Chapter 45

Chapter 45

45: Black Street Mac Rothuan was reviewing documents in the office of ‘Stage,’ a brothel on Black Street. The sight of an underworld boss and a stack of papers on a desk seemed incongruous, but as with everything, one cannot become a ruler who governs an organization without a good head. The documents on the desk concerned the supplies and expenses needed for Stage’s shows, as well as letters and lists exchanged with other organizations. Sartun was an underworld organization in charge of brothels, but what was needed to run a brothel was not just women. In order to procure alcohol, food, contraceptives, various aphrodisiacs, and illegal goods such as drugs, close cooperation between organizations was necessary. One cannot survive alone. Duke Etman, the ruler of Karaldin, always wanted the best results, and to satisfy him, the underworld organizations had no choice but to join hands. However, that did not mean that the underworld organizations were on good terms with each other. They had only joined hands for profit. If there was no such ‘loyalty’ as supplying prostitutes to casinos, smuggling slaves, and cooperating to dispose of surplus goods, they would have been replaced long ago. “Damn it, more people are going to die again.” Rothuan grumbled roughly and rummaged through the list. Unlike normal brothels on the surface, the brothels in the underground plaza were sinister, decadent, and cruel. The Black Street was a place where things that ordinary people could hardly imagine happened frequently. Humans are sometimes drawn to the darkest and blackest things, and the underground brothels in the darkness of Karaldin were a ray of light for such people. Rothuan looked at the list, which was no different from a death list, and checked off a few names. Slaves were needed for Stage’s shows, and they were usually used like consumables. Frankly speaking, Rothuan himself did not like this. However, in order to maintain his power in the Karaldin underworld, he had no choice but to listen to the Duke’s requests.

-Sarak.

He put down the list and sighed, then suddenly turned his gaze towards the office door. It was because he heard a small footstep in his ear.

-Clunk.

Sure enough. As a man with a familiar face opened the office door, Rothuan tilted his head. “Why are you here?” The man with the cold impression was clearly Etrin Chenber, his most trusted right-hand man. It didn’t make sense that he, who had been sent to check the items to be used at the banquet, would disobey his words and return already. ‘Could it be, betrayal?’ Rothuan thought of the possibility, but soon shook his head and denied his thoughts. Etrin Chenber was the person he trusted the most, and at the same time, he was wise. There was little chance that Chenber would betray him. He was the type to pursue a safe second-in-command rather than a dangerous leader. He knew very well that Rothuan was the best person to be his shield. “Boss.” Chenber strode to the table and opened his mouth in a cold tone. “We’re fucked.” “What?” Rothuan made a dumbfounded expression at the sudden nonsense. Fucked all of a sudden. Could it be that someone within the organization had betrayed them? But instead of answering, Chenber held out his hand to Rothuan. “…What the hell are you doing?” A small ring was placed on Chenber’s calloused hand. Rothuan, staring at the silver ring, realized that something like letters was engraved on the inside of the ring. “What is this?” “It’s the Leopold family’s insignia. It’s also a symbol of being a member of the family.” At Chenber’s words, Rothuan racked his brain. The Leopold family was not his client. And if they weren’t a client, he didn’t think he needed to know much about them. “Where is that?” “It’s a territory bordering the southeastern desert area. It’s a place infested with Lizardmen, and Leopold is a frontier noble who defends that area. So, even though he’s a Duke, his power is quite large.” The southeast was not far from Karaldin. Rothuan nodded and looked at the ring again. It looked like just a common ring, but he believed Chenber’s words. He was knowledgeable about nobles, so he would know better than him at least. He thought for a moment, then suddenly felt puzzled and asked Chenber. “Really? But why is that in your hand?” If it was a symbol of being a member of the Leopold family, he couldn’t understand why it was in the hands of the guy in front of him. To that obvious question, Chenber sighed and replied. “That’s why we’re fucked.” “Damn it, don’t beat around the bush and just tell me.” As Rothuan spat out roughly, Chenber answered immediately without really beating around the bush. “It came from ‘that bitch’ that Trnil touched.” In an instant, the office was filled with silence. The two people in this place were not fools. They could clearly understand what those words meant. Rothuan slowly opened his mouth in a trembling voice. “…Could it be, a noble?” “I can’t know for sure. But, I guarantee that she has a status equivalent to that. The insignia engraved here represents the direct line of the family. They wouldn’t carry it around unless they had to.” At those words, Rothuan felt as if his vision was darkening. If the bitch they had captured was really a noble, this was a major accident. No matter how much Duke Etman backed them up, the underworld was nothing more than a disposable existence. If the Leopold family sensed something strange and visited Karaldin, they would be dead right away. It was like a bolt from the blue. He didn’t know why she had crawled into Karaldin, but why did they have to get involved like this? Rothuan put down the documents he was holding and muttered calmly. “…We’re really fucked. Hey, what do we do?” “I told you to educate that Trnil bastard well. Don’t struggle pathetically and just offer your necks nicely. So we can live.” “Shut up and think of a solution. What should we do? Should we go and kneel?” He said that, but Rothuan himself knew very well that it was nonsense. They had made her have sex with his subordinates, determined to end her life as a woman, and even displayed her like a public toilet in a corner of the underground plaza. She must be out of her mind by now, or she must be consumed with hatred and grinding her teeth. “There’s no way. If we go into hiding, the lord will know right away that it’s our doing. This isn’t a problem that can be solved even if we catch that bastard and hand him over.” If she was really a member of a noble family, this was an incident that could lead to a territory war. Of course, if a territory war really broke out, it was obvious that their heads would be neatly cut off and placed in the plaza before Duke Etman’s expedition. Rothuan pondered with a serious expression, and then spoke the answer he had come up with. “Let’s kill that bitch first and then think about it.” “Are you crazy? If we do that, the aftermath will be even greater…” “Damn it, if that bitch is a noble, we’re dead anyway. We’ve been using her for two days and nights, turning her into a rag, so she’ll never forgive us. She’ll probably try to feed us to monsters alive, right? Since we’re going to die anyway, it’s better to kill her now.” However, in the end, the conversation they had was meaningless.

-Bang!

At the loud noise from outside the door, the two people involuntarily turned their gaze towards the office door.

-Bang!

Then, the sound of something colliding echoed again. The sound was coming from a fairly close distance.

-Sreung.

Rothuan and Chenber each took out weapons from their chests and looked at the office door with tense eyes. “Hey, what do you think that is?” “It’s probably something that’s going to fuck us over.” “Damn it. I know that too. Don’t you have a proper answer?” “Bullshit. You should be grateful that I’m not taking the boss’s head right now.”

-Bang.

And as soon as the two people’s conversation ended, that sound echoed again in front of the office door. It was a noise like something heavy falling to the floor. For example, something like a human body. ‘What the hell is it?’ The moment Rothuan thought of the question, the office door was destroyed almost simultaneously.

-Kuwoong!!

The hinges were torn off, and the office door flew into the air. Chenber and Rothuan each moved quickly to the side to avoid the flying door. As members of the underworld, they also had some skills. The two people looked at the entrance of the office, which now had its door torn off, with tense eyes. And then, they doubted their eyes. There, a golden girl with a pure white body and a smile on her lips was standing. At that familiar face, the two felt as if their spines were freezing. // I smiled slightly as I looked at the two men in front of me. I had heard quite a bit while indiscriminately beating up the members of the organization in the building. The name of the organization I was captured by was Sartun. It was a criminal organization that ran brothels in Karaldin, and a guy named Mac Rothuan was said to be the boss. And this was an underground brothel called ‘Stage’. I was surprised that there was such a place in Karaldin, but I couldn’t help but believe it since I had been dragged here. And, surely one of the two people in front of me was Mac Rothuan. My arms were still tied, but I didn’t think I would lose if I used my internal energy. Although I had been using my internal energy all along, I had only used the basic method of drawing up my power and opening the Yin Demon Art, so the amount consumed was not that great. Which of the two is the boss of Sartun? The answer was obvious. I already knew the description from the members of the organization. I kicked off the floor and rushed towards the older-looking brown-haired man.

-Kwang.

Because I was still opening the Yin Demon Art, the speed at which I rushed was so fast that humans could not exert it. “Ugh!?” Rothuan in front of me took a breath and swung the small sword he was holding at me. But, without hesitation, I stretched out my foot and kicked his solar plexus as if pressing down on it. The small sword vainly cut through the air, and my foot reached his solar plexus first.

-Udeuk.

With an ominous sound, the old man’s body flew violently and hit the wall.

-Kuwoong!!

“Cough!” I had controlled my strength, but he wouldn’t be able to get up anymore with this much, so I didn’t need to pay attention to him anymore. Thinking that, I turned my back to the remaining man.

-Paang!!

But at that moment, something struck my abdomen with a fierce tearing sound. “Ugh!” The impact was greater than I expected. With a tingling pain, a red line was engraved on my pure white stomach. I raised my head and looked at the identity of the weapon that had left damage on me. And then, I admired it a little inside. Hmm, that’s a bit unexpected. What struck my body was a thin whip. The other young man in the room was holding a bluish-green whip and looking at me with astonished eyes. He muttered in an absurd tone. “Crazy, you’re still okay after getting hit by this?” I’m not that okay. It’s a pleasant pain even though it stings, and I almost forgot that I was in battle and got a little excited because it was a whip. There were guys who used whips among the lower-level members, but none of them knew how to handle whips properly. Any weapon requires that much training. Even more so for high-level weapons like whips. The young man in front of me was skilled enough to handle such a weapon freely. …Should I get hit one more time? It hurts a little, but I feel like it would be that much more pleasant. Still, since the purpose of coming here is the purpose, I decided to put my personal desires aside because it was more important to have a conversation first.

“Those toys won’t work. And I didn’t come to kill you, so let’s talk.” “…What, cough, hack!” At those words, Rotuan, who had been collapsed, coughed roughly. I deliberately held back a little, but was I stronger than I thought? I wondered if I should ask if he was okay, but he didn’t seem like he was going to die, so I decided to leave him alone. “You didn’t come to kill us?” The young man with the whip asked back, looking incredulous. Was it really that surprising? I just wanted to ask how to get out of this underground plaza. “Yeah. Let’s have a serious conversation. So, untie me.” The feeling of being restrained is only good when I’m being held by a man. During a fight, or in a situation like this, it’s just uncomfortable. Only after I spoke did I realize that I was naturally using informal language. I wasn’t usually such a rude person. But when I thought about it, they were trying to kill me anyway, so there was no need to use polite language. “If we untie you, do you guarantee you’ll spare us?” “Or should I just kill you now?” When the young man asked a stupid question with a serious expression, I sighed and asked back. Still, I liked other aspects besides that question. Like how he didn’t seem interested in my body even though I was naked, or the fact that he used a whip. “…Okay. Wait a moment.” The young man seemed to think for a moment, then nodded and started walking towards the door. Of course, he might run away like that, but then I’d just use a slightly more troublesome method. But just as the young man was about to leave the office, Rotuan, who had been collapsed, coughed roughly and muttered. “Cough, hey, wait. Khuh-heuk. You bastard…if you run, I’ll kill you…cough.” “…Don’t talk nonsense. Even if we run, we’re still inside. If Viscount Leopold tries to take revenge, it’s nothing for the boss or me to get our heads chopped off anyway.” I felt something strange listening to their conversation. Why was Viscount Leopold’s name coming up here? But I quickly realized the reason. The ring Milan gave me. They must have recognized it as a symbol of a noble family. But, knowing that, they still treated me like that? …That couldn’t be it, and logically, it would be more accurate to say they didn’t know and only realized it recently. Unless it was a request from another noble, they wouldn’t want to be killed by a noble. “Cough, khuh-heuk…” The collapsed Rotuan coughed a few times and then seemed to calm down, catching his breath. Then he looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and muttered. “What kind of, power….” Even in that situation, his eyes were on my chest, so he didn’t seem like much of a gentleman. Well, I can confidently say that my breasts, while not that big yet, are properly shaped. It’s my pride, so he can look as much as he wants. I glanced at the closed door, but there was no sign of the young man returning. I couldn’t just keep waiting like this, so I decided to get straight to the point. I ignored his muttering and opened my mouth with a light smile. “Forget that story, how about we talk?” “Cough. Ah, okay. Ask me anything.” Fortunately, he seemed willing to talk. Was he really mistaking me for a noble? For a boss of the underworld, he was quite polite. There were many things to ask. From how to get out of the underground plaza to the most basic question of where this was. I had heard roughly from the members, but the information wasn’t detailed, so I didn’t know much yet. Ah, but I did hear the most important thing. One of the members who seemed to be in charge told me about what they were planning to do with me. I was honestly dumbfounded by that story, but when I thought about it, it didn’t seem so bad. I should probably start with that story. It’s just a personal curiosity, but sometimes the questions that seem the most useless are the ones you’re most curious about. I smiled and said to Rotuan. “Tell me about Quaidon.” Then, his face turned ashen. “Th-that’s….” It’s not that surprising…I guess it is. Looking at the situation on the surface, you could mistake it for just trying to kill me. But I don’t really care. I smiled again and asked him a question. “What kind of monster is that?”