Chapter 208: Internal Cleanup - 5
Chapter 208: Internal Cleanup - 5
"Thanks to you playing rough, buddy, her grumbling's only gotten worse, and she gripes at me even more now. She's dead set against you, and it's driving me nuts."
Heinrich let the complaints spill out.
"You saw it yourself, right, buddy? That bitch has a ridiculously hot rack, but pretending I don't notice is driving me crazy. She's way too sensitive. Do you have any idea how much effort I put into getting close to her?"
"You serious right now?"
Jiha asked, his words loaded.
Heinrich ran his mouth, slick as ever.
"What do you think? I'm trying to tap that...."
"Why would you pull stupid shit like that, you moron."
Jiha cut in sharply.
"A Unique isn't some mutt you can call by name, and she's not the only woman in the world, either. What, is your neck a grapevine? You got heads to spare, hanging there like fruit?"
There was no reason to take his words at face value.
Jiha had mocked Barjet by calling her a parrot, but she was still a Unique.
A woman of formidable power. She wouldn't stay idle once she learned Heinrich's true nature.
Heinrich swallowed hard.
"For me, the higher the mountain, the more fired up I get. The more a bitch is out of reach for other guys, the more she turns me on."
"......."
Jiha fixed him with a cold stare, and Heinrich gave a slight bow of his head.
"So please, cut me a little slack here."
"You're real good at spouting bullshit."
"Ah, buddy."
"I told you to cut that out."
Even at the final warning, Heinrich just flashed a smirk.
"Do me a favor, alright? You've got no idea how long it took me just to get next to that bitch. She doesn't trust men at all, so I had to butter her up and feed her all kinds of sweet talk."
"So why's a punk like you so good in a fight?"
"Huh?"
Instead of answering with words, Jiha swept his gaze around the wrecked room.
He'd taken down seven escort guards by himself.
He smirked, but the guy had skills.
'Considering those guards were carrying Dirga weapons, he's at least Kamain's level, if not higher.'
Setting aside Mana, he had the combat experience to handle one-against-many fights.
What's more, from the way he slickly acted chummy with Jiha, his speaking skills and interpersonal savvy weren't bad either.
'So he's a swindler who can scrap.'
When dealing with a schemer, you could never let your guard down.
Heinrich shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, well, you know. I've always been a decent fighter."
"Then why not consider becoming a Super Rare? If you've gotten that close to Barjet, it should be possible, right?"
"Ah, buddy, you just don't get it. That woman's practically impossible to please. She's got a body that's hot as hell, but she's hypersensitive to a man's gaze. Honestly, she avoids dealing with people and she's paranoid as hell. The moment I even hint that's what I want, she'll freak out and bolt."
No point in hashing it out any further with a guy who won't talk straight.
There was something more effective than words.
"So you figured I'm easy to please, huh?"
"Huh?"
Crunch!
Jiha slammed his fist into Heinrich's face.
The squelch of bone giving way—a direct hit. His nose-bridge had snapped.
Heinrich was sent flying, rolling across the floor.
He lay still for a moment, then slowly pushed himself back up into a sitting position.
"I told you to stop calling me buddy, and you blew it off. Keep it up."
"Oww, that smarts...."
When Heinrich laughed even while clutching his nose, Jiha let out a dry inward chuckle.
'He's overplaying his hand. That acting is way too obvious.'
Normally, being on the receiving end of that would make even a saint lose their temper, but Heinrich was unflappable.
Even his eyes were smiling, which meant he was truly keeping his emotions clamped down hard.
'The way he presented himself to Barjet was a fake, and him making me think this is the real him—that's an act, too.'
That was a double-layered trap meant to fool Jiha.
Back when Jiha had been the secretary to a high-ranking official, he'd dealt with countless bastards who acted chummy and pulled every trick in the book to worm out information.
Already seeing through it, Jiha feigned ignorance and ripped into him.
"We'll get along from now on, yeah?"
"Haha...."
Even with blood streaming steadily from his nose, Heinrich nodded with an obsequious grin.
That only put Jiha further on guard.
That punch just now had been a probe—partly to gauge Heinrich's skill, but more than anything, the intent was to catch a glimpse of his true depths.
Taking down seven guards without a scratch meant he had formidable combat power.
And combat strength was the product of training. Most men who went through that process developed an oversized ego.
Like how so many professional athletes are self-centered.
No matter how thick-skinned you were, no matter how good an actor, getting physically stomped on was bound to make you snap.
But Heinrich had none of that.
'As if the strength he has wasn't from training....'
Heinrich shook his head.
"This is a problem. This is bad. When that woman sees this, what's she gonna say? She'll figure out I got hit, so give me some kind of excuse."
"What if I don't?"
Heinrich shook his head.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me either way. All it'll do is make that bitch hate you more."
"Yeah, sure."
It was a warning that Barjet might resort to force, but Jiha ignored it.
By now, after continuously accumulating Mana and acquiring all sorts of Special Abilities, Jiha could stomp a Unique flat as long as the fight didn't drag out. And Jiha's judgment never let a fight drag out in the first place.
Having already confirmed his suspicions, Jiha pressed him.
"So what, you came all the way here without any bigger plan, just to bounce around trying to get a taste of that woman once?"
"Ah, well, it's not exactly that... I do have my reasons, in my own way."
"Spit it out."
"It's not something I can say, but if you want to know, there's a way."
"You planning to talk after you're a corpse?"
"No, you're so hasty."
Afraid Jiha might throw another punch, Heinrich quickly raised his hands to shield his nose.
"There's someone you need to meet. That person will tell you everything."
"Alex?"
"You know him, I see. Sir Alex wishes to see you."
"......."
He used an honorific.
"You two are pretty close, huh? Was Shade your doing?"
"I'm not aware of anything regarding that."
Jiha nodded.
'It's an organization. Just like Kamain targeted Asira with an aphrodisiac, Heinrich's targeting Barjet. There's a group backing him from behind. Or, wait—should I assume the organization planted a man on her?'
The line Heinrich had given earlier about getting more fired up the higher the mountain was likely a complete excuse, too.
'At the very least, that's not the whole story. In the end, every key leads back to a name: Alex. Gashiel the Unique's younger brother....'
Alex, head of the Species Alliance.
On one side, he was meeting Quority Rosen, the elf; through Heinrich, he was manipulating Barjet; and now he'd proposed a direct meeting with Jiha.
That bastard was the focal point.
"Fine. I'll meet him."
"Understood. I'll contact you once it's decided. And also...."
Heinrich spoke carefully.
"I've already marked Barjet. Don't lay a hand on her."
"Yeah? What happens if I ignore that?"
"Then things will get very messy for you. If she really gets you going, well, I could have my taste first, then lend her out."
"......."
Jiha just watched him silently.
Up to this point, Heinrich had been consistent in his pretense, but this part alone made the conversation jarring.
Heinrich gave an awkward smile.
"If you just respect this one thing, I have no intention of causing trouble. If there's something you want, I'll cooperate as best I can."
"A maniac for women, huh...."
"Isn't that what men live for?"
Well, he'd gotten a decent enough read on him.
'The one part that's truly genuine is his desire to monopolize Barjet. If I dig into that, this bastard's whole story will come into view.'
Narrowing his eyes, Jiha asked:
"You haven't even held her hand. What makes you think you can pull it off?"
"Ah, there are ways. And what's she gonna do once it's a fait accompli?"
"......."
Jiha laughed inwardly.
The method was all too obvious.
An aphrodisiac. That drug.
The outfit Alex and Heinrich were part of—their purpose was to drug Uniques with aphrodisiacs.
'They want to find out if that drug really can incapacitate even a Unique. And they're being careful, making sure there's no fallout after the experiment.'
So after Asira, it was Narsha, then Barjet?
With Asira, the drug hadn't been complete; with Narsha, Lungtao, who was guarding her, had blocked it.
But with Barjet, a man she trusted implicitly was about to do the deed. And there was no one else around her.
Left alone, she'd definitely fall for it.
'Taigirl still has the drug, and Taigirl is in the palm of my hand.'
Having reached his conclusion, Jiha nodded.
"Fine. I'm up next after you. Wrap things up neatly and pass her over."
He'd pretend to be taken in by Heinrich's performance, expose what was behind him, and smash it to pieces.
Heinrich's face lit up briefly before he clutched his nose.
With the bone broken, it looked like it hurt like hell.
The moment Jiha stepped outside the tavern, Barjet, who had been leaning against the wall, flinched.
When she hurried to go inside, Jiha raised an arm and blocked her way.
"...W-what is it?"
Barjet's face was tense.
'She got spooked just from some rough talk.'
Not that Jiha had even resorted to force.
Sure, he'd verbally torn into her, but she was a Unique, wasn't she?
If it were Enril or Leticia, they'd have tried to pound the offender into the ground. Asira would have scolded him with stern dignity.
Conventional wisdom said that even a strong man was only Rare Grade at best—not a match for a Unique.
But Barjet simply looked like she wanted to get out of there right now.
It hadn't been obvious when she was with Heinrich, but facing Jiha alone, she fidgeted with the brim of her hat, her gaze darting away.
Shy with strangers. Timid.
"I hear you bad-mouth me a lot behind my back?"
"......."
He'd only prodded because of Heinrich's grumbling, but it had hit the mark squarely.
As Barjet hemmed and hawed, unable to answer, Jiha nodded his chin toward the inside of the tavern.
"You trust that guy?"
"...Don't speak recklessly. It's really unpleasant."
Even as she said that, the way her hands gripped her staff tightly betrayed her unease.
"I'm not gonna bite, so relax."
"Wh-who says I'm n-nervous, huh?"
On that last word, she bit her own tongue, and her face reflexively crumpled in pain.
"What that guy says is real sweet, isn't it? Seems like it's all for your sake, right? Feels good listening to him, gives you confidence?"
"Wh-what do you know, saying stuff like that...."
Barjet started to protest, then clamped her mouth shut with an expression that said she didn't want to exchange another word.
In her own mind, this was probably her showing displeasure, but....
"Don't tell me you can't do anything by yourself?"
"I-I don't want to say a single word to someone like you. Step aside."
"......."
"Y-you won't move?"
Baffled, Jiha remarked offhandedly:
"If you fall headfirst into sweet talk like that, you're gonna end up in a world of hurt."
"......."
When Jiha withdrew his arm, Barjet hurried inside.
He tossed a parting remark at her back.
"Ah. I messed up his face a bit."
"What in the world did you...."
Startled, Barjet whirled around, then broke into a run.
"Oh my god, are you okay?!"
Even the sound of Heinrich rolling around and making a pained fuss reached him, but Jiha moved on without listening any further.
'So did this guy Alex cook up this whole scheme?'
Jiha had never even heard the name before all this.
Either he was that meticulous, or there was another connection somewhere.
'First Asira, then Narsha, and now targeting Barjet—he's going after Uniques regardless of faction. He's basically got his hands reaching into both camps, and you can't pull that off alone. Meaning it has to be a big organization.'
Taking into account how expensive the magic stones were for summoning a Shade, a massive organization was on the move.
Kamain must have been nothing more than a bottom-rung pawn.
The odds were high that this Alex character knew a thing or two.
They'd meet soon enough, anyway. When they did, he'd deal with him and strip him of every secret.
As Jiha emerged, the escort guards quickly lowered their heads in a bow.
Then Uben approached and spoke in a low voice.
"Bran Dillema was here."
"Meaning he went somewhere else. What's his excuse for bailing?"
"Well, that's...."
Uben looked pained, then spoke quietly so no one else would hear.
"He says he's challenging you, Commander, to a duel."
"......."
As Jiha stared at him in disbelief, Uben bowed his head in apology.
He was flustered because he couldn't handle it on his own end.
Uben was useful as a staff officer, but his martial prowess wasn't outstanding.
No, against someone of Bran's level, ordinary Commons couldn't manage Bran alone.
"Ah, have I been slacking on straightening out the pecking order lately? All sorts of weird crap keeps popping up. Unbelievable. I'm just too nice a guy—that's always my downfall."
Flabbergasted, Jiha laughed.
"Fine. If he's begging to get wrecked, then I'll wreck him."
If he didn't know what fear was, all you had to do was teach him.