Chapter 95

I was a bit surprised by the appearance of the status window.

Is it possible to include someone with zero trust in the recruitable range?

‘Well, I suppose a professional relationship isn’t established solely on trust.’

It was a remarkably rational system.

I stared into the contempt and rage burning in Anita’s eyes. As I did, I spoke.

“The first option.”

I held up my index finger.

“You will reject all of my proposals and be exiled from Denabi. You can ask to be taken to any point on the Denabi border you wish.”

I looked down at her with a generous smile.

“How’s that? Isn’t that a lavish condition? Don’t look at me like that. You’ll kill someone with those eyes.”

“You hypocritical bastard…”

Good. That’s the reaction I wanted.

“Why? Are the conditions not to your liking?”

Of course they wouldn’t be. In a feudal society, exile has no expiration date. She would never be able to return to Denabi.

“Fine. Then, the second option.”

I held up my middle finger alongside my index finger.

“I will do my absolute best to ensure the safety of your family. I’ll even resolve your financial issues. In exchange, you must accept every one of my demands.”

“Every… demand?” Anita asked in a strained voice.

I nodded readily and approached her. I crouched down in front of her where she lay prostrate.

“I’m saying you have to be my dog. If I say run, you run. If I say crawl, you crawl. If I say kill, you kill.”

I wiped the dirt from her forehead.

“I understand. It’s unfair. You don’t want to accept it. But these are the only two proposals I can offer you. Didn’t you reject our chance for an equal relationship in the first place?”

“……”

With that, I stood up and turned to leave.

“I’ll give you ten minutes. Answer within that time. Jailer, if she still has her mouth shut after ten minutes, just pull out her tongue and feed it to the dogs.”

“It was to save more people.”

I suddenly made that excuse. I was walking down the hallway, with Adele following behind me.

“I know,” Adele replied. “But it’s quite rare for you to offer an excuse.”

“……”

Being cruel to people is hard work. If you throw a punch at someone, your own knuckles are bound to get hurt, too. Whether the opponent is a violent criminal or anyone else.

“But I also felt a strange sense of liberation.”

It felt like scratching an itch. The area might get raw from the scratching, but the sensation itself was fresh and cool.

“Inflicting violence on someone without hesitation… I thought only those with broken personalities could do such a thing. But while threatening Anita, I realized that I could easily become like that. It’s not just drugs that can addict a person.”

“Are you afraid you’ll become addicted to violence?”

“I’ll try very hard not to. But from now on, I intend to use that violence. On a person… not anything else.”

That was my resolve.

“To be your person?” Malik asked back.

“You might be a puppet of the Underground Council, but you are the executor of this unrest. You must have some level of control over the Lower District’s military power.”

“Well, it depends on how I handle it… I suppose I might.” Malik smirked. “But are you seriously saying you’ll lend me your strength? That you’ll snatch the puppet known as ‘me’ away from the Underground Council?”

I gave a dignified nod.

“Ha! Truly, you are fascinating. How was a kid like you born from a man like Mr. Alejandro?”

“I must take after my mother more than my father,” I answered slickly.

In truth, I didn’t even know Beatrice’s personality when she was alive.

“You will use the military force of the Upper District that I provide, along with the forces you can control, to eliminate the Underground Council one by one.”

That was the plan I had formed. Even if I used Malik to temporarily halt the drug distribution, the control still remained in the Lower District. I believed that narcotics had to be torn out by the roots the moment they were discovered.

‘To do that, a clash with the Underground Council is inevitable.’

So, what was the best way? Starting a war between the Upper and Lower Districts carried too much risk.

“Therefore, I will lend you strength, and you will lend me your name. If this fight becomes an internal power struggle between factions of the Lower District rather than a conflict between the Upper and Lower Districts… civilian casualties can be kept to a minimum.”

“Sure, fine. Let’s say I do that. But while I’m taking out the Council members on your behalf, what will you be doing?”

I shrugged as if the answer were obvious.

“I’m going to play around and relax. I’ll just sit back and take the credit you bring me.”

“Ha! That’s a truly tempting offer.”

“Of course it is. In addition, you’ll become my proxy for ruling the Lower District, and any rival factions that could check you will vanish. Where else could you find such a good deal? Unless, of course, you just can’t stand the sight of me lounging around.”

Malik leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back.

“Hmm. The kid I lured down here to take as a hostage is instead telling me to be his dog.”

“Well, that’s just how life goes.”

I reached out the hand that had been resting on my knee toward him.

“Even if you have to live as a dog, isn’t it better to live under a wealthy and generous master?”

“If we kill Shane now, we’re essentially handing everything over to the Upper District. We have to think this through again.”

A voice in the darkness exhaled smoke under the light. The Banker spoke with a hardline tone.

“But if we let that youngest son go again, we have nowhere left to retreat! Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost just by opening the gates over the past few days?!”

It was an old man who stepped in to back the Banker.

“He’s right. We already have very few cards left. If we don’t eliminate Alejandro’s son with this move, the Lower District will never get another chance.”

The voice in the darkness mocked the old man.

“Heh. So you’d rather crawl toward your own death than wither away. You’re just like those fools who started the rebellion twenty years ago.”

“What?”

“Do you think Alejandro will forgive the Lower District this time? No. If he loses Shane, Alejandro will go on a rampage. And thanks to you killing Shane, he’ll even have the justification for a purge. At that point, no one can protect you.”

The Banker swallowed hard. He was someone who had spent his entire life in Denabi. He knew the martial prowess of Alejandro and the legions under his command better than anyone. It felt as though sweat were dripping from his right hand—the one that had long since been cut off.

But the old man remained steadfast in his attitude.

“Alejandro is not in Denabi Castle right now. There is no reason to be afraid. We just need to seize control of the castle before he returns.”

“A brilliant plan. But doesn’t this feel like a case of déjà vu? I believe those idiots from twenty years ago had the exact same thought.”

“I am not young enough to fall for such cheap provocation. The one who broke the unwritten rule and started this offensive was that youngest brat. If we do not retaliate, if we do not show proper strength, we will simply return to being slaves.”

The Banker then asked the old man in a voice that had lost its edge.

“But if Alejandro truly decides to seek retribution…”

“Are you suggesting we throw away this final opportunity because you’re afraid of Alejandro? Do you intend to let your children, and their children’s children, remain as people of the Lower District for generations to come?”

The old man glared at the Banker with wide, fierce eyes. The Banker couldn’t even mutter a word.

The old man continued.

“We just have to pin everything on Malik. And don’t leave a trace of the youngest son’s body. We’ll report him as missing. If we do that, the justification for purging us disappears… no, actually, it might be better to kill Malik along with the brat and offer his head personally.”

“Oh…!”

“Szilard!”

At the old man’s call, the door opened and Szilard appeared.

“Sir.”

“You heard my words, I assume? Execute it. If even this fails…”

For the first time, the old man showed a smile.

“That would be interesting in its own way.”

A group of vigilantes, led by Szilard, cut through the night streets of the Lower District. Their numbers weren’t particularly high for an offensive.

However, every time Szilard tapped those patrolling the streets on the shoulder as he passed, the size of the group grew.

—Tap, tap.

It was the sound of the guild members’ purpose and duty shifting. The nature of guild members is not much different from mercenaries. They take money and carry out requests. They didn’t follow Malik out of loyalty, but rather the logic of coin. They had been ready to abandon Malik for a long time.

Finally, they arrived in front of the mansion. Bard was waiting before the door.

“Quite a crowd. Did the old man tell you to storm the Upper District gates?”

“No.”

Szilard gave a stoic nod. The two were brothers; they didn’t really need much explanation. Even so, Bard did not move away from the mansion door.

“What is it? Guide us in quickly.”

Szilard urged Bard. But Bard spoke up.

“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”

At that moment, Malik emerged from the shadows inside the mansion.

“Hello, my dear traitors.”

Malik kicked Bard, shoving him outside the door. A flustered Szilard caught his brother and then looked back at Malik. The hand-crossbow in Malik’s hand was aimed at Bard.

“How could you guys do this to me? No matter how much you love the money from those Council bastards. How can you betray me?”

“Shameless. You expected this too,” Szilard said.

“Well, that’s true. Still, to change your attitude as easily as flipping a coin… You guys really don’t know the concept of loyalty or honor, do you?”

“There are no personal feelings involved.”

“Yeah. I don’t have any either. Since I’ve betrayed you guys, too.”

“…?”

In that instant, Szilard felt a searing sensation in his side. A blue-tinted dagger was piercing through his abdomen. The owner of that dagger was his own brother.

“Bard… you bastard…”

“Sorry, brother. We picked the wrong side.”

In the sudden chaos, the guild members drew their swords in unison. The sound of clashing steel sent a metallic vibration through the air. Malik thought the sound was as sweet as music.

“Tonight, the master of the Lower District changes.”

He signaled.

“Kill them.”

Dozens of minutes prior.

Malik had said, “The Council bastards probably realized it’s become difficult for me to kill you. Believe it or not, those guys actually have brains.”

“So?”

“They might be heading this way with their subordinates right now. They’ll want to kill both you and me at once and frame me for your death.”

“Oho.”

I was genuinely impressed. “Even if they use such a tactic, they won’t be able to quell my father’s rage.”

“They have brains, but they don’t function quite that far.”

Malik raised both hands as if there were nothing he could do. “That’s troublesome. Don’t you have any defensive forces you can command?”

“I do, but if they find out the other side has changed their mind, they’ll surrender and join them immediately. Unless we prove we have a reliable trump card…”

“A reliable trump card.”

I repeated Malik’s words. He asked me, “Do you have one?”

“Probably. There’s about a 90% chance I do.”

“What’s with the ‘probability’?”

“It’s just that I didn’t explicitly tell them to come.”

—Knock, knock.

Just then, a sound came from outside the window.

“There it is.”

As I said that, Malik looked toward the window.

“Whoa, damn! You startled me!”

Malik reflexively backed away from the window. The intruder outside waved at me. Then, they mouthed the words:

‘I’m here.’