Chapter 99: An Unexpected Gain
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: An Unexpected Gain
“For Strength, Wisdom, and Honor…”
“For Strength, Wisdom, and Honor.”
Storm Shadow looked at me with a somewhat pleased expression. I couldn’t be sure if he was truly happy, but judging by the slight upturn of his lips, he certainly seemed to be.
Considering he hadn’t even reacted to Goff’s taunts when we first met, he was clearly not one to show his emotions. However, the slightly higher pitch of his voice was an unmistakable sign of his delight.
“What brings you to the East, Blood Dagger, and you, Black Spear?”
It felt like he was asking a question to which he already knew the answer. In situations like this, it was probably best to give him the response he wanted to hear. I spoke first.
“We want to make a place for ourselves in the East.”
“That is welcome news, Blood Dagger. And how did it go? Were you able to get what you wanted through the Green Goblins?”
“More than enough…”
He wore an amused expression.
“Many Green Skins avoid the East. But this place is quite livable in its own way.”
“Is that so…”
His words didn’t inspire much confidence, but I decided to play along. In truth, I had no intention of living here for the rest of my life, but seeing his expression, I figured it was best not to say anything unnecessary.
As he continued to speak, his gaze eventually shifted to the six humans we had captured. Naturally, I felt his eyes on them and spoke up.
“A gift. We caught these humans on our way here, Storm Shadow. Three of them, to be exact. We’ll be keeping the other three.”
“Excellent. Truly excellent…”
He was definitely pleased. I glanced over at the humans and saw that a few of them had regained consciousness, remaining perfectly silent. To be out hunting goblins only to be absurdly dragged to the Storm Shadow Clan’s village of all places… they must have been utterly bewildered. Their lips and bodies were trembling uncontrollably, but of course, I felt no sympathy. They were our spoils of war, after all.
“First, it is only right that I welcome my guests.”
And so began the second feast we had been treated to since leaving the West. Following the Big Ogre Clan, being welcomed once again was quite enjoyable, and I had some expectations for his banquet. But to be honest, the Storm Shadow Clan’s feast was incredibly dull.
“…”
“…”
Not only did they converse in hushed tones, but aside from eating, there was hardly any other conversation. Gark and Hark were engaged in a silent drinking contest, and the normally lively Mev looked like she was breaking out in a cold sweat. Storm Shadow simply nodded and threw only mundane questions my way. I silently prayed for the feast to end quickly, and thankfully, unlike the one with the Ogres, it was over in no time.
Afterward, we were shown to a tent. Since he had cleared a small space for us within his village, the Blood Dagger Clan and the Black Spear Clan decided to pitch our tents there, and they were set up in an instant.
Once the tent was ready, contrary to Jung Hayeon’s hopeful expectations, I had some things to pry out of the captives. I brought Ragia along instead. After tossing the three completely incapacitated men onto the ground, I slowly began to speak.
“Somorah…”
The moment the word left my lips, the men immediately spoke to me.
“H-How do you know our language…”
“You don’t need to know.”
At my gesture, Ragia slowly approached them. If there was one thing I had learned from spending a not-insignificant amount of time with her, it was that Ragia had quite a talent for ‘torture.’ No, it wasn’t just a talent; she looked like a professional. I didn’t know what kind of standing these men had in the small city of Somorah, but even trivial information could be a great weapon for us, so I intended to extract everything they knew.
“May I begin?”
I nodded at Ragia’s question. The first reason she handled these things so well was that she rarely got excited. Gark, Hark, and especially Jung Hayeon would kill the humans in an instant, but she always went about her work with calm composure. She started simply, just enough to instill fear. Soon enough, a scream burst from the man’s mouth. A horrific shriek echoed as she pressed a dagger under the fingernails of his remaining arm.
“Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaargh!”
The noisy bastard’s screaming made me frown. Ragia immediately stuffed a cloth into his mouth and calmly continued her work.
After a short while, the man was sobbing and sniveling. It was only then that I realized my mistake.
What a waste of time.
These men had no sense of belonging or justice. They were the type to act solely for their own benefit. He would have undoubtedly answered even if I had just asked what I wanted without the torture.
I gestured to Ragia. After she pulled the cloth from the man’s mouth, we were finally able to have something resembling a conversation.
“Name.”
“I-It’s Lee Wanyong.”
A name that left a bad taste in my mouth for some reason.
“Age.”
“Thirty-eight… I’m thirty-eight years old…”
“Any guild or clan affiliation?”
“Y-Yes. The… the Black Thorn Guild.”
Lucky us. It was a large guild, so I had figured we would inevitably run into them if we scoured the East, but I never imagined the first ones we caught right after entering the swamp would be from the Black Thorn Guild.
“How fortunate.”
“Y-Yes?”
“We just so happened to be looking for you…”
As I finished speaking, the man’s face began to brighten. An expression that suggested he might have found a way out quickly appeared on his face.
“From now on, I don’t care what you say. Tell me everything. About the city, about the political situation in the East, and finally… about the slaves. Just tell me things as they are.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The reason I said I didn’t care what he said was in case he was hesitant to talk to me about the ‘slaves.’ I already knew that the small city of Somorah enslaved Orcs and Goblins, but it would be problematic if he tried to distort or downplay the situation out of fear of my reaction.
Naturally, a strange curiosity flickered across his face. He was surely wondering how I knew about the slaves. A sharp-witted person might have realized I was once human, just as Jung Hayeon had. But he didn’t ask. He sensed he shouldn’t act outside the scope of what was permitted.
“W-Where should I begin…”
“Speak freely. It would be fine to tell the story centered around yourself.”
The night was long, and we had plenty of time. I subtly glanced at Ragia, and she moved away from the man to come closer to my side. The weather felt a bit warm, so I casually wrapped my arms around her lower body.
“I… I was summoned to this place… twelve years ago… O-Originally… I was summoned in the West. I moved to the East four years later and immediately relocated to the small city of Somorah.”
“I see…”
“As soon as I moved to Somorah, I was able to join the Black Thorn Guild as an official member, and from then on… I… I hunted s-s-slaves… It wasn’t of my own free will. I had no choice…”
The man spoke, trembling. I’d expected as much. They were a different species, so of course these bastards wouldn’t feel any guilt. They even enslaved their fellow humans, so it was only natural they wouldn’t think twice. Still, he was trying his best to read my expression, clearly very conscious of the fact that I was a monster. In the end, I had no choice but to speak to him again.
“I told you not to tell me useless stories. State the facts as they are. This is your last chance.”
“Y-Yes.”
Having clearly understood what I wanted, the man began to speak without hesitation. This was his story. Most of the humans residing in the small city of Somorah were official guild members, and they made a living by doing business with outsiders.
Of course, it wasn’t legal business. Most of their clients were people who came to illegally purchase slaves, use the black market, or even commission assassinations. Some, he said, even came to watch ‘shows’ where monsters were used to kill humans.
He even mentioned there was prostitution involving monsters, forcing me to recognize that Somorah was even more rotten than I had thought.
“However, access to… even more extreme activities is restricted. On the surface, it’s just an entertainment district or a city with a more developed nightlife, but… most of the real business happens underground. I… I’m still low-ranked, so I don’t know the details…”
In other words, its public face was that of an entertainment district and a slaver city.
“Where and how do you acquire the slaves?”
“For m-monsters, we mainly target goblins or orcs that have strayed from their packs. As for humans… we capture members of small clans or non-combatant civilians. Officially, we claim they are prisoners from city wars, but in reality, most are civilians… and sometimes we label them as Murderers.”
The more I heard, the more dumbfounded I became. I realized that what I had known was only a tiny fraction of the truth.
And that wasn’t all. As I had expected, not only did all the administrators and influential figures of the eastern cities have connections to the Black Thorn Guild’s master, Yoon Jungsoo, but even figures from the southern desert cities would occasionally visit Somorah.
To put it another way, Somorah was their trash can. A trash can where all sorts of desires could be crammed. It was a necessary trash can for those who pretended to be clean. Having gotten a rough grasp of Somorah, I threw out a slightly different question.
“Do you know anything about the Spider and the Hunting Dog?”
The man pondered for a moment, but it didn’t take long for him to speak.
“If you’re asking about the Murderer clans… I… I don’t know anything about that. There’s some speculation among guild members about whether there might be a connection, but… someone at my level…”
“Then is there anyone here who knows more than you?”
“N-Not here.”
I looked at the two men still trembling behind him. As expected, this one seemed to be the highest-ranking among them. The men in the back kept moving their lips as if they wanted to contribute, but they seemed to sense that it wasn’t the right atmosphere to speak rashly and were just watching my reaction.
“I’m curious if the executives ever go outside…”
“Y-Yes. Of course. The guild’s executives usually move personally when delivering slaves to the major cities.”