The Winter of Limbus Pit (4)
The VIP room of the Fleischhof, the finest restaurant (and inn) in D-Sector. In the room, lit by the flickering glow of red lanterns, a bizarre sound echoed. Slurp-!
"Ahhh!"
Wangcho was devouring the broth-drenched pasta with his chopsticks like a starved beast. I had plenty to say upon seeing that, but I decided to just hold my tongue. 'Please... just change the noodles to regular wheat noodles... I beg you...'
I turned my head, feeling that if I watched Wangcho any longer, I might suffer a Qi Deviation. There, Eri was dozing off, leaning against my shoulder. Watching the girl sleeping so soundly, I reviewed the events of the day. 'It certainly was a day filled with... a lot of things.'
I’m over forty in mental age, so I’m fine, but it was a rather heavy day for young Eri to bear. 'You worked hard trying to act more mature than a child.' From the moment she fired that gun without hesitation to protect me, to the point where she forced herself to activate her magic—it was far too cruel a day for a child.
Just then, Tao Chen, having finished his pasta, picked at his fangs with a toothpick and spoke.
"Teacher. Did you say they sent people from your family?"
"Yes. Otto is like this, so they said they are sending personnel to retrieve us."
Limbus Pit and Sanctum Hill were not a distance one could travel on foot. And in this situation, using public transportation would be an act of madness, so I decided to wait quietly at the restaurant until the family sent someone. However, it seemed Wangcho interpreted the story of the family sending people in a different way.
"Um... may I ask what kind of position you hold within your family, Teacher?"
"Well, let's just say I cured the Head of the House, who was hovering at death's door due to a fever."
"Hiiik...!"
Wangcho still didn't know my real face, let alone my family or identity. At this point, I was curious how long this misunderstanding would last, so I didn't bother to clarify.
'Strictly speaking, it’s not even a misunderstanding.'
Are you a noble? YES. Are you a personal physician? YES. Are you deeply connected to the family? YES. Aside from the fact that I’m a young master, most of it wasn't even a misunderstanding. If you ignore the fact that the noble family in question is a Ducal house, the rumors were almost entirely true.
"Uh... um..."
Wangcho rolled his eyes. It was the weight of the word 'noble.' Even a Baron, the lowest of the nobles, is a disaster in Limbus Pit. Since rank is determined by one's level in this world, a Baron is at least a 2nd-Class. In this back alley, where a single 1st-Class like Wangcho rules everything, there is no point in counting above 2nd-Class. It’s the same principle as how a civilian doesn't need to distinguish between a nuclear bomb and a gun—if you get hit by either, you’re dead.
"Um... by any chance, are there any etiquettes I must observe in front of that person..."
Before Wangcho could even finish his sentence—Clang-.
With the sound of a crude doorbell, the air in the restaurant shifted. An old man in a pristine, wrinkle-free tailcoat with neatly combed white hair stepped into the restaurant. It was Wilhelm, the butler of our house.
The dignified butler changed the atmosphere of the restaurant, which hadn't quite shed its barbaric air, just by appearing.
"It’s the Head Butler."
"Pardon?!"
"Etiquette... well, as long as you don't curse, you'll be fine."
The Butler Wilhelm I knew wasn't a rigid person. He was strict during Eri's etiquette lessons, but that was only during class. Usually, he let it slide even when Eri spoke to me informally. ...Though he sometimes sniffled, saying he was moved that I finally made a friend, which I think is a rather unpleasant misunderstanding. Anyway.
'Besides, he’s not a scary old man like the clichés in other stories.'
I, too, initially thought Wilhelm was an old man hiding his true power. He looked like he could have swung a sword in his prime. Or perhaps he was an expert with wires. But after asking my father, I learned that the butler didn't reach that position through martial prowess. He was originally a boy who delivered newspapers in the slums, and he rose to that position by helping my father with various tasks. He wasn't a common white-haired powerhouse from the media; he was just a pure expert in practical affairs. So, there was nothing for Wangcho to worry about. In fact, there was a high chance the butler would like Wangcho for his sociable personality.
"You don't need to be too afraid, so let's go."
I supported Eri and headed toward the butler.
As Julian, supporting Erika, approached the butler, the butler's eyes widened. But that was only for a moment. The butler wore a smile on his face and guided Julian to the car.
"Mr. Schnabel. Please board the car first. I will have a brief conversation with this gentleman before we depart."
Wink.
The butler winked at Wangcho, unseen by others. It meant he would play along with Julian's act. Julian was taken aback, thinking that the sense of a butler with decades of experience was not to be ignored, as he had matched his pace immediately without even being told.
With that, Julian and Erika boarded the car.
"Otto. Thank you for your hard work. First, let's go up and arrange for a healer. The scar is... oh."
The butler admired the wound on Otto's face.
"...Is this treatment the work of the Teacher? You grafted skin from another area."
"Can you tell just by looking?"
"Haha. It is a humble talent. That aside, the treatment is artistic. At this level, there won't even be a scar with low-level healing."
Hmph. Julian felt smug at the butler's praise. As expected, you only see what you know. 'I was almost sad because no one had recognized it until now.' While Julian was feeling good about the butler's praise as he boarded the car, the butler loaded Otto into the passenger seat as well. Then, he turned toward Wangcho. The butler called out to the boss of the red-light district with a gentle attitude.
"You must be the boss of D-Sector, Tao Chen?"
"...Yes, sir."
Wangcho quickly scanned the butler to assess him. It was a skill ingrained in his body to survive in this gutter.
'Rank is 0-Class. Around 1st-Class, and augmentation surgery is... none.'
He was a powerless old man whose neck Wangcho could snap in 5 seconds if a fight broke out. Even the lean muscles felt beneath the tailcoat were nothing special; he was just an ordinary old man who was a bit healthier than his age suggested. However, Wangcho did not make the mistake of judging Wilhelm solely by what he saw.
'Since he is a noble's butler, I can assume he is the spokesperson for the Head of the House.'
The world is not all about martial power. Wealth, power, connections, political influence, intelligence... The world was not easy enough to act like a lawless ruffian just because you had the martial power of a 1st-Class superhuman.
So Wangcho placed the butler's position slightly above Mr. Schnabel's. Unless Mr. Schnabel was a blood relative of the Head of the House, there was no way a guest would be above the Head Butler.
"I am at a loss for words that you, sir, would know a man like me."
"Hmm."
The butler scrutinized Tao Chen. After observing Tao Chen for a few minutes, the butler took an envelope from his pocket and handed it over.
"This is a small token of gratitude for protecting the distinguished guest of our family."
Thud. It was too thin an envelope to be called a reward. I wonder if there’s even a single gold coin in there. Thinking the noble was stingy, Wangcho glanced at the contents. And his eyes widened at the number of zeros written on the check inside the envelope.
"...!"
Damn it. You call this a small token of gratitude? The world you live in is truly different. ...The words rose to the tip of his throat. Of course, since his neck was precious, he didn't spit them out.
"Th-thank you."
"Excellent. Usually, people in this area would suspect and refuse such goodwill first. Seeing you accept it immediately without refusing shows you are a friend who knows etiquette."
Of course I do. That sentence rose to the tip of Wangcho's throat. It was etiquette he learned after getting an earful when he traded with Mr. Schnabel's merchant guild in the past. What did they say back then? That suspecting such things is actually insulting the other party, and depending on the person, you might even have to be prepared to lose your head.
"Please continue to take good care of the Teacher."
The butler turned after saying that. At that moment, Tao Chen gulped and asked toward the butler's back.
"W-will the noble lords be coming in person for this matter? Or are you sending the Knights Order?"
At those words, the butler, who was heading to the driver's seat, stopped. And he turned his head slightly to meet Wangcho's eyes. A faint, somewhat doting smile hung on the old butler's lips.
"Have you ever seen a noble send a Knight because they were bitten by a rat?"
"Th-then, are you going to overlook this matter...?"
"A noble's sword and honor are not that light. But it is not as if one can just sit still when a rat gets on one's nerves. When catching rats, one must leave it to the cleaners."
The old butler looked up at the sky. It was just starting to snow a little. A precursor to a heavy snowfall. The butler wiped the sleet that had settled on his glasses and said.
"Ah, come to think of it, this old man hasn't handled such tasks in a long time, so I made a mistake in the process. I should have prepared someone to guide the cleaners, but I forgot."
The old butler, having finished cleaning his glasses, pointed to the envelope Tao Chen was holding.
"Could I ask you to guide those cleaners? If you finish successfully, I will give you the same amount."
Damn it. I was hooked. Was this the plan from the start? That sentence dominated Tao Chen's entire mind. That old man never made a mistake in his work. He had intended to do this from the beginning. But there was no way to refuse now.
"A-all right."
"Thank you."
Clack. The butler closed the driver's side door. Wangcho stared blankly at their vehicle as it drove away. And one hour later.
The 'cleaners' arrived, and—
"Sigh... this is why they say not to mess with nobles..."
As soon as he saw the faces of the cleaners who had arrived, Tao Chen let out a deep sigh.
Clomp-clomp- The sound of military boots treading on snow spread through H-Sector. Tao Chen glanced sideways at the black group following behind him.
'Merkur Merchant Guild Special Execution Department - Ironclad Special Task Force... was it?'
They were alien beings that didn't fit at all with the disorderly streets of H-Sector. Black leather trench coats reaching down to their knees. Fedora hats and goggles pulled low to block the heavy snow. Gas masks connected to bags on their backs. And the unique magi-tech weapons and firearms they held in their arms.
'How much do those equipments cost?'
Tao Chen’s habit of sniffing whenever he was faced with expensive items kicked in. Perhaps because they were expensive equipment maintained with expensive oil, a pleasant scent tickled his nose. The more he calculated the value of those scents, the more Tao Chen could realize the unfairness of this world.
'It’s been a while. Seeing guild soldiers tearing through Limbus Pit.'
In this country, military power is the exclusive property of nobles and the imperial family. Since those who know well that power comes from the tip of a sword would never allow those other than themselves to hold the hilt. However, the nobles themselves could not actively utilize their knights and soldiers even if they possessed them. This was because a sword and armor engraved with a family crest were not items that could be sent just anywhere. This was a problem that arose because if you dispatched a knight just because you were bitten by a stray dog, the status of that knight would be degraded to that level. Plus, the cost-benefit ratio was terrible.
And yet, entrusting it to mercenaries who know neither honor nor loyalty was untrustworthy. To scratch that itch, capitalists began to provide 'services' in the gray zone to the nobles.
'I remember a guy from H-Sector messing with a noble and causing that mess back in the day... Sigh. Did these guys learn nothing back then?'
Hitmen, task forces, security departments, external special task processing units... The names vary depending on the nature of the merchant guild. But the essence of them being the hunting dogs of the guild never changes anywhere. Their roles are largely twofold. One is to handle things that are too dirty for a knight to deal with and too dangerous to entrust to mercenaries—in other words, scratching those tricky parts that nobles find annoying. The second is to clean up the dirty secrets of the guild while the noble covers their back in exchange.
And the reason the soldiers were dispatched this time fell into the former category.
'This is why I say please don't mess with nobles... Anyway, these gutter rats.'
Tao Chen looked up at the sky. Large snowflakes were pouring down as if to cover all the filth of the world. But despite that white sky, looking ahead, this black procession was advancing, crushing the snowy field.
'Come to think of it, hasn't it been a while since the Merkur Merchant Guild grew enough to hire soldiers? Then they created these monsters in just two years?'
An organization of soldiers with high loyalty and training requires a lot of time and money. That’s a given. They would learn the guild's secrets while handling all sorts of dirty work, so if their loyalty were low, secrets would leak out. That’s why soldiers are only possessed by 2nd-Class or higher merchant guilds with deep pockets and infrastructure. And most of those guilds are long-standing ones with traditions spanning decades. Yet, the Merkur Merchant Guild, despite being a newcomer, had cultivated soldiers that didn't fall behind them. And in just two years at that.
'Teacher... what on earth did you raise? Did you brainwash them or something?'
Wangcho recalled the killing intent that had poured toward him just before he left the restaurant entrance. As soon as they heard that Director Schnabel had been attacked, the goggles that had been orange turned blood-red. Thanks to that, Wangcho felt a chill down his spine for the first time in a while.
'Even if individuals aren't 1st-Class, if you combine the fact that they received that magi-tech equipment and training...'
If it were a one-on-one fight, Wangcho would win with a sweat. But if there were two, they could slit Wangcho's throat. And now, such monsters were sweeping through H-Sector in unit strength.
"Um... aren't you cold?"
Tao Chen muttered, exhaling a puff of breath. But the men following behind didn't even reply. There was no idle chatter, no tension before going into battle, no excitement before killing. They just stared ahead with dry gazes from behind their goggles. The spare magazines and grenades on their chest armor just clattered occasionally, breaking the silence.
"Hold."
Just then, the department head at the lead suddenly sent a hand signal. The 12 members following behind stopped in unison. The department head asked toward the empty air without taking his gaze off the front.
"Guards?"
"Handled."
The answer came from the alley next door. 'Whoa, you scared me.' The special detachment that appeared without a sound approached, dragging the limp red-nosed clowns. In their other hands, blood-stained daggers were held in a reverse grip.
"Then we proceed."
The unit, which had increased to 20 by merging with the special detachment, continued to advance through the snowy field. As they headed toward the theater, curtains were drawn on the windows of the streets. Before long, they arrived at their target point.
"We've arrived. That right there is the theater of those crazy bastards who are dying to not laugh."
Tao Chen said, adjusting the handaxe slung over his shoulder. Although he was in charge of guiding, that didn't mean Wangcho had any intention of just standing by. Since he had been wronged, he had to return it to set an example, didn't he? Since the conversation with the unit had already ended, the department head didn't say anything about it.
"21:58. Two minutes faster than scheduled. The guidance was clean, too. I will report to the superiors. There will be additional compensation."
"Uh, uh, thank you..."
Click-. As if promised, the sound of pulling the pumps of magi-tech shotguns rang out through the blizzard simultaneously. At the end of their gaze stood an old and massive building.
[Lachenden Grand Guignol]
It was a theater that a noble who liked the art pieces supplied by the Lachenden Carnival in the past had provided. The department head stared at the faded theater sign without a word.
"..."
"Department Head?"
"... It is nothing. The goal is annihilation. Do not secure any prisoners."
From inside the gas mask, the department head's voice rang out. The two people standing side-by-side next to the department head nodded and headed toward the entrance.
Bang!
There was no warning shot or demand for surrender. The heads of the two clowns who were trembling at the entrance were crushed like tomatoes.
"Cease stealth and enter."
Hiss-!
With that signal, the magi-tech reactors they carried on their backs began to violently spew steam. Powerful magic imprints generally have very poor fuel efficiency. The Ironclad special task force solved that disadvantage by carrying the reactors on their backs. The steam spewed from their backs flowed through pipes into their breathing apparatuses. The department head took the lead, spewing sticky steam through the exhaust port at his mouth.
"Eisen vergisst nicht. (Iron does not forget.)"
"Eisen vergisst nicht."
With that slogan, countless red lenses rushed into the dark theater.