episode_0079

Whether before or after transmigration, through two different lives, I’ve realized something. Committing any act is easy, but cleaning up the mess is several times harder.

While Violet-110 began interviewing the brokers, the Violets had already driven out of Circleff City and were interrogating the prisoners. It was the same warehouse, located between the western and central districts, where Yurik had been interrogated before.

It was a sparsely populated area that the owner didn’t care about, so they used it again.

On the plastic-covered warehouse floor, the gang boss tied to a chair spat. He wouldn’t open his mouth even during our interrogation.

“…Do you think I’ll talk?”

“That’s right, I didn’t think you would.”

Violet-96 and Violet-85 immediately dragged in the rose-tattooed bald man, chair and all.

“I’ve told you everything I know! You’re going to let me go now, right? Hehe…”

“Damn it.”

I explained to the bewildered gang boss.

“He confessed after we zapped his thighs a couple of times with a taser.”

The gang boss’s expression darkened.

“It’s all over, it’s all over…”

Regardless of the boss’s attitude, the rose-tattooed bald man grinned and chattered.

“Haha… Me! You’re letting me go, right? Right?”

“Nonsense, have you still not caught on? There’s no way you’re leaving here.”

A moment later, Violets carrying guns entered.

The gang boss slowly closed his eyes in resignation, while the rose-tattooed bald man’s eyes widened. He shook the chair he was tied to, resisting violently.

“Wait! I told you everything!”

“I never said I’d spare you.”

“You bastards! Our Calamity Gang won’t leave you alone!”

As the bald man threw a fit, the boss, who had been silent, spoke up.

“You idiot, why would they ask for the safe’s password? Our base must have been raided ages ago.”

“That’s right. We asked because there were more survivors besides you. We quickly figured out your home address.”

“…You lunatics.”

This gang boss, named Bronson, slowly mumbled as if feeling wronged.

“From what I hear, you don’t seem to have been hired by those brokers. We’ve never seen you before today. Why are you going this far? Even in this messed-up bottom, there are rules!”

I shrugged.

“We don’t have any personal feelings either. If that rose-tattooed bald man had just let us go, we wouldn’t have gone this far.”

“What?”

I briefly explained what had happened just before the fight. Only then did the rose-tattooed bald man realize what he had done, and his face turned pale. The boss gnashed his teeth and glared at the bald man.

“Netchi, you horny bastard! I told you to send away anyone who came to trade, not pick a fight with them!”

“No! Boss! I didn’t know it would turn out like this!”

There really weren’t any personal feelings. However, considering my friend’s serious injuries, I couldn’t leave any lingering threats. Everything that could cause problems had to be eliminated.

The time to finish was approaching. The Violets aimed their captured rifles at the backs of their heads.

Feeling the chill, the bald man wailed and resisted, while the boss raised his head with a resigned expression.

“Save me! I told you everything! I helped you! I’ll do as you say! Please!”

“Hey, shut up. Let’s make this quick, if possible. Hey, got any cigarettes? Or at least some alcohol…”

“I don’t smoke. But here…”

I opened the lid of a metal flask bottle I’d picked up from a gang member’s corpse and poured its contents into his mouth.

“Please! You need a connection, right? I know a lot, save me! Uwaaaah!”

“Haa, finish it quickly. I don’t want to hear that bastard whining anymore.”

Violet-70 stepped out of the door. After two gunshots rang out, the warehouse fell silent.

***

While the Violets excitedly raided the gang’s safe and secured various items, Violet-110 spoke with the brokers who had regained consciousness.

“What? Excuse me, who are you? Why are you here…”

“Is this not it, then? A glass of whiskey with butter, no ice…”

The brown-haired bartender woman glanced around and then placed her index finger over her lips as a sign to be quiet.

「Did I get the contact password wrong?」

「That’s not it.」

“Um, are you here for a deal? Thank you for helping us, but could you wait until our Manager-nim wakes up? This isn’t the place to talk, and…”

“Yeah, alright.”

A little while later, the other people we brought began to regain consciousness one by one from their hospital beds.

“Oh…! What, why are we here?”

“I thought it was a dream, but it was real. We’re alive!”

Two people got up, and finally, a middle-aged man in a casual suit got up, looked around, and met my gaze.

The man’s blurry eyes regained vitality in less than a few seconds.

“Hmm… Aina, can you move?”

“It aches, but I can walk. The Doctor-nim here is quite skilled.”

“What about Manager-nim?”

“I’m fine, Mark. Let’s get moving. Kasian, you get up quickly too!”

The man called Manager spoke briefly with the rest of the broker group.

“Excuse me, this isn’t a suitable place to talk, so I’d like to move to a safe location and converse more comfortably.”

“Are you sure you’re okay in that condition?”

“There’s no ‘okay’ or ‘not okay’ about it. This isn’t a very safe place either. Just a moment…”

The manager pulled out three or four cell phones from his pocket, quickly checked them, then grumbled that they were unusable and threw two of them into the trash can.

I quickly left the hospital, taking the limping people with me. We immediately moved in a car driven by another Violet.

“Should we go this way?”

“Yes, turn right twice from there and go straight.”

Following the manager’s directions, we crossed the streets of Sturgeon Lane, bathed in morning sunlight.

Two blocks away, the horror of last night was visible. Several vehicles were still spewing smoke, and bodies were being recovered and carried away. Security guards wearing armbands of medium-sized clans were squabbling with the police who had arrived late.

“G-good heavens… Look at the front of our office.”

“That’s the Calamity guys’ car!”

While the other brokers looked out the window, fussing, only the manager in the passenger seat remained calm.

He kept looking at his smartphone screen, stealing glances at me.

Shortly after, we arrived at the safe house. As we entered the living room, the manager’s attitude suddenly changed.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you! Fixer-nim. So please, save us!”

“Huh?”

“I received calls from acquaintances. They said the Calamity Gang and the Aramis Crew completely vanished in less than a night. I heard all their bases were burned down.”

The three people behind, who had been bewildered by their boss’s kneeling and pleading, seemed to realize something and knelt belatedly. I was flustered and speechless.

“It was all done by the client, by the Fixer-nim. Right? You’re amazing!”

“Yeah, that’s right. I did it. So, um… gin with butter…”

“You don’t need to use a password. You need magic equipment, right? If you give us time, we’ll get it for you right away.”

The Violets watching the scene put their heads together.

「I don’t fully understand why they’re acting like this, but should we ask for it for free?」

「Good. They’ll probably agree to this much.」

When I interrupted the manager and stated my demand, he brightened and clung to me, like a person on the verge of drowning grasping a lifesaver.

“Ah, of course! Anything I can procure, I will provide for free. So, could you please grant us a favor?”

“What favor?”

“Please protect us!”

***

These people had quite a troublesome situation.

From what I heard, this broker had extensive connections and was very skilled. Using their network and abilities as a foundation, they managed to survive among various shady groups and both large and small gangs.

Unfortunately, their subtle tightrope walk reached a crisis point. They were being forced into dangerous drug-related deals by those around them.

“It’s our principle that we never handle drugs, among other things. Haha.”

“Then what do you trade in? Magic items?”

“Those are just pocket change. Our real business is selling information and introducing people.”

The broker’s office, suffering from complaints from ill-tempered clients, faced another crisis. Recently, disputes over interests among organizations had intensified. They were on the verge of having their backs broken like shrimp in a whale fight [a proverb about collateral damage].

“We were planning to go to another neighborhood and take a break from this work for a while. Our connections accumulated all over Rustroom weren’t going to disappear. But the day we were leaving was market day [an idiom meaning bad luck or unexpected misfortune], of all days…”

Unluckily, just as they were about to leave after taking on a few more requests, they were attacked by a gang that had always had grievances against them.

“Thanks to Fixer-nim saving us, we’ve escaped the danger from those guys, but things have gotten too big. We plan to leave this city immediately.”

“Will it be safe if we go to another neighborhood?”

“That’s the problem. People who are after what’s in my head, or just want to smash my head in, will be overflowing for a while. They’ll follow us to the very end.”

Deep wrinkles etched themselves onto the middle-aged man’s face.

“I tried to avoid creating grudges while walking a tightrope among gangs, but I only reconfirmed the adage that everyone’s friend is no one’s friend [a saying about how being agreeable to everyone means you have no true allies].”

Sighing, the manager clung to me once more.

“Your skill is truly remarkable. You wiped out two gangs without a single loss. It seems you came to us for a transaction, right? Do you need any items? Or people? No, do you need money? I’ll give it to you. I’ll provide any service free of charge. So please, please protect us!”

“Can you also get weapons?”

“Weapons… hmm, we don’t directly trade them, but I can connect you with good friends. You can get them cheaply, in large quantities. What kind are you looking for?”

From the way he spoke, this person might be competent.

I couldn’t hide my anticipation and reeled off the things I had thought of beforehand.

“I need military-grade large-caliber rifles, sniper rifles, state-of-the-art high-end crossbows, anti-monster ammunition, and magical weapons that only the four great clans would use.”

“That’s not difficult.”

“And I need rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, and anti-tank missiles! The guidance system must be wired. No radio waves or lasers. If it has fire-and-forget capabilities, give me a sturdy one! It needs to work well even inside dungeons and eroded zones.”

“Ah, those…”

“Machine guns to mount on vehicles, high-speed grenade launchers, oh right! Mortars too. Armored vehicles wouldn’t work, right? I need airplanes too!”

“That might be a bit too much…”

He trailed off, flustered. When I looked disappointed, the manager quickly changed his tune.

“No! It’s possible. It might take some time, but it’s not impossible! Client-nim, no, Fixer-nim! There’s no one in this neighborhood willing to help us right now. They won’t take our requests. It would take time to call someone from afar. Please help us! We’ll do anything!”

We consulted briefly.

「They say they’ll do anything, what should we make them do?」

「Hold on! I have a good idea.」

I called the manager.

“How long do you want protection for?”

“It’s a bit long. About six months to a year. I’ll pay any price.”

“No. You seem to be misunderstanding something, I’m not a fixer.”

“Wait? Then…”

I added afterwards.

“I don’t know much about fixer contracts, but I’ll just protect you until the end of the period. Instead, work under me. That’s my demand.”

“Work?”

“I needed someone from your industry. I’ll give you a small salary. I’ll also provide food, clothing, and shelter. Top-notch! If you want to quit, I’ll let you go anytime. I won’t make unreasonable demands. Understood?”

I promptly extended my hand. The manager hesitated.

“Um, we really don’t deal with drugs or other dangerous matters…”

“I won’t make you do anything like that! I’m not a drug dealer. What’s it going to be?”

The manager, after some thought, took my hand.

“Yes, if you entrust it to me, I’ll do my best!”

I pondered what could be done as a broker of the gray zone. There was a lot to do besides smuggling weapons and elixirs.

「Let’s gather information! There’s a lot of background checking to do.」

「Do they also know about dealing stolen goods?」

There was a limit to what I could do just by doing legwork alone. These things should be left to experts.

I chuckled, imagining how I would put that broker group to work. The manager and his employees also chuckled sheepishly.