Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: Those Martial Artist Bastards
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Consciousness, submerged in darkness, began to surface.
It felt like my insides had been replaced with a lump of lead. With great difficulty, and very slowly, I manipulated my body within my mind to rise toward the surface of reality.
My eyelids were heavy.
...Is the light on?
I slowly opened my eyes.
"..."
The first words out of my mouth, upon regaining my senses, were an instinctive mutter: "Asshole."
Anyone in this situation would start by yelling "asshole." It's just common sense.
Well, this otherworld might be a place where common sense is a bit off-kilter, but back in my hometown, that's how it was. Like casting a spell on myself, I silently recited curse words in my head.
No matter how chaotic the situation, spitting out a curse first made it feel real, even if it was a nightmare.
Anyway, with my eyes open, I quickly grasped my predicament.
"...Fuck."
I was tied to a chair. What the hell? Had I been kidnapped by the secret police without knowing it? Was it because I'd opposed the military regime?
No... way!
I can't accept this!
They'd make me eat ox bone soup through my nose!
More than that, a traitor among my comrades!
"Are you with us now?"
"...Pardon?"
As I seriously pondered who might have snitched on me and lifted my head, there was a woman sitting right in front of me.
—A woman with striking sky-blue long hair.
Her eyes looked incredibly clear, as if they held the sky itself. Propping her chin with both hands, she stared at me with those indifferent eyes.
...Right.
This wasn't the secret police HQ, nor military dictatorship-era Korea. No betrayal, no snitch. The woman before me was the one who'd introduced herself as the head of the Martial Artist Guild, as far as I could remember.
"You're a bit late to the party. Well then, shall we get to talking?"
"..."
Her tone was perfectly even.
Given the circumstances, it was safe to assume she'd knocked me out and dragged me here. Realizing that, my whole body started trembling uncontrollably.
I'm screwed.
No bullshit—this is totally fucked.
What the hell is going on?
Why?
How come?
Why kidnap me? For ransom? No, that doesn't fit. Revenge? Various possibilities flashed through my mind, but I couldn't deduce any legitimate reason for my abduction.
Above all, this woman in front of me.
She looked exactly like a serial killer.
Hiding her true nature behind a feminine appearance, but given her brutal willingness to kidnap people, I pegged her as an antisocial psychopath, an impulsive serial-killing piece of trash.
"Talking, you say?"
I replied politely, despite the extreme anxiety gnawing at me.
It was obvious I'd end up dead if I let a single curse slip from my mouth. Kidnapped by a murderer?! When kidnapped, the only way to survive is to cooperate fully with the kidnapper!
"Yes. Hmm... where should we start..."
She tapped her lips with her index finger, thought for a moment, then clapped her hands once.
—Clap.
"Mariel. Bring Serka here, please."
"Understood."
Mariel?
I turned my head halfway and saw her. Without so much as glancing at me, she headed to the back, opened the door.
—Creak.
In came Serka, an exemplary member of the KKK.
Trembling in her eyes and shoulders with anxiety, she stood beside the guild master's desk alongside Mariel.
Seeing her so cowed ignited a burning hatred in my chest like heartburn, but this place screamed Martial Artist territory. I swallowed my rage and lowered my gaze.
No fucking way—did they grab me because of that bitch Serka?
This is ridiculous. What a cunt.
"I have a few questions. Please look up."
"...Ask away."
I raised my head as instructed and looked at her. She had placed not one, but two massive breasts on the desk. Smaller than Winia's... but anyway, she's wearing a cheongsam too. Even has something like a white fur stole that a rich lady might wear.
But can a Martial Artist really lug around tits like that?
Well, Karin's are big too... True masters can handle a pair of huge handicaps like that. Claudy too.
After my polite response, she introduced herself.
"I'm Liztina, the guild master of the Martial Artist Guild. Might I have your name?"
The guild master smiled sweetly and suddenly asked for my name.
Of course, I decided to answer with full sincerity.
"Pleased to meet you, Guild Master. My name is Katt. Wow, I've heard so much about your reputation. Just as the rumors say, you're truly beautiful, haha. It's an honor to meet you."
Intending to butter her up, I rattled off some flattery, and Mariel bristled.
"What the—? What's with that tone! You're not that kind of guy!"
What do you know about me?
I greeted her politely too.
"Miss Mariel? Oh, my greetings are late. How have you been?"
"What nonsense is this! Just a moment ago...!"
"Enough. Be quiet, Mariel."
"...Understood."
True to her position as guild master, Mariel—who'd raised her fist—immediately turned meek, bowing her head. Liztina, the guild master, smiled at me again and spoke.
"Beautiful, you say... You have a way with words."
"Just stating facts. Calling it eloquence would be a misunderstanding—it's sincere flattery."
"Hehe, you're quite different from what I'd heard."
The atmosphere felt pretty good.
I could probably wrap this up amicably if things went south.
Nothing hits a woman like compliments on her looks.
Even if she's a killer, she's still a woman.
But heard about me?
"Heard about me, you say?"
"Yes."
Her smile vanished in that instant.
"Every time you met our people, you beat them senseless, right?"
"Pardon?"
The mood shifted to darkness in a flash. Her once-smiling eyes widened slightly, shadowed ominously... Wh-what?
"You made Mariel eat shit, smashed our Serka too. And last time, you teamed up with that bitch Karin and utterly demolished our guys like trash."
"Pardon? Pardon?"
"We needed to talk honestly about that, so I took a bit of a rough approach. Please don't take it badly."
Fucked.
This fucking bitch was playing nice and then bared her teeth!
Panicking, I desperately shouted.
"Ah, oh no! Guild Master, it's a misunderstanding! Twisted information!"
"Misunderstanding? Twisted? What bullshit is that?"
—Bam!
"Ack!"
She slammed her fist on the desk, and like a joke, it split in two and collapsed. For real, fuck! That kind of power from a fist! Holy shit! Getting hit by that would blow your eyes and balls to smithereens!
"It's not bullshit! Look, I can explain everything!"
"Shut your mouth! Heavenly Demon! Don't raise your voice to the guild master, you insolent fuck!"
"Miss Mariel! Why are you doing this to me! We're friends!"
"Friends? Who said anything about friends!"
Mariel growled like she was about to lunge at me.
You useless bitch! All that talk of warrior pride and honor, but when it counts, these Martial Artists reveal their true sneaky nature!
I should've smashed her back then!
"Mariel. Didn't I tell you to shut it?"
"S-Sorry! Guild Master!"
"Shut up. After getting your ass handed to you by a swordsman with martial arts, who are you to raise your voice?"
"Th-That..."
"Just shut up and face the wall."
"...Understood."
Mariel faced the wall as ordered.
Wh-what! Scary! What's with this! The Swordsman Guild wasn't like this! What the hell is this gangster vibe...!
Terrified, I racked my brain for how to get out alive.
"Hm. Katt, was it? Well then, let's hear your excuse. Go on, speak freely, no pressure."
"..."
"Quickly."
My mind raced.
What the fuck do I say to survive?
Even as I thought, those sky-blue feral eyes pursued me... Damn! An excuse! I didn't do anything that needed excusing in the first place!
"—Ahh."
Then just tell the truth?
Kim Katt doesn't lie.
I acted on what I believed was right. No point in foolishly mixing lies and making it worse—better to lay out the facts honestly. Any bullshit would get caught anyway.
"So, it all started because that kid Serka... a bit... yes, she despised me as a barbarian swordsman and tried to beat the shit out of me."
"Despised? Serka. Is this true?"
The guild master asked, and Serka flinched.
"..."
"Answer me."
"Yes..."
"Hm. Continue."
I went on with the explanation.
"It's our tribal custom—our tribe's men never let an insult slide. So I punched Serka when we met again. And those beaten Martial Artists charged in without knowing the full story, so I had to subdue them."
That's right.
This was purely bad blood between Serka and me—a sensitive issue no one else should've stuck their nose into.
Mariel had poked her head in halfway and made it worse.
"Above all, the Martial Artists were banging on our guild's front door. At that point, it's uncontrollable. Unavoidable. And that friend Mariel came at me first. She shows up out of nowhere challenging me to a fight—what, am I supposed to run? That's dishonorable. You know about honor, right?"
Putting it all together, I had zero fault. As I said, the world is full of injustices.
I was the victim here.
The Martial Artists' audacity made my teeth grind.
Kidnapping the victim?
Unacceptable and incomprehensible.
But to survive, I politely explained the situation.
"So we fought. Of course, no swordplay. Purely fair and square. No sword, just martial arts, and I won."
That was it.
"That's all."
After hearing me out, she glanced at Mariel and asked.
"Hm... Mariel. Is this true? It differs a bit from what I heard."
"It's not true! Lies! Shameless bastard! How dare you lie like that!"
Wh-what!
"What lie! You fucking bitch!"
"You're twisting it to suit yourself!"
"No, this is fucking ridiculous? That's you, you goddamn son of a bitch!"
"M-Motherfucker...? What! My mother's fine! What bullshit!"
"Liar, you retard! I already checked—she died last month!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Too pissed, I bickered loudly with Mariel. Then the guild master smashed the already wrecked desk again and said.
"Both of you, shut up."
"Ah, yes."
"...Sorry."
Mariel glanced nervously and faced the wall again.
"..."
Does she have at least some brains?
She listened to my full explanation—there's hope. No matter how Martial Artist bitchy she is, she'd get it by now.
Unless her ears are fucked, it got through.
"So, in summary, you're blameless, Katt?"
"Yes... exactly. That's what I wanted to say. Thank you for the chance to clear this up."
"Hmmm... then what to do about this... Mariel. Come here."
Mariel approached the guild master, and they whispered. I just felt uneasy. Deep in enemy territory, no one would know what they did to me.
I miss Lady Claudy so muuuuuch!!!
Finally, their ominous whispering ended.
I awkwardly rolled my eyes and asked.
"...So, you'll let me go now?"
At that, the guild master gave a sinister smile.
"No."
"Pardon? Wh-why not?"
"I get your side, but we have face to save too. Mariel. Take him and follow."
"Understood."
Wh-what!
"Wait! Explain what's happening!"
"Shut it, barbarian swordsman!"
You fucking bitch!