Chapter 29: Guests from the Guild (1)
“Ah, so tiring…… Why can’t I get used to this work?”
A groan escaped the mouth of the employee collecting laundry, just like any other day.
Of course, he couldn't rest.
He needed money to eventually run his own proper inn, and to earn money, he had to equip himself with even quicker movements and a kind smile.
‘That way, I can get a bonus from the owner, and maybe even tips from the guests…….’
Click
‘……A guest!’
Hearing the door sound from behind, the inn employee turned around with a smiling face.
He thought of a greeting suitable for the morning; it was a kindness shown knowing that the 1 Silver or 50 Copper he received whenever he was lucky would accumulate into a large sum.
However, upon confirming the identity of the guest who came out of the room, he couldn't help but freeze on the spot.
A young man with black hair and black eyes.
It was because his eyes met those of the boss of the Eddy Family, no, the ‘Harang Family’, who had been called the ‘Slayer of Marzen’ for the past week.
“Th-th-there…… G-g-g-good morning……”
“Good morning.”
The inn employee offered a morning greeting with a trembling voice.
Harang did the same.
He replied with an expressionless face, then strode down to the first-floor hall and greeted the inn owner as well.
“Good morning.”
“……Good morning!”
A voice that seemed disciplined, beyond just startled.
At this, the boss of the Harang Family frowned.
Seeing that expression, the inn owner’s composure shattered, and without realizing it, he dropped the dishcloth he was holding and his teeth chattered.
“……”
“……”
About 3 seconds passed like that.
Harang, who had been looking at the inn owner, turned his head with a sigh.
And he immediately went out of the inn.
Only then did the pot-bellied owner, whose tension finally eased, mutter with a look of someone who had narrowly escaped death.
“Phew! S-s-saved…….”
“Are you okay, sir?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine, but give me some water.”
“H-here……”
Gulp gulp!
Puha-!
The owner, after drinking the lukewarm water, looked towards the inn door with an expression suggesting he finally felt alive, then continued speaking with a sigh.
“Phew! My lifespan is shortening, shortening. What does the man who unified Marzen’s back alleys lack that he keeps staying in such a shabby inn?”
“I know……”
“I know? Are you dissing my inn as unimpressive right now?”
“N-no! That’s not it, you’re right! I also don’t know why such a terrifying person keeps staying here.”
“That’s what I mean.”
The two nodded simultaneously.
It was baffling.
At first, they just thought he was an eccentric.
It couldn't be helped; one couldn't consider a person who deliberately wore dirty clothes every morning to be normal.
There were even rumors that he deliberately pretended to be a beggar, so they had thought he was mentally strange.
However, all of that was part of a meticulous plan to swallow Marzen’s back alleys.
‘Collecting information about the back alleys through the beggars, and not stopping at swallowing the Eddy Gang by exploiting a weakness…… but immediately subjugating the rival Travion side too!’
He was truly nothing short of a terrifying person.
Because of that, every time the inn owner and employee encountered Harang, goosebumps rose all over their bodies.
His single sigh made their hearts drop, and his single frown made their hands and feet tremble uncontrollably.
This atmosphere wasn't limited to just the inn.
Perhaps thanks to the rapidly spreading rumors?
Eighty percent of the people making a living in Marzen had become thoroughly aware of what happened between Eddy, Travion, and Harang, and naturally came to know his all-black appearance as well.
Thanks to this, whenever Harang walked the streets, it felt as if a chilling coldness spread around him, as if ice water had been sprinkled nearby.
Naturally, Harang couldn't be unaware of this either.
‘Seriously, I told you I’m not a gangster…….’
Looking over the Merchants avoiding him again today, Harang let out a deep sigh.
No, to be precise, he tried to sigh but held back.
People often freaked out whenever they saw him looking like his mood was uncomfortable.
However, from his perspective, he couldn't help but feel wronged.
He couldn't help but feel so, so wronged.
‘Of course, it’s true that I killed Travion, but that was unavoidable.’
It really was.
How could he leave alone someone who even sent an assassin to kill him?
Therefore, he had no choice but to take action to wrap things up, and the incident should have ended there.
It was just a private matter with no need for rumors to spread.
But the gangsters were the problem.
Not just the Travion Gang members, but also the Eddy Gang, and even Eddy, who used to call him ‘Harang Au’, were now taking the lead in calling him Boss, so the rumors couldn't help but spread.
‘Instead of diminishing, they’re actually twisting maliciously.’
Unwanted fame.
Unwanted notoriety, and the fear resulting from it!
As Harang quietly closed his eyes due to the pain caused by it, an unpleasant voice came from afar.
“Boss Harang! Good morning!”
“Boss Harang! Good morning!”
It was none other than the Iron Fist, Bloody Fist brothers.
They approached with their chests puffed out, as if showing off their bulging muscles.
In the process, they even put on a performance of glaring at a few trembling Merchants, making Harang even sadder.
Harang, saddened like that, opened his eyes with a deep sigh.
And said.
“I am not your Boss.”
“What do you mean by that, Boss!”
“That’s right, Boss! If you are not the Boss, then who on earth is!”
“Because I am not a gangster. Things like intimidating others to extort money, I do not wish for such things.”
At this, Iron Fist Kennedy showed a reaction as if he couldn't understand.
“It’s the same for us, though?”
“What?”
“Extorting money by intimidating others? That’s something only the dirty Travion Gang does. We merely protect Merchants from suffering unfortunate incidents from ruffians, under mutual agreement, and receive a small protection fee in return…… Uh, what was next?”
“Seems like you’ve pretty much memorized it all?”
“Uh, anyway, that’s right! Mutual agreement, small protection fee! We are not gangsters, we are providing a service!”
“……Did Mr. Pale tell you to say that?”
“Huk, how did you know……”
“As expected of the Boss!”
Harang shook his head slowly.
He thought they were using many difficult words unlike the Iron Fists, and sure enough, it was a memorized script.
They probably didn't even properly know what they were doing.
‘But…… Is Iron Fist’s statement completely wrong?’
Harang recalled the events of the past few days.
While roaming the night streets of Marzen as usual, he had witnessed countless times customers harassing Merchants.
The number was too large for the guards to handle one by one, and it was the gangsters who resolved these issues.
‘Does that mean…… As these people say, the gangsters might actually be helpful to Marzen?’
Harang closed his eyes again.
And he racked his brain hard.
But no conclusion came.
He understood intellectually that these people weren't entirely bad, but it felt like his heart couldn't accept it.
It was then.
Another voice, breaking Harang’s thoughts, was heard.
“Boss Harang!”
“……Glen, have you become a gangster too?”
“Huh? Uh…… Not a gangster, but it’s true I became a member of the Harang Family……”
“Who let you join?”
“……Boss Eddy?”
“Boss Eddy, no, Mr., no…… Haa.”
Harang put his hand on his forehead.
The titles weren't sorted out.
Of course, that wasn't the important thing right now.
He looked at Glen and asked.
“Alright, there’s no such thing as the Harang Family, but…… I get it for now. Your clothes are neat too, and your face is clean. You look better than before.”
“Thank you!”
“But why did you call me?”
“Ah! Right! Uh, Boss Eddy and Boss Pale sent me on an errand to bring Boss Harang……”
“Those two? Why?”
Harang made a puzzled expression.
It was only natural.
After making the Travion Gang kneel, if the two needed to find him, they would come directly instead of sending someone.
Whether that was the right course of action or not, the fact that Glen came instead like this implied that something significant had happened.
‘Of course, that significant thing isn’t my business, though…….’
Harang smacked his lips with a 😒.
They had become an awkward relationship, but it wasn't like they had become bad terms.
Above all, curiosity pulled him.
As he nodded, Glen offered to lead the way.
“Farewell, Boss!”
“Farewell, Boss!”
Harang, casually waving his hand at the 90-degree bows of the Fist brothers, called Glen.
“Glen.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“You can just call me Brother.”
“How dare I, rank 42……”
“……You, got a rank too?”
“Yep! Thanks to my acquaintance with Boss Harang……”
“Enough, call me Brother from now on. If anyone says anything, I’ll take care of……”
Harang, who was about to say ‘take care of them’, shook his head vigorously.
This was bad.
He had instantly acted according to a gangster's mindset.
‘I need to be careful about this.’
Nodding, he continued speaking again.
“……Anyway, Boss is burdensome, so call me Brother. Got it?”
“Ye-yes. Uh, Harang…… Brother?”
“Good. So……”
The story the Fist brothers had told him flowed from Harang’s mouth.
It wasn't a long story.
That they weren't gangsters but just service providers, so they weren't bad people.
Glen nodded, and Harang, watching him, threw a question.
What did he think about this?
After thinking for a moment, Glen, the former beggar and current rank 42 of the Harang Family, answered like this.
“If I had to say, I think it’s closer to being right.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Honestly, no matter how you wrap it, they are gangsters…… But still, the Harang, no, the Eddy Family is decent. They didn’t charge much for protection compared to the Travion side…… Actually, gangsters are the kind of folks you inevitably find in any neighborhood, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Because the guards don’t do their job…… That’s why paying protection money is the same no matter where or what business you run, so if you have to pay anyway, paying it to relatively conscientious gangsters like Boss Eddy…… I think it’s better, but honestly, I’m not sure.”
“Hmm…….”
“Ah, we’re here. It seems like they’re having some kind of meeting in the main room. With people from another city…… They told me not to come in, so I’ll be doing other work.”
Those were his last words.
Glen, bowing politely, disappeared to run an errand for another gangster, and Harang, left alone in front of Eddy's hideout, frowned.
Something felt unsettling.
Even knowing that Glen's words, like the Iron Fist's, weren't wrong.
Even thinking that the kid's neat appearance looked good, strangely, he didn't feel good.
He didn't want to agree with their words.
Entering the main room Eddy mentioned in that state, he saw Eddy and Pale, and two men with cold impressions staring at him.
“Ah.”
He could immediately tell their identities.
“So these are gangsters too.”
“What did you say?”
“What did you just say?”
“Boss! Th-these people are from the Jeten Swordsmanship Guild……!”
“……!”
Four figures showing distinctly different reactions.
Regardless, Harang casually sat down in the seat of honor and said with a smiling face.
“Nice to meet you. I am Harang.”
“……”
“……”
“What is your business? Gangster sirs?”