Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Master of the Back Alley
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‘Does he know? Or is it just a guess?’
Since we were the first to start patrolling District 7, there was no way he could know anything.
Besides, if he had seen me let Hans go, these ignorant medieval folks wouldn't be interrogating me so civilly.
‘I’d be rotting in the lord’s dungeon by now.’
The deliberation was short.
“I was off-duty that day and late for the summons, so I started with the areas that hadn't been searched yet. That happened to be District 7.”
“Hmm… I see. Still, it’s absurd that there was a district left unsearched. Discipline has grown lax.”
William clicked his tongue and sat back down in his chair. He then started opening the desk drawers, searching for something. The captain standing beside him practically jumped, but he didn't dare stop him, his mouth just gaping open.
“So, you didn't find anything in District 7? Since that was the only area the Inner Wall Guard didn't get to, I want to hear it from you directly. Ah, here it is. Oh, an item from House Kenelt. Where did you get this?”
What William pulled from the desk was an elegant, rectangular box containing cigars. Even to my untrained eye, they looked expensive.
His expression softening, William took one out, put it in his mouth, clipped the end, and lit it.
“Haha… well… a relative gave it to me as a gift… haha…”
The captain’s face crumpled instantly. Knowing what a stingy man he was—he never even bought a round of drinks—I had to struggle to hold back my laughter.
“That’s right. We found nothing.”
I answered, suppressing the laugh that threatened to escape.
“Is that so? Tsk. This has become a headache. Phew—this has a wonderful aroma. Care for one yourself?”
William offered me a cigar. Behind him, the captain was frantically shaking his head. Watching him, I briefly considered whether I should take up smoking, but I quickly shook my head.
The people here thought smoking was good for their health, so everyone, regardless of age or gender, smoked with gusto. But I knew that tobacco was just paint for turning lungs black.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Really? Very well. Why did something like this have to happen at such an important time, with a marriage alliance on the line… Tsk.”
William, now with another cigar in his mouth, closed his eyes and waved his hand. It was a clear dismissal. I bowed my head deeply and left the room.
‘Looks like he got away safely.’
The man had the presence of a tiger, not just the looks. I wondered if this was what it felt like to face a detective in an interrogation room.
Even if Hans had been caught, I wouldn't have worried. These ignorant fools, terrified of being bewitched by a devil, would have surely chopped off his head without asking a single question.
‘Anyway, life is about to get tough for a while.’
A sigh escaped me as I recalled William muttering about lax discipline. Drawing from my past military experience, it wasn't a good sign.
‘But the immediate problem is today.’
Normally, after working for days on end due to an emergency, you'd be guaranteed some rest. But in this ignorant place with no labor laws, they wouldn't show such flexibility. I hadn't even slept two hours, but I had to go right back to work.
At least I was fortunate to have good stamina. I promised myself a bath after today's shift and was about to leave the Outer Wall Guard headquarters.
Just then, I came face to face with a woman clad in gleaming silver armor. Her orange hair was tied back tightly, her expression stiff, but even so, her beauty couldn't be concealed.
Out of habit, I scanned the length of her arms and the sword hanging at her waist. It looked quite heavy, though it wasn't particularly long. If we were to fight…
‘Before she draws her Aura, I could take her. If she does… it would be difficult. Damn Aura.’
Then our eyes met, and I quickly bowed my head. In this era, wearing steel was a mark of status.
In this castle, aside from the nobility, very few people could afford such armor. At most, the commander of the Inner Wall Guard and the knights. Among them, the only woman was the knight, Adela.
Clomp, clomp.
As I kept my head down, the heavy footsteps passed by me. Only after the sound faded did I raise my head.
‘They couldn’t catch him.’
A knight wouldn't come all the way to the Outer Wall Guard unless ordered by the lord. The female knight’s face was also subtly creased. The emotion in that expression was clearly annoyance.
It seemed Hans was more resourceful than I thought.
‘Or does he really have some kind of teleportation magic?’
Well, it was none of my business anymore.
***
“Come on, Captain, isn’t this too much? I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. And now you’re putting me right back on duty…”
Kel, with dark circles under his eyes, grumbled.
“You had about three hours to sleep. The problem is you went straight to that woman’s house as soon as you got off duty. Do you really have to be like that?”
“Hey, Rosa said she was scared with all the commotion in the castle these past few days. How could a gentleman refuse a lady’s request?”
“Gentleman, my ass… more like a dog in heat. The mood is still tense, so watch your mouth.”
Kel, about to retort, shut his mouth with a smack of his lips when I scowled at him.
Kel was particularly horny, but the other guys weren't much different. In a castle on the medieval frontier, there wasn't much to do for entertainment, so the birth rate was never a concern.
Of course, if you had four kids, two would die. But these people had ten on average, guaranteeing a birth rate of at least five.
That's why it was always crowded, noisy, and chaotic no matter where you went in the castle.
“By the way, Jojang. Luna next door sent you a letter, but I hear you didn't reply? It’s not like you have another woman… a perfectly good-looking man just swinging his sword all day long…”
“Shut up.”
Luna, like Rosa, was a well-known prostitute. Of course, I didn't know for sure, but I had seen a few men going in and out of her place.
She had been overtly flirting with me ever since I got rid of a man who was pestering her during my patrol.
Luna was beautiful, but there was no way I could bring myself to tumble around with a medieval prostitute.
‘If I get an STD, my dick is royally fucked. You think I'm crazy?’
Before coming here, the shocking photos I'd seen in sex-ed class had taught me the horrors of STDs. There was no way I was going to roll around with a prostitute in this barbaric world, where people were happy to take a shit on the street.
“Ohhh… my apples… ohhh…”
“Hands off, you bastards! You sons of bitches! Get back! I said get back!”
“We are back! According to imperial law, anything that falls belongs to no one!”
“Tsk. That bastard Hans really made a mess of things for a lot of people.”
I nodded at Kel's muttering. The street was a chaotic mess.
Apparently, people thought he might be hiding under the waist-high stalls, as they were all overturned, their fruits and vegetables scattered on the ground.
People swarmed to pick up the fallen goods, and the stall owner was swinging a skewer to fend them off.
“Everyone, back off!”
I bellowed from my diaphragm, and the people, clustered like maggots on rotten meat, warily backed away. As expected, when dealing with these guys, having a loud voice and wearing steel was the most effective method.
“Put down what you’re holding, too.”
“Drop it, you bastards! Can’t you hear me?! Huh?!”
Kel roared, drawing his sword. At that, the people dropped what they had picked up and slowly retreated. As if that wasn't enough, Kel chased after a few of them and landed a few punches. It wasn't necessary, but he seemed to be blowing off steam from the past few days, so I didn't stop him.
“Oh! Thank you! Thank you!”
The stall owner expressed his gratitude and hastily began picking up his scattered goods to put them back. I picked up a few apples that were in good condition.
“...?”
“An apple in the morning is good for you.”
The goat-bearded man picking up apples looked up at me but quickly turned away and resumed his hurried work.
“Thanks, Jojang. I was just getting hungry.”
Kel took a clean, flower-patterned handkerchief from his pocket and began vigorously wiping an apple. I waited until he was done, then swapped my apple for his. Kel sputtered in frustration and started wiping another apple.
‘This is delicious.’
I savored the taste, which surely would have been a Chungju apple back in Korea, and waited for the stall to be put back in order.
After I had eaten about two apples, a little boy in a flat cap approached.
“...The Camellia flower does not wither.”
The boy who came up beside me whispered the nonsensical phrase and then scurried away.
‘Give me a fucking break.’
I knew what the boy’s flat cap signified, and a headache throbbed in my temples. I pressed them firmly. I wondered when they had come up with another stupid password like that.
“I’ll be back in a bit. Keep patrolling this area.”
“Yes, sir. See you later. Whoa—this one’s really sweet. Rosa will love this. Hey! Bag some of these up for me.”
Kel, now peeling an orange, replied. At his shout, the goat-bearded man packed a few oranges into a paper bag with trembling hands.
The boy, having reached a distant alley, peeked out, waiting for me. As I got closer, he ran again, and I followed.
‘He’s going in circles.’
I knew perfectly well where we were going, so why the detour… my patience was wearing thin, and I was about to plant my fist on the kid’s head when we finally arrived at our destination.
It was a shabby tavern with ‘Jexson’ scrawled in crooked letters.
When I opened the tavern door, I saw a group of young men. Their faces still held a trace of youthfulness, and they were all wearing black flat caps, trying their best to look tough. However, they couldn't hide their amateurishness at all.
They bowed their heads deeply when they saw me, and I gave a slight wave of my hand.
“The boss is waiting for you.”
One of them approached and spoke politely. He was trying to be courteous, but his accent was too strong.
‘Boss, my ass.’
The brazenness of the kid made a curse rise to the tip of my tongue.
He led me to a room at the far end of the second floor. Inside, there was a shabby desk that looked like it had been salvaged from somewhere, and sitting across from it was a large man.
“It’s been a while.”
A shaved head, a thick neck and torso, a bushy beard covering more than half of his lower face, and, incongruously, innocent-looking eyes. The self-proclaimed shadow of Casedic Castle, Ska. Of course, others called him Ska the Bear.
“I told you not to call me during my shift, didn’t I?”
“Hey, wait! I couldn't help it! That Hans guy caused us a lot of damage this time!”
“Damage, my ass… you probably just got a few bottles of moonshine confiscated and paid a fine.”
As I predicted, Ska’s eyes darted around, avoiding my gaze. The man, who couldn't even hold his liquor, fiddled with a glass of brown liquid on the table.
I snatched it from him and downed it in one go. The cheap moonshine burned its way down my throat. It tasted awful, but it did a little to wash away my fatigue.
“And I hear you haven't been going home lately? What kind of trouble are you trying to stir up now?”
I grabbed him by the collar and twisted. He was pulled forward instantly. He tapped my hand, as if choking, and shook his head vehemently.
“Ack! N-no, that’s because some unidentified outsiders have come into town, so I was watching them… But where did you hear that… It was Cathy again, wasn’t it! That damned wife of mine! When a man is trying to achieve great things, she should be helping, not…”
I gave a light rap on the head of the man spouting nonsense and let him go. Ska sat back down in his chair, grumbling under his breath.
It was a testament to how little there was to eat in this frontier castle that a guy like this had taken over the back alleys… Of course, his father’s influence had played a big part in his takeover, but so had the fact that he’d once lifted a boulder his own size in the town square, showing off his monstrous strength.
“What outsiders… they’re probably just travelers. Don’t you remember last time, when you made a fuss about suspicious travelers and ended up locked up for a week?”
“This time it’s different, they’re really strange…”
I cut him off, holding out my palm. He grumbled but took a worn pouch from a drawer and handed it to me.
I opened it and saw a few silver coins inside. It was a pittance for a deal with the master of the back alleys, but since the guard’s salary was peanuts, I was grateful for even this much.
“You remember our promise, right? Aron in the light, and I in the shadows, we will take control of Casedic Castle.”
Ska’s expression suddenly hardened as he spoke in an unfittingly low voice. I couldn't stand his shameless act any longer.
“Control, my ass. Isn’t today your day to work at the carpenter’s shop?”
“Ah! Dammit! Is it that time already? The old man’s going to nag me again!”
The man, who had been putting on a serious act, shot up with a startled look, hastily grabbed a pile of clothes on one side, and bolted out.
“Go take control of the carpenter’s shop! And try not to get beaten by a man over sixty!”
I cackled and shouted at his retreating back as he scurried away.
As I reached for the nearly untouched bottle of liquor on the table, a piece of paper Ska had written on caught my eye.
- It’s been three days since the bastards entered the castle, and they haven’t come out. Suspicious. They may deceive others, but they cannot deceive the King of Shadows, Ska.
‘If he knew how to write, he’d be working at the lord’s castle.’
I had told him that several times already, but he insisted on going to the rough carpenter’s shop, muttering about being the master of the shadows. Spouting bullshit about leaving the sunlit world to me.
I poured some moonshine into the glass and took another sip. It felt like swallowing fire. The faint, musty smell confirmed it was the lowest grade of moonshine.
I put the empty glass down and tucked the pouch he’d given me inside my leather armor.
Then I saw the paper with the notes on the outsiders. I hesitated for a moment before taking it. It was probably a wild goose chase, but checking on such things was what I got paid for.
‘Tsk.’
If I checked it out and it turned out to be nothing, I could just smack Ska on the head a few times. It wasn't a bad deal.