Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 54

Change of Client (2)

I called Spring Parsley and explained the situation. She didn’t need to know the details. I just told her that the request from the Rose Garden had been completed and that I’d received an additional request at the Kellogg’s mansion.

After hearing me out, Spring Parsley wore an expression of disbelief.

― What the hell happened during the break-in for the victim to become the client?

From her perspective, it was a baffling situation. A guy breaks into a house and ends up getting hired by the owner? What kind of bizarre turn of events would make that even remotely plausible?

― And you think robbing the Rezantin Royal Museum is a joke?

“If I thought it was a joke, would I be calling to ask for your opinion?”

The plan involved sneaking into a massive storage facility used by the Aylan Republic Order of Knights to lift some goods.

Anyone who thought that was an easy job didn’t deserve a long life.

I wasn’t aiming to go through with it just yet—only to check whether it was even feasible.

― Of course it’s impossible. Rezantin City, where the Royal Museum is located, always has one of the Imperial Order of Knights’ captains stationed there on rotation.

That meant terrifying superhumans guarded the city at all times, switching shifts on a regular cycle.

― If you get caught, you're dead.

It wasn’t that there was no chance of surviving a failure. It’s that if I got caught, escaping Rezantin alive wouldn’t even be on the table.

No, even getting out of the museum would be a fantasy.

The Empire and the Republic.

The captains of both nations’ knight orders weren’t threats that effort or preparation could overcome.

― It's more accurate to call a knight captain a natural disaster with a personality.

I agreed with Spring Parsley on that. They were born as humans, but became something else entirely.

If no one was deemed worthy of the title of knight captain, the position was left vacant and a deputy handled the duties.

‘I could’ve been one of them too, if things had gone differently.’

Of course, even the House Featherwing couldn’t produce multiple knight captains at will. Still, at the very least, I had shown enough talent to be acknowledged by everyone within the House.

Had I simply stuck to the family swordsmanship without incident, I might’ve become someone capable of standing face-to-face with a knight captain one day.

“One knight captain, huh. I wonder what other precautions I should be aware of.”

― What, you planning on committing suicide in Rezantin? If so, dying to the knight captain is probably your best bet.

Spring Parsley replied like that, then paused to think for a moment before answering again.

― The detailed security systems of the Rezantin Museum’s vault are top secret, so there’s no access to that info. The only thing that’s known is that it’s located about 350 meters underground.

At that point, it was safe to say that almost nothing was publicly known.

Not even the ambiguous local skirmishes that occurred near the border would warrant the mobilization of the artifacts stored in the Rezantin Museum.

And given the current military strength of both nations, a full-scale war would bring irreversible damage to both sides the moment it began.

In other words—

― The artifacts are almost never taken out of the museum.

“So it’s not about waiting for them to be taken out. Someone has to go in.”

If the items would never be brought out, then the only option was to go in and retrieve them.

But the storage area where those artifacts were kept was under the watchful eyes of one of the knight captains.

“That's brutal. No matter how much I could gain, what’s the point if I end up dead?”

Talking with Spring Parsley, I couldn’t help but grimace. The real problem was the knight captain stationed to protect Rezantin City.

* * *

A few days passed after my conversation with Spring Parsley. The Winter’s Farewell Party held at the Kellogg’s mansion concluded successfully, despite the sudden assassination attempt on the head of the house.

In the meantime, Cecilia was going over the documents I had delivered to her.

“This is verified?”

“Yes. We've already confirmed that he’s the one who sent it.”

After hearing her subordinate’s reply, Cecilia stood up, holding the document in hand.

“Why is it that people always feel the need to test others?”

She held the paper over a burning candle. The flame licked the edge of the document and began to spread.

Watching the document burn in her hands, Cecilia smiled brightly at her subordinate.

“Looks like this guy thinks I’m someone he can take lightly. What should I do with him?”

Her subordinate immediately shook his head.

“Absolutely not. Who in this world would dare think such a thing?”

“But this man—he tried to deceive me. I suppose he thought there was a chance he wouldn’t get caught.”

With a flick of her hand, Cecilia tossed the burning paper to the floor. Her dull red eyes watched the flame engulf it, turning it to ash.

“Representative, just give the order and I’ll act.”

In response, Cecilia smiled and said,

“He’s done such a good job, I ought to give him a fitting reward.”

Her words made the subordinate flinch. A reward for sending fake documents?

The Representative of the Rose Garden never forgave failure—especially from those who weren’t part of her own organization. That had always been the rule, and would continue to be so.

“Tell him that the Cloud Seizing Art manual is in the Rezantin Royal Museum.”

That was a lie. The museum didn’t have the Cloud Seizing Art manual.

Since Kairus had given Cecilia false information, she returned the favor with a false lead in exchange for the promised reward.

“If he finds out that the book he's looking for is also in that museum, on top of Simid Kellogg's request, he’ll make a move.”

Cecilia already knew that Kairus had accepted a job from Simid Kellogg. If Kairus hadn’t wanted to be found out, he shouldn’t have made a phone call from Bennett City. Resting her chin on her hand, Cecilia continued.

“When he arrives in Rezantin, leak the information to the knight captain currently stationed there.”

There was no need to send someone from the Rose Garden to deal with him. Kairus would die in Rezantin anyway.

“Who’s the knight captain currently stationed there?”

“Right now it’s Turkerson Mailroad. But he’s scheduled to be relieved by Dana Watson in a few days.”

Cecilia, who had been inspecting herself in the mirror, spoke up.

“Ah, so it’s that beast in a woman’s skin this time.”

“I still get chills remembering that crazy woman’s rampage.”

The Rose Garden had witnessed Dana Watson in a rage. There were a few who survived her wrath, but nearly none of the targets of her fury lived to tell the tale.

“It was thanks to you, Representative, that we survived.”

The Rose Garden was one of the rare exceptions.

“That’s right. It was.”

Had it not been for Cecilia, Dana Watson would have turned all of the Rose Garden operatives into a smear of crushed tomatoes.

Cecilia had clashed with Dana Watson before—she knew. Kairus wasn’t lacking in skill. He was good enough that she had considered hiring him as an executive on the spot.

But at his current level, there was no way he’d survive Dana Watson. It would be over in a single exchange.

“Come to think of it, didn’t they say the only daughter of the Kellogg family is an apprentice in the Scarlet Leaf Order?”

Cecilia asked her subordinate, as if recalling it out of the blue.

“Yes. Irena Kellogg. She’s an apprentice knight of the Scarlet Leaf Order, and on her way home, she got close to Kairus, who approached her first.”

“What a twisted family. The heir falls for a Valorn Security agent, and the only daughter befriends a criminal from Bennett City.”

Maybe that kind of thing was in their blood. Cecilia chuckled briefly before returning to her cold expression.

“Dana Watson isn’t sane, but even she has a few principles.”

She valued her comrades and took care of her subordinates. She hadn’t abandoned all the fundamental standards required to hold the title of knight captain.

“If Irena Kellogg ends up going to Rezantin with Kairus, things will get complicated. Make sure she can’t leave.”

“That won’t be an issue. She’s started training in a temporary structure set up in the mansion’s garden. From what we’ve confirmed, she won’t be coming out for about a month.”

Cecilia replied, “Is that so?” and fell into a moment of thought. Her mind quickly weighed the situation.

Crisis management wasn’t about blocking every possible threat at the source.

“Can you bring me the report?”

“Yes, here it is.”

As she read the report, Cecilia calculated the cost of preventing Irena Kellogg from accompanying Kairus. She also estimated the probability that Irena would interrupt her training and head to Rezantin with him.

The specifics of Irena’s training were not confirmed. No matter how capable the Rose Garden’s intelligence network was, gathering internal information within Bennett City was a completely different matter from collecting external intelligence.

But that wasn’t the important part.

‘The likelihood is too low.’

In Cecilia’s judgment, the chance that Irena Kellogg would stop training and go to Rezantin with Kairus was negligible.

Reviewing the stacks of documents and weighing various possibilities, Cecilia came to a conclusion.

“Let’s disregard that possibility.”

Taking precautions would only incur unnecessary losses. And if things went differently than Cecilia expected—if Irena Kellogg really did accompany Kairus?

It wouldn’t matter. Once everything was over, Kairus would have to return to Bennett City.

If Kairus managed to survive and escape, he would pay the price for feeding false information to the Rose Garden once he came back to Bennett City.

Only one thing would change: the timing of the punishment would be slightly delayed.

“That bastard failed the job even with the Rose Garden’s support.”

An outsider, not even affiliated with the Rose Garden, had received support.

And yet, he sent false documents.

“Whether it was intentional or not.”

That didn’t matter. Just like one case of food poisoning could ruin a renowned restaurant—

A trivial incident could bring down a massive organization.

“I don’t forgive outsiders. Unless it’s a settlement.”

Forgiveness meant overlooking a mistake without demanding anything in return. A settlement, on the other hand, required compensation.

“…Do you think he could afford a settlement?”

Cecilia shrugged at her subordinate’s question.

“Who knows? I call it a settlement, but I have no intention of accepting money.”

Money meant nothing. No matter how much Kairus came up with, Cecilia had no plans to settle.

If he wanted to survive, he’d need to offer something that couldn’t be bought with money.

Not that any of it mattered in the first place.

“The whole premise depends on him surviving Dana Watson.”

At her words, the subordinate let out a soft, “Ah.”

“You’re right. That’s not even remotely possible.”

If Dana Watson started a pursuit, even the Grim Reaper would take a vacation.

After all, he wouldn’t need to follow—Kairus would die and come to hell on his own.

And then...

“One more round over here!”

Dana Watson, Captain of the Scarlet Leaf Order.

While she was being talked about all the way back in Bennett City, she was busy filling a 1.5-liter beer stein with whiskey in a bar in Rezantin City.

The first thing anyone noticed when facing her was the flaming red hair, as if it were ablaze.

Next came the issue of where to look—because the clothes she wore barely covered anything.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say she was practically walking around in her underwear. Her attire was so revealing that it seemed more designed for the enjoyment of onlookers than for the person wearing it.

“Um… Captain, could you at least, you know, close your legs a bit…?”

“What's with that voice? You neutered or something? Speak up!”

With a thwack, she smacked the back of the knight's head who had offered the advice, then downed the massive stein full of whiskey in a single gulp and wiped her lips.

“And this—this is how I dress because I want people to look.”

Even without adornment, she was dazzlingly beautiful.

So stunning it left people entranced, and her entire being seemed to radiate vitality and strength.

Despite being a knight captain, her flawless, unscarred body stood as proof of her strength.

She’d survived countless battlefields, and yet not a single opponent had left a mark on her.

The charm of a woman and the pride of a warrior coexisted in her body.

So—

It would be idiotic not to flaunt such a proud, beautiful body in front of others.

“But… the way people stare…”

“Their stares? I like them.”

Men, desperate to have her. Women, envious because they couldn’t.

Dana Watson drank another round, using all those gazes directed at her as a side dish.

“Oh, by the way. Irena Kellogg has filed for an extended leave.”

Hearing this from one of the knights seated with her, Dana Watson responded,

“You just have to talk business when someone’s drinking.”

“You’re always drinking when you're not on the battlefield, Captain.”

Dana made a sorrowful face.

“I’m just faithfully following Itera’s teachings.”

“…Huh?”

Her subordinate knight stared at her, clearly confused by what kind of nonsense this half-naked, alcoholic knight captain was spouting.

“According to Itera’s teachings, alcohol and lust are enemies that cloud a person’s heart.”

“That’s true.”

“And Itera also said to love your enemies, right?”

“….”

“That’s why I love booze and men.”

Clearly pleased with her own words, Dana burst out laughing and popped a piece of jerky into her mouth.

“Damn, shit. I should’ve gone into a monastery instead of the knight order.”

“You’d have been excommunicated within a month.”

“You little punk. You really say anything to your captain, don’t you? Huh?”

Chewing her jerky, Dana—now visibly tipsy—began flipping through some documents on the table.

Irena Kellogg had originally taken two weeks’ leave to attend the Winter’s Farewell Party hosted by the Kellogg family. And now, she’d applied for an extended leave on top of that.

“Extended leave to improve battle gear handling and skills, huh.”

Munching on jerky, Dana Watson glanced down at Irena Kellogg’s leave application, her flushed face showing the creeping effects of intoxication.