Chapter 79 – Information Guild

A bunch of dark-haired heads… Well, not all of them were dark-haired. Some were bald, but anyway.

I slowly looked over the petty thieves, who were bowing before me. Fourteen of them.

It took less than three minutes to subdue them. I didn’t kill any of them. Though, one of them nearly died after his spine was shattered and a rib pierced his lung.

I patched them up, made sure they were still breathing, roughly set their broken bones, and even gave them the healing potions I’d brought.

So, I’d say it still counts as subduing.

“What’s your name?”

I turned to look at the man squirming on the counter beside me.

“Guh… Hah… guh…”

“I’m only going to ask this once. What. Is. Your. Name?”

“Grk… ugh…”

Thud!

I slammed the back of his head hard against the counter. His head, which had been slightly raised, bounced off the surface.

“Name.”

“Ugh…”

Thud!

I hit him again.

“Name.”

“Grk…”

Thud!

Again.

“Name.”

Crack!

“Name.”

Crack!

“Name.”

Crunch!

“Na-”

“R-R-Rosley! It’s Rosley!”

“Losley?”

“N-no! R-Rosley!”

“It’s Rosley.”

“N-no, it’s not… R-Ros…”

Crack!

“It’s Rosley, sir!”

“Okay. Rosley. You could talk just fine. Stop being dramatic, you bastard.”

Crack!

I hit him one last time and then poured a healing potion on his shattered jaw.

The potion sizzled against his skin, bubbles rising as it began to regenerate his broken bone.

Leaving him there, I glared at the others, who still had their heads down.

“So. Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?”

The men flinched, unsure of what to do.

“I clearly said I only ask once.”

Sighing, I slapped the cheek of Rosley, who was next to me, tears of blood streaming from his eyes.

Smack!

“Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?”

Smack!

“Where is she?”

Crack!

“Answer.”

“Sh-she’s… in… the basement…!”

Rosley, taking hits for his subordinates, finally answered.

“I already know that.”

Since it wasn’t the answer I wanted, I hit him again.
Crack!

“Guhhhh! Th-then! Wh-why… did… you… ask…?”

“Don’t run your mouth and just answer the question.”

I hit the back of his head again.
Thud!

Rosley’s body trembled before he passed out.

Should I wake him or not?

His jaw was completely shattered and his tongue was a mess, so his pronunciation was terrible anyway. Maybe I should just find someone else?

Wiping the blood off my hands, I looked at the trembling backs.

None of them seemed promising.

I smacked Rosley’s face with my palm.

Crack!

“Hrk!”

Rosley’s eyes snapped open. I shoved a potion bottle into his mouth and tapped his jaw lightly.

Clink.
The bottle shattered in his mouth, the potion and glass shards going down his throat.

As Rosley gagged in pain, I pushed my finger down his throat to open his airway and asked,

“Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?”

Between coughs and gasps, Rosley forced out the words, “I-in… the basement…”

I slapped him again.

“Ophelia Blumin. Where is she?”

Rosley’s eyes trembled violently.

I held up three fingers.

“One.”

“Sh-she…”

“Two.”

“Lady Ophelia is…”

“‘Lady’?”

I slapped him again.

“Guhhhh! Sorry! I’ll bring Ophelia here!”

Finally, the answer I wanted.

I smiled brightly.

“Good.”

Rosley scrambled to his feet, and I immediately kicked his shin, breaking the bone.

“Now, make it quick!”

“Ugh…”

He didn’t answer quickly enough, so I stomped on his left hand.

Crunch.
It sounded like crushed pickles as Rosley’s hand shattered.

“Answer.”

“Y-yes! U-understood…!”

Now I stomped on his right hand, crushing it just the same.

“Keep your answers short and sweet.”

“Y-yes!”

I almost crushed his arm as well for stuttering, but I figured he’d probably just die then and there, so I let him off.

Rosley, with his hands and legs broken, began to inch forward, more like a slug than a human, leaving a red carpet of blood in his wake.

***

“…Who are you?”

“A customer.”

“Crazy bastard.”

“That’s a really shitty way to treat a guest.”

I slapped Rosley, who was trembling next to me.

At that, the blue-haired woman in front of me, who I assumed was Ophelia Blumin, flinched.

“I clearly said I came here to buy information. I have the money, and I’m even being polite. But Rosley over there cussed at me, right?”

“Th-that’s right!”

“But I held back. Not once, but twice! But then, this guy thought it would be funny to mess with me by offering birth control pills and painkillers! Right?”

“Y-yes!”

“And it wasn’t just a simple joke, either. He shoved his stinky face in mine and breathed his foul breath at me. Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been? So, I took care of it. Then all those guys back there jumped me.”

“We apologize!!”

The men, bowing their heads, shouted.

“When a bunch of grown men attack a small, fragile student like me, what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and take it?”

Grinning slyly, I looked at the woman before me. Her trembling eyes betrayed her thoughts.

‘What kind of crazy bitch is this?’

“But you, the big boss of this place, call
me,
the victim, a crazy bastard without a single apology. And that makes me sad. Really, really, unbelievably sad that I might just burst into tears.”

I turned down the corners of my lips, forcing a frown.

The woman clicked her tongue at my behavior, speechless.

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

“How should I resolve this sadness, hmm?”

“Uh… th… I… I don’t knoooow…”

“If you don’t know, you’ll get hit.”

Smack!
I slapped Rosley across his face.

His already unfocused pupils dilated completely as his body went limp. I noticed the steadily growing stain on his crotch.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

I shoved Rosley aside and looked directly at her.

“So, how should I resolve this sadness?”

“…If you touch us, the ‘Cartel’ will move.”

“I hit women, too. Especially ones who speak rudely and waste my time. So, answer my question, how should I resolve this?”

The woman bit her lower lip, every word a struggle to force out.

“…What do you want?”

I stood up immediately.

Splash, splash, squelch…

I stepped through the pooling blood and stood directly before the blue-haired woman.

She was slightly taller than me, so I had to look up. But when she glared down at me, I knew.

“Your real body.”

This sly woman came as a clone.

A clone? A puppet? A familiar? Whatever it was, it wasn’t her real body.

“When a guest comes, you greet them in person. Don’t you have any manners?”

“…What?”

“Is this how they run a business nowadays? Back in my day, we’d just round up everyone like you and rip you apart limb from limb. Tsk, tsk.”

I took off my hood.

“I’ll give you five minutes. If you don’t bring your real body here in five minutes, I’ll come find you.”

My pink hair, the color of blossoming cherry blossoms, cascaded down to my shoulders.

And then, the stench that had been trapped under the hood was released. The smell of alcohol, sweat, and other scents of debauchery that filled my nostrils.

It wasn’t bad. It was actually quite nostalgic and enjoyable.

A smile formed on my lips.

“Or should I say, my family will come find you?”

“…E-Eustetia.”

Her sky-blue eyes began to tremble violently.

Staring right at her, I held out my fist and spoke.

“Start.”

Boom!
The clone’s head exploded.

It must’ve been a well-crafted puppet, because brain matter, eyeballs, and other organs splattered onto the floor, painting a gruesome scene.

Screams mixed with shock and terror came from behind me.

Did those guys not even realize that their boss was using a puppet?

Tsk, tsk.

Clicking my tongue, I leaned back against the nearby sofa.

Exactly five minutes later,

“
Gasp, gasp…
Huff…”

Ophelia’s real body burst into the tavern, struggling to catch her breath.

She glanced at the remains of her puppet, and her lips trembled.

“…Why did you destroy it?”

“I was scared.”

“Do you even know how much that cost-”

“Hey.”

I cut Ophelia off mid-sentence and stood up.

“Speak politely.”

“…What?”

“Speak to me with respect.”

“You crazy bitch…”

“My dear friend, Ophelia. Would you like to learn some manners the hard way? Do you know why I haven’t touched you yet? It’s because I’m showing you some courtesy, in front of your men. Do you want to end up pissing and shitting yourself like that guy back there? Just say the word. I actually prefer things to go that way.”

Ophelia’s eyes darted to the scene behind me, her subordinates lying around covered in filth. Her body trembled.

“…What… information… do you need?”

I looked at Ophelia for a moment before speaking.

“The underground of the capital.”

Her eyes flickered with recognition.

A smile formed on my lips. I had come to the right place.

“What’s down there?”

“…What will you give me in return for this information?”

“In return?”

I scoffed.

“I’ll let you live.”