18
I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 18
Caesar went to look at the commercial building with Andrew, whom he had seen before smashing the heads of the mafia members... No, with Pringles.
"Here it is. The largest tea house in Clear Bay."
Caesar was very pleased with the huge tea house that spanned not just the first floor but the second floor as well.
This size could accommodate more than 20 employees.
He liked that the building was made of solid cement.
What he liked even more was...
"All the windows are broken."
"That's... Haha..."
"Was it the work of those mafia bastards?"
"Yes, that's right."
It was a tea house targeted by the mafia.
Although it was on the core side, it was almost adjacent to the West Line, so mafia members often came to cause trouble.
In other words, it meant that mafia thugs whose heads needed to be cracked would come on their own.
Caesar entered the tea house with excited steps.
The employees were cleaning up the broken windows and furniture, and each of their faces had bruises.
One of the employees cautiously approached.
"I'm sorry, but the owner said we can't do business today."
"I'm not here to drink tea, I'm here to see that owner."
The employee's expression hardened.
"We really don't have any more money. Those damn Jix Family just took everything a little while ago. So today..."
"I'm not here to collect money, I'm here to buy this tea house."
At Caesar's gesture, Harrison opened a bag full of money.
It was filled with 100 Del bills.
"Hurry and call the owner. Let's have a business talk."
"Yes, yes!"
The employee hurried inside.
***
Caesar sat face to face with the tea house owner.
The owner's build was comparable to Caesar's, and his muscles looked like they might tear through his shirt.
No, saying it looks like it might tear through is wrong now.
The shirt was already torn.
And bruises all over his body.
It seems he was beaten with clubs for defying the mafia thugs who had come earlier.
"...I heard you came to buy the tea house."
"That's right."
"To be honest, you'd better not run a tea house. To run a tea house in this neighborhood, you have to pay a monthly tribute to the mafia. If you don't pay, they wreak havoc like they just did."
"Then what are you going to do now?"
The owner sighed deeply.
"I'm planning to move elsewhere. I can't do business in Homigraph anymore. So, Sir Caesar, you'd better try something other than a tea house or a bar."
"What do you think I should do?"
"..."
The owner seemed at a loss for words, his eyes wandering.
"You can't answer either. In the end, to do business in Homigraph, you have no choice but to get involved with the mafia."
Caesar handed over the bag of money.
"I'll buy this tea house. And you along with it."
"What? I was planning to quit..."
"Do you think I've ever run a tea house before? I've only blown people's heads off. You run it and receive a salary. It's like becoming a professional manager in a company."
Caesar put his axe on the table.
"I'll help make sure this tea house operates normally. I heard this tea house is 50 years old. It's a family business passed down through generations, can you easily give that up?"
The owner's hands trembled as he spoke.
"Will you protect this tea house, Sir Caesar?"
"Yes. Without changing even one letter of its name. I'll let you keep using the name 'Benjamin & Junior' for this tea house. We'll have to change some people and the interior, though."
The owner thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Can I trust you once?"
"Of course. You can trust me twice, thrice even."
The owner signed the contract documents.
"I'll only take half the money. And I'll use that half to repair and invest in this tea house."
Caesar doesn't dislike such warm-hearted men.
He rather likes them.
"Good. Then shall we start work in earnest now?"
"Then, first, let me explain about the sales..."
Caesar pointed to Harrison.
"Tell Harrison about the money counting. I have a different role."
"What? What kind of work are you saying you'll do?"
Caesar smiled as he slung the axe over his shoulder.
"I have to go teach those mafia bastards who dared to damage my tea house a lesson."
I was originally going to wait until the mafia came, but seeing my damaged tea house made my blood boil.
I need to cool it down with the blood of those mafia bastards.
***
The boss of the Jix Family.
Jix grinned from ear to ear.
"Did you see that bear-like bastard? He cried like a girl, begging us not to take this."
"Hehehe. That's right. I wonder what's in here that made him act like that?"
"You're asking me that. Just open it already."
"Yes sir!"
The mafia members attached dynamite to the safe and lit it.
BOOM-!
The safe entrance exploded and the door opened.
"What? There's not much money."
"Just some photos and a key necklace?"
"Is this necklace silver?"
"No. It looks like just scrap metal?"
"Agh, what's this? I thought there was something really expensive in here."
Jix kicked the safe and said.
"Just throw these away. Huh? Wait a minute..."
Jix took out a photo from the safe.
"By the way, did that bear-like bastard have a family?"
"I haven't heard about that."
"Really? Then it means he's hidden them somewhere..."
"Should we go look for them?"
"Good idea. First, let's go back and ask where his family is..."
BANG-!
A gunshot rang out from outside the hideout.
At that, all the family members, including Jix, ducked their heads and pulled out their weapons.
Most had clubs or knives, but some had guns.
"Who's there!"
But there was no answer from outside.
Instead, something round came flying in.
Roll roll-
It was the head of the guard who was outside.
"W-who is it, I say!"
"The shop owner."
Caesar walked in proudly through the main entrance.
The Jix Family reflexively fired their guns at Caesar.
Most missed, but there was one coming straight at Caesar.
Caesar dodged it by just tilting his head.
Seeing this, Jix stammered.
"C-crazy b-bastard, he dodged a bullet?"
"C-Caesar! The Axe of Homigraph!"
Caesar walked steadily towards them.
"You dare damage my shop and think you'll leave alive?"
"W-what are you talking about? When did I?!"
"Benjamin & Junior, I mean. It became my shop from today. And I heard you guys damaged it."
Caesar took a deep breath and exhaled.
The sweet smell of gunpowder filled his lungs.
"So I came to punish you. Heads up."
"K-kill him! He's alone!"
The mafia members fired their guns and those with knives rushed in.
Caesar charged first towards those rushing in with knives.
"Guh!"
Caesar's body tackle shattered the ribs of one guy and sent him flying.
Then the annoying guy hiding behind a box and shooting got hit by the flying guy and collapsed.
As he tried to regain his senses and shoot again, Caesar threw his axe.
"Kuk!"
The flying axe lodged precisely in his skull.
"Originally in a one-on-one, you're supposed to start with long range attacks."
Caesar lifted up the club a mafia member was swinging down, sending his hand flying up, then roughly grabbed his face.
And smashed it into the floor.
THUD!
The sensation of the back of the skull being crushed transmitted through his fingertips.
"R-run away!"
The mafia members, judging they couldn't possibly match him, started to run away cowardly.
"You cowards!"
Caesar leaped towards those fleeing towards the door.
The axe swung horizontally, harvesting their necks in one go.
"Those who run away die first by my hand!"
Hair dripping with blood.
Red eyes.
The sight of him licking the blood on his lips was more fitting to be called a demon rather than a knight.
"Aaaaargh!"
Caesar threw his remaining axe and started crushing the Jix Family with his bare hands.
Jix could only blankly watch as his organization members lost their heads one by one.
'...This is impossible.'
Jix didn't know how strong knights were.
This was a city of magicians.
Knights only handled close protection for nobles or council members, so there was rarely a chance to actually see them.
He had only heard stories that they could uproot rocks and survive being shot, but he never thought he would face such a superhuman in his life.
"Now only one left."
Jix cocked his revolver.
"Aaaaargh! You monster!"
BANG! TING.
Caesar deflected the bullet using a metal plate lying around as a shield.
"You monster bastard!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Die!"
BANG!
The last bullet flew and hit Caesar's forehead that was slightly exposed between the metal plates.
Jix shouted in triumph.
"I-I hit him!"
But Caesar only tilted his head back, otherwise unharmed.
Jix couldn't believe his eyes.
He clearly hit him right in the forehead, but he was fine.
"That hurts, you bastard!"
Caesar's kick struck Jix directly in the forehead.
"Kuk! Kuk!"
Jix could barely breathe from the impact that felt like it would stop his breath.
Caesar threw away the metal plate and pulled out the axe stuck in a mafia member's head.
Jix looked up at Caesar, begging with his hands.
"P-please spare me. Please spare..."
Caesar grabbed Jix's neck and lifted him up.
"What did you do to people who begged for their lives like you're doing now?"
Caesar used psychometry on him.
Then the faces and screams of people he had killed echoed in Caesar's ears.
There were women, children, and old people.
Caesar's hand gradually tightened around his neck.
"You didn't spare them either. So why do you expect mercy from me?"
"Aaaaargh!"
CRACK-
Caesar broke his neck on the spot.
***
BANG!
Vito kicked open the door of the Trump meeting room.
Vito grabbed the collar of Gilbert, the head of Bloody Gold who was hitting Trump, and put his revolver to his neck.
"Whoa- whoa- what are you doing?"
As King tried to stop the highly agitated Vito, Gilbert waved his hand, signaling him to stop.
"What are you doing now, Vito?"
"You said you'd try to contact that bastard Caesar, didn't you? Then why did he come and destroy all my business places?"
"Because I couldn't even bring it up."
"Why are you saying this only now!"
Click-
Gilbert placed his gold-plated revolver on Vito's abdomen.
"So you're dissatisfied with that? You told me to endure it when I was attacked, but now that you're the one being hit, you think it's not right?"
"That was when we didn't know anything about Caesar. And three weeks ago, you said you'd make contact and talk to him."
"Ah, of course, I said I'd try to make contact. But did I ever say when I'd meet him? Isn't that right?"
"Does that make any sense?!"
Gerard patted Vito's shoulder.
"Vito. There's nothing good that can come from us fighting like this."
"Shut up. You're next, you pigeon."
"What?"
"That bastard acquired a goddamn tea house. Your organization members who deliver furniture and glassware to that tea house. If they try to collect money from that tea house, he'll come looking for you with an axe."
At Vito's words, Gerard's expression stiffened slightly.
Vito released Gilbert's collar as if throwing it.
"Do you understand the situation now? Gilbert, you son of a bitch. If you had met that bastard properly and talked, things wouldn't have escalated this much."
"How is that my fault? He didn't even meet with my organization members."
"Then you should have stuffed money into the hotelier's mouth and sent them in. You said you'd handle everything yourself, and you let things come to this?"
Vito said as he released Gilbert's collar as if throwing it.
"I'll handle this matter myself. If you don't want to die, nobody interfere."
"Vito!"
Vito left the Trump meeting room despite King's call.
Gerard sighed and said.
"Vito is wrong too, but you, Gilbert, did an even more goddamn thing. We all knew that bastard Caesar would cause trouble, but you just watched? Then there's no reason for this meeting to exist."
Gerard waved his hand.
"Then I'll be going now. That bastard Vito seems like he's going to do something crazy, so I'd better lay low for a while."
Clown and King also glanced at Gilbert before leaving.
Gilbert's face turned as red as if he had been drinking, showing how angry he was.
"You sons of bitches!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gilbert fired his revolver into the air and then smoothed back his disheveled hair.
"Fine. Fuck it. Let's all die together."
As soon as Gilbert left the Trump meeting room, he said to his subordinate.
"Keep a close eye on that bastard Vito. The moment he takes his organization members and leaves the hideout, we strike immediately."
***
Caesar handed the photo and key to Benjamin.
Benjamin's eyes widened.
"This is..."
"It came from the safe. It looked important, so I brought it."
Benjamin shed a tear.
Seeing this bear-like man cry made Caesar's heart warm.
"Thank you, Sir Caesar. These... Are very precious to me."
"Is it your family?"
"Yes. It's dangerous in Homigraph now, so they're down in our hometown. And this key is the one we used when we first opened this tea house. Of course, we use a different key now because it's old, but... Sob!"
Benjamin's hot tears dampened his large chest muscles.
"I sincerely thank you."
"It's alright. Do well from now on. Well then, let's wrap up for today and go home."
"No. To open tomorrow, we need to finish up today..."
"This place will be damaged again tonight anyway. So tell all the employees to go home quickly, and you all go too."
"What?"
"No questions. Hurry and go. You too, Harrison."
Harrison shook his head.
"Shouldn't I stay by your side, Sir Caesar?"
"Can you survive being shot?"
"Pardon?"
"If not, don't die getting hit in the wrong place and hurry home."
Caesar kicked everyone out and turned off all the lights.
Then he had a light meal while looking out the window.
The moonlight is quite good.
At the same time, it's a great day for cracking mafia skulls.
-Kyaaah!
-R-run away!
Screams of people can be heard from outside the window.
They're finally coming.
The real mafia hunt begins now.