Chapter 169
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 169
"It will take three or four days to completely flush the drugs from his system. We are continuously administering antitoxins, but..." Gabriel's attending physician explained. Dressed as immaculately as his exorbitant fees demanded, he pointed at the monitors and charts.
"He doesn't need to make a full recovery. I just need him coherent enough to talk."
"That is what will take three or four days."
"I see."
I accepted it without arguing. Arguing with an expert wouldn't speed up Gabriel's recovery anyway.
Even back at the drug den, Gabriel's mind had been completely fried. He certainly wasn't in any condition to hold a conversation.
There was no point in rushing. Besides, I wasn't sentimental enough to stay by Gabriel's bedside until he woke up.
I left the hospital and headed back to the Japa Trading headquarters. Beside me was the young Crawler, Boyan.
Intimidated by the sheer scale of Japa Trading, Boyan stared up at the skyscraper with a terrified expression.
"A-am I going to be living with you from now on, Mr. Luka?"
"Me? With you? Don't make me laugh. There's bound to be at least one spare room in this building. Once I get you a roof over your head and three meals a day, my job is done. Whether you study or do whatever else, the rest is up to you."
It wasn't as if I had a concrete plan when I brought Boyan along. Honestly, I was overextending myself when I could barely look after my own skin.
But if he had stayed in the slums with Regor... things wouldn't have ended well.
Knowing this, Regor had readily entrusted Boyan to me. He must have known he wouldn't survive long in Border City. The man was honest to a fault, lacking even an ounce of tact.
No matter how well you fight, violence alone isn't enough to survive. To survive, you need both might and mind.
The truly strong men I had seen were always like that. Absolute monsters who had honed both their combat prowess and their wits to the very peak.
Lost in these idle thoughts, I made my way to Japa's office. Around his desk, holograms floated as thick as storm clouds. He was busy working.
"Hoyot, please wait just a moment."
Japa glanced at me and Boyan. His gaze lingered on the boy for a second, his vertical pupils narrowing.
"Eat them if you want. Don't worry about what others think," I told Boyan, who was stealing glances at the bowl of deadly poison-flavored candies.
Boyan hesitated before unwrapping them and popping them into his mouth one by one.
"...It's a strange, fascinating taste. My tongue tingles a bit."
It seemed to be a subtle, peculiar flavor.
I sat on the sofa and waited for Japa to finish his work. Soon, Japa waved his hand, dismissing all the holograms at once.
"Mr. Luka, you certainly made quite a scene," Japa said, his tone carrying a hint of reprimand.
"I had no choice. I had to save a life first."
"It would be wise not to accumulate too much 'karma.' I know you are an outstanding soldier, Mr. Luka. But... you are not invincible. Violence accumulates karma, and its end is always ruin. At least until you find Kinuan, I hope you only shoulder as much karma as you can handle. What happens after you find Kinuan is none of my business, of course, hoyot. And..."
Japa looked at Boyan, silently demanding an explanation.
I paused for a moment, then nudged Boyan's shoulder with my elbow.
"Explain your situation yourself, Boyan. Try to persuade your potential patron with your eloquence. It's going to be hard for you to study if Japa doesn't help. The only thing I can teach you is how to fight."
Startled, Boyan gulped down the candy he was sucking on. He hesitated before finally opening his mouth.
Though he stammered at first, he was soon speaking fluently about his circumstances. Japa watched Boyan intently, his interest clearly piqued.
"...That is all."
Boyan finished speaking. For the first time, I finally heard the full story that I had only vaguely pieced together until now.
Regor and Boyan were being hunted by assassins sent by their own tribe. To protect Boyan, Regor had killed several of his fellow tribesmen before going into hiding in Border City.
It seemed their journey here had been far more perilous than I had imagined.
"It might sound a bit xenophobic, so excuse me, but... is he really a Crawler?"
"Well, he's not wearing a mask."
I pinched and pulled Boyan's cheek. The boy let out a short groan.
"You've done well to survive all this time. I suppose you managed to hold out because your father was an excellent warrior. Did you say you want to become a federal bureaucrat?" Japa asked.
Boyan nodded. Japa let out a laugh, flicking his split tongue.
I already knew the outcome. Japa would gladly take Boyan in. It wasn't because he was some kind of saint.
Gabriel. Boyan.
Already, there were two people in Border City who needed my support. When you had too many responsibilities and entanglements, you couldn't just pack up and leave, nor could you easily betray others. That was how a 'community' was formed.
Sponsoring a single student was a trivial expense for someone of Japa's immense wealth. But putting me in his debt? That was a difficult feat.
Being able to make me owe him with such a tiny investment makes this a highly profitable deal for Japa.
Even though Japa had already made up his mind, he still hesitated, acting as if he were reaching this conclusion after deep, agonizing deliberation. Every single one of his gestures screamed 'merchant.'
"To think Mr. Luka would help a complete stranger. What an unexpected side of you."
"Do you think I'm some cold-blooded psychopath? Even I can feel pity."
"And yet, a man who feels pity shot Anguis Regina in the knee... Well, regardless, I will register Boyan under the Japa Scholarship Foundation."
Japa grumbled as he opened a hologram. Above us, the ceiling of the office slid open, and a drone descended.
Whirrrr.
The drone scanned Boyan with a grid of laser beams.
Clack.
Not long after, an employee of Japa Trading arrived to pick up the boy. Boyan looked at me with a somewhat fearful face before following the employee out.
Only Japa and I were left in the office.
"Do you still have something to say?"
Japa sat in his chair, clicking his fingernails against each other. I stood up from my seat.
"Just in case you're getting any ideas. If Boyan or Gabriel ever become a drag on me, I will gladly abandon them. If you ever try to extract something from me by holding their safety hostage... that will become the very 'karma' that slits your throat."
"When asking someone to look after an acquaintance, one usually makes a request, not a threat."
"What I just said was a request. When I threaten someone, I start by breaking one of their limbs."
"An Imperial-style request is indeed fierce. I shall keep that in mind."
* * *
I had some free time while waiting for Gabriel to recover. During that lull, I ran a background check on him. His track record wasn't exactly highly classified, so digging it up wasn't difficult.
Giselle went missing seven years ago. The head of security at the time was Gabriel.
Gabriel had failed to protect Giselle. Since then, he had not returned to Akbaran, choosing instead to rot away in Border City.
He had lived a ruined life here. For whatever reason, he seemed to have completely given up on everything, chasing nothing but cheap thrills until he ended up in a drug den—one of the final stops at the absolute rock bottom.
I knew Gabriel. He had a personality perfectly suited for a bottom-feeder life. He was hot-tempered, impatient, and prone to running wild without considering the consequences. He was a man who always prioritized immediate pleasure.
Yet, he wasn't the type to break down to this extreme extent. He possessed a real sense of responsibility toward his work and his people, and he maintained his own internal moral boundaries.
That was why... I didn't dislike Gabriel. In fact, I actually liked him.
Indeed, the records showed that Gabriel had once cleaned up his act, leaving the gang life behind to live a decent, legitimate life. G&G Cybernetics had even sent him to a security firm for outsourced training. Since he already possessed sharp combat instincts and a good head for the work, it would have suited him perfectly as long as he had the drive.
The collapse of Gabriel's smooth-sailing life had been triggered entirely by Giselle's disappearance.
"...Guilt."
That was the emotion that had driven Gabriel's downfall. A guilt so overwhelmingly heavy that it had crushed him.
The guilt of failing to protect Giselle.
There must have been complex reasons tied into that guilt. One of them was likely his loyalty to me. Because Gabriel was just that kind of guy.
Beep.
Pressing firmly between my brows, I tapped the table to turn off the floating hologram. As the light vanished, the room plunged into absolute darkness.
A blank space is a harsh thing.
I couldn't even begin to fathom what had transpired over those twelve years. The period I had spent knowing the people in Akbaran was barely four years at most.
Three times that duration.
What kind of lives they had lived during that time... I had no idea.
I sat quietly in the dark room, thinking. I let time pass as I allowed my thoughts to sink deeper. Like a slow-moving behemoth of the deep sea, slowly, heavily, and gloomily, I let myself sink to the very bottom.
Not a single spark flew from my consciousness. Even the embers had died out, leaving my mind infinitely cold and dark. Though I was clearly awake and breathing, I felt like a dead man. No matter how much life and death were two sides of the same coin, right now, even that boundary didn't exist for me.
...It would be fine to die like this.
This thought surged up countless times. It wasn't cynicism; it was sheer, crushing lethargy.
This won't do.
Remember the past. The past me, who couldn't stay still for even a single moment. Constantly changing, moving forward...
Perhaps I burned away too much of myself during those days.
This, too, was a defeatist thought. Even as I remained on guard against my own lethargy, it was hard to bear the sorrow that occasionally washed over me.
Click, clack.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway. Someone was approaching my room. Judging by the pattern of the gait, it wasn't Japa or En. It wasn't Lapis either, and it certainly wasn't Boyan.
Hiss.
The door slid open. I hadn't bothered to lock it, but it was still a rude intrusion. Then again, calling someone else rude over a breach of etiquette would be hypocritical, considering I had done my fair share of rude things since arriving.
"You're fully recovered already, I see. The medical technology in Border City is quite extraordinary. Or is it just the power of throwing money at the problem?" I remarked, leaning back into the sofa.
The visitor was Anguis Regina. She wore a thick overcoat, the brim of her hat pulled down low to obscure her face.
Click.
Anguis Regina did not answer. She raised a pistol and aimed it directly at my leg.
"My leg is a prosthetic. If you want revenge, shoot my torso or my head instead. Don't worry about it. Revenge always comes with interest, after all," I said, pointing alternately at my heart and the space between my brows.
Anguis Regina bit her lower lip. Her finger trembled slightly on the trigger.
She's never shot a gun at anyone before.
Getting shot in the knee herself must have also been a first-time experience.
There was no need to be tense. Anguis Regina wouldn't be able to shoot me. She had something she desperately needed to obtain through me.
Anguis Regina must be connected to Kinuan as well.
That was exactly why she had tested my abilities the moment a new 'detective' arrived in town. She must have been curious to see if I was actually capable of tracking down Kinuan.
"Nothing in this world is absolute. Are you so sure I won't shoot you?" she asked.
"If my judgment is wrong, then I die. Tell me, Anguis Regina, have you ever fought a battle with your life on the line? In real combat, a mistake in judgment means instant death. Expecting perfect, guaranteed predictions is absurd. Entrusting your life to a judgment made without absolute certainty is just a daily routine."
"This isn't a combat situation."
"Life is a struggle at every moment. Shoot if you're going to shoot; otherwise, get lost. I have no interest in you. Go back to your ridiculous dancing and singing. Isn't that your job?"
Anguis Regina lowered the pistol and slipped it back into her coat.
See? You can't shoot.
I almost spat the words out but swallowed them instead. There was no need for pointless provocations. Whether out of goodwill or malice, I didn't want to get any more entangled with this woman than I already was.
"Do you know what time it is?" she asked.
"Of course I do. 14:21," I answered without even looking at a clock.
"It's daytime. Sitting alone in the dark in the middle of the day isn't good for your mental health."
Anguis Regina closed the door behind her and walked over to the window.
Swoosh.
Without my permission, she drew the curtains wide open. The room became blindingly bright. She then reached over and adjusted the light switches on the wall.
As the natural sunlight from the window and the warm glow of the lamps blended perfectly, the entire atmosphere of the room transformed. I hadn't even realized my room could look this nice. Japa had indeed given me top-tier accommodations.
"I told you to shoot or get lost. I didn't invite you in," I said irritably.
"I have no reason to obey your orders. Don't like what I'm doing? Then shoot me like you did last time."
Anguis Regina sat down on the sofa opposite me, resting her elbow on the armrest and propping up her chin.
"You think I won't?"
"You wouldn't want Japa to cut off his support either. Do you really think Japa would let it slide a second time?"
"Are you Japa's lover or something? Into interspecies play? Is that what you meant when you said you liked snake-like men?"
Despite my crude insult, Anguis Regina merely scoffed.
"That's hilarious enough to make my stomach hurt. Why don't you chew on how stupid you sound later when you're alone?"
She casually opened the cabinet next to the sofa and pulled out a liquor bottle. I hadn't even known there was alcohol stored in there. She seemed to know the layout of this room very well.
"Did you live here?"
"Not just here, but also in the room you completely trashed. I've slept with every single 'detective' who has come through here so far."
I looked at the bottle she placed on the table. This, too, was a premium product of Japa Trading. Inside the glass bottle, an entire snake was submerged in the golden liquor.
The label featured an illustration of a snake standing rigidly upright on its tail. For a snake, its skin had prominent, bulging veins. Even without reading the text, I could easily guess what it symbolized.
"It's snake wine, supposedly great for stamina. I don't know what they put in it, but speaking from experience, it definitely has an effect."
Anguis Regina grabbed two glasses, shaking them lightly in her hand. A fake, seductive smile curved her lips. She was a difficult woman to deal with. It felt like she was ready to coil around me and cling to me like a snake.
An unexpected crisis of chastity had just fallen into my lap.
"What a pity. I... prefer men."
"That's the funniest joke I've heard all year."
The corners of Anguis Regina's mouth curled even higher.