79. Information Guild

Black-haired backs of heads... well, not all of them were black-haired—some were bald—but anyway.

I slowly looked over the petty thieves with their heads pressed to the floor in front of me. Fourteen of them.

It took less than three minutes to subdue them all. I didn't kill any of them. Though there were a few who nearly died from shattered spines and lungs punctured by broken ribs.

I opened up their airways, roughly set their broken bones, and fed them the Potions I'd brought along just in case. Saved them all.

So yeah, subdue is the right word.

"What'd you say your name was?"

I looked at the man at the counter squirming right next to me.

"Kuhuk... huk, kruhup..."

"I only ask once. What's your name?"

"Grruuugh..."

Thud!

I smacked the back of his head hard.

His head, which had been slightly raised, slammed into the floor, then bounced back up from the impact.

"Name."

"Kruugh..."

Thud!

I hit him again.

"Name."

"Grrugh..."

Thud!

Hit him again.

"Name."

Smack!

"Name."

Craack!

"Name."

Crunch!

"N—"

"Ro, Ro, Rosli! It's Rosli!"

"Rosli?"

"N, no! Ro, Rosli!"

"That's what I said. Rosli."

"Th, that's not it, Ro, Ro... Ros—"

Craack!

"It's Rosliiiii!"

"Right. Rosli. You can talk just fine, but you sure put on a hell of a show, you piece of shit."

Crunch! I gave him one last hit, then poured a Potion over his shattered jawbone.

Sizzle, sizzle—bubbles rose from the Potion where it touched his skin, beginning to regenerate the broken bone.

Leaving him behind, I looked at the ones still pressing their heads to the floor.

"So. Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?"

Twitch, twitch—the ones with their heads down squirmed, unsure what to do.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure I said I'd only ask once."

I sighed and smacked the cheek of Rosli, who was leaking bloody tears beside me.

Slap!

"Ophelia Blumin. Where is she."

Slaap!

"Where is she."

Craack!

"Answer."

"Kuhhuhp, hup! Underground, she's underground...!"

Rosli, who'd been taking the slaps in place of his subordinates, answered.

"I already know that."

It wasn't the answer I wanted, so—craack!—I hit him again.

"Kuhhaaack! Then! What! Why do you ask... I mean...?"

"Don't run your mouth. Only answer what I ask."

One ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more hit—bang!—to the back of his head.

Rosli's body shuddered and he lost consciousness.

Should I wake him up or not?

His tongue's all mangled and his jaw's shattered, so his pronunciation's shit anyway. Maybe I should find someone else?

I shook the blood off my hand and looked at the trembling backs of heads.

None of them appealed to me.

I brought my palm down on Rosli's face.

Craack! went the sound.

"Huaaaah!"

Rosli snapped awake in an instant.

I shoved a whole Potion bottle into his mouth and lightly uppercut his jaw.

Clink. The bottle shattered inside his mouth, and the Potion, now mixed with glass shards, seeped down Rosli's throat.

Cough, cough—as Rosli made pained sounds, I jabbed my finger into his throat to open his airway, then asked.

"Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?"

Rosli, who'd been exhaling blood and ragged breaths, forced his mouth open.

"Un, underground..."

I slapped him again.

"Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?"

Rosli's pupils shook mercilessly.

I held up three fingers.

"One."

"Th, that's..."

"Two."

"O, Miss Ophelia is..."

"Miss?"

I slapped him again.

"Kuhahaaack... I'm sorry! I, I'll bring Ophelia!"

Finally, the answer I wanted.

A smile spread across my lips.

"Yeah."

Rosli immediately got to his feet.

I kicked Rosli's shin and shattered the bone.

"Hurry back!"

"Kruuugh..."

Since he didn't answer, I quickly stomped on his left hand.

Crunch—with the sound of biting into pickled radish, Rosli's left hand was crushed.

"Answer."

"Y, yes! I... I underst, huk... I understand...!"

This time I stomped on his right hand.

It was crushed just like the left.

"Keep your answers short and simple."

"Y, yesh!"

He stuttered, so I considered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stomping his arm too, but it looked like a little more would make him just keel over and die, so I let it slide.

And so Rosli, with his hands and legs broken, squirmed like a mollusk as he slowly crawled off somewhere, leaving a red carpet in his wake.

*****

"...What the hell are you?"

"A customer."

"Crazy bitch."

"Real shitty customer service."

I smacked the cheek of Rosli, who was trembling beside me.

Then, the blue-haired woman in front of me.

The woman who appeared to be Ophelia Blumin flinched.

"I clearly said I came to buy information. I had plenty of money, and I even used polite speech. But then this bastard named Rosli here cussed me out. Isn't that right?"

"Y, yesh!"

"But I held back. No, I held back twice. And then this bastard tried to mess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with me by offering me birth control pills and painkillers. Right?"

"Y, yes!"

"And it wasn't just messing with me. He shoved his filthy face in close and his mouth reeked like shit, you know? That was just terrifying, you know? So I cleaned him up real quick. And then those bastards back there jumped me?"

"We're sorry!!"

The ones with their heads pressed to the floor shouted loudly.

"Those nasty old men attacked a small, delicate student like me. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just stand there and watch."

I grinned and looked at the woman in front of me.

I could read the meaning in her trembling eyes.

'What kind of crazy bitch is this?'

"But the person in charge here... without a single word of apology, called me, the victim, a crazy bitch. That makes me so sad, so wronged, so heartbroken. I'm so, so sad I'm about to cry."

I pulled the corners of my mouth down.

The woman who saw that clicked her tongue with an expression of disbelief.

I shook my head and looked at Rosli, who was trembling beside me.

"How should I resolve this sadness?"

"Uh, th... that... I, I don' know..."

"If you don't know, you get hit."

Craack! I smacked Rosli's cheek.

Then Rosli's already hazy pupils completely unfocused. He went limp, and his crotch grew damp.

"Ugh, disgusting."

I tossed Rosli behind me and faced forward.

"How should I resolve this sadness?"

"...If you touch us, the 'Cartel' will move."

"I hit women too. Especially bitches who talk shit and run their mouths with useless crap. So answer what I ask. This sadness—how should I resolve it?"

The woman who heard my words chewed her lower lip and spoke as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grinding out each word.

"...What do you want?"

I immediately got to my feet.

Step— step— splat—

I stomped through the pooled blood and stood directly in front of the blue-haired woman.

She was a bit... tall, so I had to look up at her, but I could tell right away from the way this bitch's eyes were glaring.

"Your real body."

This sly bitch came as a duplicate.

Duplicate? Puppet? Familiar? I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not her real body.

"If a customer shows up, you come in person. What kind of rude, disrespectful bullshit is this?"

"...What?"

"Is this how kids do business these days? Ha... fuck, back in my day I'd have rounded them all up and torn them limb from limb. Tsk tsk."

I took off the hood I'd been wearing.

"I'll give you five minutes from now. If you don't come in person within five minutes, I'll come find you."

Pink hair, like cherry blossoms in full bloom, cascaded down along my shoulders.

The stench that had been blocked by the hood—the smell of alcohol, sweat, and all manner of criminal filth—pierced my nostrils.

Not bad. Actually, it's been a while, so it's enjoyable.

A smile naturally formed on my lips.

"Or more precisely, should I say my family will come find you?"

"...Eu, Eustetia."

Her sky-blue eyes began to shake mercilessly.

I looked straight into those sky-blue eyes and extended my fist.

"Sta—rt!"

Boom! The duplicate's head burst apart.

It must have been a duplicate she'd put considerable effort into—when the skull burst, organs like brain matter and eyeballs splattered across the floor.

Then screams mixed with horror rang out from behind.

Those bastards didn't even know their boss uses puppets, huh.

Tsk tsk.

I clicked my tongue and leaned against the sofa beside me.

Exactly five minutes later.

"Huk, huhuk... huk... keup, huu..."

Ophelia's real body came rushing into the bar, unable to even catch her ragged breath.

Then she looked at the puppet she'd put so much effort into making, sprawled out beside her, and chewed her lip.

"...Why did you break it?"

"I was scared."

"Do you... have any idea how much this is wor—"

"Hey."

I cut Ophelia off and got to my feet.

"Polite speech."

"...What?"

"Use polite speech first."

"Crazy bitch..."

"Friend. Ophelia. Do you need to get hit too before you come to your senses? You know why I'm not beating you? Because we're in front of your subordinates, and I'm trying to save your face. You want to shit and piss yourself like those bastards sprawled out back there? If that's what you want, say so. I'd prefer it that way too."

Ophelia looked at the ones behind me, heads pressed to the floor and covered in all manner of filth, and trembled.

"...What... information... do you want?"

I stared at Ophelia quietly, then opened my mouth.

"The Imperial Capital's underground."

Interest flickered in Ophelia's eyes.

The corners of my mouth rose at the thought that I'd come to the right place.

"What's under the Imperial Capital?"

"...What will you give me in exchange for the information?"

"In exchange?"

A scoff escaped me.

"I'll let you live."