Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Interlude
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While Victor, having lost the Ghost, was lost in thought with a seriousness rarely seen on his face.
Suddenly, the clacking of shoes echoed from outside the alley.
The familiar sound of high heels.
When he looked up, Victor’s assistant was standing there, her eyes filled with disgust.
“…Mr. Victor, no, Pervert. What in the world is that getup?”
“Ah, Assistant. Could you possibly bring me some clothes? As you can see, I took quite a hit.”
“I brought some just in case… but it seems you won’t be needing your combat suit.”
The assistant handed Victor a thick coat, unable to hide her inner surprise.
He had stopped his pursuit even though the Ghost had disappeared, and pieces of banknotes were scattered on the ground.
From such circumstantial evidence alone, she could roughly guess how things had turned out.
*So the operation was a failure.*
A feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time made the woman’s eyes narrow sharply.
“A disappointing result. If we’d had a little more time on the tracker, we wouldn’t have needed to chase so hastily.”
“Well, you can’t expect a film device to have a long duration. Besides, if its appearance had been noticeably different, the Ghost would have surely noticed right away.”
Victor shook his head lightly at his disappointed assistant, as if to say it couldn't be helped.
The method the two had used to pinpoint the Ghost’s location was simple.
It was when the apprentice had been attacked by the Ghost earlier.
They had mixed counterfeit bills fitted with a film-like tracker into the apprentice’s wallet.
However, due to structural limitations, the tracker couldn't hold a battery, so they could only track the Ghost’s location for a mere four hours.
If the tracker had cut out without warning midway, they would have had no choice but to wait endlessly in the back alleys, hoping to encounter the Ghost again.
That was why, to finish the job on this occasion, he had no choice but to chase after the Ghost like his feet were on fire, dressed only in a gown.
“So, what are you going to tell the client, Mr. Pervert? The request was to either capture the Ghost or uncover their identity. This means we’ve failed on both counts.”
“Hmm. That is a problem. Would it work if I said they were an unexpectedly formidable foe? Or that we had a bit of bad luck.”
“…If only… someone… hadn’t… been taking a bath… right before… the operation… this wouldn’t… have happened… you know.”
“Ugh, d-don’t press on my forehead. That’s a sore spot…”
Victor averted his gaze from his assistant, who was glaring daggers at him.
If he hadn't been in his gown, if he had at least been wearing something other than that, he wouldn't have been shaken off so cleanly by the Ghost.
Having built up an impressive track record with a 90% success rate on his requests, this failure would result in a much greater loss than he had anticipated.
“Haa… Well, there’s no point in talking about it now. I did think that you, Mr. Pervert, could succeed even if you were naked.”
“Ahem, my apologies for not living up to your faith in me…”
But there was no use regretting what had already passed.
The woman, possessing a professional mindset, pressed firmly on her forehead, somehow managing to calm her emotions.
Then, she calmly posed a question to him.
“So, how was the Ghost? You were like a peacock in an ardent courtship display.”
“Hmm, they were a character I liked in every way. A rare gem in this city, I’d say. Just from our brief encounter, I could sense their outstanding skill, firm convictions, and strong mental fortitude.”
“That’s… surprising. You rate them that highly?”
“Ah, yes. To the point I wish our apprentice was half the person the Ghost is. I’d love to collaborate with them.”
Victor’s praise for the Ghost was entirely sincere, and for several reasons.
In the underworld, where the perception that helping others is for fools was rampant, the Ghost would help without asking for anything in return and then vanish.
Despite possessing skills that were more than enough to meet his standards, whether the opponent was a mere thug or a dangerous vampire, the Ghost would simply subdue them.
Even at the very last moment, when he fell from the rooftop, the place he landed was a garbage dump filled with soft trash bags.
Given his disposition, which was far closer to the outside world than the underworld, he was a type of person Victor simply couldn't dislike.
“Haa, honestly, I’d like to spend a bit more time on this…”
“That’s not an option. We have to leave this city the day after tomorrow.”
“I figured as much.”
Victor scratched the back of his head, showing his disappointment.
As it happened, he had a request he’d accepted over a month ago, which meant he had to leave Nighthaven soon.
This current job, on the other hand, was one he’d taken casually to kill time, so he couldn't afford to spend any more of it here.
*If I had known, I would have kept my schedule free.*
After pondering for a moment, Victor let out a low groan as if he had no choice and spoke.
“Hmm… Then I guess I have no choice but to ask a trustworthy friend to handle this.”
“Mr. Pervert… No, Victor. You have friends?”
“It hurts a little when you say it with such a serious face… Well, a friend, or perhaps an old comrade-in-arms.”
He continued, looking at his assistant, who was tilting her head in confusion.
“Have you ever heard of someone called… Raven?”
A smirk played on Victor’s lips.
He was pleased with the thought of seeing his old comrade’s face after so long, and he believed Raven was more than capable of handling the Ghost.
Of course, if the person known as the Ghost knew this fact right now.
They would have been screaming internally, *That’s the original protagonist!*
But with no one aware of such circumstances, the wheel of fate simply continued to turn.
***
A few dozen minutes later.
At the headquarters of the Black Beast Society, the largest beastman faction in the Western Labyrinth.
As soon as she received the report on the outcome of Victor's request, the organization's leader, Wang Qian, shot her long rabbit ears straight up and shrieked sharply.
“Even a Double Number like Victor couldn’t catch them?! This Ghost person! Kyaaah! Why did something like that have to appear in our territory! I hate it! I really, really hate it!”
Just how unwelcome this news was to her.
She reacted as if she had just moved into a new house only to discover a swarm of cockroaches crawling around.
“Miss, please calm down and maintain your dignity.”
“How can I possibly be calm right now?! This is a man who can destroy a warship single-handedly, and even he gave up! It means an unbelievable time bomb has appeared in our territory!”
For the leader of an organization that held sway over a corner of the underworld, Wang Qian had a timid personality.
Faced with such a desperate reality, she felt like she just wanted to cry.
A Double Number Fixer.
That was a term for a Fixer whose official ranking was in the double digits, out of more than 10,000 Fixers worldwide.
Sinking a massive warship single-handedly.
Inflicting near-total annihilation on a nation's army alone.
Destroying an entire city to the brink of ruin by oneself.
Those who ranked within the top 100 worldwide were, without exception, beings who transcended common sense, closer to superhumans or monsters than humans.
For Wang Qian, who had become the leader of her organization simply by having the right father, they were terrifying existences.
And yet, Victor, a renowned Double Number, had failed?
That meant the Ghost was an equally ridiculous monster, on par with him.
“Ha, huh, heok, huh… I-I can’t. I have to do something…”
“Miss.”
“But what can we do if even Victor failed! We’re all going to die! We’re going to die! The Ghost will suck out all our blood and guts!”
“Haa, Miss…”
It was an utterly disgraceful display for a grown woman, let alone the leader of an organization.
Left with no choice, her subordinate, a lizard beastman, forcefully pulled on Wang Qian’s long ears from behind.
“Ack! It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Sorry! I’ll get a grip! Ow, I said I’ll get a grip!”
“Calm down and listen. According to Victor, the Ghost seems to have a rather moderate disposition. In fact, the only ones who have been harmed so far were third-rate thugs and vampires. He estimates the Ghost’s level to be around that of a Triple Number Fixer.”
“Ugh… Even a Triple Number is still dangerous…”
“Yes. But there is an insurmountable gap between a Double Number and a Triple Number. The Ghost is probably not as dangerous as you think, Miss.”
The lizard beastman assessed the Ghost’s threat level with a perfectly rational judgment.
First, the Ghost itself had not shown any particularly dangerous tendencies so far.
In their three months of activity, no one had suffered injuries worse than being knocked unconscious.
And even those victims were just worthless, third-rate thugs who oppressed or bullied others.
Furthermore, while a Double Number Fixer was treated as a walking missile, a tactical weapon.
A Triple Number was an opponent that even the dregs of the underworld could defeat if the situation and conditions were right.
Therefore, there was no need to be so excessively afraid of the Ghost.
The lizard beastman felt that, on the contrary, this was a time to be firm.
“Miss, let’s start by spreading some nasty rumors about the Ghost from our side.”
“Nasty rumors about the Ghost?”
“Yes. Then, using the rumors as a pretext, we demand that the Ghost reveals their identity.”
“Hmm… but do you think the Ghost will obediently reveal their identity just because we do that?”
“It doesn’t matter if they don’t. In fact, it would be better that way. It gives us a justification to put a bounty on the Ghost.”
The lizard beastman’s thinking was as follows.
No matter how much the Ghost’s victims deserved it, they couldn't just let the Ghost run rampant in their territory.
As the Ghost’s activities continued and the number of people they helped increased, the influence of the Black Beast Society, which ruled the Western Labyrinth, would inevitably decline.
Thus, the method he came up with was this:
Subtly spread bad rumors about the Ghost, then use them as a reason to demand they reveal their identity.
If they revealed their identity, great. If they didn’t, they could claim the rumors were true and put a bounty on them.
Then, bounty hunters tempted by the money would naturally come from outside and keep the Ghost in check.
And someday, the Ghost would surely show a weakness.
“Hmm… O-okay, I’ll do that. I feel bad for the Ghost, but for now, we just need to spread some nasty rumors, right?”
Wang Qian somehow managed to piece back together her mental state, which had melted into a puddle on the floor.
She then ordered the beastmen of the Western Labyrinth to spread the rumor that the Ghost might actually be a bad person.
And in the name of the Black Beast Society, the representative of the Western Labyrinth, she commanded that a single message be posted throughout the labyrinth.
The message stated that within one week, the Ghost must reveal their identity before the Black Beast Society and clarify the rumors.
There was some minor opposition from those who had been helped by the Ghost.
But due to the strong influence and resolute will of the Black Beast Society, the message was never retracted.
Ultimately, a week passed after the message was posted, and the Ghost did not show themselves to the Black Beast Society.
In the end, under the leadership of the Black Beast Society, a bounty was placed on the Ghost, with the condition of live capture.
And that was how, just three months into her new life, she became a wanted criminal.
*‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Why am I so expensive?! I could buy forty more beds with this money!’*
From the perspective of the person with the bounty on her head, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
***
And around the time the Ghost’s existence was becoming widely known throughout the underworld via wanted posters.
A certain pale-faced man crumpled a poster in one hand, his brow furrowing deeply.
“Is this the one? The one who crushed our race’s grand design.”
The man’s name was Drakel.
He was the leader of the Bloody Pool, the organization to which the dozens of ghouls and the vampire that the Ghost had destroyed belonged.
He was currently in a very foul mood.
His grand plan to unleash dozens of ghouls into the underworld, create numerous blood slaves, and use them as a driving force to establish a new territory for vampires.
That plan had recently been shattered by his foolish, know-nothing son and a single ghost.
And now, his hideout had been exposed, forcing him to flee Nighthaven.
If they didn't leave quietly, a Double or even a Single Number Fixer might come down and wipe them all out.
Naturally, rather than stubbornly resist and risk the end of the vampire lineage, it was a hundred, a thousand times better to bow his head for now and wait for another chance, however humiliating.
But his pride would not allow him to simply turn tail and retreat.
Therefore, he planned to carry out one small act of revenge before he left.
“I will have my blood revenge. On this damn underworld, and on everything!”
And so, a thick scent of blood, steeped in hatred, began to drip from the deepest part of the Western Labyrinth.
***
While the Black Beast Society trembled before a single human known as the Ghost.
While bounty hunters grew ecstatic over the exorbitant sum.
And while vampires vowed revenge.
The Ghost, the center of all this attention, was barely holding on, trying not to collapse from the overwhelming wave of shame.
*‘I’m so embarrassed. I want to die. Why am I dressed like this…'*
The reason she was suffering from a fever of shame was none other than this.
Completely against her will, she was wearing the embarrassing costume of a maid.
Why was she like this, not even draped in her white cloth?
To understand the reason, one had to go back in time just a little.
It was about a week after she had escaped from the pervert.