Chapter 69: A Matter of No Concern
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: A Matter of No Concern
Southeast of the Labyrinth City Calax. The heart of the city.
Twelve explorers belonging to the Mayerbridge Union’s 5th Party, the ‘Night Order,’ marched into the center of the Southeast District, escorting thirteen captured criminals from the Antonio Brotherhood.
Dressed in pristine, spotless white attire that stood in stark contrast to the filthy, desolate streets, the explorers advanced through the envious and jealous glares of the beggars. As they moved, a group of people approached and bowed in greeting.
“It is an honor to meet the renowned knights of the Mayerbridge Union. I trust you have been well?”
Her pink hair was so beautifully arranged that not a single speck of dust seemed allowed to settle upon it. A woman, her hair tied in a feminine half-updo that cascaded down to her waist, greeted the Mayerbridge Union explorers while dressed in a refined, pure white dress.
“Antoinette.”
“Oh my, Antoinette is... merely the name of the office I hold. When you address me... yes, please call me Mystery. For your information, it is a combination of ‘Ms.’ and my name, ‘Terry.’ Hehe... isn’t it a clever little joke?”
Her voice was soft yet pitched at a pleasant, melodic height. Her eyes were curved into crescent moons, never losing their smile, yet when she opened them fully, one could catch a glimpse of pupils the color of fresh, red blood.
Mystery Antoinette...
Rubia, a Platinum-grade explorer who had recently joined the Night Order, took in the sight of the woman she had only heard of by name, recalling the advice of her seniors.
Every expression on her face is a lie. Every word that spills from her lips is a lie. The only thing certain is that she is a villain whose evil deeds are so vast that even describing a tenth of them would be a burden. Do not, under any circumstances, be swayed by her deceitful words.
“No need for small talk. We’ve captured the explorers who were committing crimes in your name. They are a foul and vicious lot. Since they committed these crimes using the name of the innocent and clean Antonio Brotherhood, surely they require punishment?”
Felix Rohan, the leader of the Night Order, stepped forward and spoke calmly. At his words, Mystery Antoinette’s face stiffened visibly.
To the rookie Rubia, the way the smile vanished from the woman’s elegant face was quite unexpected. Her seniors had called her a cold-blooded woman who never showed her heart on her face, yet here she was, expressing anger at the capture of her subordinates.
“How...! How could there be such lawless people...!”
“Indeed.”
However, to Felix, who had seen her expressions several times before, even this reaction from Mystery Antoinette appeared to be a lie.
“They have tarnished the name of a merchant group that is nothing but pure. An immediate execution would be appropriate, wouldn’t it?”
“You are absolutely right. I ask of you, please... could you hand them over so that we may deal with them ourselves?”
“We shall. However, I would like the punishment to be carried out immediately, right before our eyes. We were the ones who actually suffered the damage, so we need to vent some of our frustration as well.”
A smile hooked onto Mystery Antoinette’s lips.
“Of course. Your contribution in capturing these lawless criminals is immense, so if you wish, I shall punish them this instant.”
The men standing behind her took the criminals from the Night Order. Not even a few minutes later, they brought them back out, completely bound, and presented them before the explorers.
“Please, witness this. Today, through the great dedication of the explorers of the Mayerbridge Union... we have captured and eradicated the villains who dared to impersonate the name of our Antonio Brotherhood.”
Thick ropes were tied around the thirteen necks, all connected in a row to a heavy log. Dirty paper bags had been placed over the criminals' heads. Seeing this, Felix spoke.
“Wait. Why don’t you take those bags off?”
“Is something the matter?”
Mystery tilted her head as if puzzled.
“I want to see their faces as they die.”
“Aha, I see. Very well.”
Felix narrowed his eyes sharply, while Mystery gave a smiling gesture. Monsterkin approached and tore away the paper bags, revealing the faces of the people inside.
“...Fine. You may begin the punishment now.”
To Felix’s eyes, they were indeed the criminals they had captured and brought in. The features, the wounds, and the scars on their bodies—nothing had changed.
“As you wish.”
Two monsterkin, standing nearly three meters tall, stepped forward and lifted the log. The criminals, their necks tethered to the wood, writhed violently, blood seeping from their gagged lips.
However, for ten minutes, the ropes did not break. Eventually, they lost their lives, their bodies spilling filth from their groins as if they had never been alive at all.
The members of the Night Order watched the thirteen criminals they had handed over being hanged to death on the spot, clicking their tongues and shaking their heads.
“Seeing as you kill even your own subordinates so ruthlessly, life in the Antonio Brotherhood must be quite harsh.”
“Oh my... how could you say such a thing? As you well know, we are an upright merchant gro—”
“Enough. Bring out the reward for capturing and transporting the criminals.”
“Yes, as always. Thank you for your dedication.”
Thud—!
The log, with thirteen corpses dangling from it, fell onto the dirt ground. At Mystery Antoinette’s leisurely gesture, servants dressed in suits approached and offered the payment.
“I hope we meet like this again. For a long, long time.”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know what you lot are plotting, but I’ll keep this up until your funding runs dry and all your limbs are cut off.”
“Yes. Naturally.”
Mystery Antoinette flashed a bright smile, while Felix Rohan, looking disgusted, accepted the dozens of blood-scented gold coins.
* * *
The vast Labyrinth City wasn't divided into four exact quarters, but this place—the Southeast—definitely had a clear boundary line, with its own guards stationed there.
Stalls displayed rotten fruits and vegetables. Flies buzzed, and maggots swarmed over meat. Beggars struggled to steal even that, and a few corpses lay scattered about, having failed to steal even a morsel.
In the worst slum district located on the outskirts of Southeast Calax, a tall man dressed in a beige coat over a black suit arrived, driving a wagon pulled by a monster. He approached several beggars.
“Sir? Would you perhaps be in need of a job?”
“...Go away.”
The sight of a man in a suit talking to street beggars dressed in rags, tatters, and discarded robes was strange to anyone’s eyes.
Though they lacked education, the beggars were just as wary of unearned kindness as anyone else. Naturally, they intended to avoid conversation with the man in the suit.
Rustle—
“B-Bread...!”
That is, if he hadn't held a handful of bread in his hand.
“We are constructing a building. There is plenty of work, and the difficulty is low.”
After greedily snatching the bread from the man’s hand and stuffing it into his mouth, the beggar listened. Whether he would follow the man’s words was a choice, but hearing them was not.
“Building a structure requires a lot of strength. I will provide you with three meals of bread and soup every day. As progress is made, I can even offer you meat.”
“I-Is that true?! You truly mean it!?”
Bread, soup, and even meat. Though the beggar was wary of unearned kindness, he was not the type of person to maintain his reason when faced with the promise of food to fill his starving belly.
Everywhere the man in the suit went, people lined up to board the wagon, their mouths stuffed with bread and their faces filled with joy.
By the time the sizable wagon was filled with about fifteen people, the man in the suit approached and spoke.
“Thank you. As I mentioned before, you will be headed to the construction site. There are some precautions, so please listen closely to what I have to say.”
This was the man who had provided fresh food and shelter to those who had nothing. They couldn't help but listen. To the beggars huddled together on the wagon, the man in the suit said:
“You will need stamina to exert yourself, so please, go to sleep.”
The moment the man’s voice struck the ears of the beggars on the wagon, they fell into a deep slumber, as if they hadn't slept for days. Had anyone else witnessed this, they might have been suspicious, but this was the worst slum district on the outskirts of the Southeast.
No matter what happened to others, no one cared unless it concerned them directly.
It was a wooden wagon pulled by a monster called a Cockatrice, an avian creature that looked somewhat like an ostrich. As the man sitting in the front gripped the reins, the Cockatrice began to run away from the southeastern outskirts toward the center.
By the time the wagon had traveled across the dirt roads and reached the central district, men who appeared to be the man’s subordinates appeared. They stopped the wagon and began unloading the sleeping people.
“Has it started?”
“No, not yet. It should begin in about ten minutes.”
“Understood. Move them quickly.”
Orc monsterkin carried the limp, sleeping beggars on handcarts like cargo. The place they arrived at was inside a magnificent building, right before the eyes of a certain woman.
“How many in total?”
“A total of thirteen people are confirmed to be in transit. Here, those who knew the faces of the ones on the street have verified the list.”
When the subordinate held out a piece of paper, the woman took it, checked it slowly, and waved her hand dismissively. It was a list containing the names of those among the captured criminals who still had utility. After confirming their appearances through a recording artifact, the woman nodded.
“Good. You may go now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Orc man laid the beggars from the handcarts onto the floor one by one. The woman walked among them, waving her hand over the faces of the soundly sleeping beggars.
Crunch—
In an instant, their features began to shift. Their gaunt, unsightly bodies regained vitality, and muscles attached themselves as if mimicking someone else. Characteristic wounds and scars appeared on their bodies in a bizarre phenomenon.
The beggars were transforming into the likeness of the criminals currently being transported. Once the series of changes was complete, the woman called her subordinates back.
“It’s done. Come in.”
“Entering now.”
Two men entered with ropes and cloth. they bound the beggars, gagged them with thick rolls of fabric, and finally placed bags over their heads before taking them away.
“More corpses for the pile.”
But that was a matter of no concern to her, or to anyone else.
Only the monsters of the illegal fighting arena, who would grow fat on the corpses, would welcome them with joy.