Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Using Someone Else's as My Own (3)
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'Huh?'
Jack froze for a moment. The Jerry he knew wasn't the type to cave to a threat like that.
There was a famous story from Jerry's childhood, when he'd killed the boss who used to boss him around.
His temper was so vicious that even the toughest guys in these alleys would click their tongues and say, "That rat's too filthy to touch."
And yet.
"……Kuh."
Jerry suddenly went rigid, like a rat caught in a trap.
"Kuh, kuuugh……!"
His fists trembled as he let out ragged breaths. He looked like he was resisting some invisible force.
But it was no use. The tension drained from his twitching eyes, and his clenched jaw slackened.
Thud.
Jerry dropped to his knees. He braced himself against the ground, his whole body shaking as if overwhelmed.
"U, uuugh……."
He completely submitted, hanging his head low. He didn't move again.
It was as if something unseen had utterly subdued him.
'What…… what's going on?'
Jack couldn't make sense of it at all.
The man had only said a few words, and Jerry was groveling like he'd been stabbed.
'Did he throw a weapon when I wasn't looking?'
Thinking that, Jack started to rise a little.
"-!"
He froze in place.
'The smell.'
That unidentified foul odor from the man earlier.
It suddenly intensified. Thicker and more acrid than before, it stabbed at his nose.
It was as if the stench was pouring out from the man's entire body.
"Ugh."
Jack clamped his nose and mouth shut.
Now he understood. The true nature of the smell coming from the man.
It was the kind of stench you'd expect from a tree rotted to the core, or a carcass swarming with flies and maggots, or a fleshless corpse stripped to the bone.
The smell of death.
"Kid."
The one who had filled this alley with the stench of death beckoned to Jack.
"Come with me."
"……."
Could he escape now and survive?
Jack quickly weighed his options. In just a few seconds, he reached a conclusion.
'No chance.'
The man had subdued two grown men with minimal movement. That meant he was several times better than Tom and Jerry.
So, the odds of Jack escaping him were practically zero.
Jack answered in a small voice.
"……Yes."
The man turned and walked off with heavy steps.
Jack followed silently. It felt like trailing a reaper to hell—his whole body went cold in an instant.
Fortunately, the man entered another alley and stopped. Then he stared at Jack.
"……."
Jack's gaze dropped to the ground. He couldn't bring himself to meet the man's eyes.
'I want to run.'
But his legs wouldn't move. The man's brutality—turning a human into a cripple without hesitation—terrified him.
Above all, the man had tracked him precisely through the crowded market without losing sight of him once.
His appearance in this alley was no coincidence.
'How in the world?'
Jack bit his lip hard. If he didn't, his teeth would chatter on their own.
He shouldn't have fallen for that sweet coin scent. He should have known it was the honey trap of the streets.
'……Wait, could it be?'
A chill ran through Jack's entire body.
[Who carries around this much fairy tale money?]
The suspiciously large amount of fairy tale coins.
And that moment when their bodies bumped—the man's utterly calm demeanor.
'No way…… he knew and did it on purpose?'
Jack was clever and quick on the uptake. That talent had earned him more money than other boys and kept him alive.
So he knew.
That pile of fairy tale coins on the street hadn't been left by chance. It had been set as a trap, jaws wide open, just for him.
"……!"
Jack's face drained of color.
He'd walked right into it. Big trouble. But why? Street kids like him were everywhere.
Unanswered questions piled up one after another.
He didn't get a clear answer to any of them, but instinct told him what to do next.
Step.
As the man took a step closer,
"I'm sorry!"
Jack pulled the pouch from his bosom and held it out with both hands.
"I was wrong! I've committed a grave sin!"
He dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead to the ground.
His arms trembled not just from the weight of the coin-filled pouch. Jack was genuinely shaking.
"I didn't touch the coins! Please forgive me!"
The fear of not knowing this man's intentions. The terror that someone as small and weak as him could be erased from existence like he never was.
Above all, the deathly chill wafting from him.
"Really?"
The man's soft voice poured down onto Jack's crown. Sweet as honey, yet laced with a secretive tone hiding who-knows-what.
"You really didn't touch them? Want me to count them right now?"
He even knew the exact number of coins?
Somehow, Jack thought this man could pull it off. At the same time, he realized the attitude he needed to take.
"I-I did touch it, actually! But I only felt what was inside!"
He had to be utterly truthful, humble and servile. That was the only way to survive.
"But I didn't take even one. You can count them right here!"
"Honest kid."
The man chuckled and picked up the pouch. As its weight lifted away, the heavy fear pressing on Jack's chest eased a little.
"Huu……."
Jack let out a sigh without thinking.
"But,"
The man's next question sliced in like a blade at Jack's throat.
"Why'd you plug your nose back then?"
He even noticed that?
Jack felt a chill down his spine as he answered.
"Th-there was a weird smell."
"What kind of smell?"
"From you, sir, something……."
Jack started to blurt it out, then realized the danger.
"Ah, I don't mean it's a bad smell from you, sir. You have a very refined fragrance."
"You said it smelled earlier."
"Oh no, that's not what I—"
Caught digging his own grave, Jack broke into a cold sweat.
"I'm sorry. My nose is just more sensitive than most. So I picked up a unique scent from you."
"What kind?"
"It was kind of damp and chilling, you know? Even saying it sounds weird."
For a moment, Jack felt the man's eyes flash from under his hood. But it vanished as quickly as it came, like an illusion.
"No, I don't mean it smells like wet laundry from you, sir. What I mean is—"
"Get up."
"Yes, sir."
Jack scrambled to his feet.
The man just stared at him silently. No words.
"Uh……."
Jack didn't know what to do and rubbed his hands together. He was so anxious, scared, and uneasy he felt like he might drop dead.
He'd rolled in these filthy streets for years, but he'd never met anyone who pressured him like this man.
Standing before him made his knees buckle and cold sweat pour out, even though the man did nothing.
"……."
The man kept staring silently. Unable to bear it, Jack mustered every ounce of courage and asked carefully.
"Um…… can I go now?"
"You think you can?"
"……No. I don't think so."
Like a well-trained dog, Jack tucked his tail immediately. He even lay flat on the ground, belly up.
"Is there anything you want me to do, sir? Just say the word."
As if he'd expected it, the man laughed out loud.
"Good thinking."
He took a step toward Jack.
"I need a guide."
"To where……?"
"The black market."
"Ah."
Jack's eyes widened as he let out an exclamation. The man crossed his arms and muttered gruffly.
"The capital's streets are such a maze. Looks like I'll need a guide."
"I know that place."
Jack nodded confidently. Now he understood why this customer needed him.
The black market.
A place that was nowhere and everywhere. Not on a fixed schedule like a five-day market, but opened slyly whenever sellers felt like it.
In the capital's tangled web of streets, finding the black market alone was impossible.
"Leave it to me. I'm confident."
"Good. Lead the way."
At the man's response, Jack swallowed a secret sigh.
'Is this okay?'
He feared whether he'd survive even after guiding him. But for now, he had no choice but to play along.
"This way."
Jack took the lead, navigating the twisted alleys, leaping over sewers, weaving this way and that.
It would be tough for a first-timer.
'Oh, am I going too fast? What if he falls behind…….'
Realizing it, Jack glanced back.
"What? Not going?"
He realized the distance between them hadn't shrunk at all.
"Ah, no."
Truth be told, he'd hoped just a little. That the man might lose his way and leave him behind.
'No such luck.'
Contrary to Jack's hopes, they soon arrived smoothly(?) at the black market entrance.
"Just slip through this gap."
Jack pointed to a narrow slit in the alley.
"Ah, here it is."
Surprisingly, the man accepted it without question. He ran his hand along the alley wall.
"I heard there's a mark near where it opens, and there it is."
His finger pointed exactly to the mark in the wall's corner.
"You knew?"
"Yeah. But not how to get here. Thanks to you, it was easy."
Satisfaction colored the man's voice.
'Now's my chance!'
While the man was pleased, he had to slip away quick. Jack whirled around.
"Then I'll be going……."
"Wait."
Of course.
Jack swallowed a sigh and stopped.
"Got something to say?"
"I have an errand for you."
Jack's hands clapped together politely in a flash.
"What kind of errand?"
"You know the Vent tavern on 5th Street?"
"Not yet, but I will soon."
"Honest. I like that."
The man grinned and said,
"There's one woman there. Go to her and call her 'sis.'"
"Sis?"
"Yeah, sis."
The man kept laughing, as if the thought alone amused him endlessly.
"She'll ask who sent you."
"Then……."
"Just tell her the truth. How you met me."
Jack's face went pale.
"If I say that……."
"Nothing bad will happen like you fear. And give her this paper. Got it?"
A folded paper was between the man's fingers.
It was full of incomprehensible words, but Jack nodded obediently.
"Call the only woman 'sis,' tell her how I met you, sir, and give her the paper. Right?"
"Spot on. Good memory."
The man's hand patted Jack's shoulder.
"Do that, and I'll forget today's business."
In that moment, Jack thought,
'Should I just bolt?'