Chapter 22: Full Course (1)
“Damn it! If I told you to bring cigarettes, huh? Isn't it obvious you should bring a light and an ashtray too!”
“S-Sorry!”
“If you know you’re sorry, don’t just stand there blankly, bring it immediately! What are you staring blankly for!”
Swish
Crash!
“Eek! I-I’ll bring them quickly!”
“Damn it!”
Travion, throwing whatever he could grab, frowned at his subordinate's sluggishness.
Although he usually boasted quite a ferocious disposition, his stress had worsened recently, reaching a point where he felt irritated by everything.
It was because of the Eddy Gang.
Because those detestable guys hadn't been pushed out of Marzen yet, he, the gang's boss, was spending sensitive days, worrying enough to fear hair loss.
‘Damn it, when I first received support from the Guild, I thought it would be as easy as eating cold stew…’
What is the most important thing for a thug?
That Eddy fellow, still living in the old world, would probably talk about useless things like Gao or loyalty.
But Travion's thoughts were different.
‘Of course, it’s money!’
That's right. Money.
Money was loyalty.
Money was Gao.
Money was also power.
Since holding a lot of money made it easy to gather people and fame, he, secretly receiving support from a proper ‘Swordsmanship Guild’, had thought he could instantly seize control of the back alleys of the Commercial City Marzen.
However…….
‘This is ridiculous. Quentin is dead, and half of the subordinates under him are injured? This… kind of damn situation!’
Bang!
Travion slammed his fist hard on the table.
It was something that shouldn't have happened.
It might be different for other guys, but Quentin was the person he trusted the most.
He wasn't just good at fighting.
This surprise attack plan had also come from his head.
Psssh-
Fwooo……!
‘The timing was perfect. Our forces weren’t pushed back at all either.’
Travion lit his cigarette with the match his subordinate brought.
As he took a deep drag, his emotions subsided.
He began to grasp the situation coolly.
Then, all the trivial things were erased, and only the single variable at the center of the incident floated up in his mind.
‘That guy named Harang!’
That guy, who appeared suddenly as if dropped from the sky, was the main culprit who ruined this operation, and the asymmetric power held by the Eddy Gang.
‘I see. That Eddy fellow, while putting on all sorts of airs outwardly, had hired a fixer behind the scenes.’
He couldn't help but think that way.
A person who happened to be looking for Eddy to deliver a letter.
Happened to get involved in the fight.
The story that he just happened to kill Quentin.
It was natural for his thoughts to lean towards ‘Eddy hired a fixer’ rather than such an unbelievable truth.
The fortunate thing was that it was something he could resolve.
‘I’ll have to use the Guild’s swordsman.’
Fwoo, Travion thought as he exhaled smoke.
He wanted to handle things only with the people he gathered to gain the Guild's favor if possible, but such a variable couldn't be helped.
The higher-ups would probably understand too.
Because that person was dispatched to be used in times like these.
‘If it’s a swordsman hired by the Guild… they wouldn’t even compare to some riffraff fixer or Mercenary.’
Harang.
And Eddy.
He just needed to deal with those two.
If only those two were removed, there would be no one left to stop the Travion Gang.
Thus, into the situation thought to be just a fight between thugs, a slightly different existence got involved.
* * *
“Hmm……”
Harang, having ended his beggar life and returned once again to the inn.
Unlike before, he wandered here and there in Marzen dressed in normal, clean clothes.
The Commercial City was much larger than the village he had lived in, so there were still many interesting things, and watching the crowds bustling in the streets was also quite fun.
But now, there was something more bothersome to him than such things.
It was the topic brought up by the young beggar named Glen.
‘Why did you ask why I help others without expecting anything in return?’
‘Just because. Just, doing that feels good. It makes my mind more at ease too.’
‘When you saved me, Big Brother, did you think… that you had to demand something in return… Did you act with that thought?’
‘If you hadn’t saved me… you probably would have felt uncomfortable. Not indifferent.’
“Just because, just because……”
It wasn't like that.
Glen might have done it simply because he liked helping others, but I felt that my saving him wasn't for such a reason.
If I had to define it, was it like repaying a debt of gratitude?
It was correct to view it as repaying the favor received from Glen, just like receiving food and a request from Mr. Carter in Kuchen Village.
In reality, I hadn't thought of moving when someone else was being beaten up, so Glen's assumption was wrong.
‘But……’
Separate from Glen's thoughts being different from my own.
It was true that I liked Glen's thoughts and actions.
Unlike people who gained profit by oppressing and forcing others, a person who showed kindness regardless of personal gain.
That's right.
If I had to say, this boy was the polar opposite of the people I had seen in the village, so as Harang, who hated the village more than anything in the world, I couldn't help but feel favorable towards him.
Conversely.
“Oh, hello! Boss!”
“Hello! Boss!”
“……”
These guys I just ran into by chance, even though I'd seen their faces several times already, I didn't feel good about them.
‘Why do they call me Boss?’
I couldn't understand.
These were the thugs from the Eddy Gang called Iron Fist Kennedy and Bloody Fist Thomas, the guys who picked a fight with me the other day and got thoroughly beaten up.
Of course, after that, I unintentionally ended up helping their side in the fight between the thugs, but…….
‘It wasn't exactly because I wanted to help these people.’
If the one who attacked Glen had been from this gang, wouldn't I have snapped their necks just the same?
Of course, there was no way that would happen now, but…….
“Boss! The night is getting late, how about a drink?”
“That’s right, Boss! Ah, perhaps you don’t drink? Then how about we, treat you to a meal… Hey, what are you doing! Is this a spectacle?”
“What, was it those bastards? Did those bastards just glare at us and leave? Those crazy bastards……”
“……Stop, stop it.”
“Yes, Boss! Sorry!”
“Yes, Boss! Sorry!”
……Seeing the thugs’ actions, Harang felt like his thoughts were grinding to a halt.
Why did these guys keep acting friendly?
Why didn't these guys stop intimidating others around them even in the midst of this?
Why did these guys listen so well to what he said.
And why, why did the people passing by glare at him as if he were similar to these guys before moving on?
‘This is driving me crazy.’
If I followed my heart, I wanted to beat them up.
But it was a bit ambiguous.
They hadn't used violence, at most just spoke a little harshly… Besides, punching these guys who immediately bowed their heads to the ground when told not to…….
‘It feels like… I’ve become a thug……’
Harang looked around.
He could see the expressions on people's faces.
They probably thought he was disciplining the two thugs?
Having thought this far, he felt the stares of others as shameful for the first time since coming out to the outside world.
“Enough, get up.”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Drop the ‘Boss’ part……”
“No! Once a Boss, always a Boss! Ever since you took down that Quentin guy, Harang Boss, you are our lifelong Boss!”
“That’s right! Don’t say such things, Boss!”
“……Then at least lower your voices, I have something to ask. Let’s go somewhere secluded first, hoo.”
Sighing, Harang moved into an alley, a place with as few prying eyes as possible.
He actually considered just running away, but decided against it.
Thinking about the guys who shouted ‘Harang Boss, Harang Boss!’ loudly yesterday after he did that… it wasn't a good idea.
‘If I’m already involved, might as well make use of it.’
That's right.
There were things to learn from the Merchant Guild.
There were things to learn from Mercenaries.
There were even things to learn from beggars, so it was impossible that there was nothing to learn from thugs.
More importantly, there was something he was curious about right now, so Harang immediately asked his question.
“Um… Mr. Iron Fist?”
“It’s Iron Fist Kennedy, Boss!”
“Yes, Mr. Iron Fist Kennedy.”
“Speak comfortably, Boss!”
“You speak comfortably too, Boss!”
“Alright, got it… I have something to ask, there was something I heard when I first entered Marzen……”
“What is it you mean?”
“Um, well, the guard……”
Harang slowly continued his explanation.
He heard that the outside world, especially large areas like the Commercial City Marzen, had various rules to maintain public order, and only those who agreed to them could enter.
But as far as he knew, ‘murder’ was a serious crime that increased chaos in the city, so ordinarily, he should have become a criminal hunted by the guards.
Moreover, when he first arrived in Marzen, a guard saw him carrying a weapon and even said he would ‘keep an eye’ on him.
But why had nothing happened? His question ended as he finished speaking.
And Iron Fist and Bloody Fist's answer to this question was…….
“I don’t know, Boss!”
“I don’t know, Boss!”
“……Why don’t you know?”
“Sorry! I’ve never once thought about that part!”
“Same here!”
“……”
“Right. We’ve beaten at least four Travion underlings to death so far, why haven’t we been caught yet?”
“Indeed?”
“What is it?”
“Were we lucky?”
“……”
‘I was wrong. From these people… there’s nothing to learn!’
The problem wasn’t that they didn’t know anything.
Despite having been in situations numerous times where they should have had questions, these guys had never once pondered them.
All they did was drink, brawl, and look for their bosses. He hadn't watched every single thing, but he was certain.
Having thought this far, Harang gained a new realization from the fact that, for the first time since being freed from the village, he had met people less knowledgeable than himself.
‘Even being this ignorant, they can somehow survive!’
It was then.
Another person walked over from the opposite end of the alley.
Seeing him, Iron Fist and Bloody Fist shouted ‘Hello, Boss!’ loud enough to shake the world, and Harang, his face flushing with embarrassment, simultaneously remembered the man's name.
‘The Eddy Gang’s Underboss… Was it Pale?’
That was probably correct.
Of course, that wasn't important.
If just two thugs were this noisy, what kind of result would three of them bring about?
Sweat began to form on Harang's palms from tension.
The fortunate thing was that this newcomer, unlike Bloody Fist and Iron Fist, didn't call him Boss.
“Harang, why did you ask why you weren't being chased by the guards?”
“Ah, yes.”
“That’s because the guards regularly receive money from us. They wouldn’t cut off their own source of money.”
“Ah!”
“Of course, even if we offer money, if we cause a serious incident, we’ll be caught, but fights between thugs aren’t bad from their perspective either. It’s like getting something done without lifting a finger… My apologies. These guys are loyal, but they’re just so stupid……”
“……”
Harang, finding it awkward to tell the truth or lie, simply stood there in silence, and Underboss Pale, standing before him, took out a cigarillo from his pocket and lit it.
Chick, chiiik- Fwoosh!
Fwoo…….
Smoke puffed up towards the sky.
Harang's eyes sparkled.
It couldn't be helped.
Unlike Iron Fist and Bloody Fist, an incredibly curious item had emerged from the pocket of someone who seemed smart, so he couldn't help but be interested.
He was about to open his mouth to ask what it was, if it was something to eat.
But Pale was one step faster.
He said.
“Harang. The Boss is calling for you.”
“Yes? Mr. Eddy? Why?”
“He says thank you for safely delivering the letter, and also… thank you for the great help in the last fight, he wants to treat you properly.”
“Hmm……”
Harang hesitated.
Thanks to Pale, his prejudice had lessened slightly, but thugs were still closer to unfavorable than favorable.
Therefore, he didn't particularly want to associate with such people for long, but the thought that he might experience more curious things like that cloud-exhaling object made the decision difficult.
Just then, Iron Fist Kennedy spoke with envious eyes.
“Oooh, Boss Eddy’s full course… Perhaps, are you going to the Inner District?”
‘……Inner District?’
Intense interest sparked in Harang's eyes.