The Three Bears' Humiliating Tribute

There were three pushovers known as the Gangnam Sam-ung. "Those dog bastards tricked us!" Baekgom was already collapsed and unable to do anything, while Bulgom shot to his feet and shouted.

What the hell are you going to do by yelling, you son of a bitch? The room was small enough as it was, so I immediately nailed him with a calf kick. Shin smashing into shin, Bulgom seemed to enjoy it as he broke into a tap dance. "Keeeeck! My leg!" Hey, why is it flopping around like that? Looks like his shin is broken. Must be the hundred-and-sixty combat power gap at work.

"If you don't want to get beaten worse, how about you scram? You bald bastard who burned every last hair off his head."

"Kuk, fine... I'll back off. But could you promise me one thing?"

"Promise? Your tone's too short."

"Could you please make a promise?"

"I'll hear it first and then decide."

He was probably cursing me as a son of a bitch in his head, but Bulgom kept up the polite act and made his request.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that we came here seeking revenge."

"Why?"

I had been planning to spread it all over town and turn them into complete laughingstocks. You know, those pathetic guys who got wrecked by a ruined organization.

"The Gangnam Sam-ung is the lowest-ranked group under the Murim Alliance... We're only three people, but we're still an organization. That's how Brother Baekgom was able to possess a body."

"Can you get to the damn point?"

"The Murim Alliance has a strong image as chivalrous heroes. You know that as well, Fighting Dog of Fantasia, don't you?"

A chivalrous image, huh. I could roughly see where this was going. It wasn't uncommon to hear stories about the Murim Alliance eliminating subordinate organizations that tarnished their reputation.

"So any subordinate group that ruins their heroic image gets erased. Sneaking into an already ruined organization for petty revenge would be a despicable act."

"Correct. You are quite intelligent, Fighting Dog."

"I'm smart. You guys are stupid because your hair fell out. Isn't that why you got your asses handed to you like this?"

"I'm smart too! Right, Hyunu?"

"Of course. Our big brother's lady is smart too."

"Ehehe..."

When I patted her head like a kindergartener who'd just earned her dad's praise, she grinned like an idiot. Of course it was thanks to Eris handling things brilliantly that we got this sweet deal, but at this rate I had zero dignity left as a boss, didn't I?

"That son of a bitch keeps bringing up people's hair..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"It's nothing. I was talking to myself."

"I heard every word, you bald bastard."

"......"

Bulgom clamped his mouth shut. Since I'm merciful, I decided to let it slide. With one shin already broken and the guy barely able to stand, I couldn't exactly snap the other one.

"But why should I keep my mouth shut?"

"Ah."

Bulgom's jaw dropped in shock. Yeah, obviously. There was no reason for me to stay quiet. These bastards were pretending to be weak now, but they came for revenge. They even picked the lock on the door. Whether they lived or died was none of my business. I only spared them because Fantasia was just starting to grow and cleaning up the mess would slow us down. I could kill them anytime I wanted. The only people I hesitated to kill were innocent civilians. These guys ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had probably slaughtered countless people already, so I felt nothing. Just look at Baekgom—he murdered an idol and stole his body. So what?

"If you can't give me a convincing reason, I'm telling everyone. Fantasia completely destroyed the Gangnam Sam-ung! They called themselves three bears but they're just bald, stupid bear morons!"

"U-uhh..."

Bulgom seemed to be desperately trying to cook up some plausible excuse. But there was no way one existed. Let's break it down. I suggested to Bandalgom that we end things peacefully, but he started ranting about trust and picked a fight. That was just a minor scuffle. Organizations clash like that all the time. But we're a ruined group, and even if they're bottom-tier, they're still tied to one of the three major organizations. They went as far as unauthorized entry for revenge over something so trivial? What possible reason could shut me up? Huh?

"W-well then, we'll pay you tribute every month."

Oh? Now this was interesting.

"We run a bakery with support from the Murim Alliance. It's called Baekgom Bakery."

"What the hell does a bakery have to do with Gangnam Temple?"

"The Gangnam Temple is just because our hideout happens to be in Gangnam..."

"It's not even a real temple, just a hideout? What a bunch of ridiculous bastards."

"Technically we're a secular branch of Shaolin... No, that's not important. Anyway, Baekgom Bakery clears a net profit of five million won per month. It's quite popular in Gangnam."

"So? How much are you offering?"

"We'll give five hundred thousand."

Five hundred thousand won per month in exchange for my silence about today's events. Not a bad deal. If the amount had been too big I might have gotten suspicious—they could talk nice now and pull something behind my back later.

"But you guys aren't going around beating up other soft targets like you did today, are you?"

"No. We're one of the weakest organizations ourselves. The only group easier than us was pretty much just Fantasia."

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tracked. With only three members and just one capable of fighting, what could possibly be an easier target? If they'd been messing with other groups too it would be suspicious, but since they only targeted us, I could trust the compromise.

"Fine. Then let's write up a payment agreement."

I looked around for paper and a pen when I noticed Eris's dazed expression. Saliva was pooling in her mouth and dribbling down. She hadn't wiped the hot sauce off properly, so the drool was tinged red. Why was she being so disgusting?

"Bread... sounds tasty..."

"Big brother's lady, do you like bread?"

"Huh? Yeah! I love it so much!"

"Then along with the five hundred thousand won, we'll throw in free bread delivery every day."

"What?! You want free bread delivered every single day? If you like free stuff that much you'll go bald!"

"What the hell, you bastard? So did you go bald because you like free stuff too?"

Unable to argue, Bulgom shut his mouth. Yeah, daily deliveries did seem excessive.

"Then deliver every Sunday. That should be fine, right?"

"Ah! That works. It definitely works."

In the end, Bulgom drew up the contract agreeing to pay five hundred thousand won monthly and deliver bread every Sunday. The nominal purpose was promoting peaceful relations with Fantasia. It was essentially an investment deal. Not that we'd give them anything once we grew stronger, but that wasn't my problem. This was a world where fists spoke louder than laws. Whether the contract was fair or complete bullshit didn't matter to me.

"W-well then, we'll be leaving now..."

"Yeah. Get home safely."

Bulgom limped out, dragging Baekgom with him. When Eris first sent that text begging to be saved, my heart had dropped into my stomach. But the results were pure profit.

"By the way, how did you spit out that hot sauce so naturally?"

"Huh? What hot sauce?"

"Weren't you faking injury and coughing up hot sauce to look like blood?"

"No... This is real blood. If you use Magi Poisoning properly, you can make yourself cough up blood on purpose. If Hyunu wants to see it again, should I show you?"

This crazy girl really coughed up actual blood? I wiped the red liquid off the floor with my finger and sniffed it. It really smelled like blood.

"Big brother's lady... This isn't the kind of thing you show off just because someone wants to see it."

"It isn't?"

"It isn't... Never use it unless it's truly life-threatening."

"Okay..."

Leaving Eris alone was definitely dangerous. Guys like today might show up seeking revenge over trivial things, or Carpediem could suddenly decide to harm her.

"It would be nice if big brother's lady could fight alongside me..."

Or at least if there was one more fighter to guard her, I could relax. The problem was Eris's combat power was only two, and Siz was probably weak too, so I couldn't let my guard down and do anything.

"It's a real dilemma..."

Maybe I should take things slow. In my head I wanted to charge in every day with promissory notes and smash faces, but if Eris got hurt in the meantime it would be trouble. Whether recruiting fighters or doing anything else, I wouldn't have to worry about capital for the next four months. It might be better to take my time and figure out a proper plan.

"I've returned. By the way, what is that red liquid?"

Siz, who had just entered the house, tilted her head and asked. Before Eris could shoot her hand up and announce "I coughed up some blood!" I cut in first and explained the whole situation. I could tell exactly what she was about to say the moment she raised her hand.

"I see. So that's what happened."

"By the way, Ms. Siz, what about you? You were supposed to meet a magi researcher."

"That's exactly why I hurried back. Hyun-woo-nim, I apologize, but it seems I must ask you to handle some work immediately."

"Work? What kind of work?"

It wasn't that late. It was only approaching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nine at night. People who wanted to drink were still drinking, gamers were gaming, and NewTube watchers were watching NewTube. I could work if I needed to. The real question was what the job was.

"It seems the magi researcher borrowed money to continue their research. But they kept failing to repay it, so the loan sharks apparently kidnapped them today."

"Kidnapped? Did you find out where they borrowed the money?"

"That's why I was late—I had to ask around. The lender was a place called Phone Cash."

"Phone Cash? That sounds familiar."

I rummaged through the promissory notes Fantasia held. Phone Cash, Phone Cash... Ah, here it was. They'd lent fifty million won?

"What ridiculous bastards. The ones lending money can't pay it back?"

"Ah! Those guys? They said they can't repay it because they've lent out all their money every time I visited."

You actually believed that obvious lie? Why does someone who acts so well take other people's acting at face value?

"Looks like we need to collect some of our money too. Isn't there an organization backing those bastards?"

"They don't receive support from the three major organizations. However, even if they aren't one of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three, a small organization called Banana Man is known to be connected with Phone Cash."

"Banana Man? What kind of organization are they? I've never heard of them."

"They're an organization that only operates in the shadows. That's why I paid a beggar from the Beggars' Sect who was sleeping on the street and asked."

"What is the Beggars' Sect?"

"The Beggars' Sect is one of the five major sects of the Murim Alliance, known as an organization gathered from beggars. In truth the beggars are non-combatants who simply gather information."

Aha. So they were the information brokers you see in fantasy novels. A beggar sleeping on the street would be pretty easy to find.

"What did they say?"

"They said Banana Man kidnaps women, produces sexual exploitation material, and sells it. They use the profits to keep the victims working until the debt is repaid. But by the time the debt is cleared, the woman's body is already ruined..."

"Was the magi researcher a woman, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"And she was kidnapped today?"

"Correct."

"Damn it. No time to take things slow, then."

I had planned to move carefully, but it seemed the world had other ideas.

"Ms. Siz, take Eris and hide in the safest place you can find. If necessary, stay near one of the Beggars' Sect members."

As for me, it looked like I had a debt to collect.