Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: What Comes First (4)
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“N-No way…”
Gido was stunned. He never expected the most famously built fixer on Galliante Island to fall from a single blow from a woman.
Rian shook his head as he watched Tess dust off her hands. With her like this, how was any man supposed to find an opening?
Eljain swordsmanship was famous for its precise attacks. Trained to strike vital points in any situation, she was a master of technique who could nullify differences in strength or size in an instant.
‘Reaching the tip of the chin with minimal movement is impossible without deadly concentration. You should count yourself lucky. If Tess had drawn her sword, you’d already be dead.’
Shirone stared blankly at the motionless fixer. Was this the movement of a swordsman, an equal to a mage?
If Rian’s strength was avant-garde, Tess’s strike was like watching a perfect work of art.
“Wow, that was so cool, Tess.”
“Hehe! Was it okay? Shirone really has a good eye. Unlike someone standing over there.”
Rian ignored her and approached Gido.
Gido was trembling, terrified. As Rian grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, he made a final, desperate struggle.
“Kuh! Do you have any idea where you are?”
“We came because we know where we are. Does this look like a game of hide-and-seek? Where’s Amy now?”
“Damn it! Who’s Amy? How should I know?”
“Instead of killing you, should I just stop your heart?”
“Damn it! I really don’t know! If you’re so curious, find her yourselves!”
“This son of a bitch!”
Rian’s eyes blazed with fury. He was already on edge, and this guy was just rubbing salt in the wound. Weren't they doing this precisely because they didn't have time to search?
Just as he was about to ramp up the intimidation, Shirone approached.
“Rian, that’s enough. What’s the point of asking him something he doesn’t know?”
“Then what do we do? Are we really going to check every room?”
“No, we just have to ask him what he *does* know.”
“What he knows? Like what?”
Gido flinched when his eyes met Shirone’s.
It was a different kind of anger from Rian’s. A chill shot up his spine, and he felt his bones freeze.
“Ask him where Falcoa is.”
* * *
The Royal Palace tavern. First basement floor.
Those in the know called this place the ‘Temple.’ Of course, no gods resided here. But sometimes, people did see gods—due to the hallucinogenic effects of ‘Loop.’
In the end, the 4th-floor VIP rooms were just for tourists who came based on rumors; the real deal was all in the basement.
The ‘Temple’ was a space for those mad with pleasure, where various drugs were distributed and the stimulant Loop could be enjoyed to one’s heart’s content.
The Temple was divided into 17 sections, and its total area was 1.5 times larger than the first floor.
It was always packed, but Room 4 was never open to customers, as it was the room of Falcoa, the enforcer of the Freeman organization and the owner of the Royal Palace.
“So I asked the guy. ‘You wanna be buried after you die, or die after you’re buried?’ You know what he said?”
“Hehehe, what did he say, boss? What did the guy say?”
Falcoa shouted, feigning death.
“Pleeease save me!”
“Ahahaha! That’s hilarious! Pleeease save me!”
“Puhahaha! My stomach hurts from laughing! Pleeease save me!”
Falcoa’s underlings pounded the table, bursting into maniacal laughter. But Jis couldn’t understand it at all.
‘These lunatics. What the hell is so funny about this? They’re insane.’
“Oh, darling. Why aren’t you drinking?”
Jis just shook his head, not even making eye contact with his partner. He felt that if he drank here, he might never see tomorrow’s sunrise.
Jis subtly turned his head to look at Falcoa’s partner. Amy, the one he had brought, was sitting there.
Of course, she didn’t understand Falcoa’s sense of humor either and was just staring straight ahead with a dry expression.
‘She’s really something else. I’m scared to death, but her expression doesn’t change at all.’
A normal woman, especially a young girl, would be trembling with fear, surrounded by ruthless gangsters. But there wasn’t a hint of tension on Amy’s face.
‘Ugh, it’s so loud. I’m bored. I want to go back.’
Amy wet her lips with the drink in front of her. As a noble, she had learned how to drink, but she wasn't the type to enjoy alcohol and didn't usually drink at all. The amount she had sipped out of boredom barely covered the bottom of the bottle.
But alcohol was still alcohol; she felt a little lightheaded and drifted into sentimental thoughts.
‘What am I doing here right now?’
Of course, she had come because she felt sorry for Jis. But on second thought, it didn’t seem like that was the only reason.
‘He’s probably back by now, right?’
Why was Shirone late? Perhaps he’d gotten caught up in some unnecessary trouble again.
From Shirone’s perspective, the world was full of pitiful people.
‘Heh, was I trying to imitate him?’
When she thought about it, the reason she was here wasn’t so different.
She had merely heard the screams of a scoundrel she met at the port—a scoundrel who, admittedly, didn’t seem to have hit rock bottom yet—begging to be saved.
The atmosphere of the drinking party grew more lively. The more it did, the more irritated Amy became.
If he had been forceful, she could have just used her skills and left, but contrary to her expectations, Falcoa maintained his manners.
‘What on earth is he thinking? Should I just make the first move?’
While Amy was lost in such thoughts, Falcoa was also watching her, a wicked smile on his face.
‘I can almost hear the gears turning in your head.’
Amy was likely a high-ranking noble. She exuded a unique noble dignity that looks alone could not replicate.
But Falcoa was completely at ease. He had the greatest weapon to subdue a noble.
No, with this one thing, he could even make a king kneel at his feet.
It was Loop.
Even now, countless high-ranking nobles had become slaves to Loop in the Temple.
If he timed it right and gradually tamed her with Loop, even the proudest noble wouldn't be able to resist.
“Come on, come on. Let’s have a toast, a toast!”
At that moment, a loud crash came from beyond the wooden wall. It was followed by the shouts of the staff.
“Who are you guys! Gak!”
“Hey! Stop them! The boss’s room is in there!”
The door burst open, and three people walked in.
Recognizing the intruders’ faces, Jis shot up from his seat as if he’d seen a ghost. It was Amy’s friends from the port.
Falcoa’s expression immediately soured. He could forgive troublesome customers if they paid several times the price, but having his own turf, the Temple, invaded was a matter of pride.
“What? What’s going on?”
As Falcoa spoke in a humorless voice, his direct subordinates sitting around him shot to their feet. At that, the women, who knew the temperaments of these men, cautiously slipped away.
“Shirone? How did you know to come here?”
Amy asked, her eyes wide.
But Shirone delayed his answer. A maddeningly tingling energy surged up his spine.
The man sitting arrogantly at the head of the table with his legs crossed must be Falcoa. He didn’t exactly look like a monster, but you could tell at a glance that he wasn’t normal.
‘He’s strong, that man…’
It was easy to reveal killing intent. Even an ordinary person could intimidate an opponent if they stared with the genuine intent to kill. But subtly exuding killing intent, as if it were barely there, was not easy.
It was an aura only a professional killer could produce.
‘Amy…’
Why was Amy sitting next to a man like that?
In front of her, who enjoyed tea and coffee, was not a teacup but a liquor glass. The floor was dirty, and the air was foul. Nothing she had seen in her room existed here.
Therefore… she wasn’t here of her own free will.
“Let’s go back, Amy.”
Amy bristled. After all that waiting, the only thing he could say was ‘Let’s go back, Amy.’ He was nowhere to be seen when she was waiting, so what was with this confident attitude?
Amy was angry at herself for feeling happy to see Shirone just a moment ago. From what perspective was Shirone looking at her right now? From a human level, or from high up in the sky?
This wasn’t what she wanted. That’s why she didn’t want Shirone’s help either. She herself could leave this very instant if she put her mind to it.
“Y-You! Do you know where you’re going!”
All the tavern’s employees rushed over. But they couldn’t bring themselves to enter the room of the demon-like Falcoa.
Shirone was dumbfounded. A boss that even his own subordinates feared.
Just how deep and dark was this man’s evil?
Falcoa spoke in a low, annoyed voice.
“Who are you? Do you know what happens when you enter my room without permission?”
“We came to get Amy. Let her go.”
“Pfft, anyone who heard that would think I kidnapped her. Even nobles have to be careful. Especially in a place like this.”
Shirone’s guess was correct. This place was an extraterritorial zone under the protection of the island’s government.
“What are you doing? Send these brats back.”
“Where should we send them back to, boss?”
Falcoa let out a short breath and said.
“To hell.”
The direct subordinates in Room 4 cracked their knuckles and approached. Their presence was on a different level from the employees they had passed so far.
Tess assumed a stance to draw her sword and said.
“Shirone, be careful. All of them are Schema users.”
A strange light flickered in Shirone’s eyes. Coming from the sharp-eyed Tess, it was probably true.
Of course, most students at the sword academy could open their Schema. But for every single thug living on an island, not even the mainland, to be capable of using Schema was definitely strange.
‘Who is he? How can a mere tavern owner command such skilled individuals?’
Shirone stared intently at the subordinates blocking his path. At that moment, an immense emotion struck Shirone’s mind.
“Kuh!”
“Shirone, watch out! It’s Pressing!”
There were many abilities in the Schema system that corresponded to ‘eye techniques,’ but Pressing was the most common among them.
This was because its effect was intuitive, making it good for actual combat, and it could be easily learned just by knowing how to project one’s emotions outward.
Shirone didn’t panic. The moment the opponent’s hostility crushed his lungs, he realized it was the same technique used on him by Adela, the butler of the Carmis family.
But the quality of the emotion was on a different level. If Adela’s Pressing was simply to overwhelm an opponent, theirs was surging forward solely to extinguish life.
Rian gripped the hilt of his straight sword and took a step forward.
“How dare you!”
“Rian! Wait!”
As Shirone shouted, Falcoa’s underlings raised their eyebrows in confusion. This was a Pressing where the killing intent of ten people was applied simultaneously.
Normally, one’s heart should have already stopped, let alone being able to speak.
But Shirone was still standing. And with a faint smile on his lips, no less.
The only person who understood the situation was Amy.
‘Indestructible Body. In a way, it’s an ability that rivals my Red Eyes.’
Pressing could not sway Shirone. No, perhaps it was possible, but not at their level.
Shirone slowly took a step. As he did, the subordinates stepped back with the exact same stride, as if the air itself was being pushed.
Of course, it wasn’t easy for Shirone to let the emotions flow past him either.
It was the pressure being injected by ten veterans who had experienced countless battles.
One couldn’t put a price on emotion, but he estimated it was like waiting for a carriage rushing from a distance while tied hand and foot to the ground.
To be more precise, it was the horror of the moment that carriage arrived right before his eyes, its giant wheels filling his entire field of vision.
In reality, because death awaits, the time one feels that fear is only about 0.1 seconds, but Shirone was currently experiencing that same emotion for over twenty seconds.