Chapter 434
Chapter 434
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 434
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Before dawn broke, Shurilen was bustling unlike its usual self. Carriages bearing the Investigation Bureau's seal scattered in all directions like migratory birds.
"Investigation Bureau. We request your cooperation."
"Wh-what are you guys? This is private property! If you're gonna barge in like—"
"Out of the way!"
"You bastards!"
It had all started from Jian's mouth.
"Found it! Over here! Here!"
"Damn it... Block them! The bastards..."
The new drug "Home" began revealing itself in various corners of the city. The darkness of the city sprouting up abruptly in completely unexpected places.
Amid sporadic battles, large-scale Home operations were being seized by the Investigation Bureau.
* * *
Kang Seol slipped away from the Investigation Bureau and returned to his lodging to wash up. He rinsed away the sticky blood clinging to him and the lingering stress from the night's memories.
Shwaaaaa...
"Hoo..."
After toweling off and changing into comfortable clothes, just as he was about to get some refreshing sleep.
Knock knock...
"...Looks like sleep's off the table."
Click...
Creeeak...
"Ah... Sorry. I knew you were resting."
"...No, it's fine. Come in."
"Then..."
"Ahem... It smells a bit musty, but bear with it and come in."
Marieju and the nobles poured into Kang Seol's lodging.
There were three in total.
One of them was the guy Kang Seol had personally booted back when the carriage returned to the Investigation Bureau.
"...Are you alright?"
"Hmph... A criminal's desperate flailing doesn't faze me. Though a blemish on this precious body is a national loss, all things considered."
Kang Seol glanced past the noble entering with a face twisted in pain and thought,
'Should've kicked him harder?'
He must have misjudged his strength, worrying he'd injure him too badly.
"Take a seat carefully, Para-nim."
"No need! I can handle my own body... Ugh... There! Help me there."
"...Didn't I tell you to just lie down comfortably?"
"With a national disaster right before us, I can't afford to play sick! My father would think me pathetic."
This noble's name seemed to be Para.
Marieju cleared her throat and introduced the men.
"This is Para-nim, who handles a significant portion of the funds lent by the Silver Lion Society. From the Whislow family."
"Whislow..."
"Yes. The family that amassed vast wealth distributing preserved seafood. Para-nim is one of the heirs to the Whislow house."
"Enough with the nonsense... My father always said wealth is vulgar and one must free oneself from it."
Para Whislow puffed up proudly.
Kang Seol stroked his chin, roughly gauging the situation.
'The Sansi family rallying, with Whislow as the backer?'
Political influence from the former, massive funds from the latter.
He'd thought it was just a group Marieju led alone, but it seemed more substantial than expected.
"And this is from the Maduin family..."
"Solka."
"An honor to meet you."
"No need for flattery. It's humbling to meet someone of your renown in person."
"Hmph... Humbling, my foot. Such excessive humility."
Para was the typical unlikeable type.
Kang Seol had seen his share of such people and brushed it off.
It was a one-time meeting anyway.
"But why visit at this late hour...?"
"Jian... a baron affiliated with the so-called 'Council,' one of their leaders, right?"
"That's my understanding."
"His information was quite... no, extremely accurate."
"So that means..."
"Thanks to him, we recovered a substantial amount of Home. Roughly ten thousand geun..."
"Enough to feed the city's citizens to their fill."
"......Yeah."
The recovered amount was six tons.
Were they raising elephants or something? The massive stockpile of drugs they'd produced.
"Jian said the Home in Shurilen was all there was. What do you think?"
"Doesn't seem like a lie..."
"Why's that?"
"He was an odd one, but I didn't sense any cunning from him."
Kang Seol had felt it from the moment he first saw Jian.
- Don't kill me. Kill that guy.
- What?
- I know more. That guy's nothing special.
Jian was someone profoundly twisted somewhere.
"But you only got the Home locations out of him?"
"No, we were trying to learn about the Council members too. But..."
"But?"
"He says he doesn't know all the Council members. And the ones he named have already gone missing."
"They fled the moment Jian was caught, fearing he'd talk."
"That's the straightforward assumption, isn't it?"
"Hmm..."
They'd stopped the new drug from spreading in Shurilen, but other cities remained at risk.
'I didn't expect it to be resolved in one go, but...'
One month was too short to eradicate all the parasites clinging to the vast organism that was the Federation.
Should he be satisfied with capturing Jian?
"But isn't it strange?"
"What's...?"
"This Jian guy... why does he only speak the truth?"
"I find that suspicious too, but..."
"Actually, there's one more thing I need to tell you, Kang Seol-nim."
"Yes? What...?"
"Jian is asking for you."
......What?
They'd only met once in the ossuary, and he'd been transported by carriage after. Why ask for him specifically?
"He says he has something important to tell only you. He's clammed up since."
"Hmm..."
"Will you... come with me?"
"...Haa, no choice then."
* * *
Shurilen Investigation Bureau.
When Kang Seol, who had returned to his lodging, showed up again, the bustling bureau fell into a momentary hush.
"He's here! He's here!"
"It's the Committee Chairman!"
"Report to the top! Hurry!"
Investigators rushed to guide him.
"What's with everyone?"
"Oh, you didn't know?"
Marieju whispered to Kang Seol.
"You've already become a legend in the Bureau. Just for capturing a bigwig whose face no one even knew in one night."
"...Just luck. You're all making a fuss."
Then, a few bearded investigators approached Kang Seol.
"Uh... greetings. We're not here for anything else, but did the red-haired female investigator come with you?"
They were hiding something behind them. The faint fragrance gave away that it was a bouquet of fresh flowers.
"...She didn't come."
"I see. That's a shame..."
"More importantly, what is it...?"
"Ah! You might misunderstand. We're colleagues of the investigators who went missing and were safely rescued thanks to her."
"...Ah, I see."
He knew Karen had helped rescue them.
"Truly... we thank you so much. We thought they were dead and had no face to show their families... Could you please relay our deepest gratitude?"
"Have they all returned to their families?"
"Hahaha! One had a wife pregnant at the time... He's getting the best care in the hospital! They all said to convey their thanks."
"I see..."
Kang Seol smiled faintly in response.
"I'll make sure to pass it on."
Kang Seol took the flowers they handed over.
"You rarely smile like that."
"I'm easy to smile."
"When we visited earlier..."
"There was a thug in the mix, wasn't there?"
"...Sorry about that. I wanted to punch him myself, but his father has considerable influence in the Silver Lion Society..."
"Even the Sansi family watches other houses' moves."
"Not houses—money lines."
"Well, whatever. Next time he annoys me..."
"I know. Punch away then. Can't be helped."
Kang Seol was quickly shown to his seat. The room's layout resembled an interrogation chamber.
"Then, I'll wait outside. Try to eavesdrop if possible."
"Won't be possible, so don't waste your energy."
"Hmm... Guess so..."
Kang Seol entered the room where Jian waited.
Creeeak...
"You're here? My friend."
"...Who said we're friends?"
"After meeting twice, we can be friends, right?"
That's why he was so peculiar.
"Haa... Don't waste time. Tell me why you called me here."
"Sit. We'll talk slowly once you sit."
"Quickly."
"Slowly."
"......Hoo."
Kang Seol pulled out the list of questions the investigators had requested while speaking.
"Thanks to you, we found the Home in Shurilen, but unfortunately missed all the Council members."
"I figured. No matter how fast we moved, we couldn't beat those guys."
"So the Home isn't that important?"
"Ah, the stuff we left behind? No choice. Couldn't move it all in hours... And burning it risked you not spilling, so."
"How big a hit is today's blow to you?"
"It'll hurt quite a bit. Caught us completely off guard. Like... having a nail pulled, maybe."
"So no real damage."
"Sorry. They'll probably hole up even deeper now."
Jian grinned.
"What kind of freak are you?"
"Me? Curious about me?"
"Yeah, why so calm?"
"Because I know my future?"
"Future? Like being tortured for more info?"
"Nah, no such future. Never."
"...You're full of yourself."
"You know why I pointed you out?"
Jian fiddled with the necklace around his neck, chuckling.
"Why?"
"You're the only one I can talk to. Everyone here is suffocating... All trash."
"...Watch your mouth."
"No, just stating what I feel. I can't lie, you see."
"I've seen you lie plenty."
"Whoops, correction. Can't lie to a friend."
"I'm not your friend."
"Then let's be friends. Can we?"
"No."
"You're mean. Heh heh..."
"Stop circling. Why me?"
Jian sank into his chair and muttered.
"The nobles gawking like I'm some rare beast, the investigators wiping their asses—they're all just living for today."
"Not you?"
"Not me... nor you."
"What?"
"We're the ones preparing for tomorrow."
"Just sophistry."
"Friend, hear me out."
Kang Seol felt an ominous vibe. It wasn't the emotion from facing evil.
Ambiguity.
That defined Jian.
"My words might answer your earlier question. So listen."
"...Speak."
"You know, I was born in Gurujant. Heard of it?"
"Mining city."
"Right? You know it well? Dad unknown, mom was a whore."
"...What?"
"A whore. First time hearing that?"
"Nah, not really."
It felt bizarre, like hearing a friend's family history from someone he knew.
"Ah... Those were good times. Even as a baby, I understood Mom's life. That she had no choice to survive with me."
"Mature kid?"
"Nah, just pretending to accept it, ignoring it. I was a huge troublemaker. Until Mom died."
"How'd she die?"
"Beaten to death while entertaining. By a drunk squad leader."
"......"
Kang Seol felt repulsed by this man. His constant grin felt anything but friendly.
"Didn't get revenge. Understood it instantly."
He pointed a gun-shaped hand at his temple and said,
"To survive in this village, you gotta pretend to accept, pretend not to know."
"......"
"Or the adults kill you."
"Guess no revenge then. Fitting."
"Haha! What could I do? Soon as I was old enough, I went into the mines to work."
"Adjusted?"
"Yeah, tried to understand. How grueling it is slaving in the mines all day. How breathless. How depressing."
"Did you?"
"Total failure! Couldn't understand at all. It was doable."
Jian's world felt creepy.
Like a single lantern tossed into excessive darkness.
"So I killed them."
"Revenge after all?"
"Late, but yeah."
"How?"
"You know Kokoro?"
Kokoro.
A bird similar to Earth's canary.
Miners always watch for gas poisoning; Kokoro chirps frantically if it senses breathing issues.
When Kokoro chirps, everyone evacuates the mine.
"Stabbed a guy who went back for his Kokoro."
"Got kicked out, huh."
"Haha! Fled before that! Never been caught till now. First time."
"...Go on."
"Became a bad guy. Talented, though. Learned magic tending an old necromancer, picked up how the underworld runs firsthand."
"......"
"Since Mom died, never done a single good deed in my life."
Jian recounted those feelings.
"Made a fortune. Climbed to positions crushing others. Shady types approached me. I acted even shadier."
"And?"
"Then, it hit me. Memory of the day Mom got beaten to death."
"...What?"
"Mom said it. With her swollen face, to me."
Jian acted out the whore's final moments.
"Jian, promise when you visit Mom, you've done a good deed."
"......"
"I remembered. Of all times, I remembered. I remembered the promise."
He stared at Kang Seol with empty pupils.
"I've never done a good deed, so I don't know. But from that day, I vaguely held hope in my heart."
Kang Seol suddenly recalled the moment he'd wanted to shut Jian down.
'This guy...'
He seemed oddly pleased.
"A chance to do a good deed came."
"...Sophistry after all."
"......"
Slide...
As Kang Seol opened the door to cool his head, Jian freaked out.
"Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaaaah!"
"...What the."
Kang Seol quickly pinned him down.
"Kek... kehk... kihehehe... Don't you get it? Don't you?"
"What nonsense..."
"I'm the Kokoro."
"...What?"
"Kokoro cries when there's danger. When it feels like it'll die."
"......You know something, don't you?"
Jian grinned.
"If you don't stop them, the North will be razed in three years. Then Pandea next."
"...Can you take responsibility for that?"
"Can you believe me?"
"......"
Jian glared at Kang Seol with teary, breathless eyes.
"Can you believe me?"
Kang Seol sat back down.
Thud-!
He flung the conversation table aside with one hand, leaving only air between them.
"Don't hide it."
"Never hid. I'm Jian. Born in the mines, no dad, mom dead."
"Jian, what do you want from me?"
"Help me. Only you can."
"Help how?"
"Chase them."
"And you?"
"Let me go."
"You're insane."
"I am insane. Wanna... test it?"
Ting-!
Jian suddenly flicked a coin.
Thud-!
As Kang Seol caught the coin and made a dubious face, Jian grinned and said,
"Heads or tails?"
"What?"
"What am I? Heads... I'm alright. Tails... I'm fooling you."
"What do you mean?"
"When choice hesitates, look at the coin. Asks if I'm the Kokoro warning of ruin, or a demon thrashing to live."
As Jian laughed, a new option appeared unlike before.
[Critical Crossroads! You have received cooperation request from Jian, Baron of the Council. He has ruled thoroughly as evil, which is indisputable fact. What will you do?]
1. Reject Jian's proposal. (Adventure continues.)
2. Accept Jian's proposal. (Adventure content and goals will change significantly.)
3. Defer choice. (Situation may improve or worsen.)
4. Hear more from Jian.
......
Critical crossroads, huh.
'...He's messing around.'
Kang Seol looked into Jian's eyes and said,
"I'll cooperate with you."
"Huh? Really? The coin...?"
Creak...
Kang Seol crushed it without checking heads or tails.
"Doesn't matter what you are."
"...What? You trust me?"
Kang Seol said coldly,
"I can control you."
Jian beamed.
"As expected, only you."
[Charm activates. Additional favor gained.]
[Acquired Gray Ally 'Necromancer Jian.']
['Necromancer Jian's' rank is unknown.]
[Gray Ally's actions cannot be predicted.]
[Gray Ally is both seed of ruin and herald of salvation.]
[Adventure with Gray Ally may change in content.]
......