Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Back Alleys of Kramis (1)
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The Back Alleys of Kramis (1)
It was the kind of atmosphere where you'd expect some beefy guys to pop out, saying things like, ‘Hey, act friendly and look straight ahead,’ or ‘How much you got?’ before shaking you down for your money.
Of course, if they actually showed up, they’d be the ones giving *me* their money.
Thankfully, the path soon widened… Ugh, it seemed I really had taken a wrong turn.
Suspicious-looking shops, decorated with red lights, lined both sides of the street.
“Hey there, handsome. How about our place tonight?”
“Come to our shop. We even have summoners.”
“Hey, cool guy, come have some fun.”
Burly men and scantily clad women were fervently trying to lure in the passersby.
It was still early, so the crowd was thin, which meant many of them approached me.
“I have no money.”
Perhaps because of my plain clothes, most of them just gave me a quick once-over before moving on.
I was glad I’d changed my clothes.
The place Luke tried to introduce me to was probably just like this. I’d made the right choice in refusing.
“Hey! Our place is having an opening event, drinks are half-price! How about it?”
“I have no money.”
I hurried past, playing the part of a beggar, when I noticed a particularly long line in front of one shop.
[Ufteli]
The name gave no clues, but unlike the other shops, this one had blue lights and a sign decorated with dice and a roulette wheel.
It seemed to be a gambling den. To think it was this crowded so early in the day…
It was a fresh reminder of how terrifying gambling addiction could be.
That Ju Yeon-seong fellow must have ruined himself here.
The best course of action was to stay far away, but as I was about to pass, I scanned the queue just in case.
Thankfully, there were no familiar faces… scratch that, there was one.
A woman in nearly naked attire stood at the entrance, holding a sign.
[Ufteli Jackpot Reserve Finally Surpasses 10,000 Gold!
Tonight, the hero of a life-changing reversal is me!]
The woman holding the sign with the blatant slogan was Lee Ji-ah, the one who used to hang around with Ju Yeon-seong.
After seeing Ju Yeon-seong begging, I’d asked around and heard she was kicked out of the Silver Wolf Guild, but it seems her situation was far worse than I thought.
Ah, of course, I don’t feel the least bit sorry for her.
She brought this on herself.
“Young man, you interested in that woman?”
I turned to see a burly man who looked to be in his thirties.
“Not really.”
“You were staring pretty hard for someone who's not interested. You're a summoner, right? That woman's a summoner, too. She was even in the Silver Wolf Guild.”
I had no idea what he wanted me to do with that information.
I didn't even want to speak to him, so I tried to ignore him and walk away, but the man blocked my path.
“Impatient, aren't we? Just one gold, how about it?”
One gold? Hell, I wouldn't do it for one silver. I wouldn't do it even if *he* paid *me*.
“I have no money.”
“What, you're a beggar? A bum with not even one gold coin to his name is being short with me?”
It seemed I’d picked the wrong guy to mess with.
Ah, of course, I meant he picked the wrong guy, not me.
“Weren't you speaking informally to me first?”
“Have you no respect? Summoner punks these days, they don't know how scary the world is.”
“Summoner punk?”
“Did that hurt your feelings? A penniless beggar like you. Get lost.”
He waved his hand dismissively, so I grabbed it, twisted, and broke it.
Snap—
“Kuaaaargh!”
The only reason I’d let the other touts off easy was because I couldn't be bothered.
It didn't mean I'd changed my mind about not holding back.
As the man screamed and collapsed, a crowd began to gather.
“Looks like a fight broke out!”
“Huh? Isn't that Kent on the ground?”
“To mess with Apeide's crew on Reveira Street…”
Apeide. I'd heard that name before.
A wealthy landowner who owned most of the land on Guild Street and was the master of the pleasure district.
In modern terms, he'd be something like a famous mob boss.
“You son of a… Kuaaaargh!”
As the man staggered to his feet, I stomped on his arm, pinning it to the ground.
I wasn't at a level where I needed to fear a mere mob boss.
“Everyone, get out of the way!”
“Move it!”
A group of burly, intimidating men pushed through the crowd.
“Hey, young man. If you value your life, you'll stop right there.”
A man in his forties, looking relatively slender compared to the burly men around him, walked forward and glared at me.
He had fiery red hair and a long scar on his left cheek.
His appearance matched the description of Apeide that Tae-soo had once given me.
But what's this ‘young man’ business?
Ignoring him, I pressed down harder on the man's arm with my foot.
“Kuaaaargh!”
“I don't recall ever being friends with you.”
The man's face twisted in anger.
“How dare this bastard!”
The thugs started to charge at me, but they stopped instantly when Apeide raised his hand.
“…Why are you tormenting one of my family?”
“Your ‘family’ started it.”
“Who are you with?”
“Is there any reason I should tell you?”
“You must know who I am. Do you really think I can't find out who you are?”
“Even if you knew, it wouldn't change anything.”
Oh, one of the thugs next to him whispered something to his boss, as if he knew who I was, but I wasn't particularly worried.
No matter how poor the security was, or how this medieval world put the sword before the law, what could a gangster boss possibly do to the lord's benefactor?
Besides, I had no family to be taken hostage, no weaknesses to exploit.
“You're with the Golden Lion Guild?”
Did he see me when I was with the guild master and the other executives?
“Your silence confirms it. Hey, even if you're with the Golden Lion Guild, you can't just run wild in our territory like this.”
He tilted his head, trying to intimidate me. It was a little surprising.
Mistaking me for a member of the Golden Lion Guild was one thing, but that guild was the head of the entire alliance.
While the Silver Wolf Guild was often mentioned alongside them as one of the two great powers, they couldn't compare to the Golden Lion Guild.
Their spheres of influence were different, and besides, look at what happened with my incident. Even after I beat up their guild member in their own guild house and took two unique items, they didn't raise a single complaint.
And yet this guy was acting like this?
He must have someone powerful backing him, but it wasn't a big deal.
“I'm acquainted with them, but I'm not a member.”
“So now you're afraid of the consequences. It's no use trying to back out now.”
“Think whatever you want. What are you going to do about it?”
The Golden Lion Guild might face some minor trouble because of this, but I could just compensate them for it.
In truth, I doubted that would even happen.
Whatever backing this guy had, the most powerful man in Kramis, the lord himself, was on my side.
“…Arrogant fool. If you get on your knees and beg for forgiveness with sufficient compensation, I might show you mercy…”
“Mercy? Aren't I the one who should be compensated?”
“So you'd rather do this the hard way.”
At Apeide's signal, the thugs all drew the swords from their waists.
The conversation had definitely gone on for too long.
This wasn't something that should be resolved with words anyway.
Most of my equipment was in my inventory, but I didn't take anything out.
Swoosh—
I lightly dodged the incoming sword and kicked the man in the shin.
Crack—
“Kuaaaargh!”
I hadn't even kicked him that hard, but with the sound of a bone breaking, he collapsed and rolled on the ground.
I was wearing shoes, after all.
“Tommy!”
“This bastard!”
This time they tried a pincer attack from the front and back, but it was a meaningless gesture.
Their speed was slower than a slow-motion scene in a movie.
I caught both swords with my bare hands.
My strength was far superior, after all.
Snap— Snap—
With a slight squeeze, the swords broke like twigs and fell to the ground.
“Wha… what is this…”
“Even for a summoner, this is ridiculous…”
“He must be an executive-level fighter. Everyone, fall back!”
Apeide shouted, but my fists were much faster.
I landed a punch in each of their stomachs, and they collapsed without so much as a single scream.
Thud— Thud—
Trying to walk away unscathed after attacking someone? That's just shameless.
Apeide, who had been shaking his head while watching his men fall, approached me.
How strange.
At this point, I thought he'd either run away or start dropping names.
The moment I wondered if he was more skilled than he looked, the man drew his sword.
The blade was as red as blood.
“It's the Red Blood Sword!”
“Looks like Lord Apeide is getting serious.”
“I've only heard stories of the Red Blood Sword; this is the first time I've seen it in person.”
From the murmuring of the surrounding crowd, it seemed to be a formidable weapon.
Perfect for a spoil of war.
“Let me teach a frog in a well that there is a sky beyond the sky.”
As he spoke, he swung his sword horizontally, and a crimson, blood-red energy surged toward me.
It was undeniably faster than his subordinates, but still not on my level.
KABOOM—
I took a few steps to the side to dodge it, and the ground where I'd stood caved in. The strange thing was, the red energy hadn't disappeared.
“The Blood Qi won't stop until it has tasted its opponent's blood. Consider this your grave.”
My grave? Please.
I met the red energy rushing toward me again with my fist.
A fist full of mana.
BOOM—
I felt a fair bit of resistance, but before the overwhelming gap in our mana…
Oh, it had faded considerably, to the point where it now looked pink, but the energy still remained.
Of course, when I threw another mana-infused punch, it vanished without a trace.
Of course, it seemed I wasn't the only one who was surprised.
“He… he just extinguished the Blood Qi?”
Apeide's expression hardened, but then he suddenly grinned and sheathed his sword.
“What is he doing?”
Swinging your sword, finding it doesn't work, and then just calling it quits? That doesn't make any sense.
I was about to ignore him, but there was a reason for his actions.
“Deputy Commander, over here!”
I wondered who this deputy commander was, when the crowd behind me parted to reveal a knight on horseback, flanked by soldiers.
Do knights patrol places like this?
I’d heard the lord's forces were stationed only near major government offices or the castle…
“Apeide? What's going on?”
Then again, in a medieval setting, a pleasure district like this might not even be illegal…
“That guy over there was causing a ruckus right in front of my place of business! Just look at the state of my boys.”
“Nonsense. His cronies were the ones who started it.”
The knight glanced at Apeide's men sprawled on the ground, then approached me.
“Judging by your appearance, you seem to be a summoner. Are you unaware of the law that forbids the reckless use of force within the city?”
Seeing him take Apeide's side, I figured this knight must be the guy's backing.
“This is the first I've heard of such a rule.”
They certainly didn't teach us that in the basic training.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Tsk, tsk. As if being uneducated is something to be proud of.”
He spoke in a lecturing tone and clicked his tongue. Annoyance crept up on me, but I couldn't harm one of the lord's knights.
“Isn't it a bit unfair to persecute me based solely on his side of the story?”
“Hah! A mere scrap of a summoner, barely scraping by on the lord's mercy, dares to talk back to me, the Deputy Commander of the Kramis Knight Order? What are you all doing! Arrest him at once!”
The knight roared the command.
I was about to reveal that I was the Pioneer, but the soldiers hesitated.
“What are you all standing around for!”
“D-Deputy Commander Jaenson. That man… he's the Pioneer.”
“I think he visited the castle this morning…”
Oh, unlike the knight, who I'd never seen before, the soldiers seemed to recognize my face.
“That's right. You have a good memory.”
“Thank you.”
Well, I had been to the lord's castle quite often.
“Commander, are we really supposed to arrest him?”
“Didn't the lord command us to treat the Pioneer with the utmost respect if we encountered him?”
“I can't do it.”
“Me neither…”
“I want to live a long life.”
One after another, the soldiers declared their refusal to obey. But instead of getting angry, the knight's face turned deathly pale.
Ah, and Apeide, the one who had framed me, looked the same.
It seemed he never would have guessed I was the Pioneer.
“The… the Pioneer? Why would the Pioneer be in a place like this, dressed like that…?”
“What's wrong with how I'm dressed?”
I grinned at the knight, who was avoiding my gaze with a flustered expression.
“You said using force in the city was forbidden. I suppose it's also a crime to walk around in comfortable clothes after meeting with the lord?”
“N-no, that's not…”
“It seems there are many laws in Kramis I'm unaware of. Perhaps I should go ask the lord about them?”