Chapter 47

Even in the darkness, the bizarre pattern gave the illusion of squirming like a living tentacle. It meant this guy was also a member of Black Wheat, just like Lehitt. But given that they were deliberately showing off the tattoo and approaching me quietly, it seemed they were moving independently from Lehitt.

‘What is it this time?’

I nudged the sword guard slightly with my thumb while gripping the scabbard. It was a movement so minute that not even a hint of metal clicking was made. I was ready to draw the sword at any moment. There was no way a member of Black Wheat would come looking for me without a reason. Especially right after I’d been insulted by Lehitt.

The man’s gaze brushed over my face. It was an impassive, expressionless face, as if he were wearing a mask. The man spoke in a low voice. The sound of the rain was quite heavy, but his voice pierced my ears like a blade.

“It is a message from the Boss.”

Instead of answering, I pressed the scabbard tightly against my side. Ugurtz himself was looking for me, not Lehitt? I had thought meeting him would be difficult this time, so this was unexpected.

“‘Let’s see your face.’ That is all the message is.”

I asked the man, who had finished speaking dryly, for the location.

It was a short question, but my voice was thickly laced with sharp wariness. In contrast, the man was more relaxed than I was.

“The Hyacinth Garden.”

The place Ugurtz designated was the house Iel and I had lived in during our childhood.

When I opened the front door, it wasn’t the musty smell of mold or dust peculiar to Nervas that greeted me. It was a very faint scent of soap that tugged at my nostalgia, and the smell of tobacco, which didn’t belong here.

The Hyacinth Garden. This was the nest Iel had diligently tended, and after she left, it had been my first home where I waited for her. It was also the place Iel had never returned to after fleeing Nervas shortly after her marriage.

The inside of the house existed with the same clean and cozy feeling as before. However, it was uncomfortable to be fooled by the atmosphere and lost in memories. This place was now the extremely private territory of Ugurtz, the head of Black Wheat.

The garden visible through the window had become much more colorful than before. The hyacinths Iel had cherished were there, along with other nameless, flashy flowers in full bloom.

It was proof that Ugurtz didn’t know Iel’s tastes well. A garden managed just to be pretty according to a set standard didn’t even deserve to be called the Hyacinth Garden anymore. If he was going to do this, he should have at least changed the name.

The flowerbed, ordered to the point of being desperate, resembled Ugurtz’s meticulous management style rather than Iel’s delicate touch. To him, this place must have been the only floral retreat he visited to remember a dead lover and temporarily forget the physiology of Nervas, which was punctuated by power struggles.

“Welcome.”

Ugurtz, who had been sitting in front of the small dining table, lifted one hand lightly. He was so big and dark that he really didn’t fit the atmosphere of this house. He must have known that well, too. And yet, he had prepared a toy house like this for her according to his own standards to match a lover’s taste. Perhaps, for this human, it was a form of pure affection.

“Sit.”

Ugurtz gestured with his chin toward the chair opposite him. I walked over obediently and sat down. He extinguished his tobacco, leaned back against the chair, and crossed his legs.

“So you’re looking for your colleagues?”

“Yeah. Someone said Black Wheat had once identified their affiliation. I was wondering if you knew anything. I met with Lehitt, but that bastard didn’t tell me a thing.”

“Well, naturally. That guy hates you.”

“I know. But I have no way to meet you unless you call for me yourself. As far as I’m concerned, the only executive I could contact right away was Lehitt.”

Ugurtz scoffed lightly.

“He probably thinks I favor you.”

“Ugh. A man’s jealousy is a hideous sight.”

“Well. I suppose so.”

Ugurtz agreed coolly and returned to the main point.

“Anyway, about the location of your colleagues—I happen to know it?”

“…How much?”

It hadn’t been long since I’d poured my entire fortune into this human. I silently waited for his answer, hoping the information fee would be at least a little cheap. Ugurtz spoke with the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

“The information fee and the cost to hand over the prisoners are separate.”

“Haaaa…. So it really was them who took them.”

Ugurtz nodded in affirmation. Then, looking up at the ceiling with a bored expression, he said.

“I told them to just catch them and throw them in the warehouse. I was planning on selling them off to a slave ship once this week passed.”

“What? Slaves?! You mean to tell me it wasn’t just simple detention?!”

I jumped up from my seat and shouted. Ugurtz stared blankly at me, and I forcibly calmed my emotions and sat back down. In my head, I was chanting self-brainwashing to the best of my ability to stay calm.

It’s fine! It’s still fine! So, calm down. At least they’re alive, which is a relief—no, damn it, how could that be a relief! They must have been drugged out of their minds!

I ruffled my hair wildly, and judging that it would be dangerous if more time was delayed, I immediately entered into negotiations.

“How much per person?”

“You’re hot-blooded. Must have saved up well in the meantime, huh?”

“It’s not me, it’s our Guild Leader who will pay.”

“Oho….”

He had a look that said, ‘Can I ask for more?’ so I begged him to please spit out a price that was at least somewhat conscientious. Seeing me like that, Ugurtz chuckled with a look of amusement.

“You’re the only one who would talk to me about conscience.”

“So? How much.”

Say it fast. It was urgent that I take them to a doctor. If I was too late, the unit members might turn into idiots.

Of course, they were already idiots beyond compare, but at least their egos functioned normally. But if things continued like this, their brains might be wiped clean and become completely hollow. If that happened, they would lose the function of thinking itself.

After going through some brainwashing and education in that state—ta-da. You have a faithful slave who does whatever they are told without the concept of rebellion.

Ugurtz watched me, who was getting anxious, as if he were enjoying it, and dragged out the time. I knew that the more impatient I was, the more disadvantageous I was, but the situation was truly urgent, so there was no choice.

The safety of the unit members led to the completion of the request. I had to avoid a situation where I came all this way only to lose my colleagues and not get paid.

“Come to think of it, I heard.”

“What?”

What useless thing are you trying to say now? I don’t have much time. I expressed my dissatisfaction by tapping my foot on the floor, but Ugurtz naturally didn’t care about my feelings.

“I heard you’re living with Iel?”

I stopped tapping my foot. Suddenly, it felt as if cold water had been poured into my head, and I became calm.

“You’re quite something, aren’t you. You finally took that spot by her side, did you?”

“What does that have to do with you?”

“Why wouldn’t it? She’s my daughter.”

“Why on earth is she your daughter? Even though you don’t share a single drop of blood.”

“If she lived under my protection, eating food with the money I earned, she’s my child. What does blood have to do with anything? You’re young but quite close-minded.”

“Do we really have to talk about that right now?”

“It doesn’t matter if we don’t, but I’m not the one who is desperate, am I?”

“Why did you bring her up so suddenly?”

“Because you’re a dog that my daughter abandoned.”

Suddenly, I was rendered speechless. Ugurtz asked.

“Does Iel even know that you’re that dog from back then?”

I didn’t say anything. Ugurtz looked at me quietly for a moment, then gave a smirk.

“You’ve become one fine son of a bitch.”

After that, Ugurtz didn’t bring up the topic of Iel again and coordinated the contract terms for the handover of the unit members. I nodded, half out of my mind, but the content didn’t really sink in. Still, fortunately, I was able to quickly take custody of the unit members without any major setbacks.

After showing the unit members to a doctor outside Nervas, I went to the base and informed the Guild Leader that the mission was complete.

“You can send the payment here.”

I handed the Guild Leader the contract I’d shared with Ugurtz. I had received custody of the unit members first because it was urgent, but if the Guild Leader had any brains, they wouldn’t resist and would just pay up. The Guild Leader, who was peering into the contents of the contract with a troubled expression, swallowed a sigh and asked.

“But why were they captured in the first place?”

“They caused a ruckus in the territory of a power organization.”

From Black Wheat’s perspective, it was just swatting down a bug that had entered their home. They had kept them alive because selling them was more profitable than killing them instantly. The reason was extremely simple.