Chapter 112
Chapter 112
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Black Letter (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The rival organizations that had been kidnapping prostitutes from Paradise.
The external cartels secretly distributing drugs on the underground streets.
The traitors who tried to oust Isadora and seize control of the Velvet Circle.
And even the mid-sized companies in the city that had bribed them...
All of them had vanished overnight.
"......."
Every single problem that had been strangling Isadora up until now had been resolved in just one night.
'No way.'
It was something she might have imagined only in a dream.
But now that it had happened in reality, she could only feel stunned.
"What in the world..."
Though utterly bewildered, Isadora quickly pulled herself together.
Anyone but a fool could guess the cause behind all this.
'It has to be the Radiance Church.'
That dreamlike encounter on the night so fantastical she had mistaken it for a dream.
The girl she had finally met at the cathedral after fleeing alone.
The breathtaking beauty and gentle warmth she had glimpsed in her haze...
["I'll be your stroke of luck."]
Even thinking back on that voice now was unbearably sweet.
Just recalling it sent chills racing up her spine.
Now she understood.
How the residents of other districts had fallen into the church so quickly and blindly.
'This... this can't be real.'
But her immersion in that inexplicable feeling didn't last long.
Isadora snapped back to reality.
After all, she was the head of an organization. She couldn't afford to get lost in personal sentiments and view everything optimistically.
She had to confirm what had happened with her own eyes.
So she summoned a subordinate and gave the order.
"Get the car ready right now."
=====}
The only cathedral in the western suburbs.
A short distance away, several vans were parked.
A woman stepped out from the limousine in the center and spoke.
"I'll go the rest of the way alone."
Leaving all her Velvet Circle bodyguards behind, Isadora began walking by herself.
The familiar streets naturally brought back memories of the previous night.
The cold night air. The desperate crawl through the alleys, her drugged legs numb and dragging.
Back then, she had felt nothing but loneliness and fear...
But now, an inexplicable peace washed over her.
"......."
Isadora finally arrived at the cathedral.
As she pushed open the door and stepped inside, the empty nave held only one person.
Isadora approached cautiously and sat beside her.
The girl, who had been praying with her eyes closed, slowly turned and smiled brightly.
"I hope you had a good night, Ms. Isadora?"
".....!"
At that lovely smile, Isadora felt her heart drop.
She was no stranger to beauty.
She had raised countless girls whose looks even city tycoons coveted.
But none shone as radiantly as the girl before her now.
Isadora, momentarily forgetting even to breathe, finally composed herself and apologized first.
"....Thank you for helping me last night. I'm sorry for showing you such a pathetic sight."
The girl smiled lightly in response.
"Not at all. Providing a place to rest for the lost is the cathedral's role, after all."
With that, the girl simply gazed at Isadora with calm eyes.
Her serene expression seemed to ask if there was anything more she needed.
Catching her off guard with this unexpected demeanor, Isadora was at a loss for words.
She had assumed they would demand some form of payment first.
But no.
She was the one who had come to the cathedral first last night, and the one who had received help.
Yet the girl still asked for nothing in return.
Her face said it was simply the natural thing to do.
"......."
Facing this unforeseen situation, Isadora grew flustered.
As if sensing her turmoil, the girl spoke first again.
"You don't need to feel burdened about this, Ms. Isadora. You're already doing so well. I just lent a little hand."
'A little?'
For a moment, Isadora suspected it was subtle pressure to offer tribute voluntarily.
But the girl's attitude was utterly serene.
No— if she had wanted something, she could have pressured Isadora for it anytime.
With all that power, why not seize what was within reach?
Isadora had no choice but to ask once more.
"Why... why go this far to help me?"
The girl replied nonchalantly.
"Is it so strange to cheer on someone amazing?"
"....Amazing?"
"Yes, you're a good person, Ms. Isadora."
"......."
It wasn't the first time she'd heard such words.
The orphans she took in always thanked their boss profusely for every meal that kept hunger at bay.
But gratitude for a loaf of bread or a coin was something anyone could receive from the starving.
Even a murderer or the filthiest scum would get a bowed head in thanks.
So Isadora had never placed special weight on such words.
Yet why did this girl's words strike her heart so deeply each time?
It felt as if they affirmed that her life and the path she had chosen were not wrong.
As if someone high in the heavens had been watching over her all along.
Unthinkingly, Isadora asked in a trembling voice,
"Have you... been watching over me all this time?"
If God truly existed and had finally reached out to her in this beautiful form...
The Saintess tilted her head as if puzzled by the question.
Then, with a clear smile, she answered.
"Yes, of course."
Those simple words felt like a reward in themselves.
Hot tears streamed down Isadora's cheeks.
======
Veridia Properties.
A mid-sized rental company that owned a significant portion of the suburban real estate.
In truth, they were the ones we had our eyes on for a while.
They had jacked up rents several times over the moment the church revitalized the suburban economy—as if waiting for it.
Some residents were struggling under life's burdens again because of it.
We had been discussing how we couldn't let those parasites keep sucking the lifeblood from the income of the believers we supported.
'It wasn't even difficult.'
Veridia's financial structure was a mess.
They took loans using purchased properties as collateral, then bought more properties.
Their size seemed bloated, but with help from our church allies, a single poke at the weak link in that chain brought the whole domino tumbling down.
That took care of one mid-sized company, and the rest of the issues in the western suburbs weren't much trouble either.
The challengers eyeing Velvet Circle's turf, random gangs, drug outfits.
We had already exterminated their kind from our church's territory long ago.
A single night was plenty to clean them up thoroughly.
So in truth, it wasn't as hard as I thought.
Not that I expected a grown woman to suddenly burst into tears right in front of me and leave me flustered.
"Hic... waaah...!"
Had I said something wrong again?
I knew Madam Isadora's actions from watching her in the game, so I had just answered honestly without thinking...
'D-did I mess up?'
Anyway, after sweating it out and comforting her for a good while, she finally calmed down a bit.
Her bare face, makeup ruined from all the crying, looked far younger than expected.
Eventually, Isadora stared at me intently with her red, bloodshot eyes.
After a long gaze,
as if resolving something, she began rummaging for her belongings.
"....Sniff, I have something... for you, Saintess."
"Pardon?"
What she held out was a strange black data chip.
She said,
"It's the Black Letter. You knew about it, didn't you, Saintess?"
"......."
I nodded quietly.
The unique item [Black Letter], which I'd only seen described in the game.
It was... Isadora's most precious and powerful card.
But at the same time, a fatal weakness even to her.
Velvet Circle had always advertised to every guest visiting their pleasure district.
'Perfect privacy guaranteed here!'
'Even your partner forgets everything after the night ends!'
But it was all a blatant lie.
Everything that happened in Paradise was secretly backed up.
And the data on the skeletons of those VIPs was the [Black Letter].
In a trembling voice, Isadora began to confess.
"But... I realized too late. This is something I can never use."
That information could be the sharpest weapon.
But... the targets were big shots incomparable to suburban mafiosi, and that held her back.
She couldn't dare blackmail them.
Even if she somehow negotiated, they would unleash all their capital, intel, and political power in retaliation.
The mere existence of such data put everyone in Paradise at risk.
No matter how strong a card a gutter rat held, it was meaningless without a seat at the table.
To the city elite, Paradise and its mafia were just ants they could crush on a whim.
So they indulged their desires freely in the suburbs, while Isadora—with the bomb in hand—had to tread carefully.
Yet she handed over this item she could never let be discovered...
This data equivalent to surrendering her everything...
With a resolute expression, Isadora offered it to me.
"It's the only repayment I can give. You're the only one in this city... who can use it for the right purpose."