Your and My Asylum

***

Eun Minseon was a girl who had both blinding talent and a stunning appearance. She was born in a household that had been wealthy for generations and, as expected, her parents were also renowned for being talented in their own respective fields of work. It wasn’t strange for her to have received the nickname ‘Young Princess’. You couldn’t say that it would be weird for this young princess to grow up into a princess and eventually become a queen.

Of all people, Joo Chanmi was standing in front of that young princess.

There was a goddess who didn’t even consider a decent life of going to a first-class university which everyone yearns for and entering a foreign-affiliated business to be as significant as a pebble on the road. Because that person’s back was in an unreachable place and clearly existed within her line of sight no matter how much she tried to ignore it, the young princess started to feel as if her own tiara was just a piece of junk.

Stars that witness the sun were destined to realize how poor their glows were.

People like Joo Chanmi didn’t forgive anyone who tried to bare their fangs at them. Eun Minseon wasn’t oblivious to this fact. She most likely didn’t go against Chanmi because she was aware of this. However, like clothes that had been wrinkled, that emotion undoubtedly remained within her heart at all times.

An ember that burned in a small but steady and silent form. The young princess had called out to me a couple of days after I was whipped by the girl who used to sit behind me.

I shall help you.

As she began to talk as if she were bestowing upon me a gift, she continued. Han Yujin, I know that you are being bullied. It must be excruciating. It must be painful. You most likely have nowhere to complain to and wish to simply die. I know. I understand your feelings.

She then declared.

Die!

After saying that without any hesitation whatsoever, she crossed her legs and sat down. The summer rays pierced through the dust-covered windows and created a bizarre atmosphere.

Die. End your life. That is all you have to do. Then things will be blown out of proportion. No one will be able to cover things up anymore. An infirm person’s life has that much value. Of course, you are currently an insect. You are not a human. But do not worry. I am here.

I will avenge you.

Your heart feels as if it is burning up, right? Are you not roused due to your burning desire for vengeance? Die. I will carry out your desire.

All you have to do is die. Only then will I be able to make you into a human.

I will do this for your sake.

The Water Dragon City could be largely divided into 8 sections. The northeast section was an area that could be referred to as a special tourist zone. With the arena acting as the main attraction, there were various facilities meant for entertainment located in this section.

Within the waiting room of that very arena, Zia welcomed me with a surprised expression on her face.

“Yujin. What is the occasion? For you to be outside of the castle, did Her Excellency the Earl allow you to go out?”

“That is so, Dame Zia. The magnanimous Her Excellency the Earl had accepted my request to see the city which she rules.”

“Is that so. That is a relief. So is that why you had come here right away, Yujin?”

“Yes. Although I also wanted to visit the kiosks on the street in front of the castle and the industrial district, there will most likely be another opportunity to do so. Dame Zia, Her Excellency the Earl’s Royal Knight and my sword, I simply could not suppress my desire to see you.”

“I am grateful.”

“It is I who must be grateful. In any case, Dame Zia, may I say something?”

“Please, go ahead. I shall listen attentively with the intention to accept the thirteenth.” (TL note: I can’t remember if this was mentioned before, but ‘accept the thirteenth’ is basically a saying in this world that means ‘be really accepting/attentive’. The number twelve is usually the standard in this world, so taking in a thirteenth means that much)

“Let’s stop talking like this and just use Korean.”

“All right. What brings you here?”

“I thought I might as well visit the arena since I was already outside. Have you been doing well? It’s really hard to see your face.”

Zia smiled bitterly.

“I’ve been busy.”

I glanced at the desk. There was a BL manga being propped open and a sheet of paper next to it with a drawing that looked like it was copying the composition of the manga.

“I’m resting right now because I was able to get some time off. But I really was busy. My teacher always stays here around this time of the year, so dozens of challengers come here every day. I’ve been either cleaning up the corpses or fighting against the people who choose not to fight to the death.”

“You didn’t have to give me an excuse. At any rate, it’s a relief since it seems you’ve been doing well.”

Zia smiled bitterly again.

Shortly after, she looked at me quizzically.

“Did you come here just to say that?”

“Yeah.” I adjusted the collar of my shirt slightly and averted my gaze. “See your face a bit······and stuff.”

“This isn’t like you. Did something happen?”

“Not really. More than that, you should greet these two as well. I’ve been in their care a lot as well.”

Roroa and Ariya both bowed their heads politely.

“Wan, hello.”

“Hello, Miss Zia.”

Zia bowed her head respectfully as well.

“It’s a pleasure, Roroa. And Ariya. Are you two currently accompanying Yujin?”

“Wan! That’s right. I’m also patrolling at the same time, wan.”

“I’m doing my very best to assist Fair Grace.”

Zia opened her hand and smiled as she pressed down on my head.

“I’ll be leaving him in your care. As Yujin was gifted with a virtuous disposition, he is also my dear friend.”

Roroa and Ariya didn’t make expressions that appeared as if they were saying that that virtuous disposition was dead. Roroa smiled brightly while Ariya nodded sternly. Zia’s expression became softer.

······.

“Zia, it hurts, so can you stop?”

“Your feelings?”

“Physically. I feel like my head will get shoved into my body if you press down any more than that.”

Zia removed her hand with an embarrassed look on her face. I fixed my hair and readjusted my glasses.

“I did come here to give you my regards, but I came here to do something else as well. Can you guide me to your teacher?”

“Mm, that’s not a difficult task, but my teacher is currently facing a challenger. You might end up seeing something horrible, but is that okay?”

“It’s fine. I have to live in this world for a while anyway.”

“······All right. Follow me.”

Arenas, soccer fields, and theatres all have the same goals. To make the contents that are displayed within the confines of their walls enjoyable to as many people as possible. Thus it was obvious that these sorts of places would have similar structures.

In other words, the arena in this world was similar to the ones back on Earth. There was a stage in the center and spectator seats were forming a full 360-degree circle around it.

A man walked onto that stage.

He was a young man with red, majestic hair that reached all the way down to his waist. I could see that his green eyes with gold cracks etched in them were filled with determination.

“My name is Shaben Cartet, 26th generation disciple of the Oceanic Spear Arts!”

His voice cut through the sunlight and resonated throughout the clear sky.

“Exactly 23 years ago! My ancestor, ‘Wave Spear’ Assel, had fallen in battle against you! However, right now! I shall challenge you! And avenge that loss!”

He held up his spear and pointed it at Yudia.

“I challenge you, Royal Courier of the Martial Origin, Yudia Batsand!”

Yudia, who was standing on the opposite side of the stage, let out his unique ‘Guhuhu’ laugh and embraced his own shoulders.

“23 years, was it? Has it already been that long? Will you be fighting to the death?”

“Of course!”

“Then come. I shall concede the first attack to you.”

“I’ll take that offer!”

Shaben shot forward. The dirt on the ground scattered and Shaben’s spear, which was rising up into the sky, swayed around in a complex manner as it aimed at Yudia, making it resemble a venomous snake.

Yudia took a single step forward. His hand was dyed in a purple glow before shifting into the shape of an arrowhead.

In the next instant, it was fired.

The violet arrow ripped through the air and penetrated Shaben’s face. Bang······! As if he had been punched in the face by a giant’s fist, Shaben’s head was torn off.

Shaben’s body came to a stop and kneeled before Yudia. His head was sent flying even further and ended up bursting into pieces the instant it came in contact with the wall of the arena.

“Next!”

Yudia spoke.

A man with wings stepped forward. He had wings, but it wasn’t the same type of wings the angel in the torture room had. The angel’s wings consisted of feathers, but this man had leather wings. More than anything else, he was large. He was nearly 3 meters tall. His large physique looked like a fortress that had used muscles for bricks.

“Third heir of the Mordent Arts, Grakan Mor! I’d like to request a bout!”

“Fight to the death?”

Grakan Mor snorted.

“A normal duel!”

“Hm. What a waste of a large body. Well, all right. Come.”

Grakan Mor took out a weapon that looked like a bow. It was probably a bow.

It was a strong bow.

The arrow that had left the string reached Yudia before sound itself could. Thuck······! Yudia’s left shoulder burst into pieces the instant it was hit.

Grakan Mor began to fire a barrage of arrows. He wasn’t firing them while on the ground, but by flapping his wings and lifting his body slightly into the air, he pulled the string of his bow by using the momentum of his entire body. Arrows that were flying at speeds that couldn’t be understood with the laws of physics rained down on Yudia. Thuck······! Thuuck······! In a flash, Yudia’s body was covered in fist-sized holes.

Despite having become like that, Yudia continued to slowly walk forward. He was acting as if there was no need for him to rush and that was probably true. The parts of his body that were injured by the arrows changed into a purple liquid before slowly restoring itself. It looked as if his entire body was a swamp.

Grakan Mor beat his wings powerfully and flew up into the sky the instant Yudia got fairly close to him. Yudia raised his spear and aimed it at Grakan Mor before throwing it at him. Grakan Mor attempted to intercept the spear by firing an arrow at it. The arrow, which traveled faster than the speed of sound, impacted right on the tip of the soaring spear.

And melted.

The spear completely erased the arrow and penetrated Grakan Mor’s shoulder.

“Guah······!!”

The large archer started to fall head first towards the ground. Since he was at a height that could easily break his neck if he were to fall straight down, I heard some people let out a gasp.

Yudia’s body turned into a blob of violet liquid before stretching out into the shape of a circle and receiving Grakan Mor’s body like a large cushion. Grakan Mor’s body convulsed for a while before he eventually stopped moving.

“You were paralyzed. You will not die.”

Yudia returned his body back to normal and picked up his spear.

“Next!”

Yudia spoke. A group of two young men and a girl that were gathered on the other side of the stage walked forward. They were a group that had unified their appearance by wearing matching, light purple uniforms and braiding their hair to the right. They were holding peculiar-looking dual blades with scythes attached to the ends of their blades.

“Amethyst Silver Group, 37th generation disciple, ‘Flashing Executioner Blade’ Oren Garun.”

“Amethyst Silver Group, 37th generation disciple, Kartan Garun Hazaren.”

“Amethyst Silver Group, 38th generation disciple, Harma Garun Ascenbase······ At the same time, I am also the possessor of the 2nd verse license of Orange Flame Master Vein who is affiliated with the 8th branch of the Mage Tower······.”

Yudia whistled.

“Will this be a duel to the death?”

Oren Garun closed his eyes for a moment before opening them.

“A duel to the death for me. A normal duel for Kartan and Harma.”

“Brother!”

Kartan shouted but Oren grinned at him.

“We have to avenge our deceased master and carry on his legacy, right? Wouldn’t it be hard for Harma to do it on her own?”

“Then it would be better if I fought to the death! Aren’t you more talented, brother!?”

“That’s why I have to fight.”

“But······.”

“It’s fine. Let’s begin.”

Oren immediately dashed forward from his position. He was in a weird posture with his back lowered that looked as if he were mopping the floor. Kartan swore out loud and followed after him. Instead of following after them, Harma took a step back and shouted as she crossed her two blades, which were supposedly called executioner blades, in a complex manner.

“Blazing fire, straight!”

Empty space shattered and a ray of orange flames extended in a straight line. Yudia gripped the shaft of his spear and spun it around in front of him, forming a circular barricade. The orange ray of fire collided with his spear and vanished.

Oren arrived in front of Yudia in that moment. A white glow gathered around the top portions of his executioner blades. It was the same type of light that Zia had control over, a transcending skill.

The blazing flashes intersected and left behind ruptures in the air.

Yudia backed away and avoided that attack. Kartan, who was following behind Oren, shot forward with executioner swords that also had white glows wrapped around them. Yudia dodged that as well. Whether it was because they were more proficient at it than Zia or there was a difference in the way they utilized it, but Oren and Kartan closed in on Yudia while using their skills in rotation with shorter cooldown times. Adding Harma’s  unhindered magic support to the mix, Yudia appeared to be at his wit’s end.

That wasn’t the case.

The retreating Yudia had at some point switched up his steps and penetrated Oren’s abdomen with his hand. Splat······! Oren’s intestines, bones, and flesh burst out from the hole that had formed on his back.

Kartan shouted as if he were screaming.

“Brother!!”

Oren coughed up blood.

His body then started to melt.

He looked like a sandcastle that was falling apart. Starting from the area where he had been pierced through, a pitch-back aura spread throughout Oren’s entire body and began to liquefy him. Once even his bones dissolved into a lye-like matter and flowed down, the once high-spirited man suddenly became nothing more than an unsightly puddle of chunky liquid.

Kartan cried out as if he were vomiting blood.

“A duel to the death!!”

Yudia laughed as if he had been waiting for this.

“Very well then.”

Yudia’s body transformed into a violet-colored liquid. Kartan roared angrily as he swung his swords at Yudia who had spread his body out like a curtain. His weapons were wrapped in a white glow, but Yudia split his body in half as if he had predicted the trajectory of Kartan’s attack. Kartan’s executioner swords slashed through empty space and Kartan wound up diving into the violet, stretched out curtains.

The curtains closed.

“Huaaaak······!!”

A horrible scream resonated.

The outline of Kartan’s body could be seen outside the violet curtains. He was struggling. He was flailing his limbs. He was even floundering. Each time he did so, the volume of his outline gradually grew smaller. It was almost as fast as a shaving knife scraping out some butter.

Eventually, his final death throes came to an end and Yudia returned back to his human form. At his feet, a brown liquid flowed out from the soles of his shoes and formed a round puddle underneath him. Yudia sploshed about in the puddle like a child playing around in a puddle of mud and raised his head with a grin.

“Do you wish to continue?”

Harma’s mouth was slightly agape······ she then looked down at the remains of her comrades······ and she eventually gritted her teeth.

“10 years later.”

Yudia smiled brightly.

“10 years from now. Amethyst Silver Group, 38th generation disciple, Harma Garun Ascenbase. I will not forget.”

Harma walked forward and collected the corpses. Yudia tied his spear to his back and turned around.

“Next.”

Yudia Batsand spoke.

It was like that. Yudia continued to take on challenger after challenger. The battles consisted of normal duels and duels to the death, but every single person who requested a duel to the death ended up meeting a terrible fate without any exception whatsoever.

I, who had witnessed those dreadful sights, had to do a SAN check. I must have been able to successfully ready myself after listening to Zia’s warning because I was able to pass the check.

“Ah, Yujin. It’s nice to meet you.”

Yudia, who had just finished carrying out what appeared to be more of a slaughter rather than a bunch of match-ups, waved his hand at me with a welcoming face. I returned his wave and turned to Zia.

“This isn’t against the law?”

“I know, right······? Isn’t it truly terrifying, Yujin?”

Seeing as how I had chosen the wrong person to ask that question to, it seems I actually failed that SAN check earlier.

“Roroa, does this not go against any laws?”

“Wan! These are proper duels where both parties have consented. There aren’t any legal issues in duels to the death if both parties have agreed to them, wan.”

“So duels are acknowledged.”

“To be more exact, it depends on the territory laws, wan. The Silver Lion Palatinate doesn’t have a criminal agreement with other territories. Moreover, all of these people are not a part of the Silver Lion Palatinate, wan. Therefore, as long as they do not cause any direct harm to the people of this city, these matches follow the world laws, and according to those laws, mutually consenting duels are allowed, wan.”

Now that I think about it, back during the Fedchant incident, I think I heard something along the lines of ‘They’re outsiders according to the world laws, so I can’t sentence them to jail’. Let’s keep this in mind.

At any rate, Yudia pushed up his monocle and walked towards me.

“I did not expect to see you outside of the castle. Did you come here to see me? I thought that you had piled up a lot of hatred.”

“Of course not. All you did was follow the Earl’s order. I don’t feel anything towards you.”

“A lie, I see.”

It was obviously a lie.

Yudia laughed with his unique ‘guhuhu’.

“So, what brings you here? I heard that you have not been on good terms with Yellow-Green Grass lately. Are you here to get my advice in regard to that?”

Mm.

These words were⎯⎯⎯something I should keep a mental note of.

“I’ll be handling that on my own. Can we talk with just the two of us for a moment?”

My request must have been unexpected as Yudia raised a single brow. The others as well, starting from Zia, they were all surprised.

I bowed my head to the others and asked for their understanding as I brought Yudia to another side of the arena. Once I confirmed that we were out of earshot, I spoke.

“You said that you were looking for a disciple, right?”

Yudia appeared genuinely surprised now.

“I did, but why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if you perhaps took recommendations.”

“Hoh.”

A smile appeared on Yudia’s lips. His smile felt like the haze that would emanate from boiling sulfur. Yudia rubbed his chin as he glanced around at the people I had brought with me before stopping his gaze at Roroa.

“Expired. A broken gemstone. In multiple meanings, a missed opportunity. Even if I were to take her under my wing now, her sense of identity is too strong. Worst of all, she is most likely incapable of suppressing her instinct of self-preservation. Something like when that maid, whom I had severed the arm of, had suppressed her hatred with her fear. This seems to be a characteristic which she was born with, but in any case, she does not match well with me. She will simply become a failure worse than Zia.”

Next was Ariya.

“Her build is not bad. She is also talented. However, her will is weak. This seems to also be a part of this girl’s nature. Hm. Although she will probably be able to reach Zia’s level with ease, she will be incapable of reaching a peak higher than that due to a similar problem which Zia has. That is it.”

Finally, it was me.

“If I were to pick someone here, then it would be you.”

“There’s no one further away from hatred than me.”

“Embers hide within ashes.”

······.

“I’m bad at working out as well.”

“Kuk. Detestably, that seems to be the truth. No matter how impressive your sneak attacks may be, if there is a martial artist who is taken down by you, then that sort of piece of trash must naturally despise themself.”

This guy really dislikes Zia, doesn’t he?

In any case, I shook my head.

“In summary. You’re not interested in anyone.”

“Yes. Well, it was a good attempt. However⎯⎯⎯.”

I raised my hand and stopped Yudia mid-sentence. Yudia blinked and looked at me.

“Yudia.”

And then.

“Do you want to make a bet with me?”

I spoke the words that were similar to what I had once said to his disciple.

Yudia folded his arms.

“What sort of bet?”

“If I succeed in conquering the Silver Lion Castle within this month, then you have to accept the people who I recommend as your disciples.”

There was a moment of silence.

I added one more thing.

“Taking them in as your disciple for only a short period of time is fine as well.”

Yudia shook his head immediately.

“No, that is fine. Detestably, 50 years have already passed since I no longer had to explain to other people about what I do. It does not matter who I take in as a disciple, why I take them in, or for how long. These things are simply nuisances that I can easily handle on my own. So that is fine, but, hmm⎯⎯⎯conquer, was it? Do you understand what sort of situation you are in right now?”

“I know.”

“Aha, you most likely do. That is why you had added the condition ‘within this month’. If that is the case, then this is referring to what happens after······ How interesting.”

Yudia rubbed his chin and tapped his lips.

“Interesting.”

Eventually, he nodded. Guhuhuhu, he let out his unique laugh and looked up at me with a pleased expression on his face, in other words, an expression that looked like he was looking down at the child of his mortal enemy who was flailing their limbs as they suffocated to death in a swamp.

“All right⎯⎯⎯I accept that bet. However, only one person.”

“Don’t kill or break them on purpose.”

“Tsk, very well. If you lose, then I will be taking your iPhone, iPad, and your generator. Is that all right?”

“Yup.”

“Good. Was that all you wished to discuss with me?”

“There’s one more thing I wanted to confirm.”

“What is it?”

I gripped the beads that were inside my pocket tightly.

“Were you the one who killed them? The two Gongshik members that had entered the city.”

“Yes.”

Yudia Batsand answered in a bafflingly candid manner.

He then asked back.

“How did you figure that out?”

In response to that question which he had asked purely to alleviate his curiosity, I answered after rolling a single bead.

“Because no one knows who did it.”

I explained.

“The city guard are clueless and the Black Dragon Street don’t know who did it either. There isn’t a single person who knows. Not even the tiniest bit of information about this incident was leaked from the side that had committed this act. This implies two things: First, the person who had done this was skilled enough to kill them in an instant without leaving even a single trace of the fight behind. Second, it was a single person and not a group. Roroa gave me the information of everyone in the Water Dragon City and I went through it, but you’re the only one who met both of these conditions.”

“It is a small city after all. I wonder why no one was able to figure it out when it was this simple.”

Of course, some people probably had their suspicions. They just didn’t have any definitive proof. Moreover, there was no one brave enough to cast their suspicion on you. It was a trivial issue. I didn’t tell him that.

“Why did you kill them?”

The response that Yudia gave was to audibly murmur to himself.

“Mm, it is not particularly related to you.”

“I know, I’m an otherworlder. But⎯⎯⎯.”

“No, that is not the issue. It is sincerely unrelated to both you and the Silver Lion Earl. How should I say it······ I killed them because they simply stuck out. The Gongshik and I have some past ties.”

As my current self, I couldn’t understand what sort of ties he could have possibly had that could make him kill two people just because they stuck out. I hoped that my future-self continued to not understand.

Yudia also seemed like he had no intention of going into any further details.

“Guhuhu, let us leave it at that. Everyone is waiting.”

“Okay. Thanks for the good conversation.”

“That is also a lie.”

It was obviously a lie.

30 minutes later, we had left the arena. Roroa stuck right next to me as we walked.

“Wan. That was an interesting conversation.”

“You could hear us?”

Roroa flapped her ears. Ears. I see. It seems Saber-Fangs had a better sense of hearing than what I originally thought.

This was my short-sightedness.

But at the same time.

“You didn’t have to tell me that you overheard our conversation.”

“You’re right. Wan. But, well, I told you anyway, wan.”

“Thanks.”

“Hm, you’re being rather docile, wan? You could have just made something up like telling me that you let me eavesdrop on purpose.”

“It wasn’t something I wanted to particularly hide from you guys. I only put some distance between us so that Zia couldn’t hear our conversation.”

Once Ariya heard those words, she came right up to my side as well.

“What did the two of you discuss?”

“I asked him to give me the right to recommend a disciple to him if I’m able to gain control of the castle within this month.”

Ariya looked panicked.

“Why did you ask for such a thing······?”

“You aren’t interested?”

Ariya twitched. I gave her a sidelong glance.

“I know that there’s a problem with your personality. That’s why I added the condition that he can’t kill or injure the person I recommend. The Earl probably added similar conditions when she sent Zia to be his disciple. In any case, he’s one of the strongest people in this world, right? It’s an opportunity to be a disciple of a person like that. Are you not interested?”

“For my sake······?”

“As long as something major doesn’t happen.”

The girl from a fallen household of knights looked at me without a word. I noticed this the first time we met, but this girl was the same height as me. The angle of her gaze was also exactly 180 degree.

“Fair Grace, you truly are a generous and good person.”

That’s not right.

“This is nothing more than a tangent. The main point is after that.”

Roroa flapped her ears.

“Wan. I did have my suspicions, wan. I didn’t expect him to answer so submissively though.”

“It’s probably because I’m the one who asked, which means that he believes I can handle it. Although it’s a little upsetting, it’s most likely the truth.”

Yudia Batsand. The Royal Courier of the Martial Origin which was one of the twelve factions of the world.

Not only did he have that much power, but he had a decent status and most likely a sizeable wealth as well. He had that much freedom of movement.

Roroa took note of that fact as well.

“We won’t be able to threaten him or make a trade with him, wan.”

“It’ll be meaningless. That’s why I told you. ······Albeit, even if we could trade with him, I wouldn’t carry out a psychological warfare against him.”

“Is it because he can’t be controlled, wan?”

“Yup. We can’t tell where he’ll run off to. The best option is to not make him an enemy or an ally. If we want to get involved with him, then we have to do so as a third party. Someone he can trade or make bets with.”

“Since he’ll play with fire the moment you give him the opportunity to do so?”

“You know it well.”

In a certain meaning, this was most likely also a type of trauma. I adjusted my glasses and turned to look at Roroa.

“So, the next destination. You’re certain of it, right?”

“I’m certain, wan. This won’t be a trip for nothing, wan.”

“I trust you.”

Those were heavy words. As usual, Roroa smiled widely in a way that revealed her canines.

We continued to walk in silence for a while. It must have been in order to change the mood as Ariya spoke up.

“Did you say that the head of that merchant group was your acquaintance?”

“Yes. We have a bit of an ill-fated relationship, wan.”

Roroa Ara Harte answered as she scratched the back of her head with a modest expression on her face.

The twelve factions of the world all have their own respective intrinsic organizational system.

Using the Martial Origin, the faction which Yudia is the Royal Courier of, as an example, they’re a faction of loosely merged groups. To be more exact, among the several traditional groups that are capable of relying on each other’s shoulders equally, the Martial Origin had simply taken the role as the leader of all of these groups since they’re currently the most prosperous, and they’re occupying one of the twelve seats of the twelve factions of the world because of this. If one of these traditional groups were to surpass the Martial Origin in terms of prosperity, then they would most likely take the Martial Origin’s place in the twelve factions of the world.

〈We are the strongest weapon which humanity can use.〉

It didn’t matter whether it was with a spear, a sword, or their fists. They just had to be the strongest weapon which humanity had.

The Black Dragon Street is similar to an organization of loose alliances. With the headquarters in the capital and the branches spread throughout the world as their core, they take the various illegal organizations⎯⎯⎯they refer to these groups as ‘gatherings of ostracized individuals’⎯⎯⎯that are outside of their faction, under their management. If the headquarters is the head, then the branches form a single lengthy body and the organizations that are affiliated with them are the countless parasites that are attached to the main body.

〈Anyone can be a Black Dragon, and the Black Dragon is everyone.〉

Just like their slogan, the Black Dragon Street continued to receive the darkness of humanity. Occasionally, up-and-coming illegal organizations that refuse to go under their wing, like the Gongshik, would appear, but as long as those groups continued to leave their essence in darkness, their independence would not last for long.

On the other hand, the Mage Tower is a unified organization of absolute allegiance. They have a headquarters and many branches, but they don’t manage any smaller organizations. Occasionally, fearless mages would appear and try to create a new magic organization, but they would disappear without a trace faster than the illegal organizations that refuse to go under the Black Dragon Street’s wing.

〈A single great staff.〉

The distinct characteristics of each of their branches were very clear, and even within those branches, their distinct characteristics would become even clearer as they diversified them through their teacher-disciple relationships, however, these things were nothing more than decisions of the staff. Ever since the Mage Tower was first established, their ideology has never changed.

The Fedchant is a slightly peculiar group. Their structure in itself is similar to that of the Black Dragon Street. They have a headquarters, branches, and countless organizations under their wing. On the other hand, the pureness of their headquarters and branches is similar to the Mage Tower. Only the Cat Ears that worshipped Higher God Iyanko Niyaon could obtain the right to become an executive. However, the way they treated the organizations under their wing is similar to the Martial Origin’s system. The Fedchant didn’t thoughtlessly wave aside smaller organizations just because they weren’t under their management.

〈What could you do with the single gold coin that was wasted like that?〉

Doing so meant that they wouldn’t be able to make that much money. Although they’re indeed scoundrels that eat even the bones if they wish to retrieve their investment, the majority of the time, the Fedchant simply provides benefits that befit the amount of tax paid by the merchant groups that have become one of their members. And among those groups, executives would simply sponsor the groups that catch their eyes.

This was long, but in any case.

The Goldbeard Merchant Group, which had been staying in the Lion Tail Inn of the Water Dragon City since 4 days ago, was obviously a member of the Fedchant, and from that very Fedchant, they were sponsored by one of their branch executives, Lady Dansoomyo.

“So you’re Her Excellency the Earl’s lover?”

The head of the Goldbeard Merchant Group, Rihittle Odeon spoke while touching his golden beard which the name of his merchant group had originated from.

I opened the paper fan that I had brought from Korea and hid my mouth with it as I smiled with my eyes.

“Mhm~ I’m here to greet you.”

Rihittle Odeon had an uncomfortable look on his face. It probably wasn’t because of the fact that I was an otherworlder. It probably wasn’t because of the fact that Ariya was standing behind me respectfully either. If anything, it was probably because he was bothered by the fact that Roroa was sitting next to me and leaning her body on top of the table and laughing to herself.

“My name is Rihittle Odeon. You probably heard from the director of the headquarters who had guided you here, but I am acting as the leader of the Goldbeard Merchant Group. Ehem. And, uh, the one over there······ I heard that she had become the vice-captain of the guard.”

Roroa flapped her ears joyfully.

“Wan! That’s right.”

“That’s really······ hm. I have no intention of insulting you, so please don’t misunderstand, but considering your race, that’s truly a shocking way to greet someone.”

“That’s right, wan! Her Excellency the Silver Lion Earl has no interest in a person’s race. She only cares about whether you can do your job properly or not, wan. Isn’t that interesting? Wan! There was a time, long time ago, when I was once a member of an adventurer group, but doesn’t that line seem similar to what the leader at that time had said to me back then, wan?”

Rihittle Odeon cleared his throat roughly.

With my hand supporting my chin, I smiled.

“I heard about the relationship between you and Roroa. You were an adventurer a long time ago, right? You found a chunk of gold inside a labyrinth, but the only person you didn’t distribute it to was Roroa. Racial discrimination because she’s a Saber-Fang. You’re rather small-minded for a person who’s grown out such a manly mustache.”

The face of the man who had formed a merchant group with the chunk of gold he had obtained from his adventuring days, and had succeeded enough to be sponsored by a Fedchant executive, became red.

“That was a long time ago. Moreover, everyone would treat Saber-Fangs like that back then. I’m digressing, but I had paid the price for that already. Thanks to Vice-captain Roroa over there for having run off to the Black Dragon Street and handing them all of the information there was about my adventurer party, I was hassled to no end. What was it, uh, double jeopardy, was it? Wasn’t there a phrase like that?”

“Oh dear. You can’t just use that term like that, wan. The phrase double jeopardy wasn’t made for a purpose like that, wan. Isn’t that so, Yujin?”

Although it’s detestable, I should agree with her here.

“Indeed. After hearing about what happened, you were rather harsh. I adore Roroa a fair bit······ you know?”

I smacked my lips as I crossed my legs. Creases formed on my tight leather shorts and my black tights stuck to my skin. Like so, this was the first time I was genuinely in my bastard mode since I messed around with Mari at the rampart, but it seems I was doing a good job as Rihittle Odeon looked nervous.

“You came here to do business, didn’t you? But, hmm~ what to do? Aren’t merchants all about trust? Is it possible to trust a merchant group that has a leader who had once betrayed someone’s trust? Should we allow an untrustworthy merchant group to do business in this city? I was just having these sorts of thoughts~.”

“Wan! There’s nothing to even see here, Sir Yujin, wan! We should tell them to leave right this instant, wan!”

Roroa shouted as if she were barking. Rihittle Odeon bit his lip, but he didn’t give a retort.

He most likely couldn’t say something like ‘Does someone like you even have the authority to do something like that?’. This wasn’t because of some ridiculous reason like him feeling guilty because he actually did commit some bad things in the past, but because if he were to retort back at us carelessly and incite malice, then there was the chance that the city guard could come for him.

It was like this back on Earth as well, but a business that would come out clean if you dusted them didn’t exist. People like Rihittle Odeon, who were overflowing with loyalty, were probably as dirty as the filter of a vacuum cleaner that hadn’t been opened for over a year. They couldn’t be imprisoned thoughtlessly, and at the very most, we could only give them a banishment notice since they were a foreign group, but he most likely wanted to avoid receiving that sort of humiliation from the city which their sponsor was going to visit soon.

He may have thought about bringing up the name of that very sponsor of his. ‘Lady Dansoomyo, the cousin of Her Excellency the Silver Lion Earl, the lord of this Water Dragon City, is sponsoring me. As Lady Dansoomyo is the esteemed daughter of the House of the Cat Earl, she is also a branch executive of the Fedchant and she······.’ But even that was a difficult choice to make.

Of course, there was the possibility that he didn’t know that Her Excellency the Earl disliked that sponsor of his, but was a banishment that went according to the world laws really the only thing that Roroa could do? Rihittle Odeon most likely knew about Roroa’s personality.

I used this very moment to take the initiative.

“Although Roroa, who hasn’t been vice-captain for long, is saying that······ I’m still thinking about it.”

With a long stroke, I scratched the surface of the table with the end of my fan and bend my back forward. I did so in a way that allowed the strings of my loosely tied sailor blouse to flow down, revealing the 10 seals that were branded on my collarbone.

“You know, you’ve probably realized by now due to the conversation, but Her Excellency doesn’t know about this.”

“Then that means······.”

Rihittle held his breath. Without any warning, I folded my fan and stroked his beard with it.

“You aren’t smart, are you~? I thought that you would be more quick-witted since you’re the head of the Gold Merchant Group~ In summary, Rihittle, this means that whether you’re a trustworthy peddler or not depends on my judgment~ How were you able to manage a group of merchants despite not knowing that?”

A vein popped on Rihittle’s forehead. There’s no way that he would feel pleased when he was being treated like an idiot by the type of person he didn’t want to be treated like an idiot by the most. Nevertheless, instead of voicing his complaints, Rihittle smiled. It was the smile of a partner in crime.

“In other words, you want money······?”

“Huh? What? Do you think I’m some thief from the Black Dragon Street? How absurd.”

Once I snapped at him with a grouchy look on my face, he started to panic once more.

“Ah, m-my apologies. If that’s the case, then······.”

“I heard that your merchant group mainly deals in food, right?”

“Ah, yes. My mother runs a farm and my younger sibling has his own small boat, so I’m able to obtain fresh products for a reasonable price and distribute them to various places since I have connections with both the Union of Agriculture and Union of the Sea······.”

The Union of Agriculture and Union of the Sea were both a part of the twelve factions of the world. The Union of Agriculture and the Union of the Sea were both respectively busy maintaining and developing their farmlands and sea routes, so it was the Fedchant’s job to deliver the products from left to right. Rihittle Odeon’s merchant group was one of those groups.

“Actually, there’s a certain business I want to do. If you guys act as my legs, then I won’t forget that sincerity~.”

I snapped my fingers casually. Ariya, who had been on standby, took out something that was wrapped up.

“This is······?”

Once Rihittle Odeon received the item from her and unwrapped it, he looked surprised.

It was a macaron.

“It’s pretty.” It seems to have caught Rihittle Odeon’s attention. “Is it a snack?”

“Yup~ It’s a snack I made using my world’s method. Do you want to try it?”

Instead of doing that, Rihittle Odeon examined the macaron carefully. He stroked his splendid beard as he turned the macaron around and put some strength into his fingers as he squished it slightly. He then grinned slightly and turned to me.

“There’s no poison, right?”

“Yup~ I didn’t add any this time.”

I answered immediately while smiling brightly. Rihittle Odeon must have just been trying to sound me out as well since he returned to carefully examining the macaron······ Eventually, he put it in his mouth.

“Mm.”

Rihittle Odeon released his golden beard.

“This will sell.”

“Right~?”

“Yes, the outer appearance is pretty and it tastes good. The texture of it is interesting······ What is it? Did you solidify sugar?”

“How hasty.” I brushed Rihittle Odeon’s beard with my fan. “In any case, you understand what I want, right?”

“You’ll give me the recipe, so give you something of equal value in return······?”

“There’s no way that would be the case. Look at this man. I told him to show some sincerity, but he’s trying to monopolize it.”

Rihittle smiled bitterly. That was most likely a bluff he had blurted out since there was a chance that he would have to pay an exorbitant price if he did anything rash. He probably intended to hear my concrete demands first so that he could negotiate with me while taking his unfavorable situation into account.

However, I wasn’t here to do that.

I stood up from my seat and patted Roroa’s head.

“You can discuss the details with her.”

Rihittle’s expression contorted. Roroa smiled like a dog that had discovered a ball and a kidnapper who had discovered a kid.

“Wan! Although I don’t really want to do this, this is also Sir Yujin’s order, wan! Now let’s talk.”

“Uugh······.”

“Do your best. I’ll be resting in the room on the side for a bit.”

I brought Ariya with me and grabbed the door handle. Rihittle panicked.

“Ah, wait a second. There’s someone······.”

“Wan! What are you standing up for all of a sudden!?”

Putting those noises behind me, Ariya and I entered the room on the side.

It was a reception room. A single old man was sitting down and reading a book. I sat in the chair opposite of him. Ariya stood respectfully behind me once more.

There was a moment of silence.

“What book is that?”

The old man lifted his head. He looked at me with cold eyes.

“Do you know me?”

“I’ve never seen your face before.” That was the truth. “So what book are you reading?”

There was no need for me to furtively reveal my collarbone while asking him this. The old man furrowed his brow before answering.

“〈Shadow Erasing〉. A book about the beginning and end of this world. It was written by Touma Soh and was published after being certified by thousands of scholars.”

“Heh~ So you’re an intellectual.”

“Has no one told you that you’re disrespectful when talking to your elders?”

“All the time. Especially recently.”

“Your appearance is quite different compared to before.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one to say that, Borg Edentras?”

The old man froze.

The old man who had been glaring at me pulled his hand away from his book and stroked his face. His wrinkles were rubbed off and his beard was removed as well, which then revealed the same sharp facial features and bandit-like appearance that I had previously seen back when this person was summoned in the Lord’s office. As expected of the Black Dragon Street, although I was awed by the art of disguise which befitted the branch manager of a group of thieves, it seems that Borg was actually impressed by me.

“How did you know?”

“I have a competent subordinate.”

Borg glanced at the door. It was as if he were trying to stare at Roroa through the door. He then clicked his tongue and continued.

“I see. I was wondering why I was meeting with Goldbeard today, but it seems I was actually called here by that girl. Subordinate, huh? If I were you, then I wouldn’t make a misunderstanding like that. If you don’t want to be devoured all the way down to your bones, then it would be better if you took better care of yourself.”

If you consider Roroa’s mentality, then it would only be natural for people to think that I was actually the one who was being used. When he noticed my lack of response, Borg chuckled and scratched his beard.

“Well, it’s not related to me. So you’re saying that your goal wasn’t to meet Goldbeard, but me?”

“Both. If I were to go out of my way to point out who’s more important, then that would be you.”

“So you’re here to deal with me? You, personally?”

I nodded.

“That’s why I came here to deal with you. Personally.”

I answered him like that.

I crossed my legs as I sat down.

I angled my bottom slightly. I leaned back in a way that made it so that only one of my shoulder blades touched the back of the chair. While tilting my body in a way that made it seem as if I were supporting my body with only a certain portion of my tailbone, I held my beads with one hand. With Ariya standing behind me, I faced Borg Edentras.

Borg had an amused look on his face.

“I see you were acting in the office.”

“I’m still acting even now.”

“Thank you for providing me with the information that you’re not a person who should be trusted.”

“I’m giving you a free service. As I said before, you’ll be dealing with me.”

“You’re getting a bit full of yourself. Let’s put aside the fact that you’re using that idiot out there. He’s called Goldbeard because he’s fun to pluck things from. But you’re going to deal with me? I don’t know why I have to deal with you.”

“Because of this.”

I took out a pouch of money from my clothes. It was 10,000 vita, half of what the Earl had given me.

Borg furrowed his brow.

“I see that you’re misunderstanding something because of what happened in the Lord’s office. Do you think that a branch manager of the Black Dragon Street would be this cheap?”

“Of course not. I’m aware that you worked at that price because the Earl had summoned you. However, I came to visit you like this after personally asking around. Can’t you put my sincerity into consideration?”

“Learn about the procedures of approaching a branch of the Black Dragon Street. Get in contact with us. Come meet me after going through three steps. Show your sincerity throughout all of those steps. That is what you would call devotion.”

“How stern······.”

“Rules are rules. I’m not sure as to how it is in your world, but if you plan to live here, then you need to get accustomed to this.”

“All right. Then let’s end the work-related talk here. I’ll just do that next time.”

Once I said that while shrugging my shoulders, Borg raised a single brow.

“You’re backing off rather quickly.”

“Because I’m not an idiot who would put effort into something that won’t happen. Let’s just talk.”

“I feel like you actually are an idiot. Why should I even talk with you?”

“Considering the fact that you’re still sitting down, aren’t you honestly interested?”

While conversing, I poured a cup of tea with the kettle that was on the table and passed it to him. I gave him a macaron as well.

Borg didn’t receive either of them.

“I have a habit of not eating stuff given by someone I don’t know. It’s an occupational disease.”

“What’s up with that? That occupational disease would make others feel bad. Then you should pour me a cup instead.”

“It’s more helpful than you think. From what I can see, it’s an occupational disease which you should also have. Has no one told you that I’m good at handling poisons?”

“I know.” I unwrapped a single piece of candy and tossed it in my mouth. “But you aren’t an idiot who’d poison me right now, right?”

Borg laughed. He poured a cup of tea and passed it to me.

I drank it without any hesitation. Borg’s smile thickened.

“I see that you’ve read a lot of romance s. Am I supposed to become awed by your courage and knowledge now? Followed by coming to terms with your candid and genuine charm and arriving at a mutual understanding between men.”

The tea was bitter. I spat out the piece of candy into my cup and I spoke with a twinkle in my eye.

“Will you?”

“Stop dreaming.”

Borg laughed shamelessly.

“I am indeed interested in you. Thus, you are correct when you pointed out the fact that that was the reason why I am still sitting here. However, that’s it. I will have an enjoyable private conversation with you and I will leave whenever I want. Simple, isn’t it?”

“Fastidious as well.” I took another gulp of my tea. “You aren’t popular with the ladies, are you?”

“Look who’s talking. I heard that an old lady has been harassing you as of late.” 

I had my suspicions the previous time he was in the castle, but this man was probably receiving information from someone inside the castle. This was an obvious fact and I also knew who it was.

Well, in any case.

“What about me are you interested in?”

“There’s no other choice but to be interested. It has been 4 years since an otherworlder was able to come out alive. Furthermore, that very otherworlder was able to even learn this world’s language. Do you understand how valuable you are?”

“So I’m receiving quite the amount of attention, huh?”

“That’s right. Word about you should have started to spread outside of the city by now.”

“How strainful~ I don’t like being the center of attention.”

“That’s questionable. You appear like you’re overflowing with the temperament of an actor.”

I took another sip of my tea. I started to feel a twinging pain inside of my body.

It’s started.

In other words, now was the time.

“Yudia Batsand was the one who had killed those Gongshik members.”

Borg’s face became rigid.

“What?”

“I don’t know why he killed them. Something about having some past ties with them. In any case, Yudia turned them into corpses the instant they entered the city. And the fellows who had received the masks that had come from those corpses went around acting as Gongshik members and assaulted me.”

“What are you talking about······?”

“I want you to testify that Sophna was the one who had pretended to be a member of Gongshik.”

Borg’s complexion quickly settled down. It was truly fast.

“Look here.”

He chuckled and scratched at his beard.

“Really. Do you intend to topple that grandma who’s been harassing you? Moreover, you want me to help you with that? The Silver Lion Earl’s otherworlder, is that what you’re saying right now?”

I rolled a bead.

“What if I am?”

“What if you are? What do you mean, ‘what’? There’s no way that the Earl would want something like that. Therefore, you’re doing this arbitrarily, and if that’s the case, then you’re a pup that’s trying to bite your own owner.”

Borg leaned his head back and looked behind me.

“Even the Orgit girl is just standing there and listening to this in silence. I had my guesses when I heard that you were caught stealing, but it seems your household has really thrown away their pride. Bite off all Twelve Fingers.”

Ariya bit her lips. I raised my hand and calmed her down before speaking.

“I heard that you value loyalty highly.”

“You heard? Yeah, you know because you heard about it. How could you not know? This is truly making me think back to the time when I was 14-years-old. Once I obtained a title and became the head of a branch, I believed that everything was going my way. But did you know? I ended up seeing blood because I messed around like that. If you······.”

My insides hurt.

“That’s a tendency that appears in my world as well.”

“What?”

“You clearly started to work for an underground group because you were unable to uphold the rules of society, and yet you’re obsessed with things like ‘uphold the things that can be upheld’ and ‘loyalty and devotion’.”

“This son of a bitch.”

Borg chuckled. He tilted his head and looked at me as if he were glancing at something pitiable.

“You’re trying to provoke me?”

“I’m only speaking the truth.”

“What do you mean by ‘the truth’? You’re just speaking bullshit with that unripened mouth of yours. Yeah, as you said, there are some sons of bitches. The Black Dragon Street is a crucible where those sorts of unique sons of bitches gather. But even the Black Dragon Street isn’t hostile towards humanity itself. Why do you think that’s the case?”

I kept my mouth shut. Borg stayed silent for a moment before continuing.

“The Black Dragon Street exists for the sake of humanity.”

The tone of his voice was serious.

“If the headquarters of the Black Dragon Street is the head, then the branches are its long body. If the smaller organizations are the numerous parasites that are attached to that body, then humanity is the mass which the dragon is wrapped around. Anyone can be a Black Dragon, and the Black Dragon is everyone. The Black Dragon Street accepts those who are not accepted anywhere in the world as their foundation, and thanks to this, the Kingdom of the Twelve Earthly Branches is able to stay together while the Black Dragon Street does whatever they can to tread through this cruel world, but the foundation of the Black Dragon Street is still within humanity itself.”

Borg closed his eyes and opened them.

“Only crazy people would set the foundation which they reside in on fire.”

The manager of the Water Dragon City’s Black Dragon Street branch declared firmly.

“Even Black Dragons have to have that much self-awareness. That is the minimum requirement.”

Borg Edentras looked at me with a cold face.

“So what do you think I’m going to do starting now? You son of a bitch. I’m going to contact the Earl immediately and tell her everything I heard just now. Then things will proceed quite interestingly. As a matter of fact, ever since that prickly dog became the vice-captain, I’ve been contemplating on how to deal with her, but thanks to you, it seems I’ll be able to deal with my problems all at once.”

“You won’t be able to tell the Earl.”

“Why does the genius think that?”

“Of course, because you had joined hands with the Mage Tower in order to make the Earl fall into a trap back then during the Fedchant incident.”

Silence.

“How,” A very short silence. “All right⎯⎯⎯Sure. So there was a reason why you were confident. In other words, you’re saying that you’ll grab me by the neck? You’re going to threaten me!? Hah! With something like that······.”

Borg was forced to stop in the middle of his sentence because of the abrupt gush of blood that came from my mouth.

My throat suddenly became hot and an uncontrollable lump surged upwards. The blood, which was overflowing like a clogged toilet, poured down on the table like a waterfall.

A bit of the spilled blood splashed onto Borg’s face.

“Fair Grace······!”

Ariya supported my body. After I raised my hand and thanked her since I was able to avoid collapsing onto the table due to her support, I continued speaking.

“Yes······ that most likely isn’t enough.”

I knew.

I had prepared even this because I knew.

“What are you······.”

Borg was panicking. He wasn’t able to recompose himself quickly this time.

I spoke before he could do so.

“It’s scorpion poison from a groundspider.”

A drop of blood flowed down from my