NOVEL NEXT Ch. 49
“…I knew he wouldn’t be ordinary, but still.”
Watching Jerry discuss with a merchant about the slaves he was buying, Loxy muttered under her breath.
‘…….’
It probably wasn't that she was repulsed by the slave black market itself.
After all, she was also strictly from the Demon King's Territory.
But how should I put it?
Was it because she was steeped in the lingering memories of Kim Sia in her head?
Or was it because of the symbol of ‘goodness’ she had vaguely held without even realizing it herself?
She seemed to feel an inexplicable sense of betrayal from Jerry's actions, which went against that symbol.
Though it wasn't a thought befitting someone who, until just a while ago, had been snuffing out human lives like flies.
In any case, that's how she appeared on the outside.
Something, somewhere. Vacantly.
- …I'll purchase all the remaining Beastkin stock.
- Aigoo… My lord. Of course. Let's see, the price would be…….
- …11 Coins. Including the cost of transport to the usual address.
- Well… we won't have much of a profit then…….
- …15 Coins.
- …Of course, sir. It's you, after all. I'll consider it an investment in the future and gladly accept. Haha!
- …5 Coins as a down payment. Receive the balance at the destination.
- Thank you every year, my lord! Please come again next year!
“…The way every merchant he meets bows and scrapes, calling him 'my lord,' it doesn't seem like this is his first or second visit… Is he really doing this every year?”
“Well. It seems so.”
Jerry was, quite literally, buying up slaves ‘like a madman’.
Without missing a single shop, he bought the slaves, demanded they be sent to a specific location, and moved on to the next merchant.
Of course, Jerry's actions weren't entirely strange.
It wasn't common, but every slave market was bound to have at least one perverted big spender who would buy up all the slaves to satisfy their personal desires.
However, there was one peculiar thing about Jerry.
- …The Beastkin. How many are left?
- Ah, yes! Let me see… Two have been sold, and four are left. One of them is a rare Cat-kin…….
- …I'll buy them all. The terms are the same as last year.
It was the fact that he only bought ‘Beastkin’ slaves.
“…Well, he is from the Demon King's Territory, I suppose. But I thought he was a relatively sensible type.”
A bitter smile formed on Loxy's lips as she watched Jerry.
Well, it couldn't be helped.
As long as she didn't know his inner story, no one would look kindly upon a man who paid extra to gather up all the Beastkin slaves.
Pfft-
“…Still, it looks like you've gotten used to pretending to be good. Until just recently, you were one of those 'unreasonable' people from the Demon King's Territory.”
“…Anyway.”
As if embarrassed by my muttering, Loxy cleared her throat a couple of times and changed the subject, throwing a question at me.
“What's the plan here? Rebuilding the Demonic Cult… how are you going to do that?”
“Well, shouldn't we start by finding traces of the Demonic Cult?”
“……?”
Tilt-
“Wait… what, you don't have some incredibly detailed plan? For you to boast so confidently.”
To answer her question straight to the point.
“Nope. Nothing like that. We have to wing it.”
“What….”
There was no detailed plan for rebuilding the Demonic Cult.
[Bucket List #8]
『Find the traces of the Demonic Cult.』
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that a plan ‘couldn't’ be made.
‘…Because I've moved the timeline up so much.’
The plan to rebuild the Demonic Cult before my regression was executed much later than this.
The overall framework for rebuilding the Demonic Cult could be followed as before, but since the axis of time and space had shifted, it was impossible to set up a detailed plan in advance.
Having arrived this early, many things would have changed, and there would be a certain number of variables as a result.
…In the first place, that was the reason I decided to move up the schedule and execute it early.
‘…The complete reconstruction of the Demonic Cult.’
The plan to rebuild the Demonic Cult in my past life did succeed, but it was only a half-baked success.
Because we had barely managed to grasp the opportunity right before the possibility of rebuilding the Demonic Cult vanished forever, we were only able to revive one of the two pillars that could be said to support it.
Afterward, as the significance of the Demonic Cult was proven, the regret over that lost half became more prominent.
That was also why I chose the rebuilding of the Demonic Cult as the first chapter after my regression.
To find the other lost half in advance and rebuild the Demonic Cult in its most complete form.
Of course, that wasn't something I could guarantee unconditionally.
Aside from the fact that it had definitely existed, I didn't know exactly when the other half was lost, nor did I know where it was.
…Well, I'm in a position where I have to make it happen one way or another.
In that sense, there was a quest that had caught my eye from the start.
+
[QUEST: Subjugate the Demonic Cult Remnants]
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
Client:
Details: At the eastern edge of Murim, on the Shandong Peninsula, which was once the stronghold of the 'Demonic Cult', rumors have recently been circulating that remnants aiming for the revival of the Demonic Cult have appeared. Confirm the truth of these rumors and defeat the remnants of the Demonic Cult.
Reward: 500 Guardian Coins.
+
‘…….’
Almost the only quest that could be undertaken in the Shandong region.
This quest had been catching my eye even before I boarded the Guardian Train.
Of course, I had no intention of participating in this quest.
Having brought along a Succubus to avoid the Constellations' attention, there was no need to draw their gaze just to receive some chump change.
However, the significance of this quest was quite large for me.
‘…I don't know what it is, but there's a definite lead related to the Demonic Cult in the Shandong region.’
In truth, the rumor about the existence of Demonic Cult remnants was a kind of ghost story that had been circulating in the Murim Empire ever since the Righteous-Demonic War 100 years ago.
Although remnants of the Demonic Cult had never actually been discovered, nor had there ever been a Demonic Cult uprising, it showed just how great the aftermath of the Righteous-Demonic War 100 years ago had been.
It would surface every now and then, just when people were about to forget, sending a chill down the spines of the Murim Empire's citizens.
In fact, the peninsula being the former stronghold of the Demonic Cult played a part in why this Shandong Peninsula was abandoned as a semi-lawless land.
Therefore, I normally wouldn't have needed to pay it any mind.
That is, if this hadn't been a ‘Constellation's’ quest.
‘…The Sword Sage, he was definitely the guardian Constellation of the Huashan Sect.’
Constellations do not directly intervene in most matters.
Especially when a War against Demons is underway in their own jurisdiction, they have no choice but to focus all their attention there, not turning their gaze to other matters.
And yet, the fact that the 'Constellation, Sword Sage,' who should be overseeing the Murim's anti-demon front, the
Of course, if it were the real Demonic Cult, it wouldn't have ended with a measure like this, but from my perspective of searching for traces related to the Demonic Cult, even this much was more than I could ask for.
‘…Where should I start searching?’
It was then.
“Aigo, no matter what you say, you can't… Captain….”
“This bastard still…….”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from behind, piercing through the gloomy atmosphere unique to the back alley.
“……?”
Thwack-! Thud-!
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed repeatedly, as if someone was being beaten one-sidedly.
Turning towards the sound, I saw a bald merchant being beaten by a man in black clothes with a distinctive emblem.
Someone might have jumped in to stop it, but because of the group of men in the same attire that the man in black had behind him, everyone kept quiet and didn't dare to intervene.
Loxy, who had been silently watching the scene, turned her head to me and asked.
“Oh my. That looks quite painful.”
“Indeed.”
“Shouldn't you go help? You said you were one of the good guys.”
Shrug-
“How do you know who the good guy is? The bald guy could be the bad one. In movies, the bald guy is usually the villain.”
“…You're not wrong, but.”
“Besides, all the guys doing business here are bad news. No need to help. We can just watch.”
“…….”
But wait a minute.
That emblem on his forearm, I've definitely seen it somewhere before.
* * *
At the noisy commotion from behind, Jerry looked up from the ledger he was writing in and glanced in that direction for a moment.
And though Jerry had merely turned his gaze.
The bald merchant noticed his look, rushed over like a madman, and grabbed Jerry's collar.
Jerry's brows furrowed deeply as he spoke to the man.
“…I have a great aversion to my clothes getting dirty.”
“Aigo, my lord… It's not that…….”
Before he could even explain the situation, another kick flew from the man he had called 'Captain'.
Thud-!
“I told you to hand it over, didn't I?”
“Aigo, Captain… As I told you before, that girl is already sold… I have something else prepared, so if you'd take that…….”
“Aish… I told you I liked that one! Who do you think you owe for being able to do business here?”
“Aigo, no, sir… Captain. I know that well… But I have to make a living too… No matter how little courtesy there is in this business, if my trust with this lord here is broken…….”
Throb-
Jerry suddenly felt a headache. He sensed that things had taken a strange turn.
Ssk-
He had a rough idea of the man's identity before him.
The emblem he wore proudly on his forearm and his arrogant personality.
And the master-servant relationship embedded in his conversation with the merchant.
Judging by those two things, this man was likely a member of a gang that had recently started acting like thugs in this back alley.
He didn't know the details, but seeing as he was called Captain, he seemed to be an executive.
‘…This seems to be the first time they've taken over this alley.’
Seeing gangsters in the Shandong region wasn't a particularly rare or strange occurrence.
Jerry had been coming and going from this Shandong region for more than a year or two, and since it was a fundamentally lawless place where all sorts of illegal activities were rampant, it would have been stranger if there were none.
However, if Jerry's memory served him right, the gangs had never been able to meddle in this ‘Slave Merchant Alley’.
The reason was simple.
Distributing slaves was an inherently labor-intensive business, and among the various market alleys of this lawless Shandong, it was the item that took up the largest share of the pie.
In other words, the merchants doing business here, including the bald man bowing his head, were each leaders of their own organizations, commanding their own private forces.
Because of that, even reasonably large organizations didn't dare to crawl into this slave alley and demand protection money.
To put it bluntly, if the merchants in this slave alley were to unite, they would become the largest organization on the Shandong Peninsula.
‘…Tsk.’
In other words, the fact that the merchant was groveling like that despite having sufficient power meant that the organization the man in black called ‘Captain’ belonged to was even more powerful than the combined forces of the slave alley merchants.
Sure enough.
A cliché line flew from the man's mouth.
“…Right, you guys haven't seen how the Black Wind Squad handles things yet. You just wait right there. I'll make sure your precious slave business closes down today.”
“Aigo, no, sir! No, Black Wind Captain! I've heard all about the New Demonic Cult… but… if you could just overlook it this one time, from next time, I'll definitely…….”
And with that cliché threat.
Ssk-
Jerry, who had suddenly smoothed his brow, made eye contact with U-jin, who was watching the situation from a distance.
‘…Demonic Cult?’