Warning

Yuria, the Shaman Priestess of the Lake and monocle wearing quack fortune-teller elf was there. Not in someone else’s house, but in Solomon’s house, inside the cramped room at 17 Grimrow Court 2.

“……What is this about?”

Seeing that, Solomon asked back coldly. After all, stepping into someone else’s house without permission was not exactly a good look.

“Because I knew you would come here.”
“So you entered someone else’s house without permission?”
“Please forgive me.”

Yuria, the monocled elf, politely lowered her head and showed her respects. Solomon also put the automatic crossbow back away and continued sharply.

“So, what do you want? Are you planning to put me on another express train to Samarra?”
“Due to an objection raised by a hotel director, your room upgrade has been placed on hold.”
“……How do you know that?”

Solomon asked back without lowering his guard.

“Because the affairs of the hotel are not someone else’s business to me either.”

To begin with, one of the many faces of the Faceless One had called itself the head of the hotel with its own mouth. Also, when Solomon first came to the hotel, the elf Yuria had been seated with the Faceless One. In other words, did that mean the elf before him was also a high-ranking official of Hotel Snark?

“Officially, I am also a standing director of Hotel Snark’s board of directors.”
“You looked like you had no talent for fortune-telling at all, but I guess business suited you surprisingly well.”
“……Kuh.”

At Solomon’s sarcasm, the elf Yuria bit her lip as if ashamed.

“I truly feel a deep sense of responsibility regarding that point. However…….”
After biting her lip, she continued.

“Although it may not be in a form I provide directly, the hotel services provided to Lord Solomon always include my own apology in their own way. At the very least, they are things ordinary guests could never enjoy.”
“You’re saying you’ve been looking out for me in your own way.”

Solomon understood well enough. After all, he did not deny that the services the hotel provided to him clearly included privileges beyond what ordinary guests received.

“And my coming to find Lord Solomon now is also part of those privileges.”
“What? Did you find some hidden golden calf somewhere?”
“Rather than that, I have something to say about the director who raised an objection against Lord Solomon.”

An objection.

“No, well…… I think they have a point in their own way.”

Although it had been called a problem, it was not a topic he had anything particular to say about. If anything, thanks to it, he could avoid useless attention, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

“Well, from a common-sense standpoint, it is not an unreasonable thing to say.”
“I suppose not.”
“By the way, I forgot to mention this, but the hotel board of directors is made up of nine members in total.”

Yuria also didn’t deny it and shrugged. After shrugging, she continued.

“Nine members?”
“Two Shaman Priestesses of the Lake and seven Rogue Masters.”
“…….”

Seven Rogue Masters. Solomon already knew one of them well. The Faceless One. And two Shaman Priestesses of the Lake. The quack fortune-teller right in front of him was one of them, and the other was…….

“Two Shaman Priestesses of the Lake, don’t tell me…….”

The dark elf spirit medium who had led him to Ghost Town when Solomon first received the hotel’s invitation. She had also assigned the Fairy King Oberon as his guide, and Violet had also called her the ‘Shaman Priestess of the Lake’ and shown her respect.
To begin with, he had vaguely known she was no ordinary person from the Angra Maria incident and from when she appeared at the Wishmaster’s table.

‘So it wasn’t a name just anyone could go around carrying?’

Looking back on it, it was truly strange. A director of Hotel Snark, the Shaman Priestess of the Lake, the Fairy King, the Faceless One, and the big names that got entangled with Solomon everywhere he went. There was no need to even mention the curator of the Black Museum. Whether they approached him with goodwill or malice, not a single one was an exception.

“One of the Seven Rogue Masters must be the Faceless One.”
“That is correct. For reference, among the remaining six, four are trash, and two are psychos.”
“Wow, what an amazing board of directors.”
“The two psychos were locked up in Hill House Psychiatric Ward, but both of them successfully escaped and have been missing since.”
“Hill House?”

At the name he had heard somewhere before, Solomon tilted his head. In the past, the name of the first occult shop Solomon had visited had also been Hill House.

“That is correct. Before being the Shaman Priestess of the Lake, the spirit medium Adina runs it as an occult ward under her name as the proprietor.”
“……So she wasn’t just the owner of a little shop.”

They were elves whose business capabilities stood out in many ways.
Putting aside the fact that every time he met them, they somehow showed him a side with a few screws loose.

Judging by its composition, it seemed quite far removed from a normal board of directors operating properly in suits. He casually wondered whether the Faceless One belonged among the trash or the psychos, but Solomon didn’t bother voicing his curiosity.

“The problem is that one of the two missing psychos returned the day before yesterday.”
“…….”
“For reference, that psycho is the very person who raised the objection against Lord Solomon.”

Putting aside the coincidental timing in various ways, the fact remained that he had specifically singled out Solomon.

“So what does that psycho…… no, Rogue Master do?”
“Sword-Handler Fire Cloud.”

Yuria said.

“To speak frankly, calling him a psycho is still being polite. Above all…….”

Calmly, without even trying to hide her blatant disgust and contempt.

“That bastard is extremely dangerous and impossible to control. For reference, the one who personally threw that psycho bald bastard into Hill House Psychiatric Ward was the ‘Faceless One,’ and even he had quite a hard time.”

An extremely dangerous and uncontrollable man, to the point that even the Faceless One had quite a hard time with him. On top of that, each time she referred to him, her wording was becoming more openly vicious.

“The fact that he specifically pointed out Lord Solomon is not something to be taken lightly.”
“……I see.”
“So you had best be careful.”
“Somehow, lately, nothing but cancer-inducing things keep happening.”
“I will look into a cost-effective cancer insurance policy for you later. And hair loss insurance while I am at it.”
“Sure…….”

Had she come all the way here just to warn him of that? This really was a city full of nothing but hair-loss and cancer-inducing problems.

“In any case, please do take care.”

Saying that, Yuria silently lowered her head. A short silence settled in that state.

“…….”
“…….”
“What is the matter?”
“What do you mean, what’s the matter? This is my house.”
“That was so, yes. Please go about your business.”
“?”

Seeing this, it reached the point where he wondered who exactly had the right to call whom trash or a psycho.

“……Forget it. I only stopped by since I was here anyway.”
“I see. Then please take care on your way home.”
“Oh my, thank you so much for worrying about me.”

Saying that, Solomon calmly turned his back. He couldn’t help being moved that, after living long enough, the day had come when he was treated like a guest in his own house.
Leaving his absurdity behind, Solomon left his cozy home, 17 Grimrow Court 2. It was right then.

“M-Mister…….”

At some point, the blond neighbor next door had come out and was leaning against the stairs, waiting for Solomon.

He remembered the day when he captured the Ripper alive on Raspberry Street for Chairman Țepeș’s request. Whether it should be called unfortunate or fortunate, she had been kidnapped by the Ripper at that exact time, and thanks to that, he had gone through quite a bit of trouble.

“I, I saw you going into your house earlier…….”

The blond neighbor continued with a cautious expression.

“I wanted to say thank you. For saving my life back then, really…….”

The makeup plastered on so thickly that she resembled a pale corpse was the same, but the bruises hidden beneath the makeup stood out even more. Perhaps there was someone around her with violent hands. For a moment, Solomon wondered if he should help, but shook his head. Apart from not having any obligation to go that far, doing so might make her even more ‘dangerous’ in a certain sense.

“I thought you weren’t an ordinary person, but I never imagined you were a mage…….”
“No thanks needed.”

So Solomon distanced himself coldly, to a somewhat excessive degree.

“And it’s best not to act too familiar with me.”
“B-but still…….”
“Nothing good will come to either of us if you get involved with me.”

At Solomon’s deliberately cold words, the Narrator’s voice rang out.

[Oh, you are practically the very image of a hardboiled-noir-style bad boy. Honestly, it is a little cool. Don’t you think so?]
‘……I’m going to shut that bastard’s mouth for good.’

Even so, deep down, Solomon thought that his line just now had been at least a little…… slightly cool. That might have been why it stung even more. Facts had a way of hurting.

Of course, separate from that, Solomon’s words themselves were true. There was no doubt about the fact that Solomon was dangerous. Even if the one placed at the exact center of the target of that danger was Solomon himself.

Solomon turned his back then and there, leaving her behind like a hardboiled-noir-style bad boy while his coat hem fluttered. As he breathed in the gloomy and dirty air of the Lowlands.

To begin with, the reason he had come to the Lowlands was to find the Cesspit Mage Tower Master, Lord Bowery, but he was not a man who could be found just because one searched. In the end, rather than wandering the Lowlands aimlessly, the proper order would be to stop by the places he needed to visit while he was at it.

Next, Solomon crossed through maze-like winding alleys and passed through the streets, heading up toward the boundary where the upper Lowlands and the edge of Downtown met.

[As you climb the narrow slope following the smell of oil, the sound of the market floor whispering cautiously taps secretly at your ears. It seems you have found the right place.]

The black market on the boundary between the Lowlands and Downtown. Leaving the Narrator’s voice behind, Solomon entered a certain abandoned workshop.

“Maya.”

「Well, well. Look who it is!」

He remembered clearly the first time Solomon had come there. Back when he was still a rookie who knew nothing about this world, she had been the reliable helper who wore a black leather jacket and old military pants and helped Solomon.

In the midst of that, there were words that passed through his mind without thinking. The answer she had given with a shrug when Solomon said he was short on money.

「Well, I know your circumstances pretty well. There aren’t many dutiful sons like you these days.」

‘Ah.’

Along with the clue dutiful son he had obtained back then.

‘How does she…… know that?’

Maya clearly knew Solomon’s past. Exactly how much? He couldn’t know.
After thinking that far, Solomon’s blood ran cold. Even then, Maya’s abandoned workshop only continued in cold silence.

‘Is she out?’

There was no choice but to come back later. With no other option, Solomon left Maya’s abandoned workshop, where silence had settled, behind. The filthy air of the Lowlands seeped deep into his lungs. Through the narrow alley where smog, the smell of filth, and all kinds of dirty things were mixed together at random.

“Hey, buddy.”

It was right then. Beside a roadside trash can, a man was crouching and called Solomon to a stop. Beggars begging in the Lowlands were not rare. Neither was the fact that if one gave to each of them out of goodwill, it would never end. So, just as Solomon was about to ignore him and quicken his steps.

“You there, buddy with the coat hem fluttering all hardboiled-like!”
“…….”

When he went that far, Solomon couldn’t bring himself to ignore him and pass by. Solomon stopped walking.
Under the light of a streetlamp flickering even in broad daylight, there was a head almost completely stripped bare.
A grimy running shirt so yellowed it seemed to be rotting, and cheap slippers that showed his toes.

“Looking at you, buddy, your bones are different. The energy pouring from the crown of your head is no ordinary thing! And your hair is abundant too!”
“…….”
“You must surely have the bone structure for martial studies that appears once in a century, if even that!”

The beggar in a running shirt pulled something out from his chest and continued energetically.

“I prepared these specially for you! Now, look! Every one of them is a rare manual of the age that can’t be obtained easily!”

Saying that, he took out and spread open a pile of crumpled books.

<Buddha’s Palm> (copy)
(special bargain sale)

And tucked between them was…….

<Secret Manual for Conquering Athlete’s Foot>

“…….”
“What do you think? This big brother will make it especially cheap for you.”

He was a snake oil salesman who looked suspicious no matter who saw him. So Solomon spat out coldly.

“No need. If you want to sell your snake oil, find someone else.”

After saying that, Solomon turned his back without the slightest delay. It was right then.

“All martial arts under heaven, no hardness is unbreakable.”

A voice came from behind him.

“Among the martial arts under heaven, there is no strength that cannot be broken…….”

Calmly.

“Only speed cannot be broken.”

And yet, it carried absurd killing intent and spirit that even Solomon could never simply overlook.

“Only speed cannot be broken.”
“─.”

Kaaang!
By the time he realized it, Solomon’s body had moved. His opponent had moved as well. Only after everything had moved and ended did the sound of dice finally ring out.

“In the world of Guild City, speed is life.”
“……!“

The beggar in the running shirt was there. Even though he had clearly swung a sword at Solomon, and Solomon had belatedly drawn the Ghost Whale Bone Blade to meet it, there was nothing in his hand.

‘There’s no sword?!’

An invisible sword was there.