Chapter 164 To Kill or To Spare
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: To Kill or To Spare
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The dark night passed, and the light of dawn streamed through the windows.
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his eyes.
The tavern was a complete mess.
Dried bloodstains and dismembered corpses…
Broken chairs and tables…
Shattered bottles and chipped weapons…
Such things littered the floor.
Amidst the carnage, Saul's subordinates stood silently.
He slowly looked around and spoke.
"My friends."
"..."
No one answered.
It didn't matter.
"Let me ask you one thing. Why did you mess with me?"
"..."
"Why drag out someone who was living a good life and bother them like this? It's also funny how you stab someone first, then act like the victim when you get hit back. I'd love to crack open your heads and take a look inside."
"..."
There was no answer. Saul's men just stared at the ground with their heads bowed.
Jeong Yoo-shin continued.
"Did you think someone like me wouldn't show up while you were committing all sorts of atrocities? Did you think you were something special just because you were under Saul?"
"..."
The subordinates just mumbled with their lips, as if they were eating delicious candy.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around at the subordinates from his seated position.
"Haaa. There are a lot of trashy bastards here. Really. I can't just kill them all."
Jeong Yoo-shin let out a long sigh and looked down at Saul's head.
Saul hadn't even been able to close his eyes, as if he had died with so many grievances.
"Brother Saul, what should I do?"
He asked, but there was no answer. The dead didn't speak.
Jeong Yoo-shin brought his ear close to Saul's head.
A moment later…
Jeong Yoo-shin lifted his head and muttered.
"...Kill them all, you say? Huh."
"...!"
The subordinates, their faces weary, raised their heads with wide eyes.
"Saul says you all deserve to die. What should I do?"
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly walked through the tavern.
Saul's subordinates stood rigidly, not moving.
He approached them and carefully observed each of their faces.
One glared defiantly.
One bowed his head and stared at the ground.
One had chattering teeth.
One trembled uncontrollably.
There was even one who was crying.
Jeong Yoo-shin approached the crying man and wiped the tears from his cheek.
"Don't cry."
"Kuhuhuk!!!"
The man started bawling, snot and huge teardrops streaming down his face.
"I told you not to cry."
"P-Please spare me!"
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the crying man, then spoke again.
"That's a difficult thing to do."
"...!"
He looked around at the subordinates, who were frozen in shock, then he walked among the corpses again.
Jeong Yoo-shin picked up a dagger from the floor.
"I don't want to get any more blood on my hands, so kill yourselves. Pick up your weapons and stab your hearts. Or just stab each other nicely."
"..."
Silence once again filled the tavern.
Jeong Yoo-shin took the dagger and went back to his seat.
"You don't want to die? After committing all sorts of fucked-up deeds, you still want to live?"
One of Saul's subordinates stepped forward.
It was a middle-aged man with a haggard face.
"Skar, I've heard the rumors about you. They say you draw your sword for the insignificant? It must be nice to be strong. The weak like us can only crawl on the ground and lick the feet of the strong to survive."
"What are you trying to say? Are you saying you were just following Saul's orders?"
"..."
The subordinates expressed their agreement with silence.
Jeong Yoo-shin let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha! You're a bunch of ridiculous bastards. You don't want to kill yourselves, and you blame others for your own evil deeds. The reasons for me to let you live are dwindling. I'll ask one last time. Why do you live without a conscience?"
"We threw away such lofty things a long time ago."
"Come here."
"..."
"I said come here, you bastard."
The middle-aged man staggered forward and showed him a tattoo on his chest.
"You see this? This is a slave magic tattoo that Saul carved. We have to act according to Saul's will. If we don't follow his orders, we suffer terrible pain."
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the magic tattoo and shook his head.
"Even so, you know that what you've done can't be completely justified, don't you?"
"I don't."
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin gripped the dagger.
He briefly considered killing the man in front of him.
"Be careful of what you say from now on."
The middle-aged man spoke.
"Most of Saul's subordinates have been rolling in the underworld since birth. We're the ones who can't even lick the crumbs that fall from outside the Eastern District. The sons and daughters of monsters, those who couldn't afford to remove their negative imprints and were forced to live here. We learned trickery and prostitution first because we didn't have money to feed our families."
The man's eyes blazed.
"What nonsense are you talking about, with virtue and humanity? This guy or that guy, we're all slaves to something. Did you feel pity for those kids? I swear, being a meat shield or a prostitute would be a better treatment."
Jeong Yoo-shin suddenly looked up at Saul's men.
Someone once said that if there are a hundred people, there are a hundred stories.
A sigh escaped his lips.
No matter how many he killed, the world would never run out of bastards like these.
This was a world where the law of the jungle was the spirit of the age.
It was different from the world he had once lived in.
At least, that was how the scum of the Eastern District's underworld were.
What should he do?
His life experience was short, so he didn't know what to do when he saw people like this.
He should have just killed them all.
If he hadn't even talked to them, he could have sent them to the afterlife with a clear conscience.
Jeong Yoo-shin closed his eyes and pondered.
If he had taken a wrong step when he first came to Labyrinth City, he would have ended up just like this.
If it weren't for Dalmong's consideration, this was what would have happened to him.
He might have died amidst neglect and contempt, with no one to take him in.
Could people like this be rehabilitated?
He didn't know.
But if he didn't even try, he would never know.
'Let's just try it this once.'
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his eyes and spoke.
"Everyone, kneel."
The subordinates knelt one by one.
"You, you, and you, come here."
He called a few people over and handed them daggers and blades.
"From now on, we will hold a head-shaving ceremony. If you don't like it, bite your tongue and die. From now on, I will rule you instead of Saul."
A look of resignation appeared in the eyes of the subordinates.
A few people took the daggers and began to move among the men while shaving their heads.
One or two of them were sobbing and crying.
Jeong Yoo-shin smiled faintly.
"Saul gave you a hard time, didn't he? Don't worry anymore. I'll take good care of you."
"Kuhuuuk!!!"
"M-Mommy!!!"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's declaration, the subordinates shed emotional(?) tears.
A goblin staggered forward.
"Skar-nim."
"What?"
"I don't have any hair. What should I do?"
Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at the goblin's shiny head.
"Shave the others' hair."
"Yes."
About two hours later, hair was piled up on the floor.
Bald elves, bald humans, bald beast-people, bald dwarves— they were a diverse bunch.
Especially the male dog beast-people.
They looked ridiculous with all the hair on their heads shaved off, while the fur on their bodies was left untouched.
"From today onward, you are new people. I’ll teach you about conscience. If you think conscience is a lofty word, think of it as potty training. Think of it as learning not to splash your shit on other people."
""...Yes.""
"That's not a very enthusiastic response. Anyone who wants to die, step forward."
""Yes!!!""
"Go outside and clean up the corpses in the alley first. When you're done, come to the gambling den."
""Yes.""
He sent them all out and had a talk with the now bald middle-aged man.
"Was Saul always this pathetic?"
"Not to this extent. Saul was a man of great resourcefulness. He was well-connected and knew a lot of people, so no one dared to mess with him."
"Then why did he die at my hands? And not just die, but die so pathetically."
"That's the question. He did ask for support from several clans, but he was refused. And since the timing was bad, the strong explorers Saul would have known were all either in the labyrinth or busy expanding their influence in other districts. But Saul's biggest mistake was probably underestimating you."
"I am a pretty great person."
"I was just stating facts and speculation."
Jeong Yoo-shin leaned back on his chair and tapped his thigh.
"Did Saul save up a lot of money?"
"He did."
"How much?"
"No one knows. He seemed to be saving it up obsessively."
"Where?"
"The gambling den."
"Let's go."
Jeong Yoo-shin took the remaining bald men and left the tavern.
"By the way, how many did I kill?"
Jeong Yoo-shin asked the middle-aged man as they were walking.
"Four executive-level members. About 80 regular subordinates."
"And you?"
"I'm the last remaining executive."
Jeong Yoo-shin put his arm around the middle-aged man's shoulder.
"So we're partners now, huh? You must know a lot. Let's go see what Saul has collected."
They left the outskirts and headed toward the central street.
On the main road, a mix of people and monster-people were heading in one direction.
It seemed like they were all heading to the labyrinth.
Jeong Yoo-shin walked slowly while blending in with the crowd.
The people around them glanced at Jeong Yoo-shin and the bald men and whispered.
"Oh my. Are they all bald?"
"Judging by their looks, it seems like a new clan has set up shop."
"Tsk, tsk. What a bunch of pathetic bastards."
The bald men walked with their heads bowed.
While ignoring such noise, Jeong Yoo-shin leisurely walked down the street and arrived in front of the gambling den.
Should he call it Saul's main nest?
It was a flashy, five-story building.
The two men standing guard at the entrance saw their comrades and their eyes widened.
"W-What?! What happened? Where's Saul-nim?"
"He's dead."
When the middle-aged man answered, the guards' eyes widened.
"What?!"
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped forward and waved a bundle.
"I killed him."
Blood was dripping from under the bundle.
"Y-You expect us to believe that?"
"Believe it or not. Move."
Jeong Yoo-shin pushed the guard's head aside and entered the gambling den.
It was filled with the acrid smell of cigarettes and alcohol.
Since it was dawn, there were currently no customers.
He took the stairs to the top floor.
Saul's office was large and filled with antique furniture.
He searched around and found something.
In the corner of a bookshelf, there was a huge safe.
"I don't think I can do anything about this. Is there an alarm spell or a trap in it?"
The middle-aged man scratched his shiny head.
"There is."
Jeong Yoo-shin smacked his lips.
The only expertise he had was swinging a sword, so this was to be expected.
'I'll have to solve this slowly.'
He went back down to the first floor and sat down in the gambling den.
A moment later…
The bald subordinates who had cleaned up the corpses began to fill the gambling den one by one.
Jeong Yoo-shin crossed his arms and looked at the pathetic bald men.
'What am I supposed to do with these guys?'
As he was thinking…
Clunk.
The door opened, and Aldein and Snout entered.
Aldein approached Jeong Yoo-shi and sat down next to him.
"Skar, you've done it again."
"You're here."
"I see a lot of bald friends."
"That's right. They've gathered here to learn what conscience is."
Aldein smiled faintly.
"Conscience? That's a very important virtue."
"By the way, aren't you short-staffed these days?"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's question, Aldein grinned.
"I am."
"Would you like to use them?"
"I'd welcome it."
"Alright."
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and looked at Saul's subordinates.
"To those who wish to be rehabilitated, I give you two choices."
"Yes."
"One is to join the clan I will create. The other is to realize the value of labor at the monster dismantler shop."
Someone raised their hand.
"What is the name of the clan you’ll create, Skar-nim?"
"The clan I’ll create is..."
Jeong Yoo-shin thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Your Love, My Love, the Children's Love Clan. Fluffy ones are even better."
"..."
Silence fell over the area.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jeong Yoo-shin and Aldein walked down the street.
"I saved their lives, and they all flock to the monster dismantler shop. Does that make any sense? What's so wrong with the Children's Love Clan that no one wants to join?"
Jeong Yoo-shin grumbled with a frown.
"..."
Aldein didn't answer him and just quietly looked at the scenery of the Eastern District street.
Jeong Yoo-shin spoke again.
"Aldein-nim, by any chance…"
"What?"
"Was the reason Saul didn't receive any support because you helped me behind the scenes?"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's question, Aldein smiled.
"That's right. You're smart. I went through some trouble."
"I see. No wonder it was so easy."
"Easy? You say that after facing over two hundred opponents and killing two high-level intermediate-rank explorers and Saul all at once? And you even spared the remaining subordinates?"
"Actually, the last part was the hardest."
"That's difficult for me too. No. It's something I can't do. You've grown a lot."
"Can I ask you to take care of the rest? Saul had a lot of assets and businesses, and it seems difficult for me to handle it all myself."
"Sure. I've mostly finished what I was doing anyway, so I'll take care of it. Rest easy."
Aldein smiled warmly and patted Jeong Yoo-shin on the shoulder, then his expression hardened.
"Hmm? That's strange. Wait a minute."
Jeong Yoo-shin tilted his head.
"What's wrong?"
Aldein felt Jeong Yoo-shin's shoulder and upper body for a while, then stepped back.
"You, I think you've been cursed."
Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes widened.
"What?!"
So suddenly?
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T/N - Dun dun dun! Any guesses as to the curse? Could be Saul’s last ditch effort to drag the MC down. Could also be the eldritch creature he killed in the labyrinth, but if that was the case, then shouldn’t Mion or the goddess have picked up on it?
Also, MC really gave over 200 thugs the Tarman treatment. Well, they should at least be thankful that it wasn't the MC himself who cut their hair like he did with poor Tarman. And that clan name… He really is going mad. 😅