Time to Grease Our Bellies
So, maybe it was time to grease the wheels a little.
He’d picked up a new lackey. A fairly capable one, too.
Sure, he was an alcoholic, and Kael had nearly been killed by the man’s hand, but in the end, things had worked out exactly as Kael had planned.
“...I haven’t forgotten my promise.”
Luke stared straight at Kael.
Looking at him, Kael thought, His face isn’t actually bad.
His hair was a mess, his skin looked dry and rough, and his eyes had no life in them, but the features themselves were fine enough.
And he does seem to have skill.
He was that talented at such a young age—so why the hell was he living like someone who couldn’t even die properly?
Honestly, Kael couldn’t make sense of it.
Still, I guess he’s got his reasons.
But Kael didn’t have the luxury of worrying about other people’s troubles right now.
A promise was a promise. Since he’d nearly died himself, he fully intended to squeeze every last bit of value out of this arrangement.
There was just one thing he needed to do before that.
“Let’s eat first.”
Maybe it was because he’d been using his body so much.
His stomach felt like it was trying to stick to his back.
The news that Luke had been defeated by an outsider spread quickly.
The more closed-off a group was, the faster rumors tended to spread.
And since Luke had been attracting love calls from both Iron Thorn and Bipolar, the incident instantly became the hottest topic in town.
People who had actually seen Kael and Luke fight bragged about it in taverns as if they’d done the fighting themselves, and with every retelling, the story grew more exaggerated, more absurd.
Before long, the news reached the ears of the bosses of Iron Thorn and Bipolar alike.
A massive building stitched together from abandoned grain warehouses at the far end of the harbor, with steel plates and spiked nails replacing the windows.
This was Iron Thorn’s stronghold, the place where its members gathered.
“...Luke lost?”
Hagen, the boss of Iron Thorn, frowned. It was the most unbelievable thing he had heard in a long time.
Luke was a strong man Hagen had personally acknowledged.
Even if he’d been living like a broken shell lately, the essence of a person didn’t change so easily.
Like a lion, no matter how old or sickly it became, it was still a lion.
Luke was a lion.
Even now, though he had lost his pride and was wandering aimlessly, if the chance ever came, he would reclaim his former majesty.
That was why Hagen wanted him. If he could get Luke into his hands, he was certain he could push aside Bipolar, the thorn in his side, in an instant.
And yet Luke had lost to an outsider?
Of course he was confused, but the rumor itself was hard to believe.
And to think the brand-new commander was the one who took Luke down...
Something was off.
It simply made no sense.
“...What the hell is Luke up to?”
Hagen scowled. It was as irritating as having a giant thorn stuck in his throat.
The biggest problem now was that there was no easy way to smooth over this irritating situation.
No matter how much Hagen might lord over Nox like a king, the truth was that he was still only the head of a criminal organization.
Criminal organizations couldn’t survive by being strong and vicious alone.
They needed sharp instincts.
They had to read the room, wherever and whenever they could. That was the fate of any organization living in the shadows.
He knew the empire was in chaos. The emperor had fallen ill, the national treasure of the empire had disappeared, and the actual rule of the empire was now in the hands of the crown prince.
In the middle of all that chaos, it was suspicious enough that they’d sent some green kid to Nox and called him a commander. But now that commander had supposedly beaten Luke the moment he arrived?
If Hagen swallowed that story without question, he wouldn’t deserve to be called a crime boss.
“...This is insane.”
His head throbbed. If he made any careless move in a situation like this, it wouldn’t just damage his organization.
Iron Thorn itself might collapse into dust.
He could act like a big shot in Nox, sure, but the moment the empire decided to step in and send troops, it would all be over. They’d be swept away without even putting up proper resistance.
The empire was that kind of existence. An absolute power no organization on the continent could dare challenge lightly.
Just then, one of his subordinates spoke up.
“Boss, if you order it, we can deal with that Kael bastard right now...”
“What?”
Hagen’s face twisted hideously.
What the hell was this idiot saying? Did he want to ruin the whole organization?
This is why stupid bastards are useless...
Hagen’s stomach boiled. All these fools knew how to do was swing their fists and call it a skill.
It was enough to make him sick. How could someone spout such thoughtless nonsense in a situation like this?
“S-sorry...”
When Hagen glared at him with a look that could devour him whole, the subordinate quickly apologized.
Taking a deep breath, Hagen pressed both thumbs hard against his temples. His head was pounding.
“...Listen carefully. For now, do nothing. I forbid any action that might draw attention! If any of you think you can ignore my orders and get away with it...”
His eyes flashed coldly, and the Iron Thorn members collectively swallowed hard.
Hagen was a vicious man. Especially when punishing traitors or members who disobeyed orders on their own, he was capable of truly horrifying cruelty.
We’ll have to watch and wait for now...
Hagen forced down his rising anxiety.
Fortunately, Iron Thorn wasn’t the only criminal organization in Nox. Bipolar, that thorn in his side, would surely have some reaction to this too.
They might choose to watch and wait like I am.
If they had half a brain, they’d know that making a reckless move now was far too early.
That kid’s name was... Kael, wasn’t it?
He didn’t know what the young commander was after, but he had no intention of letting him do as he pleased.
“Haa...”
With a sigh, Hagen slowly dragged a hand down his face.
“...You two messing with me right now?”
Kael looked at Tomy and Jack with an expression of utter disbelief. The two of them gave awkward smiles and scratched the backs of their heads.
What the hell is this...
It wasn’t like he’d expected much in the first place.
How good could guard rations possibly be? As long as it filled his stomach, that was all that mattered. Taste wasn’t even on the table.
In the capital, a meal usually meant a slice of bread with butter or cheese and a bowl of thin soup.
Standard guard food. For Kael, who had lived in the modern world, it was pretty pathetic, but it was still better than starving, so he’d adapted to it well enough.
He’d figured Nox might serve something around that level too.
Instead, all he got was a black lump of bread-looking something that he had no idea when had even been made.
“Hey, you two rats. Care to explain?”
Kael glared at them sharply.
Jack, sweating coldly, stammered out an explanation.
“W-well, you see. As you can tell, things aren’t exactly great for us... The guy who used to be our rations officer quit ages ago, and eating out every time would be too expensive, so we’ve basically had to fend for ourselves...”
It was beyond pitiful. It was downright miserable.
Kael stared at the rock-like bread in silence.
It’s a stone.
Looking closer only made him more certain. This wasn’t bread; it was a stone. Something no human being should be expected to eat.
Still, there was an old saying that even a stone bridge should be tapped before you cross it.
For final confirmation, Kael lifted the bread-shaped rock and smashed it against Tomy’s head.
Thunk!
“T-Tomy!!”
Tomy collapsed on the spot.
It really is a stone.
A bit of blood had smeared across the rock after the test.
Kael was sorry for Tomy, but truth had to be established somehow. What had happened was simply what had happened.
What mattered was how to deal with the problem now.
These criminals are eating steak every day, and I’m supposed to eat this as the guard captain?
If he’d still been just an ordinary guard, Kael might have endured it. But as the guard captain, he absolutely could not let this slide.
“Luke. What do you usually eat?”
“Well, I... just whatever I’m given...”
“So basically you just mooch off people?”
“...”
Luke quietly looked away.
That bastard really was shameless when you looked at him.
No wonder he was swinging a knife at his superior without warning.
At this rate, Kael was starting to think the only normal person in this city was himself.
He let out a sigh without meaning to.
Still, I do have some pride as guard captain. I can’t go around extorting innocent citizens.
He might be short on money, but he wasn’t short on dignity.
Begging for food didn’t sit right with him at all.
Then, while he was still thinking it over, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Wait a second... as long as they’re not innocent citizens, that’s fine, right?”
A change in perspective.
If the target wasn’t some decent citizen but garbage that was rotting away society from the inside, then there shouldn’t be any problem at all, right?
Kael’s lips curled upward.
“Hey, you two rats. Get up.”
“C-captain! Tomy still hasn’t come to!”
“Want me to wake him up?”
Kael flashed a creepy smile and picked up the stone—no, the bread—again. Tomy, who had been knocked unconscious, suddenly snapped his eyes open and scrambled to his feet.
“Sleep well?”
“Y-yes, captain! Thanks to you, I slept great!”
“Good. If you want to sleep again, just say the word. I’ll put you down any time.”
Each time Kael casually tossed the stone around, it made a heavy sound that bread absolutely should not make. Tomy’s face drained of color.
“I-I’m fine! I think I’ve slept enough!”
“Really? Then let’s get to work.”
“W-work... you say?”
Tomy swallowed hard, already sensing something ominous.
Kael led the guards out of the office. Putting Tomy in front as the guide, he strode forward.
“C-captain? M-maybe you should think about this a little more. From where I’m standing, this feels like a very hasty decision...”
“Really? Then should I take a nap and think about it?”
“...No. I think this is an excellent choice.”
Tomy guided the way while silently hurling every curse he knew at heart.
At last, they arrived at a restaurant.
And not just any restaurant, either. It looked rather upscale.
Once they reached their destination, Kael studied the expressions of the people around him.
Tomy and Jack were stiff with tension, while Luke wore his usual sullen expression. He didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts about it.
“This is the place you were talking about?”
“Y-yes... This is it...”
“Good. Then let’s grease our bellies a little.”
With a grin, Kael kicked the restaurant door wide open.