Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Past Bonds
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“You’re here, Boss.”
The red-masked organization members knelt in unison.
Like the miracle of Moses, a path parted through them, and Boss Aston strode forward along it.
“Why have you set foot in this place? Answer me.”
Aston pointed at me with the cigarette burning in his hand.
A deep sigh escaped him, along with a plume of smoke.
“If you can’t answer, you’ll meet a gruesome end here.”
Shing!
As Aston spoke, the organization members drew the daggers from their bosoms and armed themselves.
At his signal, the hundreds gathered here would rush to slit my throat.
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh to a guest who came looking for you?”
“Sorry, but you’re an illegal intruder. We’re just exercising our rightful authority.”
“Well, I’ll admit it. If I were you, I’d respond the same way.”
I might’ve even ordered my men to beat him to a pulp before he could open his mouth.
The fact that he didn’t like needless friction was why I could keep talking right now.
“Still, everyone has secrets they want to hide. I’d appreciate it if you could show some mercy and let this slide.”
With those words, I stared piercingly straight at Aston.
A silent gaze implying that even you, disguised as a man, have secrets like mine.
He flinched at my look, shoulders twitching, but it was unclear if he grasped the meaning.
In any case, he continued in his usual demeanor.
“And if I don’t want to?”
“Then I have no choice either.”
I gathered the mana in my heart.
Like thick smoke, flows of mana swirled and rose around me.
“Looks can be deceiving—I don’t back down from challenges.”
Was it because I could move unscathed even with daggers embedded all over me?
Or because I’d leisurely taken out one of their own earlier?
They didn’t rush at me easily.
They just watched cautiously, awaiting orders.
“Just kidding, kidding. I’m no fool—I wouldn’t pick a fight with the King of the Night and his men.”
Could I win if we fought?
No way.
No matter how well I knew the enemy’s patterns, no one stands a chance against this many.
These weren’t opponents I could handle with just a skill or two.
The guys I faced earlier were the lowest rung of the organization.
In contrast, those gathered here were the elite of the elite guarding the city’s king, and the boss himself rivaled a High-tier Explorer in skill.
In a previous loop, I could’ve handled them easily, but with just two skills and no decent artifacts, fighting now would be like an egg smashing against a rock.
“I’ll be honest, so will you hear me out?”
“Speak.”
As if this were the final warning, he lowered his voice, and the organization members assumed ready stances.
I answered his words politely.
“I stopped by this city to sell mana stones.”
“You think that lie will work?”
“It’s the truth. You were watching me trade with the merchant, weren’t you?”
I had nothing to hide.
I had no intent to disrupt the city’s peace—my only goal was pure trade.
I appealed to him with that.
With confident poise.
“Hah, the sheer audacity.”
Aston let out a hollow laugh, stunned by my brazen attitude.
Is he crazy?
Or has he despaired in this hopeless situation and given up?
He might’ve thought something like that.
“Don’t you think what you just said doesn’t add up?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“If you wanted to sell mana stones on the black market, you could’ve come as an invited guest properly. Did you really need to sneak in like a rat to contact a merchant?”
“I can answer that. I needed to offload the mana stones as quickly as possible.”
Getting invited as a guest to the black market required procedures.
Making an entry permit clock alone took over a week, so I couldn’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs.
More than that...
“I hate relying on others’ permission, so I didn’t want to bother with that.”
Wouldn’t it be uncool to enter as just another guest?
Going through every procedure and getting approval wouldn’t catch his eye.
“So I dug up the info myself and broke in on my own power.”
I declared it outright, without shame.
“Boss, no need to hear more from this beggar.”
“Just give the order. We’ll bring you his head on a platter.”
The organization members, silent until then, erupted in fury and demanded orders.
Like wolves eyeing prey right in front of them, ready to pounce any second.
But...
“Hold.”
The master holding the leash reined in their rage.
“I heard you out. I figured you were deranged sneaking in without a permit, but you’re even crazier than I imagined.”
“You flatter me.”
Coming from anyone else, maybe not—but praise from Aston, or rather Elza, was something I gladly accepted.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —Leon, do you know? Though countless vassals serve at my side, none truly understand and follow me from the heart.— —Sycophants chasing the grand title of King of the Night, clinging desperately. I’ve seen too many; I’m sick of them.— —That’s why I like honest people. Those who push their own will through, even doing mad things for it now and then.— —You’re one of the maddest. Impressively so.— He likes bold figures.
Even if their mind is a mess, if they stick to their convictions without bending, he offers praise.
Just like me now.
“I’m curious where that confidence comes from.”
“Obviously because I have the skill to back it up.”
“Right, skill.”
He despises those who spout off without qualification, so he tests the bold ones in his own way.
“Then prove it.”
His gaze turned to me.
In that instant, a chilling sensation crawled up my spine, crushing me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Status Ailment: Intimidation inflicted. Skill: Charisma.
A technique that strips away even the will to fight against those deemed inferior.
Used on underlings, it makes them obey gladly.
A talent only those with kingly qualities possess.
Of course.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Conqueror of the Abyss activates. Status Ailment: Intimidation released. “All done?”
“!”
Status ailments were powerless against me, so I stood unfazed before her skill.
Greatly surprised, his expression turned gravely serious.
No one had ever withstood her charisma before.
Even if they did, they’d break out in cold sweats or turn pale—some physical change always occurred.
But I remained completely composed, no change in expression.
Here, she’d consider two possibilities.
That I used some method to block it, or that I was vastly stronger than her.
“I’ve said my piece, so I’ll be going now.”
I turned with leisurely steps toward the city exit.
Naturally, the organization members blocked my path.
“You really think you can just walk out of here?”
“Honestly, I’d appreciate it if you let me go. I’m not confident I could win against you and all these numbers.”
“Yet your voice drips with ease. Makes me curious what your face looks like under that bag.”
“In exchange for a gift, I’m confident I could take a few companions with me as payment for my life. If you’d like.”
I flicked my finger, pointing at Aston.
Precisely, his left arm.
“I’ll even throw in that arm of yours.”
“You bastard!”
An organization member beside Aston, unable to contain his rage, ground his teeth and stepped forward.
Aston grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
“Enough. Let him go.”
“Boss, why?!”
“You gonna defy me?”
“...”
Aston was a cautious man.
Not content with sneaking into the black market, I’d even repelled his skill—an unforeseen element.
He anticipated significant casualties if we fought.
Labyrinth City was currently rife with factional strife; suffering major losses here could shatter the fragile power balance, so he held back.
Truth be told, that was just the official reason. The real one was that he liked me.
I’d shown the exact brand of crazy he craved, flaunting it fully.
⚙ AFFINITY SYSTEM ⚙ Elza Sirian takes an interest in you for responding leisurely without losing courage amid the crowd. Affinity +10 “It’s my whim. I’ll let you off this time.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“But there won’t be a next time. If you set foot in my city again, I’ll hunt you to the ends of hell and kill you.”
With the king’s permission granted, the wise move was to leave quietly without retort.
The old me would’ve done just that.
But...
“Who knows? I see it differently.”
I added one more line.
“When we meet again, things will be very different.”
“You won’t back down so easily next time? That’s exactly what I want to say.”
“True, we might cross blades.”
In my regression days, we’d clashed before.
Sometimes staking our lives, sometimes I’d taken his in fierce exchanges.
But...
“We might also fight back-to-back.”
“Hilarious. Me, with you?”
“You never know with the world. In the future, we might clink glasses and chat.”
“...”
“Haha, I’ve said too much nonsense. I’ll be off then.”
I entrusted my body to the light.
...
“Hoo.”
Aston leaned against a flickering streetlamp and gazed up at the sky.
A black-masked figure knelt beside him.
“Shall I pursue?”
“Who?”
“The guy who just left the city, obviously.”
He gripped the sword sheath at his waist tightly.
Still hung up on letting the man escape, he gnashed his teeth.
“Give the order now, and I’ll tear him limb from limb and lay them at your feet.”
“No need. I already sent Jake to investigate. We’re tracing from the merchant he traded mana stones with—info will come soon.”
“But if he leaves Labyrinth City!”
“Don’t worry. He won’t leave this city.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“...”
Indeed, why did she think that?
Aston—no, Elza herself couldn’t put this feeling into words right now.
Logically, her subordinate was right.
But she trusted her instincts.
At the very least, the man she’d just seen wasn’t the type to flee in fear of Aston.
More than that.
‘You never know with the world. In the future, we might clink glasses and chat.’
‘Why did he look at me like that when he said it?’
She’d caught the sorrowful emotion in the eyes peering from that distant bag.
“Await orders. Stand by until then.”
“...Understood.”
The black mask vanished like mist at his words.
Left alone, he looked up at the sky once more.
“Nice weather.”
A cloudless night, stars shining bright.
A landscape contrasting real time, nothing but an artificial sky.
The black screen she’d seen since birth.
A view she’d never felt much about in any moment.
But...
“The stars seem brighter tonight.”
For some reason, she felt a thrill of excitement.