Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: The Land Forsaken by the Stars (2)
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The limousine took us to a large private estate in the suburbs of Osaka.
It was a place lined with traditional Japanese houses, making me feel as though I’d stepped into the Edo period.
As I took in the scenery, which felt more like Kyoto than Osaka, I noticed a sign hanging next to the main gate with Japanese written in elegant calligraphy.
‘How do you even read that?’
The translation device didn’t extend to written text, so I had no idea what it said.
I took a picture of the characters with my smartphone and ran it through a translator.
‘Kurōshi?’
It was Japanese for ‘Black Cow’.
“Is that Kurōshi the name of your organization?”
I asked the young man named Koshiro, who had come to guide us.
The youth, with his intimidating appearance and regent-style pompadour, answered in a cheerful voice that didn't match his looks at all.
“Yes! That’s right! The Oyabun is a Taurus Gakseongja, so he came up with the name Kurōshi!”
Seriously? An organization named Black Cow.
“That’s a… fine name.”
“Hahaha! Doesn’t it just brim with manly spirit?”
I wonder if he knows what that term means in Korean.
Well, of course he doesn’t, or he wouldn’t be reacting like that.
‘A Taurus Gakseongja, huh.’
So even in this land forsaken by the stars, you had to be at least of the Zodiac-class to lead a major organization like this.
As I followed behind Koshiro, lost in thought.
“H-Hey, Oh-jin, did you hear these guys are Yakuza?”
Ha-eun, who was walking beside me, whispered as she tugged on my arm.
“I didn’t know either.”
“Of all the people he could introduce us to, he picks the Yakuza.”
Ha-eun let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.
She seemed flustered by the unexpected situation, but she showed no signs of fear.
‘Well, of course.’
No matter how menacing these Yakuza might seem, to a 9-Star Gakseongja like her, they were probably no different from neighborhood delinquents.
Truthfully, even I didn't feel the least bit afraid.
Just a little bewildered.
“This way.”
*Screeeech.*
Koshiro, leading the way, slid open a long door that must have been over ten meters wide.
“Oyabun! I’ve brought the guests!”
Koshiro stepped inside and bowed a full ninety degrees.
Inside the spacious, classroom-sized room, menacing-looking men in black suits were seated in two neat rows. In the center, a man in a yukata sat in a formal seiza posture, as still as a pine tree.
It was a scene straight out of a Yakuza movie.
‘So that must be Sakaki Ryo.’
I looked at the man seated at the head of the room.
He had a short buzz cut.
A vivid scar was carved into his left eyebrow, and the bulging muscles visible through his loose yukata radiated power.
He was a man who possessed a charisma so intense it dominated the room.
As I was inwardly marveling at how a Yakuza boss had such a different aura.
“Koshiro.”
Sakaki, who had been sitting like a statue, spoke in a low voice.
And then.
“—You damn fool!!!”
*KABOOM!!*
A command like a roar.
An formless shockwave erupted, striking Koshiro’s bowing form.
“Keuk!!”
Koshiro’s body was thrown into the air, where he spun three times before crashing acrobatically to the floor.
“Wh-What the?”
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Ha-eun’s eyes went wide as she looked back and forth between Koshiro, now embedded in the floor, and Sakaki.
Sakaki shot to his feet, his gaze burning as he fixed it on Koshiro.
“How many times do I have to tell you that a man does not bow his head so easily!!!”
“I-I’m sorry, Oyabun!”
“Your voice is too quiet!!”
“I’m sorry!”
“A little more! Shout with enough spirit to shake your very soul!!!”
“I’M SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”
“Right! That’s it, Koshiro!!”
Sakaki, who had been sitting with a stoic expression, broke into a wide grin and stood up.
He strode over and helped the fallen Koshiro to his feet.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m perfectly fine, Oyabun!!”
“Good! That’s my boy!”
He slapped Koshiro on the back and let out a hearty laugh.
“Good work bringing our guests! You can head home and rest for today!”
“No, Oyabun! I want to work more!”
“You idiot!!!”
*POW!!*
Once again, Koshiro’s body was sent flying.
“Keuk!!”
“Resting well when you have the chance is also the mark of a true man!!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Your voice!”
“YES, SIRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”
What the hell is wrong with these guys?
I stared, mouth agape, at the ridiculous skit unfolding before my eyes.
Ha-eun leaned in close and whispered.
“Oh-jin. Are Yakuza normally like this?”
“No, I think these guys are just weird.”
“Are they even real Yakuza?”
“…I have no idea.”
I had come expecting grim and savage gangsters, but what I found were people who looked like they’d jumped straight out of some B-grade Yakuza video game.
“Well, they don’t seem like bad people, at least.”
“Just strange ones.”
So this is what Cheon Sang-gil meant by a ‘unique personality’.
“I’ll be taking my leave, Oyabun!!”
“Rest well and see you tomorrow!”
“Yes, sir!!”
This time, Koshiro gave a slight nod of his head before sliding the door shut and leaving.
Sakaki turned around and extended a hand toward me.
“My apologies for being so rude in front of our guests.”
Thank goodness he at least knows that was rude.
“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kwon Oh-jin.”
I managed my expression as best I could and shook Sakaki’s hand.
His hand, covered in calluses, radiated an unidentifiable heat.
“The Wolf of Vega! I’ve heard the rumors! So, the old man sent you to me?”
“Yes.”
“Khahahat! I owe the old man a great deal. Welcome!”
Sakaki boomed with laughter, shaking our clasped hands up and down.
As expected of a Taurus Gakseongja, said to be unmatched in strength, my arm, caught in Sakaki’s grip, flailed about like an inflatable tube man in front of a newly opened store.
“What are you all doing?! Bring two more tables!”
“Yes! Oyabun!”
One of the men sitting in a row shot up and scurried off somewhere.
Not even a few seconds later, he returned with two luxurious low tables and set them down in front of Sakaki.
“Come, sit and make yourselves comfortable.”
Sakaki said, gesturing to the tables.
‘Comfortable here?’
I let out a dry laugh and sat down.
With rows of grim-faced Yakuza sitting on either side, the atmosphere was anything but comfortable.
“How has the old man been these days?”
“He’s doing very well.”
“Hah! Of course, the light of Tamrangseong would never fade!”
“How did you two come to know each other?”
A member of the Seven Stars and the boss of a Yakuza organization.
It was a combination that was hard to imagine.
“Are you aware that there aren’t many Gakseongja in Japan?”
“Ah, yes. I am.”
“Things are better now, but back then, there were so few Gakseongja that monsters would roam in packs through the middle of the city. The situation was dire.”
It was a fact I knew well.
It was also the reason Japan had earned the derogatory nickname, ‘The Land Forsaken by the Stars’.
Normally, a country with so few Gakseongja would have been wiped out completely.
But in a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune, Japan had few Gates to match its small number of Gakseongja, which spared it from being erased from the map.
“Back then, I had just formed a vigilante group to fight the monsters… but honestly, it was a hopeless battle.”
Sakaki smiled bitterly as he continued.
“It was then that I met the old man.”
“Did Cheon Sang-gil drive out the monsters for you?”
“No, that wasn’t it.”
Sakaki shook his head.
“Then…?”
“Instead, he gave me his teachings so that I could fight the monsters myself.”
Teachings?
“You mean he taught you a skill?”
It wasn’t impossible for one Gakseongja to teach another a skill, but that was only possible if they shared the same constellation.
Since each Stigma handled mana differently, it was fundamentally impossible to transfer skills between different constellations.
As far as I knew, Cheon Sang-gil was a Capricorn Gakseongja.
He shouldn’t have been in a position to teach Sakaki anything.
“He didn’t teach me a skill. To be precise, he taught me how to handle my Stigma… no, ‘taught’ isn’t the right word. He made me ‘realize’ how to handle my Stigma.”
He made him realize how to handle his Stigma?
“…Is that possible even with different Stigmas?”
“That is what makes the old man so great.”
Sakaki’s lips curled into a grin, his eyes filled with respect.
“In any case, thanks to his teachings, our vigilante group was able to drive out the monsters.”
And that vigilante group became the present-day Black Cow… no, Kurōshi.
“I see.”
“What is your relationship with the old man?”
“Hmm.”
I didn’t really have an answer to that.
There was no relationship to speak of; we had only met and talked once.
“Hah! If it’s difficult to say, you don’t have to. I’m sure he wouldn’t have sent you to me without a good reason.”
“Thank you.”
I gave a slight nod.
“So… why have you come to see me?”
“Have you heard of the Black Star Cult?”
“Of course. Things have been quite noisy lately because of those bastards.”
A chilling killing intent formed in Sakaki’s eyes.
Seeing that look, I smirked and continued in a firm voice.
“I came here to eliminate the Black Star Cult.”
“Hoh.”
His eyes gleamed with interest before he burst into a hearty laugh.
“I was wondering how I could help the old man’s guest, but it seems there was no need to worry!”
He slammed his hand on the low table and continued.
“We, too, are hunting those demonic bastards!!”
Demonic bastards.
I didn’t know what the Seahorse faction had been doing in Japan, but unlike Isabella’s Leech faction, it seemed they had been acting in a very ‘Black Star Cult-like’ manner.
‘If our goals are the same, this should be quick.’
If I could cooperate with the Kurōshi organization, it would be a huge help in hunting down the Seahorse faction.
“Then how about we cooperate?”
“Excellent!”
Sakaki accepted the proposal immediately, as if there was no need to even consider it.
“With the Wolf of Vega by our side, we couldn’t ask for a more reliable ally!”
*Khahahahat!!*
Excited at the prospect of an unexpected ally, Sakaki let out a laugh so loud it seemed to shake the room.
With each booming laugh, the bulging muscles visible through his yukata seemed to pulse and redden.
“What are you all doing?! Bring out the sake, now!!”
“Yes, right away, Oyabun!”
“The Muni! Bring out the Muni!”
“Ah. But the missus cherishes that one….”
“You idiot!!!”
“Uwaaaah!”
*POW!*
One of the members was sent flying backward by a shockwave.
“A man never looks back!! We’ll just tell my wife that Koshiro secretly took it and drank it later!!!”
“Th-There’s a way like that!!”
So much for being real men.