, pointing to a painting with several doodles on it.
The old man took a few seconds to understand, but then his eyes widened in surprise and he nodded slightly at Finn and Darwin.
"I see. So you're the ones who discovered the new ancestral mural. Who would have thought you'd start your adventuring careers with such feats? In that case, there shouldn't be any problems. Go ahead" the old man said.
"How do you know about the mural? I thought it was classified" Finn asked.
"It is, but not many things can remain classified in the pink alley" Roger replied, nodding to Finn and Darwin.
The three had already met from a previous mission Darwin and Finn took to Dan's shop and had talked a lot since then, becoming good friends.
Cristel nodded at Roger's words and then opened the dressing room door, signaling for Finn and Darwin to follow her.
"Every time you want to enter the pink alley, you'll have to come in through here. There are other ways in, but those are for higher-class adventurers or merchants" Cristel said, entering the dressing room.
Finn and Darwin nodded and entered the dressing room with Cristel, but not before saying goodbye to Dan and Roger. Upon entering the dressing room, Cristel closed the door and walked over to a long mirror on the wall.
"Show me the path" Cristel said as she placed her hand on the mirror.
The mirror shone slightly and then changed, revealing the reflection of the room they were in, but empty. Cristel entered the mirror without hesitation and then pulled the astonished Finn and Darwin. Upon entering, they realized it was as if they were in the same room they had been in before, but empty. Finn ran and peeked through one of the windows, seeing an area he hadn't seen before.
"How the hell are they hiding this?" Finn asked, amazed.
"It's thanks to writing magic. It's everywhere in the capital. It takes over all the hidden and unused spaces in the kingdom, creating a space hidden from everyone's view, but at the same time right in front of them" Cristel revealed, looking down the immense, dark street, illuminated only by the streetlights.
"So... where exactly is this street located in the capital?" Darwin asked, confused.
"Everywhere and nowhere. This street exists everywhere in the capital, but because it's hidden and always in constant movement, you can't see or access it unless you have a transporter that connects you directly to a place or building on this street. Just like the mirror we entered" Cristel said.
"Incredible…" Finn whispered, amazed.
"It's like entering another city" Darwin mentioned, seeing some people like merchants, adventurers, and even families walking the streets.
"Maybe because it is. This is a completely different life than the capital or any other capital. After all, this is one of the many hidden streets in the kingdoms" Cristel revealed, surprising Finn and Darwin even more.
"There's more!?" Finn asked, surprised.
"Of course there's more. Why do you think this street has a name? It's so we can distinguish it from the other streets" Cristel said, smiling slightly. "Areas like these are connected to each other, forming another realm, a hidden realm between realms, the Under Realm."
'This is different. This was never shown in the novels' Finn thought, amazed.
"Under Realm? That means it has a King or Queen, right?" Darwin asked.
"Not exactly. Each area or street is governed by a chief, who is in charge of directing all the affairs that take place down here… or at least that's what he's supposed to do" Cristel revealed. "Down here is a place without control, without law. Only the strong or capable are accepted here. Not many people know about this place for that very reason. There are only two ways to get here: be strong enough for the locals to show you the way, or by invitation."
'Is it that up there were controls and rules?' Finn wondered ironically.
"So what about the families around here?" Darwin asked, confused, seeing a family that looked quite happy walking down the dark street.
"Those are families of capable adventurers, respected adventurers in this or other kingdoms. No one knowingly gets into a fight with those adventurers" Cristel clarified. "Well, let's continue. We don't want it to get too late, right?"
Cristel and company left the lonely shop and went down to the street. Walking around, they saw a stark contrast between these shops and those in the capital. In the capital, they sold various types of magical items, armor, books, and even monster parts for those who created their own potions. But here in the Underrealm, things were different. Cursed items were sold here, as were books with magic forbidden by the kingdoms, enchanted armor, and even living beings for people to do with as they pleased.
"Why would anyone want a live harpy?" Darwin asked, seeing the harpy chained up in one of the stalls.
"I've heard they're deep-throated" Cristel replied, looking at the harpy, causing Finn to look at her in surprise, something that didn't go unnoticed by Cristel. "Do you want one? Monsters aren't sold in the capital as such, since many people without enough strength to train them want to buy them, and that can cause a lot of problems in the capital. But if an adventurer captures one, then there's no problem" she asked Darwin.
"So several adventurers come here to buy monsters and then pass them off as if they'd captured them?" Finn asked, looking at the locked goblins, not imagining who would want to buy one of these grotesque creatures and feeling a little disgusted.
"That's right, dear. Many monsters are bought here" Cristel replied, then looked at Darwin again. "So?"
"No… I can't even imagine doing it with one" Darwin answered quickly.
"...It's not as bad as you think. I've personally done it with a horse-woman. They have very long, rough tongues, and a pretty firm body…" Cristel confessed, discreetly looking at Finn, who only grimaced at Cristel's words. 'Is this what Amelia meant?' Cristel wondered.
"Yeah, we already figured out the firm body…" Finn replied, remembering how a horse-woman almost suffocated him and Darwin with her muscles.
"Right, you guys already faced one. I'd forgotten" Cristel said with a big smile, then placed her hand on Finn's shoulders. "One day we should go find one ourselves. I'm sure it'll be fun" Cristel affirmed, patting Finn on the back before continuing forward.
"Sigh, I hope so…" Finn whispered, resigned, and followed Cristel.
'Is it just monsters that disgust him, or are there other things too?' Cristel wondered, seeing Finn's reactions. 'From what Amelia told me, Darwin is a faithful lover of mytts and elves, and he hates almost any woman who isn't of those races, but what about Finn? Is it just him who doesn't like female monsters, or is there something I'm missing?'
'What did Cristel do with the horse-woman's tongue?' Darwin wondered, following Finn.