Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 76

Irregular Meeting (2)

The conference room was steeped in a tense, hostile atmosphere.

What broke the mood was a voice speaking in a gentle tone, trying to calm the others.

“We didn’t gather here for this, did we? Let’s settle down and focus on the agenda.”

It was Jensen Ludbow, Chief of the Empire’s Security Corps. A man in his mid-forties with curly, dark brown hair.

His face always seemed to be smiling.

“An agenda, fine. Who called this meeting?”

At Cecilia’s words, Donovan grinned and raised his hand.

“I did.”

The moment she saw that, Cecilia felt a slight twinge in her stomach. If it was like this, the agenda was as good as set.

Pontus — an ultra-massive evacuation facility of the Dersos civilization, located even deeper than the sewer system.

The agenda of this irregular meeting would be to reach a consensus on who should own that shelter.

‘He just went ahead and announced it?’

Cecilia gave a short, mocking laugh.

“I hope it’s important enough to call an irregular meeting. We’re all busy.”

She already had a near-certain guess at what that fence had brought to the table, but for now, she stayed silent.

A short while later, documents related to the agenda of this irregular meeting were distributed to the committee members.

“An underground shelter? Hey, fence, how old are you that you’re still playing treasure hunt?”

The first to respond was Lukas, whose entire body was covered with countless tattoos.

“Then Lukas’s Children are—”

“Not interested in this matter.”

Barenza Onui immediately shot back, as if she had been waiting for that reply.

“Mm, what’s that? I can’t hear what inbred slaver bastards are saying.”

Lukas gave a mocking snort in return, and his words struck precisely at Barenza Onui’s temper.

“An orphan who doesn’t even know the face of the whore that bore him.”

The first to rise from his seat was her brother, Wesson Barenza. As he extended his hand to the side, milky-white dust-like particles gathered together, forming the shape of a spear.

“Are you asking for a fight?”

Several of Lukas’s tattoos began to glow red. A dull drumbeat resonated from him, and each beat made the red light in the tattoos pulse.

Neither Barenza Onui nor Lukas seemed willing to back down.

“If you have a problem, why don’t you meet after the meeting? This isn’t why we gathered.”

In the end, it was Cecilia who attempted to mediate after watching the situation. Barenza Onui and Lukas glared at each other for a moment before sitting back down.

“I’m concerned whether the shelter’s existence is certain.”

At Chief Jensen Ludbow’s words, everyone turned their gaze to Donovan.

“Nothing’s certain. But there is a matter we can discuss here and now.”

If, in fact, an ultra-massive shelter called Pontus really existed beneath Bennett City…

“If it exists, whose property should it be? How should the owner be decided?”

No sooner had Donovan finished speaking than Cecilia replied.

“It was Kairus who found Dr. Istovan in Rezantin City, and he owes me a debt. He already told me he would find the shelter to repay that debt and hand it over to me.”

That alone was enough for the Rose Garden to claim rightful ownership of the shelter. Cecilia’s claim to the shelter seemed perfectly reasonable.

However, there wasn’t a single person here willing to just sit back and accept that.

“That bastard Kairus bought the shelter key from us.”

The first to speak was Donovan Bonaparte.

“So what? It’s something you already sold. Are you going to hand over ownership and then suddenly insist it’s still yours?”

Selling something for money was everyday business at the Areumdri Pawnshop. It hardly needed defining, but a transaction was when an owner transferred ownership in exchange for payment.

In other words, for a pawnshop to claim ownership over something they’d already sold was utter nonsense.

But, being able to turn nonsense into something that sounded reasonable was one of the skills a leader needed to have.

“The truth is, I had given orders to keep that item in safekeeping.”

The moment she heard that, Cecilia’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and she smiled.

“Oh, that kind of story?”

He was attaching the excuse that he hadn’t wanted to sell it, but someone under him had done so without permission.

“It was something I never intended to sell, but a subordinate sold it without my consent. Since it was sold against the owner’s wishes, the transaction itself was invalid.”

“Ridiculous. That’s an issue between you and Kairus. I’m a third party. Are you saying I can’t get what I was promised because of your personal situation?”

Donovan and Cecilia’s gazes locked, both burning with fierce hostility.

“At this point, we have a question too.”

While Cecilia and Donovan argued, Barenza Onui and her brother exchanged glances.

Then Wesson Barenza casually raised his hand.

“What is it?”

“In the end, saying he’ll find the shelter and hand it over means he hasn’t found it yet, doesn’t it?”

Wesson Barenza’s point was fairly reasonable.

“That bastard Kairus must have some skill to own something he hasn’t even found.”

Lumis Barenza spoke in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

No one could claim to possess something they hadn’t even discovered. Kairus didn’t even have the shelter he had promised to hand over to Cecilia.

“Wow, so the one who’s always acting high and mighty got swindled by some street punk?”

Lukas’s sneer reached Cecilia’s ears, but her expression hardly changed.

‘Well, I figured it would come to this.’

It was the sequence she had expected from the moment the irregular meeting was called.

“What Barenza Onui said is true. In other words, none of us here can claim the rights to the shelter right now. Do you agree?”

No one disagreed with Cecilia’s words. Neither she nor Donovan, who had sold the Yucheok Sword to Kairus, could claim ownership of the shelter.

The rest didn’t even need mentioning.

“A massive underground shelter is something anyone would covet.”

Donovan Bonaparte, who styled himself as king of the underground, didn’t want another organization to possess the shelter.

Naturally, other organizations also wanted to secure a shelter that could firmly establish their sphere of influence underground.

“We’ve all done this sort of thing before. No matter how tempting the prize, we can’t just turn our blades on one another.”

If the seven organizations that maintained Bennett City’s balance drew weapons against each other, no one would be smiling at the end.

“Representative Cecilia Longhorn, I’d prefer it if you got straight to the point.”

Seeing her words beginning to drag, Dawson Fillery, the Police Department Chief, pressed her.

“Under rules we all agree to, the first to find the shelter gets it.”

“You crazy bitch. You’re saying we should go on a treasure hunt?”

At Lukas’s words, Cecilia nodded.

“For an orphan, that was a pretty accurate description. Yes, I’m saying we should have a treasure hunt.”

A treasure hunt where whoever found it would be the rightful owner. Cecilia laid out the idea she had devised since the moment the irregular meeting was called.

“Any organization that wants the shelter should put together a single team. Obviously, that excludes our own members.”

If a family shed blood, vengeance was a must. An organization whose member was injured in action and just let it go wouldn’t last long.

Therefore, members of the organizations making up the Canal Operations Committee could not participate in this matter.

“So, if someone finds the shelter, the organization that formed that team gets it. That about right?”

Tapas Aiola of the Lantern Gang spoke briefly.

“Yes.”

“A maximum of four people per team, huh. Insurance seller, seems like this works in your favor. You already have a team.”

Donovan Bonaparte immediately picked a fight.

Cecilia replied coldly.

“If some worthless bastard hadn’t found out my plans through an informant and then called this damn irregular meeting, I’d have had the highest chance of making the shelter mine.”

Hearing her razor-edged remark, Donovan smirked and replied.

“The one who gets screwed is the idiot.”

“Of course, I’m the idiot. But thanks to that, all of you have a chance now. Unless you really want to see us bash each other’s skulls in until the city blows to pieces…”

Cecilia rapped the back of her hand against the table, producing a dull thump.

“I think the best option is to go ahead with my proposal and have no regrets about the result. Anyone have a better idea?”

A brief silence followed.

Then Jensen Ludbow, Chief of the Security Corps, spoke.

“Let’s discuss the details a bit further.”

Just because they had a basic outline for the agenda didn’t mean it was over. No, this was actually the beginning.

Once they started discussing specifics, days would slip by without notice.

“Then there’s one matter we’ll all need to agree on first.”

Donovan spoke up.

“While we’re sitting here talking, no organization will make any attempt whatsoever to secure Pontus. Agreed?”

It was entirely possible someone might pretend to participate in the meeting while secretly ordering their men to hunt for Pontus.

Donovan’s proposal was aimed at preventing that sort of stunt.

And so, just as the irregular meeting was truly getting underway, Kairus arrived in Bennett City.

“Haigo.”

The three of them, including Kairus, had enjoyed a very comfortable trip. Aside from the lack of freedom, it had been quite satisfactory.

In fact, since passengers couldn’t move around freely on a moving train, they barely felt as if they were being held captive.

“I’m afraid this is as far as we escort you.”

The moment the three stepped off the train, the Rose Garden members who had been both guarding and watching them dispersed at once.

“….”

Kairus gave Evans, the Rose Garden’s Operations Support Team Leader, a suspicious look.

“There’s no need to think anything suspicious.”

“As if I’d think the Rose Garden was suspicious.”

Kairus answered offhandedly, then gave him a polite nod.

“Good attitude. Then, may your work ahead be peaceful.”

Evans returned the nod and walked away. Of course, he hadn’t truly left, and Kairus could still feel the watchful eyes lingering around them.

‘Seems like something’s going on inside the Rose Garden.’

It wasn’t important to Kairus. Whatever internal problems the Rose Garden had, they could handle themselves.

Kairus wasn’t part of them, and it wasn’t his business… nor should it become his business. Pointless curiosity had a way of cutting short an already brief human lifespan.

“So this is Bennett City, huh?”

Irena, stepping out of the station, looked around and ended up with an expression of pure disbelief.

Even for Kairus, hardened by his time in the Labor Correctional Facility, the first impression of this city was intense.

For Irena, the impact could only be several times greater.

“Disgusting.”

And all of that shock and astonishment, Irena managed to sum up in just three syllables.

“Nice choice of words.”

It was a disgusting city. Irena’s eyes softened for a moment as she looked at the children begging in the streets.

“No need to pity them.”

“But it’s not like those kids are living here because they want to. Saying they don’t deserve pity is too much.”

At her words, Kairus nodded.

“True. But they’re still living here.”

Everyone carried in their hearts some vision of the life they wished they could live. Reality was just a cesspool that kept them from daring to reach for it.

While Kairus and Irena talked, Melvin simply stood there, silently watching the children.

“In any case, I’m going to do what I want. It’s not like I’m trying to hurt anyone.”

Irena handed the words back to Kairus, then approached the children and gave them a bit of her money.

The kids, suddenly lucky enough to come into unexpected cash, widened their eyes and thanked her profusely.

“I’m close to tears here, but without a handkerchief, I can’t even wipe them away.”

A benefactor and grateful beggars — a sight truly rare in Bennett City.