Chapter 10. Backing (1)
“I hope for tails too.”
Just as I was about to remove the hand covering the coin, one Black Blood Unit member suddenly jumped between the Deputy Leader and me.
He pleaded in an exhausted voice.
“Both of you, stop! If members start killing one another, the Unit Leader is going to punish everyone!”
“Get lost! I won’t feel better until I rip off this lunatic's head!”
“Come on, Deputy Leader! You know better than this! And you, rookie, you’re the same! Are you desperate to die? You’re so blinded by points that you want to accept a mission targeting a Demon Lord?”
“What does it matter to you whether I’m desperate to die? None of you care about my life anyway.”
The Deputy Leader's face became so red it looked ready to explode.
“Hahahaha! So you really are desperate to die. Fine. I’ll cut off your head today and use it as a ball!”
“Don’t worry. If I kill you, Deputy Leader, I’ll bury you somewhere sunny and peaceful. I also happen to be very experienced at burying people.”
As the hostility between us grew stronger, the man trapped in the middle finally lost his temper.
“For fuck's sake! Don’t you two know that if one of you dies here, everyone nearby gets punished for allowing it?! If you’re going to kill each other, go somewhere no one knows and have your life-and-death duel in private! Why are you doing this here?!”
I see.
I wondered why he was trying so desperately to stop the fight.
He was not some righteous hero.
He was simply extremely talented at protecting his own neck.
“Why don’t you do this instead? Deputy Leader, give that lunatic that mission.”
“...That mission?”
“You know, the one nobody has solved and has been sitting there for three months!”
“Why would I suddenly... Ah.”
The Deputy Leader seemed to understand his intention.
She smiled and nodded.
“That isn’t bad. It is fair too. Hey, lunatic. Will you hear my proposal, or do you want to continue with the life-and-death duel?”
“...I’ll hear it first.”
“There is a mission that has been sitting in the Black Blood Unit for three months. It is extremely troublesome, so nobody wants to touch it. If you solve that mission, I’ll surrender this forty-point mission to you.”
“And if I fail?”
“Jang Gal's head belongs to me.”
“Nonsense. Why would I accept that proposal? Every member has the basic right to choose whichever mission they want.”
“Then you and I can simply fight until one of us dies. For reference, even if I’m punished, it won’t be anything serious. This isn’t the first time I’ve broken the neck of an arrogant bastard.”
Damn it.
She was completely unreasonable.
They say dealing with an irrational lunatic is more troublesome than dealing with a clever scholar.
I could not have a life-and-death duel with the Deputy Leader immediately after joining the Black Blood Unit.
To these people, I was still an outsider from the Central Plains.
If I killed her, there was no telling what kind of punishment I would receive.
I could not let my very first step toward becoming Prince Consort go wrong like that.
“...Haah. Fine. No choice. If I solve that mission, you will give me the forty-point mission without argument. If you change your mind afterward, I’ll start acting like someone who has nothing left to lose.”
“Don’t worry. I keep my promises. Follow me. I’ll explain the mission you need to solve.”
The two of us finally withdrew the killing intent aimed at one another and left the barracks.
“That’s the place? The restaurant those bastards frequently visit?”
“Yes. Capture them, and I’ll give you the mission to kill Jang Gal.”
The Deputy Leader and I entered the market district and stopped before a large restaurant.
Hwayol Restaurant.
What an impressive name.
“Deputy Leader. The mission was...”
“There are some bastards in the Enforcement Pavilion who collect ‘protection fees’ from ordinary cult members. Just like thugs from the Unorthodox Path. Your mission is to identify and arrest them.”
The Enforcement Pavilion served as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's law enforcement office.
Maintaining public order was already their duty.
Yet they were demanding protection money for doing their own jobs?
Did their ancestors steal their wages every month or something?
There were occasionally constables like that in the Central Plains too.
If a shop refused to pay protection money, they would ignore crimes committed there.
Sometimes I had even seen constables personally wreck businesses that refused to pay.
These men were probably the same kind of garbage.
Still, something felt strange.
Why had no one managed to solve such a simple mission for three months?
It was even worth fifteen points.
More importantly, why was a mission to arrest Enforcement Pavilion officers assigned to the Black Blood Unit?
It was basically ordering prisoners to arrest the police.
“Deputy Leader, I have a question.”
“What?”
...Wow.
Look at the malicious expression on this woman's face.
She was obviously certain I was about to find myself in trouble.
She was probably looking forward to watching me suffer.
Even if I asked, I doubted she would give me a proper answer.
“Forget it. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Do your best, lunatic!!”
Ignoring her mocking encouragement, I entered Hwayol Restaurant.
Despite it clearly being lunchtime, not a single customer was inside.
A young waiter stood around with nothing to do.
A middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner sat among the tables, letting out weak sighs.
“Are you not accepting customers?”
When I spoke, the middle-aged man looked me up and down and sighed.
“No. Leave before you see something unpleasant.”
“If you aren’t accepting customers, why keep the door open?”
“Damn it. Did you hear the rumors too and come here to mock me? Did you come to laugh because Hwayol Restaurant has been targeted by those bastards from the Enforcement Pavilion and is about to go bankrupt?!”
The middle-aged man suddenly jumped up and grabbed me by the collar.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He looked visibly thinner than he should have been.
He had clearly suffered greatly.
The Enforcement Pavilion martial artists must have tormented him badly.
“Calm down, Owner. I’m a Demon Soldier from the Black Blood Unit. I came here to solve the problem Hwayol Restaurant is facing.”
“The Black Blood Unit? That Black Blood Unit where they send the worst failures even among Demon Soldiers?”
Hmm.
Apparently, the Black Blood Unit's reputation was even worse than I thought.
The strength left the middle-aged man's legs.
He collapsed back into his chair and gave a hollow laugh.
“Ha... Hahaha... Damn them. Those damned bastards! They don’t care about ordinary cult members being oppressed by the Six Great Demonic Clans! Damn it! They pretend they don’t see what those bastards are doing, then send people from the Black Blood Unit instead!”
The Six Great Demonic Clans.
They were six families founded by descendants of the Cult's founding contributors, and they were the most powerful among the many Demonic Clans within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Sword Demon Clan, whose eldest son was supposed to marry Wolyeong, was also one of them.
Why was the name of the Six Great Demonic Clans coming up here?
“Owner, I only recently joined both the Cult and the Black Blood Unit. I only know that some Enforcement Pavilion bastards are collecting protection fees.”
“...Haah. I apologize. I was rude to someone who came to help.”
“Tell me everything. What exactly has been happening?”
“Their harassment began more than a year ago. More than ten businesses have already closed because of them.”
“And the people above did nothing?”
“They couldn’t. Those bastards come from the Six Great Demonic Clans.”
People really were the same everywhere.
I had heard that saying many times.
Still, realizing it applied even here left a bitter taste.
“At first, the protection fee was small. Of course, having money stolen never feels good, but they were young masters from the Six Great Demonic Clans, so we could tolerate that much. But the amount kept increasing until it became impossible to continue running the business.”
“...”
“Do you know what happened when I told them I could no longer pay? They started chasing away my customers. They said anyone who stepped into this restaurant would be killed!”
The middle-aged man's voice trembled with resentment.
“Earlier you asked why I keep the door open even though I refuse customers, right? That’s because of those bastards too. They said they still need somewhere to eat, and if I close the restaurant or take a day off, they’ll hurt my family!”
“So you still have to pay all the operating costs while they continue stealing your money?”
“There used to be a restaurant called Giseon Restaurant beyond that alley. It had been open for over twenty years. The owner eventually took his own life because he couldn’t endure their abuse anymore. Only after he died was the restaurant finally allowed to close.”
Tears fell from the middle-aged man's eyes.
“No one can touch them. There isn’t a single person under heaven willing to anger the Six Great Demonic Clans just to help ordinary cult members! All I can do is slowly collapse.”
Now I understood everything.
Why no one had stopped these bastards.
And why this mission had been assigned to the Black Blood Unit.
In the Central Plains, the Six Great Demonic Clans would occupy a position similar to the Five Great Families.
They were among the most politically powerful families in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Just as the owner said, most cult members would be too afraid of retaliation from the Six Great Demonic Clans to solve this problem.
And those powerful enough not to care about the Six Great Demonic Clans probably had no interest in something this small.
That was why the mission had been given to the Black Blood Unit.
Even if the Six Great Demonic Clans retaliated after their young masters were arrested, no one would care if the targets were criminals from the Black Blood Unit.
“Owner. Do you know when those men will come?”
“No. They may come today, tomorrow, or three days from now. But whether they come or not, I cannot close the restaurant and I cannot accept customers. So, Young Hero, leave before you get dragged into something terrible.”
“...Owner. What is the best dish here?”
“Why are you asking something useless like that?”
“When I come back later, I plan to order food and alcohol. If I’m going to order something, shouldn’t I choose the best?”
The middle-aged man gave a small laugh.
“Who knows whether such a day will ever come.”
“Trust me. That day will come. Perhaps sooner than you think.”
“...Before those bastards started causing trouble, our restaurant was famous for twice-cooked pork.”
“Twice-cooked pork. I’ll remember that.”
I left the middle-aged man behind and stepped outside.
The Deputy Leader was waiting with her arms crossed, wearing a triumphant expression.
“You understand the situation now, right? Even someone from the Central Plains like you should know what kind of power the Six Great Demonic Clans possess. If you understand, then give up on the mission.”
“Woof, woof. Woof woof woof.”
“...What are you doing?”
“There was a dog in front of me who tucked its tail between its legs because it feared the Six Great Demonic Clans, so I answered its barking with barking.”
“What did you say, bastard?!”
“I understand that you’re excited because you thought you trapped me. But at least don’t laugh. There is a man inside that restaurant smiling with a sorrowful face.”
“What the hell are you...”
“I understand being afraid of the Six Great Demonic Clans. I even understand being unable to help because of that fear. But if you cannot help, then at least do not laugh at the people suffering. That is the minimum required to call yourself human.”
The Deputy Leader placed one hand on the saber behind her.
“You arrogant bastard! Do you think you’re any different from me?! Do you seriously believe you can solve a problem connected to the Six Great Demonic Clans? If I’m a dog hiding with its tail tucked, then you’re a disgusting hypocrite!”
“I was never some righteous hero who spreads kindness. And when exactly did I say I was abandoning the Hwayol Restaurant mission?”
“...What?”
“Stop wasting space and start preparing to surrender that forty-point mission to me.”
“Crazy bastard. Those thugs have the Six Great Demonic Clans backing them. You still plan to touch them?”
“I’m not a dog that hides with its tail tucked.”
I smiled.
“And besides...”
I had some fairly impressive backing of my own.
