Chapter 170
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 170
Anguis Regina and I had been drinking since broad daylight. Hours had passed since the sun went down.
I’d matched her drink for drink without refusal. Looking back, there was no particular reason. I just felt the need to do something. Whether that was drinking or talking with Anguis Regina didn’t matter.
On second thought, maybe there was a reason. External stimulation can help you forget the rot festering inside. It’s why broken people chase endless pleasure.
...Gabriel must have felt this way, along with all the other desperate losers.
But I refuse to be a loser.
“Whew… Why… aren’t you getting drunk?” Anguis Regina asked, her sweet, alcohol-laced breath washing over me. She was a strange mix of cosmetics, sweat, and liquor.
“I have a high tolerance,” I replied curtly, setting down my glass.
In truth, my stomach was on the verge of turning itself inside out. My head was somehow holding up, but it couldn't handle the potent liquor. If I relaxed my guard for even a moment, vomit would erupt from my mouth like a fountain.
Anguis Regina kept drinking stubbornly, her body swaying. Empty bottles rolled around her feet.
“The first one… hic… to give up… has to grant… a wish, right?”
“We even wrote a contract.” I pointed to the piece of paper beside us. The scribbled handwriting was a masterpiece of its own.
“Rest… room…”
Anguis Regina pushed herself to her feet.
I didn’t support her precarious frame, choosing instead to watch quietly. Unable to stand on her own, she dragged herself along the wall.
Clack.
I toyed with my glass, spinning it on the table. Anguis Regina was a lot like this glass—wobbling precariously but somehow never quite falling over. It was like watching a dizzying acrobatic act.
Rattle.
She stumbled into the bathroom. I stared after her.
Thud.
Finally, the sound of a fall echoed out.
I stood and pushed open the half-closed bathroom door. The fallen Anguis Regina’s feet brushed against the door’s edge. Her skirt was flipped up, her legs fully exposed.
The wounds healed well.
I glanced at her bare legs. The skin on her cleanly regenerated knees was lighter and softer than the surrounding area. The new flesh had a reddish tint, making it look almost pink.
“Hey.”
I nudged her with my foot. She only let out a faint groan and squirmed.
“What…” I trailed off, grabbing the showerhead. At that moment, Anguis Regina flinched.
“…Stop acting.”
The moment I turned the shower on, ice-cold water poured out.
Ssssshh!
I sprayed the water evenly over her as if watering a garden. She bolted upright with a shriek, her soaking hair hanging limp.
“Are you insane? What if I had a heart attack? Pfft! S-Stop!”
Anguis Regina glared at me, her pupils shining. I aimed the showerhead directly at her face, the stream of water relentlessly pelting her.
This must be what waterboarding feels like. Enjoying the novel sensation, I turned off the water.
“Don’t worry about a heart attack. I’ll bring you back, even if I have to break your ribs. Your acting was sloppy, Anguis Regina, but it was entertaining.”
“I really was drunk, you know.”
“So, do you want to keep going?”
“Any more and I’ll just ruin my stomach.”
“Good. Then I win. You remember the contract, right?” I smirked and walked back into the living room.
Anguis Regina casually stripped off her wet clothes and followed me, completely naked. I glanced at her and frowned.
“I’ll catch a cold if I stay in wet clothes. My job requires me to take care of my body. Or you could offer me something to wear, like a gentleman.”
“I am a gentleman, but one with only a single suit. I have nothing to lend you. Just stay naked.”
When I snorted, Anguis Regina, who had been so confident just moments ago, actually blushed. She muttered a curse under her breath and wrapped a blanket loosely around herself.
“You are a truly annoying human being.”
“That’s my specialty—giving the middle finger to people who think they’re the center of the universe.” I sat on the sofa and downed the rest of the liquor in my glass.
“This isn’t fun anymore. I’ll be going…”
“Just because it’s not fun doesn’t mean the promise disappears. You have to grant the winner’s wish,” I said, fluttering the contract in the air.
“…Spit it out, like a man.” Anguis Regina let the blanket slip slightly off her shoulders. She had to know by now that such tricks wouldn’t work on me; her coquetry was more of an ingrained habit than a conscious effort.
“Tell me about Kinuan. What is his relationship with Japa?”
I observed her as I spoke, focusing all my senses on her like probing tentacles, determined not to miss the slightest clue. The faint trembling of her legs, the moisture seeping from emotional shock, the dilation of sweat glands that had shrunk from the cold water, the tightly pursed lips suppressing her expression…
Controlling one’s emotions takes a split second. When an external stimulus occurs, the brain perceives the color of the emotion and interprets its meaning. If that emotion is at a controllable level, reason decides whether to express the signal. But even when suppressed by strong reason, the emotional signals still manifest in the body during that split-second gap.
When hit where it hurts, an amateur hides their emotions with anger. A veteran hides them with a laugh.
Anguis Regina, of course, was the latter.
“I think you’re mistaken. We were just playing a game. This isn’t a serious conversation or an interrogation.”
Deflecting with vague words. It must have worked on countless others. Since everyone wanted to win her favor, they would have let it slide.
“I guess people in this city bring loaded guns to their games. If you have no intention of keeping your promise, get the hell out. It was fun, liar.” I waved my hand dismissively.
Anguis Regina walked toward the door without a word. I feigned indifference while listening closely to her movements.
If Anguis Regina argues or sits back down to talk… she’s someone I can use.
She was opening the door. I casually poured more liquor into my glass.
If she leaves without a moment’s hesitation, she’s someone I’ll have a hard time handling.
The door stood open, but she didn’t move. She was neither leaving nor coming back. She was simply standing in the doorway, waiting for me to look at her.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.
I closed my eyes and pictured her. A bizarre entity stood there—a woman whose words and actions were ambiguous, seemingly logical yet utterly not.
Akies Victima.
Her subtle and vague behavior resembled that of an Akies Victima user. However, there was no trace of her having learned or been trained in it. She was simply similar by temperament.
…You’re overcomplicating things again, Luka.
I opened the mental book of my experience. I had met a woman like Anguis Regina before.
Someone who habitually speaks and acts outside the bounds of reason.
The world calls such a person a lunatic.
I opened my eyes.
“Heh, heh, ha, ha, hahahaha! Hohohoho! Heheheheee!”
Clutching the doorframe, Anguis Regina burst into laughter.
I glanced in her direction. She was laughing with her face buried in her hands. Her eyes, visible between her parted index and middle fingers, sparkled like a sea of starlight.
Slide.
As she let go, the blanket wrapped around her slid to the floor. Her crotch was slick with all kinds of secretions. The sight extinguished even the tiniest shred of lust I had left.
“…Heh, hehehe,” she let out an ambiguous sound, half laugh, half sob. Pointing a finger at me, she revealed only one side of her face.
“Not bad, you. You’re just like Kinuan.”
That was probably a compliment.
Anguis Regina’s presence vanished completely. Since this was Japa Trading’s building, she would find some way to cover herself.
This meeting had yielded results. I had seen a side of her that even her own managers likely never had.
An obsession with Kinuan.
That was the common thread between Japa and Anguis Regina. And since I was the only tracker who could find Kinuan, I held the upper hand.
* * *
My body felt stiff from the drinking match with Anguis Regina. A hangover was already tearing through me.
Alcohol is the worst. I couldn’t understand how Heilas drank the garbage like water.
Beep, beep.
My terminal rang. A glance outside showed it was still the dead of night, long before sunrise. I had only slept for about three hours. Judging by my physical condition, I needed at least four more hours of deep sleep.
But the terminal continued its insistent call.
Beep, beep.
My eyes were too dry and stiff to use the retinal display, so I grabbed the device.
The hospital?
It was a call from the hospital where Gabriel was admitted. I had a bad feeling. Then again, I always did. A sudden call never brought good news.
I read the message, moving only my eyes.
Gabriel had escaped. His recovery had been much faster than expected.
“Shit.”
Adrenaline jolted me wide awake, a shock strong enough to burn away my hangover. Recognizing the emergency, my brain kicked into overdrive, thoughts racing.
Should I ask Japa for help?
He must have plenty of lackeys. Flooding the streets with his people would make finding Gabriel easy.
But owing him another favor feels… uncomfortable.
The thought was so naive it made me laugh. I was being too soft. If Kinuan or Heilas heard me, they would have laughed their heads off. Did I really have the luxury to worry about such things? I had to grab and use every resource available. Whether I could repay the debt was a problem for later.
And if I couldn't repay it? Well, that would be Japa's fault for misjudging my capabilities.
I contacted Japa. Soon, his low voice came through the terminal.
“Gabriel escaped from the hospital. Mobilize your people and find him.”
—Excuse me? And why should I do that? His voice was laced with amusement.
It was time to play my trump card.
There’s a word that anyone who knows me is dying to hear. A word a man like me never utters. A single phrase that, when spoken, is like a gasp of fresh air. That’s why I don’t use it lightly. Overused, it loses all its power.
“…Please, Japa.”
Laughter echoed from the other end. I could even hear the wet, rolling sound of his tongue.
—Hyo-o-o-o… You certainly know how to play the game, Mr. Luka. Just as a villain’s good deed stands out, a favor from someone like you is all the sweeter. It’s a request I must swallow, even knowing it’s poison.
Japa readily accepted, seeing right through me.
Yes, it was time to admit it. Japa wasn’t someone I could deceive or exploit. He saw through my intentions with ease. With him, only honest transactions worked.
I ran a hand through my messy hair and gathered my gear. It wasn’t much: my tattered coat, the Auto-Tracking Pistol, and the Hwagwang Yedo, which I had yet to draw even once.
I headed for the elevator. There would be a ride waiting downstairs.
—Go up, not down, Mr. Luka.
Japa’s voice crackled through the communicator on the back of my neck. It seemed he was lending me an aerial vehicle.
I hadn’t seen many of them during my time in Border City. Even most of the upper class didn't use them as their primary mode of transportation. The reason was simple: Border City wasn’t a planned metropolis, so public airfields were practically nonexistent. Private aerial vehicles here had very limited uses, mostly for travel between businessmen or wealthy elites who had their own private landing pads.
…Enough useless thoughts. I quickly reached the rooftop. Ten aerial vehicles were parked there, the engine of one of them already humming.
It was a sleek, four-seater model, about half the size of Akbaran’s standard six-seater. It was so low-slung that one could only sit, not stand.
—Get in, foolish human.
As the door opened, the mechanical voice of a translator device rang out. Sitting in the cockpit was the Equesian mercenary, En, wearing a combat helmet.
“If you’re here to work, then drive.” I climbed into the back and lightly kicked the front seat.