The Scrap Metal King's Misunderstanding
The timeline of events wasn’t something people usually memorized. It had been one minute and fifteen seconds since Luke assumed the mount position and began beating Cardo senseless. Luke, who had been driving his fists down without pause, suddenly noticed something strange.
‘Why isn’t this guy fighting back?’
Nine’s Piece. An organization that used chess piece names as code names for its executives. Cardo was the Black Knight among them. True to his piece’s nature, he was a troublemaker who stirred up chaos everywhere he went and acted as the hidden mastermind behind many episodes, luring villains into his schemes. His telekinetic ability, which bordered on material manipulation when limited to metal, excelled in assassination, combat, protection, and terrorism alike. It had even defeated Eres, wielder of the magic sword, multiple times. He was a formidable opponent.
‘Why does he already know my name?’
That was a story for the main plot timeline! Right now, he was just a rookie who had joined not long ago!
“M-Master, perhaps it’s time to stop?”
“That’s right. We’re only slightly scratched, not seriously—”
“Don’t let your guard down. This bastard’s ability is metal manipulation. He’ll embed metal fragments inside your body and tear you apart from within.”
‘Excuse me? Me?’
A vicious application even the villainous user himself had never imagined! In this world of swords and magic without the internet, it would be another four years before Cardo came up with such underhanded tactics—after gaining experience and truly embracing evil.
‘How does he even know about my magic? I’ve been hiding it so carefully.’
Cardo’s metal manipulation wasn’t easy to detect. He controlled tiny fragments with precision. Yet this man had seen through it in less than three seconds and was even suggesting more useful applications. Just who the hell was he? And how long did he plan to keep hitting him?
‘Ah, I can’t feel my face anymore.’
Thud! Thud!
The punches showed no sign of letting up. That made sense—Luke knew Cardo as a mid-to-late-game boss. Even if his stamina was low compared to other bosses around that stage, he was still several times stronger than early-game threats like Derom.
‘Why did I come alone? This is such a pain. If I’d known, I would’ve swallowed my pride and brought some executives with me.’
Of course, there was the minor detail that the current Derom was in his prime while Cardo was still in his growth phase.
“S-Spare—ughk!”
The relentless barrage finally stopped after Luke switched to hammering down with his elbow on the face.
“Haa… Is this far enough? If he actually dies, it’ll be a problem.”
“Huh? Weren’t you planning to kill him?”
“Killing people recklessly…! …I don’t commit murder.”
“But you killed our dad.”
‘You told me to drop dead and threw the first punch, you son of a bitch.’
The fact that he was still conscious after taking that much punishment proved he was indeed a terrifyingly tough opponent.
“Master, who is this man? It seemed like you knew him quite well.”
‘I wish I didn’t.’
“This guy is a member of the criminal organization Nine’s Piece.”
‘…! How does he know that?!’
If Luke hadn’t stood up to speak, he might have noticed the trembling. The words he’d just heard were shocking enough to break Cardo’s desperate act of playing dead (he really was dying).
Cardo had only joined Nine’s Piece recently. The fact that this man already knew that was one thing, but—
“Nine’s Piece? What is that?”
“You don’t know Nine’s Piece? It’s the worst criminal organization, one that dreams of world conquest.”
“I’ve never even heard of it.”
“Isn’t that the one from those urban legends…?”
“……For real?”
“Yes.”
Because Nine’s Piece itself had not yet become known to the public! Even at the main story’s point when they began moving in earnest, only high-ranking nobles and their associates were certain of their existence. The protagonist Eres knew them because she confronted them as a mortal enemy, but originally they were the kind of shadowy figures that existed only in urban legends.
‘He knows about the organization… and even has insider information. Could there be a traitor inside…!’
He had come here for recruitment, but an unexpected harvest had rolled right into his lap. If he reported to his superior, the Black Rook Rin Emesh, that there might be a traitor, Cardo’s position would rise. With luck, he could become an executive even faster than in the original timeline.
‘I have to survive and get out of here somehow—’
“This guy is the Black Knight among them. An executive.”
‘What?’
But the problem was—
“He’s no ordinary man. He’s a very dangerous bastard who has the mafia of Babbage under his feet.”
‘That’s Lady Rin’s—’
“What? Aren’t the mafia of Babbage firmly under Countess Rin’s control?”
“That countess is this man’s subordinate.”
‘???’
This man only knew things from six years in the future! He had read the setting book, but he hadn’t gone so far as to memorize the timelines of characters other than Eres!
“Countess Rin… No matter how young he is, I can’t believe she would fall for such a deceptively upright-looking man…”
‘Wait a second, why is the conversation going in that direction?’
“So… that’s how it is. What a filthy bastard.”
‘What did I even do?! I’ve only met her three times…!’
“Is he like our dad?”
“Worse than that.”
‘What the hell is that little brat saying now!’
Cardo (24 years old, virgin) was starting to feel that something had gone terribly wrong. It had been wrong ever since the beating started, but now he was beginning to think this was genuinely dangerous.
“S-Stop…”
“He’s the kind of absolute trash who would betray even his own boss if things went south. Don’t you think it’s justified to beat a guy like this to death?”
‘Hey, shut up already! Why would I betray my boss?!’
Unfortunately, there was only one thought in Luke’s head right now.
‘Let’s sell this guy out and get forgiven!’
He had simply done what any righteous, heroic noble should—punish an evildoer. In comparison, what were they? Bringing poison to kill a child doing hard work? And they still called themselves nobles and their servants?
“So that’s why you killed our dad too?”
“Well, you could say that.”
“Master…?”
That was nonsense.
“No, it’s because they were truly bad people…”
“So you killed a child’s father and kidnapped the child?”
“This is a res—”
“Res?”
He couldn’t say “rescue” in front of Melina. If Melina developed feelings for him, it would lead to that original bad ending. Even if he said the same thing, to that child he had to be perceived as trash with no redeeming qualities.
“He was the kind of man who belonged shoved into a corner. So I made sure he stayed in a corner forever.”
“Dad…”
“You crazy son of a—”
‘Wow, that really does sound like a villain.’
“You are no longer our master! Kill that demon!”
He had succeeded in becoming trash. About three times more trash than what people had assumed.
“Wait! If I were truly the world’s biggest bastard, why would I have captured that man! An executive of an evil organization!”
“Bullshit. Nine’s Piece? As if something like that exists.”
“Using chess piece names as code names? What kind of criminal organization does that?”
‘….’
“Even if that’s true, why spare the executive of an evil organization but kill a child’s father?”
“This guy really is trash, huh?”
“Maybe that person is actually just a bounty hunter?”
The consequences of his past behavior had come back to bite him like a boomerang. If he had helped with cleaning at home instead of going out to play, or made some friends, they might have listened a little. No, at the very least, if he hadn’t clung so hard to his strict-and-serious villain concept, they wouldn’t have treated him like a twelve-year-old.
“Die, Luke! The fact that you’re alive is a disgrace to Her Ladyship!”
“Surround him! Block him with your bodies and poison him to death!”
“Fine, try it if you can! You think I’ll die that easily?!”
The soldiers came at him with poisoned blades. Luke kicked out to punish those ungrateful wretches who had left scratches on his neck.
“Ugh! …Huh? That didn’t hurt much?”
“What? Aha! He must have used up all his strength attacking that bounty hunter!”
“He’s not a bounty hunter, he’s a villain!”
It wasn’t that he was tired. He was simply holding back after accidentally killing someone the day before by failing to control his strength. The countess’s soldiers were naturally sturdier than the frail Pog, so it was only natural there was no damage.
“Die! Don’t tarnish the name of Colwen any further!”
“Save the child! Even if we die, we must send that child back alive!”
“Don’t even think about it. I will never let you take that little girl!”
“…Hiiik.”
Crack!
The poison was only on the weapons and gloves. If it got on anywhere else, they would die first! Dodging every attack in the chaotic melee and only striking safe areas. It was simple in theory, but the difficulty was extreme! But difficulty was only a concern when your specs were lacking!
“You… crazy… bastards…”
Right beside that absurd scene, Cardo—who was being treated as a bounty hunter and thus not protected—had been kicked around. He pushed himself up from the ground with his broken arm. If he could stand, he’d be fine. In reality, his head had been hit so hard that his senses were completely fried.
“I have… to report… There’s a traitor spreading strange information…”
Today, just surviving and returning would be a victory. Even if he didn’t become an executive, if he could gain favor and become a direct subordinate, that alone would be a complete reversal of fortune. Even if the pain was unbearable, he would have dragged his broken leg all the way back to headquarters. It was that kind of tenacity that had allowed him to become an executive later on.
But of course. No matter how tenacious you were, a person with working legs was always faster than one with a broken one.
……Underling. I just heard some rather interesting news.
“That voice… Lady Rin! How are you contacting me?”
You’ve been spreading the rumor that you keep me under your feet and rule over me?
“W-What are you…! It’s a misunderstanding… *cough*!”
Had she heard that conversation directly? Or had Luke Colwen been spreading strange information? As Cardo unconsciously scanned his surroundings, he spotted something chilling. Among the soldiers lying on the ground after being beaten by Luke, one man was looking at him and smiling.
His superior had never believed in his success from the beginning and had planted a subordinate to watch him.
I gave you a chance, and you’ve got quite the nerve. Spreading such words means you’re confident, right?
“N-No! I—”
Try winning, you son of a bitch.
Click.
The communication magic cut off after that heavy verdict. Rin Emesh. The iron-willed woman who ruled the cartels of the city of fire and smoke, Babbage, and the Rook of Nine’s Piece. In the original future, she would be pushed aside by a grown Cardo and become his subordinate, but right now she was a lord possessing power, military strength, and troops.
In other words—
“If I go back, I’ll be—”
“No. You’re not going back yet.”
What he saw when he turned around was a scene of countless soldiers sprawled across the floor and a man holding a young girl who was desperately holding back tears at his side.
“I have a favor to ask of you. You know how to forge identities, right?”
“H-Hiiik…!”
Unfortunately for him, this terrifying man was now his last remaining lifeline.