Episode 33 – Familiar Hometown Road

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As I entered the damp alleyway reeking of a disgusting smell, a familiar scene came into view.

Dirty water occasionally overflowed from the nearby sewer, so even when it didn’t rain, the floor of this alley was always wet.

No matter where I turned my head, I saw people passed out drunk on the ground, vomit, and rats picking at the vomit.

It was a place most people wouldn’t even approach, but to me, this place was so natural and familiar.

Even the signs were mostly familiar, except for a few.

In fact, it was a place I could call my hometown.

Of course, it goes without saying that it was a goddamn hometown I never wanted to return to.

“Tch, this shithole is the same as it was 20 years ago,”

I frowned and stepped into the alley.

In a corner of the southern region of the capital, Sioland,

There was a place where facilities that people avoided, like landfills and sewage treatment plants, were all gathered together.

A small town-sized area called ‘Os Gravi,’ meaning ‘Bone Grave.’

As the name suggests, it was said to be a place where by-products of meat, like bones and scraps, were dumped since the old days when the Sionisia Empire wasn’t even a kingdom.

In other words, it’s a historic garbage dump.

Since normal people wouldn’t go near it, there were people who gathered here instead.

From various criminal groups like thieves, gamblers, and loan sharks, to swindlers, secretive cults, merchants selling forbidden goods, or even old whores who couldn’t sell themselves anymore.

Most of those who gathered here were bastards who wanted to avoid the eyes of others.

It’s only natural that the humans living in such a place, filled with a stench that makes you frown, and swarming with all sorts of vermin and rats that carry diseases, would be tough and tenacious.

I was one of those tough and tenacious bastards.

Because I lived here until I met Mela.

My footsteps stopped in front of a drab brick building plastered with flyers and filth.

The pitch-black wooden door and the old window barred with iron bars, which gave off an atmosphere that didn’t welcome visitors at all, were eerie, but it was definitely a tavern.

I was worried that it might not be in operation after 20 years, but fortunately, I could see light through the windows.

I couldn’t hear the boisterous noise like other pubs, but I could feel the presence of people inside, so I opened the door and stepped into the pub.

The inside was as dirty and messy as the exterior, but the terrible stench of alcohol that filled the pub was at least much better than the stench outside.

Most of the people drinking, with plates and beer glasses placed on roughly placed large wooden barrels as tables, were quiet.

Some were counting money after emptying the contents of their wallets, others were whispering with their companions, and the gamblers in the corner of the pub were glaring at each other without saying a word.

‘This heavy atmosphere is no different now than it was 20 years ago.’

I approached the bartender who was smoking a cigarette while flicking ashes on the floor.

Perhaps because I was covering my face with a mask, the customers glanced at me, but quickly stopped paying attention and went back to what they were doing.

I spoke to the bartender who was spitting phlegm.

“Would you recommend the Red Sea Iguana dish?”

“…Heh, well now.”

It was a code often used in this pub to mean that you wanted to buy information.

The bartender chuckled when he heard me, then put out his cigarette on the table and said.

“It’s been about 15 years since we changed the code, you must have been gone for a long time.”

“… Is that so.”

Shit.

Well, I guess the code could have changed.

Mela and I destroyed the organization that originally dominated this area, so if a new force had taken over this tavern, it would be natural to use a new code.

I hesitated for a moment and decided to just confront them head-on.

“I had circumstances that brought me back after a long time, so wouldn’t you just sell me the information considering my situation?”

“Hehehe, of course not, you old geezer.”

“Then I’ll have no choice but to ask the customers.”

The bartender scoffed at my blatant threat and glared at me.

He scratched his chin with his dirty fingers, looked me up and down, and warned me in a low voice.

“Don’t talk like a retard, and you better go back quietly if you don’t want to get hurt.”

“… I’ll come back later.”

I turned away from the bartender and approached the nearest table, no, a wooden barrel.

Two muscular men were drinking.

One man had a four-headed snake tattooed on his arm.

City Snake bastards, huh.

I approached them without a word.

“What’s this retard?”

“I have something to ask.”

“Heh, is this guy crazy?”

I grabbed the wrist of the snake tattoo man who was about to drink, ignoring me, and broke it.

“Aaaagh! What the fuck, who is this bastard!”

“I’m looking for a woman who disappeared about two weeks ago.”

“What the fuck are you talking about…”

I snatched his beer glass and smashed it into his face.

With a thud, a couple of teeth bounced onto the wooden barrel.

“Keo eok!”

“Her name is Banata, green hair, a demi-human woman in her late teens.”

“Hey, you fucker!”

“Hey! Someone do something about this crazy bastard!”

When the man’s companion shouted, the eyes of all the customers who were drinking were fixed on me.

They each downed the rest of their drinks in one gulp, got up from their seats, cracked their knuckles, and approached me.

“Ha, brings back memories,”

I was reminded of my teenage years when this rough atmosphere was my daily life.

I hated it so much back then, and I always wanted to escape, but for some reason, I didn’t hate it today.

I was rather glad.

＊

About 20 minutes later, I was the only one standing upright on two legs in the pub.

Perhaps because of the advantage of not feeling pain, I didn’t even need to use the Demon King’s power or divine power.

The sound of bones breaking and blood splattering on my mask gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.

I approached a guy who was groaning and collapsed and grabbed his hand.

“Ugh, I don’t know anything. I really don’t know anything like that.”

“Banata, green bob, demi-human woman in her late teens.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, aaaaaagh!”

It’s cute how he screams and struggles when I bend his pinky finger back until it touches the back of his hand.

I held back my laughter and said.

“You have to point out someone who might know, if you want to keep your remaining fingers.”

He trembled and pointed to someone.

“That, that gang over there made a lot of money about two weeks ago and bought everyone a drink.”

“What the fuck, you snitch after getting a drink on me? What kind of bastard is that!”

The man who was pointed out shouted while spitting blood-stained saliva while collapsed.

He was the guy who was wielding a dagger during the fight a little while ago, so I bent his elbow backwards.

I patted the head of the man I was holding and said.

“Ah, right. It was a tradition in this pub to buy a drink if things went well after being introduced here. I’m glad to know that the old tradition is being well maintained.”

“Keuk,”

I let go of the man’s wrist and walked slowly towards the guy who was pointed out.

As I got closer and closer, he started rambling in fear.

“Goddamn it, I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

“Banata, demi-human woman in her late teens, green bob.”

“I’ve never seen a magician like that!”

“…”

Is he a retard?

“I never said Banata was a magician.”

“Ah, shit.”

“Where is she? Where did you sell her?”

I put my foot on his elbow and pressed down, and a scream leaked out from between his clenched teeth.

“Kkeueueueueu, I don’t know. I really don’t know anything other than that the client is a noble.”

“A noble?”

“They gave me plenty for kidnapping a kid, so they must be a noble. Shit! It’s already been two weeks, how can I remember the details!”

“Who did you hand her over to?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see their face. I really don’t know anything other than that it was a woman.”

I put more weight on my foot.

His scream grew louder and louder.

“You have to tell me someone who might know. What am I supposed to do if you just say you don’t know?”

“Uaaaaa! 2nd floor! The bastard sleeping in room 203 knows! He was in on it too!”

“It’s so noisy, and he’s still sleeping?”

“He passed out drunk first! Get your foot off me, damn it!”

“Okay, I got it.”

I took my foot off and slowly turned around to go to the stairs, but stopped abruptly.

Then I slowly turned around and said.

I could hear the sound of the many bastards who were collapsed and watching me swallowing their breath.

I asked in a friendly voice.

“By the way, do you know what the newly changed code is?”

“Yes, it’s… ‘I came to exchange Edward commemorative coins.'”

“… What?”

Why is my name coming out here?

Is it because I’m the most successful thief?

Well, I’m the hero of the empire, so maybe the thieves feel like they’re seeing someone from the same hometown succeed.

I chuckled in dismay and went up the stairs.

＊

I arrived in front of room 203, but I couldn’t feel anyone inside.

When I grabbed the doorknob, the door wasn’t locked either, so the doorknob turned without resistance.

“Oh well, did he already run away.”

Well, there’s no way there would be a dull bastard in this world who would keep sleeping while such a big commotion was going on.

I opened the door without much expectation.

The man was lying on the bed, unbelievably.

“… What is it?”

But something was strange.

The man was lying down and not breathing at all.

Looking closely again, the man was bleeding and dead.

There were no signs of fighting or resistance at all, and the blood was only pooled under the bed, so it seemed that someone had stabbed him with a sword while he was sleeping.

That’s when it happened.

“It’s noisy downstairs.”

The sound came from the chair next to the bed.

A woman in black leather armor was sitting in a chair, wiping blood off a knife with a cloth.

“You scared me.”

I was flustered.

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen the person who was calmly wiping blood off just two meters away from the bed.

Even I, who prides myself on being good at hiding my presence, wouldn’t be at that level.

She was still wiping the blood and grease off the knife, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking.

I tried to speak calmly.

“I had something to ask that friend.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, it seems I was a little late.”

Just looking at her very sturdy body and hands full of scars made me guess that she was no ordinary person.

The sword she was holding was closer to a longsword used by knights, not a dagger like those used by thieves or assassins.

“I had something I really needed to ask, what should I do.”

“What was it about?”

“That bastard kidnapped my acquaintance, so I have to find her.”

She was acting relaxed, but she didn’t seem to have any openings at all.

Just looking at the way she cleaned the sword, I could tell that she was skilled at handling the sword like it was her own hand.

I looked at her carefully.

She was wearing something like a black turban to cover all of her hair,

And I remembered seeing the white mask covering the upper part of her face somewhere.

That mask… it’s definitely that.

It was very similar to the mask the Princess used to wear when she met me.

She checked the sword to see if it was all cleaned, then got up from her chair.

I took a step back without realizing it.

She spoke to me.

“You look familiar for some reason.”

“… Really? I don’t know anyone as scary as you.”

At my answer, she laughed heartily and pointed her sword at me.

I also took out the toothed dagger I had behind my back, wary of her.