Chapter 77 October 3, 2022
Chapter 77 – Sheridan Ironfeet (1)
With Violeta’s performance using Wind Magic, the remnants of the Crimson Society were quickly gotten rid of.
There must have been quite a commotion, but there was no need for the police to go all the way there.
It was a deserted alleyway, and the police seemed to think that it was none of their business when they heard such a commotion.
That was why murder often happened there like a three-course meal.
“Is everything finished?”
“Yes. I don’t think there are any more of them.”
Violeta dusted her hands off while saying so.
Her voice seemed a little tired, perhaps because she wasted quite a lot of mana while using her attack magic.
I stood still and secretly took out and began chewing on a mana pill.
“…Really. If you’re that sober, then help me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. This is also a light test to check my skills, something like that, right?”
“…”
I didn’t know what she was talking about.
Oh, was it because I was just staying still while watching her get rid of the remnants of the Crimson Society?
I just stayed still because I couldn’t spend my mana recklessly.
Wasn’t it a hindrance if I intervened while my ally was using magic?
It seemed that Violeta interpreted my attitude a little differently.
‘It doesn’t matter, I think.’
It didn’t seem necessary to correct her misunderstanding.
Restoring my mana was the priority.
“More than that, these guys… this was a pretty fancy job. They were trying to pull people together and ambush us when their organization was already completely destroyed.”
“That’s how desperate they were. Or should I say that’s how greedy they were?”
“Well, they thought they could get back everything if they killed us, but unless they’re fools, they’ll know that we can’t be harmed now…”
Violeta hadn’t been able to finish her sentence properly because of what was going on.
Come to think of it, the Crimson Society had hired the Calsapa Assassins.
No matter how new they were, they were highly trained.
It would have been quite expensive to hire them.
‘Did the guys whose businesses have already been robbed have that kind of money?’
It wouldn’t have been, easy even if there was a slush fund that they had secretly acquired.
Assassins didn’t accept credit payment by nature, even if they were not Calsapa Assassins.
Moreover, those assassins knew they had failed to kill them, but they didn’t run away and instead kept rushing at them.
Because the assassins thought that they were tired? Would those people who had been living in the underworld not realize that?
‘They can’t run away.’
Those assassins couldn’t run away and had no choice but to fight them.
Then why couldn’t those assassins run away?
“They’ve been pushed back.”
“Pardon?”
“The remnants of the Crimson Society I mean.”
Violeta seemed to also realize something as she exclaimed ‘Ah’ at my comment.
“…So there are other people who are involved in this.”
“Do you think they were just involved? They had to have even encouraged this situation to happen. Maybe they were also the ones who gave those assassins the money and hired them.”
“Who on earth are they? There won’t be any more people like that in the underworld, though…”
I shook my head.
“They’re not people from this kind of world.”
“Then don’t tell me…”
“Yes. I’m sure it was those people up there who aren’t happy with this situation who got involved in it.”
Someone who knew the situation to some extent and could secretly support them with money…
“I thought there was nobody in particular except for Belfort Ricksen, but is that true?”
“…There was a suspicion that Daughtry had a connection with Belfort Ricksen.”
“It’s not a suspicion. There was actually a connection between them.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve heard it from Daughtry himself, so I can be sure.”
“W-wait. You heard it from himself, you said? When? Before you killed him?”
“I haven’t killed him yet. Daughtry is locked up in the custody of my men right now. He barely managed to hang onto his life.”
It seemed that the fact that Daughtry, the leader of the Crimson Society, was alive was shocking.
Violeta was speechless for a while.
“I’m pretty much done with my business, but he’s still the leader of the Crimson Society. If he knew anything more, I should have made him say it.”
“…You’re a thorough person.”
“Daughtry took advantage of the Crimson Society to join hands with Belfort Ricksen. Daughtry got the money from him, and in return, he took care of the dirty work.”
“But Belfort Ricksen is dead. I read in the paper that he was attacked and killed by a werewolf a while ago.”
“I killed him.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m the one who killed Belfort Ricksen.”
“…”
“It is a well-known truth that a werewolf attacked him, but the reality is different. Belfort Ricksen secretly ordered the Crimson Society to do an experiment with human beings.”
“Wh-why on earth? No, more than that, why did you tell me that truth?”
As the story of the mysterious incident came out of my mouth, Violeta looked incredibly flustered.
As it was an unexpected truth, it must have been rather confusing to hear.
“That’s why I killed Belfort Ricksen. I gave a suitable end to a man who undermined human dignity. And after I looked through his vaults and books, I caught the Crimson Society’s tail.”
“…So that’s why you got rid of the Crimson Society?”
“I also have to settle down here anyway. I didn’t really want to stand on the same ground as them.”
“…”
Well, I understood that she was surprised, and she must have been wondering why I was saying that.
“…I’ll keep this a secret.”
“It’s good that you understand quickly.”
It was that part.
With that, Violeta wouldn’t be able to think of betraying me.
It was a light warning.
Although we had already fought together and I had provided a vision for her organization to move forward.
It was certain for human beings by nature to forget the various benefits given to them in a short time and stab people from the back.
That was why I couldn’t completely believe her.
‘This is some kind of intimidation.’
I had killed Belfort Ricksen. I had assassinated one of the wealthiest mega millionaires in Leathevelk.
In other words, unless they were a decent aristocrat, I could kill them if I wanted.
The woman in front of me as well…
That fact alone would make my presence even greater for Violeta.
And the words that I should point her out the most…
“You are a wise woman. You must have understood what I’m trying to tell you to do.”
“I need to find the Crimson Society that attacked us this time and the one who gave them money from behind.“
“Yes.”
“I will be very busy. I also have to proceed with the business you told me about.”
“Can’t you do it?”
Violeta shook her head at my question.
“No. Those would be words that hurt my pride. I will surely take care of both of them.”
“Yes. Of course. If you don’t show at least that much competence, I would be in trouble. I’m going to hand over Daughtry to you as a motivation for you to do your best.”
“Daughtry? Don’t you keep him around still?”
“He is almost in a disabled state where he can’t even walk properly anyway. You can use that guy to extract information, or you can kill him, whatever you want.”
Gulp.
The sound of Violeta swallowing her saliva could be heard.
I smiled softly.
“There are usually a lot of things piled up, so you can use any method. He’s still cheap, even after he ended up like that. This is also a gift from me to you.”
In fact, I was going to tell her about Daughtry first anyway.
The reason I had saved Daughtry was not only to extract information but also to pass him alive to the other three organizations and let them leave a good impression on him.
As they usually had resentment toward the Crimson Society, they must have been the ones who wanted to kill Daughtry more than anyone else.
“I’ll do my best. More than what you expect.”
“It’s a good answer. I’m going to go now, so you should go in as well.”
“The corpses…”
“The officials won’t ask the reasons for death in the back alley because the dead don’t talk.”
“…Yes. Understood.”
Violeta bowed politely to me.
She was still an equal partner with me, but she had already sworn allegiance to me.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
***
“You came?”
“Yeah.”
“…Some suspicious crowd went to the place you were at. Did you meet them?”
Instead of answering, I removed the monocle on my face relaxedly and took off my coat.
Hans nodded on his own.
“You’ve taken care of all of them, I see.”
“They even hired assassins. They were Calsapa Assassins.”
“Crazy. They were Calsapa Assassins?”
“They weren’t the real ones. They were novices who wanted to gain some experience.”
“Still, Calsapa Assassins are Calsapans, right? Their price has to be worth a fortune, right?”
“Yes. So you should move as well.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s a bunch of people behind them who asked them to kill us. It seems that, after the Crimson Society disappeared, there were a considerable number of new people who came into play.”
“Well, I’m already dying because I have to check the sale offers in the Kunst auction house…”
“Just don’t do it if you can’t do it.”
“No, I will do it. It’s directly related to my life, so I can’t just be negligent.”
He complained when he was actually going to do it.
The moment I hung my coat on the hanger, the door opened violently with a bang.
That was our secret base where few people entered, even from the back alley.
It was a place where ordinary guests could never go.
But the one who opened the door and showed up…
“Is she Seridan?”
“Yes.”
The little girl who had just entered the room had gleaming eyes while looking at me when she heard my words.
“As expected, it’s Your Honor!”
She had slightly burnt brown skin and white hair that was tied comfortably in pigtails. Her raised eyes and the corners of her mouth looked playful.
The stretchy pants that she wore comfortably and the overcoat that she wore roughly over her top were full of oil.
Was she touching something just a moment ago?
Sheridan Ironfeet…
She was the dwarf girl who was the developer and inventor of the wire launcher that I used.
“You’re still energetic and noisy.”
I said so while loosening the wrist band on my left arm before throwing it at Sheridan.
Hiyap!
She jumped from her place, grabbed the wristband, and immediately checked its condition.
“Hm. You’ve been rolling it pretty hard lately, huh? The end of the launcher is worn out, and some of its sawtooth screws became loose. Furthermore, I’ll have to change the wire.”
“I had a lot of moments when I had to use it.”
“More than using it a lot, the joints are loose, though? I think it’s because one more person was carried than it could originally handle. Your Honor! I told you to be careful! This is for one person! It can barely pull up a man with all sorts of equipment like you, Your Honor!”
“I just used it like that because it’s strong.”
“Don’t you know that its mechanisms are fragile?!”
“So you can’t fix it?”
“Ten minutes is enough!”
“Then it’s fine.”
She was more of an expert than anyone else in the field of machinery.
Her nickname was male, no, female factory worker.
The sword stick and saw-bladed boomerang that I used were all made by her as well.
Of course, I was the one who had provided the ideas.
When I came up with a rough idea, she got hooked on the idea and invented it like crazy.
What a great input and output.
“Hey, assistant! Help me!”
“Who’s your assistant!”
Hans shouted as Sheridan called him.
“Punk, you should come when your great older sister tells you to! You won’t come? Really?”
“Ah, oo-o-okaay! So get rid of that mouse’s teeth!”
“Hihihi. You punk. If you won’t listen to me, you will be stabbed by this. Got it?”
“Damn it. Please stop that.”
“It’s enjoyable to see, though?”
That’s what I said, but in fact, I couldn’t stop Sheridan either.
The naturally born energetic girl was beyond my control as well.
I was just glad that she didn’t make such a fuss with me.
Of course, for Hans, who couldn’t be like me, her prank was deadly to him.
Sheridan’s violence was mainly directed at Hans.
Especially, when Hans was stabbed by an animal’s teeth, he accepted the animal’s factor and turned into a monster.
Sheridan knew that weakness and would deliberately carry a mouse’s teeth and threaten Hans.
“Then I’ll go to the workshop first! Hurry and come!”
Hans clenched his fist as he watched the woman go away with my wristband like a storm.
“Argh. That little punk… really.”
“Even if she looks like that, she’s older than you.”
Sheridan was a little kid on the outside, but it was only because she was a dwarf, she was actually older than Hans.
“I know that too. Damn. Why is she like that only to me?”
“That’s because…”
‘You’re easy.’
I couldn’t bring myself to say that because I knew that Hans was having a hard time.
However, even if I didn’t say it, it seemed that Hans recognized it himself, as his expression quickly became depressed.
“…There are other people coming here. This is hell.”
“Work hard. By the way, don’t let Sheridan touch any gunpowder.”
“I know that. I don’t want to die, either.”
Sheridan Ironfeet.
She was a great inventor and developer, but she was also a time bomb, perhaps because of her fearsome, challenging spirit.
However, the problem was that ‘time bomb’ did not have any metaphorical meaning.
She would make all kinds of bombs if there was real gunpowder.
“Do you remember when you and I first saw that jerk?”
“She was in an underground mine in the Kingdom of Delica. She illegally enslaved another species to mine there day and night.”
“Yes. That punk was seized there, too.”
“It’s a misunderstanding to say that the guy was being seized.”
Anyway, when I was James Moriarty, I had snuck into a mine with Hans.
At that time I met Sheridan.
To be exact, she was secretly building a huge bomb that would blow up the mine itself.
“If it exploded, we’d have all been dead, right?”
“Yes. If the mine collapsed 1km below the ground, even someone as strong as a knight captain would die as well.”
“…I can’t believe I have to take care of that crazy jerk who tried to collapse the mine.”
“Work hard.”
Hans had been through a lot.
And surprisingly, there was only one additional member in our new organization, U.N. Owen.
It was just funny that there were still more candidates for the organization.
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