Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 75

Irregular Meeting

At Kairus’s question, Melvin let out a small “Uh,” and fell into a moment of thought.

What in the world could be inside that massive shelter? And just how valuable might those things be?

Of course, Pontus itself held the greatest value. But the three of them here, including Kairus, could not claim Pontus.

Pontus was set to become the property of the Rose Garden. So, they needed to secure other valuables worth money.

“Well… considering its architectural purpose…”

It was a sanctuary prepared in anticipation of their final moments.

Melvin summoned all of his knowledge. Naturally, a variety of things would be lying dormant inside.

But not all of those things would necessarily pique Kairus’s interest.

“I’m not expecting gold or jewels. It’s a shelter, remember?”

Pontus was a shelter. One wouldn’t typically stash treasures in a place meant for refuge.

“That’s not entirely true. We can expect a certain amount of gold, jewels, and luxury items.”

Melvin offered a hypothesis that diverged from Kairus’s assumption.

“This particular shelter was built for the royal family of Dersos.”

Those born into nobility always desired to live in luxury, even in shelters.

“Even if it’s not on the level of a royal tomb packed with treasures, it’s reasonable to expect a significant amount of precious metals. However…”

Melvin hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“The most valuable things would still be the countless records and documents already stored in the shelter.”

Kairus made a questioning sound.

“Documents?”

“Pontus was the final fallback plan to secure the future in the event of a national collapse.”

In other words, it was a last resort for when everything on the surface of Dersos had been wiped out.

“By the time Pontus was completed, it would have been stocked with nearly every significant book written in the Dersos civilization.”

When emerging from the shelter back to the surface, knowledge would be needed to rebuild the nation using the available references.

Thus, Pontus contained an immense collection of knowledge once enjoyed and applied by the Dersos civilization.

“In this day and age, is ancient knowledge really all that impressive?”

Many people romanticized ancient civilizations, but in truth, ancient knowledge that was still practical was virtually nonexistent.

They called it forgotten technology, but there was always a reason why things were forgotten.

“Just because knowledge can’t be put to use doesn’t mean it’s worthless.”

“True, I agree with that.”

There were many who would pay good money to obtain relics from the Dersos civilization. Anything they brought out and sold would fetch a price.

“We can also expect records on battle gear refining techniques that are now lost, or books on the martial arts of that era. Actually, the chances of finding those are quite high.”

“Battle gear refining techniques, huh.”

The battle gear refining techniques of the past had become obsolete, and most were eventually lost.

That was because the modern battle gear, which could be mass-produced with uniform quality, was far more useful. At this point, even if one wanted to go back and refine battle gear the old-fashioned way, it was impossible.

“They disappeared for a reason. I’m not interested.”

The old refining methods certainly had a high ceiling. But the odds of reaching that ceiling were extremely slim. One shouldn’t expect to be the rare exception.

“But martial arts from that era…”

Kairus had also lived a life filled with constant combat. Naturally, he couldn’t help but be interested in ancient swordsmanship.

“Ancient swordsmanship… sounds cool.”

Kairus wasn’t the only one showing interest. Irena, too, couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

In truth, it was Irena who had a much stronger longing for new sword techniques.

‘In the end, I’m like Kairus—Swift Blade is my limit.’

It was widely known that unless one was a direct descendant of the Featherwing line, one could not learn any swordsmanship beyond Swift Blade.

That didn’t mean Swift Blade was a poor style, but from Irena’s perspective, the desire to master another sword technique was only natural.

If they could uncover the books Melvin mentioned inside Pontus, their value would be beyond monetary measure.

“Is there anything like add-ons or battle gear inside?”

At Kairus’s question, Melvin thought for quite a while before shaking his head.

“I doubt anything that impressive is in there. It’s a facility prepared for a national collapse, after all.”

If the nation were truly facing destruction, top-tier battle gear and add-ons should be deployed on the battlefield, not buried underground in case they lost. That would be illogical.

As Kairus listened to Melvin’s explanation, he was able to narrow down the list of items he needed to prioritize in Pontus.

‘Books.’

There was no way Kairus could monopolize everything inside Pontus anyway. So he needed to focus on extracting only the prime valuables.

After gathering his thoughts and taking a short break, Melvin suddenly turned to Kairus with a question.

“There’s something I’m curious about too.”

“What is it?”

“The organization called the Rose Garden seems like an extremely powerful crime syndicate, even to someone like me who knows nothing about this world.”

Kairus nodded. Even without knowing much, just a glance at the train car they were riding in right now was enough to get a sense of the group’s power.

“That’s right.”

“They could have just taken the Yucheok Sword from you by force, couldn’t they?”

“What are you talking about?”

Kairus chuckled at Melvin’s words.

“You think I’d just let them take it from me quietly?”

“No, that’s exactly why they didn’t take it. Isn’t it?”

Well, for a guy who had lived his life peacefully reading books, the thought was surprisingly sharp.

Kairus acknowledged that much. But in the end, it seemed there were limits to what an academic could come up with.

“If they try that kind of crap, I’ll smash the Yucheok Sword right then and there.”

The Yucheok Sword wasn’t even battle gear, and even if it were, Kairus could break it easily with repeated strikes using Flicker’s output.

“You would destroy such a precious item?”

Melvin was appalled at Kairus’s words.

“Precious, my ass. If someone tries to take my stuff, you think I’d just go, ‘Yes, here you go! Please take it!’ and sit back and watch?”

“But… even so, if you break a one-of-a-kind item like that on the spot, there’s no replacing it.”

Kairus scoffed. Right, the next one.

“You people always think about ‘the next one.’ Like some robber’s going to just take your stuff and let you live.”

A robber would take your belongings and kill you. That was something he had learned all too well in the Carlson Labor Correctional Facility, filled with the worst kind of criminals.

“But wouldn’t that increase their sentence?”

Kairus gave a faint chuckle at Melvin’s innocent-sounding response.

“You think robbers hit a bank expecting to get caught?”

“What?”

Melvin stared at Kairus, dumbfounded.

“If they thought they’d get caught, why would they rob the bank in the first place? No matter how hard they try, if they’re bound to end up in prison, what’s the point?”

“Well, that’s true.”

As Melvin agreed, Kairus continued smirking while looking out the window.

“They believe they won’t get caught. Sure, all the other robbers got caught, but they think they’ll be the exception.”

Kairus tapped the table with the back of his hand as he went on.

“So if they’re not getting caught anyway, there’s no need to worry about a longer sentence for killing someone.”

In fact, killing the witnesses or victims would reduce the number of people who could report them, increasing their chances of getting away.

“I see. That… does make sense.”

A robber who worries about getting caught is like a soldier thinking of retreat before the battle even begins.

Silence returned. And again, it was Melvin who broke it.

“…Wait a moment. If what you say is true, then shouldn’t the Rose Garden be the only organization that knows about the shelter’s existence?”

At Melvin’s words, Kairus paused to think for a moment before replying.

“You’re right. Hold on… then what the hell is going on right now?”

If the other organizations didn’t know about the shelter or about Melvin, then there was no reason for the Rose Garden to parade them through Bennett City with such fanfare.

If it hadn’t been discovered, they should’ve moved discreetly.

But traveling in such flamboyant fashion, with a whole escort unit in tow, could only mean that another organization had already caught on.

Kairus’s expression, which had been relaxed as he leaned back on the sofa, suddenly turned grim.

‘In this kind of situation… how does Bennett City mediate conflicts?’

They would never escalate this into a full-scale war. Even from Kairus’s perspective, someone well-versed in the common sense of criminals, that would be utter nonsense.

It wouldn’t matter if another organization emerged as a new force and ended up replacing one of the existing groups in the Operations Committee.

But if two organizations already affiliated with the Committee clashed and one of them disappeared in the process, that would be a disaster.

‘There must be some method they’ve worked out.’

Kairus briefly entertained the thought that maybe they’d try to resolve things through dialogue. But honestly, he didn’t place much faith in that idea.

‘What kind of damn dialogue are criminals supposed to have.’

In truth, even though Kairus immediately dismissed the notion, dialogue wasn’t such a laughable solution.

* * *

Just as Kairus was scoffing at his own thoughts—

In Bennett City, a rare irregular meeting of the Antaria Grand Canal Operations Committee was being held.

“You all look so healthy. What a shame.”

Cecilia entered through the open meeting room door, gave a quick glance over the faces around the large round table, and greeted them.

With her arrival, all seven organization leaders were now seated.

Lukas Volphid of Lukas’s Children.

Donovan Bonaparte, the elder of the Areumdri Pawnshop.

Tapas Aiola, the guide of the Lantern Gang.

Barenza Onui of Lumis & Wesson Transport Company.

Chief of the Security Corps, Jensen Ludbow.

Chief of the Police Department, Dawson Fillery.

And finally, Cecilia Longhorn of the Rose Garden.

“A full house, huh. Seems like none of you are as busy as I thought?”

Cecilia swallowed her displeasure and made a pointed remark before taking her seat.

Her gaze naturally shifted toward Donovan Bonaparte, the elder of the Areumdri Pawnshop. The Rose Garden’s spy, whom Cecilia had previously captured, had escaped through the sewer system.

If the topic of this irregular meeting was Pontus, then the one responsible for this mess was clearly Donovan Bonaparte.

“It’s been a while, Representative Cecilia.”

The man with the ashen beard and pressed fedora took the cigar from his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke, and spoke in a low voice.

Cecilia lightly waved her hand to disperse the smoke and responded.

“If possible, I would’ve rather heard news of your obituary.”

Dressed in a red gown, Cecilia removed her wide-brimmed hat with a sigh.

“You shouldn’t covet treasures buried on someone else’s land. The underground belongs to me.”

At Lucion’s comment, Cecilia smiled and swept her eyes across the people in the room.

“Does anyone else here agree with that bullshit?”

Of course, no one did. Cecilia’s eyes turned back to Donovan.

“Who the hell gave you the idea that the underground’s your property?”

“What’s the point of talking about dicks you don’t even have? You damn insurance peddler.”

As Donovan finished his sentence and brought the cigar to his lips, Cecilia snatched it from him and tossed it into the glass of water on the table.

With a hiss, the cigar went out. Brownish tar spread in the water, and a sharp smoke trailed into the air.

“You may wear one, but you’ve never actually been one, have you…”

Cecilia continued in a razor-sharp voice.

“Hey, you fence rat, want to find out what it’s like to be a dick just once today?”

The mood in the room turned instantly volatile, the kind where it wouldn’t be surprising if someone pulled a weapon at any moment.