Chapter 58
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58
Ken Noma sat on the bed like a living corpse.
Clink.
I was measuring out drugs at the workbench. Using data I'd copied from the Imperial Guard's database, I formulated a few compounds designed to improve cognitive function. I had no idea if they'd work, but there was nothing to lose.
If Ken died because of a mistake on my part, well, so be it. There was no one left to hold me accountable.
I injected the formulated drug into the nape of Ken's neck. As the medicine took effect, the trembling in his fingers stopped.
Ken had been tortured in virtual reality. According to Aleph, it would have felt like several years.
You couldn't just shrug it off because it was "only" virtual. It was more horrific precisely because it was indistinguishable from reality. You couldn't even escape through death. Your mind gets torn to shreds as you die and revive, over and over again.
Think about it—humans are only meant to die once. Our brains aren't built to survive multiple deaths. Even a single death places an unbearable load on the human mind.
But thanks to technological advancement, a person can now be artificially killed and revived again and again. Few can endure it.
"Ken Noma. Do you recognize me?"
Ken was a man barely past his fifties. Yet the state of his brain was no different from that of a hundred-year-old. His memory was riddled with gaps, and his cognitive abilities were severely degraded.
Whoosh.
I tossed a knife at him. As if he'd never been sluggish a day in his life, he snatched it clean out of the air.
Ken had managed to retain some of his combat-related brain functions. Even with a damaged mind, a musician will play when handed an instrument, a chef will cook if given ingredients and tools, and a warrior can still handle a weapon.
"Let's begin your rehabilitation, Ken."
Maybe it was the drugs, but Ken's condition was better than before. His stutter had improved significantly, too.
"You... are a trustworthy person."
His consciousness had cleared. Though still trembling violently, he rose to his feet.
Snap!
Ken gripped the knife in a reverse hold and settled into a stance. For a split second, I felt a genuine flicker of threat.
Clang!
I served as his sparring partner. Our knives clashed, throwing off sparks.
He must have been terrifyingly skilled before they ruined him.
Even in his crippled state, Ken's edge was fierce. Even now, he looked capable of cutting down a couple of ordinary men without breaking a sweat.
"Ha, haha."
Ken let out a dry laugh. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
"I'm looking for the man who sponsored Tora. His trail, to be exact. What brought him to the Lower District, and why he backed Tora."
I laid out my objective.
"Haa, haa..."
After moving around for a while, Ken sagged into a chair. He gulped down some water. Like magic, the trembling in his body had stopped—though it was surely only temporary.
"...My head is clear. What did you do to me?"
"Nothing much. I just cooked up a few drugs."
"Didn't take you for a chemist. Got a cigarette?"
As if I had any real expertise. It was all thanks to the Imperial Guard's database. There were countless cripples like Ken Noma in the Imperial Army. They'd conducted human experimentation disguised as clinical trials to a nauseating degree.
"No smoking during rehabilitation."
"Then at least a drink..."
"You really think that's allowed?"
"Hmph. You're as uptight as a soldier."
Because I am one.
Ignoring his request, I pressed him for answers. What I wanted was the memories locked away in his head.
"Anyway... racking my brain here. Tora called that man 'Noel.'"
One corner of my mouth twitched. Kinuan certainly had a twisted sense of humor.
Noel Mulrizka.
The rebel leader of the distant past. He was also the creator of the Akies Combat Style. Kinuan had taken that name as an alias.
"Noel..."
I murmured.
"Even among Tora's inner circle, almost no one knew Noel, let alone met him. Looking back, it was strange. Tora was a good man, but he climbed far higher than his actual ability warranted, and it came too easily. He seized the Arena—something everyone coveted—and ran his businesses. All thanks to that man, Noel, most likely."
Just as I'd expected. Kinuan had expanded his influence throughout the Lower District through Tora. The revenue must have been considerable, too.
"Anything else out of the ordinary?"
"Some of the Arena's earnings were funneled through other businesses..."
Ken trailed off and fell silent. A wry smile touched his lips.
"...Before that, I have a favor to ask, Luka."
I sighed, my expression saying here it comes.
"Is this about Aleph?"
"You know as well as I do. Aleph made me like this. I have to have my revenge."
"Aleph and I are cooperating right now."
"I'm not asking you to help me. Just look the other way. I'll handle the revenge myself."
Whatever the two of them did to each other was none of my business. But not right now.
"At the moment, you're under the protection of the Gabriel Gang. If you want revenge on Aleph, do it after you leave this place. Stick to that. If you don't—"
"No need for threats. If there's one thing I can boast about, it's that unlike Aleph, I keep my word. That's why I stood by Tora to the very end. Aleph stabbed him in the back. That bastard deserves to die."
Keeping one's word. I didn't buy it. Whether to trust Aleph or Ken was something I'd decide based on my own experience.
The web of relationships was growing more tangled by the day.
I was slowly wearying of this whole Lower District mission. I was a fighter, not a schemer. But you can't climb to the top by only doing what you like.
How to handle subordinates, how to run an organization.
These were the areas where I fell short. Better to learn them now. They were skills I'd need someday.
"Aleph probably still has Tora's old ledgers—get them from him. Filter out only the businesses whose names start with 'B.' The money laundered through those went straight into Noel's pockets."
I nodded and stood.
* * *
After wrapping up with Ken Noma, I headed downstairs.
Crunch!
The moment I stepped down, a loud crash rang out. Trouble, clearly. Whatever it was, I could already feel a headache coming on.
"Y-you...! Weren't you a surprise gift the Young Master brought? I-I—! Argh!"
Baldy was screaming.
Crunch!
Grace looked down coldly at him with her single eye. She gave him a light kick, and Baldy went rolling across the floor, coughing up blood.
The junkies had mistaken Grace for a whore, it seemed. Grace strode over, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it into the floor.
"Spare me! Young Master! Spare me—"
Bleeding profusely, Baldy begged for help. Grace slammed his head down again.
What a mess.
I scanned the room. No sign of Gabriel. Just Baldy, Snub-Nose, and Grace. The three of them.
"Enough, Grace," I said, coming down the stairs.
She released Baldy's head and looked up at me.
"Your subordinates are terribly undisciplined, Lord Luka."
They certainly were. Hard to argue otherwise. Still, I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.
I stopped abruptly, right in front of Grace.
Bam!
I snapped a kick into her stomach. She couldn't even react before she flew back and slammed into the wall.
"I never gave you the authority to discipline my men. Don't get cocky. You're an outsider. However pathetic they look, these guys are under me. Lay a hand on them, and you're looking down on me. Have I got that right?"
Grace stared at me, eyes wide with shock.
She probably knew I was strong. She just didn't expect it to be this much.
As a former Imperial Guard Cadet, Grace surely took immense pride in her skills. She'd never imagined she'd be overpowered so helplessly.
"You're right, Lord Luka. I overstepped."
Grace wiped the blood from her mouth and got to her feet. Maybe it was the cadet background—her soldierly bearing and tone pleased me.
"To be fair, it's my fault for not warning you first. This woman is Grace, an executive of La Vie en Rose, you idiots. Count yourselves lucky you're still breathing."
"A-an executive of La Vie en Rose?"
Baldy and Snub-Nose's eyes went wide. They eyed Grace nervously.
"Grace and I are heading out, so watch the place. I've told you time and again—no drugs during work hours."
"O-of course, Young Master."
I gestured to Grace. She shot Baldy and Snub-Nose a glare before following me out.
"It'll be hard to build an organization with people like that. They're bottom-of-the-barrel, even by Lower District standards. Gabriel's decent enough, though."
Grace spoke the moment we stepped outside.
"I know. I'm only using them because I need warm bodies right now. It's not like I'm handing them anything difficult anyway."
I planned to take Grace to the Arena. I wanted to show Aleph that La Vie en Rose and I had struck an alliance.
The Gabriel Gang maintains cooperative ties with both the Arena faction and La Vie en Rose.
Once that rumor spread, there'd be no obstacle to our operations. Better still, ambitious talent hungry for an executive seat in a rising gang would start flocking to us.
"Are you from a military family, Lord Luka?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you're stronger than me. I never expected to be so helplessly beaten by someone who isn't even an adult."
Grace had a sharp eye, no question. She was good at gauging an opponent's capabilities. I couldn't understand why a woman like her was working under Martina.
"...You've got plenty of pride in yourself, for someone who didn't even finish Imperial Guard training."
"I didn't quit for lack of skill. My grades back then were near the top."
I found myself a little curious about why she'd left.
"If it wasn't a lack of skill, then what?"
"I don't think we're close enough to trade personal stories yet, Lord Luka."
As she said it, a very faint smile crossed Grace's face. So subtle you wouldn't recognize it as a smile without close attention. Like a few drops of laughter rippling across a lake of blank expression.
"Then let's trade secrets, one for one. I am, in fact, from a military family."
It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't my birth family. As things stood, I belonged to a military family now. I paused a beat before adding,
"Grace, why the gang? With your background as an Imperial Guard Cadet, you could walk into a good private security firm, even down here in the Lower District."
"I owe Diva a great debt. Until I've repaid it in full, I'll remain with La Vie en Rose. And is your sponsorship of Gabriel merely a game to you, Lord Luka?"
"I doubt I look like I'm having fun. If you're asking about my objective, I won't answer."
"You're quite skilled at dodging questions."
When you deal with sly old foxes like Kinuan and Heilas, your conversational skills sharpen on their own.
After that, Grace and I kept trading questions, but only surface-level talk followed. I asked why she wore the eyepatch, but got no real answer. We both kept our important secrets buried.
Still, I felt I'd gotten a little closer to her.
Frankly, she'd left a good impression. Maybe it was the shared cadet history—our ways of thinking ran along similar lines, and being around her felt as easy as being with a fellow cadet from the training center.