So This Was the Power of Authority?
Bang!
Kael kicked the door open without warning, leaving Tommy and Jack standing there with their mouths hanging open.
Seriously, why kick a perfectly good door and make such a scene?
The commotion drew every eye in the restaurant toward Kael and his party.
With one hand in his pocket and a shameless grin on his face, Kael strode inside.
What a textbook thug.
Luke watched him and thought exactly that.
Everything about Kael right now was rowdy and low-class—his behavior, his attitude, his tone, even the way he walked. He looked like the very definition of a street punk.
And this guy is the guard captain?
Luke had spent plenty of time in Nox dealing with all sorts of scum, but this kind of man was a first even for him.
At first, he’d assumed Kael was just some idiot puffing himself up on the strength of his rank.
...But that sword wasn’t something some common hoodlum could have used.
Even now, if he closed his eyes, that moment still lingered before him, so vivid it almost felt like a dream.
Rank and status aside, if you walked the path of the sword, you had no choice but to be captivated by that flawless single stroke.
And yet the man who had wielded such a perfect blade was now...
...swaggering around like that?
Luke felt not just complicated, but outright despondent.
“What is this? Customers are here, and not a single face shows itself?”
Luke knew he had no right to say something like that himself, but... well, honestly, it was a little embarrassing.
And he wasn’t the only one thinking it.
“...Can you please stop doing this?”
What? Did I say something wrong?
Was it really so unreasonable to say that if a customer had arrived, somebody ought to come out and greet them?
First impressions were already a failure. What mattered now was how they handled things going forward.
Just then, a loud voice rang out.
“Who the hell are you guys!”
Several large men with heavy builds thundered down from upstairs.
They came stomping over, glaring at Kael and the others.
“You bastards... where do you think you are, causing trouble here?”
“Here? It’s a restaurant. I came to eat. Is there a problem?”
Kael tilted his head, all innocence. His calm attitude only seemed to throw the thugs off balance.
What the hell is with this guy? Is he sick or something?
The place was disguised as a restaurant, but it was really a trading house for stolen goods and contraband smuggled in from foreign lands. In Nox, there probably wasn’t a soul who didn’t know that.
And yet this bastard had the nerve to show up and say he’d come for a meal?
“Why don’t you show us to a table? It stinks in here, so keep your distance.”
“...I swear, I’ve seen every kind of lunatic in my life, and you’re in a league of your own.”
The bulky man gave a dry laugh and reached out toward Kael, intending to scare him off with nothing more than a threat.
Given the difference in their builds, a little pressure on the shoulder should have been more than enough to subdue him.
But that was a huge mistake.
The instant the man’s hand shot out toward Kael—
Whoosh!
Kael snatched his wrist in an instant and yanked hard while hooking a leg around his own.
A trip, the old street way of throwing someone off balance.
The thug had no chance to respond before he went down in a most undignified heap.
Thud!
“Oops. Looks like the floor’s awfully slippery. You really should clean better.”
For a brief moment, silence fell.
Then the other thugs lunged at Kael.
Kael didn’t panic. He simply took a step back and said,
“Luke.”
“...Haah.”
As though he’d been expecting this all along, Luke let out a long, suffering sigh and stepped forward.
“Enough. Just enough.”
“...That was my intention as well.”
Luke answered curtly, then drew his sword and started swinging it straight from the scabbard.
Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!
He looked utterly annoyed, but the results were unmistakable. With nothing more than concise, economical movements, his sword struck each man cleanly in a vital point.
Every time the blade flashed, the hulking brutes dropped like leaves in an autumn wind.
The matter was settled in an instant.
...Damn, he’s strong.
Watching from behind, Kael couldn’t help but think it.
Luke looked like some ordinary drunk at a glance, but his skill was the real thing.
Kael felt a little proud. To think he’d landed such a high-performance lackey on the very first day.
And besides...
Is this the power of authority?
He was causing a complete ruckus in someone else’s establishment, and yet nobody was coming to arrest him.
Why?
Because I’m the guard captain.
The taste of power, felt for the first time, was awfully sweet.
Kael smiled in satisfaction and strolled through the wreckage to claim the largest table he could find.
“Mind bringing me a menu? I’m starving.”
He was so hungry his stomach felt like it had already glued itself to his back.
“...What? Someone came looking for trouble?”
Dining, the manager of The Course and an executive under Bipolar, frowned deeply.
He had just been informed by one of his subordinates that a customer was causing trouble at the shop.
Given the nature of the business, that sort of thing happened now and then. Of course, every time it did, they handled it appropriately, so it never became a serious issue.
But today was a little different.
“...The whole place was wiped out?”
Apparently the customer had beaten his men.
All of them. Every employee stationed at the shop.
How was that even possible?
Dining’s brow furrowed. Since taking over The Course, this was a situation he’d never once encountered.
Normally, I’d send a request for support to the organization, but...
Doing that would surely damage his reputation.
He’d be seen as someone who couldn’t even handle a single customer, and people would start questioning his competence.
In a criminal organization, results were everything.
And below him, wolves who wanted his position were always waiting for a chance to bite.
“...Should I send for support?”
“No. Wait a moment. I’ll go and see him myself.”
Dining rose from his seat and straightened his clothes.
Dealing with unexpected situations like this was part of a manager’s job, too.
Steeling himself, he left the manager’s office.
But once he saw the scene for himself, he was so dumbfounded that words failed him.
...What the hell are these guys?
A thug with a vicious face was sitting in a chair, one foot propped on the table, whistling as if he owned the place.
Everything about him—his posture, his expression, even the atmosphere around him—screamed delinquent and insubordinate.
Dining was briefly stunned, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Ahem! Pleased to meet you. I’m Dining, the manager of The Course.”
He greeted them as politely as he could, but Kael only blinked at him without the slightest reaction.
“Uh... sir?”
“Did you come to take my order?”
“...I’m afraid our restaurant only operates by reservation. Please visit us again another time.”
“By reservation?”
Kael snorted.
“Bring me the guest list.”
“...Excuse me?”
“You said it’s by reservation, right? Then bring me the list.”
Kael already knew exactly what this place was.
A contraband trading house disguised as a restaurant.
The guest list for reservations was, in effect, also the list of people buying forbidden goods.
“...I’m sorry, but that’s impossible under our establishment’s policy.”
“Oh? If that’s the policy, then it can’t be helped. Anyway, I’m not leaving until my food comes, so figure it out.”
“If you insist on being so unreasonable, then we’ll have no choice but to call the guard.”
“Oh, I’m the guard captain.”
Kael pulled something from his pocket.
It was a badge bearing the imperial emblem: a silver sword crossed with golden wings, proof that he was a commanding officer.
“...”
Dining’s pupils shook.
He hadn’t noticed because of the thug-like attitude and the rough look in his eyes, but now that he looked again, the man was wearing guard uniform.
That’s... the guard captain?
The words rose all the way to his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them aloud.
“If you’ve figured things out, why don’t you hurry up and bring out the food? I hear the dishes here are supposed to be excellent.”
“...”
Only then did Dining realize it.
Kael had come here knowing everything already.
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
Suppressing the emotions threatening to spill out, Dining bowed.
Not long after, the dishes really did start coming out one by one.
Proper luxury fare at a glance.
Venison marinated in herbs and wine, steaks, meat pies—an extravagant spread he’d never even had the chance to lay eyes on before.
Steam rose from the freshly served dishes, carrying a dangerously delicious aroma.
Tommy and Jack were half out of their minds just looking at the table loaded down with food.
“You two eat first.”
“M-me, sir?”
“Yeah. You must be starving. Don’t be shy.”
Kael offered the food with a warm smile, but neither of them could bring themselves to move.
They were hungry, that much was true. But...
...Who knows what’s in this stuff?
This wasn’t an ordinary restaurant. It was a “contraband trading house” wearing a restaurant’s skin.
They’d caused all kinds of trouble in a place like that, so had they really prepared normal food for them?
They couldn’t be sure.
Anxiety suddenly washed over them. Just as Tommy and Jack were about to smile awkwardly and refuse—
“Eat. Now.”
The smile vanished from Kael’s face. Realizing that this wasn’t a suggestion but an order, the two of them swallowed their tears and shoved the food into their mouths.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
They were eating under duress, yes, but—
Mmph!
The taste was so sublime it practically made their eyes pop open.
They’d spent so long eating things that barely deserved to be called food that tasting a proper meal like this brought tears to their eyes.
Luke and Kael, who had been watching the two with expressions of pity, also picked up their spoons.
Their verdict after tasting the food was simple.
It’s edible.
It couldn’t compare to the modern food Kael had tasted back on Earth, but among everything he’d eaten here, it was easily the best.
“...Is it to your liking?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Not bad.”
“Ha ha... I’m glad to hear that.”
Dining’s eyelids twitched.
For a second, he nearly lost control of his expression.
As the manager of The Course, he was a rather exacting gourmet. His tastes were finicky, and his cooking skills were excellent as well.
Every dish on the table had come from his own hands.
He hadn’t prepared for this situation specifically, but he always kept fresh ingredients and cooking tools on hand.
That was why he’d been able to produce a meal like this on such short notice.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Kael and the others, who were stuffing their faces with Dining’s food, patted their overfilled stomachs with satisfied expressions.
“Hah... I can finally live again. So how much do I owe you?”
“...You’re free to go today. Please consider it a small token of my sincerity.”
“Oh? Since you’re being sincere, why not be a little more generous?”
“...Excuse me?”
“You know, being in the guard and all, money’s been a little tight.”
What a shameless bandit...
“O-of course. W-we should, naturally, take c-care of that for you. Ha, haha...”
Dining’s smile, forced up from sheer willpower, trembled all over his face.