Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 009
Chapter Title: Claiming Borfeo
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Sein sat crookedly on the desk, propping his chin up.
"W-we're s-sorry!"
It began with the Cyclops's slurred cry from his one good eye.
"W-we're s-sorry!"
Apologies from the toothless men echoed through the room.
This was the Cyclops's hideout.
Sein.
-It's a m-monster!
Had taken over their turf.
Simple logic.
He half-killed every Cyclops in sight, then dragged them by one ankle while half-killing their underlings.
"So why the hell were you blocking the road in front of some guy just trying to pass by quietly?"
There were countless rules and codes in the back alleys.
But standing above them all was always one thing.
"W-we're s-sorry…."
Power.
"Got a problem with that?"
"N-no! N-none at all!"
The Cyclops answered Sein's question immediately.
"Good."
His eyes sank low.
"If you tried to use Demorus, you have to pay the price."
The Cyclops flinched.
A different reaction from before.
"What, you thought I wouldn't know?"
The Cyclops had practically rushed out to greet him the moment word arrived.
It seemed like a friendly gesture, but there was obviously some shady scheme behind it.
"You're just small-time scum in Borfeo's back alleys too, right?"
"……."
"Your turf's shrunk to nothing, and your members have been deserting left and right."
"Th-that's not…."
Obvious story.
Chichiron's Mad Dog, Sein Demorus.
Rushing to the front at that name proved they were desperate for something.
If the Cyclops crew had any real power, they'd have just sat back and watched.
"Some kid shows up alone with no backup, acting all high and mighty, so you figured a little prodding and he'd dance to your tune."
"N-no!"
Crack!
Sein stomped down on the Cyclops's head.
"What do you mean 'no'? If I'd picked a fight with you, you'd have half-killed me and tried to use me somehow."
"N-no… that's not true."
The Cyclops finally admitted it.
"But why'd your gang shrink like this?"
Sein propped his chin up again and asked.
'He was pretty good.'
The Cyclops before him.
He had skills that didn't fit the back alleys.
Considering it was the city of Borfeo, it made some sense.
'Three times.'
Even without using his full strength, the Cyclops had blocked his sword strikes three times.
There had to be a reason his gang was this small.
Especially.
"That eye hasn't been gone long, has it."
The Cyclops didn't seem used to his blind spot.
If he'd lost it years ago, he'd have adapted by now.
'The gang shrank recently, and he lost the eye recently too.'
So there was a reason.
"Th-that's…."
The Cyclops spoke.
"It was because of the Ogre."
*
*
*
Borfeo was on the frontier, but as a city, it had clear bosses in the back alleys.
The four divided turfs were ruled absolutely by Warbear.
He even had ties to one of the three great underworld families— a heavyweight rare even for the frontier.
Yet it had been a month since that Warbear was killed out of nowhere by this Ogre.
"The Cyclops lost?"
New rumors were spreading through the back alleys.
"Well, that idiot was bound to flop eventually."
"He's already flopped."
The bosses of the remaining three turfs had gathered to talk.
"He was on the chopping block anyway. We've already agreed to split his turf evenly among the three of us."
"The guy who defied the Ogre."
Ogre.
At that name, the three bosses fell silent.
They knew better than anyone the brutality and savagery of the being that had smashed through the city gates.
One-eyed Cyclops.
One-armed Wolf.
One-legged Frog.
And finally, the one-eared Fox, his new moniker.
Just thinking of him sent chills down their spines, making the three bosses tremble.
"Still, the Cyclops was worthless at everything else. But his personal strength was the best among us."
The one-armed Wolf spoke.
"They say he knelt after just three sword strikes."
"…Impressive."
The one who'd achieved that.
"The Mad Dog of Chichiron, was it."
"That backwater Chichiron? Total countryside."
"……."
The name Mad Dog of Chichiron was echoing through Borfeo.
"…If it's a mad dog."
Frog muttered as if he knew something.
"Why? Ring any bells?"
"……."
But Frog clammed up.
"The real problem is the guy's actual name."
Fox continued.
"Sein Demorus, apparently."
"…Demorus."
That name carried weight.
No one on the continent could ignore Demorus.
Especially in the back alleys, it held absolute power.
"Again…."
The three bosses.
All named after beasts, they said in unison.
"Demorus."
*
*
*
"Whoa."
At the center of the rumors.
"This is insane."
Sein was genuinely impressed.
Rustle.
The Cyclops's ledgers scattered before him. Derun had searched every nook and cranny to find them, and they left Sein stunned.
"Nothing like Chichiron trash."
The Cyclops's earnings were beyond imagination.
'Compared to the old days, it's less than an ant's shit.'
Sein had once been the empire's crown prince.
Having seen mountains of gold coins in person, it was odd to be surprised by this amount—but he wasn't the crown prince anymore.
"Heh heh…."
The Cyclops rubbed his hands eagerly in front.
"A guy who can't do anything but fight pulls in this much—what the hell do the others make?"
A city's back alleys.
A vault of wealth that couldn't be ignored.
"I hear the next biggest idiot, Wolf, makes twice what I do."
"Twice?"
"And the shrewdest one, that Fox bitch…."
Sein grinned.
"They say over ten times."
Ding!
A spark lit up in Sein's mind.
He'd originally planned a short rest in Borfeo before moving on.
His first real city, perfect for stocking up before heading to Demorus.
But he'd changed his mind.
'The road to Demorus isn't just any road.'
A journey with a guardian tailing him.
There had to be a reason they forced the land route over a teleportation circle.
'My footprints will be my evaluation.'
Every step he took would judge him.
If the depth or number fell short, becoming heir would be a pipe dream.
In other words.
'Game over.'
Failure of the main quest.
There might be other paths, but he saw no merit in the hard road.
'Borfeo has alchemists and smithies.'
So.
"Alright. I've decided."
Sein stood and declared.
"I'm taking Borfeo."
"……!"
The Cyclops widened his one good eye.
"Y-you're serious?"
He'd told Sein all about Borfeo.
Even about the Ogre.
So he'd thought the Mad Dog of Chichiron would run.
"Dead serious, pup."
Sein said he'd face it head-on.
"Why, isn't that what you wanted too?"
The Cyclops who'd come seeking him.
"Revenge, right?"
"……!"
The Cyclops had been managing his turf just fine.
Not a good man by any stretch.
But.
"That's why you came to me, yeah? To use my name for something."
According to Derun's intel, he was a decent boss.
Grit.
A chilling sound came from the Cyclops's mouth.
"…I want it."
The Cyclops said.
The Ogre had done this to his eye.
But more than that.
"I can still hear… my men's screams."
The Ogre massacring his helpless underlings right before him.
"I want revenge! Anything— just give the order!"
Whoosh.
What appeared before the Cyclops's eye was Sein's palm.
Similar to the hand the Cyclops had reached out to use him.
But.
"Take it."
The weight was different.
The hand of the powerless, and the hand of the powerful.
"…Thank you, boss."
That difference was clear.
*
*
*
The docks along the Bicull River.
Once the heart of Borfeo's trade, now polluted and abandoned.
"Long time no see, Frog."
This was also Frog's hideout, one of the four dividing Borfeo's back alleys.
"The king of defeats, Cyclops, huh?"
Short stature, repulsive looks.
The one with bulging eyes was the one-legged Frog.
"Heard the Mad Dog chewed you up good, but you look fine."
Thud.
Frog propped his leg on the table.
His already short leg made it look ridiculous.
"…Your idiot mug's the same as ever, Frog."
"What?"
The atmosphere turned hostile at Cyclops's words.
Here were Cyclops and two underlings.
And Frog with over ten men.
"Go ahead, rub it in. I know my place."
"Hoh. After getting wrecked by the Ogre, you still haven't learned. Guess the Mad Dog's bite was sharp."
"Yeah."
Frog's eyes gleamed as Cyclops admitted it casually.
Cyclops was prideful.
Former leader of a famed mercenary band, with plenty of ego.
For him to admit it so easily.
"So, why'd you wanna meet? I humored you out of old ties, but we're done. You're nothing now."
"I know."
Cyclops.
Thud.
He plunked a stack of gold coins on the table.
At least a thousand gold.
"Let's make a deal, you ugly frog bastard."